New York – Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of America has issued a public proclamation condemning Open Orthodoxy and stating that the movement is not a form of Torah Judaism.

A statement released today by Agudath Israel of America publicized the kol korei and said that Open Orthodoxy’s rejection of the basic principles of yiddishkeit, including the authority of both the Torah and rabbonim, make it inconsistent with Orthodox Judaism.

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Agudah, explained that the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah had been contemplating the problem of the Open Orthodoxy movement for several years, releasing the carefully worded kol korei today.

“They wanted to go on public record to make it clear to Jewish communities across the country and everywhere else that anyone who is considering bringing a rabbi into their Orthodox congregation should know that someone who subscribes to Open Orthodoxy is not considered legitimate in the eyes of the mainstream Orthodox community,” Rabbi Zwiebel told VIN News.

As previously reported on VIN News, the Novominsker Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Perlow who is a member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, slammed Open Orthodoxy in an address at the Agudah dinner in 2014, describing it as both a “plague” and “apikorsus.”

The kol korei compared Open Orthodoxy to other dissident groups that have attempted to lead Jews astray throughout history.

While the proclamation singles out Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Yeshivat Maharat and the International Rabbinic Fellowship by name, it warns the public that the views of all leaders and entities that subscribe to Open Orthodoxy are in no way associated with the Torah.

“We therefore inform the public that in our considered opinion, ‘Open Orthodoxy’ is not a form of Torah Judaism (Orthodoxy), and that any rabbinic ordination (which they call ‘semicha’) granted by any of its affiliated entities to their graduates does not confer upon them any rabbinic authority.”

The eleven rabbonim who signed on the kol korei , Rav Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, Rav Yitzchok Feigelstock, Rav Dovid Feinstein, Rav Aharon Feldman, Rav Yosef Frankel, Rav Yosef Harari-Raful, Rav Shmuel Kamenetsky, Rav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, Rav Avrohom Chaim Levin, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow and Rav Aharon Schechter, represent a wide cross section of the Orthodox Jewish community.