Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Rabbis: Donkeys: You Disgust Me...


Yes, That is Right! You totally disgust me and many others with your foolish, dangerous ideology, and gross perversions of the Torah. The antipathy drools and frosts from your fat lips. Lips that move with a motion that betray the very victims who sought your help. You call yourself a Rabbi? Ha! You call yourself a talmid chacham? You portray a heavenly superiority? Ha! You're no better than the sole of shoes baring the excrement of your last bathroom visit.

I have totally had it with your abhorrence. The muck is deep. Deeper than any bribes you accepted. How could you? How could a 14 year old girl be raped, and all the while you revolt any efforts by law enforcement to apprehend the perpetrator?

I am aghast, but why should I be? Should we expect any better from you? This is not something new. You have hindered other investigations before. Yehuda kolko couldn't control his fantasy for 6 year old boys, but you, Rabbi-Donkey, made this all possible. You allowed a train wreck that could have been prevented and avoided.

What is the solution, one may ask. The answer is three words. RESIGN! RESIGN! RESIGN! -- Too bad there are no term limits for specimens of your nature. You won't resign because you are dictators. You won't change because you're moronic and belligerent. Scared and misguided. Gutless and spineless. Feeble and nimble. Asses and donkeys.

I guarantee your own kids would also be scarred forever from such an ordeal, but you would probably overlook the trauma they endured if it meant having to hide the identity of the molester, because he is 'frum' of course.
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Rabbi Nochem Rosenberg discusses his views about a 14-year-old girl who was sexually assaulted in Borough Park (Brooklyn), NY

The video and credits go to http://theawarenesscenter.org/



CALL TO ACTION:
HELP PROTECT RABBI NOCHUM ROSENBAUM

Rabbi Nochum Rosenberg has been advocating for Jewish survivors of sexual violence in Williamsburg/Borough Park (Brooklyn) New York for over 35 years. Over the last several months he had his life threatened if he did not close down a hotline. During the week of Succos there was a drive by shooting in which someone shot him.

Please listen to him tell his story and demand that he is protected. His goal is to help survivors make police reports and testify in court to help put an end to sex crimes in his community and around the globe.

WATCH The four part series and then contact the New York Attorney General - Andrew Cuomo and demand there be a proper investigation and prosecution of the indivduals who would attempt to take the life of a rape victim advocate.

Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General - State of New York

Office of the Attorney General

The Capitol

Albany, NY 12224-0341

General Helpline: 1-800-771-7755

______________________________________

RABBI NOCHUM ROSENBERG RECEIVES AWARD - Presented by Senator Jim Brochin

November 26, 2008 - Pikesville, Maryland

Click here to read more

TWO UPCOMING EVENTS

JEWISH SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ABUSE/ASSAULT SPEAK OUT !

Brooklyn - Monday, January 26, 2009 6:00 - 7:30 PM

Baltimore - Sunday, February 8, 2009 1:30 - 3:30 PM

Jewish Survivors of sexual violence rarely are provided an opportunity to speak out against the heinous crimes committed against them as children or as adults. This educational event is designed to give those who have been victimized the opportunity to educate our community on the issues, ramifications and offer support to others who have been touched by sexual violence. This event is FREE and open to the public, yet reservations are required due to space limitations. The AwareneAssault.

Reservations Required - Seating is Limited

RSVP: 443-857-5560 or e-mail: info@theawarenesscenter.org

_____________________________________

Brooklyn Speak Out!

When: Monday, January 26, 2009 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Where: Mapleton Public Library , 1702 60th St., Brooklyn, NY

Speakers include: *Michael Dowd, Attorney at Law *Leah Marinelli, R.N., C.N.M., N.P. - Advocate for survivors *Ava Miedzinski, DDS - Survivor of child sexual abuse in a Jewish day school. *Vicki Polin, Founder - The Awareness Center, Survivor of incest. *Rabbi Nochem Rosenberg - Advocate for sexually abused orthodox children *More speakers will be added soon.

_____________________________________

Baltimore Speak Out!

When: Sunday, February 8, 2009 1:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Where: Pikesville Public Library, 1301 Reisterstown Rd., Pikesville, MD 21208

Speakers include: * Evan S. - Survivor - Survivor of incest. * Leslie B. - Survivor - Survivor of sibling incest. * *Ava Miedzinsk, DDS - Survivor of child sexual abuse at a Jewish day school * Murray Levin, JD - Advocate, Survivor of clergy sexual abuse by a rabbi. * Vicki Polin, Founder - The Awareness Center, Survivor of incest. *Bob Russell, Founder - Child Victims Voice Maryland, Survivor of clergy sexual abuse by a priest. *Rabbi Nochem Rosenberg - Advocate for sexually abused orthodox children

______________________________________

Watch the Panel Discussion after the showing of the film "Narrow Bridge", featuring: * Mesa Leventhal Baker, MD - Medical Director of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center; Senator Jim Brochin; Murray Levin, JD - Survivor of Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro; Israel Moskovitz - Director/Writer/Composer and Plays "Daniel Schneider"; Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC - Founder and Director of The Awareness Center, Inc.; Bob Russell - Legislative coordinator of SNAP; and Joy Silberg, PhD - Nationally renowned child psychologist, who specializes in sexual abuse.

Regarding New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind

By Vicki Polin

The Awareness Center - November 25, 2008

Assemblyman Dov Hikind/Vicki Polin

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16).

It saddens me a great deal to see how a few Jewish leaders in the orthodox world appear to be manipulating community members into believing they do not have to report heinous crimes to child protective services. Orthodox children deserve the same rights and protection as other children in the Unitied States of America.

I personally believe that Assemblyman Dov Hikind is wrong and is violating the civil rights of children from Torah observant homes. Each day that goes by that he refuses to work with law enforcement officials means another child is being sexually victimized.

One has to realize that turning over the names of alleged sex offenders and also those who were allegedly sexually abused to child protection workers does not mean that the names will be made public. It only means that there is a possibility that those who perpetrate crimes against our children may be prosecuted and those who have been sexually victimized will be offered "REAL" help.

As Jews, we all have moral responsibility to protect our youth. We all must consider ourselves as mandated reporters -- meaning if you suspect a child is at risk of harm you make a hot-line report (to child protective services in your state). Leave the investigating to those who have the specialized training and can conduct forensic investigations. Dov Hikind does not have this sort of training nor does those he "works" with.

Vicki Polin, MA, LCPC, NCC is the founder and CEO of The Awareness Center (which is the international Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse/Assault). Vicki is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor and a Nationally Certified Counselor who has been working in the sexual violence field for just under twenty-five years.


====================================================================

We mustn't ignore the more qualitative dimensions of education, which help a child expand and become a whole person. Divorce procedures rip families apart. As parents, ex-husbands and ex-wives must put aside their bitterness and anger in favor of the well being of their children.

http://www.jewishpress.com/pageroute.do/37898/

The Necklace

By: Name withheld upon request

Date: Wednesday, January 21 2009

It was about a week before Chanukah last year when I traveled to Israel to spend some time with my son, who was learning in Yeshiva there. It was a difficult time in my life, as I had made the decision to get out of an abusive marriage and was in the midst of a bitter divorce. At the time, my husband was seeking revenge and trying to do everything in his power to make my life miserable, including trying to sever my relationship with our children. He showed utter contempt for me, the mother, as he played the "victim" and tried to poison our grown children against me.

I was grateful that my youngest son had the opportunity to spend the year in Israel and "be away" from all the chaos going on here. However, as I regularly kept in touch with him and his teachers, it became apparent that my son - even from his yeshiva in Jerusalem - was still grieving the breakup of his family. He was homesick, anxious and depressed. Finally, my sister and parents said that they were sending me to Israel for a week to spend some quality time with my son and give him some TLC.
I was most appreciative and looked forward to the trip. I wanted it to be special, meaningful and stress-free to my son. I also looked forward to spending a week in Jerusalem. I had not been there for several years and my heart longed to be able to walk the Holy City's streets once again. When I arrived at the hotel in Jerusalem, I immediately felt as if I was truly home. I had always wanted to live in Israel, and was so grateful whenever I had the chance to visit.
Having lived with an abusive and controlling man for so long and having kept the secret of abuse from my friends and community for many years, I had, to a certain extent, "lost" my own identity. Thus it felt great to be on my own and away - be it ever so briefly - from the chaos of the divorce. Looking forward to a week of peace and serenity with my son, I was not going to let anything interfere with that.
On my first day, I went to visit the head of my son's yeshiva program. He told me that he usually encourages visiting family members to take their kids out only after the school day ends. This way the students do not miss class. However, he had given my son specific instructions to spend as much time as possible with his mother and not to worry about missing class during my visit. He felt that my son needed this time with his mother to help him heal. But the rabbi gave me one bit of advice: please do not talk about the divorce. I agreed. It was a productive and healing week, and my son and I had a beautiful time together.
Toward the end of the week I found myself walking the streets of my favorite place, the Old City, looking for gifts to bring back home to my other children, relatives and colleagues. As I wandered into one of the shops there, I recognized the owner from previous visits. He was a kind and friendly man who had made aliyah many years before. He enjoyed talking with his customers in his shop, and always had a kind word to say to everyone who stopped by.
As I started browsing through the aisles, I began to ponder what kind of gift to bring back to my oldest son. He had also been terribly affected by the divorce, and at this point was hardly having any contact with me due to his father's pernicious influences. This son was also going through a spiritual crisis, causing me much worry. I wanted to get him a meaningful gift that would perhaps create an opening and a renewed bond in our relationship. As I contemplated what to get him, I fought back tears as I thought of everything my family had been through during the past two years. I was truly worried about this son and wanted the best for him.
As I headed to the counter, I was warmly greeted by the shop's owner. "Shalom, is there anything I can help you with?" I hesitated and seeing that no one else was in the store, I asked, "What do you get a young man whose parents are going through a divorce because the father was abusive? And now this young man is going through a lot of anger and trauma of his own, won't talk to his mother and is in a spiritual crisis - including hanging around with a really bad crowd."
The owner was sympathetic and began to suggest different items in his store. He suggested that the gift have a subtle but loving message. I finally settled on a necklace with Hebrew words inscribed about God's Angels protecting mankind. I always had a special affinity for angels. My favorite prayer in the "Kriat Sh'ma al HaMitah" is the one about the Angels - including Michael, Gavriel, Uriel, and Raphael - protecting one from harm. In fact, when my two older sons had spent time in Israel during the height of the unfortunate suicide bombings, I spent many a night visualizing God's Angels surrounding them with love and protection.
As the owner packed up the gift, he bade me farewell and said, "Don't ever give up hope. You have been through a lot. However, the truth always comes out and your son will see and will eventually come back to you and to the right path." I thanked him and went on my way.
About 10 months later, around Rosh Hashanah time, I got a call from this son. He asked to return home in order to renew his relationship with me. Apparently things were not going so well between him and his father. I welcomed him back in my life, but told him that I would not engage in any psychological drama regarding the divorce or anything else. I told him I looked forward to establishing a healthy relationship with him based on love, truth, kindness, and integrity. I encouraged him to have a healthy relationship with both his parents, and let him know how glad I was to have him back in my life.

It is now the first night of Chanukah. As I gaze into the flames of the Chanukah candles, I think about how far I have come with the help of Hashem. For whatever reasons, I had to go through an abusive marriage. However, I have come out stronger in the long run. I went back to school, have a successful career, got my divorce and am finally re-establishing a healthy relationship with all of my children. I thank God for all the miracles that he has given me as I sit in my warm home on this cold winter night, staring into the flames and reminiscing about the triumph of the Maccabees that took place so long ago.

129 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi. My name is Rabbi Matty Salomon. Remember how I proclaimed at the agudah fresser convention that only one slipped through our fingers. To show you that I fart out of both sides, watch this you tube clip. To make up for the hurt I caused, I figured why not speak at RCCS. I do care about kids, but only if you leave S-E-X out of it.

Anonymous said...

MIDDLE EAST ENGAGEMENT

Obama made clear his Middle East strategy would be different from Bush, who was faulted by critics for taking a largely hands-off approach to peacemaking for much of his eight years in office. A final failed push for a peace deal was widely seen as too little, too late.

Obama spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Jordan's King Abdullah not long after he stepped into the Oval Office for the first time since his historic inauguration as the first black U.S. president.

He is expected to name a Middle East envoy soon, with former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell widely considered his choice for the job. Continued...

http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE50J17D20090122

Anonymous said...

In his response to Ms. Harvin, Hikind stated, “I question the Brooklyn Public Library’s judgment in closing the library on Sundays in what are primarily Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods.” Hikind added that the library should close on Saturdays instead of Sundays to “ensure equal library access for all New Yorkers.”

The cessation of Sunday library service is part of what seems to be a growing trend of Sunday closures throughout Hikind’s district. Earlier this month, The Blythebourne Station Post Office was also slated to cease Sunday operations until Assemblyman Hikind got involved. In response to Hikind’s efforts and public outcry, The Blythebourne Station will now remain open on Sundays until further notice.

“Once upon a time, the customer was always right,” Hikind said. “Today, the customer is apparently just plain irrelevant.” Hikind continued, “No one disagrees that difficult choices have to be made in light of the current economic situation, but significant agency operating decisions need to be made in concert with the needs of the patrons.”

Hikind urged the community to contact Steven Schechter, director of government relations for the Brooklyn Public Library at (718) 230-2091.

Full Article at:

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=31&id=25424

Anonymous said...

I don't know what Vicki Polin has against me. Who would be manipulating me anyway? a few Jewish leaders in the orthodox world? Like who?

Right now I'm a little perturbed that Israel didn't listen to my speech as you can read for yourself below.

All I know is I am a staunch supporter of Israel as you can tell. I also want your local libraries to operate Sunday hours for your convenience. This indicates I can take on controversy.

So back to Polin's assertion that I am in someway being manipulated. Could Rabbi's really have gotten to me?

Anonymous said...

I wonder who started this hoax of a Muslim taxi driver and a Jewish woman. Even I fell for it.

Anonymous said...

I am glad my former critics are now praising me.

Assemb. Dov Hikind has my vote of confidence on any issue.
................................

http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/monday/nation/ny-usclin196004374jan19,0,4639069.story
..............................
Suffolk Police Benevolent Association chief Jeff Frayler, who was there, said his peers viewed Clinton then as the type of liberal who'd "defend the Black Panthers," but she would prove a trusty ally on police issues, just as once-wary Jewish leaders such as Assemb. Dov Hikind of Brooklyn would find her a reliable supporter of Israel.

Clinton worked with Schumer to secure $20 billion in aid for New York weeks after the 9/11 attacks, chaired a hearing on 9/11-related illnesses, and spent many an hour at police union offices listening intently and taking time to chat with office staff. "We learned that she really had a balance to her that people weren't aware of," says Frayler, whose union endorsed her in 2006.

Anonymous said...

Relations between the Holy Land and the Holy See were tense Thursday night after a leading Vatican cardinal compared the besieged Gaza Strip to a concentration camp.

"Defenseless populations are always the ones who pay," Renato Cardinal Martino told the Italian daily Il Sussidiario. "Conditions in Gaza increasingly resemble a big concentration camp."

That drew a furious denunciation from Israeli officials, who said the comment was "based on Hamas propaganda."

Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, the son of Holocaust survivors, called on the Pope to apologize to Israel.

Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, defended his comments.

"They can say what they want, but the situation in Gaza is horrible," he told the newspaper La Repubblica.

Anonymous said...

I showed my true colors - didn't I? I fall into the IHJ
(I HATE JEWS) category.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2009/01/08/2009-01-08_concentration_camp_gaza_stirs_fire.html

"Defenseless populations are always the ones who pay," Renato Cardinal Martino told the Italian daily Il Sussidiario. "Conditions in Gaza increasingly resemble a big concentration camp."

Anonymous said...

If at First You Don’t Succeed… Hasidic Singer, Subject of Rabbinic Ban, Tries Again

By Lana Gersten
Thu. Jan 08, 2009

ALL HE WANTS TO DO IS SING: Lipa Schmeltzer is preparing once again for a charity fundraiser at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater.

Hasidic singing sensation Lipa Schmeltzer was set to perform last March before a crowd of thousands at Madison Square Garden’s WaMu Theater in New York. The concert, a charity fundraiser, was billed as “The Big Event.”

Then, less than three weeks before the concert date, 33 ultra-Orthodox rabbis — including some of the community’s most prominent figures — issued an edict banning attendance. The event, they warned, was likely to cause “ribaldry and lightheadedness.”

Deferring to the rabbis, organizers promptly canceled the concert. The ban, however, roiled the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredi, world, sparking an unusual public outcry in a community known for its scrupulous obedience to rabbinic authority...

Anonymous said...

If the FORWARD would have asked me why I shipped off Eismann from Philly to NIRC of Baltimore; I may have responded differently.
---

Contacted by the Forward, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia — a revered ultra-Orthodox religious authority and one of the ban’s signatories — said that the rabbinic response to last year’s “Big Event” should have been handled differently. “I regret the way it was done,” he said.

Kamenetsky, though not a fan of Schmeltzer’s schtick — he is “too much of an actor” — said that he nevertheless decided to give his blessing to the upcoming concert: “He came for a bracha, I gave him bracha.”

Anonymous said...

http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2006/07/ner-israel-rabbinical-college-of.html

Thursday, July 06, 2006
NER ISRAEL RABBINICAL COLLEGE OF BALTIMORE HAS A SEXUAL PREDATOR-R' MOSHE EISEMANN AND WILL NOT TERMINATE HIM!

The Victims Write And Their Stories Are Verified!

Anonymous said...

This in an old trick. Every bus driver knows slamming on the breaks puts pachad in the kids.
*
Bus Driver Used Brakes to Toss Kids

HUNTLEY, Ill. (Jan. 21) - An Illinois school bus driver has been found guilty of intentionally slamming on the brakes to throw misbehaving children from their seats.
A judge in Huntley, Ill., found Julieta Clinton guilty on Tuesday of reckless conduct and child endangerment as part of a plea deal in which Clinton did not admit guilt.

Anonymous said...

In just 60 minutes, you could earn enough to pay for a tank of gas, the cable bill, gym membership, or dinner out. Thirty dollars still covers some of life's essential costs. Earn that much in just one hour on the job, and you have enough to build a comfortable life.

