Heshy Tischler Image by Twitter

By David Ian Klein October 8, 2020

Heshy Tischler, an aspiring politician and the de facto leader of the protest movement which has spread through Orthodox Brooklyn the past two nights in response to New York’s new COVID-19 restrictions, told reporters that he has a “moser” list.

“Moser” is a Hebrew term for one who informs on the Jewish community to outside authorities, which according to the Bible warrants the death penalty. Such a court has not existed for nearly 2,000 years, but the term has been used more recently in discussions over the reporting of sexual abuse to secular authorities in Orthodox communities.

Tischler mentioned two men at the top of his list: Orthodox journalist Jacob Kornbluh, as well as Mordy Getz, who filmed a protest Tischler led on Tuesday night. At that event, Berish Getz, Mordy’s brother, was beaten and had to go to the hospital.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“Mr. Getz was up there filming people, supposedly posting to outside of the community, trying to embarrass us,” Tischler said in a video he tweeted out last night. “Again, he embarrassed the Jewish community like he always does. Him, and Mr. Kornbluh, I know you don’t want to hear it, these are the two guys at the top of my moser list.”

Wednesday night, Kornbluh, an ultra-Orthodox journalist, was attacked and called names like “Nazi” and “Hitler” as he tried to cover the protests in his home neighborhood of Borough Park.

Getz and Kornbluh are just two liars, haters of the community.

pic.twitter.com/CWpZCVo91K

— Heshy (@HeshyTischler) October 8, 2020

The term moser has been associated with violent attacks and even murder before, Yigal Amir, the assassin of Israeli prime minister Yitzchak Rabin used the term to justify the murder.

“Everything I did, I did for my religious obligation to protect the nation of Israel from the ‘moser’ Yitzhak Rabin, as he was called by many rabbis who fear for the fate of the land of Israel and the people of Israel,” Amir told police after his arrest in 1995.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount