http://www.myfoxgulfcoast.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6587003&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
| Hearing in sex abuse case postponed again | |
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| Last Edited: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 7:37 PM CDT | |
| Created: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 7:37 PM CDT | |
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Wheeleus says there was a two year period when the family lost contact with her young cousin.
Prosecutors say during that time Rebecca McEvoy was the victim of sexual abuse.
The suspect
The man accused in the case is Bob Ingle a former Chickasaw Police officer, and Rebecca's stepfather. Ingle is charged with rape, sodomy, and sexual abuse.
Rebecca was killed in a car accident in January, before the case went to trial. That's when the family ran into a legal roadblock.
"Her voice was silence by her death, but we can't allow it to remain silent." said Wheeleus.
Hearing postponed
The family learned Monday night that Tuesday's court hearing had been postponed.
"I just want to know where the victim's rights are for a speedy trial. This is the fifth time that this has been reset." said McEvoy.
Rebecca's Father Aden McEvoy is worried statements his daughter made before her death won't be allowed as evidence in the trial, because of a law that guarantees the defendant’s right to cross examine a witness.
"She told it to legal professionals. She told it to a doctor. She told it to child advocacy. Now they're saying it can't be used, and it's not right." said McEvoy.
The names of alleged sex abuse victims are rarely reported in the media, but Rebecca's tragic story came to light, because of what her family members call their fight for justice. It's a battle they believe could affect many other families.
"Now that I've been doing all the research I see it's such a broad spectrum. There are so many other children that are affected by this." said Wheeleus.
Rally for sex abuse victims
The family hopes Tuesday's rally in downtown Mobile will raise awareness about Rebecca's story. But, no matter how many delays they encounter, the family is determined not to give up.
"If we can't do it here we'll keep going higher and higher, and see what we have to do to get these laws changed for the victims." said her father.
FOX10 News tried to contact the defendant's lawyer about this story. We want to also give his side. We're still waiting to hear back from him.
The court hearing that was scheduled for Tuesday has been reset for June 10th.
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http://www.myfoxgulfcoast.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=6587177&version=1&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.2.1
| Freddie Heard arrested for sex abuse | ||
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| Last Edited: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 7:37 PM CDT | ||
| Created: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 7:37 PM CDT | ||
SideBarRelated ItemsVideos
Photojournalist Guy Turnbow MOBILE, Ala. -- All is quiet on Barretts Lane in Mobile - but neighbors say on Monday police swarmed this street. "I came and sat on my porch and saw all the police cars," said Shirley Smith. Police were looking for 35-year-old Freddie Heard. He’s charged with four counts of first degree sexual abuse and two counts of enticing a child to commit an immoral act. The Investigation "Usually have one or two victims, but four is unusual to have four victims," said Officer Eric Gallichant with the Mobile Police Department. Mobile police got involved in the case after the Department of Human Resources called them to investigate...police say the alleged victims are girls between the ages of 10 and 13. The alleged abuse happened at various locations around mobile...and it spans several years. Neighbors were shocked Neighbors say Freddie Heard was very friendly and neighborly. They were very shocked to hear what he's accused of doing. Clara Johnson's lived on Barretts Lane for 35 years - she says heard was rarely home - but when she did see him - he seemed nice. "Not the type of person you would suspect of this, he was nice when I saw him, like I said very friendly," added Clara Johnson. Freddie Heard wasn't home when we went by - he's in Metro Jail. Mobile Police say this is an ongoing investigation. |
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http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=20678
| Bar Mitzvah Tutor Indicted for Sex Abuse by Brooklyn Eagle (edit@brooklyneagle.net), published online 05-20-2008 | ||||||
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http://news10now.com/content/all_news/watertownnorth_country/116467/man-charged-with-sex-abuse/Default.aspx
McElhone is charged with four counts of criminal sexual act in the second degree, aggravated sexual abuse in the fourth, two counts of unlawfully dealing with a child and endangering the welfare of a child.
Police say the abuse occurred over the last three months.McElhone is in jail on $40,000 cash bail.
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http://www.redorbit.com/news/education/1393240/program_to_combat_sex_abuse_in_schools/#
COLUMBIA - Educators across South Carolina will be trained on how to prevent, identify and report cases of students being abused by adults at school or elsewhere, officials announced Wednesday.
Roughly 10,000 teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, coaches and school nurses will become "Stewards of Children" through a program developed by Darkness to Light, a Charleston-based national nonprofit group that seeks to curtail the number of child sex abuse victims and the crime's impact on their lives.
Anne Lee, the group's chief executive, said South Carolina is the first state to tackle such a statewide initiative. She said the group is seeking federal money to expand what she hopes becomes the national model.
She hopes the training program "closes the cookie jar" for sexual predators in schools. If they know fellow educators are watching and are ready to turn them in, they'll get another job, Ms. Lee said.
State schools Superintendent Jim Rex said incidents of inappropriate behavior between students and teachers are rare, but even one is too many.
"So much of what schools do is based on trust. Not only must kids trust their teachers, but parents have to trust those teachers too," he said. "And schools have to earn that trust each and every day. That's what this initiative is all about."
Mr. Rex said it needed to be a statewide push, because if the agency allowed schools to opt into the program, those that most need it might not participate. Colleges are also incorporating the training in their teacher education programs.
Last fall, a nationwide Associated Press investigation found 2,570 educators whose teaching credentials were revoked, denied, surrendered or sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 after allegations of sexual misconduct, from bizarre to sadistic; 99 were from South Carolina, according to discipline records.
Experts who track sexual abuse said those cases are representative of a much deeper problem because of underreporting.
'STEWARDS OF CHILDREN'
WHO GETS THE TRAINING? Beginning this fall, at least one educator from each of the state's 85 school districts will have 6 1/2 hours of training.
WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS? Those "stewards of children" will train at least 20 percent of educators in their district.
HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? More than 80 percent of the $162,700 cost of training and materials comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Originally published by Associated Press.
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www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-wi-childabuse,0,6737593.story
Child abuse expert says society becoming desensitized to sex
Associated Press
2:29 PM CDT, May 20, 2008
MILWAUKEE
A child abuse prevention expert says what was considered outrageous years ago is now the norm.
Cordelia Anderson spoke Tuesday in Milwaukee at the national convention of Prevent Child Abuse America.
Anderson displayed images such as Calvin Klein jeans ads and pictures of JonBenet Ramsey, the child beauty queen who was murdered and then compared them to more recent ads and images.
She says the line of outrageousness is shifting as companies target children with sexier ads. For example, she says popular Halloween costumes for kids include French maid outfits.
Anderson says these ads, products, and even songs teach children how to think and act. And when children act in this new way, adults are more likely to treat them as sexual beings.
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On the Net:
Prevent Child Abuse America: http://www.preventchildabuse.org
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http://www.kidk.com/news/local/19082909.html
ONLY ON 3: Man Behind "Worst Child Sex Crimes Ever" Going to Prison
ONLY ON 3: Man Behind "Worst Child Sex Crimes Ever" Going to Prison
By Nate Eaton
58-year-old Michael Nef made headlines last summer when he was arrested and charged with 10 child sex abuse counts.
In a plea deal last September, six of those charges were dropped. Nef pleaded guilty to four and was sent to Cottonwood for 6 months.
Now, Judge Brent Moss has sentenced him to two consecutive prison terms. One term of five to 25 years. The other of five years to life.
Robin Dunn, Jefferson Co. Prosecutor: "In 25 years of sex abuse crimes this is probably the worst."
Michael Nef's crimes shocked an entire community and he will now have at least five years in prison to think about his actions.
Originally charged with six counts of lewd conduct, three counts of rape, and one count of sexual abuse, Judge Brent Moss has ordered Nef to go to prison after he spent 210 days on a rider at Cottonwood and Orofino.
Dunn: "The judge does what's called 'flop the rider' which means he's imposing the original sentence."
A judge rarely flops a rider. When it does happen, it's usually because the criminal doesn't keep the rules or misbehaves while at Cottonwood.
Dunn: "This is one of the very few instances I've seen where they just believe that this offender should not be in the public for a period of time."
Nef was arrested almost a year ago after detectives say he sexually abused children numerous times. He was involved in lewd conduct with a three-year-old, videotaped himself having sex with a 13-year-old, and forced a 12-year-old into lewd conduct with a dog.
Dunn: "In the sex arena of sex offenders, this is probably the worst we've ever seen in Jefferson County."
Because Nef's sentence is a minimum of five years, he won't be automatically released at that time.
Depending on his behavior and other factors, he could be behind bars the rest of his life.
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http://www.wwnytv.net/index.php/2008/05/21/fowler-man-accused-of-child-sex-abuse/
A 45 year old Fowler man will be arraigned June 3 on charges that he sexually abused two girls.
A St. Lawrence County grand jury handed up a 37 count indictment against Marshall Clement of Popple Hill Road.
The indictment includes:
- 13 counts of second-degree rape
- 10 counts of unlawfully dealing with a child
- 8 counts of second-degree sexual act
- 3 counts of third-degree sexual abuse
- second-degree attempted rape
- first-degree sexual abuse
- endangering the welfare of a child
The indictment says Clement gave a 14 year old girl alcohol on several occasions.
Clement also is alleged to have had sexual intercourse and oral sex with a 14 year old girl in June, July and August of 2006 in the Town of Fowler.
He also allegedly had sexual contact with the same teenager in May 2006 in Harrisville and with an 11 year old girl while she was sleeping in December 2005.
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http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080521/NEWS01/805210341/1002
Duane and Patricia Tackett
May 21, 2008
Couple face more charges in sex abuse case
By RICK YENCER
ryencer@muncie.gannett.com
MUNCIE -- A Muncie couple accused of sexually abusing a woman in their care for years face additional charges of rape in a case that Delaware County Prosecutor Mark McKinney calls disturbing.
Patricia Ann Tackett, 47, and her husband, Duane R. Tackett, 48, told Delaware Circuit Court 5 Judge Chris Teagle they had no jobs and survived on disability when seeking public defenders to represent them.
This week, Teagle set Sept. 16 trials for the Tacketts, who face felony charges of rape, sexual misconduct with a minor and child solicitation. Duane Tackett has an additional charge of criminal deviate conduct. The Tacketts could face a maximum 20-year prison sentence on each felony charge.
Muncie police arrested the Tacketts two weeks ago after the alleged victim, who is mentally disabled, told an aunt about how Duane Tackett has had sex with her over the past 13 years, since she was a teenager.
Police say that Patricia Tackett was willing to give up the alleged victim to her husband for sex.
The Tacketts remain in jail with Duane Tackett held on a $65,000 bond and Patricia Tackett's bond at $45,000.
Another high-profile abuse case involving an 85-year-old woman allegedly battered by her daughter also saw a preliminary hearing this week.
Terrie L. Moore, 54, appeared before Delaware Circuit Court 4 Judge John Feick and pled not guilty to felony charges of neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, battery resulting in bodily injury, and neglect of a dependent and also a misdemeanor count of criminal mischief.
Police accuse Moore of refusing to feed her mother along with battering her, hiding her hearing aid and false teeth and locking her in her room.
Feick set Moore's trial for Oct. 6, and the defendant has been out on bond since her arrest.
McKinney said a great majority of abuse cases, whether child or elder, are committed by someone close to the victim.
"It seems all the more disturbing when it is a close relation like parent-child particularly because those are the people we all expect to take care of each other," he said.
The prosecutor's office has seen an increase in child- and elder-abuse cases for several reasons.
A rapidly growing population of elders has caused those cases to increase, McKinney said. More child pornography available online also is impacting child-abuse cases.
"Confidence in the system and a better-educated populace who have some idea what to look for and who to report abuse to leads to more reports," McKinney added.
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108 comments:
When I was little, this guy with payot & beard tried to touch me in the genital area. My mother sees this stranger holding me. Before she can even say anything to him, he dropped me and ran off.
What is this thing where doctors are molesters? I thought I was the only one who had a medical degree and sexually abused children. I don't even want to hear about that my degrees are fakes.
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courant.com/news/local/hr/hc-reardon0521.artmay21,0,389939.story
Courant.com
Sex Abuse Complaint Against Reardon 40 Years Old
By DANIEL P. JONES And HILARY WALDMAN
Courant Staff Writers
May 21, 2008
Almost 20 years before what was believed to be the first child molestation complaint against Dr. George Reardon, a mother accused the prominent St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center doctor of abusing her son, court records show.
The nearly 40-year-old complaint was among a huge cache of child pornography discovered hidden in Reardon's former home last year. But the document's existence was kept quiet until lawyers suing St. Francis for negligence recently asked a judge to order its release.
The court papers filed in connection with the lawsuits, which have been consolidated at Superior Court in Waterbury, do not precisely say to whom the mother's complaint was delivered. But it's clear the matter was handled by Dr. Joseph S. Sadowski, an official of the Hartford County Medical Association — who also practiced medicine at St. Francis.
The existence of the complaint raises startling new questions about why Reardon was allowed to continue practicing medicine through the 1970s, 1980s and into the 1990s — all the while allegedly preying on scores of children. Until the disclosure of the April 1970 document, the first known abuse complaints were lodged with state regulators against Reardon in 1987.
Barry Feldman, general counsel at St. Francis, has said that although an internal investigation is underway, to the best of his knowledge the hospital did not learn anything about the specific nature of the allegations against Reardon until 1993, when the health department moved in public proceedings to revoke his medical license.
Since last year's discovery of the photographs on Griswold Drive in West Hartford, about 100 people have sued St. Francis, claiming the hospital was negligent in not preventing the abuse. Many of the alleged victims say Reardon abused them and photographed them in degrading poses at his office at St. Francis; Reardon, they say, told their parents they were participating in growth studies.
The 1970 complaint, a sworn affidavit, alleges that the boy participated in one of those ostensible studies, court papers say. In addition to that complaint, the lawyers asked for a memorandum written by Sadowski, a letter from Sadowski to the woman's lawyer, a letter from Sadowski to Reardon and Reardon's rebuttal. All the documents have been turned over to plaintiffs' attorneys under the terms of a confidentiality agreement.
An unrelated document referenced in the court papers is a 1976 handwritten response by Reardon to "allegations of sexual abuse that were made against Dr. Reardon by the parents of another child."
Asked about the documents Tuesday, officials at St. Francis said anything Sadowski may have learned was in his role as an official with the county medical association, not as a physician affiliated with the hospital. Sadowski was a prominent neurosurgeon who had privileges at St. Francis and died in 2001.
"Dr. Sadowski was a private physician who was not employed by St. Francis," said Tina Varona, a hospital spokeswoman, in a prepared statement. "Dr. Sadowski was chairman — Committee on Medical Ethics and Department of the Hartford County Medical Association."
"Any information about Dr. Reardon that Dr. Sadowski may have learned in that capacity cannot and should not be attributed to St. Francis," the statement continued.
But Paul Edwards, a lawyer with the Stratton Faxon law firm in New Haven, and Susan Smith, a lawyer with Smith and Moore in Avon, both took issue with the hospital's statement. Their firms represent most of the people suing the hospital.
"Dr. Sadowski was ... an influential member of the St. Francis community," Smith said. "If he had information that Dr. Reardon was using his office and position at the hospital to abuse children, he had the moral and legal duty to disclose that information to the hospital to prevent further harm."
In 1970, when the mother lodged her complaint, the mechanism for dealing with allegations against physicians was markedly different from what it is today. Until the early 1980s, complaints against doctors were generally handled quietly by local medical societies — essentially trade groups of doctors formed to advance their professional interests.
Even when the medical society disciplined doctors, their names were kept secret — even from the hospitals where they worked, according to a retired Hartford physician who was involved with disciplining doctors, though not at the time of the Reardon case. The court papers do not indicate whether officials at St. Francis became aware of the mother's complaint at the time.
Before the state law was changed, patients who felt harmed by their doctors were advised to write a letter of complaint to their local medical society. Each county had a society and the Hartford County Medical Association was known as the most active in the state.
At the Hartford association, complaints were referred to a subcommittee of doctors called the ethics and deportment committee, according to a former committee member who asked that his name not be published. The next step in the process was for the doctors to respond to the allegations in writing.
Members of the ethics and deportment committee would then consider the written complaint and the doctor's response to determine if any intervention was necessary.
Most of the cases involved doctors who abused drugs or alcohol, and problem doctors were commonly referred for treatment without any record of an indiscretion. The former committee member said his group never informed the hospitals when complaints were made against their staff physicians.
Sadowski became president of the Hartford County Medical Association in 1973. He was chairman of the ethics and deportment committee in 1970 when the Reardon complaint was filed, according to St. Francis.
He was a contemporary of Reardon's, who was chief of endocrinology at St. Francis and practiced medicine there from 1963 to 1993, when he resigned in the face of allegations that he had molested young patients for decades, starting in the 1950s. Both Reardon and Sadowski were doctors in the Navy before starting their medical practices in Hartford at about the same time.
In 1979, the state's rules for disciplining doctors began to change when a government reorganization put the state health department in charge of investigating complaints.
The laws were tweaked over the years. While the county medical association still exists in name, its role today is markedly different.
Officials there have said the Reardon case was too old for them to know anything about it or discuss it.
Now, state health department investigators look into complaints. If they are deemed legitimate, the department attempts to reach settlements with the accused doctors that can include probation, license suspension, or monitoring. The department can also file charges which are then heard by the Connecticut Medical Examining Board.
Until the disclosure of the 1970 complaint, the first known allegations against Reardon were filed with the state Department of Public Health in 1987 and 1989.
After investigating a fourth complaint against Reardon in 1993, the state health department staff asked the state Medical Examining Board to revoke Reardon's license.
Reardon died in 1998.
Contact Daniel P. Jones at dpjones@courant.com.
For previous coverage of the George Reardon case, visit www.courant.com/reardon
I would get upset too with the actions of this police officer. Roshey Yeshivas get no kovod anymore. How dare he embarrass the High School administrators! Why didn't he just not report the abuse? If I was him that's what I would have done. People have no loyalty anymore!
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A Los Angeles Unified School District police officer has filed a claim with the district contending he was retaliated against for reporting allegations that a substitute teacher sexually abused a student.
Luis E. Barraza said his actions embarrassed two South East High School administrators who had failed to report the misconduct although required by law to inform authorities.
The kool-aid drinkers are out in full force. Torah U'mesora still won't implement guidelines that would require that all allegations of sexual abuse be reported to the police. Wonder if aron shlechter has anything to say on this matter. He looked like an idiot at the recent TU midget event!
http://www.minivannews.com/news/news.php?id=4498
Sex Abuse Cases To Be Tried In Closed Court
By Aiman Rasheed
May 21, 2008
Court cases over sexual abuse will be closed to journalists, the public and even the immediate family of victims, following a decision apparently made by criminal court judges.
But the Ministry of Justice have not been informed of the ban, which has now been enforced in two high-profile cases and comes at a time when several high-profile sex abuse cases against government officials are reaching the courts.
Barred
Wednesday saw the first hearings of three cases against Baa atoll Goidhoo imam Ali Rasheed, who is accused of three separate counts of child sex abuse. Following over eight years of alleged serial abuse, victims first spoke out on the case exactly a year ago.
But victims’ immediate families were denied access to the hearings, and were told by court officials this was because of a new ban on attendees “irrelevant” to the case. The press were also barred.
Journalists had earlier been excluded from a May 14 hearing of a case against police officer “Lady” Ibrahim Manik for sexual harassment.
Other current high-profile trials include those of Adnan Hussein, a director from the President’s office accused of sexually abusing two children, and Corporal Ahmed Mohamed of the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF), accused of molesting a six-year-old girl.
New Rule
An official who refused to identify himself told Minivan News new regulations state people not “involved in the proceedings” of cases such as sexual misconduct and child abuse will not be allowed to attend hearings.
According to the official, the decision was made by court judges, and those allowed in are “only lawyers of both parties, defendant and witnesses.”
When asked whether immediate family were among those now barred from hearings, Justice Ministry spokesperson Waheed told Minivan News that “the issue has not been brought to their [Justice Ministry] notice,” and that “family might be interpreted widely.”
However, Waheed emphasised that presiding judges can decide who comes into court, echoing previous remarks by state attorney Hussein Shameem.
Transparency
A civil servant working in the legal sector, who wished to remain anonymous, commented that “this regulation could decrease the transparency of the courts,” and “the courts would lose the trust that they had gained lately.”
After journalists were barred from the “Lady” Ibrahim Manik on May 14, the criminal court said a press release would be issued to explain the ban, but this has not occurred.
The mother of one of Ali Rasheed’s alleged victims told Minivan News she feels “distressed” and would be “more at peace if the proceedings were made more transparent.”
Meanwhile the mother of two other victims had written a letter to the court requesting a different judge, as the current judge is a close friend of the suspect’s brother, Ibrahim Rasheed, who works as a senior magistrate at Goidhoo court.
Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau is accused of physically and sexually assaulting one of his daughters. There have also been allegations that two families were "run out of Baltimore" because they wanted to go to secular legal authorities to deal with the accusations of child abuse against Rabbi Eisgrau. Rabbi Eisgrau is currently the principal of the Torah Institute of Baltimore, MD.
The Baltimore Orthodox establishment stated that they have investigated the charges and found them completely baseless.
A Baltimore police detective attempted to investigate the abuse complaints regarding Rabbi Eisgrau. He stated that he did not find enough evidence to persuade the district attorney to bring charges against Rabbi Eisgrau. The detective also disclosed that he never encountered such opposition to a child abuse investigation from a community as he encountered in Baltimore's Orthodox community.
Senate Measure Strengthens Child Sex Abuse Crimes
ALBANY, NY – May 20, 2008 – The second of a three bill package to combat child sex abuse sponsored by State Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm A. Smith (D – St. Albans) has passed the Senate unanimously.
The latest measure (S. 1862) creates a new section of the law against using children in a sexual performance involving alcohol or drugs, making it a class B felony, punishable by up to 25 years in state prison.
"The safety and protection of our children is a paramount concern among all New Yorkers," said Senator Smith. "With the Internet and other high-tech communications devices infiltrating all aspects of our life, both good and bad, more needs to be done to protect the most vulnerable among us."
Another bill sponsored by Senator Smith (S. 4390) that was unanimously passed by the Senate last week allows for the use of hearsay evidence from sexually abused minors aimed at allowing the out-of-court testimony from a child less than 12 years of age to be admissible during a sex abuse trial.
"We must protect those who cannot protect themselves and this measure is geared towards that result," Senator Smith said. "Children are the most precious parts of our family. We must protect children from being abused and neglected while providing a stable home environment. But when the system fails we must provide these children with a safe and secure setting that is essential to their healing, success and recovery."
Senator Smith has been a longtime proponent of protecting children. Another measure he is sponsoring (S. 2438) is aimed at increasing penalties for crimes against children. The measure increases the penalties for the rape or sexual assault of a child under age five.
Regarding S. 2438, Smith said: "Something must be done in order to protect our youth from predators who wish them harm. Increasing the punishment offenders receive for raping children will help to deter future rapes and allow our children to grow up with a feeling of peace and safety."
The bills must now be voted on by the Assembly.
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Brauner_Jerry.html
Convicted on the charges of Sexual Abuse-1st Degree and Sexual Abuse-3rd:Subject Another Person to Sex Contact Without Consent. He was sentenced to 11 years probation, with the condition he must participate in a sex offender treatment program. Brauner has been on probation since 2002 for the sexual abuse of a 15-year-old boy.
On December 27, 2006, Jerry Brauner was arrested on charges of stealing a half-million-dollar home from a cancer-stricken woman, using a forged power of attorney to sell it and pocket the profits. Brauner is being held in lieu of $85,000 bail for lying about prior sex-abuse convictions when he applied for his notary's license.
Jerry Brauner currently is employed at Brauner's Kosher Bakery, which is owned by his father.
Let me intervene here. Young boys don't always tell the truth. C'mon, we all know that. Like on my way home on the ferry yesterday, I noticed many fowl acts being committed by this boy. When I asked the boy why he spilled the popcorn on the floor and didn't clean it up, he responded that it was not he who did it, it was the other kid. Now I saw him do it, so I know that these boys tend to lie.
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Thursday, 22 May 2008
Sex abuse of boy denied
Midhirst farm contractor Reuben James Woods has gone on trial in the New Plymouth District Court for sexually abusing a boy.
The 31-year-old has denied charges of unlawful sexual connection of a male aged under 12 and doing an indecent act on a boy aged under 12.
The offences are alleged to have happened between August 1, 2005 and August 1, 2006. Crown prosecutor Justin Marinovich told the jury the complainant was abused at Woods' home while the pair were left alone together.
Defence counsel Andrew Laurenson told the jury it was important not to simply believe the boy's evidence because of his age.
The trial, before Judge Allan Roberts, is expected to finish today.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dailynews/4556042a6554.html
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=12700
Los Angeles schools’ sex abuse scandal raises questions about double standards
LAUSD Superintendent David Brewer
Los Angeles, May 21, 2008 / 01:18 am (CNA).- Revelations of administrators’ mishandling of sexually abuse committed in the Los Angeles Unified School District have prompted comparisons to the clerical sexual abuse scandal that has afflicted the Catholic Church in recent years. Some are charging that there is a double standard which treats sexual abuse committed by educators less harshly than that committed by clerics.
The scandal that has brought the comparison to light is that of former assistant school principal Steve Thomas Rooney, who faces 13 felony sex-related counts. They include charges that he had unlawful sex with two female students ages 13 and 14 while he was assistant principal at a middle school.
The Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) assigned Rooney to the middle school in August 2007 despite knowing that police had investigated Rooney about an alleged sexual relationship with a student at his previous school. The former high school student has since testified that Rooney impregnated her.
Other cases of alleged sexual abuse are pending. KNX 1070 Newsradio reports that “21 teachers and administrators have been pulled from schools in the past year because of allegations of inappropriate sexual contact with kids.” Most of the allegations have been made since January 2008.
However, when Superintendent David Brewer was asked about the number of cases since January 2008, he said, "I don't have any data on that, I'll have to get back to you on that."
LAUSD Deputy Superindendent Ramon Cortines discussed the scandal with KNBC TV, saying, “This is not out of the ordinary for school districts all over the nation. These things happen.”
Dave Pierre, a writer for NewsBusters, argued that there was a double standard in media coverage.
“By comparison,” Pierre wrote, “look at how the media has covered decades-old allegations of sexual abuse by clergy of the Catholic Church. Since 2002, the coverage has been voluminous and incessant. (The Boston Globe alone ran a mind-blowing 989 articles related to the scandal in the 2002 calendar year.) Years later, the media still takes joy in hammering the Church, even with misinformation and falsehoods.”
“When it comes to the abuse of children, it sure seems like the national media doesn't get too worked up unless the words ‘Cardinal,’ ‘bishop,’ or ‘priest’ is in someone's job title,” Pierre wrote.
Here we go again EM, you have to make the Baltimore Mechanchim look bad by allowing this sheker about Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau to be publushed (sic). You better not start with the other wonderful mechanchim of Baltimore. You know who I mean. Shapiro, Eismann, Tendler, Etc.
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/sexual_molestation/analysis_anti_child_molestation_meeting_fails/
Special Report: Sexual Molestation
February 29, 2008
Analysis: Anti-Child Molestation Meeting Fails
Phil Jacobs
Executive Editor
It was an evening of so much potential.
Over 500 people showed up on a freezing February Wednesday night.
A keynote expert in the field of child molestation prevention and counseling was featured.
Every seat was taken.
But there were no seats for forward thinking, action, real protection methods. The words “police,” “sex crimes unit,” “states attorney’s office,” “crime” were forced to “stand” along the walls and merely watch.
What those in attendance got was a message that it is up to their children to say “no” to a molestor, that children need to be stronger to protect themselves.
That message came from Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, the president of the Vaad Ha Rabbonim a “presenter” on this program entitled “How to Keep Our Children Safe.” It was sponsored by the social services organization Ohel of New York.
He started by telling the packed Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion sanctuary that the community was by and large healthy and wonderful.
“But that doesn’t mean there are not individuals who aren’t struggling and who do things that cause a lot of damage and pain,” he said. “Our function and our job is to protect our children.”
Rabbi Hopfer told the difficult truth that this was not a simple gathering, and that it was “frought with danger. We want to protect but at the same time we don’t want to alarm.”
He would go on to say that if parents teach their children properly, they will be healthy.”
He would then say that “when you are talking about sexual abuse, you are talking about the most private parts of a person’s body, a person’s mind as well. This is my personal domain. It’s as if my essence has been violated. I have been dirtied.”
Rabbi Hopfer acknowledged that one person might be more resilient or tougher than another. He said that that abuse can impact relationships, self image, attitudes on intimacy. It can, he said, “wreck homes and marriages and sometimes becomes the end of a person.”
He also said that many of the children or teens at risk come from abused backgrounds, and often, it’s because they didn’t have the strength to say no to their abuser “and they get themselves in trouble and difficulty.”
This is where Rabbi Hopfer hit a fork in the therapeutic road. Those critical of his speech said that he placed the magnifying glass on a child’s ability to be strong.
Lisa Ferentz, a clinical social worker who trains other clinicians in the assessment and treatment of sexual abuse, attended the meeting and said “it’s not children who need to be toughened up, but, rather, parents and adults in the community who need to be educated and empowered to protect all children. Adults must identify and learn how to de-code the myriad of symptomatic `red flags’ that abused children manifest. They need to trust their instincts and pro-actively pursue their concerns by involving legal, medical and mental health agencies even when the potential perpetrator is a family member, community leader, educator or a member of the clergy. Sexual abuse is a crime that evokes “speechless terror” in its victims. Therefore, adults must use their voices to advocate for a child’s intrinsic right to be safe. It is unreasonable and realistic to ever put that burden on a child.”
Rabbi Hopfer said that “saying no to a person takes strength, a lot of strength. Parents need to give confidence to their child that he must do that.”
One survivor who is currently litigating against former bar mitzvah teacher Yisroel Shapiro, the son of the late alleged molester Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, found Rabbi Hopfer’s message mixed with a “lot of double speak. There was a lot of denial here. There was not any talk about reporting to the authorities.
“I think Rabbi Hopfer said a lot of things that he needed to say publically,” said the survivor, but I still am wary. It was a great way for him to say in the covering up game. There are plenty of kids who come from good homes and it still happens to them. His answer was not the answer, but part of the answer.”
Murray Levin, a survivor of Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, was also at the meeting.
He noted that the meeting still left some believing that the rabbis are the ultimate source of assistance and help when a child reports that they were sexually abused.
“Are rabbis specifically and properly trained to treat a child who has been sexually molested,?” asks Mr. Levin. “About one year ago 23 rabbis from the Rabbinical Council of Greater Baltimore signed a letter stating, `we do know that we as rabbis are not qualified to manage the behavior of such a person such that we can confidently say that he poses no such threat to the community. Understanding, treating, and managing this illness is a highly complex field that we are trained in. There are specialized professionals in this area whose experience and expertise we must call upon to guide us. In all situations we must be mindful that our obligation to protect future potential victims of sexual molestation is paramount.”
For many in the room, the most important speaker was Dr. David Pelcovitz, who came to Baltimore on a tight schedule. He was the man with the most experience in this area, yet he was boxed in by time and a train schedule. Some wondered why Rabbi Hopfer and others took so much of that time away by monopolizing the microphone.
“Every time we see a child suffer with the ravages of abuse, with the pain of sexual or physical abuse or neglect, and we choose to look the other way, it’s no different than looking away from any other kind of burden being born by one’s neighbor,” said Dr.
Pelcovitz. “You have to stand by suffering children and open your eyes when it’s not easy.
When you deal with an abused child and you get them the right kind of help, you are returning to them their neshama (soul).”
He said that we have “to name the monster,” in other words not avoid the words “child sexual abuse.” The doctor said that studies have shown that children and adults are often “struck speechless” from this trauma and what comes with it is “horrible loneliness, blame and self-blame.” The healing, he said, starts when children can come forward and share with their parents what happened.” He said that children are often afraid that their parents will blame them for their victimization.
Dr. Pelcovitz added that teaching a child about molestation is not an event, but a process. He said it can be taught in the same way that water safety or fire safety or even crossing the street is taught. The aim is to teach wariness without fear.
On the issue of saying “no,” he said that it is difficult for children to say no to adults. Role play at home is often beneficial because he added “abuse thrives on secrecy.”
Most perpetrators, he said, are shopping around for a compliant victim. If a child gives them a difficult time, they “have plenty of other pickings. They are looking for a non-challenging relationship.”
Dr. Pelcovitz then addressed one of the more common comments connected with this issue, that being a child fabricating a molestation.
“Are false allegations possible?” “Of course they are. It’s truly rare, it’s the exception rather than the rule. No child wants to go through the pain of disclosure unless it’s real. The vast majority of times a child tells you this uncomfortable truth, they’re doing it because it is real. Take it very seriously. You are re-abusing them by not taking them seriously. You must validate a child’s reality, because the abuser distorts that reality.”
He supported what Rabbi Hopfer said that “resilience is the norm. Give them love and understanding and listen. That’s where refuah (healing) comes from.”
It was during the question and answer period that Rabbi Hopfer was asked to explain his earlier expressed feeling that children who don’t have the strength to say no are more likely to get themselves into trouble.
Some 150 questions were fielded on index cards from the audience. Only a handful were answered, because of Dr. Pelcovitz’s time constraints and because as it was explained, many didn’t follow the evening’s theme of How to Protect Our Children.
“As I spoke I should have used my words more carefully,” said Rabbi Hopfer. “I certainly didn’t mean to convey that every child has the strength and if they didn’t have the strength it means something is wrong with him.”
Then Rabbi Hopfer addressed the issue breeding a healthy mistrust in children of adults they suspect of inappropriate behavior.
“We want our children, our adults to have every confidence in their leaders, in their spiritual leaders, in their rabbeim, in their parents. This is not meant in any way to cause distrust. If someone in a position of authority comes to you to do something inappropriate, you should tell them no. But should I inculcate a child with a healthy mistrust for a rav, the answer is no, it can’t be. There has to be a trust with the people you look up to. If someone tries to do something then you say no.”
In his then limited time, Dr. Pelcovitz talked about how it’s usually the most vulnerable of children who fall prey, and that special needs children are also victimized. When parents are the abusers, he said, children then must add other layers of anxiety. When the person who is charged with protecting you, molests you, it, he said, has the potential of being “profoundly damaging.”
He closed by saying, “what an abuser does to a child has nothing to do with intimacy, it has to do with power. It has to do with meeting their needs in an unhealthy way.”
The meeting ended with David Mandel, president of the sponsoring group Ohel, encouraging people to seek professional counseling for their children.
But then he threw a little confusion into the minds again of some of the social workers and survivors present when he said that cases don’t need to be reported to outside authorities. He encouraged conversations between parents and the rabbi of a shul or a community.
“Don’t start looking for shadows that don’t exist,” he warned. “Make sure you know where you are going with this. False allegations spread like wild fire.”
The sanctuary then cleared.
The hallways cleared.
The parking lot emptied.
No follow up dates for follow through meetings were discussed.
The unasked and unanswered questions on index cards were piled up and taken away.
The words “police,” “sex crime unit,” “state’s attorney’s office” and “crime” could now find a place to sit down. There was no one there to listen to them or see them.
Potential, meanwhile, went home early. He didn’t want anyone to see him crying.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3546498,00.html
Rabbi Drukman ousted from Conversions Court
In unexpected move, PM's Office, Civil Service Bureau inform head of the Conversions Court his tenure will come to its end in several weeks
Neta Sela
Rabbi Chaim Drukman, head of the Israeli Conversions Court had been relieved of his duties. Drukman received a letter from the human resources department at the Prime Minister's Office Sunday, informing him that his tenure will come to an end by the end of June.
The Prime Minister's Office confirmed Thursday that Drukman's term in the Conversions Court will be coming to its end, citing the decision was subject to Civil Service Bureau ordinances.
Hard Ball
Thousands of conversions questioned / Ynet
High Rabbinical Court calls into question all conversions performed by Rabbi Chaim Drukman since 1999
Full story
"Rabbi Drukman's is nearing his 75th year and according to Civil Service regulations we are unable to extend his contract," said the PM's Office. "Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has nothing but the greatest respect for Rabbi Drukman and is deeply appreciative of his contribution to the State."
Rabbi Chaim Drukman was called upon by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to form and modernize the Israeli Conversion Court back in 2004 in order to promote the proper conversion of some 300,000 non-Jews which came to Israel around that time.
The ultra-Orthodox community had fierce objections to Drukman's heading of the court, but those familiar with the decision to oust him fault Cabinet Secretary Oved Yehezkel and Civil Service Commissioner Shmuel Hollander for "dealing Drukman a massive blow."
A crushing blow
The decision was said to shock the conversions establishment. A source familiar with the decision wondered how "someone who was called in by the prime minister to perform a sacred duty is now dismissed by a government clerk… This move plays right into the hands of the hostile orthodox factors within the conversions establishment.
"This is a fatal blow to the establishment and might lead to its crumbling all together." The Prime Minister's Office, added the source, "is crushing the system while pretending to modernize it."
Rabbi Drukman was in the center of a religious storm recently, when the Supreme Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem ruled all the conversions both he and Rabbi Chaim Avior presided over since 1999 must be declared null and void.
The decree sparked a major controversy and is currently debated in the Knesset's Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel Shlomo Amar's office told Ynet that Rabbi Amar "Is unlikely to support the move." Rabbi Amar is currently out of the country and is expected to deal with the matter upon his return.
05/20/2008 02:36 PM
CONTROVERSY OVER 'LENIENT' SENTENCE
German Muslim Sentenced for Stabbing Rabbi
An Afghanistan-born German Muslim has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in jail after he stabbed a rabbi in a Frankfurt street last September. The Jewish cleric believes the man was trying to kill him and that the sentence is too lenient.
Rabbi Zalman Gurevitch, who was stabbed by an Afghanistan-born man on a street in Frankfurt last September, during the trial.
AP
Rabbi Zalman Gurevitch, who was stabbed by an Afghanistan-born man on a street in Frankfurt last September, during the trial.
A German court sentenced a 23-year-old man Afghanistan-born man to three-and-a-half years in jail on Tuesday for stabbing and seriously injuringa rabbi in Frankfurt last September.
The unemployed German Muslim, named only as Sajed A., stabbed rabbi Zalman Gurevitch, 42, in an altercation with the orthodox Jewish cleric who had been walking down a street with two companions.
The court convicted him of causing grievous bodily harm. The Frankfurt public prosecutor's office had initially planned to charge him with attempted manslaughter but refrained from doing so after investigating the case. During the trial an eyewitness said the two men had been involved in an argument before the stabbing occurred.
Judge Klaus Drescher told the court that the defendant called Gurevitch a "Shit Jew" and "Jewish Pig." But the judge added it had not been proven that Sajed A. had also threatened to kill him. The stabbing last year heightened fears of anti-Semitic attacks among Germany's Jewish community, which criticized the sentence as too lenient on Tuesday.
The court was unable to determine exactly what happened immediately before the stabbing, partly because two important witnesses, the man and the woman who had been walking with Gurevitch, refused to attend the trial. Both those witnesses live abroad and are of the Jewish faith, and they said they didn't want to come to the trial because they feared for their safety.
Gurevitch was a co-plaintiff in the trial and had demanded a manslaughter verdict. His lawyer Rolf Döring said he would probably appeal against the verdict because he believed the court had understimated the threat posed by the defendant.
"After a verdict like this Frankfurt has become more unsafe for Jews," said student Moshe Mendelzon, who had attended the trial with a group of young orthodox Jews to support the rabbi.
The chairman of Frankfurt's Jewish community, Salomon Korn, said the sentence was too lenient. "The court has given a clear message to potential stabbers," Korn told the dpa German news agency.
He said the court should have tried to set a bigger deterrent. "Otherwise copycat attackers can hope for similiarly lenient verdicts."
* http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,554269,00.html
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/985726.html
Ex-chief rabbi Eliyahu's condition deteriorates further after stroke
By Yuval Azoulay and Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondents
Former Sephardic chief rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu's health continued to deteriorate on Wednesday, when he suffered a stroke.
Doctors at Jerusalem's Shaare Zedek Medical Center are fighting for the life of Eliyahu, 80. He was rushed to the hospital Friday after a heart attack, and on Tuesday lost consciousness and had to be resuscitated. He is now in a coma and on a respirator.
Special prayers were said for him Tuesday in synagogues throughout the country, and a central prayer service was held at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
Rabbi Eliyahu underwent cardiac bypass surgery at Shaare Zedek a month ago and was released after his condition had initially improved.
Rabbi Eliyahu is the most prominent spiritual leader of National Religious Zionism.
Shmuly Boteach is a phoney. Shmuly Boteach is a liar. Shmuly Boteach is fraud. Shmuly Boteach is a pornographer. Shmuly Boteach should open up his own jerry springer!
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http://www.forward.com/blogs/bintel-blog/13407/
Dear Rabbi Boteach,
The issue that I need help with is as follows: I have been married for two years, and my wife complains that I don’t last long enough. Now, it has reached a point where she doesn’t want to have sex anymore because she says it’s not worth her while.
I realize that I may have a premature ejaculation problem, but I don’t know how to cure it. She suggests that I masturbate say an hour or two beforehand so that I will last longer during the act, but this seems problematic to me from a halachic point of view. On the other hand, one has to satisfy his wife, too. This has led to tension between us as she says I am choosing halachic doctrines over her, etc.
Are there leniencies in cases such as this? Are there other methods of solving the problem? What advice or help can you offer?
I have read some of your books and think it’s great that you have written about such topics. It’s truly difficult to speak to a “regular” rabbi about these issues.
Thanks in advance.
STICKY SITUATION
Rabbi Boteach replies:
Thanks for your kind words.
Sexual passion, intimacy and erotic joy in marriage are crucial components of a strong relationship. So you have to take this issue, and your wife’s frustration, very seriously. But your wife’s suggestion, even if it were not halachically problematic, is not the solution.
As I wrote in “Kosher Sex,” the reason why Judaism opposes masturbation is that it depletes a husband’s desire for his wife. The more we release our sexual steam on our own, the less we can employ it to connect with the person we love. Simply stated, the sexual pleasure we derive in marriage should come from our spouse.
I counsel many husbands who are addicted to pornography. I explain to them that the main sin of porn is not even a sin of commission, doing something wrong, but rather a sin of omission, failing to do something right. In these instances, you have a husband who, rather than making passionate love to his wife, is finding erotic thrills with fantasy women on the Internet. That can’t be healthy for a marriage.
Whereas other religions see the principal purpose of sex to be procreation, and modern secularism sees sex as being principally recreational, Judaism posits sex as the main means by which a husband and wife achieve intimacy and are sewn together as bone of one bone and flesh of one flesh. So it’s got to work.
And you are correct, Judaism is insistent that a wife’s pleasure in sex is not only central to the act, but must even precede that of her husband’s.
Buffalo Man Arrested in Child Sex Abuse Case
YouNewsTV™
By Jennifer Stanonis
Buffalo police say 47 year old Angelo Jacobi of Buffalo was arrested for sex abuse. He was arraigned Thursday morning and charged with sexual abuse in the third degree, endangering the welfare of a child, and forcible touching. 7 NEWS has learned the alleged incident between Jacobi and a young female took place at a closed bar on the 800 block of South Park Avenue in South Buffalo, Tuesday evening. According to City of Buffalo property records, Jacobi is listed as the owner of that building.
Those who live nearby the location where the alleged incident took place say they fear for their children and the kids walking around from the school down the street.
Police are investigating if this was an isolated incident or has happened in the past and if there are other victims involved. If anyone has any information call the Buffalo Police Confidential Tip-line at 847-2255 or the Sex Offense Unit at 851-4494.
Find this article at:
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/19188959.html
Happy Valley man arrested on charges of child sex abuse
HAPPY VALLEY, Ore. - A 47-year-old Happy Valley man has been arrested on several charges of sex abuse of a 5-year-old who was a longtime family friend.
Douglas Alfred Feller turned himself in to Clackamas County Sheriff's authorities at the Clackamas County Jail Thursday morning, bringing an end to an investigation authorities began in February.
In February, 2008, members of the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office, Child Abuse Team (CAT) responded to a Happy Valley home as part of the investigation. This Child Abuse Team investigation resulted in a criminal indictment and arrest warrant for Feller issued on May 15th.
Investigators report Douglas Alfred Feller was a long time friend of the victim's family and well acquainted with the 5-year-old reported victim in this case.
Feller was lodged into the Clackamas County Jail on three counts of sodomy, one count of Sexual Penetration, and seven counts of sexual abuse.
His bail is set at $250,000.
His arraignment is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday in the Clackamas County Circuit Court, in Oregon City, Oregon.
"When I was little, this guy with payot & beard tried to touch me in the genital area"
-----------------------------
This kind of thing happens a lot to young children. Not always is the would be offender successful. Like in this case it sounds like the perpetrator started the offense and was stopped before he could inflict more damage.
Nevertheless, it can be very traumatic for someone to go through something like that.
I was almost raped myself, but with screaming, kicking, and yelling I was able to get away. This happened when I was 15.
What's wrong with polygamy? It only sounds like some cult. Chaim Berlin is a also a cult. Who cares about some 468 children marrying older men.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/us/23cnd-raid.html?ref=us
May 22, 2008
Texas to Seek Stay of Polygamy Ruling
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
HOUSTON — The Texas government, admonished by an appeals court for its seizure of up to 468 children from a polygamist ranch, will turn to the state’s highest court to keep the children in custody.
A day after an appeals court ruled that the children were illegally taken from their homes in West Texas, lawyers from the State Department of Family and Protective Services planned to file for an emergency stay of the court’s request that the children be released from state custody, a spokesman for the Texas Supreme Court said on Friday.
The spokesman, Osler McCarthy, said he did not know how long it would take for the court to rule, or whether the court would hear oral arguments.
The decision by the appeals court, handed down on Thursday, abruptly threw the largest custody case in recent American history into turmoil.
Although that court did not explicitly order the children’s immediate release, it raised the prospect that many of them would be reunited with their families, possibly within 10 days. The children have been in foster homes scattered across Texas since early April, making their parents travel hundreds of miles to visit them.
The unanimous ruling by three judges of the Third Court of Appeals in Austin revoked the state’s custody over the children of 38 mothers and, by extension, almost certainly the rest, for what it called a lack of evidence that they were in immediate danger of sexual or physical abuse.
One mother, Martha Emack, 23, said she was “totally thrilled” by the ruling. “Everyone is totally overjoyed to tears,” she said in a telephone interview.
Ms. Emack said both of her children had been seized — one just turned a year old and the other 2. “It’s been very emotional, very traumatizing,” she said.
When asked whether she ultimately wanted to return to the ranch with her children, Ms. Emack said quickly, “I do want to go back.”
The court said the record did “not reflect any reasonable effort on the part of the department to ascertain if some measure short of removal and/or separation would have eliminated the risk.”
It said that the evidence of danger to the children “was legally and factually insufficient” to justify the removal and that the lower court had “abused its discretion” in failing to return the children to the families.
The ruling, an unusual opinion granting relief in a case not yet decided, was issued on the custody challenge by the 38 women and an additional 54 who filed a second action. Lawyers said the burden was on the state to show why it should not apply to the rest of the children, as well.
Custody hearings under way before five judges in San Angelo were canceled.
Susan Hays, a lawyer in Dallas who specializes in appellate law and who is the lawyer for a 2-year-old taken from the ranch, said the children might begin returning home as early as next week.
“Right now, there is an order saying return the children,” Ms. Hays said. “It technically does not apply to all the women’s children. But practically it does.”
She said the state would have to file a motion for emergency release quickly that asks the court to stay the order....
If you catch me snoozing on the job that would be an indication I'm too old for this. Bring on OBAMA!
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McCain in 'excellent health,' doctor says
* Story Highlights
* Sen. John McCain has had no recurrence of skin cancer since 2000 surgery
* Doctor: McCain in "excellent health" with "extraordinary energy"
* Melanoma surgery was aggressive, removing lymph nodes as well as a tumor
* GOP candidate takes no pain medication for war injuries
FOUNTAIN HILLS, Arizona (CNN) -- -- There's no medical reason to prevent Sen. John McCain from being president, the doctor for the presumptive GOP nominee said in a statement the McCain campaign released Friday.
McCain has had five skin cancers, including a growth that was removed in February of this year, but there is no sign any of the cancers have recurred.
Still, each incidence of cancer increases the likelihood he will have a new tumor, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta said.
But his doctor on Friday said he is currently in "excellent health and displays extraordinary energy."
"While it is impossible to predict any person's future health, today I can find no medical reason or problems that would preclude Sen. McCain from fulfilling all the duties and obligations of president of the United States," said Dr. John D. Eckstein, an internal medicine specialist at the Mayo Clinic.
McCain, who turns 72 in August, would be the oldest person to be elected to a first term as president if he were to win in November. He has been treated for skin cancer multiple times and was a prisoner of war in the Vietnam War for 5½ years.
McCain has had no recurrence of the skin cancer that led to McCain's most extensive surgery in 2000.
"We continue to find no evidence of metastasis or recurrence of the invasive melanoma as we approach the eighth anniversary of that operation," he said. VideoWatch more from Dr. Sanjay Gupta on McCain's health records »
"This was most recently confirmed with his comprehensive examination and tests" in March, he noted,andwith Dr. Suzanne M. Connolly's skin examination on May 12.
"The prognosis for Sen. McCain is good because the time of greatest risk for recurrence of invasive melanoma is within the first few years after the surgery."
Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN's chief medical correspondent who reviewed the medical records, found new details about the 2000 operation.
The surgeon, Dr. Michael Hinni, wrote in the records that "through an abundance of caution," the surgery was aggressive, removing some of the senator's lymph nodes as well as the tumor.
McCain developed swelling beneath the skin and had to be taken back for a second operation.
Hinni said the prominence of the senator's left jaw is not a sign of cancer.
"This is a result of an absence of soft tissue on the face in front of his ear that makes the masseter (the chewing muscle) over the jaw appear more prominent," he said in the statement the campaign issued. "To be clear, the swelling is not due to any evidence of cancer."
McCain is checked for skin cancer every three to four months, Connolly said in the statement.
The senator has periodically experienced bouts of dizziness, which Eckstein characterized as "very benign vertigo."
It is a "whirling sensation which lasts two to five seconds and then disappears," he said during a conference call organized by the McCain campaign, adding it is "not a precursor to a stroke."
McCain's father died of a stroke at the age of 70. His 96-year-old mother is in good health and has appeared on the campaign trail with him.
He has been treated for bladder stones and has kidney stones, the clinic said, but they do not affect urologic function. He has no evidence of cardiovascular disease.
The senator has used the Mayo Clinic in Arizona since 1992. He checks in under a pseudonym.
McCain's cholesterol levels are potentially worrying, Gupta found, but his blood pressure is good.
Heart disease, the leading cause of death in America, could be a risk factor for McCain because of his age and family history, making his blood pressure and cholesterol levels relevant.
The statement listed the medications McCain takes:
• Simvastatin, a cholesterol-lowering medicine
• Hydrochlorothiazide, for kidney stone prevention
• Amiloride, which preserves potassium in the bloodstream
• Aspirin, for blood clot prevention
• Zyrtec, an antihistamine, which he uses as necessary for nasal allergies
• Ambien CR, used as necessary to help him sleep when traveling
• A multiple-vitamin tablet
That is "about average for a man his age," Gupta said.
He does not take pain medication to deal with the after-effects of his Vietnam injuries, which resulted after his ejection from a plane in 1967 and torture as a POW, the clinic said.
But he has badly damaged joints as a result of his experience in Vietnam -- to this day he cannot fully raise his arms -- and he may someday need to need to have both shoulders replaced, depending on how bad his joints get.
He was a two-pack-a-day smoker for 25 years, but quit in 1980.
McCain is releasing his medical records voluntarily. He did the same when he ran for president in 2000.
The two Democratic presidential candidates, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, haven't released their doctors' files.
Obama's campaign said it will release a summary of his health next week, composed by his primary care physician. The campaign said it will show he is in good health.
All AboutJohn McCain • Skin Cancer
Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/05/23/mccain.health.records
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3546788,00.html
Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 05.23.08, 07:29 / Israel Jewish Scene
Rabbi Aviner: Child abuse must be reported
Prominent religious-Zionist leader lashes out at failure to inform authorities of such acts 'in order to have mercy on the abuser,' says 'first of all we must have pity on the helpless child'
Kobi Nahshoni
"When children are battered, whether as part of sexual abuse or just being beaten, anyone aware of this must inform the authorities," Rabbi Shlomo Aviner of Beit El and one of Religious Zionism's prominent leaders says in an article on the weekend in the "B'Ahava Ub'Emuna" synagogue bulletin.
"A child is helpless and defenseless," the rabbi argues, noting that the law and the Halacha (Jewish law) see a person who fails to report of what he knows as bearing responsibility.
Under the headline "It's a duty to report, at all costs!", Rabbi Aviner says that "the desire not to report in order to have mercy on the beater or the abuser might be a desire frequently derived from sincere motives, but first of all we must have pity on the helpless child. The battered child's fate comes first."
In this context, the rabbi refers to data pointing to the fact that among the religious public, physical and sexual abuse is more severe than among seculars.
"It's not because the religious are more violent," he says, "but because it is more prevalent among the religious public to refrain from reporting and only do so when the situation becomes unbearable. By that time the child suffers greater damage."
'Child's fate is in our hands'
According to Rabbi Aviner, Jewish law views child abuse as extremely severe, and Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, leader of Israel's Lithuanian non-Hasidic haredi Jews, has even ruled that a battered child should be removed from his home even if he is adopted by a non-Jewish family.
And who is responsible for reporting abuse cases? "According to Jewish law, the first and definite fidelity duty of anyone who knows is towards the battered child," Aviner wrote, adding that "from a legal point of view, if the person who knows is a professional in the field, for instance a social worker or a psychologist, and he fails to report – he may receive a jail sentence of half a year."
He admitted, however, that there were cases in which there is was obligation to inform the authorities.
"If the beater or the abuser is aware of his problem and is willing to receive the proper therapy, and in addition meets his commitment and goes to therapy, and is supervised by responsible elements, only in such a case there is no need to report… In all other incidents, with no exception, one must report and fast. The child's fate is in our hands!"
With due notice I discovered some key words from Rabbi Aviner that leads me to believe that Yudi Kolko should never have been reported to the police.
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"If the beater or the abuser is aware of his problem and is willing to receive the proper therapy, and in addition meets his commitment and goes to therapy, and is supervised by responsible elements, only in such a case there is no need to report… In all other incidents, with no exception, one must report and fast. The child's fate is in our hands!"
Abuse scandal: Accused mother says allegation a vicious lie
Mother-of-12 accused of severe child abuse goes on record for first time since her arrest, categorically denies all accusations against her
Neta Sela
Ynet exclusive: Beit Shemesh mother-of-12 accused of severe child abuse speaks out for the first time since the horrendous affair was revealed.
K. has been under house arrest in Jerusalem for two weeks. She is awaiting trial for abusing her children and for failing to report incest among the children.
In her first interview to the media, she insists all the accusations against her are a vicious lie: "Nothing of the kind ever happened. I never abused my children. If I hit them, it was nothing more than spanking, and even that didn't happened more than once every couple of months, educational spankings."
ust over a month ago, the state filed a severe indictment against her, for aggravated assault and abusing a minor. The indictment included multiple counts detailing years of abuse and neglect, as well as graphic details of the ways she used to beat her children using belts, sticks and a rolling pin; smash their faces into her kitchen countertop, wake them up by pouring cold water on them, throw bleach at them, put out matches on her son's chest and cut her daughter's hair as means of punishment.
But K. is sure she will be vindicated, even from the allegations that she knew of incestuous relations among the children and said nothing: "I don't believe any of these lies. I'm well aware of the lies being told about me and this too is a lie," she said.
Nothing more than a game
"There's a proverb – 'He who spares the rod hates his son'," she said when confronted with the allegations she used to chain her children to a chair and hit them. "It tells of how Solomon's mother tied him up and bit him until the Messiah emerged. The kids read it and decided to act is out. It was a game."
While in prison, those around her began fearing for her life. Being a vegan, she stopped eating almost completely. She spends her days praying, reading the Book of Psalms and saying very little. According to reports, she used to communicate with her children by passing them notes.
"After I realized I was wasting my time with them, that they just won't listen to me I decided it was better to spend my time praying," she explains – on paper.
Faced with her radical chastity, we asked how could it be, that she of all people is suspected of committing such unchaste acts. She believes God is testing her, saying the experience has made her faith even stronger: "I know the heavens are testing me, to see if I'll break and give up my chastity.
"Every day I tell the lord how much I love him and when they respected my chastity in prison I saw the good lord hasn't abandoned me… on the contrary, my faith is stronger. I realize the heavens have sent me to see how miserable the people of Israel are. It’s like they told me – 'You have to see what's really going on and who needs you to pray form them.
"The women here began reading Psalms and even the wardens are dressing more modestly… I have seen that Israel is holy and now I pray every day, as hard as I can, for God to have mercy on all of Israel, to help them find their faith, so that everyone can see the coming of the Messiah and be redeemed."
'Mother Taliban'
Supported by the mass wave of modesty sweeping over ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem, K. has found support in many women who have began attending her lessons and following her lead – wearing layers upon layers of clothes. Those layers have dubbed her "Mother Taliban". Her piety seems endless and the women surrounding her tell of devotion to the mitzvas of faith.
The last few years have seen many women begin radically covering themselves up, so much so that the ultra-Orthodox community has expressed some real concern about this eccentric behavior.
K. on her part, insists the dress was acceptable among Jewish women throughout history, and that it is secularism and education that have led to the change: "There is a prophecy saying that before the coming of the Messiah you will see women covering themselves completely and that will be the sign that the Messiah in on his way… there's nothing anyone can do. It is written in the heavens and no one can fight their will."
Supreme Court judge Hanan Melzer, who allowed K. to be released to house arrest, forbade her from having any contact with her children. She still cannot understand where the allegations against her came from.
"If I could talk to men I'd ask the judge where's his self respect, how can he even bring himself to ask me such things," she said.
Is there anything she would like to tell her children? "My sweet children, I love you very much," she wrote on a piece of paper, "and I'm not angry at any of you. I love God more than anyone."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3539181,00.html
Hallelujah! Thank you Tali Farkash for a riveting and insightful article!
====================================
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3528383,00.html
Monsters among us
Informing welfare services of sexual assaults in haredi community is a mitzvah
Tali Farkash
Published: 04.07.08, 11:42 / Israel Opinion
Like the rest of the people in Israel, I have also been following the recent child abuse cases. Like the rest of the people in Israel, I saw the harsh accounts, the children's horror stories, and I was disgusted, shocked and enraged. I must say, though, that I was not surprised.
For some time now, people like these parents have been conducting these acts under the radar of the welfare services and the police. It's not that the neighbors don’t know; it's not that they don’t suspect anything. It's just that they look to the other side, rather than "poke their nose" into other people's business. Being the Social Affairs Ministry's "informer" earns you no points among the haredi public, and being a police "delator" is a real mark of disgrace. And if there are those which came into this world to live in a moral and just society like the ultra-Orthodox sector, they must only pray not to meet the next assailant around the corner.
The first time I encountered a sexual assault incident I was too naïve to understand. It was in the sixth grade. A classmate told us secretly about a certain man on the street who likes to hug little girls and take their clothes off. My first response as a little girl was to giggle in embarrassment. This was probably a weird story by a weird girl, a fabrication, a way to get a bit of attention.
Several years later, when we were already studying in different schools, I repented. Why didn’t we say anything to anyone? How could we think that she would make up such a thing? But on second thought, even if one of the "adults" had known about it, I doubt it would have been taken care of. The most one can expect is a local organization, which would remove the "evil inclination" from the neighborhood pervert through beating.
The famous conspiracy of silence among the haredi population, which the welfare services and police are dealing with, is a mark of disgrace to the entire sector. Wanting to maintain an image of morality at any cost, they fall into the hole dug by negative elements in the name of Torah, in the name of righteousness. An intensive brainwash has turned psychologists into "religion's enemies", social workers into those "causing people to leave religion" and the police into the messenger of the foreign regime. In this glasshouse, monsters grow and thrive among us.
Failing to understand the deep motive derived from one's personality, and believing that this is "not a good deed" and that this man or woman will "repent" and behave nicely, all that is left is to watch how, due to naivety and a desire to believe in the good-heartedness of a sick and disturbed soul – people who are dangerous to their children, to the entire society, roam freely. Monsters.
Rabbi assaulted? Send him to a different yeshiva
Sexual assaults are a phenomenon which takes place in the State of Israel on a daily basis, unfortunately in the haredi sector as well. A girl goes downstairs to jump rope with her friends and is forces by a "bad man" to do bad things behind the bushes. A mother goes downstairs to throw the garbage and finds her son in the arms of a strange person. It's all true and it all happens in the haredi society's forgotten backyard. There is no police here and each person does what is right in his own eyes.
Those who read this indictment may feel that it is overly severe. That pedophiles and sadists do not roam the streets and do what they want with children, that there is no room for this radicalization. I am sorry. I regret to say that this is a mistake and that all those who refuse to see reality as it is are inviting themselves to live in a fool's paradise.
Teachers or rabbis known to have sexually assaulted continue to teach as if nothing ever happened. If worst comes to worst, they may have to move to a different yeshiva or Talmud Torah school. Their victims are ashamed to even share their experiences with their parents. For years, they suffer in silence, enduring the repression and humiliation. Too often, they turn into tomorrow's assailants.
The moment people understand that those dangerous perverts are a certain percentage of the population which has developed a mental-sexual disorder, the moment they are no longer swept inside and protected instead of the victims because "he might change" or "because it may only be a small crisis that will pass," all those existing and future victims will be liberated.
In the meantime, take very good care of your children, and remember, monsters also pray in the synagogue and teach in the Talmud Torah school. "Informing" the welfare services is anonymous and is a mitzvah.
State helpless in face of skeletons in haredi closet
In spite of efforts by welfare officials, local rabbis, state authorities are unable to curb rampant child abuse in ultra-Orthodox families
Yael Branovsky
Published: 04.03.08, 08:03 / Israel Jewish Scene
One harrowing case after another, yet welfare officials stand by helpless: Faced with a string of heart wrenching cases of child abuse in the haredi community, even state officials now concede that they have only been able to reach this closed community on rare occasions, and often too late.
One recent, disturbing case, for instance, in which a Netivot mother had sexually abused her son, only came to light when the son began to attend boarding school and molested a fellow pupil. The social workers who handled his case quickly realized that the child had no idea that what he was doing was wrong.
Dalia Lev-Sade, director of community services at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, stated in an interview with Ynet that seeing as the haredi community is so sequestered, haredi children enjoy less exposure to societal conventions of right and wrong.
“This is a group that is extremely closed off from the rest of the world, and so many times we are unaware of problems within the community and cannot intervene.”
“The case in Beit Shemesh is a classic example,” recounts Lev- Sade. ”Even though the family was monitored by welfare services, the social workers involved could not fully understand the family, nor the essence of the problems it was facing, because they kept such closely guarded family secrets. Only when something drastic occurs can we actually begin to take action.”
The ultra-Orthodox community, however, is slowly becoming more open, according to Lev-Sade. “The haredi community is slowly opening up and coming to realize that you can’t keep the skeletons in the closet forever.”
Orlet Moyal, director of welfare services at the Bnei Brak Municipality, tends to haredi families on a daily basis and knows all too well that that road to reaching this clandestine community is long and torturous. “It was nearly impossible to reach the haredi community just a few years ago, but we began to come up with creative means of reaching this community without offending its sensibilities.
“We wanted to be able to reach the haredi community before things became disastrous,” says Moyal, "and so we contacted local rabbis and rabbinical councils and urged them to mediate and intervene when families were reluctant to accept help.”
'More willingness to report abuse'
Dr. Yitzhak Kadman, head of the National Council for the Child, believes that it is the closed and reticent nature of the haredi community that in many instances precludes intervention by state authorities in child abuse cases.
“The haredi community firmly opposes airing its dirty laundry out in public, like we saw with many kibbutz communities in the past. The haredi community is extremely concerned about its public images, and in many cases rabbis did not allow families to go to the police and report abuse.”
Kadman noted, however, that this trend is mercifully changing. “In recent years there is more willingness among haredi families to report abuse. In our council alone, 30% of individuals involved in a project tending to victims of sexual abuse are haredi.”
Doron Aggasi, director of the Shlom Banecha foundation, which aids victims of sexual abuse and violence in the haredi community, stated that the recent public cases of child abuse within the haredi community indicate that the haredi world is changing for the better when it comes to reporting such crimes.
“These kinds of cases were often stifled in the past, because the haredi community was unwilling to disclose anything. Now however, people are far more aware of issues such as sexual abuse and familial violence, be it through exposure to the internet or other sources.”
Aggasi maintains that it is rabbis that are at the forefront of these positive changes in the haredi community.
“Rabbis have asked me about the best treatment options for pedophilia and sexual deviance, and we are currently training social workers to treat both victims and perpetrators.
"In this respect, the haredi community has bypassed its secular counterpart by far, because this is a very motivated, obedient society that has taken heavy handed measures to help curb such phenomenon.”
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3458853,00.html
Rise in number of abused haredi women
New generation of rabbis encouraging battered Orthodox women to seek help, involve police. Welfare minister: Conspiracy of silence on this issue slowly being broken
David Regev
The number of calls made to hotlines for victims of domestic violence in the Orthodox community has increased three-fold over the past few years, Yedioth Ahronoth reported Thursday.
The number of haredi women who called the hotlines jumped from 477 in 2004 to 1,402 in 2007, while the number of women who were housed in shelters for battered women each month nearly doubled, from 24 to 40 on average.
Attorney Noah Korman, who established the first shelter for abused haredi women in 2000 and opened a second one two years later said, "The phenomenon of violence against women exists in the Orthodox community just as it does in any other, but it was not made public as it was in the secular sector. Haredi women preferred to keep it secret. It must be remembered that domestic violence brings great shame on an Orthodox family."
According to him, haredi women turned to the hotlines and shelters as a last resort.
"Women who arrived here did so after suffering years of abuse, when they felt they were in danger and could not take it anymore," Korman said.
'It's strictly forbidden to beat a woman'
He said the change in the rabbis' position regarding the phenomenon was also instrumental encouraging more abused women in the community to seek help.
"Haredi women are becoming more and more aware of the dangers related to domestic violence, and the new generation of rabbis is encouraging them to file complaints and break the cycle (of violence)," Korman said.
David Yosef, the rabbi of Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood and the son of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, declared on Wednesday that it was "strictly forbidden to beat a woman.
"If the need arises to involve the police in this matter, then they should be involved," he said.
Korman said most of the violent incidents against haredi women take place on Shabbat due to the fact that on weekdays the men are usually studying at yeshiva or tending to other matters.
He said that in many cases the violence erupts at the Shabbat diner table, adding that many of the haredi women arrive at the shelters with their children, "sometimes with nine or 10 of them".
On Wednesday Welfare Minister Issac Herzog visited a shelter for battered haredi women for the first time.
"The conspiracy of silence regarding violence against Orthodox women is slowly being broken, and we plan on helping them as best we can," he said.
Agriprocessors associate summoned to grand jury
Published: 05/23/2008
An Iowa businessman with ties to the kosher slaughterhouse targeted in last week's immigration raid was summoned to appear in June before a grand jury.
Ron Wahls, a guidance counselor in the Postville public schools and the owner of several rental properties in town, said he received the subpoena Thursday, the Des Moines Register reported.
It is unclear whether Wahls has been called as a witness or as a potential target of a government investigation. A spokesperson for the Northern Iowa U.S. Attorney's Office would neither confirm or deny that a grand jury has been convened in connection with the Postville raid.
"The obvious thing to say is that they're building a case against the Rubashkins themselves," said Marc Stern, general counsel to the American Jewish Congress.
An R.W. was named in the original government affidavit that laid the legal groundwork for last week's raid at Agriprocessors, which netted 389 illegal immigrants. R.W. is alleged to have carried an envelope of cash with which he paid undocumented Agiprocessors employees.
Wahls told the Des Moines Register that he is probably the R.W. named in the affidavit.
Wahls has ties to Agriprocessors and its owners, the Rubashkin family of Brooklyn. He participated in a November 2006 meeting in Minneapolis with Sholom Rubashkin, who runs Agriprocessors, and two Jewish officials trying to improve conditions at the plant. A page on the Agriprocessors' Web site, headlined "Finding a Home: Postville Housing," identifies Ron Wahls as the builder of apartment buildings to house workers at the plant.
Phone messages left for Wahls at his home and office, as well as for a spokesperson for Agirprocessors, were not returned.
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- U.S Rep. Bruce Braley wants to know the cost of immigration raids at meatpacking plants.
The Iowa Democrat has asked federal officials for a tally of last week's raid at the Agriprocessors Inc. plant in Postville and similar action at Swift & Co. plants in Marshalltown and five other Midwest cities in 2006.
In a letter to Immigration and Customs Enforcement Assistant Secretary Julie Myers, Braley says it's important that his constituents in Iowa and all U.S. taxpayers know how their money is being spent.
ICE spokesman Tim Counts says it's not possible yet to calculate the costs of the Postville operation because it's not over. He says he's not aware of any total costs calculated for the raids at the Swift plants.
Friday, May 23, 2008, 8:50 AM
by Jeff Abbas, KPVL, Postville
A former worker at the northeast Iowa meatpacking plant that was raided by immigration agents last week is making allegations about management. During the course of an interview conducted Thursday at KPVL Radio in Postville, a former employee of AgriProcessors stated he purchased false documentation at the plant.
After working for a year and being paid in cash, an AgriProcessors supervisor approached the man and asked him if he would like to have a raise and be paid by check. When the employee told the supervisor he had no documentation, the supervisor informed him he could provide a Social Security number and a name for the employee for $150.
