  | Islamic Clerics for Fatwas Authorizing Sexual Abuse of Children One of the ways to make peace in middle east is to stop the child abuse by Jihadists. A real (more) |   Views: 20,346 Added: 9 months ago |
| Time: 05:00 |
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It is children such as these (inset photo is for demonstrative purposes only. It is just an innocent one snapped by a photographer - of Jewish boys leaving school), whom under the reckless abandonment and 'leadership' of Rabbi Manis Mandel, Rabbi Shlomo Mandel, and Rabbi Yakov Mandel, became acclimated to daily forms of abuse.
Go to http://mishpacha.com/pdfrequest/1/89/16/
if you wish to view the entire YOB/Manis article "a fortress in flatbush".
The Butcher of our children - Shlomo 'crocodile tears' Mandel - pictured here as he was in the 90's - with still some color left in his smelly beard that has since turned white.
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 | Victims of sex abuse confront a convicted paedophile part1 (18/june/2007) If you are affected by any thing in this show please phone NSPCC: (more) | Views: 2,973 Added: 3 weeks ago |
| Time: 10:58 | More in Entertainment |
Fugitive child molester in custody
- Story Highlights
- Horowitz is an ordained Orthodox rabbi and a former child psychologist
- He was escorted aboard the U.S.-bound flight by a U.S. agent, authorities say
- Horowitz was subject of investigations in U.S., Israel; had multiple convictions
- Next Article in U.S. »
Read
VIDEO
Rabbi and Child Psychiatrist
Convicted child molester being returned |
| By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer Click byline for more stories by writer. Saturday, July 7, 2007 |
| A convicted child molester who skipped out on his parole last year will arrive at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday morning under armed escort from India where he was arrested in May, a state Division of Parole spokeswoman said Saturday. Alan Horowitz, 60, will be extradited from New Jersey under a New York arrest warrant issued after he ducked out of the U.S. after meeting with his parole officer on June 7, 2006. "We're getting him back," said Carole Weaver, the division spokeswoman. Horowitz was out on parole for his 1991 conviction for first-degree sodomy after he pleaded guilty to an incident involving a 9-year-old boy. Horowitz, a former adolescent psychiatrist, served more than 13 years of his 10-to-20-year sentence before he was released on parole in 2004. He was in contact with state officials, saying he was living in an apartment complex in Israel. He said he would never return to the U.S. He then fled to India where he was arrested. U.S. marshals are escorting him back from India. Horowitz will appear in a New Jersey court the week of July 16 for an extradition hearing, Weaver said. He'll then head to Schenectady County, Weaver said, where he will face charges for parole violation. His original sentence for the sodomy conviction runs through June 28, 2011. |
The best informative data regarding sexual abuse and misconduct in the Jewish population is:
http://theawarenesscenter.org/policies.html
© (2003, Revised 2006) The Awareness Center, Inc.
The Awareness Center has been contacted by family members and friends of some of the individuals on our web page titled "Clergy Abuse: Rabbis, Cantors, and Other Trusted Officials"
To help clarify our intentions and policies regarding listing individuals' names on our site, we decided it is best to make our intentions and policies public.
The purpose of the information provided on our website is to educate our community on issues pertaining to sexual violence in Jewish communities on an international level. The Awareness Center is a victim advocacy organization. One of the goals of The Awareness Center is to prevent anyone else from being sexually victimized (sexually abused, sexually assaulted, rabbinical sexual misconduct, sexual harassment).
Please note, the only individuals who are listed on our site, are ones who'd had allegations made against them which were then published in reputable newspapers, have transcripts from televisions shows where the case(s) have been discussed, have police records and/or we have court documentation regarding the case, or at least two executive board members have felt we had significant information regarding.
We are well aware that unfortunately, there are many other cases in which there is NO paper trail to be found, cases that were not brought to law enforcement's attention, and where no news media group wrote an article referring to the case. Although our intention is first and foremost to help raise awareness to cases of abuse and minimize re-victimization, we cannot post names of alleged persons without similar documentation.
The Awareness Center encourages everyone to make hot-line report, if and when you suspect a child is at risk of harm.
If you or a family member has been victimized, immediately go to your local emergency room. That is one resource that is usually trained in collecting the forenic evidence needed. Your emergency room is mandated by law to call the police and child protective services.
The Awareness Center encourages individuals who have been victimized and family members to make police reports, follow through with pressing criminal charges, and to testify when requested. If you or anyone you know is being threatened or harassed by an alleged offender, or someone who represents him/her, it is critical that you notify your local police department. You may also want to contact your local rape crisis center for both counseling and legal help (especially if there is any form of witness tampering).
Some of the common threats include prohibiting the child victim and their siblings from being allowed in any Yeshiva (Jewish School), or that rumors would be spread about them to make sure that they not find a spouse when they come of age. Unfortunately, this is a heartbreaking reality. Remember, witness tampering is also a crime that needs to be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
The Awareness Center encourages offenders (emotional, physical and sexual abuse) to seek treatment and make amends with those they hurt.
The Awareness Center adopted the following policy.
If an alleged or convicted offender complies with all the following, our board of directors will meet to discuss removing the name from our page:
- After the offender or alleged offender can demonstrate that he/she has apologized directly to the victim(s), and the survivors feel that the apology was sincere.
- After the offender has made a public statement acknowledging his/her relevant behavior.
- After the offender has entered treatment with a licensed psychotherapist who meets our criteria of someone specializing in sex offender treatment, and can present a certified letter from this therapist stating that "the individual is no longer a threat to those he or she preyed upon.
- After the offender has paid restitution to the survivor(s) for the pain and suffering they have endured and also pays for counseling for his/her victim(s).
- The offender agrees to sign a written statement stating they will not work (paid or volunteer) for any agency, organization or institution that has any connections with children, or what ever population the offender has victimize.
If an individual listed on The Awareness Center's web page believes they have been falsely accused and wishes to be removed from The Awareness Center's web page:
- The alleged offender will need to be evaluated by a licensed mental health provider (at their own expense) who meets our criteria of someone who specializing in sex offender treatment.
- The alleged offender will need to sign a release of information form so that the licensed mental health professional can discuss the case with us.
- The licensed mental health professional will need to send us a certified letter stating "the individual does not fit the criteria of someone who is a sex offender or fits the criteria of an individual with a sex addiction".
Interesting Statistic:
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"We cannot learn without pain."
— Aristotle, Greek philosopher
"It is reasonable that everyone who asks justice should do justice."
— Thomas Jefferson, American Founding Father and third U.S. president( 1743-1826), letter to George Hammond, 1792
"Rise above principle and do what is right."
— Walter Heller, American economist (1915-1987)
"The precepts of the law are these: to live honestly, to injure no one, and to give every man his due."
— Justinian I, Byzantine emperor (483-565)
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Statement on Sexual Abuse of Children
By Rabbi Zev. M. Shandalov
May 22, 2006
Over the past few days, there have been a number of items that have been printed in the mainstream press and in the "Jewish" press regarding stories of sexual abuse of children and alleged cover-up of said abuse and the perpetrators. The purpose of this email is to address this situation.
Abuse: I am not going to discuss any of the allegations in the articles or those that are floating around on the Internet. I do wish though to comment in general terms.
ANY abuse perpetrated against a child no matter how "minor" or seemingly "insignificant" can be damaging for life for the child; is illegal; is assur (prohibited by Torah law) and can potentially be actionable in a court of law. In addition, anyone seeking to protect the abuser, including but not limited to rabbis, professionals, community leaders, institutions, etc. are themselves culpable in the crimes that the alleged perpetrator commits after discovering the crimes and seeking to cover them up. The covering up of such offenses not only is in itself a Chillul Hashem (a profanation of the name of Hashem) but also adds to the abuse of the victims after the fact. Delivering information to the police in order to remove the offender from the streets and to protect further abuse is a Mitzva incumbent upon all who have knowledge of abuse. Additionally, the Mitzvah of "Al ta'amod al dam re'acha" (One may not stand idly by while another is being injured) is found in the Torah to make it everyone's responsibility to help another in jeopardy.
I hope that this has helped to clarify a very disturbing issue. WE MAY NOT REMAIN SILENT WHEN ANYONE IS BEING ABUSED AND CERTAINLY NOT WHEN THE PERSON BEING ABUSED IS A CHILD!
Rabbi Zev M. Shandalov
Congregation Kehilath Jacob Beth Samuel (KJBS)
Chicago, IL
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Yes, I’m talking about every putz out there that thinks for themselves only. The real cheap and stingy creeps. The ones that run the illegal“government food programs”. The ones that rip off parents with large sum tuition balances that wipe their pockets sparkling clean and then showing not much in return for the child’s education and psyche.
I speak of every slouch and leech out there, that shuckle three times a day during prayer, and right afterwards resume back to their despicable acts of covering for, harboring, and shielding the murderers and abusers of Jewish men, women, and children.
I am referring to the ones who can afford to make lavish dinners and affairs to broaden their image in kiruv work, and have gevirim/laymen pad their bank accounts for the worthy cause; yet they do not find the time, or shall I say “do not seem to have the sufficient funds” to give their employees a paycheck on TIME (meaning anywhere from generally 3 days to 4 weeks late in one case, and in another case a Rabbi who will be named later, who seven to ten years later has still not paid his many employees who worked for him. They find out later; he stiffs everybody he possibly can, for the sake of Kiruv of course. Teachers must sacrifice and work for free if the Yeshiva/organization/institution has no money, right? (so it’s not really stealing you see).
Getting paid late and never on time was a sure thing. How late is the guessing game employees need to juggle with. Weather it be 3,5,7 days or more, varies all the time, depending on the mood of a particular kiruv administration, but also pertaining to many of the yeshivas that exist today. So much for that Verse which forbids one to withhold wages from their employees for not even a second longer than the end of that working day. Throw that page out the window you fake, phonies, and frauds with your borsalinos and hambergs. G-D forbid you should do the right thing.
An artificial outside with a rotted inside, doesn't exactly get you a free pass to Gan-Eden. The Yated can snap as many pictures as they care for with you guys dancing at weddings and promoting child/kiruv programs, it's still not going to change the fact that your silence and utter disregard for human life will be a stain upon you for eternity. There's bleach to remove the tough stains, and then there is hell with bleach to remove even the tougher stains. You shmuck rabbi leaders have earned the latter.
When using your gartels next time - why don’t you do us all a favor and hang yourself from it by the neck. In case you are not a holy gartel wearer, consider alternative suicide options.
In our times, where employees generally have a pre-determined time to get paid such as daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or Monthly, an employer is forbidden to pay his employees EVEN A SECOND LATER THAN WHAT WAS AGREED UPON. The Torah talks about great consequences for violating this law. Kal Vechomer how much worse it is to withhold wages from an employee with the intentions of never paying them.
The madness continues with this "Rosh Yeshiva”,who would rather be the control freak, the one who chases honor, the one who places emphasis that the word “shlita” be printed after his name 10 times in 2 paragraphs; just to remind everybody who G-D really is in his eyes, in case Alzheimer's strikes you and you forget; - than have to actually live up to and perform his duty and obligation of bringing children and adults closer to their faith. The opposite effect is occuring and re-occurring like a wash machines cycle, over and over again, unfortunately.Many are leaving yiddeshkeit precisely because they feel burned and ridiculed by this rosh yeshiva and his equally ineffective and menuveldica administration. It's all business oriented, there is no love for the students in this school. There is no positive outlook for the student, other then to remain very strong and believe in themselves. In reality though, not too many will make it out of that institution unscathed. A book can be written about it, but I'm afraid for now I cannot go into any more details. There is a time and place for everything.
This Rosh Yeshiv and his cronies will make sure to extinguish any hope or possibility that students leaving from his “Kiruv oriented school” will want to remain religious after leaving or graduating from there. The student attendee, will tomorrow either want to commit suicide; or become a “total gentile convert”, or a combination of both - all because a so called powerful rosh yeshiva puts his own ego and power over the best interests of the children that he constantly demands total perfection from.
Remember this fellow Yidden; The ones who stink up the bathroom the most and make sure that the Asher Yotzar is said with proper kavana; and right afterwards proceed to try and sweep all their crimes and sins under the rug; are the ones who produce the least, and lie the most.
When polluting the sheep they supposedly claim to herd; I’m speaking of the numb-brain syndrome that has infested itself unto all these phoney Rabbi’s that would rather have our children suffer and be killed - than to heaven forbid admit to any wrongdoing on their part. In essence; these donkey-weasel rabonim and gedolim, are saying that JEWS ARE PERFECT. NO WAY; A JEW CAN EVER SIN. AND IF A JEW DID CHAS VECHALILA COMMIT THE SIN OF SINNING, HE MUST HAVE RECEIVED A HETER FROM THE GREAT POSEK YISROEL BELSKY. AND IF A JEW DID HAPPEN TO MOLEST SOME YOUNG BOYS, HE MUST HAVE RECEIVED A DIRECT HETER FROM THE HOLY TZISIS; HARAV PINCHUS SCHINBERG. AND EVEN IF A JEW DID HAPPEN TO MOLEST BOYS FOR OVER 40 BRUTAL YEARS, YOU MUST GIVE THAT JEW THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT, UNDER THE RAV BALKANY ‘CHESKAS KASHRUS” HETER OF COURSE, WHERE YOU BELIEVE NOT THE 90% THAT SAYS THIS JEW MOLESTED, RATHER YOU MUST BELIEVE THE 10% THAT SAYS THIS JEW DID NOT MOLEST.
AND EVEN IF HEAVEN-FORBID A JEW DID HAPPEN TO COMMIT THE SIN OF MOLESTING YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS; IT IS VERY POSSIBLE THAT THE JEW GOT A HETER FROM HARAV SHMUEL KAMENETZKY TO WORK IN ANOTHER CITY, A JEW THAT MOLESTS STILL NEEDS TO EARN A PARNASSA, EPES-GRADEH.
THIS JUST IN. HORAV MATT SALOMON IS REQUESTING A BIG U-HAUL TRUCK TO REMOVE ALL THE DIRT FROM UNDER HIS RUG. THE MASHGIACH PROMISES A FULLY TAX-DEDUCTIBLE WRITE OFF FOR YOUR SERVICES.
JEWS ARE ALL PERFECT! THEY HAVE IT ALL FIGURED OUT.
THEREFOR; PERFECT JEW = NO SINS. Wow! Really smart thinking by these donkeys; don’t you think? It’s Perfect. Molest, Molest, Molest, Molest = Perfect Jew. Because Jewish people don’t molest; get it? I don’t get it either, you got company. I’m just rambling. whew! Way over my head. Let’s get back to Manis. The Perfect Manis that is, shall we?
You ask WHY THE HOLY MANIS MANDEL?????? Why him? What did he do wrong???
Do not be fooled by old men with white beards and easy smiles. I repeat. Do not be fooled by these attributes that tend to portray a false outwardly appearance. (Big story coming out real soon about another old man with a white beard and a nice smile)
1) The main reason this blog/forum was even started in the first place, was to counteract the REFUSALS and DENIALS of MANIS MANDEL who it was requested from to at the very minimum - investigate, take action and remove a longtime 5th grade Rebbe (Yehuda Nussbaum), who was long accused by several victims and their parents of sexually, physically (bare hands and a thick wooden ruler), mentally, and emotionally abusing them.
Did Manis Mandel take any of the above measures and precautions to ensure that his bread and butter; the students, were in a safe environment and properly looked after??? NO, NO, and NO!
Instead Manis accused the accusers of being DREAMERS, LIARS, HAVING READ TO MANY FANTASY BOOKS, AND WATCHING TOO MUCH TELEVISION. According to Manis, the many accusations against Shatnez Checker and Molester Nussbaum did not necessitate or behoove an investigation.
Instead, Manis chose the infamous route as so many other clueless rabonim have chosen. He chose to deny. He attempted to portray and paint the victims as having “problems”. He chose to IGNORE the accusations hoping they would just disappear on their own. He sought to intimidate the victims and their parents. Manis LIED to parents that the problem was taken care of, WHEN IN FACT IT WAS THE FURTHEST THING FROM THE TRUTH. When one of the Parents wouldn’t fall for Manis’s bag of tricks, he resorted to THREATS. Manis instructed his Monsters; Shlomo Mandel and Yakov Mandel, to do all that’s necessary in making the big embarrassment for YOB to go away.
“I’LL TURN YOUR NAME INTO MUD” IF YOU DON’T STOP WITH THESE ACCUSATIONS; IS WHAT ONE FATHER WAS TOLD BY THE MANDELS.
“WE WILL THROW OUT ALL YOUR CHILDREN FROM YOB” IF YOU DON’T STOP WITH THIS NONSENSE ACCUSATIONS.
THERE WERE SEVERAL VICTIMS AND THEIR PARENTS WHO WERE READY AND WILLING TO TESTIFY ABOUT THEIR SON’S REBBE’S SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE AND ADVANCES UPON THEIR SONS. WHEN MANIS AND HIS TWO MONSTERS GOT WIND OF IT, THEY SCARED OFF AND INTIMIDATED THE PARENTS INTO SHUTTING THEIR MOUTHS AND NOT GOING ALONG WITH THE ONE PARENT OF THE GROUP WHO WOULDN’T FEAR THE MAD TRIO FROM HELL.
MANIS MANDEL refused to recognize the severity of the situation. He was required by Jewish and secular law to investigate at the very least, which he failed to do. He had a moral obligation to remove a dangerous obstacle to children and for our future generations.
Lo samod al dam reeicha, one of many transgressions Manis and his monsters are guilty of. Manis Mandel and his sons made a bad and costly decision. They put on a poker face and hoped that even though they would allow boys at YOB (Under their care and responsibility) to be sexually groped and physically abused by their Employee Rebbe, Yehuda Nussbaum, that ultimately parents and other victims would just learn to keep their big mouths shut. For the betterment of Klal Yisroel, and for the future of their Yeshiva, they reasoned. BIG BIG BIG MISTAKES HAVE OCCURRED. MISTAKES THAT HAVE LEFT THE MANY VICTIMS FLUSTERED AND HURTING TO THIS VERY DAY.
And LIFE GOES ON FOR YOB (AT LEAST FOR NOW).
Rabbi Arem takes over Manis’s position in the girls division, while Rabbi Yonason Rosenbaum becomes new Menahel of the elementary boys division (origianally; Jack Mandels job) (there is no mesivta that ever made it, thanks to Hashem, most people reaching this age know it’s time to leave the YOB hell hole)
WHAT ABOUT THE VICTIMS? WHAT KIND OF LIVES DO THEY HAVE? THEY MUST LIVE WITH THE PAIN AND EMBARRASSMENT EVERYDAY, WHILE YOB IS TRYING HARD TO FORGET ABOUT THE EARTHQUAKE THEY CREATED.
THAT’S WHY WE’RE HERE TO MAKE SURE IT WILL NEVER BE FORGOTTEN. TO MAKE SURE THAT YESHIVA OF BROOKLYN WILL ONE DAY BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR UGLY SINS AND CRIMES FOR ALL TO SEE!
I always wondered why many good people suffer and often times niftar before their time, at an early age, while many bad people have merited longevity - living to a ripe old age.
In Parshas Chukas, Moshe Rabeinu and Klal Yisroel defeat the once very mighty and feared Kings of Moav and Bashan.
King of Bashan, Og, was 500 years old, when Moshe Rabeinu at a young age of 120 struck him at his knees with a stick, toppling and killing the fierce giant. Og melech aboshon, anticipating a war with the Jewish people, picked up a mountain intending to kill the chosen people all at once by dropping the mountain on them. Little tiny ants that people take for granted came to the rescue, by gnawing and ripping a hole right through the center of the mountain thereby pinning Og on all sides. All the steroids in the world could not have helped Og lift the mountain off himself, because Hashem made Og’s teeth grow extra long in all directions, acting as the screws holding the foundation (mountain) in place. Big, ferocious, and mighty Og, was a standing duck for Moshe Rabeinu. His doom was spelled.
Why do I bring up Og? Why now? Because Og, a giant of evil lived such a long time. He was a Rasha that outlived a Tzadik in Moshe Rabeinu. In fact Og Melech aboshon survived the big flood with Noach and the teiva. Couldn’t have G-d killed Og then during the big mabul?
There are many reasons why Hashem kept Og alive, but none of the reasons were exactly because of Og’s righteousness. One reason was for Og to live long enough to be killed by Avrohm Avinu’s descendants whom from Og had plotted to steal their inheritance.
Og was present at Yitzchok’s Bris Mila, which lends the question, why did he not kill Yitzchok right there and then? Again, Og miscalculated that such an old father (avrahm) could not logically have an infant that would survive. Og boasted that his one finger could have finished off Yitzchok the fragile baby, but would instead allow nature to kill Yitzcohk the frail and tiny boy who probably had not a big chance of survival anyway.
Mida Kenegd Mida was evident in the slaying of Og. When Og informed Avrohm that his nephew Lot was captured, it was for selfish reasons. Og figured Avrom would wage war to free Lot and in the process be killed in battle, while he would then be free to take Sara as his wife and inherit all of Avrom avinu’s possessions.
So back to the original question of why good people die early and bad people die late, the answer can be obvious, as in the case of Og.