The latest U.S. Census Bureau figures put the median household income in the U.S. at $50,233. A $30-per-hour job brings in $62,400 before taxes, or 20% more than the national median. For many people, this extra margin is just one promotion or one credential away. To boost your economic security, consider these 10 careers with salary data as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics:


Database Administrator
Mean Hourly Wage: $33.78
Salary: $70,260

Database administrators perform a vital role in our information economy, managing the database systems that help companies store, process, and access data effectively. Job growth is stunning in this high-demand field as well -- the profession is expected to grow 37 percent through 2016. Continuing education is a must to keep up with evolving technology, but entry requirements are modest. You can launch this $30-plus-an-hour career with an associate's degree in database administration or information technology.

Registered Nurse
Mean Hourly Wage: $30.04
Salary: $62,480

Historic demand for registered nurses is inspiring many people to reinvent themselves as health care practitioners. Nursing is projected to generate more new jobs than any other profession -- an estimated 587,000 positions through 2016, which represents a 23% increase in a decade. To take advantage of this boom, head to nursing school for your bachelor's degree in nursing (BSN). Accelerated programs are available for career changers who already have a bachelor degree in another field.

Technical Writer
Median Hourly Wage: $30.18
Salary: $62,780

Technical writers interpret engineering and scientific information for a lay audience, producing product documentation, user manuals, project proposals, and scientific reports. Most writers come to the field with a college bachelor's degree in a communications or liberal arts field. Some colleges offer specialized certificate programs in technical communication, which incorporate IT literacy training.

Fashion Designer
Median Hourly Wage: $34.22
Salary: $71,170

Fashion design has the reputation as an all-or-nothing labor of love -- you begin as a starving artist and ultimately attain celebrity stature designing haute couture. In fact, the majority of fashion designers -- 3 in 4 designers -- work secure, salaried jobs for apparel manufacturers. What these artists give up in suffering and glamour they make up for in a solid and stable paycheck. A job as a salaried fashion designer starts with an associate's or bachelor's degree in fashion design.

Accountant
Median Hourly Wage: $30.11
Salary: $62,640

Accountants should have no trouble finding work as businesses throughout the economy sort through the financial rubble of the credit crisis. Mounting federal regulation will also contribute to demand for trained accountants. Accountants working for accounting and bookkeeping services earn upwards of $30 per hour. These employers hire trained professionals with a bachelor's degree in accounting or finance.

Environmental Scientist
Median Hourly Wage: $30.71
Salary: $63,870

Environmental scientists will be the heroes of the coming era, developing much-needed strategies to redress environmental damage to soil, water, and air. The field is expected to grow 25% in response to new federal regulations and funding, as well as private investment. A bachelor's degree in earth sciences will get you started in this fascinating and important field. Many scientists go on to a master's degree to secure the best opportunities.

K-12 Curriculum Designer
Median Hourly Wage: $30.87
Salary: $64,220

Curriculum designers are at the forefront of educational research, developing new instructional materials and strategies to improve the quality of education in our nation's schools. The job typically calls for a graduate-level degree in the field, such as a master's degree in education (M.Ed.).

Dental Hygienist
Mean Hourly Wage: $31.21
Salary: $64,910

To make about the same amount of money with a two-year associate's degree, enroll in a dental hygiene program. Dental hygienists work alongside dentists to promote oral health and hygiene. Hygienists enjoy distinction as one of the nation's fastest growing occupations, with 30% growth expected through 2016.

Detectives and Criminal Investigators
Median Hourly Wage: $30.05
Salary: $62,500

Solving crimes is all in a day's work for these criminal justice professionals. Criminal investigators can build their skill set by completing an associate's degree in criminal justice, where they take courses in crime scene investigation, criminal investigation procedures, and more. The Bureau of Labor Statistics rates job opportunities as "excellent."

Television Producer
Median Hourly Wage: $31.66
Salary: $65,850

Producers coordinate the television features we enjoy, from sitcoms to dramas to the nightly news. To build the necessary skill set, producers enter the field with an associate's or bachelor's degree in mass communications or broadcast media.

A tight economy hasn't stopped employers in these ten fields from hiring qualified grads. With the right degree, you can upgrade your career and find job security in the form of a $30-an-hour paycheck.

Anonymous said...

http://www.forward.com/articles/15014/

Support for Rubashkin does not come only from the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic community that Rubashkin grew up in. Among Rubashkin’s visitors have been leading rabbis representing the centrist Rabbinical Council of America, the country’s largest Orthodox rabbinical association, as well as the Orthodox Union, the main umbrella body for Modern Orthodox synagogues and the largest certifier of kosher food. Rabbi Moshe Elefant, who visited the jail as a representative of the O.U., said he was there not to say whether Rubashkin was guilty or innocent, but merely to support a fellow Jew.

“We were there to give him support as a Jew who is incarcerated,” Elefant told the Forward. “People I speak with don’t understand why the government is taking such a tough stand on him.”

Anonymous said...

If you can't beat em join em!

"This is going to be a challenging time and it will require 21st Century tools and solutions to meet our problems and seize our opportunities," Clinton said at her welcoming. "I'm going to be asking a lot of you. I want you to think outside the proverbial box. I want you to give me the best advice you can."

"I want you to understand there is nothing that I welcome more than a good debate and the kind of dialogue that will make us better," she said. "We cannot be our best if we don't demand that from ourselves and each other."

In her spirited 10-minute pep talk, she spoke of the importance of defense, diplomacy and development — the "three legs to the stool of American foreign policy" — and noted that the State Department is in charge of two of them.

"We are responsible for two of the three legs," said the former New York senator and first lady. "And we will make clear as we go forward that diplomacy and development are essential tools in achieving the long-term objectives of the United States."

Clinton's mandate from Obama is to step up diplomatic efforts and restore the nation's tattered image overseas. She has vowed to make use of "smart power" to deal with international challenges.

"At the heart of smart power are smart people, and you are those people," she told the assembled throng. "And you are the ones that we will count on and turn to for the advice and counsel, the expertise and experience to make good on the promises of this new administration."

Clinton takes over an agency that was often sidelined during George W. Bush's eight-year presidency, particularly in his first term over the decision to go to war in Iraq. Although former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice restored some of the department's influence, diplomats still complained of a lack of access to the top, as well as funding.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi slapped for un-Orthodox appearance at Obama service

BY TRACY CONNOR
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, January 22nd 2009, 2:27 AM
Savulich/News

Rabbi Haskel Lookstein at a pro-Israel demonstration in 2002.
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A Manhattan rabbi was chastised by higher-ups for an unorthodox move - participating in an interfaith prayer service at the National Cathedral with President Obama on Wednesday.

The Rabbinical Council of America took Rabbi Haskel Lookstein to task, issuing a press release saying he broke the rules by entering a Christian church.

Lookstein, who leads Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun on the upper East Side, said he had no regrets about reciting a nondenominational prayer there.

"I did it because I recognize this as my civic duty to support the new President," Lookstein told the Daily News on Wednesday night.

"Under general circumstances, I wouldn't participate in an interfaith service. This was a special situation, and out of a spirit of patriotism and support, I felt like this was the right thing to do."

The Orthodox rabbis' group said its policy is that Jews should not enter - much less say prayers - in a church.

"We really do not want to confuse our theological beliefs with those of other faiths," said the council's executive director, Rabbi Basil Herring.

He said the rebuke of Lookstein was religious, not a political slap at Obama, and that the rebel rabbi will not be punished.

tconnor@nydailynews.com

Anonymous said...

Radio and TV host Rabbi Shmuley Boteach will be speaking at today's convocation, the theme being "Is Hatred an Appropriate Emotion?"

Boteach is the host of the radio program The Rabbi Shmuley Show and host for the award-winning national TV show Shalom in the Home, according to the calendar on the SUU Web site.

According to the Web site, Boteach was declared "a cultural phenomenon" and "the most famous rabbi in America" by Newsweek and won the "Preacher of the Year" award in 1999.

The convocation will take place in the Auditorium at 11:30 a.m., according to the calendar.

Anonymous said...

It is understandable, but not justifiable, that the good rabbi should paint such a benign, but biased picture of the atrocious slaughter of hundreds of innocent people in Gaza.

The rabbi’s view seems to be that Hamas started this conflict by firing rockets into Israel for no reason. This is completely inconsistent with information shown in an excellent full page timeline graphic on page A11 of the Toronto Star on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2009.

I quote from this timeline:

• June 2008 — Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire to end rocket attacks and Israeli offensives in Gaza. Blockade of supplies into Gaza eases, but vital supplies and freedom of movement still restricted.

• November 2008 — truce ends as Israel launches attack on tunnels used by Hamas, and Hamas retaliates with renewed rocket attacks on southern Israel

• Dec. 27, 2008 — Israel begins air attack on targets across Gaza, more than 200 people are killed. Rocketing of Israel continues.

Hamas is being maligned for doing only what resistance fighters did in Europe in the Second World War. When invaders took over their country the resisters covertly fought back. Again retribution was vicious; whole villages were razed if the invaders believed they harboured resisters.

Hamas is fighting not just for Gaza, but also for the confiscation of Palestinian land in the West Bank, by the same invader. This confiscation continues even as the atrocious slaughter of civilians in Gaza is happening.

As for the Rabbi's statement of support for Israel's slaughtering by Harper, Ignatieff and Young: These persons are politicians and as such would sell their souls for a few votes.

Anonymous said...

How To Confront Suicide

Shedding light on the phenomenon of suicide


Rochelle Eisenberg
Alan H. Feiler
Staff Reporter
Managing Editor

Early one Monday morning last month, Zvi Dovid “Fifi” Zahler, a mild-mannered Ner Israel Rabbinical College student, reportedly told his pregnant wife that he was going out, to daven at prayer services at a local shul.

A Toronto native and son of an international developer, the 24-year-old Zahler — who was in his first year in Ner Israel’s kollel, or post-graduate program — drove approximately 50 minutes to the Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge on Interstate 95, near Port Deposit in northeastern Maryland, and jumped into the Susquehanna River.

According to police and media reports, a Maryland state trooper was driving by and saw Zahler jump off the bridge. A short time later, Harford County firefighters and marine units of the state police and the Department of Natural Resources recovered the body. Zahler was taken to the Tydings Marina in Havre de Grace and pronounced dead there.

Understandably, Baltimore’s tight-knit Orthodox community was stunned, horrified and puzzled by Zahler’s apparent suicide. But soon after, in the wake of his death, several Orthodox communal Web sites reported that Zahler died in a vehicular accident on the bridge, an apparent falsehood that was promoted throughout the community by those close to his family..

Anonymous said...

Why are all these boys and girls making up stories of sexual abuse? Clergy members would never sexually abuse. And if they did I had no idea. I thought I hid all the shmootz under the rug but some disturbed kid grew up and now has it in for me.
----------------------------------

Ireland's Catholic bishops have scheduled a special meeting on January 23 to discuss their response to a growing controversy over their handling of sex-abuse allegations. Informed sources indicate that the bishops' meeting, to take place at Maynooth, will concentrate on designing a uniform policy rather than on the problems of any particular diocese. Bishop John Magee of Cloyne has faced calls for his resignation after the revelation of mishandled sex-abuse allegations in that diocese; a new report on the Dublin archdiocese is expected soon.

Anonymous said...

Indianapolis, IN (LifeNews.com) -- A staffer at an Indianapolis Planned Parenthood abortion business has resigned after a video showed her covering up an apparent case of statutory rape. The resignation comes on the heels of the firing of a staff member at a Bloomington, Indiana Planned Parenthood following a similar expose' video.

In total, three videos have appeared in recent weeks showing the nation's largest abortion business failing to protect young girls in cases of sexual abuse.

In this most recent case, two Planned Parenthood employees say they "don't care" about the age difference between a 31-year-old man and the 13-year-old girl he was reported to have impregnated.

"We don't really care about who, what, the age of the boyfriend," the unnamed Planned Parenthood staff member says.

A second Planned Parenthood counselor adds, "I don't care how old he is."

Planned Parenthood of Indiana spokeswoman Kate Shepherd has recently confirmed one of the two employees resigned.

She also released a statement saying the abortion business is committed to following state law, which requires the reporting of any suspicions that an underage person has been a victim of sexual abuse.

“It’s always been our policy to report as the law requires," Betty Cockrum, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood of Indiana, said in the statement.

"This anti-choice group captured two incidents in which PPIN workers appeared not to follow that policy, but that is two too many. Our standards of care are very high --that’s why we've already made changes to tighten procedures and reinforce our reporting policies with all heath center staff across the state," she added.

PPIN also says it has asked pro-life advocate Lila Rose, a UCLA college student who took the two Indiana undercover videos, to release any footage that may not have yet been made public so it can take appropriate actions.

Like the staff member Diana at the first Indiana Planned Parenthood exposed on tape, the staff at the Indianapolis facility tell Rose that she can get an abortion in another state without her parents knowing: "The surrounding states don't have parental consent. I can't tell you anymore."

The videos could widen an investigation the Indiana attorney general may conduct.

A previous videotape showed a Planned Parenthood staffer named Diana telling Rose, who posed as a 13-year-old girl who had sexual relations with a man more than twice her age, that she didn't want to know any more about the incident. http://www.lifenews.com/state3678.html


As was the case with the Planned Parenthood facility in Bloomington, the Indianapolis abortion center apparently did not report the sexual abuse to state authorities as required by Indiana law.

Although the Bloomington abortion center fired its nurse, Rose said this is not an isolated incident. http://www.lifenews.com/state3709.html
"We have more videos documenting this pattern of law-breaking within Planned Parenthood. There are actual cases all across the country where their failure to follow state statutes has allowed predators to continue their sexual abuse of young girls," she told LifeNews.com.

The new footage is the second video in Live Action Film's "Mona Lisa Project," a series of investigations documenting abuses at Planned Parenthood facilities when it comes to protecting young girls.

Rep. Jackie Walorski, a Republican from Lakeville, has called for Attorney General Steve Carter and the Family and Social Services Administration to investigate. She also wants the state to end any contracts with Planned Parenthood.

Related web sites:
Latest video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTxsWZz9whg
LifeAction Films - http://LiveActionFilms.org

Anonymous said...

I will not comment on this pornographic article---

“Most folks who are going to serve as clergy or as religious professionals are going to be faced with dealing with sexuality issues of their community and of their congregants,” said Ott. “It could be child sexual abuse, it could be establishing a sexual abuse policy for their church, dealing with married couples, teens or adults in their congregation questioning their orientation or gender identity—people come to their clergy when they have these kinds of questions. I think it is so important because people are going to have to deal with this, as clergy, and it's best to be prepared.”

Anonymous said...

January 22, 2009 by Steven Stotsky

Gaza Casualties: Civilian or Combatant?
As Israel's Operation Cast Lead winds down in Gaza, controversy rages over whether Israel used indiscriminate and excessive force. Israel defends its actions claiming that 3/4 of the fatalities were Hamas members or other combatants opposing Israeli forces. The Palestinian claim, echoed in much of the media coverage, is that the vast majority of the fatalities were unarmed civilians.

A complicating factor in quantifying the number of civilian casualties is the call by Hamas leaders for their members to shed their uniforms and fight in civilian clothing ( "Gaza War Full of Traps and Trickery,"New York Times, Jan. 11, 2009).

CAMERA examined the data collected by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), which provides the most comprehensive tally of casualty figures in Gaza. The results of CAMERA's analysis are summarized below.

• PCHR counts as civilians individuals identified by other sources as combatants and omits any mention of slain senior fighters from terrorist groups.

• An analysis of the fatalities by age and gender suggests that significant numbers of combatants may have been misclassified as civilians.

PCHR

PCHR clearly represents a partisan source that favors Hamas over Israel. This is evidenced by the terminology and tone it uses in its reports - for example, labelling the Israeli Defense Forces as the "Israeli Occupation Forces" and describing Israeli military operations as "war crimes."

The data examined here covers the period of Dec. 27, 2008 through January 14, 2009. PCHR produces both daily updates and weekly reports on Palestinian casualties in Gaza. CAMERA's study examined both types of reports, but the report focuses on the weekly updates.

Omissions and Inaccuracies in PCHR Data

PCHR data is quite extensive and detailed, yet a sampling of newspaper accounts and a cursory review of items posted by the Maan News Agency, another Palestinian source, uncovered a number of omissions and misclassifications of combatant status. A number of individuals PCHR named but either described as civilians, or did not acknowledge their status, were identified by Maan as members of militant groups:

• Jihad Abu Medif (Medyiff) - identified as member of Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigade
• Haitham Abu al-Qumsan - identified as member of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades
• Hamdi Fareed Abu Hamada - identified as member of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades
• Eyad al-Maqqousi - identified as member of Al Aksa Martyrs Brigades
• Mohammed 'Abed Hassan Brbakh - identified as DFLP commander
• Tariq Nimer Abu Amsha - identified as member of Islamic Jihad al-Quds Brigades

CAMERA's examination of PCHR's reports found no mention of several senior commanders from Hamas who were reported killed :

• Mahmoud Shalpokh on Jan. 4
• Ayman Siam on Jan. 6
• Amir Mansi on Jan. 10
• Abu Zakaria al-Jamal on Jan.3 (a Hamas commander with the same last name but a different first name was listed on this date)
• Muhammad Hilou on Jan. 4 (a similar name was listed, but without any indication that he was a member of Hamas or a combatant)

It was reported by the Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center that Hamas explicitly forbade the publishing of the names of Hamas fighters killed in combat. Is PCHR abiding by this demand? Commanders and fighters from other militant groups reported killed by Maan News Agency also were not found in the PCHR reports:

• Muhammad Abu An-Nasr - killed on Jan. 7
• Shams Omar - Al-Quds (Islamic Jihad) commander in Gaza - killed on Jan. 10

The Israelis identified by name two Hamas fighters among the fatalities at the UNRWA school shelled on Jan. 6, but their names do not appear in the PCHR report for that date.

In the PCHR reports, a large proportion of young men targeted and killed by the Israelis are neither labeled as combatants nor described as civilians, yet in the tallies PCHR provides to the media, most are categorized as "civilians."