ICE officials raided the plant on Monday, May 12th, arresting 394 undocumented workers and have begun charging them individually with the criminal charge of aggravated identity theft.
234 Agriprocessors detainees have now pleaded guilty to criminal charges
WATERLOO --- A total of 234 of the 389 individuals detained from the May 12 immigration raid at Agriprocessors in Postville have now pleaded guilty and were sentenced, U.S. attorney Matt Dummermuth's office said.
A total of 94 individuals have pled and been sentenced through midday today, in addition to 140 who went through the process Monday and Tuesday.
Criminal court proceedings began at 8 a.m. today at Electric Park Ballroom on the National Cattle Congress grounds and were anticipated to be concluded at about 9 p.m.
Court activties on the NCC grounds are anticipated to be concluded in time to not conflict with activities on the NCC fairgrounds related to this weekend's annual Fourth Street Cruise, NCC officials have said.
All 94 individuals sentenced today indicated they admitted they were in the United States illegally and face deportation; many also received prison sentences of varying duration, and supervised release or probation. Individuals sentenced Wednesday pleaded to a variety of charges, many of them for use of a false identification document or a false Social Security number or card. Some pleaded guilty to unlawful re-entry into the United States.
Read Friday's Courier and online updates for more details.
There is nothing that says children can't work in a slaughterhouse.
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Employers may have been recruiting students as young as middle school to work in the plant, she said, and it is "unjust" that only workers are being penalized.
http://www.alternet.org/story/86130/
Sex Abuse in the Name of Religion Isn't a Lifestyle -- It's Sex Abuse
By Ellen Goodman, Truthdig. Posted May 23, 2008.
The call to understand the polygamous sect as just another unique corner of multicultural America is relativism run amok
Will The Rubashkins Serve Time?
http://youtube.com/watch?v=GfFiW_gVxZ4
Kosher workers allege sex abuse
Published: 05/20/2008
Former workers at the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse allege they were the victims of sexual abuse.
The allegations come a week after federal agents arrested 389 illegal workers at Agriprocessors in what authorities describe as the largest raid of its kind in U.S. history.
The new allegations were made by Sister Mary McCauley, a Roman Catholic nun at St. Bridget's Church in Postville, Iowa, where Agriprocessors is based.
If a worker wanted a promotion or a shift change, McCauley told the Des Moines Register Monday, "they'd be brought into a room with three or four men and it was like, 'Which one do you want? Which one are you going to serve? "
McCauley and the staff at St. Bridget's have taken the lead in providing humanitarian assistance to those affected by the raid.
Agriprocessors would not respond directly to McCauley's allegations, the Register reported.
of the documentary recording the horrific conditions within the world's largest glatt kosher slaughterhouse, AgriProcessors Inc. Narrated by author, Jonathan Safran Foer, this video records
Sex Offender Arrested after Exposing Himself in Bookstore
KTLA News
May 23, 2008, 12:57 PM PDT
ARCADIA -- A young girl is recovering from a terrifying experience at an Arcadia bookstore, and a registered sex offender is in custody.
Police say Jaime Elvis Elizondo, 33, brushed up against the 5 year old girl and exposed his genitals while shoppers watched in horror and the girl's father sat just a few feet away. The incident was captured on the store's surveillance camera.
Elizondo, a resident of San Gabriel, is under arrest, suspected of "touching his exposed genitals up against a young female child" in a Borders bookstore at Westfield Santa Anita, 400 S. Baldwin Ave., according to Arcadia Police Chief Robert P. Sanderson.
Witnesses confronted the suspect and he fled, but one of the witnesses was able to identify the suspect from the National Sex Offender Registry, police said.
Elizondo was arrested and booked on suspicion of one count of committing lewd acts with a child. He was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail.
Anyone with additional information regarding the attack was asked to contact Detective Dan Crowther at (626) 574-5149.
That's too harsh of a sentence. If yodi kolko got no jail time, then why should I?
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Child Molester Gets 24 Years In Prison
David Fitch Molested Girl For 3 Years
SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- A Clifton man received a 24-year prison sentence after being found guilty of child molestation on Thursday.
According to Solicitor Tony Leibert’s office, 47-year-old David Fitch was found guilty of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor, second-degree criminal sexual conduct with a minor and lewd act on a minor.
Prosecutors said the assaults occurred over a three-year period, ending in July 2003. They said the victim, who was between 11 and 13 years old when the molestation happened, stayed at Fitch’s home on several occasions.
The victim’s mother told authorities about the abuse, prosecutors said, and the victim detailed the molestation during interviews with the Children’s Advocacy Center.
Prosecutors said medical evidence collected during the course of their investigation also helped in the case.
Fitch was ordered to serve at least 85 percent of his sentence before he is eligible for release. He will also have his name added to the sex offender registry.
Man accused of molesting 10 boys
by NANCY ESHELMAN, The Patriot-News
Thursday May 22, 2008
A Middletown man faces charges that he molested 10 boys, while detectives say the number of alleged victims could double or more.
Submitted photoCharles R. Koons III, 38, of Middletown.
All charges against Charles R. Koons III, 38, who lived in the Village of Pineford apartment complex, were waived into Dauphin County Court before District Judge David Judy today.
Koons had been charged April 8 with sexually assaulting a child from July 2005 to June 2006. In late April, he was charged with six additional counts of indecent assault, unlawful contact with children, corruption of minors and sexual abuse of a child. More charges, involving three more boys, were filed Thursday, and Koons was returned to Dauphin County Prison in lieu of $1.1 million bail.
Middletown Detective Mark Hovan said police believe there could be as many as 15 other victims from the Middletown, Hummelstown, Highspire, Steelton, Derry and Swatara and Lower Swatara township areas. Anyone whose child had contact with Koons may call Middletown police at 717-948-3000.
welcome to EyeOnAgriprocessors.org, an independent online resource for consumers, retailers, policymakers and the media about Agriprocessors, Inc. – the nation’s largest kosher meat producer.
Located in Postville, Iowa, Agriprocessors' business practices in the areas of food safety, the environment and health and safety have been investigated by government officials and repeatedly cited for problems including numerous violations.
This website was created by the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union. Source documents from U.S. government agencies are also available for download on this site. Please feel free to browse these pages as we continue to bring you the latest information on Agriprocessors’ business practices.
Child Labor Investigation
Advocates: Workers Allege Sexual Abuse
Immigration raid: Union fears action hurts probe
In lawsuit, detainees allege abuse by company
Widespread Worker Abuses Alleged At AgriProcessors
Please Don’t Politicize This Horrific Story
Written by Rabbi Levi Brackman
Friday, 11 April 2008
This week a horrific story of child abuse came to light in Jerusalem. Child abuse is always terrible and leaves psychological scars on its victims. Tragically in this case, one of the children involved has been severely and irreversibly physically injured as well.
However, what makes this case even more disturbing, if such a thing were possible, is the fact that the person who inspired and advised this abuse called himself a rabbi. Elior Chen, together with some of his students, is suspected of beating two children aged three and four with hammers and knives and other instruments over many months. The three-year-old finally fell into a coma last month, and is not expected to recover.
Any normal human being finds it difficult to read the horrific details of the abuse in this case. How a parent could allow this to be done to his or her child and even participate in it is beyond comprehension.
Unfortunately, religion has its share of crazies and phoneys that use a religious façade for their own nefarious and narcissistic purposes. The so-called rabbi involved in this case was such a person. Clearly he had tremendous influence over his followers, and sadly they trusted in him completely.
Lamentably, however, as is happening with the tragic Kolko case in the United Sates some in Israel have politicized this horrific case and used it to bash the Haredi community as a whole. Some have claimed, falsely, in my opinion, that abuse is commonplace within the Haredi community and for appearance’s sake is just brushed under the carpet. Of course there are psychopathic people in every society, but anecdotal evidence and my experience—having lived among both groups of people—tells me that family and domestic problems are far less common in Orthodox and Haredi communities. The following incident will illustrate this.
Nearly ten years ago I had the distinct honor and privilege of accompanying one of Israel’s senior rabbis to a meeting with Rebbe Moshe Yehoshua Hager of Vizhnitz, who currently resides in the Israeli town of Bnai Brak. During the meeting, Rebbe Hager related that he had just been visited by the Israeli Chief of Police who told him that there was, at the time, a serious problem with juvenile criminals in Israel. Rabbi Hager told us that he asked the police chief how many of these juvenile criminals were Haredi. “None,” the police chief replied.
Whatever problems and difficulties the Haredi community have—and they have their fair share—they seem to have their domestic arrangements figured out rather better than secular society does.
This dreadful case of abuse must not be used as a reason to stereotype Haredi rabbis either. What we now know about Elior Chen demonstrates that he is a person with serious mental health problems and the case should be seen as such rather than as a general community issue.
Most Haredi Rabbis I know are good, well-intentioned people, who have not only have a deep knowledge of the Torah and Judaism but also a lot of wisdom in other areas, including the rearing of children. It is therefore perfectly normal for religious parents to go to their rabbi for advice on how to deal with a difficult child. It is equally obvious that psychologically healthy parents would never listen to the advice of any person—no matter how spiritual or divine he seemed—if he told them to hurt their own child.
The perpetrators in this case need to be brought to justice and feel the full weight of the law. It is, however, mistaken and in horribly bad taste to use this heartbreaking and horrific case, as some have, to attack and stigmatize an entire community of good and decent people, the overwhelming majority of whom manage to bring up their children in an enviable manner.
Last Updated ( Friday, 11 April 2008 )
Maven writes on Failed Messiah:
This group was a fringe militant group that ran afoul of the law and all common sense a few years ago when they tried to blow up the Mosque. They have no Orthodox or other religious backing. It is a collection of psychopaths claiming to be "Breslov", which is a convenient label since anyone can claim to be "Breslov" as it was a non-dynastic chassidut, and the name once had some "alternative" chic cache (amazing how easy it is to destroy the reputation of a great thinker, no matter what these folks do I will love Likutei Moharan and the stories).
These guys are goons, the police has had to come in to their "yeshiva" more than once.
I pointed out the possible link to the mosque maniacs some time ago, by the way…
Any link these psychos have to Judaism, Torah, Jewish thought or history is accidental at best (and you folks out there know I am not a reflexive defender of anything in a kippa). They need to be arrested and thrown into a locked prison psychiatric unit like Son of Sam or other criminal schizophrenics no matter what outfit they wear. This was true of Uzi Meshulam as well, and surprisingly, he still has defenders!
As many readers have pointed out, this problem is compounded in Israel due to popularity of opposition to "refuah conventionalit", science, education, and the economic situation that causes people to prey on others for profit (so that even properly trained doctors, to make money "under the table" will sell homeopathic and "alternativi" drugs in a cynical manner to the willing-deluded to make ends meet).
SephardiMan posts: "Breslov is an evil Ukrainian Jewish cult founded by a deluded but brilliant self proclaimed Messiah. No one who calls themselves ‘Sephardi’ has any business being involved in this nonsense."
Dave posts: "Kabbalah is a refuge for weak minds and idle minds. It was an aberration developed at a time of extreme persecution. If someone thinks they’re bored with studying Tanach and Talmud, the answer is not to start studying Kabbalah, but to get a job!"
PureSphardic posts:
READ FULL ARTICLE AT
http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=2708
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Chen_Elior.html
Case of Rabbi Elior Chen
Betar Illit, Israel
Jerusalem, Israel
Canada
This page is dedicated in honor of all children who were abused by the parents of those who followed Rabbi Elior Chen. May their healing journey go easy and they only know nonviolent - unconditional love the rest of their lives.
Rabbi Elior Chen, who fled to Canada shortly after one of his followers was charged with systematic child abuse including burning her toddlers, making them eat feces, and putting them in a suitcase for days. Chen was not charged with anything, but fled as news reports of the Jerusalem mother's detention were circulated, and it appeared she had committed the abuse following instructions from him on child disciplining techniques.
Chen is also accused of cult like practices.
Why is haredi-mocking an acceptable pastime for liberals?
If one is to be considered open-minded and non-judgmental, one must respect people who practice religion, no matter how crazy their customs seem
Published: 05.16.08, 08:51 / Israel Jewish Scene
A few nights ago I was invited to a Jewish storytelling event. Here in Denver we’re fortunate to have a team of three young Jewish guys who are dedicated to arranging high quality Jewish events for young people in the area. The event was co-sponsored by the hip Jewish publication that goes by the name of Heeb Magazine. Whilst it was on the whole a highly entertaining evening and most of the storytellers were very funny and their stories in good taste, there was one act that gave me specific pause for thought.
She was an ex-haredi-cum-academic. In her story she related about her personal experiences growing up as a very religious young girl in the haredi section of Boro Park in Brooklyn, New York. She could have given the audience, which was mostly made up of non-religious Jews, an interesting insight into the lives of Jews with whom they do not often associate. Instead, it turned into a session that made a mockery of our religious rituals. The fact that the story teller was an academic who teaches at a local university made her particular storytelling technique all the more troubling.
One cannot have it both ways
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot for a moment. What if the same type of story would have been told by a recent Baal Teshuva (returnee to observant Judaism) mocking non-observant Jews? I can just hear the outrage. “How could you be so judgmental?” people would ask. Or worse still, people would rightly accuse the storyteller of religious snobbery and of a reprehensible and insensitive type of condescension and arrogance.
By Joshua Runyan
May 22, 2008
As tens of thousands of people ascended a northern Israeli mountain to congregate at the resting place of a 2nd century mystical sage, the Jewish community of Japan ushered in this year’s holiday of Lag B’Omer with a get-together in a Tokyo backyard.
Marking the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, Lag B’Omer – it began Thursday night – is known throughout Israel as a time for bonfires and children’s parades, as well as pilgrimages to Bar Yochai’s gravesite in Meron. In Tokyo, Rabbi Mendi and Chana Sudakevich welcomed some 100 local Jewish residents for a barbecue with a Japanese twist: They grilled prime tuna.
“We have very good tuna here in Japan,” laughed the rabbi, who took a break from the cleanup to speak by telephone. “But we also had arts and crafts projects for the children, and talked a lot about Bar Yochai and his importance in the world.”
Sudakevitch, who has co-directed Chabad-Lubavitch of Japan for seven years, said that people find Bar Yochai, known in Jewish literature as the Rashbi, to be an inspirational figure. The Rashbi and his son, Rabbi Elazar, hid from the Romans in a cave for 13 years, during which time they learned the Torah’s esoteric secrets that were later codified in the Zohar. Soon before his death, the Rashbi instructed his followers that the day be celebrated as a time of profound revelations.
“The Rashbi brought a tremendous amount of light down here into this world,” explained Sudakevitch. “And that’s how Jewish life should be. We should be bringing heaven down to this world.”
Hours after the Tokyo party had disbanded, revelers in Philadelphia Thursday afternoon were still preparing for a large bonfire in the middle of the city. Sponsored by the Jewish Center of Northern Liberties, the second-annual bonfire had already generated tremendous media interest before the first wooden plank was lit.
“Last year, we promoted the event maybe a week before, and about 200 people showed up,” relayed 24-year-old Aviel Nisimi. “This year, we sent messages, we put up flyers, we did huge e-mail drives. We sent out more than 1,000 invitations.”
According to Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Gedaliah Lowenstein, co-director of the Jewish Center with his wife Shevy, the Lag B’Omer bonfire is the center’s premiere event. It helps that most people view a bonfire in the middle of the city as a curious anomaly.
“When I went to get the permit, I got very strange looks, because it’s not so common for people in the city of Philadelphia to make bonfires,” said Lowenstein. “We’ve received phone calls from all the television stations
The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Rabbis: We pushed Talansky to talk
Yaakov Lappin , THE JERUSALEM POST May. 22, 2008
New York financier Morris Talansky, the witness at the center of the corruption scandal engulfing Ehud Olmert, was encouraged to come to Israel this spring and give evidence against the prime minister by a group of leading rightist Israeli rabbis who want to bring Olmert down for fear he will cede Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount and other parts of Jerusalem, a spokesman for the rabbis said Thursday.
Talansky acknowledged receiving a blessing from an important rabbi just before he was interrogated by the police, but firmly denies being encouraged to testify before coming to Israel.
Yehoshua Meiri, speaking to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, said the Council of Torah and Kabbalah Sages, which he represents, gave Talansky "halachic approval" to disclose his financial contributions to Olmert in an Internet video conference held between the rabbis and an associate of Talansky six months ago.
"Talansky's appearance in Israel and police testimony was aimed at harming Olmert," Meiri said. "The only question was one of timing. When you have one shell left in your cannon, you have to decide when it's best to fire it."
The rabbis gave a second round of rabbinical encouragement directly to Talansky after he arrived here for Pessah last month, Meiri said.
"I received one blessing from Rabbi Haim Kanievsky," Talansky confirmed, but "there was no halachic decision - absolutely not."
Kanievsky is a leading haredi Lithuanian rabbi and heads the Council of Torah and Kabbalah Sages, which includes Rabbi Baruch Avraham Rakovsky of Jerusalem and Rabbi Shlomo Hamshalem of Beersheba, as well as rabbis from Judea and Samaria. The council was formed shortly after the death of the eminent Kabbalist Yitzhak Kaduri in January 2006.
"Talansky is a high-profile member of an Orthodox circle which supports the liberation of Jerusalem, meaning the buying up of real estate in the capital," said Meiri, a freelance journalist and one-time founder of the secularist Shinui Party who has since become religious.
"This circle had formed business links with Olmert - not for the purposes of corruption, but because they supported him ideologically," Meiri said. "But when Olmert announced during the Annapolis conference last November that he was prepared to relinquish parts of east Jerusalem and Jewish sovereignty over the Temple Mount, Olmert's Orthodox backers felt he had betrayed them. Suddenly, they had a fifth column in their midst."
Meiri added that once Talansky had landed in Israel, he again sought rabbinic blessing before speaking to police, since "he was about to harm another Jew. And he received that blessing."
Meiri described a paradigm shift in ultra-Orthodox thought in recent years on the issue of land. "There has been a big change toward the right-wing," he said.
Meanwhile, a team of National Fraud Unit detectives will fly to the US to discover the identity of other donors to Olmert, a number of sources said on Thursday.
A senior law enforcement official confirmed that police officers would head for the US shortly "as part of the investigation."
"They are not just on the trail of Talansky's money. They're looking for the other donors who gave to Olmert," a senior former police source said. "Talansky collected the cash of these additional donors [in addition to his own money] and transferred it to Olmert. Special bank accounts were created for this purpose, and credit card accounts were also used."
Olmert was due to be interrogated for around an hour on Friday morning, police said. It was to be the second round of questioning he has faced in connection with the investigation.
An hour is not enough time to glean much information, a former senior police officer said. "By the time they say good morning and caution him, 20 minutes will have passed," he said.
Uri Messer, Olmert's associate and former legal partner, was questioned again by the National Fraud Unit on Thursday, and his testimony will likely be read to Olmert on Friday by police, the source said.
"They will aim to confront Olmert with Messer's account of things to see how he will respond," he added.
A number of new details from the police investigation were released on Thursday after the media gag order on aspects of the case was lifted.
Copies of e-mails taken from the computer of Shula Zaken, Olmert's former bureau chief and long-time secretary, show how Zaken documented regular cash transfers from Talansky, whom she referred to as the "the laundry man."
"I received NIS 15,000 from the laundry man," Zaken wrote in one e-mail. "I transferred part of it to Ehud and the rest to Messer."
In total, $150,000 of Talansky's money was accounted for in seven of Zaken's e-mails recovered by the police.
Also on Thursday, reports said Talansky has paid for a number of Olmert's flights abroad as part of Olmert's "personal use" of Talansky's cash.
Ve must always trust the rebbonim mit de quvestions of what to do. Lmushel. Norman J. Young - a goy. It's possible the 13 year old made all this up.
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Man charged with sex abuse
GLENVILLE, N.Y. -- A Glenville man was arrested, after police said he sexually abused a minor over the past four years.
Norman J. Young is charged with several counts of criminal sex acts and endangering the welfare of a child.
An investigation found that Young sexually abused a child from 2004 through February of this year. Investigators say the victim was 13 years old when the abuse began.
Young is being held at the Schenectady county jail until bail is posted.
By Adam Belz
The Gazette
adam.belz@gazettecommunications.com
The world's largest kosher certification agency will continue to give its stamp of approval to products made at Agriprocessors, Inc. in Postville.
Rabbis at the Orthodox Union, a New York-based non-profit organization that certifies thousands of meatpacking plants around the world, are still supervising and certifying the kosher products made at the plant, but are watching to see whether the federal government finds the company guilty of any wrongdoing.
Immigration authorities raided Agriprocessors on May 12 and detained 389 people. Of those, 306 have been charged, mostly with some sort of document fraud or identity theft.
The company, which at full capacity produces around 60 percent of the glatt kosher meat and 40 percent of the kosher poultry produced in America, has not been charged with anything by the federal government. Search warrants, though, include allegations that supervisors mistreated workers and that there has been a pattern of hiring and continuing to employ illegal immigrants.
Several workers filed a class-action lawsuit Thursday claiming that Agriprocessors acquired false identification for employees and that supervisors were abusive.
Rabbi Menachem Genack, who oversees the Orthodox Union's certification system, said these accusations are serious and may have bearing on the plant's kosher certification.
"We rely on the government to make those judgments ... and we will wait to see where the facts lead," he said. "If Agriprocessors were criminally liable and it were a felony, that would be a matter of great concern."
A rabbi regularly visits the plant, Genack said, and certification is constantly under review.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines released a statement saying that if some of the charges against the company are correct, "the company would warrant the condemnation of the entire Jewish community in Iowa, and of Jews everywhere."
"What makes the circumstance particularly egregious to the Jewish community is that this corporation, which serves as a religious-based business, in producing kosher meat, has seemingly failed to adhere to both civil law and Jewish law," the statement said.
K'hal Adath Jeshurun, a Jewish congregation in New York that offers its own certification, stopped certifying Agriprocessors on April 16.
Rabbi Moses Edelstein would not say why, but said the plant had been certified since it opened in 1989.
Kosher foods are prescribed by Jewish dietary law, which governs the slaughter of animals and forbids consumption of some foods.
Meat produced at Agriprocessors that doesn't meet kosher standards is sold under the Iowa Best Beef Brand. In 2003, company officials said non-kosher meat made up 70 percent of Agriprocessors' sales.
On this special day, as we're firing up the backyard barbecue, stoking the slumbering campfire or heeding the good advice about buckling up and driving safely on a holiday return trip, it would be a shame if the real meaning of Memorial Day was lost.
Originally designed to honor Civil War dead, the purpose of Memorial Day has expanded over the years.
According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, many people confuse Memorial Day with November's Veterans Day, since both honor people who have served in the armed forces.
Memorial Day is a day for remembering and honoring military personnel who died in the service of their country, particularly those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle.
While those who died are also remembered on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, that day is set aside to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military -- in wartime or peacetime. In fact, Veterans Day is largely intended to thank living veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore that all those who served -- not only those who died -- have sacrificed and done their duty.
On this Memorial Day, we add another twist and again pay tribute to those who served in World War II. This newspaper was privileged to chronicle the involvement of Yakima Valley people in the war and at home with a two-part section, "The War Years," published April 6 and 13. The complete multimedia package of stories, photos and audio and video recordings is still available on our Web site, www.yakimaherald.com.
One of the reasons we took on this project is that we are constantly reminded that U.S. history's most remarkable generation is rapidly disappearing. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs estimates that of the 16 million members of the American armed services who served during World War II, only about 2.6 million are still living (56,000 in Washington state), and they're dying at the rate of about 1,000 a day.