Conversely, Righteous people die early many times; because in their short life span they achieved greatness that requires them to join the angels up above before their time, so to speak. However, most times we DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER. All we know for certain is this: Hashem works in masterful ways.
2) Rabbi Manis Mandel again displayed his undeservedness for his title by refusing to investigate another occurrence of child abuse, this time in Yehivah of Brooklyn’s Girls Division.
A female teacher employee had a unique punishment she would hand out to young girls who misbehaved. They would be sent to the “Cold Room” to freeze their little behinds off. The “cold room” was an open porch outside, and an adjacent room next to it, where students that were “bad” had to remain for many hours and sometimes the whole entire day.
Told by her daughter that her lousy teacher punishes her and other students in this way, the brave mother decided to stake out the school during session to see for herself, with HER OWN EYES. Sure enough, she sees a girl (not her daughter) looking sad and lonely standing by the “cold room”. When she approached and asked the young girl why she was there, the child reiterated what her own daughter had previously related to her. It was for being bad. It was for punishment.
Irate, angry, and exasperated by this cruelty, the mother confronts the teacher inside the YOB premises. The teacher at a loss for words, and stammering, lashes out at the mother by stating “this is not even your daughter so what do you care” response. When told that her daughter had in fact been subjected to the same cruel treatment and that as a matter of fact she also cares about ALL the other students who had to also endure the cold treatment, the teacher became very defensive, unresponsive, unrepentant, and unhelpful.
The Mother next brings forth her complaints to Rabbi Manis Mandel. As he did with the sexual molestation accusations, Manis again refused to do anything to even remotely address the concerns for the safety and well being of her own daughter and that of her classmates.
Manis Mandel became obnoxious, arrogant, and delusional. It was not YOB’s problem or wrongdoing, it’s her issues. It’s your fault and just a fragment of your wild imagination, the defensive Manis barked at her. He refused to even acknowledge that there was any problem. Instead he accused this mother of making things up, and lying about what happened. Manis defended the integrity of this teacher as being an outstanding character. In the end the mother left feeling helpless, brokenhearted, and with tears streaming down her face.
The people sworn to protect her daughter and others daughters; were blatantly reckless in their duty. How? How can it be? Rabbi Manis Mandel, a saintly old man who people refer to as a “tzadik” she wondered. How did people come to that assessment when he just now laughed and scorned her like he did. If this is a Tzadik, she countered then I’m going to have a hard time trusting any Rabonim anymore.
Flustered but determined, this Mother sought the advice of a BIG renowned Rov at the encouragement of some of her friends. After relating the chain of events leading to why she was there, the Rov was perturbed by what he was hearing. He said to this mother: I want you to go back to Manis Mandel and tell him USING MY NAME, that he must get rid of this teacher. Tell him that there is NO EXCUSE for such maltreatment of children.
Heeding the advice of this Rov, she confronts Manis Mandel. This is the SECOND TIME she is bringing her concerns to Manis, only this time Manis said the most shocking and hurtful things you can possibly say to any divorced person. There is a reason you are divorced, Manis Mandel reprimands her. You’re divorced because you’re always causing everybody problems. You’re making stories up. You’re just no good. Get out of my school.
SO WHAT CAN YOU DO? A SELF PROCLAIMED AND ORDAINED TALMID CHOCHOM WHO TWICE WITH THE SAME LADY, BEHAVED LIKE THE SCOUNDREL HE WAS. HE BLINDLY ASSUMED THAT NO JEW IS CAPABLE OF ANY WRONGDOING IN HIS HOLY YESHIVA .
THIS IS HOW MANIS AND HIS MONSTER SONS BEHAVED; OR BETTER WORDED, MISBEHAVED. SHLOMO MANDEL WAS A BEAST DURING HIS YESHIVAH DAYS IN TELZ, COULD HIS FATHER HAVE PASSED SOME OF THAT GENE OF RUTHLESSNESS DOWN TO HIM AND YANKEL?
YAAKOV MANDEL WAS A TERROR DURING HIS TENURE AS MENHAEL OF THE ELEMENTRY SCHOOL (YESHIVA KETANA), PHYSICALLY BEATING STUDENTS TO A PULP, PULLING A BOYS PANTS DOWN AND BEATING HIM IN FRONT OF EVERYBODY (THIS BOY ENDED UP IN OHEL), AND GIVING YOU THAT “COME HERE TZADIKEL” ROUTINE WHERE HE WOULD TRY TO STRETCH YOUR CHEEKS TO THE MAXIMUM, UNTIL YOU BEGGED FOR MERCY. SADIST TO THE CORE, JUST LIKE HIS BROTHER SHLOMY.
SHLOMO MANDEL WAS JUST AS BAD, IF NOT WORSE - BEATING, BULLYING, TORTURING, AND HUMILIATING STUDENTS IN THE MESIFTA. SHLOMO WOULD PUNISH BOYS WHO WOULDN’T COLLECT ENOUGH MONEY FOR THE THEN NEW AND NOW CURRENT YOB BUILDING. HE WOULD ALSO FORCE UPON YOU THE DUTY TO COLLECT MONEY FOR TASHBAR. HE WOULD MAKE STUDENTS PLEDGE TO BRING IN AN UNREASONABLE AMOUNT OF MONEY AND THEN PUNISH THEM IF THEY FELL SHORT.
SHLOMO AND YAKOV MANDEL DERIVED MUCH PLEASURE IN SEEING AND MAKING BOYS SUFFER, AS DID ANOTHER FREAK OF SADIST PLEASURES, YEHUDA NUSSBAUM. ACTUALLY, THERE WERE MANY PEOPLE IN THE YOB ADMINISTRATION WHO THE SAME CAN BE SAID FOR, BUT THAT’S FOR ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER POSTING.
EVENTUALLY, AFTER A LONG POWER STRUGGLE, SHLOMO KICKED HIS YOUNGER BROTHER YAAKOV OUT OF THE YESHIVA KETANA AND SENT HIM PACKING. SHLOMO ‘CROCODILE TEARS’ MANDEL, WHO CRAVES POWER AND PRESTIGE; WAS HAPPY TO FINALLY BE IN TOTAL CONTROL. HIS SHABBOS MINYAN, AND HIS RECITING OF TEILIM AT A SHRIEK AND WHINE PLAUSIBLE TO EVEN THE DEAD, WAS A SIGN TO HIMSELF OF HOW RIGHTEOUS HE REALLY IS. HE DEMANDED PERFECTION, YET IN RETURN HE GAVE NOTHING BUT HEARTACHE TO EVERYBODY.
MANIS MANDEL, SHLOMO MANDEL, AND YAAKOV MANDEL, THE BUTCHERS OF OUR CHILDREN.
THERE YOU HAVE IT!
As this lady who confronted Manis TWICE told me recently:
You see the palm of my hand? You can fit all the gedolei yisroel in it and still have plenty of room left over. You know something, she has a very valid point. It is a perfect assessment of where Rabonnim and Jews have slipped and dropped to in our dark era and times, and it ain’t pretty!
Note: In order to protect the privacy of the victims, I have not written their names, nor do I mention the name of the Rov the lady had seen. For some who know about the chain of events and how they occurred, it is rather easy to know who and what I’m taking about; and yes that includes Yeshiva of Brooklyn, who found it necessary to threaten me even though I did not give out any of the victims names, yet somehow they knew exactly whom one of the victims was, only bolstering my credibility and that of the victims in the process . Such cowards I tell you.
Months later YOB seeks to negotiate with me and the victims by contacting a certain chicken Rov they mistakenly figured would convince me to shut down my blog because of the mass bad publicity it was causing them. Little did they know, a weasel will always be a weasel. They once again miscalculated. This Rov (not the same Rov the lady went to see about Manis) greatly and grossly underestimated me. See below a copy of what was posted on UOJ’s site last February, and what was posted on this blog in the summer of 2006.
My main question to YOB and this Rov they contacted to contact me is this:
You say there were NO VICTIMS AND THAT YOU DO NOT BELIEVE THE SEXUAL ALLEGATIONS, YET HOW DID YOU KNOW THE NAME OF ONE OF THE VICTIMS WITHOUT ME PRINTING IT? HOW DID YOU KNOW TO CONTACT THIS ROV THAT KNEW ME, IF I HAD NOT MENTIONED ANY NAMES? HOW DID YOU KNOW WHO TO THREATEN AND WHO TO TRY AND INTIMIDATE IF YOU CLAIM NONE OF THIS EVER HAPPENED?
THEN THIS ROV WHOM WAS GIVEN PRIVILEGED AND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION DURING NEGOTIATIONS ABOUT ANOTHER OF THE YOB VICTIMS, LEAKS IT TO YOB WHO TRIES TO CONTACT THE VICTIM THROUGH ANOTHER 3RD PARTY ROV? IS THAT MORAL? IS THAT JUST? IS THAT FAIR? SHAKING DOWN A VICTIM, SOMETHING YOB IS GREAT AT. TERRORIZING VICTIMS, ANOTHER ACCOMPLISHMENT BY THE YOB ANIMALS.
If you were/are a victim of abuse or know someone that is/was, and you want immediate assistance and/or guidance, feel free to email me at:
All interactions will be kept fully confidential.
BE SAFE, BE HEALTHY, BE HONEST!
EM
February, 2007, posted on the UOJ Blog by Exposemolesters
There is a ROV who I once respected very much. YOB had contacted this ROV and pleaded with him to convince me to remain silent about YOB sins, and also that I should shut down my blog. I refused to acknowledge this Rov, other than telling him that YOB must fire Nussbaum at once, no questions asked. There were more conditions, but that was one of the main ones.
So what this Rov do? He bribes me like I'm some naive moron. Calls me up before Shabbos shortly after we made initial contact, wanting to drop off a nice bottle of Bourbon whiskey. We chit chat, even have a l'ecahim, and then get down to business. He PROMISES that Nussbaum will be fired, and also promises to meet ALL of the other conditions involved. This Rov promised that Nussbaum would be gone within a couple of days. A couple of days turned into many weeks. There was Stalling, and excuses, and more stalling and more excuses by the ROV and YOB. The deadline I set for the end of July 2006 came and went with still no real issues being resolved. During that period of time I was very QUIET on my blog, waiting to see what will happen next.
The excuses were, Shlomo Mandel is in Eretz Yisroel - we have to wait until he comes back. Another one was "the lawyers from YOB will not allow a written apology (or even an oral one as I later found out) because that is called ADMISSION to guilt. The excuses kept piling up like a ton of bricks. People will find out and it will be an even bigger chilul hashem than what it is now. And what about a shidduch for Nussbaums Children etc. They were very scared of the BLOG though, asking me many times if I will shut it down if they met my conditions. Another excuse was, how can YOB believe there were victims if you don't give us names. Stupid me, I relented and gave two names, one of which they were quite aware of already going back to the early 1990's. So what happens next? This Rov and YOB totally breach moral standards and confidentiality (no surprise there) by going behind my back (thinking I wouldn't find out about it) and having a third party contact the second victim's name that I had given them. The 3rd party arranges for another Rov to talk to this victim and attempt to fish out information about the alleged abuse.
It is precisely at this point in time, that I totally and unequivocally ceased from any further negotiations with YOB. This Rov who YOB thought would be able to silent me, is now an ex-Rov in my book. I lost TOTAL respect for him. I had a very hard time trusting in Rabbi's anyway, and I only negotiated in good faith because supposedly this was a Rov that I knew and I could trust. This was a Rov who KNEW about sexual molestation and abuse against a 5th grader dating back to the 90's. He even admitted that he felt bad all these years that he was not able to do anything about it then. He admitted to me in very BOLD terms that he believes very much that Victim # 1 was indeed molested by Nussbaum and that is why he decided to be as a go-between to YOB. This was a big opportunity for this Rov to finally get it right, to finally salvage what he failed to do previously, and he flunked with flying colors. He is a fake and a disgrace not only in my eyes, but especially to the victims he let down.
Okay; now that I got that out of the way let's continue. WHO IS THIS ROV? I will not name him, however I'll give you a little hint. He is a cousin of another disgraced Rabbi, none other than LIPA MARGULIS. How do I know?
Well, I found this out during our meetings and phone conversations. The topic of Kolko and YTT came up in the discussion and guess what? This Rov DEFENDED lippy and YTT. He said Margulis is my cousin you know (as if because of that merit I should believe his stupidity). And YTT is an esteemed Yeshiva who some former students just have a vendetta against. Kolko never did these things that they say he did, it's made-up nonsense, he went on to say. When we spoke about Ger and Lazarowits, he went on to repeat the same shtusim that these are former disgruntled bochorim. The more I spoke with him, the more I realized that HE WILL NEVER GET IT and that he talks out of both sides of his mouth. The problem is that this is just one case of corruption. There are SO many more, and that is very scary to me.
In closing I do want to heap some praise on this Rov I just finished trashing. He does a lot of chesed. He helps out many worthy causes. I think he is a well meaning man and has a lot of good qualities about him. Yet, this is what BUGS THE HELL OUT OF ME. How can such a well intentioned individual turn his back on YIDDEN who need his help. How can he ignore evidence that points to children being molested and not equate it Pikuach Nefeshos? I'm sure this Rov would dial Hatzoloh in a heartbeat on Shabbos if he saw another Jew having a heart attack, so why is children being molested any different in his mind than someone who is in danger of dying on shabbos from a a stroke or heart attack? Any answers? Is it that Chilul Hashem is more important than saving a child? Could it be that reputations and careers will very much be at stake for those who swept the abuse under the carpet all these years? Is it because Shlomo Mandel, Yaakov Mandel, and Manis Mandel's crimes will become exposed to the public for all to see and scorn upon? Could it be that many more names of individuals who should have helped but decided to remain silent, will also suffer from negative publicity? All the Kovod, Pride, and admiration for these Rabonim who are really Reshoim will vanish very soon, when the Klal gets to see the ARAFAT's STALIN's and SADDAMS, that they really are.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Very Important Update on YOB/Nussbaum
Dear fellow friends,
I have been SILENT the past couple of months, i will remain quiet no longer. All of you that have been following my BLOG, and those that care for the safety and welfare of our children, will now get to see some form of justice for a 5th grade "RUBBY" who preyed on children, and those who aided and harbored the predator all these years. The reason i have been so QUIET all this time, is because, i have been in the midst of negotiations with the many victims of Yehuda Nussbaum, and YOB, who used intimidation and denial in their quest to bully and coverup these accusations of both sexual and physical abuse of boys all these years. I did NOT have to remain quiet, but i figured that I'll be nice and give YOB a chance to do the RIGHT thing, rather than what they have been doing, which has been acting scared and stupid, during this whole process. I have been EXTREMELY patient during these ongoing negotiations, perhaps even too patient, and too fair, and too nice. I set an August 1 deadline, for Yeshivah Of Brooklyn to respond by getting rid of Nussbaum, or face the consequences. So far they have still not done so, much to my disbelief and dismay. Although we have been communicating through a third party (a Rov), and I'm trying my hardest to help YOB save face (and a lot of money), by reaching a VERY fair deal for them, i am now starting to lose my patience. The grace period following that of August 1, that I was so kind to give to YOB,has now run out. I am recommending in the HIGHEST form possible, that YOB accept this very generous deal now, or face the alternatives. I am not going to continue negotiations, until ALL our terms are met. As part of negotiations, i bended over forwards and backwards, and did everything humanly possible to achieve our goals, both for the victims and the victimizers, in a most quiet and mentlichidika way, assuming YOB met our very fair conditions as part of the agreement. However, YOB has flinched at a very important aspect of our demands. We want an apology from Yehuda Nussbaum, and YOB, with Yakov (Jack) Mandel, and Shlomo Mandel's signatures on it.
At First, we asked for a public apology to be made in two Jewish newspapers of their choice. What do you think their reaction was, can you guess it? This was their reaction. We can't do that, it will be a great Chilul Hashem, and it will be a very big embarrassment for YOB and Nussbaum. How will Nussbaum's children ever get a shidduch? Also, we cannot apologize, YOB said, because our lawyers won't let us make an admission of guilt, because it opens us up the door for a lawsuit in the future for
other victims of abuse. So what did i do? I improvised, and allowed YOB and Nussbaum to make a PRIVATE written apology. I even offered to sign a release form that will state that we will not pursue further action, even though there is an admission of guilt.
That too, they balked on, worrying that victims can use that as ammunition in the future, against YOB/Nussbaum. Therefore, I am at wits end, and I will not continue negotiating with a side that is scared, and that is trying to get off easy with a slap on the wrist. That is NOT going to happen. Without an apology, there will be nothing to talk about, and I have now given the green light for my lawyers to begin the process of a lawsuit against YOB/Nussbaum, something that I have put on hold until now.
DO NOT underestimate us YOB, we are willing and ready for a war. I promise that the process will be much more embarrassing, dirtier and hurtful to you, than you ever could have imagined. The chillul Hasehm will unfortunate be much greater than it is now. If you are scared of bad publicity, just think how much greater it will be than it is currently. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I promise that after we win very BIG in court, you will be financially drained, and your Yeshiva and the crimes that were committed there will be out in the open for the whole public to witness. All your assets will be frozen and turned over to the victims. At least then, there will be some form of justice. Obviously, these young men are scarred for life, and can never have their innocence returned back to them, so in that respect, they will never have justice.
The generous deal I had in place, was to have Yehuda Nussbaum, fired immediately by YOB, and for him to never be in chinuch or work with children or be in close proximity to them ever again. At First YOB wanted to go to R' Dovid Choen to hear the accusations and make a decision on YOB/Nussbaum's guilt. However. we flat out refused to accommodate that idea, due to many factors, most notably, that the "Rabbi" rout has already been tried and exhausted before, and produced NOTHING. We, also did not want this process to drag out any longer than it already has. Baruch Hashem, YOB got wise, and after much pressure agreed to dismissing Yehuda Nussbaum, which of course is a big accomplishment, and in itself an admission, and we are gratified in that respect. However, as part of the healing process for the victims of the sexual and physical abuse encountered during their school days at YOB, there MUST be an apology period. Like i said, we had wanted a public apology for the victims, but we improvised for a private one, in order to avoid even more of a Chilul Hashem and embarrassment for YOB and Nussbaum. If that does not happen, then I say, see you in court YOB.
In my negotiations, I made it clear to the 3rd party and YOB, that considering the alternatives, they should be quite happy with our very fair list of demands. I specified that YOB should look at this as if it were a plea bargain in a criminal proceeding. To have this opportunity of demonstrating, that it is FINALLY ready to correct mistakes of the past, should be something YOB should be very grateful for. On the contrary of being scared of what public opinion may say or do, like they have been, YOB has a golden opportunity, to demonstrate to other Yeshiva's, that they too must follow course, and address the issue of child abuse, weather it be in the form of sexual, or physical. It will also help bring healing, and closure, to many of the victims who have been suffering, and those who continue to suffer, as a result of being abused as a child. Therefore, although it will be very embarrassing for YOB/Nussbaum, to make a public apology, and to ACTUALLY admit to their crimes, while also asking Mechilla from their victims, they have chosen the scare(dy) cat approach, where-as, what if some other victims will want to sue us because of our admissions, they theorize. In taking that approach, it actually shows, that YOB is more interested in covering their asses (pardon the french), than apologizing to the victims, and taking the lead in demonstrating that it really has done Tshuva, and that it really does care about the welfare of children that have been traumatized for life, and that it really does regret not taking these allegations seriously, when brought to their attention, almost 2 decades ago. Yet, they shy and get scared of doing the correct thing, the proper thing, which is to set an example, that Child Molesters will not be tolerated in schools, and that if there are allegations of sexual/physical abuse, then they must be taken and dealt with seriously. Think about how much more respect YOB can get from people, had they went about it, in that fashion, instead of being in denial and constantly fearing the unknown. Admit to what is known. Admit to the truth. Will YOB have the courage to do that? So far they have not, and time has practically run out on them. This bad press and publicity, is about to get much more damaging, and much more painful, for YOB and Yehuda Nussbaum. Keep checking back here for latest developments.
Think about how much greater the chilul hashem will be, if YOB was put on trial in a secular court, and all the victims will be testifying, and all the cards will be laid out on the table for the whole public to witness. How many times greater, will the bad publicity get for YOB, Yehuda Nussbaum, Yakov "Jack" Mandel, Shlomo Mandel, and others who were recklessly negligent with our children?
I even offered YOB, to shut down this site for good, assuming they kept their end of the bargain, that was to be reached between YOB/Nussbaum, and their victims. I also went out of my way, and volunteered as part of the agreement reached, that i would be willing to talk to any other potential victims that may arise in the future, to try and discourage them from seeking criminal and/or civil action against YOB/Nussbaum, and that I would do everything in my power to try and dissuade these victims by reassuring them that thank G-D, Nussbaum will no longer be around children. No longer will he be working in chinuch, no longer will he be able to physically and sexually abuse children. I could point out those positives and could probably talk them into accepting that some form of justice was obtained. Of course though, the victims are at the end of the day free to do as they wish. Should they choose to sue YOB/Nussbaum, then that is their prerogative and their choice to make. They are after all the ones who continue to suffer and have suffered al these years.
