Fired Vermont rabbi made "inappropriate comments"

By Ted Cohen/Patch.com

The ouster of a leading Vermont rabbi came on the heels of "inappropriate comments" he allegedly made to synagogue staffers.

That's the latest cover story being peddled by top officials at Vermont's largest synagogue.

During a recent congregation meeting, a bevy of lawyers hired by the board of directors claimed they'd be putting out a statement "once things have all been cleared."

For now the highly-paid team of lawyers - whose hourly fees are undoubtedly quickly draining the synagogue's strained budget - insisted that all they could say was that the rabbi allegedly made "inappropriate comments."

But angry congregants accused board members of keeping them in the dark over the real reason that Rabbi Aaron Philmus was given his walking papers.

Philmus was not at the meeting and has been unavailable for comment.

Congregants also told board members they - the board members - need to be more proactive defending Israel against a Palestinian undercurrent that is roiling relations between Zionist-leaning synagogue members and pro-Palestinian members who claim Israel is being heavy-handed in its fight for survival.

Board officials tried to defend going soft on Israel in favor of Palestine when at least one congregant threatened to pull financial donations from the synagogue unless the leadership becomes more pro-Israel.

The original unofficial cover story for severing Philmus was that he was a flaming zionist who was outwardly telling pro-Palestinian synagogue staffers that they needed to pull for Israel or resign.

Now synagogue lawyers are trying to spin that into a new claim that the rabbi made "inappropriate comments" because they - the anti-Israel synagogue officials - are being pushed up against the wall for being too pro-Palestine.

The new "inappropriate comment" narrative is a convenient way for the synagogue leaders to push back against - and deflect from - a growing suspicion that they are too timid to offer a full-throated defense of Israel.

The "inappropriate comment" narrative is intentionally orchestrated to evoke an emotional holy-cow reaction to the common connotation of that buzz-word phrase in today's woke world, i.e., sexual harassment.

Congregants, meanwhile, are demanding that board officials disclose the amount of severance paid to Philmus. "It's our money," one congregant said at the recent synagogue meeting. "We have a right to know."

Synagogue members were also highly offended by a board member who recently condescendingly lectured them on not being savvy enough to be trusted with information about the alleged real story behind the resignation of the popular rabbi - popular at least with the pro-Israel synagogue faction.