The above examples indicate that PCHR's policy of categorizing "civilians" is flawed. The question remains, how many of the numerous fatalities of young men classified as civilians, may have been in fact combatants? There are many entries indicating groups of men killed together, all in their late teens and twenties, who are described as civilians. If many of those unlabeled male fatalities were combatants, this would dramatically increase the proportion of fatalities who were combatants.

An Analysis of the Fatalities by Age and Gender Suggests Combatants May Have Been Misidentified as Civilians

The most recent weekly update records 1042 Palestinian fatalities through Jan. 14. It defines 698 of these fatalities as civilians ( 67 percent) and an additional 166 "civil police officers" (16 percent) it also regards as non-combatants. Included in the civilian fatality total are:

• 230 children (defined as those aged 17 or under)
• 76 women
• 392 (38 percent of all fatalities) adult men labeled as civilians

A statistical analysis of the data raises questions about the accuracy of PCHRs application of the civilian label to adult men and to male teenagers.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cHi4jCn4DfY

Anonymous said...

What will it take to get the community to understand that rape is a crime? By trying to keep investigators from doing their job, these people are not human. Forget about laws of modesty. As Rosenberg says on video, it's not like the police don't know what rape is. They are trying to put this guy away. Could you imagine letting someone die because you didn't want to be mechalel shabbos. It would be an outrage, certainly. Well.. A child is raped and we're so dumb we need to go ask a rav a shaila if it's mutter to report the offender? Please...

Anonymous said...

What goes around...

This is the guy who threw out Tendler on the evidence of the nutcase midwives and the lady who gets communication from space aliens.

Read the RCA report...

Mr. Frum himself.

Did he cross himself?

Posted by: Anon | January 22, 2009 at 06:05 AM



Knock it off, Anon.

There were 10 women from different times & places who said Tendler is a pervert. That is more than sufficient grounds in halacha to kick him out of his pulpit and keep women away from him.

It must be lonely for you as one of the 15 idiots who davens in the private minyan in his house.

Posted by: Archie Bunker | January 22, 2009 at 07:42 AM

Failed Messiah blog

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/01/rca-rabbi-lookstein-violated-jewish-law-by-joining-national-prayer-service-in-cathederal-.html#comments

Anonymous said...

NSA whistleblower says journos were targeted

By Julian Sanchez | Published: January 22, 2009 - 09:14PM CT

As the credits roll on the Bush administration, a former NSA analyst who helped blow the whistle on the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping program in 2005 has come forward again with allegations that the agency deliberately targeted and intercepted the communications of American journalists. He also described the data mining program, first revealed in 2006, used to target suspicious communications by filtering the metadata of all communications, foreign and domestic, passing over US wires.

In an interview with MSNBC's Keith Olberman, Russell Tice, who was fired by the NSA in May of 2005, explained that he had been tasked with monitoring the communications of specific groups, which he described as an attempt "to try to harpoon fish from an airplane," which he contrasted with the "collecting all the fish" approach of data miners. Among those targeted, said Tice, were American reporters and news agencies. "We looked at organizations supposedly so we would not target them," Tice explained. "What I was finding out was that the collection on those organizations was 24/7, 365 days a year. It made no sense. I started to investigate that; that's about the time they came after me to fire me."

Anonymous said...

"A Blob of Something Different"

http://ablobofsomethingdifferent.blogspot.com/2009/01/road-rage-quiz.html
----------------------------------

Road Rage Quiz
Take the BOSD Road Rage Quiz:
Add up your points, as indicated by the number next to your answer.

Anonymous said...

http://koshercuisine.blogspot.com/

Some great recipes.

Anonymous said...

WASHINGTON – Breaking forcefully with Bush anti-terror policies, President Barack Obama ordered major changes Thursday that he said would halt the torture of suspects, close down the Guantanamo detention center, ban secret CIA prisons overseas and fight terrorism "in a manner that is consistent with our values and our ideals."

"We intend to win this fight. We're going to win it on our terms," Obama declared, turning U.S. policy abruptly on just his second full day in office. He also put a fresh emphasis on diplomacy, naming veteran troubleshooters for Middle East hotspots.

The policies and practices that Obama said he was reversing have been widely reviled overseas, by U.S. allies as well as in less-friendly Arab countries. President George W. Bush said the policies were necessary to protect the nation after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks — though he, too, had said he wanted Guantanamo closed at some point.

"A new era of American leadership is at hand," Obama said.

Executive orders signed by the new president would order the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, shut within a year, require the closure of any remaining secret CIA "black site" prisons abroad and bar CIA interrogators of detainees from using harsh techniques already banned for military questioners.

That includes physical abuse such as waterboarding, a technique that creates the sensation of drowning and has been termed torture by critics at home and abroad.

For the signing ceremony, Obama was flanked in the Oval Office by retired senior U.S. military leaders who had pressed for the changes.

Underscoring the new administration's point, the admirals and generals said in a statement: "President Obama's actions today will restore the moral authority and strengthen the national security of the United States."

Not everyone felt that way.

Criticism surfaced immediately from Republicans and others who said Obama's policy changes would jeopardize U.S. ability to get intelligence about terrorist plans or to prevent attacks.

House Minority Leader John Boehner was among a group of GOP lawmakers who quickly introduced legislation seeking to bar federal courts from ordering Guantanamo detainees to be released into the United States.

Boehner, R-Ohio, said it "would be irresponsible to close this terrorist detainee facility" before answering such important questions as where the detainees would be sent.

Obama said he was certain that the nation's security is strengthened — not weakened — when the U.S. adheres to "core standards of conduct."

"We think that it is precisely our ideals that give us the strength and the moral high ground to be able to effectively deal with the unthinking violence that we see emanating from terrorist organizations around the world," he said.

"We don't torture," Obama said, but Bush had said the same. The question has always been defining the word.

Later in the day, Obama visited the State Department to welcome newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, emphasizing the importance his administration intends to give diplomacy in his foreign policy. He told Foreign Service officers and other department employees they "are going to be critical to our success."

The president and Clinton jointly announced the appointment of former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell, who helped broker peace in Northern Ireland, as special envoy to the Middle East. Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, who helped write the peace deal that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war, was named special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But for all the talk of a new era, it remained unclear how much of a shift Obama plans for the Middle East.

Though he named high-profile envoys to regions where critics say American attention lagged under Bush, the Mideast policy Obama outlined was no different.

He said he would aggressively seek a lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians while also defending Israel's "right to defend itself." He called on Israel and Hamas to take steps to ensure the cease-fire that is in place in Gaza will endure. And he called on Arab states to show more support for the beleaguered Palestinian government of President Mahmoud Abbas.

On the surface, those views mirror the Bush administration's.

As for the treatment of terror suspects, Obama's policy overhaul was an implicit though not directly stated criticism of what he, other Democrats, nations around the globe and human rights groups have called Bush's overreach in the battle against terrorism.

In his presidential campaign, Obama had pledged to close Guantanamo, where many suspects have been detained for years without trial or charge.

Bush, too, had said he wanted to shut down Guantanamo. It never happened on his watch, amid the questions that must be answered to do so: Can other countries be persuaded to take some of the 245 men still be held there? Under what authority should remaining detainees be prosecuted? And, most difficult, what happens to the handful of detainees who are considered both too dangerous to be released to other nations and for whom evidence is deemed either too tainted or insufficient for a trial?

Obama has to answer those same questions.

As to that tough, third category of detainees, a senior administration official said "everything's on the table" as a possibility, including the use of military tribunals that were much criticized by Obama. The official would brief reporters only on condition of anonymity, contending that was necessary in order to speak candidly about details.

The administration already has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

A task force must report in 30 days on where the Guantanamo detainees should go, as well as a destination for future terror suspects.

The national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. criticized Obama's action.

"The detention facility is a valuable tool in the fight against terrorism because it provides useful intelligence information and it keeps our enemies off the battlefield," said Glen Gardner.

Said Obama's GOP rival for the White House, Sen. John McCain: "Numerous difficult issues remain."

Recent polls show the nation essentially split on the topic. An Associated Press-GfK poll last week found about half wanted the prison shut on a priority basis, and 42 percent did not.

On interrogations, another review panel will have 180 days to study whether interrogation techniques allowed under the U.S. Army Field Manual would be acceptably effective in extracting lifesaving intelligence from hardened terrorists.

But the order opens the door to divergences from the Army manual, as it allows the panel to recommend "additional or different guidance" for use by intelligence agencies. That would not, however, allow "enhanced interrogation techniques" to be reintroduced, the official said.

Obama left room for the practice of "extraordinary renditions" of detainees to other nations to continue, though the White House said none would be sent to countries where they might be tortured.

The executive orders also throw out every opinion or memo that the Bush administration used to justify its interrogation programs. And the Obama administration said all terrorism suspects will be covered by standards set by the Geneva Conventions, something the Bush administration opposed.

Obama also ordered the Justice Department to review the case of Qatar native Ali al-Marri, who is the only enemy combatant currently being held in the U.S.

___

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes and Matthew Lee contributed to this story.
Read Full Article

Anonymous said...

What's up with these radical rabbis?

Somewhat marring the national good mood in light of the change in government, a fundamentalist rabbinical organization in New York has embarrassed our community and generally given a fairly poor showing in the process. The Rabbinical Council of America was quoted in a major wire service: Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, a prominent New York rabbi and scholar, “broke the organization's rules by participating in the service Wednesday at the National Cathedral on the morning after Barack Obama's inauguration.” (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

A spokesman (I don’t have to worry about writing “spokesperson”—females are not allowed to speak, represent, or even pray in the same spaces as men in this denomination of Judaism) released this statement: “The long-standing policy of the Rabbinical Council of America, in accordance with Jewish law, is that participation in a prayer service held in the sanctuary of a church is prohibited.” Simply put, such a sentiment is shameful and medieval—and not in the best interests of anybody.

As for the well-intended Rabbi Lookstein, he defended his participation on the basis of goodwill and wanting to express the full blessing of the Jewish community—along with the representatives of the less stringent Reform and Conservative movements.

Let me say that the Orthodox Jewish community, making up less than 20% of our people, nonetheless has much to be proud of. They are, in a sense, God’s standing army, in the categories of preserving the Hebrew language and Judaic tradition, prophetic interpretation of biblical literature and liturgy, checking the vanishing demography of American Jewry, and energetically providing social services and spiritual rehabilitation to a lot of lonely people.

But they can do all that without betraying a certain disdain for the greater world, without insulting the sanctity of any building that is God’s house, without forgetting that their very right to operate in a certain spiritual insulation is guaranteed by American democracy in the first place. It is so ironic that the singular Jewish movement that declares the Bible as literally God-written forsakes that Jeremiah (portrayed above) declared: “Pray for the welfare of your country.”

A great majority of Jews are offended and disappointed by this wanton burst of religious extremism and theological segregation. The community has just begun reading the Book of Exodus in the course of our beloved Torah cycle—Moses is being introduced as the world’s first civil rights leader, God will intervene in a watershed demonstration of the triumph of freedom over slavery, and a belief system that venerates human creativity and equality is canonized. We Jews were “chosen” not to be better, but to teach the concepts and be “a light to the nations.”

Let this little protest at the indignity of a segment of my brethren be registered as a song to light.

Anonymous said...

Coalition wants rabbi to warn community of sex offender

By Staff
- 1/23/09
The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse is calling on a Baltimore rabbi to warn parents that a convicted sex offender who served time in federal prison for possessing child porn is now living in their community and praying at their synagogue.

The international coalition, based out of the Awareness Center in Baltimore, is demanding that Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer develop a public safety plan to protect members of his Glenn Avenue Shul from Cantor Stuart Friedman, 54, of 6016 Clover Road, a registered sex offender who regularly prays at the synagogue.

Friedman could endanger children unless parents are aware of his 1998 conviction for possessing pornographic images of young boys performing sexual and sadomasochistic acts, the coalition told The Examiner.

Hopfer has not complied with the coalition's demands that he notify parents within the Eruv of Baltimore that Friedman is residing in the community or that he create a special minyan without children under the age of 21, so that Friedman can pray "without being tempted," said Vicki Polin, the Awareness Center spokeswoman.

– Carolyn Peirce


Find this article at:
http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/012309rabbi.html

Anonymous said...

http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/eisgrau_eliezer.html

Over the last six years, The Awareness Center has made the case of Rabbi Elieizer Eisgrau public. It's been around eleven years since one of the children of Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau was has been excommunicated from not only her family, yet also her community. This is due to a decree bestowed upon her by Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer who has absolutely no education or training in the field of sexual violence.

Just under six years ago Rabbi Eisgrau's daughter called Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer asking him to remove the decree. Unfortunately, Hopfer could not remember why he made the decree, yet stated he must have had a good reason to have made his decision and decided to continue to stand behind his ignorance and deny the daughter the right to communicate with her siblings.

While talking to Rabbi Hopfer, Eisgrau's daughter disclosed that Rabbi Hopfer admitted that he "did not think she was crazy", and agreed that she may have changed over the five years that had gone by. The last time Hopfer spoke to her was when Eisgrau's daughter was when she young barely out of her teens. The survivor is currently in her thirties.

Rabbi Hopfer stated, "the brothers and sisters of `the survivor' would be put into a place where they would have to choose between their sister and their father". He felt this was unfair to do, needless to say he decided that the siblings needed to cut her off, unless the Eisgrau Survivor promised never to say anything about her alleged memories of incest between herself and her father.

The survivor/daughter of Rabbi Eleizer Eisgrau has not seen her siblings for over eleven years. She does not know her nieces or nephews. Her children are being brought up without knowing their aunts, uncles or cousins. The reason why is because she had the courage to get help and refused to keep silent.

As a people, we all need to stand up and say that the decree made by Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer was unethical and wrong?

Call Rabbi Hopfer and let him know how you feel about this injustice. Tell him that it's time that Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau be evaluated by a mental health professional who specializes in doing evaluations on sex offenders. This specialist needs to be someone who is recommended by The Awareness Center to insure the professional has the correct qualifications and has no connection to those who want to keep the truth secret.

Contact:

Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer

President, Baltimore Vaad HaRabbonim

410-358-3450

Anonymous said...

So you all wanna know how a fraudster like me can still be called a "RABBI?"
--------------------------------
Jewish coalition want abuse victims to speak out

By Carolyn Peirce
Examiner Staff Writer 1/25/09
A Baltimore survivors coalition is starting a public awareness campaign this week to break the silence about the sexual abuse of children within Jewish communities.

The Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse, an international network based out of the Awareness Center in Baltimore, is organizing a series of "speak outs," that are aimed at allowing suppressed survivors of sexual abuse to educate others through their stories. The speak outs start Monday in Brooklyn, N.Y., and will begin in Baltimore Feb. 8.

Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer speaks at the Glen Avenue Shul.

The coalition also wants local rabbis to implement "safety plans" to protect children from registered sex offenders who are attending services at their synagogues unbeknownst to parents. However, some community members said outing a convicted sex offender is unjust to the offender who already has been punished through the court system.

The coalition recently faced a backlash from Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer, who refuses to notify members of his Glenn Avenue Shul that they attend services with Cantor Stuart Friedman, 54, a registered sex offender in Maryland. Friedman spent time in federal prison for participating in an international child porn ring.

The coalition asked Hopfer to notify parents within the Eruv of Baltimore that Friedman resides in the 6000 block of Clover Road. The coalition also asked to create a special service excluding children under the age of 21, so Friedman can pray "without being tempted," said Vicki Polin, the Awareness Center spokeswoman.

"We don't think our demands are outrageous, because this is someone who's aroused by children. He's dangerous," said Polin, who added that the Jewish Coalition Against Sexual Abuse has "a few thousand members."

Polin said she worries that Friedman could endanger children, possibly by photographing them, if he is not escorted in the synagogue.

The coalition contacted Hopfer with its demands, but "he just slammed down the phone," Polin said.

Hopfer encourages victims to report abuse to a rabbi instead of police, Polin said, and uses the Holocaust to illustrate that "reporting another Jew will bring on more hatred to the Jewish community."

"It's like the Catholic Church all over, but not as large," she said. "They encourage people to come to them rather than authorities, but they don't have education or training in how to handle these things."

Hopfer was reluctant to discuss Polin's allegations in a phone interview, saying he "refuses to cooperate" with the coalition because "they're irresponsible people."

"This is opening up something that I don't want to speak about," he said. When asked if he notified his synagogue of Friedman's criminal record, Hopfer said, "I can only say that we've done everything possible to be responsible, caring people."

Hopfer also denied ever referencing the Holocaust to encourage members of his synagogue to report abuse to a rabbi rather than authorities.

"I've been accused of many things and these allegations don't mean a thing," he said.

Hopfer said he wrote a letter to the community about a year ago "acknowledging that such things exist and people should speak with a professional or a rabbi and sometimes police," but he would not provide a copy of the letter.

Hopfer's message to "sometimes" notify police raised concerns for the Baltimore Jewish Council, which encourages victims to "always report" abuse, said Arthur Abramson, the council's executive director.

"We encourage people to go to the police, and also speak with a rabbi if they need to, because this is a person who has committed a crime and could be dangerous," he said.

Friedman's neighbor, who was too scared to give her name because she also attends the Glen Avenue Shul, said the coalition's demands would only tarnish Friedman's reputation.

"I think the Awareness Center should be going after people who are actually molesting children and not someone who just looked at things on the computer," she said.

Friedman told The Examiner he had no comment.

He has lived in the Orthodox Jewish Baltimore community since May 2007 when he finished a 15-month sentence in federal prison for sending pornography through the mail to an undercover FBI agent in California, according to a March 1999 Los Angeles Times story.

Before that conviction, Friedman was arrested in Nova Scotia, Canada, where he was a cantor at Beth Israel Synagogue leading prayers and teaching children Hebrew lessons.

Canadian authorities suspected Friedman had participated in an international child porn ring, and raided his residence in September 1996 where they found him seated at his computer downloading child pornography from the Internet, according to newspaper reports in the Daily News in Hailfax, Nova Scotia.

Police seized hundreds of images, and dozens of videos depicting children, some as young as 8 years old, performing sexual acts, according to the Daily News.

Canadian authorities said no evidence existed that indicated Friedman was physically involved with children in the synagogue or in the material seized.

He pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography and received a $2,000 fine before he was deported to the United States and arrested on federal child porn charges.

