New Target for ORA: Rabbis

Though the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot has held several protests in front of the homes of recalcitrant husbands, last November 4 was the first time the group rallied against a rabbi. The hour-long rally in front of Rabbi Shlomo Blumenkrantz' home in Brooklyn was attended by 50 protesters, a dozen of whom were from the Wilf and Beren campuses.

"Until recenlty, no one knew what Blumenkrantz was doing," said ORA?Executive Director Josh Ross. "This rally's and future rallies' goal, was to ensure he is scrutinized until he corrects his ways and stops helping husbands extort concessions from their wives."

According to ORA Associate Director Dovid Cohen, Blumenkrantz has been supporting a number of husbands who have refused to give their wives halakhic divorces. In addition, Blumenkrantz is suspected to have been involved in the issuance of heter me'a rabbanim for a number of men, without requiring those men to give their wives a get.

ORA officials have been unsuccessful in identifying where Blumenkrantz obtained his semikha certification.

"We want to publicize what Blumenkrantz has done so that the religious community, particularly the rabbis, will not support Blumenkrantz or any of his activities," stressed Cohen. "Often, a husband will use Blumenkrantz as his 'rabbi' which makes everything that he does kosher. Also, we wanted to put pressure on Blumenkrantz to stop helping these husbands use the get to extort their wives."

Cohen also related a report of a husband who once gave Blumenkrantz a get to give to his wife and held onto it as punishment for the wife going to civil court.

In preparation for the recent rally ORA asked RIETS Rosh Kollel Rabbi Hershel Schachter to sign a letter that was distributed by the RCA and the National Council of Young Israel urging their constituent rabbis to attend the rally. "We emailed people on our mailing lists that have supported our efforts in the past, and we also sent out emails to YU students," added Cohen.

Before the rally ORA obtained the approval of the NYPD to stand across the street from Blumenkrantz's house. Upon arrival, protestors held large posters with messages such as "Shlomo Blumenkrantz, Stop Abusing Halakha!" and chanted similar protests.

For at least a portion of the rally, Blumenkrantz stood outside his house. According to Cohen, though Blumenkrantz did not speak with us for the beginning, once several of the attending rabbis left, he began speaking with some people about specific cases and "how he wants to help."

Aside from Rabbi Schachter, Young Israel of Flatbush's Rabbi Kenneth Auman and Rabbi Hershel Billet from the Young Israel of Woodmere protested in front of Blumenkrantz's house.

According to ORA officials, the Organization runs about 15-20 rallies yearly and always after trying other methods first. "We only rally as a last resort to educate the husband to give his wife a get," explained Cohen. "Before we consider rallying, we first try to work out an agreement between the husband and the wife where we can level out the playing field and put the wife on equal footing with the husband. When this doesn't work, or the husband is unresponsive, we have rallies as a form of social pressure."