However, all that, is not going to happen, because so far, we have no deal or agreement in place, and therefore, we will continue this Blog, and we will continue to proceed with preparations for a lawsuit/trial. YOB, also did not want me to PUBLICIZE the agreement, of course, the reason again being that of fearing bad publicity and embarrassments. I'm sorry, but that is tough luck YOB. The nature of the circumstances, will not allow this to simply disappear, and the public have a right to know about an agreement that will ultimately, benefit the community at large, and the victims in particular. Take as it is, there will 100% be bad publicity. How bad it will be, depends on if this goes to court or not. Right now, but not for too much longer, YOB has a chance to right what was wronged. They have an opportunity to rise to the occasion, and set a good example, and to help tremendously in the process of saving Jewish lives, no matter how much it will hurt them to do so.
In closing, I want to thank the many good folks out there, who have been a tremendous source of support and inspiration, throughout this painful process. It has not been easy, but it definitely has been very worthwhile. Thank You!
Anonymous said...
first of all i would like to thankyou for bringing this to light.second you waited until R'Manis passed away,third i think you should investigate the relationship between the two brothers before you go futher.
even though yob is a model yeshiva (i knew R'Manis very well and both brothers) you must continue your / our fight, which i commend you for.
i have an older son who went to yob very many years and is now a bal mishpacha with children.i asked him point blank if nussbaum ever touch him. his answer was no.
we did have a problem with an english teacher who beat him up once, it was settled and the teacher fired.
it pains me deeply about yob and not to be compared with torah temimah which is a whole different mind set.
please keep going, push harder. for the sake of my grandchildren's generation.
August 21, 2006
Anonymous said...
Please explain why you have given them so many chances.
August 21, 2006
Posted by exposemolesters; August 2006
What about a shidduch for the victims?
The question was brought up to me, what about Nussbaum's children, how will they ever get shidduch, if people find out what their father did? By that same token of logic, one can also assume that a son of a murderer is also a murderer. And a daughter of a convert should not be qualified as Jewish, because her mother was originally gentile. Makes me wonder, how many Tzadikim the world would see too, because along those lines of logic, one would already know what he/she is. If his father was a Rabbi, automatically he will also be one. If his father is wealthy, he too will be wealthy. If a family member molests little boys, it makes you a molester too, since you belong to that family. Makes a lot of sense, doesn't it?
And these "chachomim" (not), how do they answer the same question when thrown back in their faces? You shameful rabonim who let this child sexual abuse continue and linger, all because you wouldn't chas vesholom want a chilul hashem you claim? You wouldn't want to jeopardies a chilul hashem, so your answer is to allow our children to be victimized, brutalized, and bullied .... day after day, month after month, year after year, all the while knowing or not wanting to know about a Rabbi who molests, and a yeshiva determined to harbor and defend this known sadist and sexual predator. That makes a lot of sense doesn't it, you fake yidden, fake rabbi's. Isn't practicing what you preach, part of judiasim? Unless of course your version of judiasim, conveniently left that part out.
So we're back to that question. What about a shidduch for Nussbaums children? I ask, what about a shidduch for all the lives ruined by Nussbaum and YOB? Any Rabbi ever take that into consideration? Apperently not.
There is a story with Rav Shimon ben Levi, who was Rav and Dayan of a city in the early centuries. One day, a lion ate up a man that lived in that city. Rav Shimon ben Levi was distraught, because he felt guilty for the mans death. On what account? Because as Rav and Dayan of that city he failed this man. He should have made sure that this man wouldn't have committed a sin that ultimately led to his punishment of being eaten by the lion. In not doing so, Rav Shimon ben Levi, was held responsible thus resulting in his getting punished. Rav Shimon ben Levi, who was on such a high spiritual level, that he would have eliyahu hanavie visit with him daily, was punished when the Prophet did not come to him for 3 consecutive days.
So too, in our days. Our rabonim, share in that responsibility, that when the crimes of our schools and trusted rabbis go unpunished, they will have nothing in which they can defend themselves with, at least not to G-D. They so far to a large and embarrassing extent, have made the biggest chilul hashem themselves, by refusing to follow or interpret the torah in the correct fashion. Fakers, oh i say. Black hat, gartel, mikvah drenched fakery with a beard that can't hide the disgrace of a Jew that they are. May hashem have mercy on his children!
Note: (BTW Yudel Nussbaum married off a daughter this year 2007).
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NEWS
Large Gathering in Brooklyn Davens for Klal Yisroel's Safety
by Avi Shafran
No one knew whether to expect hundreds or thousands when revered roshei yeshiva, including the members of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudath Israel of America, decided on erev Sukkos to call for a Chol Hamoed outdoor atzeres tefilla on behalf of embattled and threatened Jews around the world.
Though the situation in Eretz Yisroel -- and the dozens of antisemitic attacks in Europe and the United States that have accompanied it -- were certainly weighing heavily on Jewish hearts during the days leading up to yom tov, it was far from certain that a large number of Yidden would turn out to join in a communal Mincha and Tehillim recital on the first day of chutz la'aretz's Chol Hamoed. Not only was there precious little time to notify rabbonim and the general public about the gathering, but a host of daunting technical arrangements had to be made -- from arranging police clearance and security, to installing a suitably powerful sound system, to erecting a tent for the rabbinic dignitaries, to coordinating the press.
And yet, Klal Yisroel from throughout the New York area (and from as far away as Lakewood and Baltimore), with logistical assistance from the dedicated staff of Agudath Israel of America, packed Borough Park's 15th Avenue -- from 46th Street until 50th Street, with Jewish men on one side of the street, Jewish women on the other -- numbering, according to police estimates, approximately 10,000 souls.
The first order of the massive afternoon gathering was Mincha, and Rabbi Manis Mandel, the founder and menahel of Yeshiva of Brooklyn, served as shliach tzibbur. Davening was followed by heartfelt recitation of selected Tehillim, posuk by posuk, responsively with the tzibbur.
The Tehillim recitation was led by the Klausenberger Rebbe; Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, the Mattesdorfer Rov; Rabbi Yitzchok Baal-Haness, Chief Rabbi of the Jewish community of Shiraz, Iran; Rabbi Simcha Schustal, rosh hayeshiva Yeshiva Bais Binyomin, Stamford, Connecticut; Rabbi Eliezer Eichler, the Boyaner Rov; Rabbi Yekusiel Bittersfeld, rosh hayeshiva Yeshivas Harbotzas Torah- Zichron Schneur; Rabbi Shmelka Leifer, the Chuster Rebbe; and Rabbi Yosef Frankel, the Vyelepoler Rebbe. Each of the participating rabbinic personages was announced by Agudath Israel's Rabbi Avrohom Nisan Perl.
Also present at the asifa were many other leading rabbinic figures, including the Bluzhever Rebbe, the Bobover Rebbe, the Rachamstrivker Rebbe, Rabbi Menashe Klein, Rabbi Aharon Schechter, rosh hayeshiva Yeshivas Rabbi Chaim Berlin and the Novominsker Rebbe, the Rosh Agudath Israel of America.
Oblivious to the staccato beat produced by a police helicopter hovering overhead, the gathering used Dovid Hamelech's words to implore Hakodosh Boruch Hu to protect His people from their enemies and to return His Shechina to their midst. At the conclusion of the Tehillim recitation, the Skulener Rebbe led the large crowd in the kabolas ohl Malchus Shomayim that ends Ne'ila on Yom Kippur. The roar of the assemblage at that point was overwhelming, and will not soon be forgotten by anyone who was fortunate to be present.
Similar gatherings took place on the first day of Chol Hamoed as well, in a number of other American cities, including Chicago, Milwaukee and Worcester, Massachusetts; others took place several days earlier in cities like Baltimore and Sacramento, California; others still were planned for coming days, like in Dallas and Los Angeles.
In New York, it had rained lightly earlier in the day, and the sky remained heavily overcast throughout the proceedings. Not a drop of rain, though, fell upon the crowd, leading Agudath Israel executive vice president Rabbi Shmuel Bloom to note that while rain is usually a siman brocho, it is not at all so during Sukkos.
He went on to voice his fervent hope -- the hope, undoubtedly, of the ten thousand other Jews around him -- that the dry atzeres tefilla would signify acceptance of the tefillos that were offered, and prove to be a harbinger of besuros tovos for all of Klal Yisroel.
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http://chaptzem.blogspot.com/2006/06/your-worst-rebbe-in-yeshivah-while.html
Shlomo Mandel of YOB takes the cake - more kids that became not frum because of his fine example of an "upstanding mechanech". His father was a good man, but blind to his son's failings. I saw an old Jewish Observer a few weeks ago on Chinuch, and was shocked to see that this hypocrite wrote an article on "chanoch lana'ar al pi darko" - if there was one thing this jackass did not do, it was try to understand his students. I truly hope he rots in hell for all those he sent "off the derech". I know that I, for one, am not mochel him.
What about the "rebbi" named Chaim Krause formerly of YOB. That guy Krause had his hands everywhere inappropriate, molestation was (is) his trade. Chaim Krause even tried molesting mothers that came to him for PTA! A relative complained to Rav Manis Mandel ZT"L that Chaim Krause was inappropriately involved with women etc. Rav Manis did investigate and found enough evidence to have him thrown out of YOB during the zman on Erev Shvuos '87. Chaim Krause then went on to teach at Mchon Bais Yaakov where he attempted to ply his "trade" until someone informed Rabbi Oelbaum who threw him out as well.
EM Comment re: Manis Mandel/Chaim Krause
I commend Manis Mandel for taking action against Krause, but allowing him to then go on and teach at Mchon Bais Yaakov so he can abuse more girls over there? Not so smart.
What made Manis Mandel take the sex abuse complaints against Krause seriously, but then refuse to take any action against Yehuda Nussbaum? Was it because Krause abused females, while Nussbaum abused males? Was it because Manis couldn't fathom another ugly incident taking place in his Yeshivah? Was it because he had had enough negative publicity from the Krause travesty? Was it because a relative brought it to his attention as opposed to an 'outsider'? Was it because in 87' Manis was a better person and clearer thinker than post 87'?
What about the 'cold room' punisher/teacher in the Girls division, what's the answer to that one?
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Hopefully, in the not so distant future, more states will abolish the Stature Of Limitations rule, which has essentially given victims who were sexually abused as children no chance to see their abuser punished. THAT WILL CHANGE!
Read On!
Milwaukee Personal Injury Lawyer
Wisconsin Court Allows Clergy Abuse Victims To Sue For Fraud
Court decisions by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 1995 and 1997 closed the door to the courthouse for childhood victims of sex abuse by priests, holding in John BBB Doe v. Archdiocese of Milwaukee that the statute of limitations had expired three years after the last incident of abuse and, in a case called Pritzlaff v. Archdiocse of Milwaukee, that the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was not liable for negligent supervision of its clergy because the First Amendment precluded courts from deciding that the Church should not employ sex abusers. Wisconsin is one of the only states in the nation that protected the Catholic Church from sex abuse suits on these grounds.
Yesterday, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of clergy sex abuse victims, holding that their cases should not have been dismissed at the threshold on statute of limitations grounds without considering whether the Archdiocese had fraudulently concealed its knowledge of the sex abuse by its priests.
Wisconsin, like many jurisdictions, has a "discovery rule" that allows a tort victim to extend the statute of limitations. In the context of sexual abuse claims, the Wisconsin discovery rule extends the limitations period by the time it takes the victim, acting with reasonable diligence, to discover both that injury was suffered and the identity of the perpetrator.
But efforts to use the discovery rule to allow adult victims of clergy sex abuse to have their claims heard in court have faced tough going. For example, the Wisconsin Supreme Court had rejected victims contentions that delay in taking legal action should be excused because of repressed memory of the sexual abuse.
In yesterday's ruling, the court concluded that the date of the accrual of the fraud claims is "when the plaintiffs discovered or, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, should have discovered that the Archdiocese's alleged fraud was a cause of their injuries."
Hopefully, the plaintiffs will be able to surmount this standard. The plaintiffs in these cases alleged that they were sexually abused from 1973 to 1976, when they were children, by a now-deceased Roman Catholic priest, Siegfried Widera, after he had been criminally convicted of sexually molesting another child and the Archdiocese knew of his conviction. It was after Widera's criminal conviction that the Archdiocese moved Widera from a parish in Port Washington, Wisconsin, to St. Andrew's Parish in Delavan, Wisconsin, where Widera molested them.
The plaintiffs also alleged that the Archdiocese was informed that Widera later sexually molested an altar boy at St. Andrew's Parish and confronted Widera, who admitted he had made "a slip." Attached to the plaintiffs' complaint were notes made by the Archdiocese at the time of the assault stating that the Archdiocese would "try to keep the lid on the thing, so no police record would be made" and also that it knew the mother of the boy "feared reprisals from Church if she would go to police." Later, in 1976, the Archdiocese transferred Widera to California, falsely telling the people in Delavan that he was going on vacation. Widera molested numerous boys after his transfer to California. As prosecutors prepared to file felony charges against him in 2002, Widera fled California. The following year, Widera jumped to his death off a hotel balcony in Mexico as Mexican law enforcement agents were closing in.
These facts state a pretty good case of fraudulent concealment, don''t ya think?
Clergy abuse victims groups lauded the decision as historic, and one that would open the doors to claim by many other victims.
The Archdiocese of Milwaukee's press release "apologized":
The tragedy of clergy sexual abuse of children and, perhaps even more, the failure in the past of some within the Church to deal decisively with it long ago, will always be an ugly stain on our history. We renew our apology to all victims/survivors and repeat our sincere effort to support their personal recovery.
The Archdiocese's statement goes on to say that the Supreme Court decision requires that "the fraud claims should be returned to Milwaukee County Circuit Court for further processing, basically saying that the lower court needed to spend more time reviewing the issue before deciding the statute of limitation question. So, now, all sides will prepare and present information as part of this next step in the legal process."
Translation: Don't expect any compensation from us. Quite clearly, the Archdiocese plans to continue its resistance to settlement by hiding behind its statute of limitations defense, arguing that the victims did not act reasonably in waiting so long to make their claims. The victimization continues.
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משנה יח
רבן שמעון בן גמליאל אומר על שלושה דברים העולם קיים על הדין ועל האמת ועל השלום
18. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel said: On three things the world is sustained: on truth, on judgment, and on peace, as it is it says (Zechariah 8:16): "Speak the truth to one another, render in your gates judgments that are true and make for peace."
http://www.pirchei.co.il/pictoral/avos/index.htm
| Chapter One - Mishna 18 What holds the world together? What keeps it from being destroyed? During the generation of Noah people would see something they wanted and take it away from the person it belonged to. Because they were stealing and didn't care about other people, Hashem brought the flood to destroy the world. When we are sure to be fair as the Torah teaches us, and tell the truth, we will be able to live together in peace. The world will continue.
|
| The Pirkei Avos series was developed by Pirchei Shoshanim |
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http://www.yarzheit.com/pirkeiavos.htm
ד הוא היה אומר עשה רצונו כרצונך כדי שיעשה רצונך כרצונו בטל רצונך מפני רצונו כדי שיבטל רצון אחרים מפני רצונך
4. He used to say: Do His will as if it was your will that He may do your will as if it was His will. Make your will of no effect before His will that He may make the will of others of no effect before your will.
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משנה יז
רבי אלעזר בן עזריה אומר אם אין תורה אין דרך ארץ אם אין דרך ארץ אין תורה אם אין חכמה אין יראה אם אין יראה אין חכמה אם אין דעת אין בינה אם אין בינה אין דעת אם אין קמח אין תורה אם אין תורה אין קמח הוא היה אומר כל שחכמתו מרובה ממעשיו למה הוא דומה לאילן שענפיו מרובין ושורשיו מועטין והרוח באה ועוקרתו והופכתו על פניו וכל שמעשיו מרובין מחכמתו למה הוא דומה לאילן שענפיו מועטין ושורשיו מרובין אפילו כל הרוחות שבעולם באות ונושבות בו אין מזיזות שנאמר והיה כעץ שתוּל על מים ועל יוּבל ישלח שרשיו ולא יראה כי יבא ם והיה עליהוּ רענן ובשנת בצרת לא ידאג ולא ימיש מעשוֹת פרי
17. Rabbi Elazar ben Azaryah used to say: Where there is no Torah there is no culture; and where there is no culture there is no Torah. Where there is no wisdom there is no fear of God, and where there is no fear of God there is no wisdom. Where there is no knowledge there is no discernment; and where there is no discernment there is no knowledge. Where there is no food there is no Torah; and where there is no Torah there is no food. He used to say: He whose wisdom is more abundant than his works, to what is he like? To a tree whose branches are abundant but whose roots are few; and the wind comes and uproots it and overturns it, as it is written (Jeremiah 17:6) "They shall be like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when relief comes. They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land." But he whose works are more abundant than his wisdom, to what is he like? To a tree whose branches are few but whose roots are many; so that even if all the winds in the world come and blow against it, it cannot be stirred from its place, as it is written (Jeremiah 17:8) "They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit."
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 | Young Israel Rabbis in Israel. As a prominent American Rabbi in the early days following the war, Rabbi Kowalsky was close to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem (more) |  Views: 5,618 Added: 5 months ago |
| Time: 03:21 |
 | The unforgettable televised debate between the late Rabbi Meir Kahane and Ehud Olmert, over 20 years ago. Olmert had no answers then, and as we see he (more) | Views: 26,220 Added: 1 year ago |
| Time: 08:06 |
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21 comments:
Dealing With Control Freaks
by Thomas J. Schumacher, Psy.D., R-CSW
More About Thomas...
Most all of you have had to contend with control freaks. These are those people who insist on having their way in all interactions with you. They wish to set the agenda and decide what it is you will do and when you will do it. You know who they are – they have a driving need to run the show and call the shots. Lurking within the fabric of the conversation is the clear threat that if you do not accede to their needs and demands, they will be unhappy.
Certainly, it’s natural to want to be in control of your life. But when you have to be in control of the people around you as well, when you literally can’t rest until you get your way … you have a personality disorder. While it’s not a diagnostic category found in the DSM IV (the therapist’s bible for diagnostic purposes) an exaggerated emphasis on control is part of a cluster of behaviors that can be labeled as compulsive generally characterized by perfectionism, orderliness, workaholic tendencies, an inability to make commitments or to trust others and a fear of having their flaws exposed. Deep down, these people are terrified of being vulnerable. They believe they can protect themselves by staying in control of every aspect of their lives, including their relationships. Control freaks take the need and urge to control to new heights, causing others stress so they can maintain a sense of order. These people are riddled with anxiety, fear, insecurity, and anger. They’re very critical of themselves their lover and their friends, but underneath that perfect outfit and great body is a mountain of unhappiness. Let’s look at what makes control freaks tick, what makes you want to explode, and some ways to deal with them.
The Psychological Dynamics That Fuel a Control Freak
The need to control is almost always fueled by anxiety – though control freaks seldom recognize their fears. At work, they may worry about failure. In relationships, they may worry about not having their needs met. To keep this anxiety from overwhelming them, they try to control the people or things around them. They have a hard time with negotiation and compromise and they can’t stand imperfection. Needless to say, they are difficult to live with, work with and/or socialize with.
Bottom Line: In the process of being controlling, their actions say, “You’re incompetent” and “I can’t trust you.” (this is why you hate them). Remember, the essential need of a control freak is to defend against anxiety. Although it may not be apparent to you when they are making their demands, these individuals are attempting to cope with fairly substantial levels of their own anxiety. The control freak is usually fighting off a deep-seated sense of their own helplessness and impotence. By becoming proficient at trying to control other people, they are warding off their own fear of being out of control and helpless. Controlling is an anxiety management tool.
Unfortunately for you, the control freak has a lot at stake in prevailing. While trying to hold a conversation and engage them in some way, their emotional stakes involve their own identity and sense of well-being. Being in control gives them the temporary illusion and sense of calmness. When they feel they are prevailing, you can just about sense the tension oozing out of them. The control freak is very frightened. Part of their strategy is to induce that fear in you with the subtle or not so subtle threat of loss. Since the emotional stakes are so high for them, they need to assert themselves with you to not feel so helpless. To relinquish control is tantamount to being victimized and overwhelmed. When a control freak cannot control, they go through a series of rapid phases. First they become angry and agitated, then they become panicky and apprehensive, then they become agitated and threatening, and then they lapse into depression and despair.
Repetition Compulsion
Control freaks are also caught in the grip of a repetition compulsion. They repeat the same pattern again and again in their attempt to master their anxiety and cope with the trauma they feel. Characteristically, the repetition compulsion takes on a life of its own. Rather than feel calmer and therefore have a diminished need to be controlling, their behavior locks them into the same pattern in an insatiable way. Successes at controlling do not register on their internal scoreboard. They have to fight off the same threat again and again with increasing rigidity and intransigence.
Two Types of Control Freaks
Type 1 Control Freaks: The Type 1 control freak is strictly attempting to cope with their anxiety in a self absorbed way. They just want to feel better and are not even very aware of you. You will notice and hear their agitation and tentativeness. They usually do not make much eye contact when they are talking to you.
Type 2 Control Freaks: The Type 2 control freak is also trying to manage their anxiety but they are very aware of you as opposed to the Type 1 control freak. The Type 2 needs to diminish you to feel better. Their mood rises as they push you down. They do not just want to prevail; they also need to believe that they have defeated you. They need you to feel helpless so they will not feel helpless. Their belief is that someone must feel helpless in any interchange and they desperately do not want it to be them. The Type 1 needs control. The Type 2 needs to control you.
