is Litzman a stain on the Haredi public as Lapid says?

In an interview on Walla News about the campaign, MK Yair Lapid (Kachol Lavan) responded to a query about the recommendations for indictment against Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman. Lapid said, "every person has the presumption of innocence, but this is a stain on the Haredi public who stand ashamed by this story. Whatever comes out of it will come out of it from a legal/criminal perspective, but even just the connection he has with pedophiles is shameful".

A "stain on the Haredi public"? Is every secular criminal a stain on the secular public? Yes, it is bad, but what Litzman did (or didn't do), he did. Some people might support him and some do not - just like anybody else. Maybe the stain is on the people of his shul, or the people of Ezras Torah where Litzman lives, or the people of Jerusalem, or maybe it is a stain on Gur Hassidim, or maybe it is a stain on people who eat at Goldy's, or maybe all the Knesset members that serve alongside him.

It is difficult and could hurt the Haredi image. I remember (not word for word) Gafdni taking pride in the fact that UTJ has never had its public representatives in Knesset (I dont remember if he also included municipal representatives) indicted or arrested, so yes, this will hurt the image of the community. But I disagree that it is a stain on the community any more than any other criminal is a stain on whatever community he or she is a member of.

I would add that the attitude of Litzman regarding these issues is very problematic, even if it turns out that legally he didn't do anything wrong. Helping pedophiles and criminals get easier treatment and more access to the public or the ability to find a safe haven free from prosecution is a horrible approach. There are many others who share such an approach, covering up stories, harassing people who try to report, and the like, and such an approach should be reconsidered by the community leaders.

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