Friedman stood trial in Los Angeles and could have faced up to 15 years, but his attorney, Marcia Brewer, successfully argued the punishment down to 15 months in prison and three years of probation, according to the Awareness Center.

Brewer also persuaded the judge to remove the requirement that Friedman disclose his child-pornography conviction to parents of anyone younger than 18 with whom he has contact because the pornography didn't include boys younger than 12, according to the Awareness Center.

Brewers argued that the pornography Friedman mailed to the FBI agent only depicted boys over the age of 12.

Friedman, who was listed as noncompliant for more than a year on the Maryland Sex Offender Registry, is now considered in compliance.



Find this article at:
http://www.baltimoreexaminer.com/local/012509emsRABBI.html

Anonymous said...

January 25, 2009
Kosher Label Missing From Girl Scout Cookies
By ROBERT HERGUTH

In the thick of the Girl Scout cookie season, it is becoming clear that labeling on some cookie boxes is a little thin.

The kosher symbol, intended to show consumers that the contents adhere to Jewish dietary laws, was mistakenly left off 14 million boxes of Thin Mints, the variety that accounts for roughly 25 percent of Girl Scout cookie sales, said Raymond Baxter, president and chief executive of Interbake Foods, the parent company of ABC Bakers of Richmond, Va., one of two approved manufacturers of the cookies.

Proofreaders missed the mistake. But a customer noticed in November that the symbol — a circled U accompanied by a D for dairy — was missing, said Brian Crawford, an executive at the Scouts’ New York headquarters. (Some troops sell cookies in the fall, though most sales are held January through March.)

ABC Bakers quickly sent letters explaining the oversight (and showing proof of kosher certification from the Orthodox Union) to Scout councils.

Rabbi Yisroel Bendelstein of the Orthodox Union, who has fielded perhaps a half-dozen calls about the cookies, said he hoped the letters would “obviate any concerns.”

Thin Mints, the rabbi said, are his favorite Girl Scout cookie.

Anonymous said...

We see a double standard by these supposed leaders of our community. They want us to lead a life that uplifts the spirit, but they damage that by acting irresponsibly and trying to shift the blame on others. The only thing we can hope for is that people like jaakov hopefer, lepold margulies, shlomo mandel, israel belski etc. receive a wake-up call they will not just be able to shrug their shoulders to.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Yosef describes Rachel's 'manifestation' in Gaza

Following widespread rumors biblical matriarch appeared before soldiers fighting in Strip, Shas' spiritual leader tells of how young, beautiful woman warned troops of terrorists
Kobi Nahshoni

After Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu already confirmed reports that Mother Rachel assisted IDF troops fighting in Gaza, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef also declared this week that the biblical matriarch was sent to help the soldiers.


Taking Credit
Rabbi Eliyahu: I sent Mother Rachel to Gaza / Kobi Nahshoni
Former chief rabbi responds to rumors of woman appearing before troops, warning them of danger in Operation Cast Lead, says, 'The story is true, I sent her'. Rabbi Shlomo Aviner: A sucker will believe anything
Full Story
In his Shabbat sermon Shas' spiritual leader described Rachel's role in the recent war. "The soldiers arrived at a house and wanted to go inside. There were three armed terrorists waiting for them there.


"And then a beautiful young woman appeared before them and warned: Don't enter the house, there are terrorists there, be careful.


- "Who are you?"


- "What do you care who I am," she said, and whispered – "Rachel."


The rabbi continued to describe how the soldiers indeed found the terrorists inside and killed them. The three were carrying guns, just like the woman said.


"Mother Rachel was called to the place, 'Go save your sons.' Ah, praised be His name! God redeems and rescues, and sends angels to save the people of Israel. How we should thank God," Rabbi Yosef concluded.



During his address, the rabbi also lauded Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for his gracious contribution to the world of the Torah.



"He would send millions to yeshivot and for our Torah study schools. Had it not been for that – we would not be alive."


Ronen Medzini contributed to the report

Anonymous said...

Rachel Imenu (Our foremother Rachel) in the Gaza War Against Hamas

Posted by Mordechai Friedfertig

[Q&A from Rav Aviner's video blog]

Question: Rumors have spread about a woman presenting herself as our foremother Rachel appearing to Tzahal soldiers and warning them of explosives, booby-trapped houses and terrorist ambushes within the Gaza Strip during the war. Is this true?
Answer: In truth, Rachel Imenu was certainly with us during our long Exile as the Maharal explained in his book "Netzach Yisrael" (end of chap. 1 and beginning of chap. 34). He wrote that Rachel is the power that sustained the Nation of Israel during the course of the Exile and returned us to our Land as it says: "Withhold your voice from crying…and your children will return to their border" (Yirmiyahu 31:15-16). And Rashi explained at the beginning of Parashat Va-Yechi (Bereshit 48:7): Why wasn't Rachel buried in the Cave of Machpelah or even in Beit Lechem, but by the side of the road? In order for her to protect the Nation of Israel while we were on the way. This is the inner power which binds the Nation together. After all, it is a miracle and wonder that we were able to remain steadfast for two thousand years in the Exile. We were a lamb among seventy wolves and we are now returning to our Land. But regarding the idea that Rachel personally revealed herself to this person or that person, on such matters it is said: "A fool will believe anything." There are two types of extremism: one type of extremism is to deny miracles, and another type of extremism is to believe that when someone tells you about a miracle that there really was one. We need to check. It is possible that they may have been imagining. Sometimes a person imagines things, even a sane person. Sometimes one is under pressure, tired, hungry, and thinks he sees something that isn't there, and later fosters it in his memory. This is called FMS – false memory syndrome. It may have been a non-Jewish woman. There are also good Arab women – not all of them are, but there are some. And maybe someone dreamed up this idea to strengthen faith, and to say: "You see? There are people that go to war and there are people that don't go to war but they pray, and Rachel came to save us on account of their merit." Therefore, we need proof for such matters. There were soldiers who fell in battle and Rachel was not there. There were also soldiers who won battles due to their great dedication and wisdom and courageousness to fight, and Rachel was not there. This means that Rachel was not there in the image of a woman guiding them and telling them go this way or that way, shoot here or shoot there. But Rachel was certainly there in the sense in which we explained: the inner power which sustains the Nation of Israel and returns us to our Land.
See www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3659308,00.html for a news story about Rav Aviner's answer and that Ha-Gaon Ha-Rav Mordechai Eliyahu prayed for Rachel Imenu to help. Rav Aviner gave this answer before this story has spread about Rav Eliyahu.

Anonymous said...

From Vosizneias (VIN)

Brooklyn, NY - VIN News has learned that a well-known principal of a Russian Jewish school in Brooklyn has been arrested on accusation of engaging in a relationship with a minor.

Mr. Emanuel Yegutkin, English principal of Elite High School in Bensonhurst and member of Hatzolah of Flatbush, was charged with sexual misconduct against a child in the first degree.

An official Flatbush Hatzolah spokesman has told VIN that it's Hatzolah's strongest policy to immediately dismiss any member alleged to be involved in a criminal matter. He added that Hatzolah was "relieved" that Mr. Yegutkin, apparently knowing of his impending arrest, resigned from Hatzolah shortly before being taken into custody.

VIN News' source also confirmed that the child in question was not a student at Elite.

Calls to Elite high school has gone unanswered. Mr. Yegutkin was released on $50,000 bail.

Anonymous said...

FROM VIN
Comment #41

http://www.vosizneias.com/26270/2009/01/25/brooklyn-ny-principal-of-jewish-school-accused-of-relation-with-minor/
------------------------------------

i agree with all the supporting commments - I cant image his doing something like this. he is involved in too much chesed toeven think of doing such a thing.
Emanual, on behalf of many of your freinds - keep your head up high we are all behind you, these bastards will never bring you down.

Anonymous said...

For all those saying the "two state solution" will provide peace in the Mideast - you better remind yourselves that no such thing will ever happen. Not unless that is - we adopt the visions of Rabbi Meir Kahane z"l that he was so very passionate about.
*

Gaza medics say some 1,300 Palestinians were killed and more than 5,000 were wounded during the Israeli offensive on Gaza that also killed more than a dozen Israelis, most of them soldiers. Thousands of Palestinian homes were destroyed.

Anonymous said...

Jewish anger as pope reinstates Holocaust-denier

JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial and the Simon Wiesenthal Centre on Sunday slammed a Holocaust-denying English bishop whose ex-communication has been cancelled by Pope Benedict XVI.

"It is scandalous that someone of this stature in the Church denies the Holocaust," the institution said in a statement, referring to Bishop Richard Williamson who has publicly denied the murder of six million Jews during World War II.

"Denial of the Holocaust not only insults the survivors, memory of the victims and the righteous among the nations who risked their lives to rescue the Jews, it is a brutal attack on truth," Yad Vashem said.

"What kind of message is this sending regarding the Church's attitude toward the Holocaust?"

The Wiesenthal Centre, an international Jewish human rights body, said: "The Pope's decision to welcome back such a hater into the Church lends moral credence to deniers of history's worst crime.

"In addition to Bishop Williamson's Holocaust denial looms the unchanging virulent anti-Semitism of the Society of Saint Pius as a whole," it said.

The pope cancelled the ex-communication of Williamson and three other bishops in a bid to heal a 20-year schism with traditionalists led by rebel French archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.

The Roman Catholic Church published an edict lifting the 1998 sanction on Lefebvre's successor Bernard Fellay and three other bishops in his breakaway conservative movement, including Williamson.

He is on record as denying the existence of the gas chambers.

"I believe there were no gas chambers.... I think that 200,000 to 300,000 Jews perished in Nazi concentration camps but none of them by gas chambers," Williamson was quoted as saying in an interview with Swedish SVT television.

"There was not one Jew killed by the gas chambers. It was all lies, lies, lies!"

Italian Jewish groups criticised the decision as a "negative, worrying and incomprehensible signal" on Saturday.

Uneasy relations between the Vatican and Israel have been further strained by plans to declare Nazi-era Pope Pius XII a saint, despite widespread criticism of his inaction during the Holocaust.

Anonymous said...

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

Jewish groups object to 'anti-Israel' UN official at commemoration
Jan. 25, 2009
Haviv Rettig Gur , THE JERUSALEM POST

Jewish groups objected over the weekend to the participation of UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann at the International Day of Commemoration for Holocaust victims, which is held each year on January 27.

D'Escoto's "extreme anti-Israel statements violate the very essence of the Holocaust commemoration," according to a statement by the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.

D'Escoto has drawn the ire of Israel and Jewish groups since embracing Holocaust-doubting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad after the latter's September speech to the assembly, in which he echoed conspiracy theories of Jewish world domination.

In November, d'Escoto called for international sanctions against Israel.

The Conference of Presidents called on d'Escoto to "choose not to be present so that the sacred intent of the commemoration is maintained." If he chose to be present, the statement said, he should not "desecrate the event by repeating his past unacceptable comments."

The US umbrella body noted that "the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors and other organizations join us in this expression of concern and regret regarding the possible participation of the General Assembly president."

Jeffrey Wiesenfeld, vice president of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, told The Jewish Week two weeks ago that "we continue to hope that [d'Escoto] will find a way out of coming… rather than coming to us and giving crocodile tears to our martyrs."

The weekend call was joined by B'nai B'rith International, which said it was "deeply troubling that d'Escoto… will have a prominent role on such a solemn day," and noted that "d'Escoto, an ordained Catholic priest, actually accused Israel of 'crucifying' Palestinians."

As early as mid-December, the American Jewish Congress accused d'Escoto of "violating the letter and the spirit of the assembly's Rules of Procedure [which demand impartiality] by repeatedly attacking Israel," and called on him to step down.
This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1232643747102&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Anonymous said...

Carter’s new peace book out

January 25, 2009

WASHINGTON (JTA) -- Jimmy Carter published a new book on how to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace.

"We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan That Will Work," by the former president responsible for brokering the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace accords, was published this month by Simon and Schuster.

According to reviews, the book is less confrontational than his 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace not Apartheid," and instead outlines how the sides might bring about a two-state solution more or less along the lines of the June 4, 1967 borders. The earlier book earned opprobrium from Jewish groups for likening Israel's settlement practices to apartheid and for alleging that backers of Israel silenced criticism of the Jewish state in the United States.

In his new book, Carter advocates involving Hamas, the terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip, although he is sharply critical of its tactics. He also recounts handing the group's leaders material on nonviolent resistance in a meeting last year.

Carter had delayed publishing the book in part because he did not want it to get in the way of the recent presidential campaign. He backed fellow Democrat Barack Obama, who won.

Anonymous said...

Monday, January 26, 2009 |

Why Israel won't survive
by Ali Abunimah

The merciless Israeli bombardment of Gaza has stopped -- for now -- but the death toll keeps rising as more bodies are pulled from carpet- bombed neighborhoods.

What Israel perpetrated in Gaza, starting at 11:30am on 27 December 2008, will remain forever engraved in history and memory. Tel al-Hawa, Hayy al-Zeitoun, Khuzaa and other sites of Israeli massacres will join a long mournful list that includes Deir Yasin, Qibya, Kufr Qasim, Sabra and Shatila, Qana, and Jenin.

Once again, Israel demonstrated that it possesses the power and the lack of moral restraint necessary to commit atrocities against a population of destitute refugees it has caged and starved.

The dehumanization of Palestinians, Arabs and Muslims has escalated to the point where Israel can with full self- righteousness bomb their homes, places of worship, schools, universities, factories, fishing boats, police stations -- in short everything that sustains civilized and orderly life -- and claim it is conducting a war against terrorism.

Yet paradoxically, it is Israel as a Zionist regime, not Palestine or the Palestinian people, that cannot survive this attempted genocide.

Israel's “war” was not about rockets -- they served the same role in its narrative as the non-existent weapons of mass destruction did as the pretext for the American-led invasion and occupation of Iraq.

Israel's real goals were to restore its “deterrence” fatally damaged after its 2006 defeat in Lebanon (translation: its ability to massacre and terrorize entire populations into submission) and to destroy any Palestinian resistance to total Israeli-Jewish control over historic Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

With Hamas and other resistance factions removed or fatally weakened, Israel hoped the way would be clear to sign a “peace” deal with chief Palestinian collaborator Mahmoud Abbas to manage Palestinians on Israel's behalf until they could be forced out once and for all.

The U.S.-backed “moderate” dictatorships and absolute monarchies led by Egypt and Saudi Arabia supported the Israeli plan hoping to demonstrate to their own people that resistance -- whether against Israel or their own bankrupt regimes -- was futile.

To win, Israel had to break Palestinian resistance. It failed. On the contrary, it galvanized and unified Palestinians like never before. All factions united and fought heroically for 23 days. According to well-informed and credible sources Israel did little harm to the modest but determined military capacity of the resistance. So instead Israel did what it does best: it massacred civilians in the hope that the population would turn against those fighting the occupier.

Israel not only unified the resistance factions in Gaza; its brutality rallied all Palestinians and Arabs.

It is often claimed that Arab regimes whip up anti-Israel anger to distract their populations from their own failings. Actually, Israel, the U.S. and subservient Arab regimes tried everything -- inciting sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shia Muslims -- to distract their populations from Palestine.

All this failed as millions of people across the region marched in support of Palestinian resistance, and the Arab regimes who hoped to benefit from the slaughter in Gaza have been exposed as partners in the Israeli atrocities. In popular esteem, Hamas and other Palestinian resistance factions earned their place alongside Hezbollah as effective bulwarks against Israeli and Western colonialism.

If there was ever a moment when the peoples of the region would accept Israel as a Zionist state in their midst, that has passed forever.

But anyone surveying the catastrophe in Gaza -- the mass destruction, the death toll of more than 100 Palestinians for every Israeli, the thousands of sadistic injuries -- would surely conclude that Palestinians could never overcome Israel and resistance is a delusion at best.

True, in terms of ability to murder and destroy, Israel is unmatched. But Israel's problem is not, as its propaganda insists, “terrorism” to be defeated by sufficient application of high explosives. Its problem is legitimacy, or rather a profound and irreversible lack of it. Israel simply cannot bomb its way to legitimacy.

Israel was founded as a “Jewish regime” through the ethnic cleansing of Palestine's non-Jewish majority Arab population. It has been maintained in existence only through Western support and constant use of violence to prevent the surviving indigenous population from exercising political rights within the country, or returning from forced exile.

Despite this, today, 50 percent of the people living under Israeli rule in historic Palestine (Israel, the West Bank and Gaza Strip) are Palestinians, not Jews. And their numbers are growing rapidly. Like Nationalists in Northern Ireland or non-whites in South Africa, Palestinians will never recognize the “right” of a settler-colonial society to maintain a technocratic state at their expense through violence, repression and racism.

For years, the goal of the so-called peace process was to normalize Israel as a “Jewish regime” and gain Palestinians' blessing for their own dispossession and subjugation. When this failed, Israel tried “disengagement” in Gaza -- essentially a ruse to convince the rest of the world that the 1.5 million Palestinians caged in there should no longer be counted as part of the population. They were in Israel's definition a “hostile entity.”

In his notorious May 2004 interview with The Jerusalem Post, Arnon Soffer, an architect of the 2005 disengagement explained that the approach “doesn't guarantee 'peace,' it guarantees a Jewish- Zionist state with an overwhelming majority of Jews.” Soffer predicted that in the future “when 2.5 million people live in a closed-off Gaza, it's going to be a human catastrophe. Those people will become even bigger animals than they are today. The pressure at the border will be awful.”

He was unambiguous about what Israel would have to do to maintain this status quo: “If we want to remain alive, we will have to kill and kill and kill. All day, every day.” Soffer hoped that eventually, Palestinians would give up and leave Gaza altogether.

Through their resistance, steadfastness and sacrifice, Palestinians in Gaza have defeated this policy and reasserted that they are an inseparable part of Palestine, its people, its history and its future.

Israel is not the first settler-colonial entity to find itself in this position. When F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's last apartheid president, came to office in 1989, his generals calculated that solely with the overwhelming military force at their disposal, they could keep the regime in power for at least a decade. The casualties, however, would have run into hundreds of thousands, and South Africa would face ever greater isolation. Confronted with this reality, de Klerk took the decision to begin an orderly dismantling of apartheid.