Some Coping Strategies
1) Stay as calm as you can. Control freaks tend to generate a lot of tension in those around them. Try to maintain a comfortable distance so that you can remain centered while you speak with them. Try to focus on your breathing. As they get more agitated and demanding, just breath slowly and deeply. If you stay calm and focused, this often has the effect of relaxing them as well. If you get agitated you have joined the battle on their terms.
2) Speak very slowly. Again the normal tendency is to gear up and speak rapidly when dealing with a control freak. This will only draw you into the emotional turmoil and you will quickly be personalizing what is occurring.
3) Be very patient. Control freaks need to feel heard. In fact, they do not have that much to say. They have a lot to say if you engage them in a power struggle. If you just listen carefully and ask good questions that indicate that you have heard them, then they will quickly resolve whatever the issue is and calmly move on.
4) Pay attention to your induced reactions. What is this person trying to emotionally induce in you? Notice how you feel when speaking with them. It will give you important clues as to how to deal with them more effectively and appropriately.
5) Initially, let them control the agenda. But you control the pacing. If you stay calm and speak slowly, you will be in command of the pacing of the conversation.
6) Treat them with kindness. Within most control freaks is a good measure of paranoia. They are ready to get angry and defend against what they perceive is a controlling hostile world. If you treat them with respect and kindness, their paranoia cannot take root. You will jam them up.
7) Make demands on them-- especially when dealing with the type 2 control freak. Ask them to send you something or do something for you. By asking something of them, you will be indicating that you are not intimidated or diminished by their behavior patterns.
8) Remember an old but poignant Maxim: “Those who demand the most often give the least.”
Keep in mind that control freaks are not trying to hurt you – they’re trying to protect themselves. Remind yourself that their behavior toward you isn’t personal; the compulsion was there before they met you, and it will be their forever unless they get help. Understand that they are skilled manipulators, artful and intimidating, rehearsed debaters and excellent at distorting reality.
In order to not feel degraded, humiliated and have your sense of self and self worth assaulted, you need to avoid being bulldozed by a controlling lover, boss or friend. When you are caught up in a truly destructive/controlling attachment, the best response may be to walk out. You have to understand that whatever you do will have a limited effect. These people are angry and afraid to let go of you. Hence, it is your job to let go of them, protect yourself in the process… and grow.
Baruch Dayan Emes,
Abraham J. Klausner, 92; rabbi was an advocate for Holocaust survivors
By Jocelyn Y. Stewart, Times Staff Writer
July 4, 2007
Rabbi Abraham J. Klausner, who brought attention to the plight of Holocaust survivors languishing in concentration camps at the end of World War II and created inventive ways — including publishing a massive list of survivors — to reunite them with their families, died Thursday at his home in Santa Fe, N.M., from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was 92.
Klausner was featured in the 1997 Academy Award-winning documentary "The Long Way Home," which tells the story of Holocaust survivors in the chaotic days after the liberation of Nazi concentration camps by Allied forces. In that war-ravaged landscape, still reeling with anti-Semitism, many survivors were seriously ill, had no home to which they could return and no family that could be found, so they remained in concentration camps.
A then 30-year-old Klausner was believed to be the first Jewish chaplain to enter the infamous death camp known as Dachau, northwest of Munich, Germany, after the April 1945 liberation. During his first day there, survivors peppered the U.S. Army officer with questions; they wanted to know if he knew their brother, uncle, cousin.
It was then that Klausner understood his purpose: to reunite families devastated by the Holocaust. In doing so, Klausner brought the survivors liberation of a different sort.
"Are we not, each of us, defined by our relationships … ?" Klausner wrote in his memoir, "A Letter to My Children, From the Edge of the Holocaust."
"Bereft of relationships, reduced to a number tattooed on the arm, they sought to discover through me a thread which would weave them back into a reality they once knew. My first battle with military authorities, though I did not see it as such, was…. to help survivors toward their identity," he wrote.
But with so many people either displaced or dead, Klausner found reuniting families to be an overwhelming task. In July 1945, Klausner, who was based in Munich and traveled to various camps, took it upon himself to create and publish lists of Holocaust survivors in volumes he called Sharit ha-Platah, which means Surviving Remnant. Several volumes, which listed thousands of names, would eventually be printed.
Klausner also helped set up a center at a museum in Munich for survivors trying to resume their pre-war lives. Those who did not find the names of relatives on the lists wrote notes and tacked them to the walls, in the hopes that relatives might visit and find them.
"He was like a father figure to tens of thousands," said Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles. "He went to all the camps. They asked him to help them."
Inside the camps, Klausner ministered to survivors' spiritual needs. He performed burial rites and Passover seders, and advocated for changes that would restore dignity to their lives. The way to effect change was to let the outside world see what he witnessed daily at the camps, Klausner reasoned.
In detailed reports to U.S. officials and to major Jewish organizations in America, Klausner wrote of the problems: overcrowding, dilapidated buildings, inadequate food, survivors who still wore their tattered concentration camp uniforms because they had nothing else, camps where "items such as soap, toothbrushes, linen, laundry facilities are unknown."
It was he who introduced Earl Harrison, an emissary sent by President Harry S. Truman to investigate the camps, to the "unhappy world of an abandoned people."
Harrison reported to Truman a blistering indictment: "As matters now stand, we appear to be treating the Jews as the Nazis treated them, except that we do not exterminate them. They are in concentration camps in large numbers under our military guard instead of SS troops."
Klausner's efforts brought improvements to the camps. He argued that survivors at the camps with no place to go should be sent — even against their wills — to what would later become the state of Israel. That stance led to his being called a militant Zionist.
"I worked in Germany until the state of Israel was proclaimed," he said in a 1998 article in the Santa Fe New Mexican. "I figured then I was no longer needed."
Born April 27, 1915, in Memphis, Tenn., Klausner was the son of Tillie Binstalk, an Austrian immigrant, and Joseph Klausner, a Hungarian immigrant who owned a dry goods store. Raised in Denver, Colo., Klausner graduated from the University of Denver in 1938 and from Hebrew Union College in 1941. He later earned a doctorate of divinity at Harvard University, and led temples in Boston and in Yonkers, N.Y.
In 1966, Klausner married Judith, who survives him along with their sons Jeremy, of West Orange, N.J.; Amos, of San Rafael, Calif.; and Michael of New Haven, Conn; a daughter, Robin Pressman, of Santa Rosa, Calif.; and two grandchildren, Abigail Bess and Jacob Aaron of West Orange, N.J.
In addition to his memoir, Klausner wrote four books, including "Weddings: A Complete Guide to all Religious and Interfaith Marriage Services," published in 1986. His story is included in "The Fighting Rabbis: Jewish Military Chaplains and American History," by Rabbi Albert Slomovitz.
"His story as an American Army officer and person of faith is a lesson in values, personal integrity and ultimate responsibility for each other," Slomovitz said in a 1998 article in the Pensacola News Journal.
jocelyn.stewart@latimes.com
PMO completes Fatah prisoners' list
JPost.com Staff, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 3, 2007
The Prime Minister's Office has completed a list of 250 Fatah prisoners to be released as per Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promise to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Sharm e-Sheikh last week, Israel Radio reported.
On Wednesday, the list will be discussed with the Justice Ministry director-general, and it will be brought before the cabinet for approval on Sunday.
Fatah officials criticized the list, complaining that Israel did not consult the movement before compiling it, and adding that many of the prisoners were scheduled to be released shortly anyway, Israel Radio reported.
Meanwhile, right-wing activists and MKs were hoping to see a parallel gesture towards Jewish prisoners, especially those with "blood on their hands," Army Radio reported Tuesday.
Shas MKs recently pressured Olmert to work for the release of 25 prisoners who define themselves "ideological prisoners."
Specific prisoners mentioned included Ami Popper, convicted of shooting seven Palestinian workers to death in 1990, and members of the Bat Ayin underground. The group planned terror attacks against Palestinian targets.
Shmuel Medad, from the Honenu association, which advocates for the release of Jewish prisoners, said the aforementioned prisoners should be set free regardless of pending deals with the Palestinian Authority: "This is not a group of people overcome by impulse who went to rape, rob or steal, they were caught in their condition as the result of generally poor conditions - I do not know a single Jew who was released and returned to activities over which he was charged, convicted and served prison time."
The last occurrence when Jewish prisoners who harmed Palestinians were pardoned was in 1999, before the Wye agreements. Then-president Ezer Weizmann shortened the sentences of 14 Jews, just before a deal to release Palestinians.
MK Uri Ariel (NU-NRP) opposed tying the release of Jewish prisoners to the release of Palestinians. Echoing Medad, he said those who deserved a pardon should not have to wait for deals with the Palestinians. "If the prime minister thinks that only following a release of Arab [prisoners] he can also release several Jews, it is very grave indeed. Those who deserve a pardon for personal reasons, whatever they may be, should receive it."
The Prime Minister's Office, meanwhile, neither confirmed nor denied reports that Olmert recently met with Labor, Trade and Infrastructure Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) and pledged to work on behalf of the Jewish prisoners, including urging the new president to pardon them.
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Arab blood on their hands
By Uzi Benziman
A few months ago, members of the Shas faction were invited to dinner with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and officials of his bureau at the prime minister's residence in Jerusalem. Over the course of the evening, Olmert let his guests in on state secrets, and briefed them on efforts being made to recover the kidnapped soldiers. When he mentioned the kidnappers' demand that hundreds of Palestinian prisoners, including some with "blood on their hands," be released in exchange, Shas Chairman Eli Yishai responded that the rightist opposition factions could be expected to object vociferously. In order to soften these objections, Yishai suggested that Jewish prisoners convicted of terror attacks against Arabs also be released.
Last week, Shas' political leader reiterated this suggestion publicly: The ultra-Orthodox weekly Bakehila quoted him as urging that Jewish prisoners be freed alongside the 250 Palestinian prisoners whose release Olmert promised to Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Yishai even held a conversation with the prime minister on this issue a few days ago. His associates say that he and Olmert have an understanding that such a release will indeed occur, and that while the list of 250 Palestinian prisoners is being finalized, the list of Jewish prisoners who attacked Arabs will also be combed to determine which of them should be freed.
Senior Shas officials say the list of those to be released will mainly comprise prisoners who have embarked on a process of rehabilitation - for instance, those who have expressed remorse for their acts - as well as a few special humanitarian cases, such as Ami Popper, whose wife and son recently died in a car accident. Therefore, Yishai is working to rescue Jewish criminals, including murderers with blood on their hands, from prison, when the only point in their favor is the fact that their victims were Arabs.
Yishai does not understand the moral atrocity he is committing by distinguishing between Jewish victims killed or wounded by Jewish criminals and Arab victims killed or wounded by Jewish criminals.
He also does not understand the difference between being compelled by the country's enemies to release prisoners in order to rescue captive soldiers whose lives are in danger and the choice he is making, of his own free will, to release Jewish murderers and terrorists from prison.
Moreover, Yishai is ignoring the context that produced the deal to release Palestinian prisoners: This is one stage in a bloody struggle in which the enemy views the released prisoners as prisoners of war. The Jewish murderers and criminals that Yishai would like to remove from their cells, in contrast, are considered criminal offenders in every respect by our country's law enforcement agencies. The equation in such prisoner exchanges is freed Arab prisoners on the one hand and soldiers taken captive during clashes with the enemy on the other. Tying Jewish murderers into this deal is like mixing oil and water.
Aside from the members of the Jewish underground, who targeted Palestinian individuals and institutions in the early 1980s, members of the Bat Ayin underground have also been convicted and jailed, after being arrested at the height of practical preparations for a mass terror attack on a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem. Some members of this underground were also suspected of murdering seven Palestinians, but the police and prosecution were unable to translate the evidence they found in the underground members' possession (namely, the weapons that killed these Palestinians) into a solid legal case.
In addition to the members of these two undergrounds, some 25 Jews have been tried and sentenced to lengthy jail terms for a wide variety of aggressive acts against Arabs, including manslaughter and murder. The most well-known is Popper, who, in May 1990, shot and killed seven Palestinian laborers who were waiting for a ride to their job in Rishon Letzion. The most recent is Julian Soufir, who murdered Palestinian taxi driver Taysir Karaki of Beit Hanina about six weeks ago and was declared unfit to be tried.
Israel's law enforcement agencies have more than once demonstrated a forgiving attitude toward Jewish ideological criminals, generally due to political pressure exerted on the prime minister and the president; the latter has the power to pardon or commute sentences. Now, Eli Yishai is exerting all of his political power to perpetrate a moral injustice that will also have harmful diplomatic, societal and political ramifications.
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I did not have much to do with Manis Mandel, being that I was in the Boys School and he was in the Girls part, but I do remember Jack Mandel very much. He was a total animal like you said. Those years were the worst of my life. If I was at a Pizza shop, Jack Mandel would have his spies inform him of that terrible and Goyish thing that I did, and then I would catch petch from Jack. If YOB even saw you together with a girl they made sure to yell and beat you for that sin.
There was an incident where I think her name was Rebetzin Spector, grabbed a boy and dragged him off the school bus to go see Manis Mandel.
This boy was a rachmonis, he was always picked on by other kids. For whatever reason, YOB animals always blamed him for everything.
That day, when the school bus made its usual stop to pick up girls from their building after school ended is when it happened.
All I remember is that boy getting a whooping like no other from Jack Mandel the next day. I felt very bad for him, and went out my way to try to be nice to him.
My older friend who was at the Mesifta at the time, was at the receiving end of many beatings too by Jack, and later by Shlomo Mandel. There was even a rebbe, his name was Fuches, in the yeshiva ketana that would wrestle with students, and beat the living daylights at every opportunity he can get. Such as if they were chewing gum, didn't bentch or say brocho achronoh, didn't eat pizza with a fork, or any stupid reason. The funniest was when a certain student showed he was not afraid of him. The boy wrestled the rebbe to the ground while everyone was staring in awe and astonishment. Jack made his way in later, and tried to give the whole class a punishment, saying they all deserved it.
All I can say is I cannot believe I survived the things that went on over there. Please do not ever send your children to YOB, I'm telling you please don't. I don't want your child to go through the nasty and terrible things that can ruin their lives.
If I can do it all over again, I would pick public school over YOB.
Keep up the tremendous work. For my sake, childrens sake, and granchildrens sake. You do not know how much your blog has helped me, and I very much appreciate it. chazak veematz.
Dear Klal Yisroel,
I have a very good feeling we will succeed in having Avrohm Mondrowitz extradited to the states real soon, to answer for his indictment on sexual abuse against boys.
That being said though, continue flooding the phone lines and making a lot of noise. YOUR VOICE DOES COUNT. EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU.
Charles Hynes Quote:
“Think of the basketball metaphor, ... He sees the whole court.”
We see the whole court Charlie, we're waiting for you to get the point.
OUR VOICES ARE BEING HEARD. YES THEY ARE, I KNOW THEY ARE, BUT WE STILL MUST KEEP UP THE PRESSURE UNTIL THIS DANGEROUS PREDATOR IS OFF THE STREETS OF JERUSALEM, NEW YORK, AND EVERYWHERE ELSE FOR GOOD!
OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION - 718.250.2300
Jerry Schmetterer - Director - Schmetj@brooklynda.org
Jonah Bruno - Assistant Director brunoj@brooklynda.org
Sandy Silverstein - Communications Associate - SilversS@brooklynda.org
Orlando Rivera - Communications Associate RiveraO@brooklynda.org
Amy Feinstein
Chief Assistant District Attorney
718-250-2217
Lance Ogiste
Counsel to District Attorney
718-250-2798
Anne Swern
1st Assistant District Attorney
718-250-3939
Mary Hughes
Confidential Assistant
718-250-2269
www.brooklynda.org. To have your questions answered in a future column, send them to asktheda@brooklynda.org.
CHARLES J. HYNES
DISTRICT ATTORNEY KINGS COUNTY,
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK
350 JAY STREET
BROOKLYN NY, 11201
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http://www.forward.com/articles/524/
Victims Press Brooklyn D.A. To Seek Abuse Suspect’s Extradition From Israel
Nathaniel Popper | Fri. Jul 28, 2006
In the wake of new revelations about sexual abuse in the Orthodox community, pressure is mounting on the Brooklyn district attorney to seek the extradition of a man who fled to Israel after being indicted for sex offenses.
Avrohom Mondrowitz was indicted in 1984 on four counts of sodomy and eight counts of sexual abuse in the first degree after years as a school counselor in the Brooklyn Orthodox community. Three of Mondrowitz’s alleged victims, who had not been aware of the original investigation, recently approached an Orthodox lawyer who has passionately taken up the case. One of those men has since given his testimony to the Brooklyn district attorney’s office, which would be responsible for requesting extradition. Another of the victims plans to go to the district attorney, Charles Hynes, in the next week.
The district attorney preceding Hynes had pushed for Mondrowitz’s extradition from Israel in the 1980s, but Hynes dropped the effort after he was elected in 1989, according to recently released government documents. The new set of victims to come forward say they are pained by Mondrowitz’s continuing freedom, and the lack of effort by Hynes and the Orthodox community in pursuing the suspected abuser.
“Every time somebody gets let down as a victim, it’s a further continuation of the abuse,” said Mark Weiss, who says he was abused by Mondrowitz during a summer week with the counselor when he was 13. “He’s just sitting there, taunting us, saying ‘Hah, you’re never going to catch me, I know the system too well.’”
Weiss, who is now 39, said that just a few weeks ago a friend in Israel says he saw Mondrowitz on the streets of Jerusalem, speaking with a group of children. Mondrowitz has been a teacher at the Jerusalem College of Engineering, posting his lectures and syllabi online.
A spokesman for Hynes, Jerry Schmetterer, said the Brooklyn district attorney’s office is ready to arrest Mondrowitz if he ever returns to the United States. But Schmetterer says the D.A.’s office is hamstrung by Israeli law, which in the 1980s did not classify Mondrowitz’s alleged crime — sodomy — as rape. For extradition to go forward, the crime generally must be punishable in both countries. In fact, the Israeli rape law was changed in 1988 to include sodomy, but Schmetterer said the extradition treaty cannot be used retroactively.
“Our position is that he cannot be extradited; he could not be extradited then, and he cannot be now,” Schmetterer said.
That line of legal reasoning was explicitly rejected by the American embassy in Tel Aviv, soon after the Israeli law was changed. In a cable to the State Department, the embassy said that they had talked with officials in the Israeli Justice Ministry and determined that because Mondrowitz could eventually be charged under American rather than Israeli law, the retroactivity should not be an issue. The new law “presents us, we believe, with an opportunity to reopen the extradition case of Avrohom Mondrowitz,” the embassy said.
The government documents were uncovered by Michael Lesher, the attorney who has gathered together the three new alleged victims to press the case. Other legal experts told the Forward that while there could be legal complications, the district attorney’s office could pursue the extradition.
“I don’t think the D.A. is being aggressive enough,” said Douglas McNabb, who specializes in international extradition at a Washington, D.C., law firm. “If I were a victim I would be very upset that the D.A.’s office is not pursuing this matter.”
The extradition was a clear priority for Hynes’s predecessor, Elizabeth Holtzman. Her office pushed the State Department on the matter. At one point the Israeli government signed a deportation order, but the situation ended in a “stand off,” according to a State Department memo. When Hynes took office, and his assistants were asked if they wanted to pursue the case, one of those assistants informed the State Department that “they would not be pursuing the case any further at this time,” according to another memo.
Schmetterer said that the Brooklyn D.A.’s office dropped the issue after knowing for years that it could not pursue Mondrowitz.
Anti-abuse activists in the Orthodox community say Hynes’s silence may have been due to pressure from the Orthodox community, which they claim has historically been reluctant to see alleged sex offenders prosecuted. The activists, including Lesher, point to a 14-person Jewish advisory council that Hynes assembled soon after he was elected, comprising members of the Orthodox leadership in Brooklyn. One woman who has been at odds with the leadership for years, Amy Neustein, said she was told by two members of Hynes’s council that the community did not want to see Mondrowitz prosecuted.
“The rabbis have no comprehension of the injury of sexual abuse,” said Neustein, an anti-abuse activist. “They have no comprehension of why the victims want justice.”
One member of Hynes’s Jewish council, Rabbi Herbert Bomzer, said he does not remember Mondrowitz’s extradition being discussed by the council. Bomzer did say that he knew Mondrowitz when the younger man was a counselor at Yeshiva University’s high school, and that Mondrowitz had been “loved” by the students.
When asked if he would now support extradition proceedings, Bomzer, president of the rabbinical board of Flatbush, said: “If he has managed to get to Israel and is protected by the law there — then leave it alone.”
Weiss, the 39-year-old alleged victim of Mondrowitz, said that from the beginning it had been clear that many members of the Orthodox community wanted him to let the case go. He said he had been molested when his father sent him to spend a week with Mondrowitz at a difficult moment in Weiss’s adolescence. During that week, Mondrowitz’s family was in the Catskills and, Weiss claimed, each night he was coaxed into bed by Mondrowitz.
“What’s difficult to think about is that he was so smooth — so manipulative,” Weiss said. “It was as if it was all my choice.”
