Hello,
It is painful to read about the reality in your city.
Like all ethical and halachic dilemmas – the approach to reporting someone is complex from opposing directions, and we have related to it in different contexts here at Tzohar Ethics.
Why? Because of the fact that on one hand, we do not want to build a society where “each brother surely follows [the other] and all evil of a slanderer wanders”. These are not good values, and there is specifically a point to encourage relationships and not destroy them. Beyond this, the strongest and earliest act of fascist governments in the past was encouraging the reporting of one another, thus creating constant suspicion and an inability to withstand the government’s power.
In order to remove doubt I want to emphasize that we, Baruch Hashem, do not live in this reality, but its roots are always present and can break forth. The Sages say that God, in some manner, did not consent to “reporting” Achan and demanded that Yehoshua Bin Nun expose the deconsecrator himself. On the other hand, we are dealing with criminal offenses, harm to others, a desire to cause societal strife, and suffering of residents.
It seems, thus, that the proper ethical arrangement between the two poles is this: when dealing with a situation involving the life of someone who is debating whether to turn to the municipality, etc. and is afraid of harm, is suffering from the noise, or any other thing related to it – of course it is permissible, and even potentially an obligation, not to stand idly by and turn to the municipality with the information at hand. Even if the matters do not relate to him at all, if we are dealing with matters of life and death, with the capability of harming one mentally or physically, etc. – here too it is proper not to hesitate but to bring the information forward in order to save those harmed from their offender. This is the difference between our resistance to “slandering” to the Tax Authority (despite the fact that tax evasion is a sin, and the fact that this evasion indirectly affects each one of us), and the situation in your town, where we are dealing with a matter relating to the citizens themselves, their suffering, and their concerns of mental and physical harm, etc.
All the best, and may we chase after peace,
Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, Head of the Tzohar Ethics Center
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