What choice will Israel make? In the absence of any political and moral legitimacy the only arguments it has left are bullets and bombs. Left to its own devices Israel will certainly keep trying -- as it has for sixty years -- to massacre Palestinians into submission. Israel's achievement has been to make South Africa's apartheid leaders look wise, restrained and humane by comparison.

But what prevented South Africa's white supremacist government from escalating their own violence to Israeli levels of cruelty and audacity was not that they had greater scruples than the Zionist regime. It was recognition that they alone could not stand against a global anti-apartheid movement that was in solidarity with the internal resistance.

Israel's “military deterrent” has now been repeatedly discredited as a means to force Palestinians and other Arabs to accept Zionist supremacy as inevitable and permanent. Now, the other pillar of Israeli power -- Western support and complicity -- is starting to crack. We must do all we can to push it over.

Israel began its massacres with full support from its Western “friends.” Then something amazing happened. Despite the official statements of support, despite the media censorship, despite the slick Israeli hasbara (propaganda) campaign, there was a massive, unprecedented public mobilization in Europe and even in North America expressing outrage and disgust.

Gaza will likely be seen as the turning point when Israeli propaganda lost its power to mystify, silence and intimidate as it has for so long. Even the Nazi Holocaust, long deployed by Zionists to silence Israel's critics, is becoming a liability; once unimaginable comparisons are now routinely heard. Jewish and Palestinian academics likened Israel's actions in Gaza to the Nazi massacre in the Warsaw Ghetto.

A Vatican cardinal referred to Gaza as a “giant concentration camp.” UK Member of Parliament Gerald Kaufman, once a staunch Zionist, told the House of Commons, “My grandmother was ill in bed when the Nazis came to her home town of Staszow, (Poland). A German soldier shot her dead in her bed.” Kaufman continued, “my grandmother did not die to provide cover for Israeli soldiers murdering Palestinian grandmothers in Gaza.” He denounced the Israeli military spokesperson's justifications as the words “of a Nazi.”

It wasn't only such statements, but the enormous demonstrations, the nonviolent direct actions, and the unprecedented expressions of support for boycott, divestment and sanctions from major trade unions in Italy, Canada and New Zealand. An all-party group of city councilors in Birmingham, Europe's second largest municipal government, urged the UK government to follow suit.

Salma Yaqoub of the RESPECT Party explained that “One of the factors that helped bring an end to the brutal apartheid regime in South Africa was international pressure for economic, sporting and cultural boycotts. It is time that Israel started to feel similar pressure from world opinion.”

Israel, its true nature as failed, brutal colonial project laid bare in Gaza, is extremely vulnerable to such a campaign. Little noticed amidst the carnage in Gaza, Israel took another momentous step towards formal apartheid when the Knesset elections committee voted to ban Arab parties from participating in upcoming elections.

Zionism, an ideology of racial supremacy, extremism and hate, is a dying project, in retreat and failing to find new recruits. With enough pressure, and relatively quickly, Israelis too would likely produce their own de Klerk ready to negotiate a way out. Every new massacre makes it harder, but a de-zionized, decolonized, reintegrated Palestine affording equal rights to all who live in it, regardless of religion or ethnicity, and return for refugees is not a utopian dream.

It is within reach, in our lifetimes. But it is far from inevitable. We can be sure that Western and Arab governments will continue to support Israeli apartheid and Palestinian collaboration under the guise of the “peace process” unless decisively challenged. Israeli massacres will continue and escalate until the nightmare of an Israeli- style “peace” -- apartheid and further ethnic cleansing -- is fulfilled.

The mobilizations of the past three weeks showed that a different world is possible and within our grasp if we support the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement. Although they will never get to see it, that world would be a fitting memorial for all of Israel's victims.

(Source: electronicintifada.net)

Anonymous said...

Teen sex rap for principal of Bensonhurst private school

BY SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU

Monday, January 26th 2009, 12:46 AM

Two teenage boys told cops they endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of a Brooklyn high school principal who was arrested over the weekend, police said.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 30, was suspended Sunday from Elite High School, a private Jewish school in Bensonhurst with mainly Russian-American students.

Yegutkin forced a 17-year-old into lewd sex acts from the age of 7 to 14, cops said.

He subjected a 19-year-old to five years of fondling, beginning when the teen was 12, police said.

Neither child attended Elite, school officials said.

"This has nothing to do with the school," said Elite High School Headmaster Tzvi Koff. "But we have to protect our students. He no longer has access to the school building and he is not part of our institution anymore."

The disgraced educator - who also worked in upstate Gilboa as a lifeguard at Oorah summer camp last year - was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexually abusing children for more than a four-month period, according to a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office.

A message left at Yegutkin's Ocean Parkway home was not returned.

Oorah Camp Director Elisha Lewenstein said Yegutkin came highly recommended.

"We investigated him before we hired him and never had a complaint," Lewenstein said.

Yegutkin, a one-time rising star within the Orthodox Jewish community, lost a second prominent job yesterday: volunteer medic for the Flatbush Hatzoloh ambulance service.

"If anybody in Hatzoloh is accused of any criminal issue, we suspend them until the issue is cleared up," Hatzoloh spokesman Heshey Jacob said.

Yegutkin "suspended himself" when he was contacted yesterday, Jacob said.

Yegutkin's arrest is the latest blow to Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. Since October, at least four Orthodox Jewish men in the borough have been charged with sexually abusing children.

simonew@nydailynews.com

Anonymous said...

RABBI CLEARED OF RAPE
hg.editorial@archant.co.uk
26 January 2009
A respected rabbi accused of raping a 12 year-old boy in a synagogue toilet has walked free today after his alleged victim failed to attend court.

Moshe Reichman, 24, was said to have molested the youth in the Biala Synagogue in Stamford Hill, four years ago.

But the boy, now aged 16, has moved to Israel and Met Police detectives have been unable to contact him.

Reichman, of Wellington Avenue, Tottenham, was discharged from the dock by Judge Peter Birts QC after prosecutors offered no evidence on charges of rape of a child under 13, sexual activity with a child and two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Reichman, who listened to proceedings via a Yiddish interpreter, showed no reaction to the verdict.

The teenager, who cannot be named, claimed the attack happened between October 8, 2004 and October 7, 2005.

Anonymous said...

MK Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, Dead at 75

by Hana Levi Julian and Hillel Fendel

(IsraelNN.com) The long-time chairman of the Degel HaTorah party, Knesset Member Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, succumbed to a long illness in the wee hours of Monday morning in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Ravitz, 75, passed away at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, where he had been hospitalized since early January after losing consciousness at his home in the capital. He suffered from a severe heart condition, and recently had surgery to install a pacemaker. He leaves behind a wife, 12 children and 77 grandchildren.

Anonymous said...

It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s The Rabbi

Consider the following: A college kid and his friends get arrested for drug possession. Whom do they call first with that one phone call? Parents? Sibling? You guessed it…the rabbi! A young teen is struggling with serious religious questions about G-d, faith, Torah, or even less sublime matters, such as friends, grades, and boy/girlfriends. Whom do they turn to for answers and a guiding hand? Mom and Dad? … The rabbi. You’re stuck on an airplane or in the office and Shabbos is about to arrive. You don’t know what to do. Do you call your spouse first, kids? Nope…you call the rabbi.

Your cat is stuck in a tree and you don’t have a ladder…OK, on this one call the fire department, but don’t be shocked if the rabbi has a ladder or at least calls when the cat is rescued.

It’s not crazy to think that everything said above is true, because all of these scenarios have happened. Make no mistake about it—rabbis are superheroes. Not run-of-the-mill heroes or 15-minutes-of-fame type. There is a big ‘R’ emblazoned on their chest, although you may not see it or realize it. They are not rock stars or celebrities, but superheroes. And the fictional ones, Superman included, have nothing on them—and rabbis don’t get to turn into Clark Kent. The suit on the rabbi is his cape and his work clothes.

Take a 24-hour period in your own lives and compare it side-by-side with the rabbi’s. It starts at 6:00 a.m. with davening—or earlier, if he gives a daf yomi shiur, or if he serves as a mashgiach and there is an early-morning delivery at the local store he needs to be present for. Davening is followed by office hours, hospital visits, shivah calls, phone calls, e-mails, meetings with members—perhaps staff if it is a larger shul—car pool, shopping…all before 9:00 a.m.!

Perhaps the rabbi has another job (or two) to help meet some of the financial burden, so there is commuting time or classroom work. Then there is prep time for the night class, and the Shabbos sermon has to be a winner because it’s Stevie’s bar mitzvah and Sara’s bat mitzvah. Next week is yom tov, so he has to examine the checklist to make sure the bulletins and the appeal cards are in order. Is the day over yet? It’s hardly past noon.

A Shoulder To Cry On

On the serious side, rabbis also deal with our most sobering and personal issues. At a death of a parent, whether under tragic or “normal” circumstances, our first call is to the rabbi. The rabbi arrives at our home or the hospital, provides comfort or a hug or a tear. He is the shoulder to cry on; the person to lean on as we show ultimate respect to our dearly departed loved one. He shepherds us through those moments, providing comfort with words of consolation, with a dignified and moving service, and respect for all who come to mourn.

In an instant the rabbi gets a call or an e-mail from another family celebrating the just-happened birth of their first child. The parents confided in and consulted with the rabbi as they endured infertility issues for many years. Sorrow to elation, cemetery to hospital—and no time to shower or change shoes. This is the rabbinate. It is gut-wrenching, heart-pounding, stressful, and mind-blowing—all at the same time. Juggling private and public life, managing to stay even-keeled and balanced even when you don’t want to. It is heroic, whether or not we know it or say it. Rabbis are superheroes.

A number of years ago, during the first year of a friend’s time as a rabbi, his colleague became ill and passed away very suddenly. It was the first week after Sukkos. The rabbi had time neither to mourn his friend nor to express his own personal sadness, because that same week a young child in his community was diagnosed with a rare illness. It required much time to be spent with the family of the young child as well as with the shocked community, to come together to pray, to cry, and yet hope for a miracle.

The same week, being Parashas Bereishis, the synagogue’s full slate of programs and learning was set to begin. As it was his first year, the rabbi poured out his heart and soul during the holidays, leaving little energy to begin the season and with no battery backup. No time to mourn and no time to breathe. It took close to four weeks before the rabbi had a long moment to consider his friend’s untimely death…and then he finally wept. Say it with me…“Superhero.”

On the private side, the rabbi has his own family and life, which on many occasions is sacrificed for the “good of the people.” It is the great juggling act of the rabbi to find or make time for spouse, children, friends, and family, not to mention personal growth time. The rabbi gets the chance to take off his cape at home, but for how long? How does his family suffer for the greater good? In between the High Holy Day season and Chanukah, has the rabbi relaxed at all? Has he taken the “pedal off the metal” even for a moment?

We continue to experience rabbis in so many different situations without letup. We encounter them in the synagogue and perhaps in our homes and at our tables. They will be in our inbox, our mail, and our minds. They will attempt to alter our consciousness with words, stories, or even a joke, as well as with deeds. They will spare no effort to inspire us to greater religious, spiritual, and emotional heights. They will ask us to go further with ourselves and to push ourselves beyond our imagination in matters of Torah, prayer, and mitzvos, and we will ask more of them…Superheroes.

So the next time we see the rabbi, let’s not waste the opportunity by playing the villain or the gossip, and let’s not spend the time looking for the cape—trust me, it’s there. Instead, just put an arm around the rabbi and say thank-you. Just remember not to squeeze too tight, because you might wrinkle the cape and he will need it tomorrow to fight another day.


Rabbi Bini Maryles is director of the Pepa and Rabbi Joseph Karasick Department of Synagogue Services of the Orthodox Union, a position in which he interacts with and counsels rabbis across North America. Prior to arriving at the OU, he served as a congregational rabbi in his community.

By Rabbi Bini Maryles - Published on 23/01/2009

Anonymous said...

The disgraced educator - who also worked in upstate Gilboa as a lifeguard at Oorah summer camp last year - was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexually abusing children for more than a four-month period, according to a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office.
--------------------------------

Oh Shucks! This makes us look bad. Now even the goyim won't want to donate their cars to us even when we advertise on shabbos kodesh.

Anonymous said...

the catchy tune they use gets even the dumbest of people hooked to donate to the kars4kids/oorah/cucumber/camp boyzone - spamming techniques.

Anonymous said...

All eyes and ears focused on the first teen to take the stand.Her testimony started off confident with deputy prosecuting attorney Jean Fisher questioning her about the Fourth of July weekend get-together."I was nervous, guys were creeps," said 17-year-old girl."Did the defendant touch your body?" asked Fisher."Yes," she replied.“What did he do?" asked Fisher."He touched my chest a lot. He touched my breast and he would touch my bottom, I guess. He said that he wanted us to go skinny dipping," said the girl.Then defense attorney Michael Molfetta questioned the teen. Molfetta focused on the girl's previous statements, and inconsistencies from police questioning and today's testimony."In one breath didn't you say that Mr. Phillips didn't touch you to the grand jury and then you said that he did?" questioned Molfetta."I don't know," said the girl.Throughout most of the cross-examination by the defense the teen said she couldn’t remember exactly what had happened.During today's testimony the teen said she and the other alleged victim were hoping to get paid to dance or have intercourse with the defendant.The girls planned to make at least $1,000, but in the courtroom she admitted there was never a request for money and it was never offered.There is a statute in Idaho code called personal injury and sex abuse that allows the girls to file a civil suit against Phillips.A National Football Player is expected to take the stand in this case.Baltimore Ravens fullback Lorenzo Neal will testify on behalf of Dick Phillips and the defense.Neal and Phillips are friends, and Neal was with the Phillips the night he met the teenage girls.

Anonymous said...

A lady teacher having sexual desires for little boys is worse than a YOB 5th grade rebbe fondling his talmidim. It's like going to the mikveh, but who ever heard of a mikveh with boys and girls together?

Abington, Mass., fifth-grade teacher Christine McCallum, if convicted on rape charges, would join an ugly list of female teachers with a thing for little boys.

Gender aside, there's something scary about the idea that a person can achieve a master's degree in education, make it through the hiring process, successfully educate kids for a while, have parents say things like "what a great teacher," and then one day - boom - she's an alleged rapist who took advantage of a motherless 12-year-old boy and had her way with him 300 times in 18 months.

Anonymous said...

Miracles In The Making: A Look Inside Oorah

“Kiruv.” The word conjures up dramatic images of college students cutting off their ponytails and donning a kippah, trading in their Friday night at the movies for a Friday night of chicken soup and zemiros. But the reality of kiruv is that, like many miracles, the picture comes together gradually, piece by piece, over a long time.

Kiruv takes patience. Just as one cannot push a six-month-old child to walk, one cannot push a secular Jew to commit to a mitzvah before he has arrived at the right spiritual stage of development. Those who are guiding the secular Jew have to stay attuned to his progress; they must recognize the value of the small steps he is taking and know when to encourage a further step.

Since Oorah’s inception 30 years ago, this is the principle upon which its kiruv work has been built. A strong personal connection with each child and each family has been the backbone of Oorah’s brand of kiruv. The results speak for themselves in the many hundreds of individuals who—rather than being assimilated and intermarried as statistics would have predicted—are Torah-observant Jews raising Jewish families of their own.

Each year, Oorah’s auction gives the wider Jewish community an opportunity to become part of this miracle. For $5 per entry, anyone can enjoy the fun of the auction and the satisfaction of participating in one of America’s most successful kiruv organizations. To participate in the auction, go to http://oorah.org/auction or call 877-7-AUCTION (877-728-2846); the auction ends on Lag B’Omer (May 12, 2009).

When Oorah first started, it was a one-man operation. Rabbi Chaim Mintz, shlita, the mashgiach of the Yeshiva of Staten Island, took it upon himself to go out among the non-religious Jews of his area and see if he could convince them to send their children to yeshiva. He succeeded—with nothing more than a sincere, honest approach, helping parents see that if they did not make the move, the likelihood of their children growing up without a spiritual anchor or intermarrying was strong. Oorah has now grown into a holistic network of activities that address virtually every aspect of its families’ development, because placing a child in yeshiva is not enough to ensure kiruv success.

A child also needs supportive parents. Oorah sets the parents up with chavrusas so that they can gain an appreciation for what their children are learning in yeshiva. Oorah gives the families a sukkah, arba minim, shemurah matzah, shalach manos, a menorah, and plenty of other gifts and information appropriate to each yom tov to help them celebrate and understand Jewish rituals.

When children are out of yeshiva for the summer, so much can be lost. Oorah opened BoyZone and GirlZone summer camps to keep its children on track. At these camps, the counselors are volunteer kiruv workers who pour their hearts and souls into giving their campers an inspiring vision of life as a Torah Jew. They stick with their campers all year long by phone and in person, and get together regularly for year-round camp events. Oorah even opened a special house in Flatbush so that its GirlZone campers who have been inspired to keep Shabbos will have a warm, friendly place of their own in which to keep it. Each week, campers and counselors flock to ShabbaZone to reignite the spark.

Oorah nurtures a love for Shabbos through its twice-yearly “Shabbat with Oorah” retreats. Unlike most retreats, this one is not so much about lectures and programs... http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=3725

Anonymous said...

01/26/2009 07:13 PM
Brooklyn Principal Arrested On Sexual Abuse Charges

By: NY1 News

A Brooklyn private school principal has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing young boys.

Emanuel Yegutkin, 30, faces a slew of charges including six counts of sexual abuse.

Two teenagers say Yegutkin abused them when they were younger -- neither was a student at his school.

Yegutkin was suspended over the weekend from the Elite High School, a private Jewish school in Bensonhurst.

NY1 has reached out to Elite, but so far they have not commented on the charges.

exposemolesters said...

Re: Emanuel Yegutkin

Very tough to see a man with so much going for him be accused of this. A man who volunteered his time to the very worthy cause of saving lives.

Regrettably, being a "Tzadik" and "Talmid Chochom" doesn't immunize against abusing children (as much as we'd like to believe that it does).

The pluses of this case are as follows:

a) The police are investigating (not Rabbis)

b) Guilt or innocence will be determined systematically and justly. (no sweeping under the carpet by Matty and co.)

c) All the parties involved (Hatzalah, Elite, Oorah) seem to have handled this professionally thus far - by taking the proper approach, precautions, and saying the right things.

