Rabbi backtracks on apology after deprecating comments about women
After issuing apology for discussing the 'spiritual limitation of women' during lesson at pre-military academy, Rabbi Yosef Kelner seems to backtrack, saying his words were edited foolishly and he does not regret what he said.
Rabbi Yosef Kelner, a teacher at the Eli pre-military academy who made deprecating comments about women and subsequently apologized, appears to have backtracked on his apology, claiming his words were edited in an idiotic and malicious manner.
“We were presented with a transcript of what I said, and I did not know which lesson it was from or what the context was. At face value, it did not look good. There was the pressure of the media deadline, the management of the academy was very concerned, and the spokesman was pressed for a statement,” Kelner wrote in a document published by Avishai Grinzeig, a reporter at the B'Sheva newspaper.
“It was only the following night that the full recording of the lesson came to my attention,” Kelner wrote, "and suddenly a flashback. I remembered the lesson and with great clarity, the situation that brought me to use this style of speech came to my mind. A student innocently noted that ‘It is known that women are more spiritual and men more practical…’ and I felt disgusted by the brainwashing of the feminist media emanating from his throat. I found it necessary, and I do not regret it, to 'shake' him out of the hollow slogan of this bizarre notion with the style of the words I used.”
Kelner argued that "malicious and foolish editing" of the recording of his lesson led to a misunderstanding of his meaning. "The long sentence that clarifies my intention was omitted: When I say that women are spiritually limited, the intention is that ‘the high brow of world trends, the increase of global perceptions, is not where we expect women to reach notable achievements.’ The omission precludes understanding that there is a deeper context to the words other than 'they are stupid,'" he wrote.
“In the lessons, I explained about the important feminine sense, that when it is kept well developed, they do not need to study. Only today, when everything is crooked and they are raised crooked, an unfortunate need was created to hospitalize them in learning centers - in spiritual hospitals that help the precious girls return to their natural healthy state and restore what they have lost,” he claimed.
Later, he continued, “The intention of my words regarding the 'spiritual limitation of women' is that their spiritual attainments should not be measured by men's measurements of broad worldviews and high spiritual aspirations, they have been blinded by standards, and this cry of truth must be heard!"
The rabbi's explanation document is puzzling in light of the explicit words of the head of the Eli Academy, Rabbi Eli Sadan, after the release of the recordings: "I do not agree with all of these things either in terms of content or style, and they do not represent the academy.”
The academy refused to discuss the clarification document.