Weiss said that he blocked the experience out for years, but a run-in with Mondrowitz during high school conjured up the memories and led to a breakdown. He first told his parents, but they told him he must be mistaken. “He’s a frum man,” Weiss remembers his parents saying, using a Yiddish word meaning religiously observant.
A few years later, a principal at the yeshiva that Mondrowitz had attended summond Weiss — but after giving over the details, Weiss said, nothing happened.
The incident faded into the background for many years, but in 2001, Weiss was drawn out by what was billed as a “night for healing” at a New York school for Orthodox boys. Weiss showed up with high hopes, but he says that the event turned into a series of speeches by rabbis who spoke in allegorical terms, rather than dealing with the victims in the room.
Weiss decided to go outside the Orthodox community when he read an article in New York Magazine last month, detailing the case of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, a teacher at an Orthodox boys school in Flatbush who was sued by alleged former victims. Kolko has not yet filed opposition papers.
The second alleged Mondrowitz victim, who has already gone to Hynes — and who wishes to remain anonymous — also said it was the Kolko article that prompted him to step forward. For both, the hope is that Mondrowitz will be “brought to justice and made an example of,” in the words of the second accuser.
“I want to show that abusers can’t get away with it, that we as a community will no longer stand for the routine cover-ups of abuse, and to try to put some finality to that chapter of my life,” he said.
It is likely that the new complaints would not be included in the counts, if Mondrowitz is arrested, due to the statute of limitations. But the men both say they hope their voices will increase the pressure on Hynes.
Fri. Jul 28, 2006
Anon Wrote;
"This boy was a rachmonis, he was always picked on by other kids. For whatever reason, YOB animals always blamed him for everything..."
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Anon,
I am deeply troubled and disturbed by what I was reading. It's duly noted. May we see and be witness only to health and happiness.
EM
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On another note:
I implore on all good JEWS (and even non-Jews; let's remember that Mondrowitz also sexually abused some Italian boys) to PLEASE take a few precious moments of your time to contact Hynes about extraditing Avrohm Mondrowitz.
Kings County
The Honorable Charles J. Hynes
Kings County District Attorney
Renaissance Plaza
350 Jay Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201-2908
Telephone: (718) 250-2001 or 2200
Fax: (718) 250-2210
E-mail: HYNESC@BrooklynDA.org
I wish we can focus purely on Arab Terrorrists killing each other out than to painfully have to deal with and point out WHAT SHOULD SEEM TO BE THE OBVIOUS.
And that is the Sakunas Nefoshot travesties and failures of the orthodoxy rabbinical movement. A SHAMFUL DISGRACE, PLIGHT, AND CHILUL HASHEM BY OUR BIG LEADERS.
Saving and preventing loss of life (mental and spiritual too) should simply be LOGICAL. The people who keep sehva Mitzvot Bnei Noach knew this and they're not all totally JEWISH. In fact a large percentage are gentiles. How can it be that an inexcusable number of Rabbi's today DO NOT KEEP ALL OF THE SEVEN MITZVOT B'NAY NOACH? HOW?
You know what the answer is to that one? One word, CORRUPT! Two words, DISHONEST, PERVERTED. Three words, VILE, UNTRUSTWORTHY CROOKED, TWO-FACED (oops 5 words, sorry) :)
This is intolerable conduct by the Mosdos. Absolutely a big darn sin. There is no easy way to put it, Jewish values can be flushed down the toilet upon your next visit, if it hasn't been done so already. THERE IS NO GOOD FORESEEABLE ANTIDOTE ON THE HORIZON RADAR SCREEN EITHER. Not until these enemies of their own religion get old and die. Not until, new blood takes over the reins and attempts to clean up this big fat mess. Not until ruthless and monstrous leadership is replaced with dignity and honor. When that happens, who knows!
It would be nice to know things such as what came first, the chicken or the egg, but obviously, when dealing with saving lives, it's a totally different level of seriousness.
EVERY CHILD, EVERY LIFE COUNTS. EVEN THE VICTIMS OF YESTERDAY. YES EVERY SOUL COUNTS.
Apparently, many Gedolim down the ladder to the common Jew, disagree. If it was THEIR BOY OR GIRL THAT WAS A VICTIM Then it is Muttar and permissible to punish the offender. However, IF IT WAS NOT THEIR OWN CHILD, OR NOT THEIR OWN RELATIVE THAT IS A VICTIM OF ABUSE; then it would be assur and prohibited to punish the perpetrator.
This terrible mindset of many Jews is straight out of the horses mouths, some publicly and some privately.
Yesterdays victim, Todays victims, tomorrows victim, all have neshamas. Yes, they do have
souls. They all have voices that are crying out for help and that need to be heard. They crave and deserve our compassion and we owe it as Jews to give it to them.
What is so hard to comprehend there? Is it fair to deny victims their day of vindication, their day of relief, their day of justice when they get to see their tormentor punished for their crimes?
Should we just totally forget to call the POLICE if a madman comes spraying bullets down your street or comes running at you with a knife?
Just let the poor guy off the hook right? Be silent and don't say anything, because you might rub elbows with people in your own community. Shhhhhh, Quiet, Silent. Can't tell the police who the shooter was if it might offend somebody. Shhhhhh, Don't talk to them. The shooter is really such a fantastic guy, he really is soo wonderful. So he murdered and injured a few human beings during his killing spree, doesn't everyone deserve a second chance? See, he just went over the edge a bit. He comes from a family tree full of Torah Knowledge.
The perpetrator is a good jew and very decent human being too. No, really he is. Why, do you sense some sarcasm in my tone? No really, I mean it. Great baal chessed and midos torah scholar, with just a few splotches of kiddy here and raper there, with penetration for good measure, wonderful nice human being! Give him another chance. The Rabonnim say he's cured or getting help, you must believe in them.
He remembers to say Modeh Ani Lefonecha in the morning, go to the mikvah, put on tefflin, daven with a minyan, Learn Halacha, Learn Mussar seforim, Learn gemorah, Rashi, and Tosfos clorr, including all of the rishonim, achronim, and everything near far and in between. Of course there's always the big 'coffee breaks' during learning intermissions. But really such a nice guy.
Yes, sometimes he does gets angry with guns and knives and you must maintain a safe distance, but otherwise he's a great shtiger and disciple of the Torah.
Yes, he also likes to prey on little kids every once in a while, so what? He is rather an extraordinarily kind individual. Can seem a little strange at times, but who isn't odd these days?
And who are you trying to kid, this compassionate offender is none of our business anyway? did he harm YOUR child? Was it YOUR boy that was molested? Was it YOUR little girl that was abused by him/Her?
Stick your nose in the garbage but don't stick it in my face. Was it YOUR family member that was injured or killed during the shootings? Was it a Son of yours or a relative, that was killed or injured by the machete wilding bandit?
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I wish Hamas and Fatah continue to blow each other's brains out, it makes for good entertainment. Both groups deserve their 72 virgins in paradise, as long as they continue to splatter their own blood we should be very gratful to them.
I pray that we can celebrate more days like today where the state of Israel bombards the kishkes out of Hamas terrorists. Cain Yirbu!
Do not ever mistaken a Fatah as moderately evil. They are Amulkim and reshoim just like their blood brothers in combat - the Hamas vampires!
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They fight with members of other faiths, who seem to challenge their claim to a monopoly of absolute truth; they also persecute their co-religionists for interpreting a tradition differently or for holding heterodox beliefs.
-- Karen Armstrong, Islam: A Short History
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11 militants killed in Gaza clashes
By DIAA HADID, Associated Press WriterThu Jul 5, 3:08 PM ET
Israeli forces killed 11 militants Thursday in one of the deadliest days of combat since Hamas wrested control of Gaza last month, putting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict back at center stage after months of Palestinian infighting.
Israel called in aircraft, tanks and bulldozers to press its campaign against Gaza rocket squads, while Islamic militants laid mines and fired mortars at soldiers at the main Gaza-Israel passage.
Since sweeping out its Fatah rivals in a lightning campaign, Hamas has sought to solidify its regime administering crowded, chaotic, poverty-stricken Gaza. It has initiated few attacks on Israel, but also has not stopped other groups from firing rockets at Israeli towns almost daily, provoking Israeli military action and drawing Hamas forces in.
Fighting escalated quickly Thursday after an Israeli patrol just inside Gaza spotted armed militants approaching and called in an airstrike. That clash erupted close to the Bureij refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, a site of frequent clashes between gunmen and the Israeli army.
Witnesses reported a heavy exchange of fire as Israeli tanks and bulldozers moved in and soldiers took positions on rooftops. Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants hit back with small-arms fire, laid mines in front of the soldiers and fired mortars at the Erez crossing between Israel and Gaza.
The army said two mortar shells hit on the Israeli side of the passage, which has been closed to most traffic since Hamas seized Gaza. No one was hurt, but the explosions ignited a fire in a road, the army said.
Hospital officials said nine militants were killed, and Hamas identified six as its members. The other three were not immediately identified. Among the dead was Mohammed Siam, 37, the Hamas field commander in central Gaza, Hamas TV said.
Israeli aircraft later fired missiles at targets in the area, the army said. Hospital officials said two militants were killed. Hamas said both were its members.
Israel frequently sends troops a short distance into Gaza, where they look for tunnels that might be used for infiltration or attacks. Also, military bulldozers often move into border areas to flatten land used by militants to launch their short-range homemade rockets.
Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida said Thursday's fighting began when Hamas gunmen fired at an Israeli undercover unit. The clash set off the bloodiest day of conflict since June 27, when 12 Palestinians were killed in fights with Israeli forces.
Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas, who was fired as Palestinian prime minister by President Mahmoud Abbas after Hamas defeated Fatah in Gaza, and a spokesman for Fatah both condemned the Israeli operation and urged Palestinians to fight back.
"We assert that our people have the full right to defend themselves and to confront these aggressions," Haniyeh said. Fatah official Hazem Abu Shanab echoed the sentiment.
However, the two rival movements squabbled on another front, when about 400 Fatah civil servants were prevented from entering their Gaza offices in an argument over the official weekend.
The Hamas-dictated work week in Gaza is Saturday to Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday designated the weekend. Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who was appointed by Abbas to head a new government that excludes Hamas, recently announced the work week runs Sunday through Thursday.
On Thursday, Hamas militiamen barred people from entering government offices, saying they were closed because it was the official weekend. Most Palestinian civil servants are loyal to Fatah.
"We told them that the government in Ramallah announced new weekend days, but they said the people in Ramallah are not the government," said Imad, 40, who works at the public works ministry. He refused to give his last name for fear of Hamas retribution.
"We are not coming on Saturday because it's the official weekend. This is the beginning of the battle against the coup government in Gaza," he said.
Abu Dajana, a Hamas security officer, said the orders of the "legitimate government" in Gaza would be implemented.
On Wednesday, Gaza government employees loyal to Fatah collected their first full salaries in 15 months, but civil servants who sided with the bloody Hamas takeover of Gaza were not paid.
I too was abused during my time spent in that jail. Keep up your work. You are inspirational. More people should be courageous like you.
Good Shabbos..
The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Petition demands Chief Rabbinate be held in contempt of court
Matthew Wagner, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 4, 2007
The Chief Rabbinate should be held in contempt of court for failing to abide by a court decision handed down almost a year ago to reinstate two kosher food supervisors who were fired unjustly by Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, according to a petition presented Wednesday to the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court.
Attorney Yeshayahu Avraham, of the Ben-David, Avraham, Hakohen Law Office, who represents the two kosher food supervisors, argued in his petition that the Chief Rabbinate has been trying for almost a year to avoid rehiring the two men.
"At first the Rabbinate agreed to return them to their positions as director-general and halachic authority of the National Kashrut Rabbinate," he wrote. "But later the Rabbinate backtracked and said the men would be hired as state employees, which would force them to quit their present jobs."
However, attorney Shimon Ulman, who represents the Rabbinate, claimed that the two men did not want their old positions back.
"We offered them their jobs but in the meantime they apparently found more lucrative positions," he said.
In September 2006, Judge Dita Perogninin of the Jerusalem Regional Labor Court overturned a decision by Metzger's office to replace two kashrut supervisors.
Perogninin stated that the personnel changes seemed motivated by "non-professional, impertinent considerations."
The judge ordered the Chief Rabbinate to reinstate Moshe Salomon and Yosef Sherman, who she said were fired unjustly without being given a hearing.
Perogninin also ordered the immediate firings of Rabbis Yosef Minsky and Shneur Zalman Revach, who were chosen by Metzger's office to replace Salomon and Sherman.
Both Revach and Minsky have close ties to the two chief rabbis. Minsky was an aide to Metzger while Revach worked with Chief Sephardi Rabbi Shlomo Amar via his Institute for the Study of Commandments of the Land of Israel, which Amar guided for many years.
In her decision, Perogninin stated: "The Rabbinate failed to prove the firings were justified. In contrast to the Rabbinate's claims that Salomon and Sherman were incompetent, the testimony of Rabbi Ya'acov Sabag, director of Kashrut Supervision in the Rabbinate, was nothing less than tremendous praise for the two men."
Rabbi Eliyahu Maimon, the former head of the Rabbinate's Industrial Kashrut Supervision department and present administrative head of the Conversion Authority, also testified before the court on behalf of Sherman and Salomon. Maimon is presently at odds with Amar over conversion policy and personnel changes in the authority.
The Labor Court judge said in her decision that Rabbi Meir Rosenthal, head of Metzger's office, failed to prove there were substantive complaints against Salomon and Sherman.
Avraham said Rosenthal contradicted himself during the trial. In an affidavit, Rosenthal claimed that the firings were not made by the Rabbinate or by Metzger, but by an independent employment agency. However, Avraham produced a document signed by Rosenthal that ordered the firings and explained the reason for them.
Ulman said that Sherman and Salomon, both settlers who live in Kedumim and Yitzhar, respectively, were accused of treating badly the Arab food manufacturers that they supervised.
The personnel changes were made in a body called the National Kashrut Rabbinate, established in 1998 to provide kashrut supervision in places that lack a local Rabbinate such as Arab villages or on cruise ships sailing in international waters. The National Kashrut Rabbinate also provides kashrut supervision at Ben-Gurion Airport, which has a quasi-extraterritorial standing.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183459198357&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Thomas Schumacher, Psy.D., R-CSW
Dr. Thomas J. Schumacher is a pshychotherapist who specializes in individual, couple, and marital counseling. He maintains practices in New York City and Long Island..
http://www.ec-online.net/Knowledge/Articles/narcissistic.html
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Are You Involved With a Narcissistic Person?
by Thomas J. Schumacher, Psy.D., R-CSW
According to the American Psychological Association, people with narcissistic personality disorder display a chronic and pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy. The Greek myth has it that Narcissus died enraptured by the beauty of his own reflection in a pool and feel forever in love with his own reflection. The Narcissist displays an operating style that involves extreme self-involvement, and a grandiose sense of self- importance. They exaggerate their achievements and talents, expecting others to recognize them as superior and often appearing arrogant and extremely self absorbed.
Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, or beauty, they require the constant attention and admiration of those around them, although they are very choosy about the people and institutions they will associate closely with. They often admit to being snobs and are actually proud of it. They also believe that their problems are unique and can be appreciated only by other “special” high - status people. Despite their charm, the favorable first impression they make, and their wide circle of notable acquaintances, people with this disorder are rarely able to maintain a stable, long-term relationship. With their boastful and pretentious manner, narcissistic persons are seldom receptive to the feelings of others. They show a general lack of empathy, an inability or unwillingness to recognize and identify with your thoughts and needs. Many are often successful, impressively knowledgeable, and articulate, yet bored and doubt ridden as well.
Conversely, healthy narcissism is essential for emotional well-being. We need narcissism to feel confident in ourselves, and to give adequate consideration to others. NOTE: The healthy narcissist does not focus exclusively on themselves, demanding that the world reflect back their false manufactured sense of self and an image of idealized perfection.
If you encounter this personality type, a grasp of the underlying psychology can help you cope more effectively. Lets explore the genesis of the narcissistic personality. As stated above, people with this personality disorder must constantly seek outside support and approval. If they get that support and approval, they feel complete and powerful. Without that support and approval, they feel deprived, exposed, vulnerable, angry, and lonely.
KEY: Early childhood conditioning also plays a part. The child’s real or authentic self has generally been ignored, or the child’s self may have been attacked and assaulted while the parents placed demands on the child to be “perfect.” When that occurs, the type of behavior we associate with a narcissistic disorder is overindulged. Fiercely driven to achieve, children never develop the capacity to consider others’ needs. Enter adulthood, and the same traits naturally carry over.
What To Watch Out For
Most people with this disorder advertise themselves… They seek to be the center of attention. In search of constant approval and praise to reinforce their false grandiose sense of self, they’re “on- stage,” dominating the conversation, often exaggerating their importance.
They lack empathy for others and have an inflated sense of entitlement, requiring others to respond to their demands and grant favors. They need everything for themselves and are envious of others’ accomplishments and possessions.
Criticism or disapproval takes them back to their difficult childhoods, sending them into a defensive fury, since any flaw or mistake means they’re not perfect. Also, when things go wrong, they cannot acknowledge the imperfections implicit in accepting responsibility.
Appearance matters more than substance. Power, wealth and beauty bolster their fragmented self-image.
They may be extremely driven because the “narcissistic fuel” of outside approval is so essential. Many are workaholics. Warning: this personality disorder may not be immediately obvious. The subtle ones won’t show their true colors until “deprived.” Caution: Others may actually pursue and cater to you, if you have something they want, such as looks, money, or status.
Can you change them? Reality check: No. Even constructive criticism is experienced by them as an affront and is met with anger and a sense of betrayal. Placating only results in more demands, not a return of thoughtfulness and consideration. In fact, if you always excuse or rationalize self-absorption and give in to constant demands, you are actually supporting and reinforcing their narcissistic needs and wants.
Coping Tips
Here are some tips on how to cope with the person in your life who processes the narcissistic style. Sometimes the best way to deal with extreme narcissistic behavior is to end the relationship. But since this solution isn’t always possible, I can only offer you some survival techniques…
It is important to set boundaries. Decide which demands you can meet or how much approval you’re willing to give to this person, and then stick to your decision. Also, terminate a self-centered conversation if you can, or at least set a time limit on how long you’ll listen.
Support yourself. If your resistance to them draws their anger or blame, refuse to be emotionally blackmailed. Remember that your time and feelings are not important in this person’s eyes. This can help remove your guilt.
Use bargaining chips. If you have something they want, such as a special expertise or solutions to problems—share it sparingly to keep their worst behavior under control. Be aware that when you no longer satisfy them, their old ways will resurface.
Avoid anger. Any confrontation should be conducted quietly and with control. But even a tactful approach may be greeted with anger or sometimes-frightening rage. Very likely, you’ll hear that the difficult situation is your problem and there’s something wrong with you. Arguing will only make you feel like you will want to blow your brains out. Be careful not to expect accommodation from the other person, but do give yourself points for standing up for your rights.
Finally, know when to leave. Dealing with this personality disorder can undermine your own sense of self. Ask yourself some questions…Do I continually feel depressed, irritable, devalued and worthless? Does my anger and resentment carry over into other relationships? Have I stopped supporting myself in general, not treating myself well or allowing others to coerce me? Bottom line: If you find yourself answering yes too frequently, you must examine the pay-off or importance of your relationship with this person.
Chronic Lying
By Derek Wood, RN, BC, MS
Clinical Content Director
Get Mental Help, Inc.
Mental Health Matters
Mental Health Professional
Psychiatric Nurse, PhD Candidate
psychTracker
When a person asks you who do you think chronically lies, there are a few answers that come to my mind, and that I have heard in various surveys. Some of these are (In no special order):
* Lawyers
* Con men
* Adulterers
* Criminals
* Petty thieves
* Hustlers
* Car salesmen
If you notice, this list includes people who would essentially “Lie for a living.” If you were to take it to the extreme.
However, these are extreme over-generalizations, and the majority of people in these groups,while I do not deny lie occasionally as a way to reach their goal, I would also ask a much simpler question of everyone else: Who among you has not done the same?
So, with this in mind, I would like to focus on the person who TRULY chronically lies. These people do not need a reason to lie. They are not lying to avoid trouble, to obtain financial gain, or better themselves necessarily. They are lying for the sake of lying, and oftentimes are not even realizing they are doing it. These are in fact the masters of deception that are the chronic liars.
It has been hypothesized that chronic lying is not a mental disorder of it’s own. In fact, it is not recognized in the DSM-IV (The Diagnostic Manual used to describe mental illnesses). Instead, it is viewed as a symptom of another mental disorder that is present, such as delusional thinking, psychopathy, or narcissism.
However, we are now looking at studies of chronic liars over the last 100 years, and a number of conclusions have been made, some obvious, others not. The first is that the reasons for lying may have a serious problem behind them, while others are benign. When no underlying mental illness can be found, then the focus of “Why does this successful, otherwise well-adjusted person feel the compulsion to fabricate stories?”
We do know that in a normal, healthy person, some lying and deception is normal, and starts at about the age of 5 or 6 years old. It continues through adulthood, and most adults will tell small lies on a weekly or even daily basis to get through their days, using harmless and inconsequential lies. In one research study at the University of Massachusetts, people wore a recording device for 3 days, and at the end tallied up the number of lies they told. The average rate of lies as 3 in every 10 minutes of conversation.