Wrapping it up:

Is Emanuel Yegutkin guilty of these accusations? Who knows?..

The fact of the matter is, if he is not - the truth will come out and he will be vindicated. On the flip side, if he is guilty - the facts will emanate that for all to see, and justice will be served.

It is encouraging that this was handled without the vacuous leadership we've unfortunately grown too accustomed to.

Lastly, it takes enormous courage for alleged survivors of sexual abuse to come forward. For those minimizing or degrading the accusers - it is not only counterproductive and detrimental to society as a whole, but certainly idiotic and wrong to do so based on the statistics and data backing up these claims.

No kids will put themselves in a position of such an embarrassing confrontation unless there is some merit, substance, and validity to it. Experts in the field will tell you the same thing.

There was an investigation. A judge found enough evidence to arrest. Now the ball in the courts where it should be.

Anachnu yireh!

Anonymous said...

http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2009/01/molestation-is-rampant-its-not-one-in.html


Via E-Mail From Eliyohu Mintz Of Oorah.

We are shocked and saddened by the unfortunate news about Emanuel Yegutkin, who was an employee of Oorah’s Boy Zone for the past two summers. During the time that Mr. Yegutkin worked at Boy Zone we received no reports of improper behavior or anything that would have raised even the slightest concern. We have not been informed by law enforcement officers of specific details or heard of allegations of any incidents in Boy Zone.

However, we take this matter extremely seriously and have offered our full cooperation to the authorities in their investigation of this matter. We wish to reiterate our zero tolerance policy with respect to behavior that may endanger children. Our first concern is, and always be, the safety of the children entrusted to our care.

UPDATED STATEMENT

Statement Issued by Elisha Lewenstein, Camp Director of Oorah

Lakewood, NJ, January 26, 2009-- Following is a statement issued by Elisha Lewenstein, camp director of Oorah, Inc., regarding news about one of its former volunteers:

"We are shocked and saddened to hear about the allegations involving Mr.Emanuel Yegutkin, who was one of 400 volunteer staffers at our Upstate New York camp. Our primary concern has always been, and remains, the safety and well being of the children entrusted to our care.

"Oorah has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any improper or illegal behavior by staff. That is the way we have run our camp since it opened and that is the policy we will continue to abide by in the future.

"None of our children ever complained about the conduct of Mr. Yegutkin and we have no reason to believe that Mr. Yegutkin did anything improper while at our camp. Obviously, we hope that this remains to be the case through the course of the police investigation. "We will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials in their investigation.

"Since this is an ongoing investigation, we will reserve further comment until more facts about this case become available from law enforcement officials.

Anonymous said...

Can someone explain why Oorah Kiruv Rechokim is allowed to advertise on shabbes?

Anonymous said...

Yahoo! News
Obama: U.S. not your enemy
Ben Smith

President Barack Obama presented a humble and conciliatory face of America to the Islamic world Monday in the first formal interview since he assumed office, stressing his own Muslim ties and hopes for a Palestinian state, and avoiding a belligerent tone — even when asked if America could "live with" an Iranian nuclear weapon.

The interview with the Dubai-based Al-Arabiya Network was a dramatic piece of public diplomacy aimed at capitalizing on the new American president's international popularity, though it balanced America's traditional commitment to Israel, whose security Obama called "paramount.'

"I have Muslim members of my family. I have lived in Muslim countries," Obama said, according to a White House transcript. "My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy."

The Al Arabiya interview, directed squarely at Muslims around the world, revived a vision of personal, symbolic international change that was in the air when Obama - with his far-flung family members, and complicated story - launched his campaign. It was a vision, and an aspect of his story, that the candidate buried when, in 2007, was forced to combat whispering campaigns about his own faith.

But by giving his first interview to the Arabic network, Obama signaled his continuing belief in his personal power as a symbol of America against the temptations of Islamic militancy. He even dismissed "bankrupt" ideas and policies that don't improve children's health care, jabbing at "nervous" Al Qaeda leaders in language that echoed his campaign against George W. Bush.

The occasion for this interview was the departure of Obama's special envoy, George Mitchell, to the Middle East, and a more aggressive and optimistic approach to that conflict than some argued that the circumstances dictated. The president offered no timeline for peace, but a firm view that a Palestinian state remains within reach.

"What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating — in the past on some of these issues — and we don't always know all the factors that are involved," Obama said. "What we want to do is to listen, set aside some of the preconceptions that have existed and have built up over the last several years. And I think if we do that, then there's a possibility at least of achieving some breakthroughs."

Obama's interview was marked by attempts to sympathize with the concerns of ordinary Muslims, particularly on the question of living conditions in the West Bank. But he sought a conciliatory tone throughout the interview, at one point avoiding even restating American policy, and his own platform, than an Iranian nuclear weapon is plainly unacceptable.

"Will the United States ever live with a nuclear Iran? And if not, how far are you going in the direction of preventing it?" asked the interviewer, Al Arabiya Washington Bureau Chief Hisham Melhem.

Obama responded only generally, expressing disapproval of an Iranian bomb but not the flat condemnation that is standard from American officials.

"You know, I said during the campaign that it is very important for us to make sure that we are using all the tools of U.S. power, including diplomacy, in our relationship with Iran," he said. "Now, the Iranian people are a great people, and Persian civilization is a great civilization. Iran has acted in ways that's not conducive to peace and prosperity in the region: their threats against Israel; their pursuit of a nuclear weapon which could potentially set off an arms race in the region that would make everybody less safe; their support of terrorist organizations in the past -- none of these things have been helpful."

During the campaign and transition periods, Obama's condemnations of an Iranian nuclear weapon were more direct: "[T]heir development of nuclear weapons would be unacceptable," Obama said on Meet the Press on December 7.

A senior Obama aide said Monday night that Obama had not changed his views on Iran.

Obama also signaled a move away from President Bush's confrontational, generalizing language. Melhem noted to Obama that "President Bush framed the war on terror conceptually in a way that was very broad, 'war on terror,' and used sometimes certain terminology that the many people -- Islamic fascism. You've always framed it in a different way, specifically against one group called al Qaeda and their collaborators."

"I think that you're making a very important point. And that is that the language we use matters," Obama replied. "[W]hat we need to understand is, is that there are extremist organizations -- whether Muslim or any other faith in the past -- that will use faith as a justification for violence. We cannot paint with a broad brush a faith as a consequence of the violence that is done in that faith's name.

"And so you will I think see our administration be very clear in distinguishing between organizations like al Qaeda -- that espouse violence, espouse terror and act on it -- and people who may disagree with my administration and certain actions, or may have a particular viewpoint in terms of how their countries should develop," he said. "We can have legitimate disagreements but still be respectful. I cannot respect terrorist organizations that would kill innocent civilians and we will hunt them down."

Obama's shift Monday was one of tone, not of policy, and he also affirmed America's support for Israel.

"Israel is a strong ally of the United States. They will not stop being a strong ally of the United States. And I will continue to believe that Israel's security is paramount," he said. "But I also believe that there are Israelis who recognize that it is important to achieve peace. They will be willing to make sacrifices if the time is appropriate and if there is serious partnership on the other side."

Obama's interview plan was made public only Monday afternoon, and the interview, which concluded just after 6:00 p.m., was distributed to reporters in the evening and embargoed for release at 11:00 p.m.

Asked why Al Arabiya had been granted the president's first interview, and aide said: "We want to communicate directly to the entire world America's new foreign policy."

Jonathan Martin contributed to this story.

Anonymous said...

WOODLAND, Calif. (AP)—The older brother of AL MVP Dustin Pedroia is facing child molestation charges.

Woodland police say 30-year-old Brett Pedroia was booked at the Yolo County jail Jan. 9 on two counts of oral copulation and lewd acts with a child under age 14.

He was released on $50,000 bail and a court hearing was set for Feb. 4.

The crimes allegedly took place four years ago, but the alleged victim only recently told one of his parents, who contacted authorities.

A Gold Glove second baseman for the Boston Red Sox, Dustin Pedroia followed up his 2007 AL Rookie of the Year Award by winning league MVP honors last year.

It wasn’t known whether Brett Pedroia is represented by an attorney. The Yolo County district attorney’s office didn’t return telephone messages.

Anonymous said...

In one classroom Saturday, when UNRWA schools reopened, a Palestinian teacher was filmed asking children about their trauma during the war. The unidentified teacher then told the children that Palestinians have to "wage war against them (Israelis) until they leave their land," and asked her students, aged about 8, how they should react.

Two children in the class suggested hurling stones or rockets back at Israel. "Okay," the teacher said, apparently summing up her class' position. "We throw rockets at them, we throw stones at them," she said.

Ging said such behavior is "completely unacceptable," and will be "dealt with in the most severest of fashions." He said the teacher would likely be removed once identified. Teachers have been fired from UNRWA in the past for incitement.

Ging said that following the latest war, which ended Jan. 17, UNRWA briefed teachers — themselves often victims of the fighting — on how to channel the children's grief away from revenge and violence. In schools across the territory, teachers led students in games to ease their trauma and encouraged them to talk about lost classmates to deal with their deaths.

Anonymous said...

Orthodox Jewish cop settles with Vegas department

LAS VEGAS—An Orthodox Jewish police detective will get $350,000 from the Las Vegas police department to settle a lawsuit after he was prohibited from having a beard and wearing a yarmulke.

Liesl Freedman, the department's attorney, said Monday that plainclothes Detective Steve Riback will be allowed a neatly trimmed beard no longer than one-quarter inch.

Freedman says he will also be allowed to wear a baseball had without a logo or with the department's logo.

Under the settlement, Riback has agreed to not to seek a promotion or transfer for at least two years.

Freedman says if he transfers in the future to a section that doesn't allow hats or beards, he will have to file a new religious accommodation request.

———

Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com

Anonymous said...

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090127/NEWS/90127009/-1/SPORTS12

TONY LEYS
tleys@dmreg.com

Cedar Rapids, Ia. – Release from jail is in sight for former meatpacking executive Sholom Rubashkin.

Rubashkin, who used to run the Agriprocessors plant in Postville, was granted the opportunity to post $500,000 bail. He’s been behind bars without bail since November on federal charges of bank fraud and harboring illegal immigrant workers.

Chief District Judge Linda Reade decided this morning that although he is a flight risk, precautions could be taken that would reasonably ensure he would appear at trial in September.

Rubashkin has been at the center of controversy since immigration agents raided Agriprocessors last May and arrested half its work force. The bail dispute drew national attention because of the prosecution’s argument that if he was released, Rubashkin could take refuge in Israel, which has a “Law of Return” welcoming Jews from around the world.

Critics complained that the argument was false and that it implied all Jews should face higher barriers to their constitutional right to bail. The controversy, however, was barely mentioned during a three-hour bail hearing held over two days.

Rubashkin is expected to be released from the Dubuque County Jail Thursday morning.
His wife, Leah Rubashkin, expressed relief after the ruling. She said she could not wait to welcome her husband home. “We’ll give him a warm meal that he hasn’t had in two months,” she said. “And he’ll be surrounded by his children, who love him and miss him.”

Defense lawyers offered to have a private security firm use cameras and around-the-clock guards to confine Rubashkin to his Postville home. But Judge Reade did not require house arrest. She ordered that Rubashkin remain in Allamakee County unless he receives special permission to travel elsewhere. She also ordered that he have no contact with any potential witnesses in the case, and that he stay away from Agriprocessors.

Reade said she did not fault Magistrate Judge Jon Scoles, who earlier denied bail. She said Scoles did not have the chance to hear live testimony from witnesses supporting Rubashkin, as she did.

Reade emphasized that her decision to allow Rubashkin’s release on bail did not imply weakness in the prosecution’s case. “It remains for a jury to decide guilt or innocence beyond a reasonable doubt,” she said.

In this week’s hearing, Rubashkin’s lawyers presented several witnesses who talked about his extensive ties to the Orthodox Jewish community in Postville and around the nation.

Rabbi David Zweibel, executive vice president of the Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America, testified by phone from his home in Brooklyn, N.Y. Zweibel was one of several national Jewish leaders who traveled to Dubuque earlier this month to meet with Rubashkin and pray with him. Zweibel told the judge today that he and other leaders put their reputations on the line by supporting Rubashkin’s request for bail. If Rubashkin fled, Zweibel said, it would give the community a black eye.

“I believe he would understand that he has a responsibility,” Zweibel said.

The prosecution’s flight-risk contentions included the fact that Rubashkin made a brief trip to Canada in late October, shortly before he was charged. Prosecutors speculated he might have been scouting out a possible escape route for himself and his family.

But a family friend, Joe Schochet of Toronto, testified by phone today that Rubashkin visited because Schochet was ill. He said even though Rubashkin knew he probably would be charged soon, he never mentioned the possibility of fleeing during the visit.

“He never talked about staying in Canada or going anywhere,” Schochet said, adding that Rubashkin could have easily caught a flight to Israel from the same airport terminal where he caught a flight home to Iowa.

The defense also presented statements and a witness who talked about the willingness of numerous families to put up their homes as collateral for bail. But the judge declined those offers, saying she preferred a regular bond.

Her order included that Rubashkin wear an electronic tracking device on his ankle and that he surrender his birth certificate and his wife’s, plus the passports of their minor children. Rubashkin and his wife already turned in their passports.

Besides the flight risk issue, the government also contended that Rubashkin should be held without bail because he committed bank fraud while on release from a previous arrest on immigration charges. The judge gave prosecutors until Thursday morning to decide whether they would appeal her decision granting bail. The U.S. attorney’s office declined comment on whether such an appeal was likely.

Anonymous said...

An embattled kosher slaughterhouse in northeast Iowa might have found a buyer, though the man in charge of the company's finances says it's just an opening bid.

Agriprocessors Inc. bankruptcy trustee Joseph Sarachek said the bid of $40 million from Israeli firm Soglowek Nahariya Ltd. is a serious offer that provides a benchmark to other bidders.

"This is a serious company," Sarachek said about Soglowek. "This is a strategic player in the industry."

The Agriprocessors plant in Postville has been for sale since December. Sarachek has said the company has at least 12 buyers looking to buy all or part of the company.

The $40 million bid was announced in a filing Sarachek made Sunday. Other bidders have until March 18 to submit an offer.

Agriprocessors, once the nation's largest kosher slaughterhouse, has faced financial and legal trouble since a May 12 immigration raid in which 389 people were arrested. Its problems have only intensified since its former chief executive Sholom Rubashkin was indicted on bank-fraud and money-laundering charges, among other criminal allegations related to the raid and its aftermath.

More..

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95VJD587.htm

Anonymous said...

Israel mulling 1,000-for-1 prisoner exchange, open borders with Gaza as part of truce negotiations

Anonymous said...

Former President Jimmy Carter says that Israel will face a "catastrophe" unless it revives the Mideast peace process and allows the establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Carter pointed out in an interview with The Associated Press on Monday that Arabs will outnumber Jews in the Holy Land in the foreseeable future.

"If we look toward a one-state solution, which seems to be the trend — I hope not inexorable — it would be a catastrophe for Israel, because there would be only three options in that case," Carter said.

Those would be to expel large numbers of Palestinians, deprive the Palestinians of equal voting rights, or to give them equal voting rights and therefore the majority, he said. "And you would no longer have a Jewish state," Carter predicted.

"The basic decisions would be made by the Palestinians, who would almost very likely vote in a bloc, whereas you would have some sharp divisions among the Israelis, because the Israelis always have different points of view," he said.

On the other hand, the other two options would amount to "ethnic cleansing" in the first case, or "apartheid" in the second.

Carter's wording was not new. His 2006 book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid," provoked a hail of criticism, particularly from Jewish-Americans who felt it unfairly compared Israeli treatment of Arabs in the West Bank and Gaza to the legalized racial oppression that once existed in South Africa.

Carter spoke to The Associated Press as his new book, "We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land," was released.

Carter still believes a two-state solution is the best option, with Israel's right to exist in peace being recognized by all its Arab neighbors, and Israel withdrawing from most of the land it captured in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War to create an independent Palestine.

This is "almost completely compatible" with U.N. resolutions, U.S. official policy, and an Arab peace proposal that called for a land-for-peace swap, Carter said.

A complete return to the 1976 borders would be impossible, he said, but Israel should swap some land to the Palestinians, either east of the Gaza Strip or in a corridor between the Gaza and the West Bank.

This corridor "would still be controlled by Israel, but it would give a passageway for Palestinians to go back and forth between the two parts of their county," from Gaza to the West Bank, he said.

Carter, who was president from 1977-81, brokered the Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt 30 years ago. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades of efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, particularly through the Carter Center which he founded after he left the White House.

He said that "nobody that I know of" in the Middle East currently has the stature and courage to take a risk for peace.

"It may be that one of the Israeli candidates will emerge with that stature, but that depends on when and if they are elected, if they will take a bold stand for peace, as (Israeli Prime Minister Menachem) Begin and (Egyptian President Anwar) Sadat.

Carter said the six-month cease-fire that he helped arrange between Hamas, which rules Gaza, and Israel, significantly reduced rocket attacks against the Jewish state after it took effect on June 19.

But he said Israel "did not keep their part of the bargain" because it only allowed a fraction of the shipments of food, medicine and other supplies that it had promised would be able to enter Gaza under the deal.

Carter confirmed that he and his Carter Center aide, American University Prof. Robert Pastor, met with the exiled leader of Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, on Dec. 14 in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Hamas proposed an indefinite extension of the six-month cease-fire with Israel in exchange for the free flow of supplies into Gaza, Carter said.

That information was relayed to Israel by Carter's associates, he said, but Israel refused to allow more than 100 truckloads of supplies into Gaza daily — 1/15th of the daily needs — torpedoing the proposal.

On Dec. 19, Hamas formally declared the end of the six-month truce with Israel, and rocket fire on Israel intensified. Israel launched an offensive on Dec. 27 aimed at stopping the rocket attacks.

The 22-day offensive killed at least 1,285 Palestinians, more than half of them civilians, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, were also killed during the fighting, Israel said.

___

The Carter Center's home page:

http://www.cartercenter.org/homepage.html

Anonymous said...

