There is a new English, free, newspaper being distributed around a number of cities of Israel, called the Voice. The paper is part of the 5 Towns Jewish Times family of newspapers. I picked up a copy of the first edition this past week, and it was pretty interesting, with good articles.

There was one article in particular that caught my attention, and I have since found it on the 5 Towns Jewish Times website. It is the article by Rav Aryeh  Z Ginzberg entitled "Those Killer Comments". In the article Rabbi Ginzberg calls to task anonymous bloggers and commenters (he uses the word "commentators" - I am not sure if someone who leaves a comment on a blog is a commenter or a commentator), for writing with a "level of hate" and even outright cruelty. He says they hide behind their anonymity and take advantage of it to speak harshly, in a way that Jews by nature do not speak. He calls them (us?) digital rotzchim, and while he admits that there are surely bigger issues in Judaism to worry about,  this is an embarrassing and hurtful phenomenon that must be abandoned.

Some people have taken great offense at Rav Ginzberg's article. They look at it as if he is trying to shut everyone up so they can continue running the show, so to speak, and being the one's to determine what is discussed and how it is discussed in the public forum, ensuring that nothing against the establishment and authority figures will be said with any strength.

There might be something to this, but I don't think he is calling for anything so sinister. And even if that is his intention in his greater picture, I think we can take his micro point in the article and improve ourselves. Just because there are greater issues in Judaism that need to be fixed, and surely there are, that does not mean that we should, that we must, ignore the lesser issues. They are not mutually exclusive, and one can work to improve and solve both the greater issues and the lesser issues. There is no obligation to only focus on the greater issues.

Yes, bloggers and commenters have done great things, exposing corruption, sex offenders, abusive personalities, denouncing criminals that get a free pass in general society and discussing issues that much of the mainstream frum media is not willing to touch and discuss. And perhaps most importantly, a forum has been created allowing the people to talk, to discuss, to grapple with the issues, the questions, explore the possibilities and the answers, at an unprecedented level.

However, Rav Ginzberg is correct at a certain level. People do hide behind anonymity, and take advantage of this anonymity to talk in ways they never would if their identity were known. Personally, I think anybody anonymous, anybody not willing to put their name to their opinion, can and should be ignored. I believe if a person has a belief that he wishes to express, he should put his name to his opinion, put his credibility behind his words. I do understand why some people don't - they feel they cannot say what they want as their will be repercussions if they do - but i don't think that it is right. People should put their name behind their words, or keep it to themselves. This is not an attempt to stifle discussion, but to broaden the discussion - to have people discuss the issues in appropriate language and tone, while voicing credible opinions.

With the reality being that anonymous comments and blogs are here to stay, we must bear some responsibility for our words. Just because nobody knows who I am, as I am commenting with an anonymous name, does not mean I can hide behind that to talk in ways that are hurtful. Asking that of people does not have to be stifling the conversation.

Perhaps in the broader sense Rav Ginzberg's ultimate goal is to stifle the conversation  - I don't know. if that is his goal, I reject it. I believe there is a place for the blogger and the commenter, hopefully with their names behind their opinions, but even without. Not only do I believe it, today's world is changed because of it - people are becoming more aware that what they do that they used to think was easy to hide and keep secret, no longer can be done so easily. Hopefully it forces people to improve their behavior, to be more true to the public they supposedly represent, to the ideals they espouse. However, the open forum provided by the internet could bear some cleaning up, by the people themselves, and writing should be done more responsibly, with respect for each other and their opinions. Disagree respectfully. Expose responsibly.

I initially decided not to write about this topic. Enough people were already weighing in with their opinions and I felt I had nothing to add. I still think I have nothing to add, but one cannot simply ignore one of the biggest stories to hit the blog world in general and the jblog world in particular.
Orthomom is an anonymous blogger who dedicates her blog to writing about (mostly) issues relevant to the Five Towns (somewhere in NY, excuse my ignorance). She is the subject of a lawsuit filed by one Pamela Greenbaum against Google attempting to force them to reveal Orthomom's identity.

The basic background is that an anonymous commenter on Orthomom's site said some not so nice things about Ms. Greenbaum (the commenter called her a bigot and an anti-semite). Ms. Greenbaum is on the board pf something over there - the school or the comunity or whatever and has been involved in some decisions that, it looks like, others disagree with.

Does that make her an anti-semite? I doubt it (I am not sure what the decisions were, nor does it interest me all that much). Anybody in a public position makes decisions that some people will be against. The commenter was probably wrong for slandering Ms. Greenbaum in the way he did. He also has no courage as he slandered her anonymously. Gentlemen and gentlewomen, if you really feel the need to oppose people and stand up for your position, please consider putting your name behind your words. Anonymous comments are meaningless and are not taken seriously.

Now that got the criticism of the cowardly anonymous commenter out of the way. Ms. Greenbaum's lawsuit is surely destined to be thrown out of court. Other cases similar, and more serious, to this one have been thrown out on the grounds of free speech and lack of seriousness.

Ms. Greenbaum thinks she can censor the Internet to an extent. She is going to find out that she is wrong. Aside from bringing more attention to the issue under discussion and the comments made in her direction than would otherwise have been ignored and not noticed, she has shown herself to be not one who can take a punch. She should have recognized this as a lost cause and simply ignored the anonymous comment.

From her point of view, I understand, I think. She was hurt by the hurtful words. Granted, people should be careful with what they say and act responsibly, even on the Internet. The Internet, with its ability to remain anonymous, allows people much more liberties than they ever had before. One must use those liberties responsibly. However, she is involved in politics (be it school, communal or whatever), and this is what happens when one is in the public eye. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. Her attempts at solving it via the courts only makes it worse for her.