Prior to Pesach, the public at large was warned not to use
the Children's Haggodo printed by Shocken Publishing
of Israel. This Haggodo, which includes extensive
parts of the original Haggodo, was recently
distributed by Shocken Publishing House, owned by Amos
Shocken, publisher of Ha'aretz. Because it includes
large selections from the traditional Haggodo, at
first glance it appears to be an innocent giveaway. In fact,
the Haggodo was written by members of the Movement for
Progressive Judaism in Israel, i.e., the Reform.
The Haggodo includes divrei kefirah in the
spirit of the Reform movement. In line with Reform tradition,
its editors also deleted extensive sections which refer to
the geula, as well as various by now standard
additions to the traditional Haggodo which have been
transmitted to us from generation to generation.
Chareidi elements who saw the Shocken Haggodo warned
the public not to use them, and to throw them in the garbage.
The Haggodo was distributed to the 320,000
Ha'aretz subscribers, as well as to readers of Kol
Ha'ir, Ha'ir, Kolbo and Tzomet Hasharon.
The pamphlet includes advertisements of some very large firms
with broad chareidi clientele, such as Osem, Tnuva, and
Carmel Mizrachi. Before Pesach, scores of people contacted
Yated Ne'eman regarding the Reform Haggodo and
the advertisements of these large companies who have many
chareidi consumers.
Yated Ne'eman investigated the matter and learned that
Shocken had not informed these companies that the
Haggodo is in the spirit of the Reform movement. The
letter Shocken sent to the advertising companies read: "This
year, Shocken is offering a special gift for children: The
Pesach Haggodo for Children. In it the best companies and
firms, which cater to youngsters, advertise their products.
It also contains games and pastimes which will keep the
children busy throughout the long vacation, as well as
interesting articles and lists of recommended trips and
entertainment." The letter in no way hinted that the
Haggodo was written by the Reform movement.
Carmel Mizrachi says that the above mentioned letter is
misleading. "We have notified them that we will not pay for
the advertisement, and are contemplating taking legal action
against the paper," according to the company spokesmen.
Osem relates: "Due to the misleading publicity, people have
mistakenly suspected us of granting our patronage to a
heretical Haggodo. Osem published only one
Haggodo, a traditional one, with Bamba [an Israeli
nosh] embellishments."
Tnuva declares: "We were misled. We were startled to see the
Haggodo which was published by Shocken and distributed
by a number of local newspapers throughout the country under
the name, The Children's Haggodo. Shocken solicited
Tnuva for an ad, and we never dreamed that it would appear in
a Haggodo written by the Progressive Movement, with
all of its ramifications. We have demanded that Shocken stash
away the Haggodoand issue immediate instructions to
halt its distribution. Tnuva regards the misleading behavior
of Shocken very severely, and apologizes to all those who
were hurt by this affair. We hope that no one will be misled
as a result."
Shocken did not respond to Yated Ne'eman's questions
on the matter.