Brooklyn, NY - Assemblyman Hikind: I Applaud The Victims Of Alleged Abuser For Going To Authorities

Brooklyn, NY - “While I was deeply saddened to learn of the sex abuse allegations against Mr. Yegutkin, I was extremely heartened by the courage his alleged victims displayed in choosing to involve the authorities in this matter. Over the course of the last several months, I have been working with a taskforce comprised of prominent therapists, rabbis, and community leaders to tackle this burgeoning issue. Together, we are continuing our vital work to devise a comprehensive plan in the form of education and prevention which we expect will be implemented in our community schools later this year.

At this time, my thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Yegutkin’s alleged victims and their families. I hope other sex abuse victims who have not yet come forward to relay their stories of anguish and exploitation to law enforcement personnel will now be inspired to do so.”

ou can view this article online at VosIzNeias.com/26323

Anonymous said...

Being abused over a period of years was horrible. The cover up precipitated was victimization all over again. Never trust in the Rabbis. They are full of talk and baloney. In my case they promised and did nothing.

Anonymous said...

Palestinian militants detonated a bomb next to an Israeli army patrol along the border with Gaza, killing a soldier and straining cease-fire between Israel and Hamas on the eve of a visit by Presid...

Anonymous said...

from yahoo news

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Friday struck down the Bush administration's ban on giving federal money to international groups that perform abortions or provide abortion information — an inflammatory policy that has bounced in and out of law for the past quarter-century.

Obama's move, the latest in an aggressive first week reversing contentious Bush policies, was warmly welcomed by liberal groups and denounced by abortion rights foes.

The ban has been a political football between Democratic and Republican administrations since GOP President Ronald Reagan first adopted it 1984. Democrat Bill Clinton ended the ban in 1993, but Republican George W. Bush re-instituted it in 2001 as one of his first acts in office.

"For too long, international family planning assistance has been used as a political wedge issue, the subject of a back and forth debate that has served only to divide us," Obama said in a statement released by the White House. "I have no desire to continue this stale and fruitless debate."

He said the ban was unnecessarily broad and undermined family planning in developing countries.

"In the coming weeks, my administration will initiate a fresh conversation on family planning, working to find areas of common ground to best meet the needs of women and families at home and around the world," the president said.

Anonymous said...

Obama Meets with Republicans on the Hill

By Michael D. Shear
President Obama declared himself optimistic after meeting with Republican House leaders Tuesday afternoon and called for a suspension of partisan politics as he and lawmakers try to craft a rescue of the nation's economy.

Speaking to reporters before heading into a similar meeting with Senate Republicans, Obama called the House meeting "constructive."

"The American people expect action," he said. "They want us to put together a recovery package that puts people back to work, that creates investments that assure our long-term energy independence, an effective health care system, an education system that works; they want our infrastructure rebuilt, and they want it done wisely, so that we're not wasting taxpayer money."

Obama is facing an increasingly resistant Republican Party, whose leaders are declaring their opposition to what they consider excessive spending and too few tax cuts in the legislation drafted by Democratic lawmakers.

"But let no one be mistaken that this bill is the result of bipartisan negotiations. While Republicans were courteously consulted at the member and staff level, we were never at the negotiating table," Sen. Charles Grassley said in a statement earlier in the day.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/01/27/obama_meets_with_republicans_o.html?wprss=44

Anonymous said...

Man Kills His Wife and 5 Children

January 28, 2009
Man Kills His Wife and 5 Children
By REBECCA CATHCART and RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD

LOS ANGELES — A man shot and killed his wife and five young children before taking his own life Tuesday, apparently out of despair after the couple lost their jobs at a hospital, the police and city officials said.

Officers responding to 911 calls placed by the man, Ervin A. Lupoe, and by a television station to which Mr. Lupoe had sent a fax around 8:30 a.m., found seven bodies in a house in Wilmington, a working-class neighborhood near the Port of Los Angeles.

A police spokesman said the bodies were identified as Mr. Lupoe; his wife, Ana; their 8-year-old daughter and two sets of twins (5-year-old girls and 2-year-old boys).

Mr. Lupoe had telephoned and sent a fax to KABC-TV that indicated “he was despondent over a job situation and he saw no reasonable way out,” said Lt. John Romero, a police spokesman.

Anonymous said...

Notice how these bloodthirsty Arabs always claim "suffering" as an excuse to justify their agenda of murdering more Jews.
-------

In Gaza, the prime minister of the Hamas government said his group would not try to claim any international construction funds. The announcement from Ismail Haniyeh, who remains in hiding because of fears of being assassinated by Israel, appeared directed at donors who concerned their funds could end up in Hamas' hands.

"Our aim now is to ease the suffering of our people and to remove the aftermath of the aggression in Gaza," the statement said. "Therefore we emphasize that we are not concerned to receive the money for rebuilding Gaza and we are not seeking that."

Anonymous said...

Pope Benedict: Panderer or Creative Community Builder?

Pope Benedict XVI has reinstated four previously excommunicated bishops, all of whom are members of a far-right group that rejects Vatican II and one of whom is a raging conspiracy theorist and Holocaust denier. Is Benedict pandering to those on the theological far-right of the Church, and if so, why? Or could he be moving to create a genuinely more inclusive church, one which actually makes room for those whose views are loathsome to most church members? Perhaps it's a bit of both.

If that is case, this Pope continues his tradition of making theological/communal moves which are so nuanced that they end up being misunderstood by most and may actually hurt many, even if that is not his intention. Think of his speech about Islam, his reinstating the Good Friday prayer which calls for the conversion of Jews, etc.

Whatever is going on here, the focus should not be on the fact that one of those reinstated, Richard Williamson, is a Holocaust denier and how painful that is to Jews. The truth is it should disturb all people who actually care about facts and accuracy. Williamson's reinstatement doesn't bother me because I am Jewish, it bothers me because I would hope that it is beneath the Church to honor a man who believes and continues to teach such ugly and dangerous lies.

On the other hand, is it appropriate to judge this man based entirely upon his attitude toward the Holocaust? Is it fair to him? How would any of us hold up if the world measured any of us by the most outrageous belief we might hold?

In no way am I excusing Williamson. But I am willing to entertain that however much pain his reinstatement might cause relative to this issue, it may not be the only basis upon which the Pope should make his decision, nor should it govern the future of Church-Jewish relations, as some have already suggested/threatened it will.

The idea that this one move will jeopardize Catholic-Jewish relations is either insane or tragic. And any leaders, especially those who call themselves interfaith leaders, who intimate that Williamson's reinstatement will jeopardize those relations should be ashamed of themselves. Real relationships between communities are stronger than what any one leader identified with either, might say. If they are not, then the relationships were never that strong to begin with and we should focus on that.

More interesting here, is the Pope's willingness to find a place for these men in particular and for the Society of Saint Pius X in general. If our definition of inclusiveness does not reach beyond the boundaries of our own personal comfort, can we call ourselves truly inclusive?

How ironic then, that this conservative Pope who is deeply committed to maintaining the authority of the church, is willing to include those who challenge its authority on a number of theological and liturgical issues. Of course the test will be if in the weeks and months ahead, Benedict is willing to reach as far to his left as he has now reached to his right.

If he does make a parallel move to the left, this Pope will have accomplished far more good than bad, not only for the Church he leads, but toward modeling how real inter-group and inter-religious relationships are nurtured. He will have demonstrated the danger of single issue litmus testing in relations between any people. And that would be a profound spiritual lesson for all of us, one for which I would be deeply grateful.

Please e-mail On Faith if you'd like to receive an email notification when On Faith sends out a new question.

Rabbi Brad Hirschfield is an author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership. His On Faith blog, For God's Sake, explores the uses and abuses of religion in politics and pop culture

http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/brad_hirschfield/2009/01/pope_benedict_panderer_or_crea.html

Anonymous said...

Cows with names make more milk

Will Bessie make more milk if you call her by name? British ag specialists say she will.

Dairy farmers who address their cows by name reported 68-gallon (258-liter) higher milk yields over the animals’ 10-month lactation period than those who didn't, according to new research published today in Anthrozoos, a British journal dedicated to the "interactions of animals and people."

British researchers compared production from the country's National Milk Records with the survey responses of 516 dairy farmers to see if there was an association between yield and cow naming. Dairy farmers who reported calling their cows by name got 2,105 gallons (7,938 liters) out of their cows, compared with 2,029 gallons (7,680 liters) per 10-month lactation cycle. The results held regardless of the size of the farm or how much the cows were fed. (Some 46 percent of the farmers named their cows.)

"It was quite a revelation and quite encouraging, actually," says study co-author Catherine Douglas of Newcastle University in northeast England and a former dairy industry advisor. She tells ScientificAmerican.com the reason for the link is unclear, but speculates it may have a soothing effect on cows, which tend to fear people and get nervous when led into the milking parlor.

"If cows are slightly fearful of humans, they could produce [the hormone] cortisol, which suppresses milk production," Douglas says. Farmers who have named their cows, she adds, "probably have a better relationship with them. They're less fearful, more relaxed and less stressed, so that could have an effect on milk yield."

But Marcia Endres, an associate professor of dairy science at the University of Minnesota, wasn't impressed. "Individual care is important and could make a difference in health and productivity," Endres says. "But I would not necessarily say that just giving cows a name would be a foolproof indicator of better care."

Named or otherwise, cows make six times more milk today than they did in the 1990s, according to a 2007 piece in The Scientist. One reason is growth hormone that many U.S. farmers now inject their cows with to increase their milk output; another is milking practices that extend farther into cows' pregnancies, according to the article. Selective breeding also makes for lots of lactation.

Douglas notes that England doesn’t allow dairy cows to be fed hormones. The European Union and Canada have banned the use of recombinant bovine growth hormone (rGBH), which increases cases of an infection called mastitis that requires the animals to be treated with antibiotics, some of which can make their way into our refrigerators. rGBH-treated cows also have elevated levels of the hormone insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), according to the Center for Food Safety, which may be associated with cancer in humans.

exposemolesters said...

CAUTION: "RABBI" YEHUDAH NUSSBAUM IS STILL EMPLOYED BY YESHIVA OF BROOKLYN.

Keep your children far away from this sadist.

Another sadist - "Rabbi" Shlomo Mandel - the filthy pig who is harboring this pedophile maniac - WILL HAVE MANY DARK DAYS AHEAD OF HIM.

Our quest is far from over. We will continue our pursuit of JUSTICE FOR AS LONG AS NECESSARY.

Mandel is a beast in his own right. The fact that he enabled - and still enables abuse, and that he HIMSELF WAS A PARTICIPANT - IS NO LAUGHING MATTER!

Anonymous said...

My blue 1996 beat-up Oldsmobile, license plate # AYH6680 is graddeh a reliable car. It gets me to 1200 ocean pkwy and back to 47th street where I live without stalling on me more than once. Don't be fooled by the duct tape around the tail lights. It's there to show that I am a fan of touching behinds, as in 10 and 11 year old boys.

My driving glasses are a little large for my face but it helps me so that I don't run over anybody who may cross the street without looking.


Yehudah Nussbaum
1854 47th St
Brooklyn, NY 11204
(718) 851-2622

Shlomo Mandel
1612 E 7th St
Brooklyn, NY 11230
(718) 375-1040
(718) 375-2652

Anonymous said...

Man 'caught' in truck after passing out

A man was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after passing out and becoming trapped in the back of a tanker truck Wednesday morning in southwest suburban Summit, police said.

A man cleaning a tanker truck on the 7700 block of West 59th Street passed out and became trapped inside about 6:05 a.m., according to a Summit police dispatcher. Langer Transport and Dana Transport Trucking are both listed at that address.

Police said at 7:30 a.m. they were no longer on the scene and the man, who walked out of the tanker under his own power, was taken to an unidentified hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Police could not immediately confirm dispatch reports the truck contained ethyl alcohol and two firefighters were injured.

The Summit Fire Department did not immediately return calls Wednesday morning.

Anonymous said...

Teacher Accused Of Sex Abuse Put On Leave
Civil Suit Accuses Boca Raton Teacher Of Molesting Boy At Sleep-Away Camp
WPBF-TV
updated 1:15 p.m. ET, Tues., Jan. 27, 2009

BOCA RATON, Fla. - There is one less teacher at the head of the class at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy in Boca Raton.

Peter Evans, 38, was put on administrative leave Thursday after school leaders learned he is accused in a civil lawsuit of sexually abusing a young boy, they said.

Cory Legnetti, now 21, filed the suit against Evans in New York.

In the suit, Legnetti alleges Evans abused him for three consecutive summers at a sleep-away camp in the Castkill Mountains. The suit claims the molestation began in 1998 and continued in the summers of 1999 and 2000.

Evans, a fifth-grade math teacher at the Donna Klein Jewish Academy, denied the allegations.

His attorney, Mark Sherman of Stamford, Conn., told WPBF News 25's Cathleen O'Toole, "These allegations are aboslutely false. Peter's been a counselor at the camp for 19 years and a teacher for 15 years and he's never had a problem. We intend to fight this lawsuit vigorously and file a counter-suit against the accuser for slander as soon as possible."

Legnetti is away at sea with the U.S. Coast Guard.

"He struggled a lot," his mother, Mary Legnetti, said. "He said he was very ashamed, very embarrassed. He thought maybe it did happen; maybe it didn't happen. And he knows it happened."

The Donna Klein Jewish Academy issued a statment Thursday. It read in part: "Please understand that this teacher has not been arrested, nor are we aware of any type of criminal prosecution or investigation. Moreover, we complete comprehensive national and international background checks on all individuals we employ. This teacher's criminal background investigation, conducted in November 2005, was completely clear."

Mary Legnetti said she's happy with the school's response so far.

"This is a tough call. You're innocent until proven guilty," she said. "However, he's around children. He's got a buffet of children, as I like to put it, you know, year-round, and I think the school acted appropriately, very appropriately, for the safety of their children."

Mary Legnetti said her son sat down with a New York state police investigator and reported his allegations.

Lt. Glen Miner of the state police said, "If we do have a pending case, we wouldn't be able to to discuss it."

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28869733/

Anonymous said...

DUBUQUE - The former head of the Agriprocessors kosher meatpacking plant in Postville is out of jail.

Sholom Rubashkin posted bail a day after a judge set it at $500,000 dollars.

Rubashkin was held without bail since November after prosecutors argued he was a flight risk.

But his attorneys appealed, saying precautions could be taken to ensure he does not flee before his September trial.

Ruabshkin faces many federal charges after hundreds of illegal immigrants were found to be working at the Postville plant back in May.

Anonymous said...

thank you to this blog for shedding light on the hellhole known as yob. it is no surprise that gansters such as shlomo mandel are involved in covering up child sex molestation. i rememember how a kid was mauled in the face at an assembley one thursday in front of everyone. never had a good feeling about nusbaum either as he was always touching inappropriatly and abusing talmidim with hands, rulers and his fists. yakov mandel was just as crazy as shlomo and maybe even more. i hope they all fry in hottest of hells because personally i know of many lives they ruined. some kids that recently left say things havnt changed much and that its a cult and they punish for smallest of pranks or what they consider goyish.

Anonymous said...

http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/news/2009/0116/editorials/011.html

Weapons, and weapons

By Rabbi Avi Shafran
How wonderful - well, how much better, anyway - wars would be if civilians were never casualties. Thus far, though, and lamentably, most wars have taken their toll of injuries and deaths on people who were not carrying arms, even those too young to carry them.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Yudi Kolko must have compiled a lengthy list of candidates for his sick pleasures. That's what these sick pervs do.

Remember how a then, very defiant Rabbi Yisroel Belsky defended YTT & the whole Kolko fiasco? Can anyone recall his phony hazmanas for moitzie shem rah?

Take a look at this blog site Anarcho-Judaism

http://anarchistrabbi.blogspot.com/2006/12/response-to-yisroel-belsky.html

One of the excerpts:

A response to Yisroel Belsky
Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, or someone claiming to be him, posted the following on Failed Messiah and elsewhere regarding the whole Yehuda Kolko fiasco:

As the most accepted possek of this generation, I, Rabbi Yisroel (Israel) Belsky, feel the olam needs to know my daas regarding Rabbi Yidi Kolko Shlita. Rabbi Yidi Kolko should never have been arrested. A child, whether he is six years or nine years of age should not be assumed to be telling the truth accurately. And even if it were true that the child was touched inappropriately, these type of things happen all the time, its not enough of a reason to label the man a pedophile and danger to society. In the early 70's,Yidi and I were together in Camp Agudah. I heard occasionally complaints from young campers that they had been fondled by Rabbi Yidi Kolko. Always I suggested that they allow me to go public with their accusation. It was my way of testing them for the truth. Each and every time, I heard the accusing child refuse. It was then clear to me that these campers were lying. Children are known to make up stories. To this day Yidi Kolko was never found to be dangerous to any children. To the contrary, Rav Pinchas Scheinberg Shlita and Rabbi Lipa Margulis Shlita, after carefully investigating many of the accusers, made a very clear determination that Yidi Kolko was innocent of mishkav zachar, and that the claims of inappropriate touching was nothing more than his showing of affection. That was their psak many years ago, and the olam remains obligated to accept it without any question. We therefore must give no credence to the shouting voices of Yidi's most recent accusers. These are people seeking false publicity and to make an easy dollar off the back of a Yeshiva which in reality they should be very grateful to. I therefore, as always continue to stand behind Rabbi Yidi Kolko Shlita and give him my fullest support. I am fully certain that at the end Rabbi Kolko will be acquitted of all the false charges.

Anonymous said...

Jessica Simpson has a figure that is to die for. Would she go for a former bus driver, turned Rosh-Yeshiva, who has a body that's shriveled up like another body part of mine that I have too much booshua to talk about?

Anonymous said...

Israel has said it will hold Gaza's Hamas rulers responsible for all attacks launched from the coastal territory, and had warned of a stronger response to the killing of a soldier on Tuesday in an explosion by a Gaza border fence.

"Israel will respond very severely," an Israeli security source said on Wednesday, and added, "we haven't seen it all," referring to the Israeli air strikes carried out earlier in the day on tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.

"We will remain ready, with our finger on the trigger around the clock," Benjamin Ben-Eliezer of Israel's decision-making security cabinet said in remarks televised on Wednesday.

