Man Awaits Ruling in ‘Mesira’ Contempt of Court Case
A federal court judge said she will rule at a later date in the case of a Chasidic Jew who will not testify because he says it would violate “mesira,” the injunction against turning Jews over to non-Jews.
Margaret Morrow of the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles heard arguments Wednesday in the case involving Rabbi Moshe Zigelman.
Prosecutors want Morrow to imprison Zigelman for contempt unless he testifies against others in an alleged tax fraud scheme that involved his Spinka sect, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Zigelman, an executive assistant to the sect’s leader, already has served a 2-year sentence for his role in the scheme, which involved soliciting large tax-deductible donations and secretly funneling most of the money back to the donors.
Zigelman, 64, says his testimony would violate “mesira,” although most modern scholars say it applies only in regimes that oppress Jews.
A message from our Publisher & CEO Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.
If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
