It’s ironic that the very same frum news media outlets, which passionately defended their advertising for Eretz Hakodesh by claiming it was necessary to bring in financial support for yeshivos in Eretz Yisroel, had no problem running ads for an organization calling on frum Jews to STOP supporting those very same yeshivos. Yes, that's exactly what happened. You might ask, how could this be?
Well, they ran banner ads for "Holy Chutzpah," a cynical and hostile campaign urging people to stop inadvertently funding yeshivos that boycott the IDF and ban soldiers. The campaign calls on donors to "check before you give."
On social media, the campaign mocks the frum lifestyle, portraying it as hypocritical—living a life of mitzvos while supporting yeshivos that oppose chayalim. It even labels donations to such yeshivos a "Ponzi scheme."
Here’s what’s written on their website:
"Here’s the truth: Many well-branded yeshivos hide the fact that they actively boycott the IDF and ban students who choose the mitzvah of defending Am Yisroel.
It is absurd for someone like you to be funding them.
Torah and Achdus are both sacred, however, they don’t need to be at the expense of your religious values or sanity.
While all Jews deserve your love, not all institutions deserve your donations."
DON’T BE A SUCKER. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.
Don’t allow yourself to be scammed into funding Torah institutions that go against your religion and your ideology. Ignorance or an inferiority complex are not justifications to be bullied into doing something against your true Torah values. It’s time to stand up for what you believe in and put your money where your mouth is."
These ads were distributed by a frum ad content aggregator, which sends advertisements to frum media platforms and websites. They were quickly pulled after a public outcry. Could it have been a mistake? Possibly. But a serious mistake doesn’t just happen—it suggests a prior agreement to run these ads.
This follows the call by gedolei roshei yeshiva to boycott publications and media outlets that advertised the Eretz Hakodesh campaign calling it a churban of what they are doing, by legitimizing zionisim and attempting to change the face of the Jewish people and bnei Torah. As the Roshei yeshiva said its time to put them out of business.
The role of frum media has always been to filter out non-kosher content from secular media. However, it seems that these platforms have now become vehicles for promoting anti-Torah agendas and hashkafos that go against the values and lifestyle of the frum, charedi readership.
Some chutzpah.