There are several memorial services and events planned by local veterans' groups throughout Central Washington. They would welcome, and we would encourage, your attendance, and your acknowledgment of what the day is really about.
But it doesn't take organized activity to get us to pause and remember all those who paid the ultimate price in the service of their country. From the Revolutionary War to the current conflict in Iraq and all the wars in between -- such sacrifice demands and deserves our respect.
We owe so many for the freedoms we all enjoy, especially those who paid the ultimate price in the service of their country.
Today is a good day to pause and reflect on that.
* Members of the Yakima Herald-Republic editorial board are Michael Shepard, Sarah Jenkins, Bill Lee and Karen Troianello.
Deadly storms strike Iowa, Minnesota
Star news services
PARKERSBURG, Iowa | A state official said a powerful storm that tore through a rural area of northeast Iowa has killed seven people injured dozens more.
Meanwhile, a 2-year-old child was killed and eight people were seriously injured Sunday evening after a tornado plowed through Hugo, Minn., northeast of the Twin Cities.
The Minnesota storm destroyed or severely damaged about 150 homes.
The Iowa storm hit just after 5 p.m. Sunday and dealt heavy damage to the town of Parkersburg. The National Weather Service confirmed that a tornado struck the town of about 1,000 residents, 80 miles northeast of Des Moines.
Iowa Homeland Security administrator Dave Miller said five of those killed were from Parkersburg and two were from nearby New Hartford. At least 50 injuries were reported.
Houses lay splintered in a wide and long swath in Hugo — a small community in Washington County, Minn.— after a hail-bearing thunderstorm rolled east about 5 p.m.
A 6-year-old girl, who had been severely injured and whose heart had stopped, was revived in an ambulance on the way to St. John’s Hospital in Maplewood and later was transferred to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, said Anne Sonnee, a hospital spokeswoman.
The Associated Press and the Minneapolis Star Tribune contributed to this report.
Manuel Marulanda was an honorable Columbian.
Aron Twerski shouldn't just throw around that word. I am a Columbian.
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/brothers/362000_joyce521.html
Emotional abuse is harder to identify
Last updated May 20, 2008 9:33 a.m. PT
By DR. JOYCE BROTHERS
SYNDICATED COLUMNIST
When most people think of abuse, we think of bruises, violence and maybe even sexual abuse. But another common form of abuse leaves no outward physical signs, and, because of this, can be even harder to identify -- emotional abuse. Emotional abuse can encompass any verbal or psychological abuse, and is just as psychologically damaging as physical abuse. This quiz is designed to test your knowledge of emotional, or psychological, abuse.
1. Close friends and family are often the people best able to see verbal abuse that goes on in a relationship.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
2. In medieval France, men who had been abused by their wives were forced to wear a dress and ride backward on a donkey through town, so that the townspeople lining the streets could mock them.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
3. Emotional abusers are good at making their victims feel like the criticism and harassment are their own fault, and that they are somehow responsible.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
4. Senior citizens can abuse themselves when they neglect themselves and their own needs.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
5. The term "domestic abuse" encompasses solely physical abuse between spouses.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
6. Detrimental factors such as unemployment, low socioeconomic status or alcohol or drug abuse cause people to become abusive.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
7. Emotional abuse of a child can cover a range of behavior, from rejection of or ignoring the child, to terrorizing the child with harsh punishments and criticism or isolation, to allowing the child access to corrupting or inappropriate activities, like alcohol or drug use.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
8. Psychological or emotional abuse can have well-hidden effects that manifest themselves with other types of abnormal or antisocial behavior, such as depression, suicide attempts, insecurity, low self-esteem and alcohol or drug abuse.
TRUE ( ) FALSE ( )
ANSWERS:
1. FALSE. Actually, oftentimes it is fairly hard for close friends or family to identify verbally abusive relationships, because the abuser may only attack in very private settings. Since there are no outward physical signs, like there would be with physical abuse, it is sometimes necessary -- and important -- for the person who is being abused to recognize it on his or her own.
2. TRUE. While we thankfully don't have this type of public humiliation imposed on abused men today, it is hard for many men to admit to being abused. In fact, many more men likely are emotionally -- and physically -- abused than statistics show.
3. TRUE. This can cause the abused person to feel helpless and hopeless, and hide the fact that they are being abused. This type of abuse destroys the victim's self-esteem, and the longer it goes on, the harder it can be to recognize and take steps to change.
4. TRUE. Neglect is a type of abuse that occurs when goods or services needed to protect a person's health and well-being are not provided. When elderly people are not able to provide basics for themselves, such as keeping clean and sanitary homes or obtaining and preparing meals, they are effectively abusing themselves.
5. FALSE. Domestic abuse can include non-physical abuse, such as emotional abuse. It can describe any abusive behavior that is repeated by one person to control another with whom he or she has an intimate relationship. This includes all family members, not just husband and wife.
6. FALSE. These factors certainly do not cause a person to engage in abusive behaviors, but they can intensify and exaggerate the abuse. Domestic abuse occurs across all classes, races, ages and other variations in lifestyle and background.
7. TRUE. All of these examples are types of emotional child abuse. They can interfere with children's ability to develop normally. Infants who are deprived of basic emotional nurturing also can be severely affected by this type of abuse, and can grow into anxious and unhappy children with low self-esteem.
8. TRUE. Since emotional abuse can be hard to identify by outward symptoms, care must be taken to notice other secondary symptoms, such as those listed. In the case of emotional abuse of children, they may also fail to develop normal social behaviors and relationships, and may engage in angry or destructive behaviors such as setting fires, shoplifting or cruelty to animals.
If you were able to answer six of these eight questions correctly, you're more informed than most on this subject.
Write to Dr. Joyce Brothers via King Features, 888 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10019.
Ministers act to tackle rise in child abuse
5:00AM Tuesday May 27, 2008
By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - The Australian Government has launched a new attack on what it describes as an alarming rise in child abuse reported to authorities around the country.
Families Minister Jenny Macklin has announced plans to develop a national framework to tackle a 45 per cent increase in confirmed cases of child abuse over the past five years.
Status of Women Minister Tanya Pliberseck also yesterday named a new National Council to Reduce Violence Against Women and Children to develop another national plan to reduce domestic violence and sexual assault.
Figures from the Bureau of Statistics show that one in three Australian women suffers physical violence, and one in five experiences sexual violence, over her lifetime.
The latest moves in a broader federal attack on abuse and violence follow the continuing row over an exhibition of photographs of naked children as young as 12 by prominent Australian photographer Bill Henson.
The exhibition at Sydney's Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery was shut down last week and is now being investigated by police.
Despite strong support from the arts community, Henson's exhibition has been widely condemned as child pornography and yesterday ABC radio reported that similar photographs had been removed from the Albury Regional Art Gallery in southern New South Wales.
Releasing a discussion paper on the proposed new framework, Macklin said children must have time to be children, with all the wonder, happiness and innocence that childhood should bring.
"Over recent years the reported levels of child neglect and abuse in Australia have increased at an alarming rate," she said.
"Child abuse has become an issue of national concern, [but] statutory child protection systems are struggling under the load."
Macklin's discussion paper said that while statistics showed that notifications of suspected child abuse and neglect had more than doubled in the past eight years, no fully reliable information existed about the real incidence.
Authorities generally assumed that more cases occurred than were reported.
The figures that were available showed that the number of confirmed cases of children at risk had risen by 45 per cent since 2002-03, with the rates for indigenous children five times higher than others.
Describing indigenous abuse as an issue of national significance, the paper said rates of care and protection orders for Aborigines were seven times higher than national norms, and rates of out-of-home care were more than eight times higher.
The paper said that across Australia there was a high percentage of very young children in the protection system - on average, 65 per cent were younger than 10.
Demand for child protection services had soared and, with frontline staff facing "extraordinary" pressures, many agencies were struggling to find enough qualified staff.
And the paper said that the cost of emotional, physical and sexual abuse and neglect - beyond the long-term human suffering - was enormous.
A 2003 study estimated the direct cost to the nation at almost A$5 billion ($6.1 billion) a year.
Welcoming the paper and the plan for a national framework, the National Association for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect said new moves must focus on prevention.
Herald Marketplace
This story was found at: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/2/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10512652
Local
Maryland motorcyclists become Bikers Against Child Abuse
By KATE LECKIE, The Associated Press
HAGERSTOWN, Md. -
On the eastern edge of Washington County, a 9-year-old girl's best friends aren't into Bratz or Barbies. They prefer leather jackets and Harleys.
The blond-haired girl bounds into her den, clutching a white Teddy bear.
"Sounds like they're coming," the third-grader told her parents and towheaded little brother. "Sounds like rolling thunder."
A half-dozen of the visitors, dressed in blue jeans and leather, arrive on Harley-Davidson motorcycles. Ten others - including Bouncer, president of the Frederick County chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse - crammed into sports utility vehicles and cars.
Putting her Teddy bear down, the girl ran out to the driveway and gave Bouncer a hug.
He and the other bikers didn't need to see "Bad Bear." They'd seen the stuffed toy before.
About 10 weeks before, on her ninth birthday, the girl held "Bad Bear" tightly to her torso as she walked into a hushed courtroom in Frederick County Circuit Court.
For an hour and 20 minutes, her hazel eyes peered over the bear as she recounted how Donald Ray Fox sexually assaulted her and her 10-year-old cousin during naptimes at his Frederick home. The assaults occurred for several years.
"He would tell me I can't tell anybody or else he would burn down my house and hurt my pets, my toys and my family," she testified in December.
In February, Judge John H. Tisdale found her testimony believable - and Fox, 61, guilty on six abuse charges.
As the ponytailed girl testified, Bouncer leaned forward on the edge of his seat, hanging on every word.
Bouncer takes one of BACA's mottos - "No child should live in fear" - to heart.
"We like to empower the children and give them back some of the power that has been taken away from them," he said.
Their visit was one of about a dozen to the girl's home since BACA became involved in her life roughly two years ago. Members of BACA, an international organization, offer support to abused children.
And their support doesn't end when the case is closed.
"They're BACA children until they're 18 years old," Bouncer said.
BACA members come from all backgrounds and those who make the commitment undertake risks themselves, he said. Because of death threats against a Texas member, the organization now prohibits members from disclosing their real names.
Assistant State's Attorney Lindell K. Angel said BACA members were instrumental in making the girls feel secure while on the witness stand. Their parents were not allowed in the courtroom during their testimony.
"They're very concerned," said Angel, lead prosecutor in Fox's trial. "They're very helpful. They come to court when they're needed."
Her parents think so too and consider the bikers extended members of the family.
"They've been wonderful to us, offering to sleep on the couch or stand guard outside her window," her mother said. "Having BACA's support has made her feel overwhelmingly safe and gave her the strength in court to get out what she needed to say."
The girl's father said BACA gave his daughter a sense of physical and emotional support.
"They gave her a much-needed lift of confidence," he said.
BACA has chapters in Frederick, Carroll and Anne Arundel counties.
"The family's been through a lot," Bouncer said. "We hope our being here helps them to heal. We let them know we're around 24 hours a day, if they need it."
What child abuse problems is this writer referring to, I do not know of any that exist in the frum velt?
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Experts look to end child abuse
By Robert Miller Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 05/26/2008 09:26:32 AM EDT
DANBURY -- People choose -- individually and collectively -- how they want to live.
"When I first started out as a doctor, everyone smoked unfiltered Lucky Strikes," Dr. Edward Bailey, an associate professor of pediatrics at Tufts University's School of Medicine, said Friday at the 10th annual Child Abuse Prevention Conference at Danbury Hospital.
"If I were speaking here 25 years ago, you all would have had little ashtrays next to your seats and everyone would have been smoking. But we've changed the paradigm. Isn't it wonderful?"
In the same way, Bailey said, we have cut lead out of the environment, reduced rates of drunken driving, and used vaccines to rid the U.S. of polio and make childhood disease likes measles and mumps all but nonexistent.
But Bailey said the U.S. still hasn't focused its energy and social will on the issue of child abuse, though the total cost of neglecting and abusing children may be $100 billion a year in medical costs, lost productivity, incarceration costs, and lives wasted by alcoholism, drug abuse and psychological damage.
"I don't know how it will take place," Bailey said, "but we need another paradigm shift."
Bailey said such a shift is possible. Many states are trying different approaches to the problem and there have been successes.
But he said the nation also needs to make a major financial commitment to make a shift in public consciousness a reality.
"If we can spend $100 billion a year on treating the effects of
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child abuse, it seems to me we could spend $100 million a year in prevention," he said.
Bailey said there are people forging ahead with this issue. One of the most important, he said, is James Heckman of the University of Chicago.
Heckman isn't a doctor or a social worker. He's an economist who won the 2000 Nobel Prize in his field.
Bailey said Heckman's analyses have shown programs like Head Start have had a major influence in people's lives that has reached far beyond the preschool and grammar school years or IQ measurements.
Students who attend Head Start programs are more likely to graduate from high school, own their own homes and have higher-paying jobs, Bailey said.
"The most effective interventions are in the preschool years," Bailey said.
K. Casey Jordan, a professor of justice and law at Western Connecticut State University who also spoke at the conference, emphasized that one way to address the problems of child abuse is to address the root causes of the stress that often results in a parent abusing a child.
Jordan said varied cultures and ethnic communities view corporal punishment differently. Teachers, police officers, social workers and doctors have to be aware of those differences, she said, not out of cultural relativism but because you can't make progress with a family by assuming moral superiority.
"You can't just say to people, 'This is America. This is how we do things and you've got to change,'" Jordan said. "There's no one-size-fits-all."
At the same time, Jordan said, a close examination of many cases of child abuse -- no matter what the culture or ethnic background of the parents -- shows they stem from the stress of life.
Often that's economic stress. But there can be pressures from family members and from society as a whole that fill an adult's life with anger, frustration and despair. Then he or she strikes out.
Both Bailey and Jordan stressed that child abuse and neglect know no socio-economic barriers.
"The message in the past has been this is a problem for 'those people,'" Bailey said. "But we've seen a lot of problems in Massachusetts, in towns like Marblehead, which is one of the most affluent towns in the state."
Jordan said that to help, there has to be a lot of common-sense problem solving. If a family is having trouble paying the rent, she said, the best thing to do is find a way to help them pay it, not wait until the family falls apart.
"Sometimes it's something as simple as needing someone to talk to," she said.
At the same time, if the threat of child abuse appears imminent, teachers and doctors have a moral responsibility to intervene. "You can't risk the life of a child out of respect for their culture," Jordan said.
Bailey of Tufts said there is a national movement under way to make five promises to children: the promise of caring adults around them; of a safe place to live; of medical care; a good school; and the opportunity to help others.
"Surveys show that 21 percent of the children in the United States get none of these," he said.
Bailey said a program to combat child abuse has to involve a broad coalition of groups. It also has to be upbeat.
"We can't harangue people," he said. "We have to give parents the message that we can do something. We have to give them help and support."
But, he said, the choice for the U.S. is clear -- either create a change in the way people view and treat child abuse or continue to suffer the consequences.
"You can spend money on early intervention," he said, "or you can pay for jail time."
Contact Robert Miller
at bmiller@newstimes.com
or at (203) 731-3345.
Adults get tips to prevent, act on child sex abuse
Jennifer Chambers / The Detroit News
PONTIAC -- Acts of sexual abuse against a child are difficult for most adults to comprehend, but a new program aims to make sure they aren't difficult to report.
The program, geared toward training teachers, day care providers and parents to recognize signs of sexual abuse, promises to get children the help they need and gives adults tools to react appropriately to often horrific circumstances.
"Stewards of Children" is a national program created by Darkness to Light, which trains adults to prevent youngsters from being sexually abused by minimizing opportunities for predators, and teaches them how to act on suspicions of sexual abuse.
Cindy Bridgman, director of community outreach for CARE HOUSE of Oakland County, which is implementing the program around Oakland County, said most current programs teach children about their bodies and how to talk to adults about abuse.
"Training adults is a gap that no one else addresses," Bridgman said. "We as a society feel strongly that children should be kept safe by adults, but in no other circumstances -- other than sexual abuse -- do we tell kids to watch out for themselves."
One aspect of the program deals with why many adults have trouble reporting allegations of child sexual abuse.
"It's so devastating for us to think that someone could do this," Bridgman said. "Most kids are put into the care of someone we pick. So, as an adult, we have to accept that someone we know could be an abuser. The program helps us prepare ourselves that it's a possibility -- you are aware of what needs to take place so you don't go into panic and denial."
The three-hour training sessions come with a workbook, DVD and some startling statistics: one in four girls and one in six boys is sexually abused before age 18.
Ninety percent of abusers have a relationship with a child.
"Abuse is so traumatic. It's almost impossible for children to verbalize so an adult can know. We need to learn what we can pick up on as adults," Bridgman said.
Examples include unexplained changes in a child's behaviors. Perhaps once they were into potty training, but now they aren't. They used to love to go to swimming lessons and now they don't. Sexual behavior and language that are not age appropriate can be a red flag.
State law requires certain people, called mandatory reporters, to report allegations or suspicions of child sexual abuse to police and child protective services.
In 2006 in Oakland County, 12 people -- including several teachers -- were prosecuted for failure to report.
"There are a lot of misconceptions of who needs to report, when and how," said Deb Carley, Oakland County's chief deputy prosecutor.
For information, call CARE House of Oakland County at (248) 332-7173.
You can reach Jennifer Chambers at (248) 647-7402 or jchambers@detnews.com.
Hindu Priest Charged With Sex Abuse Gets $10 Million Permit To Visit India
NEW YORK - A Hindu priest, arrested three weeks ago on charges of groping two children, has been permitted to visit India after a follower agreed to put up a whopping US$ 10-million guarantee that he would return to the United States.
Prakashanand Saraswati, 79, founder of the Barsana Dham Centre in north Hays County in Texas-- one of the biggest Hindu temples in the US -- was released on a US$ 1 million bail by District Judge Bill Henry in April.
Saraswati was indicted on 20 counts of indecency between 1993 and 1996. He was arrested on April 24 at the Washington Dulles International Airport, after he arrived on a flight from Europe, where he had been receiving treatment.
In an arrangement described as 'unusual' by legal experts, Peter Spiegel, an entrepreneur listed as a managing member, director and treasurer of JKP, Barsana Dham, the corporate name of the temple founded by Saraswati, agreed to pay the massive guarantee money, in an arrangement approved by State District Court Judge Charles Ramsay, the American Statesman reported on its website.
Saraswati retrieved his passport late last week, according to Hays County court records. A spokesman for Barsana Dham said that the priest intends to visit India soon.
District Attorney Sherri Tibbe said that her office argued against permitting the priest to leave the country.
"We oppose anybody, who's out on a felony bond, leaving the country," she said.
According to other provisions of the release, Saraswati was prohibited from entering Barsana Dham property at any time, as the offences allegedly occurred there.
Barsana Dham owns more than 200 acres of land and its 35,000-square-foot temple, opened in 1995, attracts hundreds of worshippers every Sunday.
Molesters from yeshivas are all welcome to work for us. Yudel Nussbaum and Yudel Kolko should take us up on this offer quickly.
http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/200805250065
WHEELING - A teenager suing a Roman Catholic Diocese claiming he was sexually abused has added a service organization to his lawsuit, his lawyer says.
The Clarksburg teen, who was not identified in court papers, is seeking damages from the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, as well as former and current church officials and now the Key Club chapter of West Virginia.
The amended lawsuit filed Friday claims that the late Rev. Charles E. McCallister sexually abused the now 19-year-old at a hotel during district and state Key Club conventions. It also alleges that an organization overseeing the Key Club allowed McCallister to return after receiving at least one report that he had inappropriate contact with a minor.
A lawyer for the Key and Kiwanis clubs disputed the allegations, including that McAllister had been previously suspended by Kiwanis as alleged by the plaintiffs.
"These defendants had no knowledge of alleged prior bad acts of Father McAllister," attorney Joseph M. Farrell Jr. said.
The amended lawsuit said McCallister was the administrator of the Key Club at Clarksburg's Liberty High School. The lawsuit claims McCallister sexually abused the teenager for three years, starting in 2003 while he was a Key Club member. The Key Club is a service organization with affiliates on more than 5,000 high school campuses, primarily in the United States and Canada.
The original lawsuit filed in February accuses the diocese of negligence and claims church officials covered up the alleged sexual abuse.
The diocese initially denied the allegations but later reported them to authorities in March 2007. The diocese suspended McCallister, who died in October as police were investigating.
The lawsuit claims the abuse made the 19-year-old depressed after he began college. He was hospitalized in March 2007 and withdrew from college. He also attempted suicide on several occasions, the lawsuit said.
"How can those who are responsible for preparing religiously fit meat not conduct themselves in a religiously proper manner? It's an embarrassment to the Jewish community; how can this be seen as Jewishly fit?" asked Henry Karp, a Reform rabbi in Davenport, Iowa. The word "kosher" in English means "proper" or "fit."
http://www.themilitant.com/2008/7222/722254.html
Vol. 72/No. 22 June 2, 2008
Iowa workers talk about
raid, plant conditions
BY SETH GALINSKY
POSTVILLE, Iowa—“It was a human-hunt,” said one woman at the trailer park near the Agriprocessors meatpacking plant here. Referring to the immigration raid at the plant two days earlier, she told the Militant that “they surrounded the plant and used helicopters. What they did was criminal.” Her son, an undocumented worker from Mexico, was arrested during the raid.
The U.S. government has brought criminal charges against 306 out of 389 workers arrested. Charges include: “misuse of Social Security number,” “aggravated identity theft,” and “possession of counterfeit identification.”
The May 12 raid was the biggest single-site immigration roundup in U.S. history. Agriprocessors is the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the country.
Sixty-two workers have been released on “humanitarian grounds,” such as having minor children. They must wear electronic ankle bracelets and are not allowed to leave the state while awaiting a court hearing.
The woman whose son was arrested had worked at the plant until a couple of weeks ago. She described the conditions there. Shifts of 12 or more hours a day were the norm, she said.
Starting wages were only recently raised to $7.25, and workers said that the highest wage for Latino production workers was $7.75 per hour, $5 per hour less then most packing plants in Iowa. Other employees were given the easiest jobs, more breaks, and were paid substantially more than Latino workers, who are mostly from Mexico or Guatemala.
At nearby St. Bridget’s Catholic Church, the hundreds of men, women, and children who sought refuge during the raid were still there two days later. By May 16, most had left the church, after fears of another roundup by ICE eased. Most of those at the church were second-shift workers, who stayed away from the plant during the first-shift raid. Others had successfully hidden or escaped during the raid, in some cases with the help of coworkers who are U.S. citizens.
Volunteers from many churches in the region provided three free meals a day to the raid refugees, along with toiletries and some clothing.
Although still in a state of shock because of the scope of the raid, many of the workers at the church wanted to talk about the horrendous conditions in the plant.
“Many people lost fingers and hands,” one worker said. “The line was so fast.”
“My job was to twist the necks of 100 chickens a minute,” said another worker.
Several said that the company fired workers with on-the-job injuries when they could no longer work on the production line.
When workers asked for pay raises the supervisors told them if they didn’t like it, “there’s the door.”
According to several workers interviewed, one of the bosses from Agriprocessors came by the church the day after the raid and asked employees to come back to work for $14 per hour.
According to the Waterloo Courier, 200 workers briefly walked off the job a year ago when the company announced it had received “no-match” letters from the Social Security Administration, alleging that some Agriprocessors employees did not have proper work documents. The United Food and Commercial Workers union publicized the walkout at the time.
