#FreeMalky / Flatbush Girl vs. Kiryas Joel
Background
According to Jewish law, a religious divorce ("get") can be given only by the husband's free will. Even if a couple are legally divorced, if a husband refuses to give his wife a get, she is religiously forbidden from remarriage, and remains an aguna ("chained woman") until the get is issued or he dies. Crucially, the get must be given of the husband's free will - a coerced get is invalid, although "free will" is unsurprisingly subject to very broad interpretation (see below).
Currently, a Kiryas Joel man named Volvy Berkowitz is withholding a get from his wife Malky, a resident of Williamsburg. In Israel, a recalcitrant husband can be imprisoned indefinitely until he agrees to give a get, but in America, the only (legal) recourse is to apply communal pressure to the man. Traditionally, this was done through ostracism (the man will not be allowed to pray in a synagogue, for instance), although recently organizations such as
ORA have used public shaming and protests. However, ORA and the like operate primarily in the Modern Orthodox community, and their influence within the Hasidic world is limited.
Adina Sash / FlatbushGirl / @flatbushgirl
Enter
FlatbushGirl (real name Adina Sash), an Orthodox (non-hasidic) social media figure from Brooklyn and
kosher edibles saleswoman with a long history of attention-seeking. Since the beginning of February, FlatbushGirl has taken it upon herself to singlehandedly "free Malky", launching a harrasment campaign against anyone even remotely connected to Volvy, with no coordination with established organizations or rabbinic figures. Shockingly, FlatbushGirl seems interested primarily in attention-whoring, making herself the face of the campaign instead of the woman she's supposedly trying to help:
This post will summarize the major events in the #FreeMalky campaign to date.
February 4th protest in Kiryas Joel
FlatbushGirl's opening move was to hold a protest in Kiryas Joel. This initial protest was a success, at least in terms of garnering attention. Around ten people came out to Kiryas Joel, with a frosty reception from the locals. One of the protestors had an egg thrown at her:
A spotless FlatbushGirl soon appeared on Instagram claiming to have been egged as well:
Most of the protestors were shamefully low-energy, except for FlatbushGirl, who cheerfully walked around shouting and blocking traffic:
Kiryas Joel Pride Parade (Aborted)
With standard methods of protest failing to show results, FlatbushGirl decided to bring things up a notch by threatening to hold a pride march in Kiryas Joel:
Other than "trigger the Hasidim, own the Hasidim", there seems to have been no rhyme or reason for this, and it was quickly shelved, presumably because it would alienate whatever support the campaign had in the Kiryas Joel community.
The Crowdfunding Campaign
FlatbushGirl would also launch a crowdfunding campaign for $18,000 on The Chesed Fund, an Orthodox crowdfunding site. The site would quickly Shut It Down after a little over $4,000 was raised, allegedly under pressure from Volvy's lawyers, but more likely because a reputable frum site didn't want anything to do with a grifter like FlatbushGirl:
Fortunately, FlatbushGirl managed to get the fundraiser up and running again on another Orthodox crowdfunding site,
Fundd. As of the time of writing, this new campaign has raised over $20,000.
Even before the deplatforming from the Chesed Fund, questions were being raised about the integrity of the fundraiser. Who would ensure the money was spent properly? "Me."
Which rabbis back you? Is Malky even involved with this? "Send me $180 and I'll tell you."
To be clear, I don't think FlatbushGirl is pocketing the money, if only because her goal is to get as much attention as possible. There's no reason to doubt her claim that the money will be spent on publicity stunts, although I do question the need for a hostage negotiator and Medicaid fraud whistleblower guidance professional (?):
Feb 28th Volvy Mogging and Synagogue Occupation
FlatbushGirl would show up in Kiryas Yoel to press Volvy, confronting him as he sat in a car. A panicked Volvy fled into a nearby synagogue, with FlatbushGirl hot on his heels:
The hasidim inside were not thrilled that their synagogue had been invaded by a smartphone-wielding harpie, and demands that she put her "impure device" away and head to the women's gallery resulted in a physical altercation. Eventually the police showed up and FlatbushGirl was escorted out of the building:
More videos from the synagogue:
March 1st Protest in Kiryas Joel
Back to Kiryas Joel again to protest at the wedding of one of Volvy's relatives. FlatbushGirl is getting worried that the Berkowitz's are plotting to have her arrested:
Turnout was even lower than the first protest (two people, including her), and to add insult to injury, FlatbushGirl's car was towed for being parked illegally outside the wedding hall:
She would be trespassed from the property once again:
Locals laughing off the FlatbushGirl simp seething at them in Yiddish:
The Haters
FlatbushGirl has not gone unchallenged, with a group of weirdo Orthodox MRA nudniks organizing their own counter-demonstrations against her efforts. I'm not exactly sure how being yelled at by an instathot counts as "coercion", but more power to them.
Current Status of #FreeMalky
Undaunted by her failure at harassing Volvy's family, FlatbushGirl is now going after the Satmar (Zali) leadership, including the sons of the rebbe himself.
