Voices comment on New Square's new rules
A variety of sources expressed additional views about New Square's community rules. They include:
New Square grandmother Yenti Holczler
On her reaction to the rules: “Not everything on your platter tastes the same. One tastes better, one tastes worse but to stay healthy and well, you’ll eat both.”
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On the Rebbe David Twersky: “He’s the head of our community. It's like a kingdom and we want to follow his way because he has a beautiful way from all the generations back.”
On The Journal News' coverage of her community: "There always is two sides to a story to make it a full story. It’s not good to only hear the bad part because there's a lot of good. And God is so good to us."
On men's ability to drive: "When they have free time—they’re busy, they’re working, they’re learning whatever — when they have time, they’ll help their wives with that."
On young people who decide not to follow tradition: "We put into every child our best. Every drop of strength goes into educating the children, teaching the children how we want them to turn out, telling them nice things, spending time with them. But everyone’s mind works differently."
Samuel Heilman, sociology professor at Queens College CUNY and expert on contemporary orthodox Jewish communities
On the Skverers of New Square: "They feel the rules are essential to the continuity of their community. This is a group of people where it is to their advantage to convince members they are beleaguered and attacked. 'Just as in Europe they wanted to kill us (in the Holocaust). In America, they want to love us to death. The danger is more insidious here —they want to take our souls away from us.'"
On the multitude of New Square rules: "They are viewed as having religious meaning. If the rebbe wants it, then it comes with imprimatur of God. It's exactly as you would describe behavior in Iran with the ayatollahs in Iran."
Rabbi Avi Shafran, Director of Public Affairs for ultra-orthodox umbrella organization, Agudath Israel of America
On the Skverers: "The New Square community has norms that are not normative in much of the rest of the charedi (ultra-Orthodox) world. But its particular attitudes and customs inform the lives of those who are part of the community. By living there, the residents are accepting, usually embracing, the lifestyle of the community."
Former New York Civil Liberties Union Executive Director Normal Siegel
On the driving ban: “If religious leaders are the de facto municipal leaders, it’s conspiracy to deny civil rights. This should be confronted, challenged and it shouldn’t be kept a secret. It should be publicly exposed so that people say, “This is America, this is New York. This is not supposed to go on.”
On the rules: "The First Amendment says people have to be respectful of others' religious practices. You can be respectful and still question the wisdom and validity of some of them."