At a convenience store and gas station on the outskirts of town, frequented by many area farmers, the cashier said, “To be honest, the raid sucks. They’re just tearing apart families for no good reason.”
In what the Des Moines Register termed an “unusual agreement,” federal authorities will allow detained workers who are not criminally charged to stay in Iowa for several more months. After the December 2006 raid at Swift & Co., which included the plant in Marshalltown, Iowa, immigrants who were arrested were rapidly shipped out to detention centers around the country and deprived of the ability to meet with their lawyers or see their families.
A lawsuit filed May 15 by lawyers for three of the detained workers charged the U.S. government with violating Fifth Amendment due process rights by imposing “prolonged and indefinite detention” and hampering access to lawyers. The lawsuit also charges that Agriprocessors withheld pay for “immigration fees,” denied compensation for overtime, and refused to let employees use the restroom during work shifts.
There is this movie called "fast food nation" that when I watched it reminded me a lot of the Rubashkins.
If you watch movies then this is one you should see.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460792/synopsis
The plotline follows separate subplots that all coalesce around the meatpacking industry. From the Fast Food company executive sent to investigate charges of shoddy processing, to the processing plant use of illegal immigrant labor, to all the lives that are collaterally touched by each participant in the food chain, the movie examines the entire US ethic of providing a packaged experience better, faster, and cheaper. The movie does not leave out gory details, but instead lets the viewer decide what the end result should be by providing no neat conclusions, nor happy endings, but more importantly imparts a series of possible topics for discussion with a background of how the problem developed and the interdependent parties involved. In total, the film could easily be shown as an instructional video for a college level course in corporate responsibility.
This convicted sex offender has been in violation of registration requirements since 03/21/2003.
WARNING: Rabbi Mordechai Yomtov, is in violation of sex offender registration requirements in California for past 2 years. If you know his whereabout please notify the California authorities at: (916) 227-4974. Convicted of sexual abuse and committing lewd acts against three boys)
It's disturbing that people in the Jewish community do horrible things to children and then don't want to own up to it. When they get exposed they suddenly become all religious. They say hilul hashem, loshon hara, but is it? Do these people want us to look the other way? They should get real and stop faking it.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Wednesday the United Nations will investigate allegations by a leading children's charity that UN peacekeepers were involved in widespread sexual abuse of children, along with international aid workers.
Calling the sexual exploitation of minors a "very serious issue," Ban reiterated his "zero tolerance" policy for any acts of sexual abuse or exploitation of children by UN peacekeepers.
The Save the Children UK report, based on field research in southern Sudan, the Ivory Coast and Haiti, describes a litany of sexual abuses committed against children, including some as young as six.
"I think that the report is very valuable and does give us some good points to which the United Nations should continue to address this issue," Ban told reporters.
"On all these cases which have been raised, we will very carefully investigate" and will take "necessary measures" where appropriate.
The study is based on research, confidential interviews and focus groups conducted last year. The group emphasised it did not produce comprehensive statistics about the scale of abuse but did gather enough information to indicate the problem is severe.
It said some children were denied food and aid unless they granted sexual favours; others were forced to have sex or to take part in child pornography; many more were subjected to improper touching or kissing.
May 27, 2008
Sexual abuse warrants issued for 2 former Hawkeyes
BY TOM WITOSKY and RANDY PETERSON
REGISTER STAFF WRITERS
Two former Iowa football players sought on charges of sexual abuse should be in custody soon, Johnson County Attorney Janet Lyness said today.
"At this point, we are in the process of notifying the two men and their lawyers that there are arrest warrants out for them. We expect to have them in custody fairly soon," Lyness said.
Lyness made her comment in response to questions concerning a University of Iowa announcement that campus police had issued arrest warrants for Abeberell "Abe" Satterfield, 19, of Erie, Pa., and Cedric D. Everson III, 18, of Detroit.
The warrants are in connection with an alleged sexual assault on Oct. 14 at the Hillcrest Dormitory on the Iowa campus, the school’s statement said.
Both players have left the Iowa program and are now out of state. Satterfield was listed on the spring football roster at Indiana University of Pennsylvania; Everson was listed as a member of the Alcorn State football team this spring.
Everson, a defensive back from Detroit, is to be arrested on a charge of second-degree sexual abuse. Satterfield, a defensive back from Erie, Pa., is to be arrested on charges of second-degree and third-degree sexual abuse.
State laws defines sexual abuse in the second degree as an act made during the commission of sexual abuse in which the person displays in a threatening manner a dangerous weapon, or uses or threatens to use force creating a substantial risk of death or serious injury.
In addition, the crime is defined as second-degree abuse if the person is aided by one or more persons and is committed by force or against the will of the other person against whom the sex act is committed. Second-degree sexual abuse is a Class B felony and carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.
Third-degree sexual abuse takes place under a number of circumstances including when the act is done by force or against the will of the other person, whether or not the other person is the person's spouse or is cohabiting with the person.
In addition, the crime is defined as third-degree abuse if the act is performed while the other person is under the influence of a controlled substance or is performed while the other person is mentally incapacitated, physically incapacitated or physically helpless.
Third-degree sexual abuse is a Class C felony and carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
Lyness said that initial charges would be filed against the two men after they are taken into custody and make their intial court appearance.
She also said that arrests in the case, which has been under police investigation since November, were delayed until now out of consideration for the alleged victim.
"The safety and well-being of the reported victim was paramount in the decision about when to file the charges," Lyness said. She declined to elaborate on the statement.
The issuance of the arrest warrants takes place more than six months after University of Iowa officials acknowledged that a police investigation was underway into allegations of sexual abuse potentially involving members of the Hawkeye football team.
The investigation conducted by campus police, with the assistance of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and Iowa City Police, targeted an alleged assault of a woman during the early-morning hours of Oct. 14 in a room at Hillcrest Residence Hall.
A campus police report last week indicates that an incident occurred between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. Oct. 14.
At that time, police conducted searches of several campus dormitory rooms, including Hillcrest room N123, Satterfield's residence, according to university online records.
Those search warrants have remained under seal since they were issued last November.
In December, athletic department officials issued a statement that Satterfield and Everson had decided to transfer from Iowa.
The players were removed without explanation from active participation with the team Oct. 23.
The arrests this week will raise the number of Hawkeye football players arrested in the past year to 16.
Today, Gary Barta, Iowa athletic director, issued a statement in which he indicated that the role played by university and athletic officials in the investigation is likely to come out.
"This has been a difficult situation for everyone involved. From the day we learned about the incident, I have been deeply concerned and we have taken it seriously," Barta said, adding that "our first concern was for the young woman."
Barta expressed confidence in the university's handling of the investigation.
"As part of the process, all staff involved worked to follow university procedures and protocol. I am very confident that happened," Barta said.
Football coach Kirk Ferentz also said he had been concerned "for everyone involved."
"Abe and Cedric left the football program last fall after several meetings with me. Because this is still a legal matter and the information is sensitive, I cannot discuss the specifics of those conversations at this time," Ferentz said in a statement.
merunan veraboisy. This is not fair. What's wrong with a drawing of a rebbe giving his student a genital massage?
---------------------------------
Drawings of sex abuse to be made illegal
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
All images of child sex abuse, including drawings and computer-generated images, are set to be made illegal following a Ministry of Justice consultation on the subject.
The proposals include a maximum three year jail term for those found guilty.
Child safety groups had been concerned paedophiles could circumvent current anti-abuse legislation by digitally manipulating abuse photographs.
Justice minister Maria Eagle said: "These new proposals will help close a loophole that we believe paedophiles are using to create images of child sexual abuse...
http://www.politics.co.uk/news/opinion-former-index/policing-and-crime/drawings-sex-abuse-be-made-illegal-$1224609.htm
This is my kind of town!
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gHPmXeCozwbOwo7VU7ZmrIWxPKdQ
"Children as young as six are trading sex with aid workers and peacekeepers in exchange for food, money, soap and, in very few cases, luxury items such as mobile phones," Save the Children said in a report.
http://www.forward.com/articles/13443/
As Furor Grows in Wake of Immigration Raid, Kosher Meat Company Drops CEO
By Ben Harris, JTA
Tue. May 27, 2008
Mounting pressure from Jewish groups and members of Congress has led the largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States to start searching for a new CEO less than two weeks after federal agents arrested nearly 400 of its employees in a massive immigration raid.
Aaron Rubashkin, the founder of Agriprocessors, announced May 23 that he intends to find a replacement for his son Sholom as company CEO.
The announcement follows statements from three Jewish organizations raising the specter of a boycott, the launch of a campaign by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, and a call from U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) for an investigation of the company.
“The best course of action for the company, its employees, the local community and our customers is to bring new leadership to Agriprocessors,” the senior Rubashkin said in a statement.
The Brooklyn butcher and Chabad-Lubavitcher, who founded the company in 1987, added, “The company has begun the search for a new permanent chief executive officer. We have engaged a team of industry experts to help us identify and secure a new leader who can help us meet the needs of Agriprocessors today and in the future. We will make more information on the search process available by the end of next week.”
The statement reiterated that “due to pending legal issues,” the company would not respond to specific allegations. They include charges of hiring underage workers, sexual harassment and withholding of overtime pay...
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/90854/6419748.html
08:51, May 28, 2008
Hamas: No progress in prisoners swap with Israel
A senior Islamic Hamas movement leader denied on Tuesday that a progress was made in the indirect talks with Israel to exchange Palestinian prisoners for a captured Israeli soldier in Gaza.
"So far, nothing has been changed and the situation is as it is," Osama al-Mzeini, a senior Hamas leader who is well-informed told reporters in response to earlier reports that a progress of prisoners swap has been made.
Israeli corporal Gilad Shalit was captured by Hamas movement's armed wing and two other armed groups in Gaza in an attack on an Israeli army base on the border between Israel and southeastern Gaza Strip in June 2006.
Egypt has been mediating between Israel and Hamas movement to release Shalit for releasing several hundred Palestinian prisoners in addition to women, children, aged and sick prisoners from Israeli jails.
"Hamas movement has presented a list prisoners it wants to free, but Israel has rejected to release all of them and has only agreed on a few number of them," said al-Mzeini.
Hamas has also rejected to include the issue of the soldier Shalit in a ceasefire deal with Israel. It said the two issues are separate. So far, no progress was announced in both issues.
Source:Xinhua
Obama mistaken on name of Nazi death camp
By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writer
The Barack Obama campaign said Tuesday the candidate mistakenly referred to the wrong Nazi death camp when relating the story of a great-uncle who helped liberate the camps in World War II.
The Democratic presidential candidate said the story is accurate except that the camp was Buchenwald, not Auschwitz.
"Senator Obama's family is proud of the service of his grandfather and uncles in World War II — especially the fact that his great-uncle was a part of liberating one of the concentration camps at Buchenwald," campaign spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement. "Yesterday he mistakenly referred to Auschwitz instead of Buchenwald in telling of his personal experience of a soldier in his family who served heroically."
Aides said Tuesday that his grandmother's brother, Charlie Payne, helped liberate a Buchenwald sub-camp in April 1945 as part of the 89th Infantry Division.
In a meeting Monday with veterans, Obama discussed the importance of improving treatment for soldiers suffering post-traumatic stress. To illustrate his point, he talked about his own family.
"I had an uncle who was part of the first American troops to go into Auschwitz and liberate the concentration camps. The story in our family was that when he came home, he just went up into the attic and he didn't leave the house for six months," Obama said. "Now, obviously something had really affected him, but at that time there just weren't the kinds of facilities to help somebody work through that kind of pain."
Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet forces as they marched across Poland in January 1945. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum says Americans liberated several death camps in Germany, including Buchenwald, Dachau and Mauthausen.
"On April 4, 1945, the 89th overran Ohrdruf, a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp. Ohrdruf was the first Nazi concentration camp liberated by U.S. troops in Germany," according to the museum. "A week later, on April 12, Generals Dwight D. Eisenhower, George S. Patton, and Omar Bradley visited Ohrdruf to see, firsthand, evidence of Nazi atrocities against concentration camp prisoners."
Obama's mistaken mention of the camp on Monday quickly generated Internet chatter, ranging from puzzlement to outrage. The Republican Party demanded an explanation.
"It was Soviet troops that liberated Auschwitz, so unless his uncle was serving in the Red Army, there's no way Obama's statement yesterday can be true," said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
Israel-Society
Years after the occupation of a land by Israeli occupiers, the foundation of the Zionist regime reminds anyone of killing and driving thousands of Palestinians out of their homes.
Having declared independence in 1948, the Zionist regime managed to bring in a huge number of Jews from across the world to Palestinian occupied lands, promising immigrants a better life in a Jewish society.
But the regime, on the 60th anniversary of its foundation, is facing several social problems caused by disharmonious population.
An Israeli police official says moral and social problems are now a main threat to the Israeli regime. Followings are examples to show the diminishing moral values.
Prostitution:
Slavery is one of the factors increasing insecurity in Israel.
Israel is called 'heaven of human traffickers', as far as incomes from slavery are concerned. A United Nations report in 2006 put Israel among the top ten countries, out of 137.
Israeli parliament the same year released a report announcing that between 3,000 to 5,000 women from countries such as Ukraine, Moldavia, Uzbekistan, Russia, Belarus, China, Philippine, and Thailand annually enter Israel where they are sexually abused.
In addition to human trafficking, mainly targeting women, depravity has sharply increased among Israeli girls and women. The Jerusalem Post reported that prostitution age has declined from 16 to 10 in recent years.
Crimes:
Multi-cultural phenomenon existed in immigrant-receiving societies is one of the main reasons behind the increase in crimes. In a society like Israel in which moral and financial corruption of its top officials are hot stories of the world media, it's natural that crimes by ordinary people become a routine. Making roadblocks, aggressive behavior to police, murder, sex abuse, child abuse, robbery and extortion are among these crimes.
Interesting point is that the real number of crimes is much more than what is registered in Israel's statistics center, since the official data only include crimes that are reported to police offices.
Drug Use:
Drug trafficking and the unbridled use of narcotics is increasing in Israel too. According to Israeli sources, at least seven percent of adults and 10 percent of the youth are addicted to one type of narcotics, mostly consuming marijuana, heroin, and Ecstasy, which are respectively imported from Turkey, Thailand, and the Netherlands.
According to Jerusalem Post, hundreds tons of these narcotics are annually sold in Israel. Israeli police officials say over 20,000 cases of drug exchanges in public are reported in a year.
Full article
http://www2.irna.ir/en/news/view/menu-239/0805147762191318.htm
When a chilul hashem is created, it doesn't necessarily have to desecrate hashems name in front of the gentiles. Even if they caused a chilul hashem and only the jews knew about it, that still is a desecration of hashem's holy name.
There are certain times though, that the almighty permits his name to be desecrated. Like by child sexul-abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse. Hashem will not allow other animals to hurt a child that he treasures so dearly.
http://presence.baltiblogs.com/2007/04/12/baltimore_rabbis_address_sexual_abuse_in_the_jewish_community.html
April 12, 2007
Baltimore Rabbis Address Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community
Just before the last days of Pesach, congregants of Shomrei Emunah received an email from R. Gottlieb that he would be addressing the entire shul on "a very important and timely issue confronting our community," over Yom Tov. Speculation abounded as to the topic, but most thought the issue at hand was sexual abuse in Baltimore community.
The second day of Yom Tov, R. Gottlieb did indeed devote his drasha to the topic of sexual abuse. The drasha came in advance of a letter that is being sent to the Baltimore community with a statement adopted by the Va'ad HaRabbonim of Baltimore on the issue of sexual abuse.
Since taboo and silence are the two greatest enablers of abuse, R. Gottlieb asked us to resist our natural inclination to do several things:
* To deny allegations are true.
* To hide behind the laws of lashon hara or chillul Hashem (*).
* To minimize the damage done to those that are victimized.
* To not talk about the issue of sexual abuse with our children.
R. Gottlieb acknowledged that, in the past, cases of abuse have been mishandled because of giving in to these natural inclinations, and that, even if the intentions were from a good place, that this resulted in even greater damage.
The Va'ad is in the process of putting together a systematic approach that will delineate proper behavior in an effort to prevent sexual abuse, such as guidelines for schools and educators. As an example, the Va'ad is looking to the city of Chicago, which recently formed a special beis din to address claims in an open and forthright manner. This will hopefully help prevent incidents of sexual abuse from occurring, as well as help ensure an open process of addressing incidents that do arise, God forbid. There is also the very real concern of false accusations, which, R. Gottlieb also mentioned, has occurred as well.
More details will be available in the letter coming sometime this week. R. Gottlieb is also in the process of formalizing his remarks and will make them available to those that are interested. My thoughts will follow in a separate post.
* By "ignoring" the laws of lashon hara, it is my understanding that R. Gottlieb did not mean that issues of abuse are open for public discussion, nor that one should readily believe anything that is printed in the press or on the web. Rather, if one knows of a case of abuse and does not investigate, or does not report it, or does not inform others of the potential danger, out of a fear of spreading "lashon hara," they are in error. There is no issue of lashon hara if you are protecting an innocent person from damage. This is commonly applied in the realm of shidduchim.
The Darkness to Light Show: Breaking the Conspiracy of Silence, hosted by Kathleen Brooks, Ph.D. is a talk show designed to both feature experts in the area of child sexual abuse and offer an arena for people who are concerned about this issue to discuss and share their experiences of courageously facing and healing this global epidemic.
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/sexual_molestation/shapiro_found_guilty/
Special Report: Sexual Molestation
March 10, 2008
Shapiro Found Guilty
Phil Jacobs
Former bar mitzvah lessons teacher Israel Shapiro was found guilty of child sexual molestation and given five years probation last Monday morning, March 10, in an Alford plea entered before Judge John P. Miller in Baltimore City Circuit Court.
With an Alford plea, a defendant does not admit to a crime and asserts innocence, but admits that sufficient evidence exists with which the prosecution could probably convince a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty.
Emotions ran high in the packed courtroom. Indeed, family members on both sides were saying tehillim (psalms) during most of the proceedings.
Mr. Shapiro, a resident of Olympia Avenue in Upper Park Heights, who works in a butcher shop, was also sentenced to perform 300 hours of community service and pay some $10,800 in restitution to one of the victims. In addition, he was ordered by the court to keep away from anyone under the age of 18, and to refrain from any computer interaction with someone under the age of 18.
The charges were brought to the court by the State’s Attorney’s Sex Offense Unit. The allegations were made by the plaintiffs dating back to 1987-88 and 1993-94.
Mr. Shapiro was arrested and charged in early December. He is the son of the late Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro, who was the center of a BALTIMORE JEWISH TIMES investigation of alleged sexual molestations.
Mr. Shapiro, 58, dressed in a gray suit with black shoes and wearing a black yarmulke, listened attentively to the words of Judge Miller, and then the words of the two plaintiffs and the plaintiffs’ father.
“This is difficult for me,” one of the plaintiffs told the court. “This man destroyed my life in many ways.
“While he was teaching me my bar mitzvah lessons,” continued the plaintiff, “he held me in his lap and had his hand down my pants. I was always taught to look up to an adult, a teacher or a rabbi. I thought there was something wrong with me because of what was going on.”
The plaintiff went on to say that he would later learn that there were other boys who were allegedly molested by Mr. Shapiro. He also said that the process of pressing charges against Mr. Shapiro was difficult, that the system was “stacked against me.”
He then took a hit at area rabbis by saying that instead of taking on Mr. Shapiro’s transgressions, the rabbis took him away from teaching kids by placing him in the employ of a butcher shop.
“I will continue with this process,” said the plaintiff. “I am taking back the power he stole from me.”
The plaintiff, who was there with his wife and other family members, said that he felt the probation verdict was a “good deal for him. He deserved a lot more.”
He ended by facing Mr. Shapiro and saying directly to him, “I’m not going anywhere. You will never have any control over my life again.”
The plaintiff’s brother, who was also listed as a plaintiff in the case and a victim of Mr. Shapiro’s, looked at the defendant and said, “You are guilty. You are a disgusting man.”
The plaintiffs’ father said, “These events in our children’s lives were extremely stressful. They have taken a major toll on our family. I wish I wouldn’t have been so naive that this was happening. This is a serious matter, and the ramifications are still years ahead. It impacted both of my boys.”
Mr. Shapiro declined to answer any of the charges or comments made against him. Judge Miller said that the Alford plea is the same as a guilty plea, and then said, “This is a very serious matter. The court does not take this lightly.”
By law, Mr. Shapiro is not required to be on a state sexual molesters registry, based on when the crime occurred.
According to the State’s Attorney’s office, if the crime had occurred after 1995, he could possibly have been eligible to be listed on the registry.
The Shapiro Case File
• Israel Shapiro entered an Alford plea. This means he accepts the sentence, but does not admit guilt;
• He received five years suspended and five years supervised probation to child sexual abuse and third degree sexual offense;
• He must stay away from the victims;
• He cannot have any unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18;
• He must accept any treatment that Parole and Probation deems necessary;
• He cannot use the computer to contact directly or indirectly children under the age of 18;
• He must pay $180 a month restitution to one of the plaintiffs for five years;
• He must perform 300 hours of community service during the first two years of the probation. That service will be determined by Parole and Probation.
Am I wanted or something? leave me alone!!!
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Sydney, Australia — Australia’s tight-knit ultra-Orthodox community is being roiled by allegations that the principal of a girls’ high school molested a number of her former students.
Malka Leifer, headmistress of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Girls’ School for the past five years, left the country within 24 hours of board members confronting her with allegations of sexual misconduct March 4, according to school board members.
Her departure is particularly controversial, due to allegations that she left with up to $100,000 borrowed from community members. A teacher at the school told the Forward that Leifer borrowed money from members of the community who were unaware of the impending furor.
Leifer, a mother of eight in her late 40s, denied any wrongdoing to the school’s board, but since she was ordered to step aside pending a full investigation, she believed she “might as well resign,” according the school’s lawyer, Norman Rosenbaum. (Rosenbaum’s younger brother, Yankel, was murdered by an anti-Jewish mob in Brooklyn during the Crown Heights riots in 1991.)
A day after speaking with the school, Leifer left for native Israel.
The allegations and swift departure have traumatized the 1,200 members of Adass Israel, an...
History of Past Sexual Abuse in Married Observant Jewish Women
Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D. , Michelle Friedman, M.D., Talli Y. Rosenbaum, P.T., Ellen Labinsky, Ph.D., and James Schmeidler, Ph.D.
OBJECTIVE: The authors examined instances of past sexual abuse and related demographic characteristics in the self-reports of a select group of married observant Jewish women. METHODS: Orthodox Jewish married women (N=380) ages 19 to 58 responded to advertisements asking them to complete an anonymous questionnaire about sexual experiences, including sexual abuse. RESULTS: Sexual abuse was reported by 26% of the respondents surveyed, with 16% reporting abuse occurring by the age of 13. More ultra-Orthodox Jews reported abuse than modern-Orthodox Jews. Women who were raised observant reported significantly less childhood sexual abuse than those who became observant later in life. Sexual abuse was associated with increased treatment-seeking for depression, marital counseling, or other emotional or psychological problems. CONCLUSION: While observant Jewish women live in a culture defined by a high degree of adherence to specific laws of conduct, including rules designed to regulate sexual contact, sexual abuse of various types still exists among them.