The nature of these lies falls into what is known as the “white lie” category. These are used for a number of purposes:
* To avoid hurting another person’s feelings
* To cover up our own embarrassments
* To reassure the needlessly anxious
* To spare unnecessary headaches
When does social “white lying” become a problem? When it becomes the first line of defense – the first tool used a coping strategy.
There are a number of other key items to look for when evaluating whether a person is suffering from a case of chronic lying. First, if they lie to avoid something, be it a test, a deadline or project, and then need to have the lie proliferate on itself in order to be believed, and it keeps growing, is a sign. Secondly, chronic liars change their stories when caught out, and support the new story with another lie. Finally, when a person lies for no reason at all, there is no gain, no motivation to lie.
It is believed that there may be a neurological defect in those who are chronic liars. They generally have highly developed verbal skills and a slight impairment of the frontal lobe. These frontal lobes are basically our “editors” that censor what we say, which may be indicative of some of the behavior in SOME cases. This is because we sometimes run two consciousnesses in our mind – reality as it exists, and reality as we would like it to be. For those with frontal lobe difficulty, reality as we would like it to be may come out instead of reality as it is.
The reason I said this is the case in SOME people, is that in others, the telling of tales eeks them out their 15 minutes of fame. It allows them to stand out, to be interesting. And the more they receive, they more they want. Additionally, others feel they cannot live up to the expectations of others, so they invent stories to match what they feel others expect from them, With all of these reasons, this may be why no easy cure is on the horizon. Chronic lying seems to stem from either a biological basis or from a rung on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Thus, if we can identify a biological basis, this can be treated in that person. Otherwise, it will take therapy to help identify what is missing from the person’s life, and how they can fill it in a more socially acceptable manner that will prevent them from being further ostracized, leading to more lying, in a vicious cycle.
When we deal with children specifically, there are any number of reasons they may lie, and some may even be acceptable. Whatever the reason, however, it should be taken seriously, as problem lying can cause problems at school, with friends, and disrupt the family life. It may even begin to lay the groundwork for problems later in life.
Lies generally not a serious problem, unless they are habitual (the child regularly lies) or compulsive (lies for no specific reasons). As with many other problems, addressing the issue early can be the most effective way from preventing it from becoming a worse problem or a pathological lying problem.
It isn’t until age 5 or 6 when children begin to lie due to understanding consequences for actions, and feel guilt for misdeeds, especially those that disappoint their parents. They may also expand on stories or fib in order to get attention. At 7-8, the most common reasons for lying are to avoid punishment or to avoid having to do a disliked task.
When adolescence arrives, new significance can be assigned to lies, and parents generally become more alarmed. The adolescent is more skilled at telling lies. However, this is a time when we should not assume that the adolescent is trying to hide something done wrong. They may be attempting to gain privacy, establish independence, avoid embarrassment or protect anothers feelings. This is not to say they are not going to be trying to avoid punishment, chores, or gain items they could not otherwise have.
When does lying become a serious problem? When it is habitual or compulsive, and is used as a major strategy for dealing with difficult situations there is cause for concern. Pathological or chronic lying may be a bad habit the child needs help breaking, but could also be a sign that they are unable to tell right from wrong. This may be especially true if they appear to have no remorse about lying. If the lying is comorbid (associated with) other actions such as skipping school, fighting, stealing, or cheating, it may be they have another disorder such as ADHD, conduct disorder or a learning disorder.
Misery is how to describe the typical school day. Frask @ petch everyday. Being chutzpadik? Let's beat the hell out of you. No finger on the place? That requires another whacking. Didn't give proper kovod to the rebbe or menahel? Oy vey, punish him. Beat him. Yell at him. Harass him. Shaygetz.
Limudei Chol, another set of teachers ready to frask you once more. The menhael is ready to administer punishment to the bad boys. Don't you hide boy. yob is just doing whats right. We want to potch you. We need to cleanse the devil inside of you.
Are we headed to another holocaust?
Hashem Yerachem......
Fellow Yidden. We cannot allow ourselves to be led like sheep to the slaughter. THERE ARE THOUSANDS OF NEW HITLER'S (YEMACH SHEMO) READY TO LAUNCH WAR AGAINST US. WE BETTER BE READY AND PREPARED THIS TIME!
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Jewish leaders concerned by trend to delegitimize Israel
By Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondent
The trend toward delegitimizing Israel's existence as a Jewish state is growing not only in Europe, but also in the United States, according to Jewish-American academics and community leaders.
Anti-Israel attacks are even beginning to affect Jewish supporters of Israel, who have been accused of trying to silence public debate, they said.
This trend toward delegitimization will be one of the topics discussed at a conference on the future of the Jewish people that opens in Jerusalem this morning.
The conference, which will be attended by researchers, heads of Jewish organizations and senior Israeli politicians, was organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute.
Avinoam Bar-Yosef, JPPPI's director general, said that anti-Israel attacks in the U.S. constitute a "long-term threat" to Israel's standing, American Jewish organizations and the pro-Israel lobby.
"Public attention is currently focused on Europe, due to initiatives like the British academic boycott," he said. "In the U.S., the problem is still under the radar. But as a planning institute, we believe that it is necessary to formulate policy on this issue now."
Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz told Haaretz that American academics are at the forefront of those denying Israel's right to exist as a Jewish state.
Veteran advocates of this position, such as Tony Judt and Noam Chomsky, were joined last year by Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer, both from reputable academic institutions, who charged that the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) dictates American foreign policy.
Their article, which generated shock waves, is being turned into a book, which is slated to be published in September. The fact that a respected publisher paid Walt and Mearsheimer an advance that is thought to have totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars attests to how hot the publisher thinks this issue is, Reinharz said.
"My feeling and that of many people following Walt and Mearsheimer and other publications is that we are at the start of a new era with regard to attitudes toward Israel in the U.S.," he added.
Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, believes that Jimmy Carter's book Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which was published last November, had a much greater impact than did other publications.
"In the past, people who said that Jewish supporters of Israel control the media and politics belonged to the margins," he said. "But after former president Carter said it, it gained legitimacy in the mainstream.
Today, the debate is already on questions such as to what extent the Jews dominate."
Foxman said that Jews who challenge anti-Israel attacks find themselves accused of undermining freedom of expression.
"I received letters from professors who claimed that when I accuse someone of anti-Semitism, I am trying to silence public debate," he said. "When the president of Harvard University said that the delegitimization of Israel helps anti-Semites, he was accused of silencing public debate.
No one would have dared accuse him of this had he been talking about racism or xenophobia."
Reinharz said that he is worried by the lack of effective response to anti-Israel publications.
"I see no combined effort to fight this by the Jewish organizations, and in truth, I myself don't know how this could be done," he said.
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The Daily Star, Lebanon (The Arab propaganda paper against Israel, no surprise of course).
It's time for the Jewish community to pressure Israel to accept peace
By The Daily Star
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
Editorial
Jewish people around the world have long embraced a mythical view of Israel as a benevolent, modern-day David fighting off the menacing Goliath of the Arab nations. Israel, as the myth goes, is like a weak and tiny island statelet surrounded by an ocean of hostile states and peoples that have rejected peace and instead have actively sought out the destruction of the Jewish state. This perception has led many to conclude that peace is not an objective worth pursuing, nor is it a goal that is within Israel's reach.
It is understandable, given the unique history of persecution that the Jewish people have endured, that they would have fears that others are seeking out their annihilation. But those of us who have been on the receiving end of Israel's massive arsenal of war and aggressive use of force have long been baffled by such distorted descriptions of the Jewish state. Even as the myth of a vulnerable Jewish state has been perpetuated, it is Israel that has been expelling successive generations of refugees and illegally occupying and annexing Arab lands. And any honest assessment would have to conclude that while recent years have seen the emergence of more effective resistance forces that have proven capable of defending their own lands, there is currently no Arab force that could conceivably eliminate Israel. The Jewish state remains the region's only nuclear state, backed by billions of dollars of US military aid each year. The threats to its existence are mostly imagined.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb
It is time for Jewish people around the world to adopt a more realistic view of the state of Israel, and it is doubly urgent to do so now because there is an historic opportunity at hand. The Arab League is sending envoys this week to Israel on a mission to promote the Arab peace initiative, a vision of a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict that has been endorsed by all of the league's members. In other words, the Arabs are offering the Israelis a chance to achieve peace. If this gesture does not shatter the myths about Israel's neighbors, nothing will.
The price of rejecting the Arab peace overture will no doubt be high. Already, the region is simmering with tensions stirred by decades of oppressive occupation and evidence of the inhumane conditions in which Palestinians are forced to live in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and squalid refugee camps around the region. While the Israelis have a right to defend themselves, there is no conceivable justification for allowing such gross injustices to persist indefinitely. The goal of peace is within reach, and Jewish people around the world have a duty to encourage Israel to grab it.
Newsday.com: Long Island News, Bronx Jewish center not giving in to vandals
ROCCO PARASCANDOLA
rocco.parascandola@newsday.com
July 9, 2007
The end is likely near for the Educational Jewish Center in Pelham Parkway. There are so few congregants left that director Alec Feldman often has to pay cash, $10 a head, just to get the 10 men necessary to make a minyan, or prayer group. In a year, maybe two, Feldman figures he'll finally say yes to one of those real estate developers who wants to buy the Bronx property and turn it into condos.
One thing is for sure, though: He and the 50 or so worshipers will not be forced out by whoever thinks it's funny to vandalize the synagogue housed in the center. Three times since May, rocks and chunks of concrete have been hurled through the synagogue's stained-glass windows. Seventeen panes have suffered some kind of damage.
No one has been hurt, yet the pain is immeasurable.
"This place is dear to us," says Sally Schulman, 80. "It gives us strength. This is our home. We're going to fix the windows and stay here."
Feldman, 83, isn't so sure the repairs are worth the trouble.
He thinks kids with nothing better to do are responsible for the vandalism. He'd like to believe - despite the rumors about a local group of neo-Nazis - that Pelham Parkway is still a place where Jews can worship in peace. Still, he has given serious thought to simply covering the stained-glass windows with metal security grates.
"Why should I fix them if this is going to happen again?" Feldman asks. "What's the sense if these kids come back tomorrow or the next day or next week or next month?"
Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrion, whose office has promised to pay the estimated $2,000 worth of damage, hopes Feldman changes his mind.
"I think if we don't replace the windows it would be accepting what happened," Carrion says. "It would be sending a message, a message that we accept these conditions and accept failure. And I don't think that's a good idea."
For now, gray masking tape covers the holes and cracks in window panes on the side wall of the synagogue.
A police spokesman says Deputy Insp. Kevin Collins, who commands the 49th Precinct, has ordered patrols stepped up in the area around the synagogue. So far, police haven't made any arrests.
The synagogue dates back to 1954, a time when Jews were a dominant presence in the neighborhood, many of them relocating there from the congested Lower East Side. Across from the synagogue are the Pelham Parkway Houses, and Christopher Columbus High School is two blocks away. Jews in Pelham Parkway still are a distinct presence, but in far fewer numbers than years ago, and many of those who live here are long past middle age.
None of this seems to bother Feldman. On Thursday, he pulled up outside the synagogue in his car and he, Schulman, her husband Joe, 82, and Joe's sister-in-law, Lola Schulman, also 82, unloaded the trunk in preparation for the communal meal to be shared after Saturday's prayer service.
There was tuna fish, egg salad, gefilte fish and challah, among other items. And though the four seemed very much aware of the vulnerability that comes with their age, they said they're in no rush to head to the suburbs, even though their children have.
"I want to stay here," Joe Schulman says. "Everyone wants to stay. Everyone likes it here."
Schulman picked up a chunk of concrete that he found on the office floor following one of the acts of vandalism.
"You see the stones on the floor, you see the glass, it bothers you," he says. "You wonder why anybody would want to do this."
He looked to Feldman, as if he had the answer.
"It's not easy being Jewish," Feldman says. "But we still don't know why this happened. Who has an answer for why people do things? If this is kids, it is less painful because we'll know they're not doing it because we're Jews. If that's the case, I still feel we have to do something about it, maybe get together and sue the parents.
"But I've gotten past being beaten down by this - my wife is having a hip operation and I've got to fight to keep this place open."
By now, he says, just about everyone who worships at the synagogue knows about the vandalism. Thus far, Feldman says, none have been frightened enough to stay away.
In fact, he's already planning for the next card party.
"When we have an affair - three, four times a year - we get 70, 80 people," he says. "I don't know where they come from, but they come."
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The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Capital parley looks into the future of the Jewish people
Haviv Rettig, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 8, 2007
A group of experts from around the Jewish world, NGO directors, political scientists, rabbis and scholars of various stripes, will gather in Jerusalem this week to help develop a plan for - no less - the future of the Jewish people.
The Conference on the Future of the Jewish People of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute (JPPPI) opens on Tuesday; four years of work will culminate in three days of working groups.
Participants will attempt to address all aspects of Jewish continuity - demographics and identity, Iran and China, conversion and education - and to offer concrete policy proposals for a pan-Jewish survival strategy for the first half of the 21st century.
The conference will take as its starting point the year 2030, in a planning process adopted from the US defense establishment. Attendees will be asked to map out different scenarios, from catastrophic to fantastic, for the scope, health and character of Jewish life in that year. Working backwards, they will examine "points of intervention" at which the situation of the Jewish people could be improved.
"We thought we had to create a Jules Verne of the Jewish people, a group of Jewish thinkers and first-rate planning people to brainstorm on how the Jewish people might look in 25 years," said JPPPI Director-General Avinoam Bar-Yosef.
To these thinkers and planners, from JPPPI founder Prof. Yehezkel Dror and fellow Winograd Committee member Prof. Ruth Gavison to defense establishment icons such as Maj.-Gen. (res.) Ya'acov Amidror and former Mossad intelligence director Prof. Uzi Arad to renowned Diaspora scholars such as Mexico's Judit Liwerant and Canada's Irwin Cotler, the institute added Jewish professionals such as federation heads John Ruskay of New York and Stephen Hoffman of Cleveland.
The goal, said Bar-Yosef, was to include not only the thinkers, but those "who deal with the existential questions on a day-to-day basis."
The JPPPI was founded in 2002 by the Jewish Agency as an independent institution tasked not with research, but with using available information to conduct planning for the Jewish people as a whole.
Speakers at the conference will include Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, opposition head MK Binyamin Netanyahu, JPPPI Board Chairman and former US ambassador Dennis Ross, Jewish Agency Chairman Ze'ev Bielski, Cotler and Brandeis University President Jehuda Reinharz.
But prestigious names alone do not a conference make. What would constitute success? For Bar-Yosef, this would be developing recommendations for Jewish continuity that are "agreed-upon, prioritized and actionable."
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1183901655979&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Post - http://www.jpost.com/
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July 1, 2007: Arts & Letters
Jewish TV making waves in Ukraine
By Vladimir Matveyev
OLEG ROSTOVTSEV, the producer of "613," in a May interview with Rabbi Avraham Wolf of Odessa at the Odessa main synagogue.
KIEV, Ukraine—Once a relatively obscure rabbi, Moishe-Leyb Kolesnik is now a budding celebrity throughout Ukraine.
"I saw you on national television—quite often I hear this on the street," said Kolesnik, a Chabad-Lubavitch rabbi in his native town of Ivano-Frankovsk in western Ukraine.
The rabbi owes his sudden wave of fame to several appearances on "613," a Jewish-themed show that is broadcast biweekly on UT-1, the main state-run channel in Ukraine. According to Kolesnik, most of those who recognize him on the street are non-Jews, as are the majority of the show's audience.
The 30-minute program, which takes its name from the ancient rabbinic view that the Torah contains 613 commandments, is one of two biweekly Jewish shows that have been alternating each week on UT-1 since last year.
Both programs, "613" and "Mazel Tov," are produced by Jewish organizations, but the show's producers and Ukrainian Jewish activists are well aware that the influence of the shows extends to the entire nation—which is a good thing, since Jews make up approximately 100,000 to 250,000 of the country's 47 million people. "Having Jewish shows on the airwaves of the main state TV channel is a positive thing and a good sign of democratic development of Ukraine," said Zhanna Burgina, the chairwoman of the Reform Jewish congregation in Kiev. "The shows help promote Jewish culture and Judaism both for Jews and non-Jews."
Jews are the only religious minority to have shows on Ukranian national television. The only other religion-themed program on UT-1 is the Orthodox Christian program "Blagovestnik," which is broadcast on weekends and enjoys a larger audience than either of the two Jewish shows, which appear Thursdays in the early afternoons.
"613" is produced by journalists affiliated with the Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine, a Chabad-Lubavitch organization and a leading Jewish organization in Ukraine. The show, which celebrated its first anniversary in June, covers an array of Jewish topics ranging from holidays and Jewish tradition to the past and present of Jewish communities in Ukraine. Much of its coverage is devoted to topics related to Chabad, which has a long history in Ukraine.
Reflecting the divides in the Ukrainian Jewish community, "613" is often seen as rivaling "Mazel Tov."
"Mazel Tov," which has been on for six years, is produced by AITI, a company affiliated with Vadim Rabinovich, a business tycoon and leader of the All-Ukrainian Jewish Congress. The congress is seen as a major rival to the Chabad-run federation.
In addition to the two shows, which can be seen by viewers across Ukraine, the former Soviet republic offers a dozen weekly Jewish shows on local and regional TV. Also available for the Jewish community are some 50 Jewish newspapers—mostly monthlies—and several radio programs, operated primarily by the Chabad-linked organization.
Despite his show's connection to Chabad, Rostovtzev says his team targets the widest possible audience, with the goal of educating Jews about Judaism and non-Jews about Jews.
"We strive to acquaint Ukrainian viewers, regardless of their ethnicity and faith, with the henomenal world of Jewish tradition and culture," Rostovtzev said.
"613" telecasts featured stories about the Jewish history of the city Nikolayev, where the last Lubavitcher rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, was born in 1902; Jews in the Crimean Peninsula; and the festival of Shavuot and its traditions and cuisine. The show's modest budget of $8,000 a month is provided by the Chabad-linked federation and, like "Mazel Tov," receives free airtime from UT-1.
Yulia Paliy, a non-Jewish student in the Kiev-based Institute of Cultural Studies, told JTA that she likes to watch the Jewish shows because they help her "better understand Jewish holidays and culture. And I like what I see."
Rabbi Azriel Chaikin, one of Ukraine's chief rabbis and the main Chabad religious authority in the country, believes that "613" primarily helps to "advance tolerance and strengthen interethnic accord in Ukraine."
Whereas few other former Soviet republics have one regular Jewish-themed TV show, Ukraine with its two shows this year celebrates 15 years of Jewish television.
"Mazel Tov" in 2001 replaced "Yachad," the first Jewish TV product in the former Soviet Union that continuously ran on Ukrainian state television for nine years, since 1992.
Community activists and others have criticized Ukrainian Jewish shows from the beginning for their narrow focus and sometimes poor production quality, but even the critics agree that the shows have benefited the Jewish community in a country where anti-Semitism has a long history.
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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/rosnerGuest.jhtml?itemNo=879538
Posted:
Aaron Hamburger
Author Aaron Hamburger was awarded the Rome Prize by the American Academy of Arts and Letters for his short story collection THE VIEW FROM STALIN'S HEAD.
His writing has appeared in Poets and Writers, Tin House, Details, Time Out New York, and the Forward, and won First Prize in the David J. Dornstein Contest for Young Jewish Writers. Currently he teaches creative writing at Columbia University. His latest book, a novel about an American Jewish family traveling to Jerusalem titled FAITH FOR BEGINNERS, recently came out in paperback.
We will discuss issues surrounding Jewish life in America and elsewhere. Readers can send questions to rosnersdomain@haaretz.co.il.
Dear Aaron,
My first question will probably be a soft ball as far as you're concerned. Based on your latest book, I'm sure this is something you have already thought about quite a lot: In your opinion, is Israel the canter of Jewish life (and the Jewish people) or just one center?
Best
Rosner
Define Jewish.
I'm reminded of a very sweet Gentile friend of mine from high school who once said to me, "I don't get it. Is Jewish a race or a religion?"
We hear a lot of talk about "Israeli Arabs," but do we ever hear about "Israeli Jews"? How does a Jew of Israeli citizenship define his or her Jewishness? I have not met many Israeli Jews who spent a lot of time wringing their hands over this question. Jews in Israel don't have to "do" or "believe" or even "assert" anything to be Jewish because they simply "are" Jewish. Just being alive and surviving as individuals and as a nation makes them de facto Jewish. People who
hold Israeli passports would have to go out of their way to explain "oh, but I'm not Jewish," because otherwise their Jewish identity is automatically assumed. Therefore, I believe Israel is indeed a center of Jewish life, if you define Judaism as an inherent characteristic that you're born with. Religious life exists there of course, but from what I've seen, religious practices are a matter largely left to tourists or recent American immigrants to Israel who live in Jerusalem, that most un-Israeli (culturally, I mean) of cities.
