Caught in the Thicket of Forward

On the subject of mentalblog.com: Caught in the Thicket by David Assaf. A friend of mine brought me a copy from the Shazar Center in Jerusalem. And now there is this review in Forward: New Book Reveals Darker Chapters In Hasidic History.

According to reliable sources, who insist on anonymity, several tri-state area dealers of Orthodox books, as well as a few in major Canadian and European cities, are stocking limited copies of Assaf�s explosive book �under the counter� � selling them only to their trusted elite clientele, contingent on a strict promise that the transaction remains a secret.

and

As is so often the case with controversial literature, those who claim to be most offended are usually the ones buying, reading and simultaneously trying to repress the books in question. Indeed, raucous exchanges about Assaf�s work have sprouted on a variety of Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) Internet sites and blogs, in both Hebrew and English. The interlocutors on these blogs include some distinguished Hasidic scholars and librarians [I guess this is Levin, Schneur, perhaps Mondshine?], as well as average readers [this is the rest of us mortals]. The complaints range from the rude (�Assaf�s book is like a fart in a cowshed: barely noticed and soon forgotten�[Baruch�s unfortunate comment]) to the ridiculous (�Look how low Merkaz Zalman Shazar [Assaf�s publisher], named for the President of Israel who was himself a Hasid of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, has fallen�)[I think Tzig said this on his blog.]. But the most common critique is an ad hominem attack on Assaf�s personal integrity and level of religious commitment. �For those people like David Assaf, the things we call Yiddishkayt he has no understanding of because he is not a frummer yid,�[Kopust wrote this] one commenter wrote on Mentalblog.com.[sorry it is mentalblog.com not Mentalblog.com] Or, as another more succinct writer, who happens to be a respected Hasidic librarian, put it, �[Assaf] is a vile creature blinded by hate.�[not Schneur, he doesn�t write like that. He is more rational. berl, crown heights is now a "respected Hasidic librarian!" LOL] So, what�s all the fuss about?

P. S. A note to professor Allan Nadler, sorry, this is not a "Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) blog".

UPDATE: mentalblog.com: Rabbi Moshe the son of RASHAZ Caught in the Thicket.