"A rabbi recently suspended from the Reform movement's rabbinic organization because of sexual impropriety has been hired to a top position by a program that sends thousands of young Jews on free trips to Israel. Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman, who resigned as president of the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in December, will become executive vice president of Birthright Israel USA, Inc., based in New York. He was recruited for the position by Michael Steinhardt, the hedge fund manager-turned-philanthropist who co-founded the Birthright program. Zimmerman's hire is raising some eyebrows in the Jewish community, though many leading figures praised the appointment ...
Susan Weidman Schneider, editor of the feminist Jewish magazine Lilith, said, 'Although the specific nature of Zimmerman's actions have not been made public,' his hire 'seems to repeat a pattern in Jewish life where male rabbis known to have transgressive behaviors in their past have not often suffered professionally for it.' The appointment comes on the heels of another controversy surrounding the program: the fact that two of Birthright's top lay leaders wrote pardon letters on behalf of [fugitive] financier Marc Rich, who gave $5 million to the organization."
http://just-another-inside-job.blogspot.com/2004/05/jewish-sexual-abuse.html
http://www.jewishsf.com/content/2-0-/module/displaystory/story_id/8147/format/html/edition_id/154/displaystory.html
Sexual abuse strikes at the Jewish community, too
Friday February 27, 1998
RONNIE CAPLANE
Bulletin Correspondent
Nine years ago, a 19-year-old religious woman came to see clinical social worker Gail Bessler-Twerski. The woman had the traditional shaved head and wig, but her husband reported she wore sheer stockings, listened to secular music and read mainstream magazines. She was about 100 pounds overweight and couldn't get pregnant.
Although she had sexual difficulties in her marriage, she had been meeting men in hotel rooms. The family's rabbi had referred her to Bessler-Twerski.
During treatment, it came out that between the ages of 9 and 16, the woman's father had sexually abused her. There was evidence that the father also had abused her two sisters.
Child molestation in the Jewish community? According to Bessler-Twerski, the typical Jewish reaction is, "This could not happen to us."
But the social worker knows all too well that it can.
A practitioner in Roslyn, N.Y., Bessler-Twerski was in the Bay Area for the ninth annual International Conference on Jewish Medical Ethics, sponsored by the Hebrew Academy. On Monday of last week, she addressed an audience of about 50 on the residual effects of childhood molestation among adults.
"Sexual abuse and incest exist in the general population, even in our community," said Bessler-Twerski, who sees substantial numbers of Jewish clients in her practice.
Unfortunately, she estimated, only one in six cases overall gets reported. And this means that a victim and the family fail to use the best defenses against the problem -- prevention, early detection and treatment. "The child is taught not to talk about it," she said.
Some of the reasons victims and other family members remain silent rather than report the crime or seek treatment, Bessler-Twerski said, are denial, fear, shame, feelings of responsibility and loyalty to the perpetrator. Even when a victim does seek treatment as an adult, the childhood episodes are not always reported.
Using examples from her own practice, Bessler-Twerski described some typical symptoms of hidden abuse, which include eating and sleep disorders, sexual dysfunction, depression, withdrawal, borderline personality disorders or even multiple personalities. She told the largely professional audience to look for a cluster of symptoms when making a diagnosis.
Although boys also are the victims of sexual abuse, Bessler-Twerski -- who serves the traditional Jewish community in her practice -- has only treated female victims.
Comparing the effects of childhood molestation to the post-traumatic stress disorder of Vietnam veterans, Bessler-Twerski said reactions are often delayed and may not emerge until triggered by some event.
Examples include being in a new situation, the death of the perpetrator, pregnancy, birth or having one's own child reach the age when one was abused.
While there is no evidence that abuse is higher in the Jewish community than in the general community, Bessler-Twerski said Jewish families are not immune from the cycle of abuse that passes from generation to generation. She described a religious man who had sex with seven of his grandchildren, both boys and girls. He had been abused as a child and was never treated.
In that family Bessler-Twerski tracked four generations of abuse.
"Offenders need treatment, too," Bessler-Twerski said.
She said the community needs to be educated about child molestation and the importance of getting a victimized child into a safe environment.
Bessler-Twerski's husband, Abraham Twerski, was in the audience. A rabbi, psychiatrist and author, he said the Jewish community is reluctant to acknowledge a problem in its midst. He told of getting a call from a woman who tried to buy a copy of Twerski's most recent book about domestic violence, "The Shame Born in Silence," at her local Jewish book store. The store told her that it refused to carry the book.
Twerski said one reason Jews are afraid to admit problems is out of concern that no one will want to marry into the family.
"Everything takes time," said Twerski, who has been speaking about alcohol and drug abuse in the Jewish community for 20 years.
Although sexual abuse can devastate a family, with treatment, there is hope, Bessler-Twerski said.
Recently the religious woman who had been sexually abused as a child came to see her. The formerly obese woman was bright-eyed, slender, well dressed and happy. She had divorced her first husband, remarried and was expecting her first child.
The Secret Epidemic by Karl Tipple
We hear in the mass media every day about the epidemics of AIDS, drug abuse, gang violence, domestic violence, poverty, and the death and human misery that these problems cause. There is one social ill of equally damaging proportions that society has so far refused to acknowledge: The sexual abuse of boys. It is well documented that as many as 1 of 3 girls is sexually abused before she reaches 16 ; what is still not widely known by the public and much of the psychiatric community is that as many as 1 in 5 boys are sexually abused before he reaches 16. This statistic was quoted from Matthew Parynik Mendel's book "The Male Survivor: The Impact of Sexual Abuse." The sexual abuse of boys, and of children in general, knows no economic, social, cultural or geographic boundaries. A major contributor to the problem is the prevailing shroud of myths that muddy the issue and allow perpetrators to continue their actions unabated......
Riskin to launch interfaith center
Published: 05/29/2008
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin is launching an Orthodox center for dialogue with Christians.
Organizers of the Center for Jewish-Christian Understanding and Cooperation say it is the first Orthodox Jewish institution of its kind dedicated to theological dialogue with Christians.
The center, which is slated to open in June in Efrat, Israel, will host seminars for Jewish and Christian scholars and promote research aimed at making religion an instrument of peace in the world.
"A sea change has occurred since the Shoah,” Riskin, the chief rabbi of Efrat, told the Christian Post. “Most churches now teach that God remains faithful to His covenant with the Jewish people, and that the biblical promise is continually being reaffirmed by the Jewish return to its homeland in Zion.
Radical rabbi may be in Brazil
Published: 05/29/2008
A radical Israeli rabbi alleged to have led followers to commit horrific acts of child abuse is believed to be hiding in Brazil.
Israeli authorities said Thursday that Rabbi Elior Chen, who fled the country after reports surfaced of the serial child abuse that he suborned, is in Brazil, where local police are searching for him.
Officials in Israel have issued an international arrest warrant for Chen, who is alleged to have counseled his followers to severely beat and burn children in order to rid them of the devil. Other children allegedly were forced to drink alcohol and turpentine until they vomited.
Some of the abuses have resulted in serious and life-threatening injuries. One child remains in a vegetative state.
Chen previously was said to be hiding in Canada.
UK rabbi uses sermon to attack convert annulments as ‘insane’
30/05/2008
By Simon Rocker
A leading United Synagogue rabbi has hit out at the recent decision of a rabbinical court in Israel calling for the annulment of thousands of conversions carried out in the country.
Rabbi Naftali Brawer condemned the verdict of the Supreme Rabbinical Court of Jerusalem as symptomatic of an “insane and oppressive interpretation” of Jewish law...
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/16236/
"All of our children are in crisis," proclaimed relationship guru Rabbi Shmuley Boteach last week during a local lecture.
Whether his audience wanted to hear it or not, he added, he would be presenting a "painful message" -- that it's not a health crisis American kids suffer from, or the sex, drugs or teen pregnancy usually referred to as the major problems facing youth.
"The crisis," he continued, "is an absence of inspiration. Our children are utterly uninspired. We don't know how to make them come alive."
Simply put, Boteach argued that America's kids -- Jewish children included -- are bored.
About 400 people had gathered in the main sanctuary of Adath Israel in Merion Station on May 20 to hear the pulpit-rabbi-turned-family-and-relationship-expert deliver a lecture on some somber themes, dotted, as is his style, with humor. His presentation was sponsored by the Auerbach Central Agency for Jewish Education.
Child abuse suspect on run in Brazil
Etgar Lefkovits , THE JERUSALEM POST May. 29, 2008
A fugitive Israeli who is considered to be the ringleader of, and "spiritual mentor" responsible for, one of the worst child abuse cases in Israeli history has fled to Brazil, police said Thursday, after the lifting of a court-imposed gag order.
Rabbi Elior Chen, 29, and his followers are suspected of severely abusing two children, ages three and four, who were beaten with hammers, knives and other implements for months, until the younger child lost consciousness in March.
They are also suspected of the severely abusing other children in the family.
The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother and her companions, according to an indictment filed in a Jerusalem court.
He is expected to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
Chen originally flew from Israel to Canada to avoid arrest after police uncovered the abuse, then immediately continued to Brazil.
Brazilian police are still searching for Chen, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
In an attempt to obtain information on the rabbi's whereabouts, Chen's wife and children were sent from Brazil to Belgium on Thursday night, the police said.
Last month, Jerusalem police issued an international arrest warrant for the suspected ringleader in the child abuse case.
The other suspects allegedly received instruction from Chen on how to "fix" the children's behavior, and "cleanse" them of their satanic possession, says the indictment.
The chilling charge sheet in the gruesome child abuse case recounts that the mother allegedly forced her children to eat feces, locked them in a suitcase for three days - letting them out only for brief periods - repeatedly beat, whipped, and shook them, burnt their hands and gave them freezing showers.
The abusive mother and "educators" are also suspected of pouring salt on the burn wounds of the child, stuffing his mouth with a skullcap and sealing his mouth with masking tape and giving the children alcoholic drinks until they vomited.
Chen provided explicit written instructions on how to abuse the children.
Chen's father Ya'acov has publicly urged his son to return to Israel and face trial, insisting that he is innocent.
"Pressure (from non-Orthodox) didn't seem to deter them in the past," said Lubinsky. "These calls were not from the core consumer, and in the past sales kept going up. This might be a factor in the overall picture, but I don't think if that's only thing they would have made this decision."
Lubinsky said legal issues and winning the confidence of the Postville community prompted the company's decision to replace the CEO.
But in recent days some Orthodox organizations and individual rabbis have begun to join the fray.
Orthodox Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, spiritual leader of Ohev Sholom of Washington, D.C., the National Synagogue, called for the Vaad Harabonim of Washington to take appropriate action.
In a letter to the Vaad, Herzfeld urged the Vaad to "temporarily suspend Rubashkin's meat in the stores and caterers that it supervises."
The Orthodox Union had urged the country's largest kosher slaughterhouse to replace CEO Sholom Rubashkin.
Rabbi Menachem Genack, who heads the OU's kosher supervision department, confirmed a report last week in the Long Island, N.Y.-based Jewish Star newspaper saying he had urged Agriprocessors to seek new management.
The company announced May 23 that it would replace Rubashkin following a massive federal immigration raid two weeks earlier on the company's plant in Postville, Iowa, and subsequent allegations of underage workers, sexual harassment and other claims of worker mistreatment.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/108818.html
Independent.co.uk
Dominic Lawson: We all want to protect children from sexual abuse – but this is an intrusion too far
Friday, 30 May 2008
There's not much a government minister can propose these days without being ridiculed by the press and the opposition parties. Angela Eagle, the "Justice minister", has managed it, however. Her announcement that the possession of drawings and computer-generated images of "child sex abuse" would become illegal – punishable by a three-year prison sentence – has attracted not one word of criticism.
Perhaps that's unsurprising – who wants to be seen to sympathise with those getting their kicks from the idea of child abuse? In prisons, even the most violent killers feel themselves to be morally superior to paedophiles. Yet Ms Eagle's proposal deserves the scrutiny – and the skepticism – it has not received.
It has long been illegal to create and distribute material showing children in sexual acts. In 1999, with the development of the internet, the law was strengthened so that it became illegal to receive such images – regardless of whether any financial transaction was involved. What Angela Eagle now suggests is that even someone who draws an image of "child sex abuse" purely for himself (or herself) should be put behind bars.
Shaun Kelly, described by the BBC as the "safeguarding manager" for the children's charity NCH, declared that: "This is a welcome announcement which makes a clear statement that drawings or computer-generated images of child abuse are as unacceptable as a photograph". It does, indeed; but it is crazy.
The photograph of a child being sexually abused is a true horror – proof and evidence of the suffering of an actual person. There is a real victim of a real crime. Yet who is the victim of a drawing or a computer-generated image? Nobody has suffered in the creation of it. If Mr Kelly really believes that this is as bad as a photograph of actual abuse, then I wonder at his reason, as I do Ms Eagle's.
They had the support of a number of callers to a radio phone-in programme a couple of days ago, nevertheless. One of them, by the name of Tracy Sharp, added: "I am an animal lover too, and I don't want pictures showing cruelty to animals." Next stop: a law to prosecute country pubs for displaying old prints of fox-hunts.
Only one caller attacked the proposal; interestingly, she had been a victim of sexual molestation as a child. Her view was that a clear distinction had to be drawn between the reality of child abuse and fantasies about it.
Such common sense does not prevail in the Justice ministry, however. One of its spokesmen insisted that the authorities had "noticed an increase in the existing availability of these images on the internet". Well they might, but since it is already a crime to post such computer-generated images on the internet, this observation is otiose.
Moreover, it might have occurred to some of the bright sparks at the Justice ministry that if more people are manufacturing or drawing "virtual" images for their own private use, they might be doing so as an alternative to the rightly illegal practice of distributing photographs of such scenes. That should, if anything, be seen as a success for the law as it stands, rather than, as the Government suggests, a reason for changing it.
Perhaps Ms Eagle and Mr Kelly are of the opinion that the very act of drawing a picture of children in sexual acts would spur the creator of the image into carrying out real crimes which he would not otherwise have engaged in: or to put it another way, if the person concerned were to refrain from putting such thoughts down on paper, he would be less likely to molest a child.
If that is what they believe, then they should furnish us with the evidence. If they cannot, or will not, then I think we can reasonably surmise that the evidence for such a proposition does not exist. Of course, such drawings or images could properly be described as disgusting; but if they are only seen by the person who creates them, how can they even be said – in the words of the old obscenity laws – to "deprave and corrupt"? The Government, in effect, is seeking to punish people for having disgusting private thoughts – and to make those thoughts public, doubtless to the ruination of the individual concerned.
It is true that this is not a "thought crime" in the sense that George Orwell meant when he invented the word in his novel 1984. For Orwell, this term was linked to the oppression of dissident thought – freedom to think independently of the political directives of a totalitarian government. Yet this development is in another way very close to Orwell's dystopian vision, which was of a society in which the state had a spy camera in every home, so that there was absolutely no sense of a distinction between the private and the public; in fact, nothing could be said to be purely private.
Perhaps this is not so surprising: Orwell's idea of Big Brother has, in 21st century Britain, been turned, by a grotesquely imaginative act of low cultural alchemy, into a successful television programme on which British citizens actually volunteer to destroy their own privacy in the most humiliating circumstances. This too, is the modern Britain which tolerates the placing of spy cameras in personal waste-bins – to ensure that no family crimes against recycling go undetected.
Admittedly, there was some sort of public outrage against the waste-bin spy camera. The man who mis-sorts his rubbish is not – outside certain environmentalist circles – regarded as more of a danger to society than the unobserved paedophile: the hysteria attaching to the latter is unmatched in its vigour and fury. In one sense, this is completely understandable. Which of us, as parents, do not experience a spasm of agonising empathy when we read of the misuse of a child for sexual purposes? Yet in another sense this pursuit of the paedophile – real or imagined – is a displacement activity to disguise a much wider problem: the way in which mainstream modern culture encourages the sexualisation of children.
Thus you had Bhs producing a selection of padded bras and "saucy knickers" under the slogan "Little Miss Naughty". Now withdrawn, the range was apparently designed for under-10s. Asda, for a while at least, seemed happy to sell black lace lingerie and push-up bras to girls as young as nine. The clothing company Next, for its part, produced T-shirts with the slogan "So many boys, so little time", to fit girls of six.
Of course, none of this amounts in itself to child abuse. It is merely grotesque: but if we are worried about adults seeing children as sexual objects – which is presumably the point of Ms Eagle's proposed legislation – then we might also consider the role of the cultural mainstream, with all its influence, as much as the solitary activities of pathetic perverts.
d.lawson@independent.co.uk
I went to that hellhole called yeshiva of brooklyn. It was the worst time in my life. I was viciously abused by jack mandel and judah nussbaum. They used to beat me with hands and fists. I witnessed a kid getting his pants pulled down in front of everybody by vicious jack. I saw a boy get slapped so hard he blacked out. I seriously hope that place gets shut down soon!
Suspected Haredi child abuser Elior Chen said to be hiding in Brazil
By Uri Blau and Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondents
An ultra-Orthodox man suspected of orchestrating one of the worst cases of systematic child abuse in Israel has gone into hiding in Brazil, it was revealed on Thyrsday.
Israel Police issued an arrest warrant for Elior Chen last month. After his alleged crime was exposed, Chen and his family fled to Canada, ultimately making their way to Sao Paulo. Chen and his wife have been hiding separately since then.
Chen's wife, Ruth, and their four children left Brazil on Wednesday for Belgium. Hoping to pressure Chen's wife to turn him in, Brazilian authorities removed the children from their mother's custody and placed them with a foster family for two days. But authorities on Wednesday returned the children to their mother.
Chen, who calls himself a rabbi, is considered the spiritual leader of a Jerusalem sect that was found to have abused young children, two of whom, aged 4 and 5, were hospitalized in March in critical condition.
Chen allegedly ordered two of his followers to "discipline" the children by beating, burning, pushing and shaking them, and tying them up as a way of "correcting" their behavior.
Representatives from Israel Police who went Brazil in recent days did not arrive in time to locate Chen's family. The police hope that finding Chen's children and bringing them to Israel will pressure the fugitive to turn himself in.
However, Chen's lawyer Ariel Atari, said the police had exploited his client's young children as a "guarantee to expose their father," adding that such a tactic "is one of the most despicable acts imaginable."
The Jewish Press had this article on page 68 this week, blasting the Jewish Week for their coverage on sexual abuse in haredi communities.
This was in response to the OP-ED article written in the JP by Dr. Michael Salamon, Ph.D.
-------------------------------------
http://www.jewishpress.com/displayContent_new.cfm?mode=a§ionid=56&contentid=31852&contentName=Orthodoxy%20Or%20Orthopraxy?
"There has been much written about a recent study that found the rate of sexual abuse in the frum community to be similar to the rate in the general population. But rather than attempt to understand the study and its implications, all too many in the community have chosen to raise a tremendous uproar against anyone who dares suggest that abuse and domestic violence occur to such a degree in the Orthodox world."
(SkynewsWire.com) Many people reading this will not be happy. I suppose this article will be seen as somewhat analogous to a person everybody thought of as really, really straight coming out of the closet and proudly proclaiming him or herself as gay. No, it’s probably worse; as most Americans would sooner elect a gay person as President, than elect a secular humanist. In fact, a mere few years ago, the head of school of a prominent Orthodox Jewish day school left his job, came out of the closet as a homosexual, and checked out of Orthodox Jewish observance. Many of his students were angrier at the latter, rather than the former, even though (male) homosexual activity is a capital offense under Jewish Law. Go figure.
Well, here goes. (Deep breath.) Having grown up an Orthodox Jew since the age of eight, having gone to prominent Israeli high school and post high school yeshivas, having been ordained by the Chief Rabbis of Israel, having served as the rabbi of an Orthodox congregation, as the head of one Jewish educational organization, and in the professional leadership of two Jewish day schools, having taught formally and informally people of all ages about Judaism, basically, since the age of sixteen, I am checking out. I am no longer Orthodox, and beyond that, no longer a theist. That’s it, it’s over. I am a secular humanist.
What happened? Looking back I see things differently than I did at the time, but I have always been a skeptic. I never accepted things at face value, and consequently gradually there were more and more things in my religious philosophy and belief system that didn’t really fit. There were more and more square pegs that really needed to be forced into round holes.
The change of heart and mind itself though really kind of happened all at once. It was as if it had always been clear to me. I just couldn’t understand why I didn’t pick up on it before. Orthodox Judaism and everything it was based on was wrong. It wasn’t just factually wrong, it was at times immoral, and it had robbed me of my individuality. It felt like a jail, which I couldn’t wait to get out of.
When I spell out my problems with Orthodox Judaism it really starts, first, with the fact that I really just don’t connect to it anymore emotionally or cognitively. It really seems rather alien to me. The financial, emotional and social sacrifices one must make within the framework of Orthodox Judaism are substantial, and if one does not connect to it, find meaning in it, and believe it to be absolutely true, I cannot see how one can continue to live according to its multiple and minute precepts.
One might object and protest that if Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid, the fact that you don’t connect to it should not be a factor. Here lies the rub. There is absolutely no proof that Orthodox Judaism’s claims are valid. There is no proof that there is a God. In previous centuries at the primitive level of their scientific knowledge (even though there was never proof) there might have been reasons to posit a designer for the world. Our knowledge today of cosmology and biology no longer necessitates this. Not only that, there is no proof that a God dictated the Torah to Moses, if such a person ever existed, and no proof that any of the things we are told in the Torah ever happened. Even in books in the Hebrew Bible that might have some truth to them such as the Former Prophets, proof is available only for a select number of persons and events, which even in those cases usually does not back up the account of the Hebrew Bible. There is certainly no proof that the Oral Law existed much time before the Common Era. Again, perhaps in past generations, in the absence of the knowledge we now have about the development of these writings and ideas, there were reasons to accept these claims as true. Our knowledge today no longer necessitates this. In short, even before analyzing the points against belief in the Torah, you need to take quite a leap of faith, one that I see as entirely unwarranted. Occam’s razor and simple logic dictate therefore that these claims be seen as not only not provable, but also false...
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h28LEG90GGTAaEOfdBPKwb5kXdawD90VG1PO0
10 states act to stop teacher sex abuse
By ROBERT TANNER
Ten states have taken action in recent months to crack down on sexually abusive teachers following a stream of arrests and reports that have documented the problem of educators victimizing students.
Governors, state education officials and lawmakers have led the push for new measures, which include tougher penalties for teachers who abuse students, punishment for administrators who fail to properly oversee their faculty, and an effort to train an entire state's corps of teachers to recognize potential abusers in their midst.
At least four more states are still considering legislation.
They are focusing on an increasingly undeniable phenomenon: While the vast majority of America's roughly 3 million public school teachers are committed professionals, a disturbing number have engaged in sexual misconduct. When faced with evidence of abuse, administrators sometimes fail to let others know about it, and legal loopholes let some offenders stay in the classroom.
"Too often in the past, we as adults have failed our children," Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear said when he signed a new law last month. "Today with this legislation, hopefully, we begin earning back their trust." The measure passed without a single no vote.
Kentucky lawmakers originally drafted a measure aimed at abusive teachers, with the final legislation written broadly to encompass priests, teachers and anyone in authority over someone younger than 18. Besides increasing penalties for abusers and giving prosecutors more time to bring charges, the Kentucky law also takes aim at officials who don't report abuse to authorities.
A nationwide Associated Press investigation, published in October, found 2,570 educators lost their teaching credentials or were otherwise sanctioned from 2001 through 2005 following allegations of sexual misconduct. Experts who track sexual abuse say the problem is even bigger than those numbers suggest. Underreporting is common, they say, because victims often are ostracized and accusations are difficult to prove.
