Most group members rejected this defense for several reasons:
First, the logic test: It strains credibility that a public murder attempt, witnessed by a large crowd at a cornerstone-laying ceremony, would pass without notice and leave no trace in contemporary sources. Thorough examination of period newspapers and polemical writings from both sides, supporters of Rabbi Kook and his ultra-Orthodox opponents, who documented their campaigns extensively, reveals nothing about such an incident. The only documented event from that period, recorded in a book by Rabbi Moshe Bloy, was water being poured on Rabbi Kook, a serious affront, but light-years away from attempted murder.
Second, the "clickbait" problem: Rabbi Mordechai Yaakobovitz challenged Geldtzahler directly: "You can't shout about an 'assassination attempt' in the video title, describe the 'crime scene' with dramatic flair and AI-generated visuals, then hide behind the word 'rumor' when criticism arrives."
Third, the reliability of late sources: Group members questioned the tendency to attribute various dubious stories to the late Rabbi Fisher, rumors that often turn out to be misunderstandings by those who heard them. A late testimony about a rumor doesn't transform it into historical fact.
Fourth, the historian in the age of likes: This touches on the heart of the matter. Geldtzahler isn't just another blogger or TikToker prioritizing engagement over accuracy. He's an ordained rabbi pursuing a doctorate, a serious thinker and educator. Precisely because of his stature, expectations for rigorous methodology and professional ethics are exponentially higher.
Academic and journalistic ethics establish an iron rule: the more serious the accusation, the higher the standard of proof required. One cannot accuse a deceased person of "attempted murder" based on historical gossip unsupported by a single contemporary document.
Critics expected Geldtzahler to produce a video examining why such cheap gossip was invented, perhaps as part of the conflict between religious Zionism and the Old Yishuv (pre-state ultra-Orthodox community). Instead, he chose to illustrate the rumor with AI-generated imagery showing a figure identified with Rabbi Margaliot attempting to push Rabbi Kook off a roof.
In response, Rabbi Dr. Geldtzahler stated: "The story was originally told as rumors that Rabbi Weingartan brings, not as solid facts. But what's interesting is that unlike many rumors that sometimes circulate in certain communities, here the sources of the rumor stood right before my eyes.
"A. I spoke with the grandson of the source - Rabbi Aviya HaCohen, grandson of Rabbi Shmuel HaCohen Weingartan, who confirmed he heard this from his grandfather and that the matter deserves publication.
"B. I spoke with another Torah scholar who studied with the 'Beit Yishai', the late Rabbi Shlomo Fisher, and said he heard this explicitly from him, that it's a known story in Jerusalem.
"Besides these two, Rabbi Yosef Leib Zusman also testified to this. I also have a direct connection to him, as I studied with his student."