To be Jewish in America, however, is focused much less on innate and immutable characteristics. Many Jewish Americans would be insulted to hear themselves called a "Jew" or to hear their identity referred to as a "race." I think this is partially because we've been influenced by Christians, who define themselves not by bloodlines, but by their relationship to their faith. For an American Jew, the question isn't so much about how many of your ancestors had Jewish mothers (though that is a part of it), but rather such questions as "What synagogue do you go to?", "Do you keep kosher?", "Do you observe such and such a holiday?" However, these highly common markers of belief are actually not belief-based, but rather ritual or action-based. If to be Jewish in Israel is what you "are," to be Jewish in America is a function of what you "do." (Whereas to be Christian in America is a function of what you "believe.")
For a long while it was widely assumed that after World War II there were only two poles of Jewish life and culture: Israel and America. However, with the recent survival and even resurgence of Jewish life in Europe, as well as the widening gap between political and cultural life in Europe and in America, European Jewry is making a comeback and asserting a distinctly non-American and non-Israeli notion of what it means to be Jewish. These communities are populated not only by those whom we might traditionally define as Jewish, but also Russian immigrants with faint notions of what it is to be Jewish as well as people of partial Jewish ancestry who want to explore being Jewish.
The concept of Jewish identity has necessarily had to expand to include these people, for whom being Jewish is less about what you "are" or "do" but how you define yourself. In other words, to be Jewish in Europe is to say "I'm Jewish." Though what it means to say you're Jewish has yet to be defined. Is it eating challah on Friday nights or going to synagogue or having an Orthodox conversion?
These matters have inspired considerable ongoing debate.
Therefore, I think there are three centers of Jewish life and thought, each with competing identity models. Together they present interesting alternatives for us to choose from as we contemplate the survival of Judaism for the future.
Best,
Aaron
Dear Aaron,
Here's the more difficult question: What is, or should be, the role of Israel in the lives of North American Jews?
Rosner
I don't think Israel necessarily has any role that it "should" play in the
lives of North American Jews. Israel is Israel, North America is North
America. Israel is not a province or colony or tropical vacation
retreat for North American Jews who send money to sustain its existence, though that confusion does I think exist in the minds of many North American Jewish tourists who go there. Israel is not a Bible Theme Park. It's not a place for Jewish teenagers to go wild and let their hair down in the summertime, though again, I know that happens.
Most importantly, Israel is not a pillar of our religious belief, though Israel as well as the Holocaust has served as ways to bind young Jews to the Jewish faith, now that we live in a post-religious age when people are less likely to be bound to the principles of the faith itself. Studying Torah and keeping Shabbat may be a drag, for
example, but sunning yourself on a Tel Aviv beach or going on a Teen Trip to Israel is not only fun but also only lasts a few weeks,
whereas the nettlesome burdens of religion and faith last a lifetime.
It seems to me that an honest expression of Jewish identity is to concern yourself with the religion itself rather than the place where the religion made its first appearance so many centuries ago. Israel is a fine place, but we as North American Jews should recognize that unless we intend to immigrate there, it is not our place. It's the Israelis' place with a unique history and local culture that we don't share, no matter how much money we've raised or how many times we've gone to visit. Certainly we feel some kinship with Israel, and in fact many of us have family there. If we as individuals want to develop that relationship, fine. But I believe that is a choice each of us makes on our own and not a "should" or a "must" for all of us.
Best,
Aaron
Women think they're smarter than me.
Aloni: Rabbis hate insubordinate women
Former Meretz leader and staunch opponent of religious institutions in Israel says struggle against rabbinical courts should be led by religious women, 'whose knowledge is often superior to men's'
Kobi Nahshoni
"It's unacceptable that a man, just because he studied such and such Gemara pages, will be able to doom you to be refused a divorce or make you slaves in your own home," former MK Shulamit Aloni told participants at the Kolech conference on women status and religion Sunday.
Referring to the plight of women who were refused a divorce, Aloni slammed the rabbinical courts in Israel and lauded the conference's organizers for their contribution to the struggle against the phenomenon.
According to the former Meretz MK, religious women were the most fitting to lead the struggle against the religious institutions, because "learned women have the means to deal with the rabbinical judges much more than heretics like myself. Some of them have knowledge superior to their male colleagues and the judges," she stated.
Aloni said that her long-standing fight against religious coercion failed because she was unsuccessful in enlisting the support of the religious public. She called for a joining of forces between secular and religious women's organizations, but stressed that such cooperation could never be complete: "I won't attend a prayer – neither with the women of the Western Wall, nor in one of your femininist minyanim."
When asked why she's being perceived as a hater of religion, Aloni reminded participants that her efforts to institutionalize civil marriage were only made after the religious authorities rejected halachic solutions she proposed. She stated that her demand to establish civil marriage came after she found out that "rabbis hate insubordinate women. The haredim have taken over the rabbinical courts and have made the situation there unbearable.
"The courts are plagued with corruption and indifference," she added.
Aloni also slammed the leader of the haredi Lithuanian stream, Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elysahiv, who banned haredi women from studying for a BA. "No one should listen to this old rabbi who says that women shouldn't study for a degree, but should support the family instead," she said.
latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-ruthenbeck28jun28,1,3396682.story?coll=la-news-learning
From the Los Angeles Times
Board won't bar alleged molester from schools
School psychologist won't lose his license. The alleged victim's mother is 'outraged.'
By Garrett Therolf
Times Staff Writer
June 28, 2007
A former educational psychologist for Los Angeles schools who allegedly molested a boy hundreds of times two decades ago will not lose his state license and will be able to continue working with children.
In a terse letter last month, the California Board of Behavioral Sciences informed the alleged victim's mother that it had concluded a nearly yearlong investigation, and no action would be taken against Peter J. Ruthenbeck because the statute of limitations had run out.
The alleged victim's mother, Paula Morgan Johnson, a therapist herself, said the decision has left her "devastated" and "outraged."
She had filed a complaint with the board that included a handwritten note that she said she received from Ruthenbeck, who provides psychological therapy to deaf and hard-of-hearing children. He was fired by Los Angeles Unified School District in September when Morgan Johnson provided the district with the letter. Ruthenbeck has held contracts with a number of other schools.
In the unsigned letter, which came in an envelope bearing Ruthenbeck's name and return address in Huntington Beach, the writer acknowledged hurting Scott Johnson.
"What was wrong with me back then is still a part of me today, but it is buried very deeply," the writer said. "I have learned to not allow myself to indulge in conscious fantasies, but I still sometimes have dreams that I remember when I wake up. I don't know that there is a way to control this."
Scott Johnson, now a carpenter in Boulder, Colo., said he met Ruthenbeck in 1978, when the older man was assigned to him in a Big Brother program. Johnson was 8, Ruthenbeck was 19. Johnson said Ruthenbeck began molesting him several months later and continued until he was 15.
When Johnson broke his silence last year, Ruthenbeck was banned from the Big Brother program. Johnson and his mother asked Boulder police to investigate, but authorities said the statute of limitations had passed.
Paul Riches, the executive officer of the state behavioral sciences board, said no action could be taken against Ruthenbeck because of a 10-year statute of limitations that applies to sexual abuse. A "thorough investigation" found no "clear and convincing" evidence of professional misconduct over the past decade, Riches said.
Ruthenbeck could not be reached for comment, and his attorney, B. Robert Farzad, did not return repeated phone calls. His office declined to say where Ruthenbeck is working.
Until September, Ruthenbeck worked an average of three days a week for L.A. Unified. The sessions were conducted one-on-one or in small groups.
Ruthenbeck, who is married and has two children, served in recent years as president of the California Assn. of Licensed Educational Psychologists. He had worked for L.A. Unified for at least 12 years. Ruthenbeck's 2005-06 contract allowed him to bill the district up to $212,000 per year depending on his client load.
The administrator of his contract, Eileen Skone-Rees, said Ruthenbeck didn't protest when she canceled his contract.
The two never directly discussed the alleged abuse of Johnson. "I didn't ask, and he didn't offer," she said this week.
She also said that she had never received a complaint about Ruthenbeck until she received a phone call from Morgan Johnson.
Morgan Johnson said she received the letter after confronting Ruthenbeck over the phone.
In the letter, the writer said, "I am so, so very sorry. Whenever I think about that period in my life, I wonder what was wrong with me.
"You asked me what I was feeling. Since your call I have felt overwhelming shame, guilt and sadness."
Morgan Johnson said she did not think it was possible for Ruthenbeck to reform. "I am a trauma therapist," she said, "and someone who abuses a child over a long period of time, hundreds and hundreds of times, is not committing an adolescent indiscretion. This is pedophilia. Pedophiles don't stop."
She said that despite the statute of limitations, the state board should have taken action.
"Based upon the letter that Pete sent me, I thought the board had enough evidence to warrant a finding that he had sexually abused my son and to take disciplinary action against him. As a mother, I am outraged and devastated by their decision. The board has failed in its responsibility to protect our children," she said.
--
garrett.therolf@latimes.com
If you want other stories on this topic, search the Archives at latimes.com/archives.
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Serial molester given freedom
Monterey County: Judge rules Lamb completed sexual predator program
By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Salinas Bureau
Monterey County Herald
Article Last Updated:07/04/2007 01:26:44 AM PDT
James Lamb is getting out of the state hospital and is probably coming back to Monterey County.
The former Spreckels resident who has admitted molesting 50 children was granted his conditional release by Judge Richard Curtis on Tuesday. Curtis ruled that Lamb made enough progress in the Sexually Violent Predator program at Atascadero State Hospital that he can be released under strict supervision.
"I do not think he's a danger," Curtis said in issuing his ruling, which he called "probably the most difficult decision" he ever had to make as a judge.
"You are always going to be a pedophile," Curtis told Lamb. "I think you're aware of that and are taking steps to deal with that. I have an obligation to (protect) society, clearly. But at the same time, the law now and at the time (of Lamb's offenses) doesn't mean someone who committed the crimes you did has to serve a life sentence."
Lamb, 49, was twice convicted of molesting boys — in 1984, when he molested two 6-year-olds, and in 1991, when he molested a 9-year-old from Spreckels. He was released from prison in 1997, but was returned within weeks after he was found in possession of child pornography.
In 1998, just before he was to be released from prison, Lamb was convicted under the state's new Sexually Violent Predator Act for repeat sex offenders, and kept incarcerated while he underwent treatment.
Lamb's defense attorney, Deana Davis, said she and her client are "very pleased."
"We believe the judge made the correct call under the law," Davis said. "Mr. Lamb worked very hard to be released."
In addition to completing four phases of the five-phase program, which teaches violators how to deal with their urges, Lamb was voluntarily castrated — chemically and physically. Lamb's Atascadero psychiatrist, Dr. Gabrielle Paladino, and the rest of his treatment team unanimously backed his release, which Curtis said heavily influenced his decision.
After the ruling, Lamb thanked Curtis, calling the decision a "very difficult one."
"I will let this program speak through me," Lamb said. "I will be a success."
Lamb will be returned to Atascadero State Hospital, where Liberty Health Care officials will determine when and where he will be released. State law requires that he be sent to the county where he lived when he was convicted.
Davis said her client could be released "literally anywhere" in Monterey County, as long as there is a landlord willing to accept him. She said Lamb won't be released until suitable housing is found. It will probably take at least three months for him to be released, Davis said.
Lamb will be subject to 24-hour monitoring, a curfew, and testing for drugs, alcohol and testosterone. He won't be allowed to have a computer or access to the Internet, nor will he be allowed to use a telephone. He must be employed.
Davis said Lamb "is going to be under so much scrutiny that I don't think it will be possible for him to harm anyone."
Chief Deputy District Attorney Terry Spitz said local prosecutors aren't surprised by the ruling, but that it isn't a foregone conclusion that Lamb won't end up back in state custody. He said that if Lamb violates any of the terms of his release, he will be sent back to Atascadero.
"Judge Curtis correctly pointed out that (Lamb's) diagnosis doesn't just go away," Spitz said. "The question is how well he's able to control his urges. We're concerned about that and that's why we argued this case so strongly."
Spitz said he isn't convinced that Lamb will automatically be released in Monterey County, noting that Santa Clara County is a primary host of regional sexually violent predator programs.
Lamb will be the eighth person placed on conditional release from the program, and the first who committed crimes locally.
Curtis noted that five of the previous seven people who won conditional release graduated from the program.
"That tells me that something real is occurring with respect to that program," he said.
If Lamb makes it through the conditional release phase of his treatment, which usually lasts from one to three years, said Davis, he could be eligible for unconditional release. Lamb has indicated he would like to move to Arizona, where his mother lives in a retirement community.
Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or jjohnson@montereyherald.com.
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EM Comments:
UN-Bee-Lie-Vab-le
At conference on future of Jewish people, delegates ask why peace is off the agenda
By Amiram Barkat
A number of delegates attending the Jerusalem Conference on the Future of the Jewish People were surprised to find that Jewish-Muslim peace was not even on the agenda for debate.
Rene Shmuel Sirat, the former chief rabbi of France, protested that the word "peace" seemed to have become a four-letter word in Jewish public discourse.
"Without peace the Jewish people have no future," Sirat said in an interview with Haaretz.
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"It is unacceptable that peace should not be included in the plans for the future of the Jewish people."
Public figures, political functionaries, academics and journalists attending the conference - organized by the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute - took part in debates on how to deal with threats to the future of the Jewish people. Sirat is the only Orthodox rabbi at the conference. A former Bible and Hebrew lecturer at the University of Paris, he is known to be liberal and moderate.
Sirat was critical of how a conference about the Jewish nation?s future was not being held in Hebrew but in "Shakespeare's tongue," for the convenience of the venerable guests from the United States. A member of the discussion group on Identity and Demography, Sirat had to make use of simultaneous translation services.
Yesterday's discussions dealt with formulating ways of combating anti-Semitism, assimilation, and dealing with the possible loss of the Jewish majority in Israel. Not only was advancing peace not on the agenda, it was also not mentioned in Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's speech to the conference on Tuesday night. Olmert chose to tell participants that he felt more Jewish than Israeli, and admitted that he had nothing new to tell them.
Sirat burst out and challenged the participants during one of the discussion groups, asking how such a fundamental Jewish issue as pursuing peace was not even raised for discussion.
"I thought I was going to explode," he told Haaretz. "Has peace become a rude word among us Jews? How can you plan a future for the Jewish nation without addressing the peace issue?"
Sirat says the replies reflected mostly despair and indifference.
Sirat said he was not naive, and was aware that the chances for peace in 2007 were slim. "I understand the threats and am aware of the effects of terror," he said. "My brother was killed in a terror attack in Algiers in 1962 as he was coming out of the synagogue after prayer on Sabbath eve. I saw the grief my parents suffered. But it seems to me that we have forgotten that pursuing peace is a basic Jewish value. It's a commandment that is not conditioned on Abu Mazen's capabilities, or how good are the chances to reach an agreement."
Sirat believes that despite the unlikelihood, there is still room for optimism regarding the peace process. A year and a half ago he visited Jordan and took part in an inter-religious forum headed by Prince Hassan bin Talal. During his visit he visited a Jordanian refugee camp.
"I told the young Palestinians that on the other side of the Jordan (river) there are hundreds of thousands of young people who are interested in making peace with them, and I was applauded," he said. The conference will close today as the various discussion groups present their recommendations. President-elect Shimon Peres will deliver the closing speech.
Airing the courts' dirty laundry
By Tamar Rotem
"The call to establish alternative courts is coming from a place of disappointment with and despair over the way the rabbinical courts function," said one speaker after another at a conference held earlier this week by Kolech, a religious feminist women's organization. The audience responded with applause and an academic discussion on a new court with a humane ideology that would free agunot (literally, chained women, who cannot obtain a get, or bill of divorce) and mesoravot get (women whose recalcitrant husbands refuse to grant them a get) soon turned into a protest calling for the establishment of extra-institutional courts. The participants hope that these courts will pave the way for a revolution in Israeli family law.
It was an impressive opening for the fifth Kolech conference, attended by hundreds of women and quite a few men. Unlike previous years, Kolech managed this year to enlist figures from outside the liberal, religious milieu - even opponents from the centrist religious Zionist stream who until now tended to give in to the ultra-Orthodox establishment and to its representatives in the rabbinical courts.
The appointment of judges, mostly from the strict school of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, to the rabbinical courts acted as a backdrop to the conference. Their appointment caused displeasure among religious Zionist rabbis, which was also reflected in a petition to the High Court of Justice submitted by the Tzohar organization of rabbis.
Seated on the dais were Prof. Menachem Schiffman, a legal scholar and author of the book, "Who's Afraid of Civil Marriage?," Prof. Ruth Halperin-Kadari, the head of Bar-Ilan University's Rackman Center for the Advancement of Women's Status and rabbinical court pleader Rivka Lubitz (all associated with the liberal-religious side); other prominent activists in the religious feminist arena, and Rabbi Israel Rosen, the head of the Tzomet Institute (which promotes integrating halakha and modern life), who in the past came out against Kolech.
A few hours later, in a mock divorce trial arranged by Mavoi Satum (an organization which helps agunot and mesoravot obtain gets), religious Zionist rabbis served as judges for an hour. The participants included Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, the chief rabbi of Haifa, and Rabbi Nachum Rabinowitz, the head of the Ma'aleh Adumim Yeshiva, who is considered an important halakhic arbiter, together with Rabbi David Bigman, the head of Hakibbutz Hadati's (the religious kibbutz movement's) yeshiva in Ma'aleh Gilboa. The mere consent of the two rabbis to take part in a discussion that suggested halakhic solutions not used by the courts to free mesoravot get was considered a great achievement.
Rosen announced a move to set up a new and independent "social" court, adding that he distanced himself from the concept of "alternative courts." He says that, from a halakhic perspective, the idea had already been worked out and the initiative had received the blessing and consent of leading rabbis - among them, Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein and Rabbi Zephania Drori. Rosen also said that the judges in the courts would be rabbis ordained as dayanim (rabbinical court judges) from the religious Zionist movement, whom "Eli Yishai does not favor" and who "are graced with a contemporary worldview and a humane social agenda that takes into account the woman's suffering."
The new court will not issue divorces, but will mainly discuss financial disputes between a couple and the issue of alimony and child support. In addition, the court will rule in favor of issuing a divorce more often than the rabbinical courts and may impose economic sanctions on recalcitrant husbands. "All other matters can be resolved in family court," Rosen said. In effect, a couple appearing before the new court can bring a signed agreement to the rabbinical court for its approval.
Rosen said the new court will not become entangled with the problem of legal authority. Rather, its arbitration rulings can be enforced according to Israeli law. But in practice, this is where the problematic side of the new court lies: People may approach the court on a voluntary basis, but the question is, why would recalcitrant husbands want to approach it? Moreover, the court does not have the authority to enforce its rulings on essential matters such as child custody and visitation rights. According to Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, of Tzohar, the call to establish alternative courts, which has been floating around for around a year, gained momentum after the judicial appointments incident. He said, the initiative grew out of "impossible rulings, both from a Torah perspective and a humanist perspective."
"In this court, a woman could ostensibly be on the panel," said Rosen but was careful to add: "But we want to lend it the appearance of an important court." This comment did not pass quietly. Rabbinical court pleader Rivka Lubitz, who is active in the Center for Women's Justice, responded to his remarks and predicted that the initiative would face a struggle with the rabbinical courts, which would not want to be a rubber stamp "and just issue a divorce."
She says the inclusion of women should not be accomplished quietly, but openly and in the light of day. "It is possible that the time has not yet come for women to be dayanot (female rabbinical court judges)," she said, "but it is inconceivable that women would not be part of the planning team for the alternative court."
"The reason this topic made headlines and that the criticism is so focused, is that women became educated and found a voice," added Lubitz. "Basically, the fact that Rabbi Rosen could get up and say that there is a need to set up alternative courts without him being stoned, is directly connected to our work. Every project to set up courts is based on our hard and unpleasant work, during which we were sullied with mud and mire. We will not consent to being overlooked."
Lubitz said her remarks should not be seen as the "feminine side of the story" or as another call to hear the distress of agunot and mesoravot get. "That's not the point," she says. "Women who are active in this area have learned the system and understand the courts in ways that others don't understand them. It took them years to acquire this understanding. No one can allow himself to give up this knowledge."
Lubitz called for the courts to hire dayanim "with knowledge and education beyond the page of Gemara." She added that "Torah knowledge is simply not enough when it comes to issuing a halakhic ruling in the case of a marriage-related dispute. Attorneys can tell of rulings issued that were not only illegible and incomprehensible but also illogical and impossible to implement in the real world, because they didn't correspond to the law."
Lubitz arranged an exhibit, "Dirty Laundry," in the foyer of the room where the Kolech conference was held. She hung up white shirts worn by dayanim on a laundry line and on each shirt printed scandalous rulings, which reflected their obtuseness to the suffering of the woman who was refused a get. She documented two rulings in the case of Rachel Avraham, who was refused a divorce for 17 years. In 2000, after Avraham received the longed-for get, the dayanim canceled it only to reinstate it six years later. And so, with the swipe of a pen, they decreed another six years of needless suffering.
Lubitz, who publishes critical articles on the fight against recalcitrant husbands on the NRG Web site, says that the exhibit was created in response to the question she is frequently asked: "Why are you airing your dirty laundry in public?"