The AP series inspired some of the tougher measures, including Utah's legislation to permanently revoke the licenses of sexually abusive teachers and a new Maine law to share information about teachers disciplined for any reason, including sexual misconduct, with other states. A New York lawmaker cited the AP reports when he rallied support to overturn budget cuts that would have sharply reduced funds for investigators who examine abuse claims in school.
Meanwhile, stories on teacher misconduct by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and The Columbus Dispatch sparked action in Florida and Ohio.
New laws also were passed in Kansas, Minnesota and Virginia, while measures are still being considered in California, Colorado, Delaware and Massachusetts. New York and South Carolina began or expanded programs targeting the problem.
Proposals failed to win legislative approval in Indiana, Missouri, South Dakota, Washington state and West Virginia.
The various measures demonstrate the many loopholes that have allowed abusive teachers to remain in the classroom, including:
_ Backroom deals. Florida's new ethics law for teachers bars school districts from entering into confidential agreements with teachers who get in trouble. Such deals crop up around the country, allowing schools to remove a problem teacher but letting that educator quietly move on to another district or state.
_ Failing to report. Kentucky's law raised the stakes for officials who fail to report allegations of abuse, bringing 90 days in jail for a first offense and up to five years in prison for repeat violations.
_ Problem teachers returning to the classroom. Colorado would require any teacher who lost a license for sexual misconduct to promise never to teach again. The measure awaits Gov. Bill Ritter's signature. Virginia closed a gap that made it possible for teachers who abuse students to be hired by another school district in the time between when they are fired and when the state Education Department is notified.
In New York state, Senate Education Committee Chairman Stephen Saland blasted former Gov. Eliot Spitzer for seeking to cut the investigative unit's $1 million budget in half, accusing Spitzer of declaring "open season on children" for sex predators in schools. He read passages from AP stories that showed the number of "moral conduct" accusations against teachers, administrators and aides had doubled in five years.
The legislature rejected the cuts and instead increased funding to $1.6 million. That will allow for hiring eight more investigators and attorneys to tackle more than 800 pending cases, most of them involving sex with students.
"This will move these people out of the classroom environment more quickly," Saland said. "It's money well spent. In fact, it's a bargain."
South Carolina looked beyond punishment, instead creating a statewide training program that aims to instruct 10,000 teachers, administrators, guidance counselors, coaches and school nurses on how to prevent, identify and report cases of abuse.
Beginning this fall, at least one educator from each of the state's 85 school districts will undergo 6 1/2 hours of training by Darkness to Light, a Charleston-based nonprofit organization. Those educators, in turn, will train at least 20 percent of educators in their district. The state has 50,000 educators.
The training will focus not only on stopping sexual predators but on preventing simply inappropriate relationships, said schools Superintendent Jim Rex. Sometimes young, naive teachers do improper things, with no ill will toward the student, and get into trouble, such as texting students' cell phones or giving them a ride home.
"So much of what schools do is based on trust. Not only must kids trust their teachers, but parents have to trust those teachers too," Rex said. "And schools have to earn that trust each and every day."
Published May 30, 2008
3 more claim sex abuse by priest in 1950s
Jeremy Pawloski
Three men allege in a civil lawsuit filed Wednesday that they were sexually abused as boys by a Catholic priest at the former Saint Martin's High School in Lacey in the mid- to late 1950s.
It is the second lawsuit filed this year alleging sexual abuse by Father Leonard Feeney, who died in 1980. Both suits were filed by Seattle attorney James S. Rogers.
"All three came forward separately after the first lawsuit was filed because they, too, were victims of the same priest," Rogers said.
The plaintiff in the first suit, filed in January, is identified by his initials, T.M. The three plaintiffs in the new suit, filed in Thurston County Superior Court, also are identified by their initials: P.R. and A.I., both Mason County residents; and C.D., of Ventura County, Calif.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday names Saint Martin's Abbey and Saint Martin's University as defendants. The high school at Saint Martin's University closed in 1974.
Jennifer Fellinger, a spokeswoman for the university, said Thursday that the school did not have an immediate comment because officials have not seen the new lawsuit.
According to the suit:
• P.R. says Feeney sexually abused him in 1956 and 1957, while P.R. was living in the dormitory at Saint Martin's High School.
• C.D. says Feeney sexually abused him after he enrolled at the school in 1958.
• A.I. says Feeney sexually abused him starting in 1955 and continued the abuse for about a year and a half.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday says Feeney "groomed" and conditioned the plaintiffs to obey and respect him "as a person of authority in spiritual, moral and ethical matters." By indirect threats or promises, Feeney engaged in sexual acts with the children, the suit states. The lawsuit filed in January makes the same claims.
"The plaintiffs have just recently begun to understand that many problems they have had in their lives, and continue to have, were caused by Father Feeney sexually abusing them as boys," the suit states.
It continues, "Defendants failed to warn their congregation, their families, parents, students, and members of the community at large of Father Leonard Feeney's pedophilia. Defendants knew or should have known that Father Feeney had sexually molested boys, and by entrusting boys (including the plaintiffs) to Father Feeney's guidance and supervision, Defendants breached their duty to the children of Saint Martin's. Further, Defendants failed to alert parents of the children of the potential abuse by Father Feeney, thereby reducing the likelihood that victims would be able to seek treatment and remedy, to the extent possible, for their injuries."
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages.
Jeremy Pawloski covers public safety for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-5465 or jpawloski@theolympian.com.
FM Tzipi Livni calls for Kadima party to prepare for early elections
May 29, 2008, 11:09 PM (GMT+02:00)
DEBKAfile reports coalition parties Labor and Shas and the opposition Likud are gearing up for a general election in November or January 2009 at the latest. Kadima is in dire straits over the case building up against prime minister Ehud Olmert’s corrupt acceptance of large sums of cash from an American businessman and his refusal to step down for the police investigation.
Assuming that its leader Olmert’s days are numbered, the party faces a leadership primary ahead of an early poll. Foreign minister Tzipi Livni, 50, and transport minister Shaul Mofaz, 60, are the leading contenders, although at least two other ministers have thrown their hats in the ring.
Breaking her much criticized silence over the Olmert scandal Thursday, May 29, she spoke strongly in favor of a primary to choose the party’s next leader and candidate for prime minister in order to give the ordinary citizen a faith-restoring role in choosing national leaders.
In an address to an international security conference in Jerusalem, she stressed that the case against the prime minister was not just his private concern. Above and beyond the criminal and legal aspects, Kadima must demonstrate that it rejects the premise that politics is a dirty word and corruption the norm in Israeli politics. The FM rejected as totally invalid and untrue the assertions by the prime minister’s lawyers that “everyone does it.”
Minister of trade and industry, ultra-religious Shas leader Ellie Yishai will apply to the party’s rabbinical forum for approval for an early general election, which defense minister Ehud Barak called for Tuesday – albeit not as an ultimatum for the prime minister’s withdrawal.
The Attorney General Thursday instructed the prosecution to complete the case with all possible speed to dissipate the intolerable situation of a cloud of suspicion hanging over a serving prime minister.
The Orthodox Union cannot be trusted. They are still giving a hashgacha to the Rubashkins' and that is a grave sin!
Glatt Zone on Ave J is no longer certified by kehilas kashrus. Is it because of another kosher scandal?
"Glatt Zone" opened up under new managment, after the previous owner of "the kosher spot" was outed as selling non-glatt/non-kosher meat.
As the Agudath Spokesperson I feel it is my obligation to chastise this Ex-Orthodox Rabbi.
He's a bad man!
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"What happened? Looking back I see things differently than I did at the time, but I have always been a skeptic. I never accepted things at face value, and consequently gradually there were more and more things in my religious philosophy and belief system that didn’t really fit. There were more and more square pegs that really needed to be forced into round holes."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1212041440001&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Rabbi: Rabbinic courts unjust, corrupt
Ruth Eglash , THE JERUSALEM POST May. 31, 2008
A Jerusalem rabbi says his family is being targeted by the Rabbinic Court Administration in a campaign of vengeance because of the actions of his son that highlights the "corruption" and "protektsia" (outside influence) in the state-appointed body.
Rabbi Moshe Zalman Bryskman, leader of the Shimon Hazadik synagogue in the capital's Old Katamon/San Simon neighborhood, said last week he had fallen victim to harsh and unfair treatment by the courts due to his son Meir's ongoing divorce proceedings.
In April, the rabbinic courts turned exclusively to The Jerusalem Post, saying that in an effort to track down Meir (who, they believe, has fled the country) and force him to grant his wife a get (bill of divorce) they wanted to publish his details in the secular media to "shame the family" into coming forward with information on his whereabouts.
According to the information obtained by the Post, the couple had resided together in Jerusalem's Har Nof neighborhood until their separation. Later, Bryskman moved into his parents' home on Rehov Hizkiyahu Hamelech and was seen more recently in the Geula neighborhood.
"The Beit Din [religious court] says it wants to bring shame on the family," Bryskman said. "How can they say such things? It's like a mafia. It's terrible, the article that you published was full of lies. All the details they gave you were false. It has caused us terrible damage and really brought shame on our family."
In a written response, the Courts Administration said it stood by its original claims against Meir Bryskman and that the same tactic had been used successfully in the past to force recalcitrant husbands to comply with its rulings.
"The judges' decision that Meir Bryskman must give his wife a get was made after carefully considering all the complaints and hearing all the witnesses speak," the court statement said. "He must issue a get without delay."
"The rabbinic court should be considered the same as any other legal body in the State of Israel and the husband in this case is showing clear disrespect for its rulings," continued the response. "The father is trying to sabotage the course of justice in this case."
The response also said the administration's legal adviser was considering filing criminal charges against Rabbi Bryskman for obstruction of justice.
Bryskman said he did not know why the court would take "vengeance" against his family, but insisted that it was
happening.
He would also not give the Post a straightforward answer as to whether he knew the whereabouts of his son and said that whether or not he saw his son as justified in fleeing Israel was "irrelevant."
"It does not matter what I think, it was not my decision," the rabbi said.
"I love my son, but I have no power over his decisions - that is what the rabbinate wants me to have - but I do understand the background... as to why he does not want to appear [in court]. I don't know if he has run away from the country or from his problems; maybe he just saw that he had no room to appeal and was left with nowhere to turn."
Bryskman said that several factors surrounding the three judges and their decisions raised serious questions as to the legitimacy and fairness of his son's treatment in the case, which was first heard by the lower Jerusalem Rabbinic Court in July 2005.
He pointed out that ombudsman Judge Tovah Strasburg-Cohen, who deals with complaints against rabbinic judges, has already investigated his son's case and severely criticized the fact that anonymous witnesses were called, outside of the usual procedure; the fact that one of the judges had approved the decision without being at the hearing; and that one judge, Rabbi Avraham Sherman, was employing the same lawyer for his daughter who was representing Meir Bryskman's wife.
"My son said all along that he is willing to give a get, he just wants to resolve the issue of custody concerning his children," said Bryskman, adding that his family had tried to contact his daughter-in-law's family directly, but that they refused to talk.
But the father refused to answer why, if his son wanted custody of his children, he would leave the country, making it impossible for him to get it.
Following the ruling from the lower court, Dina Bryskman (Meir's wife) appealed to the higher court in 2006, and the final judgment calling on Meir to grant his wife a divorce came last month.
"He has only been refusing a get for 25 days and not for five years, as has been claimed by the rabbinic court. That is the biggest lie," said Bryskman. "Maybe his decision [to leave] was incorrect but perhaps he did it due to all the pressure and stress."
"Regardless of what I think, he is 33 years old and not a child," he continued.
"[Meir] makes his own decisions and they have nothing to do with me. This should be a personal issue between him and his wife. I am, of course, his father and I love him very much. I am just hurt that there is all this corruption in the system and that the media has been used to shame the family."
The rabbinic court responded, however, that "the father is involved in this case intensively; from participating in hearings to making requests on his son's behalf."
The spokeswoman also said that Sherman had no connection to the said lawyer in Strasburg-Cohen's report and that all the witnesses were heard following the court's normal procedure.
"The Bryskman case is no different than any other that we treat throughout the year," the court said.
Rabbi granted bail
30/05/2008
By Dana Gloger
A CHAREDI rabbi was granted bail on appeal at London’s High Court last week, after he was originally denied it by magistrates.
The American government is seeking to extradite Avrum Friesel, 55, on 19 fraud charges, allegedly committed in late 1980s and early 1990s. The charges relate to his time as town clerk of New Square Town in New York, a Chasidic community of the Skverer sect.
He moved to Stamford Hill, London, in 1999, and was arrested in April this year.
Although the strictly Orthodox community has put up over £1 million of sureties, Rabbi Friesel was denied bail by Westminster Magistrates last month. The prosecution argued that he might abscond if bailed and suggested that the Stamford Hill community had knowingly protected him.
His barristers, Gary Grant and Jonathan Goldberg QC, argued that the sureties had been offered by independent people who did not know of his past. They said they had received many letters from people in the Charedi community, including Rabbi Avraham Pinter, attesting to Rabbi Friesel’s good character and his teaching work with disabled children.
Mr Goldberg said: “It is an extraordinary story, which has echoes of Jean Valjean and Les Miserables, in the way he has come into a strange community and achieved such a good reputation despite his hidden past.”
For the right price, I can be matir anything!
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The bagels are kosher, but not the Saturday hours
By Steven Rosenberg, Globe Staff | May 30, 2008
SWAMPSCOTT - Kosher or not kosher?
For Bernard Newman, whose family has owned a seaside kosher bakery for 43 years, the debate over upholding Jewish law has reached Talmudic proportions in recent days. Even though Newman has kept kosher all of his life, and has always used kosher ingredients in his bakery, the primary Jewish organization in the state that recognizes kosher establishments says that for now, Newman's bakehouse is not kosher.
Newman's Bakery holds a special distinction in the region: It is the last Jewish-owned bakery in the state that holds a kosher approval rating by the Rabbinical Council of Massachusetts despite being open for business on Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath. The council had granted approval to some kosher bakeries decades ago, but they've all either closed or changed their business hours.
Last week, though, the council changed its policy and gave Newman's an ultimatum: Close on Saturdays or lose kosher approval.
"God said you should keep the Sabbath, you know, and we felt that with the store being open on Shabbos, we just didn't want to continue on," explained Rabbi Abraham Halbfinger, director of the council, using the Hebrew word for Sabbath.
But Newman insists the dictum is inconsistent with a ruling that the same group made more than a half a century ago, and says he'll continue to keep his bakery open on the Sabbath with their kosher approval or not. "It's hypocrisy," Newman said. "How can we be kosher one day and not kosher the next day?"
The dispute centers on whether the bakery can honor two commandments: keeping kosher and not working on the Sabbath. Newman wants to stay open on Saturdays and still keep the kosher designation, because he needs the business.
To meet kosher law, the bakery does not serve meat and uses only kosher ingredients in its bagels, pastries, and dairy treats. Under the council's policy, trained inspectors enter Jewish eateries and review all products and ingredients to make sure they are kosher.
The order to shutter Newman's on Saturday, or lose its kosher designation, has caused a stir among Newman's customers, and angered Newman, who drives a Toyota with the license plate CHALE - a nod to the bread eaten by Jews on the Sabbath.
Rabbi Baruch HaLevi of Swampscott's Conservative Congregation Shirat Hayam criticized the council's decision, saying it's part of a cultural shift by observant Jews. "Traditional Judaism is moving so far to the right that it's making it virtually impossible to have good quality, accessible kosher products," said HaLevi, who will continue to allow Newman's food to be served in his synagogue.
"It comes down to loopholes and politics, power, and money, and it's a shame," HaLevi said.
Newman acknowledged that he could lose up to 10 percent of his business, which comes from local Jewish organizations in this heavily Jewish town on the North Shore, if he loses kosher approval.
Halbfinger, who has run the council for 29 years, said he could not explain the group's decades-old ruling. But Rabbi Mordechai Twersky, a Boston-area kosher-supervisor, said the decision to allow bakeries to open on the Sabbath occurred after union bakers balked at working a seven-day week and chose to work on Saturdays instead of Sunday. Others have a different recollection: They say the Rabbinical Council cited a loophole that allowed bakeries that could not afford to lose their Saturday business to stay open.
"I can't answer what was done before; I can only answer what we're doing now," Halbfinger said.
Newman said he could accept the council's ruling if the area's Jewish-owned kosher food manufacturers that make muffins, cakes, and cookies were also forced to close on Saturday.
When asked the logic behind that ruling, Halbfinger declined to explain the council's decision. "The laws are a lot different there, and maybe we'll reach that point someday also, but right now we're dealing with shops like this here, and this is the last one," Halbfinger said.
More than 60 years ago, dozens of Boston-area Jewish-owned kosher bakeries remained open on the Jewish Sabbath, and included Dorchester bakeries such as Kasanoff's and Eagerman's. After World War II, Newman's father, Joseph, learned the trade in Malden and Boston, and in the 1960s opened his small bakery across from picturesque Fishermen's Beach. At that time, kosher butchers and bakers dotted the streets of Lynn and Swampscott, but by the 1980s Newman's was one of the few kosher alternatives on the North Shore.
Newman's father, who is retired, said he understands the commandment of keeping the Sabbath, but questioned why the council allowed his bakery to stay open for 43 years on Saturdays.
"It's a disservice to the community," Joseph Newman said. "We played a role in people's daily lives and served them kosher food."
Over the years, the bakery became a magnet for local politicians and gadflies. Today, the sparsely decorated bakery has the same look and feel it had 30 years ago.
Bernard Newman, who is 59, worked as a paramedic but decided to follow his father and grandfather into the baking business. Newman, who often bakes while listening to talk radio, said there is a mystical aspect to making kosher food.
"I believe that kashrus [keeping kosher] is a discipline, it enriches you and makes you more holy. It's respect for the law, for Torah, for God," said Bernard Newman, whose customers have included Joan Kennedy, Johnny Pesky, and the late governor John Volpe.
At 6 a.m. he opens the bakery's doors, and by 7 he leaves to pray at a local synagogue. When he returns, he talks to the same customers who have been schmoozing in the bakery for years.
"I feel very good coming in here. The Newman's exemplify kosher food," said Marion Garfinkel of Swampscott, who has been shopping there for 41 years. Garfinkel urged the council to reconsider its decision.
But Halbfinger defended the ruling and said the council corrected a wrong. "We're doing a right thing. We're not extreme; Shabbos is not extreme," he said. "We're trying to keep tradition."
Steven Rosenberg can be reached at rosenberg@globe.com.
I have found myself increasingly more agitated these days. I'm not happy with the high prices of yeshiva tuition. I can barely afford to make shabbos, let alone pay an exorbitant price for my child's education. I'm seriously thinking of sending my kids to public school. I'm disenchanted with the whole Jewish scene and the scandals that never seem to end. I praise this blog for providing me and others with some sort of sanity in which I can vent my frustrations. Being religious has taken its toll on myself that I would have never imagined in my wildest dreams. I know that I'm not the only one feeling this way.
Chazak ubaruch!
Hezbollah says releases Israeli soldiers' remains
By Ezzat BaltajiSun Jun 1, 9:40 AM ET
Hezbollah said on Sunday it had released the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in a 2006 war with Israel, which handed over a Lebanese man who had completed a jail term on charges of spying for the group.
The exchange increased speculation of progress in indirect talks between Israel and Hezbollah, a powerful Shi'ite Islamist group, over a broader prisoner swap. Lebanese political sources said last Monday that the talks had made major progress.
Nissim Nisr, released after a six-year jail term, was greeted by Hezbollah officials in the southern village of Naqoura, where the group unexpectedly announced the release of the soldiers' remains.
"We today are handing over some of the remains of a number of Israeli soldiers who were killed in the July war and who the Israeli army left in Lebanon," Hezbollah security official Wafik Safa said upon Nisr's arrival.
A box was placed in a vehicle belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for delivery to Israel.
An Israeli military spokesman said the remains would be inspected by security forces and undergo forensic examination.
A panel had been appointed "that will be responsible for directly contacting the bereaved families whose soldiers' body parts are suspected to be among the remains transferred," the spokesman said.
Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said in a January 19 speech his group had the heads, hands and legs of soldiers left on the battlefields of the 34-day 2006 war.
The conflict was touched off by the group's capture of two soldiers during a raid into Israel. Hezbollah said it had captured the soldiers to negotiate the release of prisoners in Israel, including the long-held Samir Qantar.
"We are looking forward in the near future, the very near future, to the return of our prisoners ... at the forefront of them, the hero Samir Qantar," Hezbollah official Sheikh Nabil Qawouk said at a rally to mark Nisr's release.
"POSITIVE DYNAMIC"
Nasrallah last week reiterated his vow that all Lebanese prisoners, including Qantar, would be released soon.
Nisr, who had been held at Nitzan Prison in central Israel, arrived in Lebanon in an ICRC vehicle. Well-wishers threw rice and flowers at him as he entered his home village of Bazouriyeh.
"God willing, very soon, we will witness the return of the Lebanese prisoners," Nisr, wearing a Hezbollah scarf, said.
A Lebanese political source said Sunday's exchange "could not be separated" from negotiations to secure the broader prisoner swap, which would include the soldiers captured in a raid into Israel.
A U.N.-appointed mediator, believed to be a German intelligence officer, is seeking to negotiate an exchange.
Israel holds about 10 Lebanese, including Qantar. His release is widely seen as crucial to any deal. Hezbollah has refused to say whether the two soldiers are dead or alive.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, on an official visit to Lebanon, said: "We are of course very pleased ... that a first exchange has taken place, a first step, I hope that this will usher in a positive dynamic that will lead to further results."
Nisr was born in Lebanon to a Jewish mother and a Muslim father. He was sentenced in Israel in 2002 after being convicted of spying for Hezbollah, an Iranian- and Syrian-backed group.
Qantar, 46, took part in a 1979 raid that killed two Israeli men and a four-year-old girl.
In October, Israel and Hezbollah exchanged the remains of an Israeli civilian for a captive Hezbollah fighter and the bodies of two other Lebanese guerrillas killed in the 2006 war.
(Additional reporting by Angelika Stricker and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Dan Williams and Ari Rabinovitch in Jerusalem; Writing by Tom Perry in Beirut and Avida Landau in Jerusalem)
Israel to build in east Jerusalem
Published: 06/01/2008
Israel announced plans to build hundreds of new homes in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.
The Housing Ministry said Sunday it would invite construction bids for 763 new housing units in Pisgat Zeev and 121 in Har Homa.
The projects, Housing Minister Zeev Boim was quoted as saying, are part of the Israeli government's effort to "bolster" the capital.
Pisgat Zeev and Har Homa are on land that Israel captured in the 1967 Six-Day War and where Palestinians want to found a state, though they are included in Jerusalem municipal limits.
The Palestinian Authority denounced the new housing plans, saying they contravened the U.S.-sponsored peace "road map" that requires a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.
This is what I'm talking about. In Crown Heights the Jews attacked a black man, and in Jerusalem they attacked Arabs. When Jews get attacked though, I'm a quiet schmuck!
Annual Israeli Parade Marches Up Fifth Avenue
June 01, 2008
Fifth Avenue was a sea of blue and white Sunday for the Salute to Israel Parade.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the grand marshal of this year's parade, which marked Israel's 60th anniversary.
Participants marched up Fifth Avenue from 57th Street to 79th Street.
The parade was first held in 1964, and organizers call it the largest Jewish community parade in the world.
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