Of mosers and monsters

Writing this story does not make me feel comfortable. Nevertheless, I must offer a follow-up to my previous post about the FBI's corruption probe in New Jersey, which netted both corrupt politicians and rabbis who used religious charities as fronts for money laundering.

The most troubling aspect of that story involves the illegal trade in human organs. Using responsible sources, my post demonstrated that this organ ring involved unwilling donors, major hospitals, and the Israeli government itself. Alas, no-one has followed up on the leads I have provided.

The key figure in the probe was an FBI informant named Solomon Dweck, the son of a prominent rabbi in Deal, New Jersey. Charged with trying to pass $50 million in bad checks (!!!), Dweck cooperated the FBI in order to obtain leniency.

Dweck's criminality -- and the even worse criminality of the figures he helped bring to justice -- should not reflect upon the larger Orthodox Jewish community in New Jersey. But the reaction of that community is troubling.

Troubling and, to be frank, disgusting.

The Orthodox news organ VIN had offered an incorrect story, based on Israeli sources, that Rabbi Isaac Dweck had announced in public that he was sitting shiva for his son Solomon. ("Sitting shiva" means treating his son as if he were dead.) The rabbi denounced his son not because of the $50 million bank fraud, but because Solomon had informed on other Jews.

A later, corrected account revealed that the rabbi did not sit shiva. Nevertheless...

Rabbi Dweck delivered a very emotional sermon in which he strongly denounced the phenomenon of a Jew informing on other Jews, said that he is also a victim in this saga together with Klal Yisroel, and asked for prayers from the entire Jewish community for his terrible suffering.

Again: Solomon tried to pass $50 million in bad checks. Yet this rabbi -- a religious leader! -- offered not a syllable of sorrow about that crime. Instead, he denounced his own son for doing the right thing -- helping to bring money launderers and organ thieves to justice.

The responses from VIN readers are even more disturbing:

Whatever the halacha is, what he did is digraceful.

he should sit shivah

one should sit shiva for such a son; his son deserves death, so its as if he died

why wouldn't the father sit shivah? don't his son's action prompt him to cut off ties with him? would his father ever look at him again?

Trust me rabbi dweck knows how disgracefull it is to go after rabbi kassin and trying to get rabbi d yosef too. Does anyone have a clue to how painfull it is to denounce a son in public?

the fact is, the rabbanim were entrapped by shlomo dwek.

dwek, on the other hand, was in trouble. instead of doing his time like a mentsch for the INSANE acts he is known to have committed (keep in mind 3 years have passed since), as his business partner sat the past 3 years and has recently completed his sentence and began a fresh slate with his family and a new job, NO - mr. dwek instead decided to be a moser - a crime for which the chofetz chaim states there is NO kapara - unlike chillul hashem, for which death atones, a moser will continue to burn even after the fuel in gehenom runs out!

"Moser" means "snitch." "Kapara" means forgiveness. "Chillul hashem" means any act which profanes God's name.

Moiser is worse, and especially the way he did it with entrapment and bait. this piece if dirt.

FBI and this lowlife,shame on you.That is the real chillul hashem.If Rosenbaum is such a bad guy,organ seller and all,why do they have zero real cases on him.The FBI has been following him for awhile and all they have is one case where he alledgedly conspired to do the act.

He should sit shiva his son is a moser and lost his cheluk to Olam Haba.

how did the press get pictures of the arrest if the FBI didnt turn it into a media circus/setup

I should quickly point out that some VIN readers reacted much more responsibly, denouncing the corruption at the heart of this scandal. Still, it is troubling to see so many members of this community speak as though Dweck's true crime was ratting out other Jews.

This denunciation of informants might be understandable if we were dealing with members of the IRA during the days of British rule. Does the Jewish community of New Jersey really feel that the United States government is an alien, occupying force?

The FBI acted well within its mandate. Indeed, the feds deserve to be castigated only for not acting earlier on the leads provided by Nancy Scheper-Hughes, whose investigations into the illegal organ trade have lead to arrests and convictions in other countries.

Why does the spectacle of rabbis arrested on charges of criminal conspiracy evince so few expressions of shock and shame from this community? Why aren't these people disgusted by Isaac Rosenbaum, who (according to Scheper-Hughes) forced organ donations at gunpoint? Why denounce the moser and not the monsters?