"The urge to do so began even before I started writing," she says. "I thought rulings by dayanim who were immune to the suffering of women should be publicized. At first, I thought of hanging up the rulings themselves, and then I thought of the statement in the Gemara that a scholar with a taint found on his clothing deserves death. Hanging the shirts hints at the severity of the matter. With this, I want to say that the dayanim are tainted by the harsh rulings they choose to write."
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The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Europe: 3 anti-Semitic attacks in 24 hrs
jpost.com staff and ap, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 11, 2007
A wave of anti-Semitic attacks comprising of graffiti, a vandalized Holocaust memorial and verbal abuse, hit European cities on Tuesday and Wednesday.
In Moscow, vandals drew a picture of a burning Swastika and Star of David on the wall of a Hebrew learning institution belonging to the Jewish Agency.
Earlier, a group of about 20 people chanting Nazi slogans accosted a rabbi in central Ukraine, a Jewish community spokesman said.
Rabbi Shlomo Vilgelm was uninjured in the attack late Monday near the synagogue in Zhytomyr, about 140 kilometers (90 miles) west of Kiev, said Oleh Rostovtsev, spokesman for the Federation of Jewish Communities in Ukraine.
Police have opened a criminal investigation into the incident, but did not comment on specifics.
Rostovtsev criticized officials for not doing enough to discourage anti-Semitism in Ukraine, where there are some 100,000 Jews. He noted that police routinely classified attacks as cases of hooliganism, a lesser offense.
Police denied allegations of anti-Semitism on the force.
Meanwhile, vandals burned a small Israeli flag and knocked over candles at a Berlin memorial to Jews deported during the Holocaust, police.
Police said they discovered the damage shortly before midnight Tuesday at the memorial at the Grunewald train station, from which thousands of Jews were deported to death camps during the Holocaust.
An investigation was under way.
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A desecrated Jewish gravestone in a cemetery in Britain.
Photo: AP [file]
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?blobcol=urlimage&blobheader=image%2Fjpeg&blobheadername1=Cache-Control&blobheadervalue1=max-age%3D420&blobkey=id&blobtable=JPImage&blobwhere=1170359828921&cachecontrol=5%3A0%3A0+*%2F*%2F*&ssbinary=true
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Protests over modesty sign rock Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet
YAFFI SPODEK, THE JERUSALEM POST Jul. 10, 2007
Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet residents have been holding disruptive protests since July 2, when the municipality removed a sign asking people to dress modestly.
Some residents expressed opposition when the sign was first erected at the intersection of Rehov Nahar Yarden and Sderot Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi four years ago. Now, others are fighting to have it put back up.
The owner of the building where the sign hung had refused to remove it, and, for a year, paid the municipality a daily fine.
Residents of neighboring Ramat Beit Shemesh Aleph, also unhappy with the lack of modesty in the area, decided to hang up their own signs several weeks ago.
In response, the municipality sent epresentatives to remove the ad-hoc signs, to fine those responsible, and - augmenting the original order - to remove the original, official sign hanging in Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet. This last decision sparked the current protests.
Haredi Rabbi Daniel Bitton was reportedly overpowered when he tried to take the sign from police who had removed it from the wall.
"The police just took him and threw him on the floor, and now he is in the hospital undergoing surgery," said Rachel Rotman of Ramat Beit Shemesh Bet. "The municipality here does not relate to us at all and does not help with any of our problems, and now they suddenly come and cause trouble by taking down our sign."
That same day, five men were arrested for creating a disturbance. Local haredim cited a rumor, according to which police, acting on the orders of the municipality, said the men would remain in jail for six months before being allowed to have a trial, something which is obviously false.
That triggered the rallies, which occur nightly at the intersection. Twenty to 50 people congregate to chant, throw rocks and burn garbage, causing the closure of several roads and disturbing residents' sleep. They plan to continue protesting until the five men are released.
"These people are like terrorists who are making everyone else suffer," said one irate woman who wished to remain anonymous. "It's just not normal what they are doing. They obviously have nothing better to do with their time, and the violent way that they are reacting is not according to the Torah."
"Yes, what they are doing is disruptive, but it is the right thing to do," Rotman said. "They're doing it for a reason, since there are young wives whose husbands are in jail, and the only way to get them out is to keep bothering the police until they give in. It's worked in the past."
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Rabbi Rosen: Don’t aid Darfur refugees, Gazans
Head of Zomet institute says Israel has no moral obligation to aid Sudanese in Israel or abroad; slams assistance to ‘Israel’s bitter enemies’ in Gaza
Kobi Nahshoni
Israel must not absorb refugees from Sudan into the country, or assist them in any way abroad, Rabbi Israel Rosen, head of the Zomet Institute and one of the most prominent rabbis of religious Zionism,
insists.
In an article set to be published in a synagogue pamphlet this weekend, Rabbi Rosen also criticizes extending basic humanitarian aid to the hungry residents of the Gaza Strip, claiming that “this will serve as a biological weapon that will encourage internal resistance.” Rosen told Ynet that there was no moral obligation “in the name of the prophets” to send aid, or halachic rulings on which to base such assistance.
The rabbi states that Israel should only allow the Darfur refugees passage through the country, and give them minimal assistance during their stay here.
“The problem is very difficult due to the risk of a ‘slippery slope.’ Where will this business end and how big will it get? Can we bear the burden of lending help while our own poor are in desperate need of medicine? Furthermore, there is a security risk in the infiltration of hostile elements,” the rabbi writes.
Rosen unequivocally opposes absorbing the refugees in Israel, even temporarily, or assisting them on the other side of the border. “The UN should take care of them, this is what it was created for,” he writes.
Civilians also guilty
Referring to the question of sending aid to Gaza, the rabbi says, “I see no moral obligation, ‘in the name of the prophets’ to send to any neighboring country, and certainly not our bitter enemies, flour, sugar, oil and milk, and not even fuel and electricity.”
Rosen slams the possibility of supplying fuel to the Qassam launchers, and says that the uninvolved civilians should also be withheld assistance, because of their failure to protest against the rocket attacks. “This is no less moral than psychological warfare aimed at the same objective,” he concludes.
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Israel must reject Darfur refugees, rabbi says
Kiryat Arba rabbi Dov Lior rules Israel must not accept Sudanese refugees, because 'tomorrow they might join our enemies'
Neta Sela
Published: 05.17.07, 07:39 / Israel Jewish Scene
Israel must not allow Darfur refugees into its territory or enable them to stay in the country, Kiryat Arba's rabbi Dov Lior said in a halachic ruling published on Arutz Sehva's website Wednesday.
"We are not currently in a state of peace. We are in a state of war, surrounded by enemies, and we don't know whether tomorrow they (the refugees) will join those who hate us," Rabbi Lior said. "Therefore, the State of Israel must not allow such a thing."
The rabbi added that the fact that Sudan fought against Israel during the War of Independence in 1948 was another reason why the refugees should be rejected.
The rabbi ruled on the matter after he was presented with a question regarding the absorption of 24 Darfur refugees in Beer Sheva last week, after both the army and the police refused to assume responsibility for them.
Jews slam Kucinich on Iran
Published: 07/12/2007
Jewish leaders slammed Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich for denying that Iran's president seeks to destroy Israel.
Jewish leaders in Ohio, where Kucinich is a congressman, said Kucinich's insistence that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad merely wants regime change in Israel, not death to its people and supporters, is dangerously credulous.
"Unfortunately it goes beyond naive," Alan Melamed, president of the Cleveland chapter of the American Jewish Committee, told the Cleveland Plain Dealer on Wednesday.
Kucinich and Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) were the only members of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote against a June 20 resolution condemning Iran's president and asking the U.N. Security Council to move against Ahmadinejad for threats that violate the genocide conventions, the Plain Dealer said.Jewish leaders slammed Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich for denying that Iran's president seeks to destroy Israel.
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Published: 07/12/2007
A new encyclopedia of Jewish women's history has been published.
"A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia of Jewish Women" was launched Thursday at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem. It was put out by Shalvi Publications and sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Archive.
The encyclopedia, available only on CD-ROM, was edited by Paula Hyman of Yale University and Dalia Ofer of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
It contains more than 3 million words and 2,000 articles and entries, including biographies of great Jewish women through the ages and discussions of contemporary issues relating to women's status in Judaism such as nuptial agreements, fertility treatments and modern approaches to mikvah.
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www.washingtontimes.com
Article published Jul 11, 2007
Israel vs. Hezbollah, Round 2
July 11, 2007
Arnaud de Borchgrave - Whether Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he wants to wipe Israel off the map is still contested, even by anti-mullah Iranian-Americans. But that he wants to wipe out the Jewish state, there can be no doubt. As he completes his visits to every Iranian town, the collection of his pronunciamentos is edifying reading.
Culled from a wide variety of sources, ranging from Agence France Presse (AFP), the French national news agency, to the London Daily Telegraph, to the Suddeutsche Zeitung Online, to France's Le Monde and Liberation, Mr. Ahmadinejad spells out the target and the strategy: "This regime [Israel] will one day disappear.... The Zionist regime is a rotten tree that will be blown away by one storm.... The countdown for the destruction of Israel has begun. Zionists are the personification of Satan.
"In the case of any unwise move by the fake regime of Israel, Iran's response will be so destructive and quick the regime will regret its move forever.... The West invented the myth of the massacre of the Jews (in World War II) and placed it above Allah, religions and prophets."
Mr. Ahmadinejad's strategic recipe: "We don't shy away from declaring Islam is ready to rule the world.... The wave of the Islamist revolution will soon reach the entire world.... Our revolution's main mission is to pave the way for the reappearance of the 12th Imam, the Mahdi [a 5-year-old boy who vanished 1,100 years ago and who will lead the world into an era of peace and prosperity, but not before the planet is convulsed by death and destruction].
"Soon Islam will become the dominating force in the world, occupying first place in the number of followers among all other religions....
"Is there a craft more beautiful, more sublime, more divine, than the craft of giving yourself to martyrdom and becoming holy?... Do not doubt Allah will prevail, and Islam will conquer mountaintops of the entire world. Iran can recruit hundreds of suicide bombers a day. Suicide is an invincible weapon. Suicide bombers in this land showed us the way, and they enlighten our future.... The will to commit suicide is one of the best ways of life.
"By the grace of Allah we will be a nuclear power and Iran does not give a damn about [International Atomic Energy Agency] demands [to freeze enrichment of nuclear fuel]. Iran does not give a dam about resolutions.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has the capacity to quickly become a world superpower. Iran's enemies know your courage, faith and commitment to Islam and... Iran has created a powerful army that can powerfully defend the political borders and the integrity of the Iranian nation and cut off the hand of any aggressor and place the sign of disgrace on their forehead.
"In parallel to the official political war there is a hidden war going on and the Islamic states should benefit from their economic potential to cut off the hands of the enemies."
Addressing a conference on "The World Without Zionism," Mr. Ahmadinejad said, "To those who doubt, to those who say is it not possible, I say accomplishment of a world without America and Israel is both possible and feasible."
Hyperbole, gigantism, overkill, huckstering, hocus-pocus, all of the above. But intelligence mounts daily of Iranian efforts to undermine U.S. efforts to stabilize Iraq and Afghanistan and U.N. efforts to stem the violence in Lebanon (six U.N. peacekeepers were killed by a roadside improvised explosive device).
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's report said, "It is widely believed in Lebanon, including by the government, that the strengthening of Palestinian outposts could not have taken place without the tacit knowledge and support of the Syrian government."
Ban Ki-moon also noted Israel's claim that "the transfer of sophisticated weapons by Syria and Iran across the Lebanese-Syrian border, including long-range rockets [with a range of 250 miles]... [and] anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems, occurs on a weekly basis."
Israel also says Hezbollah "armed elements are constructing new facilities in the Bekaa Valley, including command and control centers, rocket-launching capabilities and conducting military training exercises."
There is little doubt Israel and Hezbollah are suiting up to resume last summer's 34-day war in which the Israel Defense Force came off second-best due to poor political and military leadership. Hezbollah is also shorthand for Syria and Iran. Tehran supplies the equipment and the funding. Syria acts as the transmission belt and is generously compensated.
Damascus has evidently concluded an Israeli offensive across the Golan Heights is in the offing. For the first time in 40 years, Syria dismantled military checkpoints on the road to Kuneitra on its side of the Golan. Foreign journalists were barred from covering Israeli maneuvers on the Heights. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the IDF was conducting military maneuvers — and nothing more.
One of the more plausible scenarios has Israel preparing for a drive into Syria across the Golan Heights, and then fighting a "decisive" battle with the Syrian army on the road to Damascus, followed by a left "hook" into Lebanon to execute an outflanking attack on Hezbollah. Syria has advised its citizens to leave Lebanon as soon as possible.
That could also be a strategically propitious moment for U.S. action against Iran. It remains to be seen whether the key players in President Bush's National Security Council would agree an opportunity is at hand to dust off an Air Force and Navy contingency plan to take out Iran's 23 nuclear facilities.
Arnaud de Borchgrave is editor at large of The Washington Times and of United Press International.
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Published: 07/11/2007
The Jewish Agency has agreed to house 58 Sudanese refugees near Sderot.
As various Israeli government agencies quarrel over who’s responsible for housing the hundreds of Sudanese refugees flowing into the Israel via Egypt, the Jewish Agency for Israel announced Monday it would house 58 of the refugees in the Ibim student village near Sderot. The move was made in response to a request by the Prime Minister’s Office, the agency said.
"This is a humanitarian gesture to human beings in distress," Jewish Agency Chairman Zeev Bielski said.
Most of the Sudanese refugees are bussed to Beersheba after being picked up by Israeli patrols along the Israel-Egypt border. The municipality says it does not have the resources to pay for shelter for untold numbers of refugees fleeing the genocide in Darfur, Sudan.
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Newsday.com:
Sex abuse claim to be first under Del.'s new victims' rights law
By RANDALL CHASE
Associated Press Writer
July 11, 2007, 7:11 PM EDT
DOVER, Del. -- The ink is barely dry on a new Delaware law aimed at protecting the legal rights of victims of child sexual abuse, but it's already being tested.
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner signed a law Tuesday that abolishes Delaware's two-year statute of limitations on personal injury lawsuits for victims of child sex abuse. The law also allows a two-year "lookback" period during which lawsuits previously barred by the statute of limitations can be brought anew.
Wilmington attorney Thomas Neuberger said Wednesday that he plans to file a lawsuit Thursday on behalf of an alleged victim of retired Catholic priest Francis DeLuca.
DeLuca, 77, who served in the Diocese of Wilmington for 35 years, pleaded guilty in a Syracuse, N.Y., court last month to sexually abusing a boy over several years. DeLuca was arrested in October after a Syracuse teen told his parents he had been sexually abused by the priest from the time he was 12 or 13 until the time he was 17.
After allegations of sexual abuse by DeLuca surfaced in the early 1990s in the Wilmington diocese, Bishop Robert Mulvee had allowed DeLuca to retire to his hometown of Syracuse.
Shortly after DeLuca's arrest last year, Wilmington Bishop Michael Saltarelli released the names of 20 diocesan priests against whom the diocese had substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse.
Neuberger plans to sue both DeLuca and the Diocese of Wilmington, taking advantage of the new law's two-year window to file lawsuits previously barred by the two-year statute of limitations for personal injury claims.
Among those who spoke in favor of the new law as it was being debated in the General Assembly was Robert Quill, 52, of Marathon, Fla., who claimed that DeLuca had abused him for years, starting when Quill was 13, at St. Elizabeth Parish in Wilmington.
"I can't comment on anything right now," said Quill, who was in Delaware on Wednesday.
Neuberger's law firm declined to provide details about the complaint. Diocesan spokesman Robert Krebs said it would be premature to comment before seeing any court papers.
DeLuca, who pleaded guilty in the New York case to one count of second-degree sexual abuse, two counts of third-degree sexual abuse, and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 27. He faces up to two years in prison.
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From The Times
July 13, 2007
Comic actor Langham accused of grooming girl, 14, for abuse
Jack Malvern
Chris Langham, the Bafta-winning star of the BBC comedy The Thick of It, groomed a 14-year-old girl for systematic sexual abuse over three years after befriending her at a West End musical, a court was told yesterday.
The actor and writer is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons, in his dressing room at the Palace Theatre, where he performed in Les Mis�rables in the late 1990s.
Jurors at Maidstone Crown Court were told that he impressed the girl by taking her to art galleries and exclusive West End clubs and restaurants with the intention of corrupting her in a series of sexual encounters.
The prosecution described in graphic detail the alleged liaisons between Mr Langham, 58, and the girl, who met him on her 14th birthday, when she asked him for his autograph.
Richard Barraclough, QC, for the prosecution, said that Mr Langham had an “interest in young girls” that also led him to download child pornography in 2005.
The actor is indicted on 27 charges, comprising two serious sexual assaults, ten indecent assaults and fifteen charges related to downloading child pornography. He denies all the charges. He admits that he had one sexual encounter with her, when she was an adult.
Mr Barraclough said that the girl met Mr Langham in April 1996, when her mother took her to seeLes Mis�rables. The mother and daughter obtained Mr Langham’s autograph, and then became regulars at the stage door. They saw the show “in excess of 50 times”, the prosecution said. “As you can imagine, they soon became very friendly with stage door staff and the actors and actresses, and they started to be invited in,” Mr Barraclough said.
Mr Langham, a recovering alcoholic, invited the mother to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and agreed to help the daughter to learn Shakespeare, the court was told. Mr Barraclough said that Mr Langham had exploited the girl’s vulnerability. “Her childhood, I think, she would describe as unhappy and devoid of affection. She was a troubled girl. She developed anorexia . . . He did all sorts of things for her, even paying for her to get help with her eating disorder.”
Mr Langham also gave the girl acting lessons, and during one of these he kissed her, Mr Barraclough said. “That was under the guise of teaching her the correct way to breathe.”
The married father of two bought her a copy ofThe Merchant Of Venice, took her to dinner at The Ivy and introduced her to his family, Mr Barraclough said.
They later had sex, in an hotel in Kensington, West London. The sexual encounters continued until she became an adult, the court was told.
David Whitehouse, QC, for Mr Langham, said the allegations were false and arose only after the actor attempted to distance himself from the girl after their sole sexual encounter, when she was 18. “This was a big mistake,” Mr Whitehouse said. “As big a mistake as having sex with her in the first place, because she couldn’t take the rejection.”
He told the jury that Mr Langham had downloaded pornographic files for research. He was trying to understand the mindset of a paedophile so he could include such a character in Help, a comedy drama he co-wrote about patients who visit a psychiatrist. He told the jury that there was no connection between the girl’s allegations and the pornographic files on Mr Langham’s computer. “At first blush it looks very unattractive: a man in his late forties going to expensive restaurants with a teenage girl, goes to hotels with her, what possible explanation could there be other than that he was having sex with her?
“Then she gives a detailed account, supported by a scrapbook and hotel receipts. Lastly, when they had searched his computers, they find indecent material on there . . . [it] adds up to a picture which appears to establish what the prosecution alleges. But it wasn’t like that.”
He said that Mr Langham’s motive for helping her was not sexual, but part of his recovery from alcoholism. “He attributes his recovery to the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. One of their beliefs is that you can only help yourself if you help others. He was trying to help her with her anorexia.” The trial continues.
Sexual abuse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sexual abuse (also referred to as molestation) is defined by the forcing of undesired sexual acts by one person to another. The term incest is defined as sexual abuse between family members, and the euphemism "bad touch" is used to describe such abuse.(Renvoizé 1982)
Different types of sexual abuse involve:
* Non-consensual, forced physical sexual behavior such as rape or sexual assault
* Psychological forms of abuse, such as verbal sexual behavior or stalking.
* The use of a position of trust for sexual purposes.
The most visible signs of sexual abuse are signs of injury to parts of the body that can be covered by a bathing suit. Pregnancy may also result.
Spousal abuse is the term applied to the specific form of domestic violence, where physical or sexual abuse is perpetrated by one spouse upon another. Frequently this involves forced sex (spousal rape) upon a spouse without their consent. [1]
[edit] Students and sexual harassment
Students may be the victims of unwanted sexual attention by teachers and professors, see Sexual harassment by teachers.( Sorenson 1997 )
Because students and faculty members have unequal power and authority, flirtatious and sexual behavior by a faculty member toward a student is often classified as a misuse of power, and may carry serious consequences such as the filing of charges of sexual harassment and/or termination of employment.
For a famous example of a teacher-student statutory rape, see Mary Kay Letourneau.
[edit] Sexual abuse of minors
Main article: Child sexual abuse
In the majority of cultures and countries, sex is legal and acceptable only if both parties give consent.
The age of consent, that is, the age at which the law presumes a person has the physical, emotional and sexual maturity to make an informed adult decision to enter into sexual activity, differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, from a low teenage in Italy and Spain to a mid to high teens age elsewhere, for example 16 in the United Kingdom, 17 in Ireland, 18 in India. (Some states also provide different ages of consent for homosexual boys as against heterosexual boys and girls.) Yet separately the law may specify a different age where a teenager ceases to be a child and becomes an adult. As a result, where a difference exists, it may be perfectly legal to have sex with a child where the individual, though still deemed a child in law, is above the age of consent specified in local legislation. In most cases, the age of consent and statutory rape laws aim at protecting children and teenagers from exploitation, particularly physical or psychological exploitation involving sexual behavior.
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