We don't intend to open the crossings before Gilad Shalit returns home," Ben-Eliezer, the Israeli cabinet minister said, referring to the soldier seized by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid.

Anonymous said...

The Most Under-Reported Clergy Sex Abuse Stories of 2008 - a Baker's Dozen

Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
January 2, 2009

http://www.snapnetwork.org/snap_press_releases/2009_press_releases/ 010209_most_under_reported_stories_2008.htm

(Topics include the papal visit, pedophile nuns, Baptist officials, an Episcopal bishop, the USCCB president, abusive bishops, lawsuit settlements, on-going secrecy, the National Review Board, President George H. Bush’s church and re-offending offenders)

Anonymous said...

"To Do Nothing Is Not a Solution"

Forgiveness must require that those responsible for allowing abuse
never again be in a position to place children in danger.

Forgiveness does not require
children to be in danger!

Anonymous said...

CHRONOLOGY OF RUDY KOS COURT CASE

What is known is that after Father Rudy Kos's priestly faculties were removed following accusations of homosexual pedophilia, he left his diocese of Dallas, Texas and moved to San Diego. Here he lived and worked for the next four years. After two articles in the San Diego Reader revealed his whereabouts, Kos moved out of his apartment across from Our Lady of the Rosary church in Little Italy.

While it is unclear why he came to San Diego, Kos is due back in Dallas for a September 15 hearing on further criminal charges. The following is a chronology of courtroom proceedings in the Kos trial.

May 23, 1993 -- First lawsuit against the Dallas Catholic Diocese is filed.

May 2, 1997 -- Jury selection begins from a pool of more than 800 candidates.

May 15, 1997 -- Trial begins before State Court Judge Anne Ashby in Dallas. "The evidence will show the diocese followed a don't-ask-and-don't-tell policy," said plaintiff's attorney Windle Turley. "(They said) We don't want to know because to know will bring scandal on the church. The church hate scandal worse than anything. We will do anything to avoid scandal."

An attorney for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dallas countered that officials suspended Fr. Kos in 1992 as soon as they heard the allegations of sexual abuse. They argued the diocese should not be liable for his conduct.

"This was tricky manipulation by a smart sociopath," Randal Mathis said in his opening statement as Bishop Charles Grahmann and Monsignor Duffy Gardner sat next to him. "The whole concept of child sexual abuse flies in the face of everything this diocese stands for."

May 16, 1997 -- Testimony in the case begins with Kos' two younger brothers who said he repeatedly abused them. Appearing by videotape, the brothers said they would have told church officials that Kos was unfit to be a priest if they had been asked. They said he repeatedly abused them sexually when he was a teenager and spent a year in a juvenile detention facility for abusing a neighbor.

Testimony of Kathleene Hetzel Winkler, Kos' ex-wife, was read to the jury. In it, she said she met Kos in the fifth grade and lived with him only about six months after their marriage in 1966. She said they never consummated the marriage.

Ms. Winkler also testified she told church officials Kos was gay and had a problem with boys during an interview needed to annul the marriage.

May 20, 1997 -- The first of 10 plaintiffs testified he as abused as many as 500 times by Father Kos. "He raped me spiritually and murdered my soul," the 28-year-old computer programmer testified. "I seem to be reliving this in more and more detail every day and it is difficult."

May 21, 1997 -- A psychiatrist that examined Father Kos testified that he was a sexual opportunist who should have been kept away from children.

Dr. Jay Feierman worked at the New Mexico treatment center where Kos was sent for 14 months starting in 1992. "People like that should no longer have access to children -- period," Dr. Feierman said. "If they had confirmed observations that this person is a pied piper with kids following him around that in itself is a reason for concern."

The 2000-year-old rule of the church is don't ask, don't tell."

May 22, 1997 -- A second plaintiff testified he was abused by Father Kos in the rectory of
the All Saints Catholic Church in North Dallas. The man's mother said she blamed herself for the abuse. She testified that she was a devout Catholic with priests in her own family and that she never imagined what was happening. "It was a den of iniquity, an evil place. I was taken advantage of by a priest, a man of God that I had grown up to believe was better than the average person."

May 23, 1997 -- Father Kos's superior at St. Luke's Catholic Church in Irving testified that he kept a detailed log of the comings and goings of young boys at Kos's room in the rectory. Father Daniel Clayton told the jury he sent the log to Monsignor Robert Rehkemper, who was then the No. 2 official in the diocese. Also, a psychiatrist that examined one of the young men testified he will need more than a decade of intensive therapy to prevent him from committing suicide for problems related to the abuse.

May 27, 1997 -- A 1986 letter from Father Clayton showed he warned church officials that Kos was spending too much time with young boys. The letter, sent to Bishop Thomas Tschoepe six years before Kos was suspended, warned that something should be done. "I will not play psychologist, but I feel anxious about the situation," Clayton wrote. "My instincts tell me to do nothing is not a solution."

May 28, 1997 -- A young man abused by Father Kos testified that the suspended priest called him several times from a New Mexico pedophile treatment facility. The man said Kos told him the diocese had sent him there for stress treatment. Also, Father Robert Williams, the associate pastor at St. John's, testified that he was alarmed from the first day Kos arrived at the church about the amount of time he spent with boys. He also testified he saw Kos in his rectory bed with a boy in his room.

May 29, 1997 -- A Catholic committee on sexual abuse decided not to tell parishioners that Father Kos had been sent to a New Mexico pedophile treatment facility. Instead, church officials read parishioners a letter that said Kos had voluntarily resigned to seek treatment for stress.

Father Robert Williams, an assistant at St. John's who read a letter prepared by the diocese about Kos to parishioners, testified he was angry that he and parishioners were not told the truth about why Kos left.

"The diocese asked you to read the parish a lie?" Windle Turley asked Father Williams."Yes," he replied.

May 30, 1997 -- Judge Anne Ashby threatened to hold Monsignor Robert Rehkemper in contempt of court for refusing to directly answer questions about his supervision of Father Kos. Rehkemper, the No. 2 official in the Diocese, was warned by the judge about being "defiant" and was instructed to speak with his attorney outside of the court about the ramifications of failing to answer questions. Rehkemper later testified he had first met with a priest concerned about Kos' behavior with boys in 1986, seven years before the first youth complained. Rehkemper testified the diocese took no actions against Kos because there was no proof that abuse had actually occurred.

July 21, 1997 -- Closing arguments in the case are given. The jury begins deliberations.

July 24, 1997 -- Jury returns verdict and finds that the diocese is liable for gross neglect. It awards damages of more than a million dollars for each plaintiff.

Anonymous said...

Good thing we don't have to answer for our crimes of abusing children.
-

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich has been ousted from office after being convicted of abusing his powers. Senators convicted him at the end of an ...

Anonymous said...

DEBKAfile - We start where the media stop

Two Qassam missiles aimed at Sderot early Thursday shatter ceasefire

DEBKAfile Special Report

January 29, 2009, 10:45 PM (GMT+02:00)

An Israeli air raid struck a Hamas operative Muhammad Samir in Khan Younes, inflicting at least 10 Palestinian casualties Thursday, Jan. 29, after two missiles aimed at Sderot from Gaza early that morning landed in the Shear Hanegev region. Samir was implicated din the rocket fire and the roadside bombing Tuesday.

The first pair of Palestinian missiles were fired Wednesday. Overnight, the Israeli Air force struck a missile workshop in the southern Gaza town of Rafah. DEBKAfile's military circles report that in the 48 hours since a roadside bomb from Gaza killed an Israeli soldier and injured three, Hamas has reverted to its tit-for-tat cycle in an effort to demonstrate who makes the rules.

Earlier, we reported that the approach of a fresh Gaza flare-up caused defense minister Ehud Barak to cancel his trip this week to Washington for talks with US defense secretary Robert Gates. Wednesday, as Barack Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell met with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem, Hamas fired its first two Qassam missiles and several mortar rounds into southern Israel since the 22-day conflict was halted by ceasefires. In Damascus, meanwhile Hamas and other radical Palestinian leaders rejected Cairo's plan for a long-term truce, demanding the reopening of all the Gaza crossings first.

This rejection was backed by the fresh round of missiles and mortar shells from Gaza.

Hamas was signaling its intention to revert to pummeling southern Israel again with rockets and missiles if its armed forces resorted to major retaliation for the fatal roadside bomb.

Until Hamas-Damascus slapped down its veto, Egypt had hoped for a long-term truce to begin on Feb. 5, followed by a power-sharing conference between the warring Palestinian factions on Feb. 22. The timeline was announced by Egyptian foreign minister Aboul Gheit.

But Hamas' rejection has taken Cairo back to square one. The Egyptians believe that a good military hiding by Israel will bring the Palestinian Islamist extremists back to the negotiation table in a more reasonable frame of mind. This situation prompted Barak's remark that another Hamas attack or two is to be expected soon.

Israeli and Egyptian leaders updated Mitchell Wednesday and explained why the ceasefire which he sought to consolidate during his Middle East tour had become untenable. Cairo and Jerusalem were equally resigned to another round of hostilities before diplomacy could take off.

Our military sources stress that the Israeli air strike which killed a Hamas member of the bomb squad in Khan Younis Tuesday night and its bombardment of three Philadelphi Corridor smuggling tunnels early Wednesday were but a foretaste of the reprisals the Israel military has in store for curbing further Hamas aggression.

Anonymous said...

Free Pollard

Anonymous said...

CHICAGO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was removed from office on Thursday after the state Senate unanimously convicted him on impeachment charges, including an accusation he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat once held by President Barack Obama.

The Illinois Senate, acting as a jury, voted 59-0 to oust the second-term Democrat immediately. The lawmakers also voted by the same margin to bar him from ever holding public office again in America's fifth most populous state.

Before the vote, members of the Senate, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 37-22, called Blagojevich "devious," "cynical," "crass," "corrupt," "inept," "a liar," "a hypocrite" and "irresponsible."

Blagojevich had pleaded with the body hours earlier, asking, "How can you throw a governor out of office who is clamoring and begging and pleading with you to give him a chance to bring witnesses in to prove his innocence? ... A crime has not been proven here."

He later told reporters outside his Chicago home he was "saddened and disappointed but not at all surprised" by what happened. "It was a fixed deal from the beginning."

He skipped the chance to make a formal defense during the proceedings because, he said, the rules restricted him from calling the witnesses he needed or playing in full the federal government wiretapped conversations that led to charges involving Obama's Senate seat.

Democratic Lieutenant Governor Patrick Quinn was sworn in almost immediately, saying, "The ordeal is over" and urging people to "to make the sacrifices necessary to address the serious challenges we have before us: The integrity challenge, the challenge of our economy, the challenge of making sure that we pay our bills." Continued...

Anonymous said...

Yudi Kolko and I should open up a sex club of sorts which is designed to take advantage of boys with problem parents. I think we'd make a very good team working together.

---------------------------------

Police: Accused child molester befriended victims' parents first

06:05 PM CST on Thursday, January 29, 2009

By Courtney Zubowski / 11 News

PASADENA -- To neighbors in a Pasadena townhome complex, the man who lived in unit 48 for more than a decade was a mystery. They hardly spoke to Homer Steele, Jr. They rarely saw him.
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“Sometimes I’d go a long time and never see him,” said neighbor Murle Durbin.

Now neighbors are getting an earful from police who say the 69-year-old accused child molester has been preying on young boys since the late 1950s.

“Right now, he’s got two second-degree felonies and one first,” said Pasadena Police Chief Bud Corbett.

Chief Corbett said Steele would befriend the boys’ parents first.

“The parents are maybe drug-addicted, compromised in their personal life, and he offers them some relief and providing support for the child,” said Corbett.

Police say close acquaintances turned in the Jacinto City pawn shop employee.

“One in particular had reported that the defendant confided in him that he had been sexually assaulting young boys for a period of many years,” said Corbett.

So far, police say they know of two of Steele’s alleged victims. And they say Steele has admitted to victimizing at least four others.

Justin Chapman, 18, wasn't surprised to hear that Steele had been arrested.

“He offered to touch me and I refused,” said the teen.
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Chapman claimed Steele approached him several years ago.

“I just found out he was arrested and I just thought I should speak up because I believe it’s the wrong thing to do,” said Chapman.

Police are hoping other possible victims won't be afraid to come forward like Chapman did.

Anonymous said...

Reporting
Lou Young
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Jan 29, 2009 10:51 pm US/Eastern

In the surveillance video he comes into view running along the Chelsea sidewalk. It doesn't really chill you until you realize that, according to police, he has just molested a 12-year-old girl in a commons area of her own West 15th Street apartment building.

It happened two weeks ago about 2:30 p.m. on the same day the US Airways jet made its emergency landing in the Hudson River. The girl said he steered her to a remote area inside the building and forced her to touch him.

The video was taken from a business on one of the perpendicular avenues, 7th or 8th (the cops won't say). The girl said the man in the video is her attacker. She also picked out a composite sketch of a suspect in a previous crime from an array. Because of that detectives said they believe the same man abused another 12-year-old girl in an almost identical attack 14 months ago. A child living on Walker Street was accosted in the elevator of her building on Nov. 13, 2007, and reported she also was forced to touch her attacker.

In Chelsea on Thursday night neighbors said they were aware of the latest attack and are on guard for strangers in their buildings. Sonal Argawar paused on West 15th behind her child's stroller and said the incident has made her much less trusting.

"Unless you absolutely know the person," she said "you have to say 'no we can't let you in.'"

The sketch drawn from the TriBeCa victim's description shows a pleasant face, the type of person who could easily exploit the false safety an unaccompanied child might feel in the hallway of her own building. Detectives believe he is about 6 foot, possibly 190 pounds, with brown hair. He dresses well. He is not what he appears to be.

Chelsea resident Samantha Codeman said parents cannot afford to be lax.

"You really have to know where your children are at all times," she said. "A 12-year-old girl? I mean, parents should let them know that stuff like this is going on; make them aware that unfortunately there are men out there that are after them."

Police are asking for information on their confidential hotline 1-800-577-TIPS.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/serial.molester.chelsea.2.921931.html

Anonymous said...

You Jews have a problem with me?---

Israel's chief rabbi cuts ties with Vatican
January 28, 2009 14:39 EST

JERUSALEM (AP) -- The office of Israel's chief rabbi says it's cutting its ties with the Vatican.

It's a protest of a decision by the pope to reinstate a bishop who had publicly denied that 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.

The highest religious authority in Israel sent a letter to the Vatican expressing "sorrow and pain" at the papal decision. The letter said it would be "very difficult" for the chief rabbi to continue a dialogue with the Vatican as before.

Earlier today, Pope Benedict said he feels "full and indisputable solidarity" with Jews. And, responding to the uproar over the bishop, the pope warned against any denial of the full horror of the Nazi genocide.

The pope was reaching out to Jews angered by his decision to rehabilitate British bishop Richard Williamson, who last week told Swedish TV that the evidence "is hugely against 6 million Jews being deliberately gassed." He said 300,000 Jews were killed at most, but none in a gas chamber.

Anonymous said...

"He failed the test of character. He is beneath the dignity of the state of Illinois. He is no longer worthy to be our governor," said Sen. Matt Murphy, a Republican from suburban Chicago.

Blagojevich's troubles are not over. Federal prosecutors are drawing up an indictment against him on corruption charges.

Outside his Chicago home Thursday night, Blagojevich vowed to "keep fighting to clear my name," and added: "Give me a chance to show you that I haven't let you down."

"I love the people of Illinois today more than I ever have before," he said. And in a joking reference to Chicago's history of crooked politics, he reached down to a boy in the crowd of well-wishers and said: "I love you, man. You know, this is Chicago. You can vote for me. You're old enough."

Anonymous said...

(Jan. 30) -- A man who faked his drowning death nearly 20 years ago off a Florida beach was found out by North Carolina police who stopped him for a traffic violation, authorities said Thursday.
Bennie Wint left behind a grieving fiancee and a daughter from a previous marriage. Over the past two decades, he acquired a common-law wife and another child in Marshall, North Carolina.

Anonymous said...

Senior Hamas operative makes first public appearance since Cast Lead
Jan. 30, 2009
JPost.com Staff , THE JERUSALEM POST

A month after he went into hiding at the beginning of Operation Cast Lead, senior Hamas operative Khalil al-Hayeh made a first public appearance on Friday, Army Radio reported.

During a rally held Friday, al-Hayeh declared Hamas's victory over Israel and called his supporters to continue their "armed struggle" against the Jewish state.

According to the radio station, al-Hayeh also said that captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit will not be freed until the Palestinians held in Israeli prisons are released.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1233304641586&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

exposemolesters said...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3661957,00.html

Why do they hate us?

Why is Israel the only nation to be condemned and persecuted by every international forum?

Anonymous said...

Pinny lipshitz, founder of the yated, had a picture of hopfer dancing at some wedding this week. What a joke to give him respect like he's some godol. heinemann also made it as did yisroel belsky. shloime mandel makes it in there a lot but not this week. pinny is fascinated with printing a section of kaetanim who harbor and defend child molestation. They should rename it the enabling sex abuse section.

Anonymous said...

This so true. Worth reading!

Using the Holocaust to Attack the Jews

By Walter Reich
Sunday, February 1, 2009; B02

Dozens of cities held ceremonies last week to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The good news is that the dead were remembered. The bad news is that even as the Holocaust is becoming a fixture in the world's memory, it is also being increasingly used as a weapon against the Jews and the Jewish state.

For some, ironically, the acknowledgment of the Holocaust's reality has become a screen behind which anti-Semitism has gathered new force. The hard-core Jew-haters spent decades denying that the best-documented genocide in world history ever took place. That won them such derision that even many anti-Semites have begun to admit the reality of the Holocaust -- and now are hoping that simply by doing so, they can immunize themselves from the charge that they're anti-Semites in the first place. How can you be an anti-Semite, they figure, if you recognize the Holocaust?

But as some people who don't like Jews have found, it's worth acknowledging the Holocaust if you can then turn it into a cudgel against the Jews. And that they've done, in spades. According to this crowd, the Jews today have become Nazis. The Jewish state is now supposedly carrying out a Holocaust against the Palestinians. Jews, the haters say, have always been evil, and their evil is only growing.

Of course, not all criticisms of Israel are the product of such bigoted logic. People of good will around the world are naturally shocked by the tragic and appalling deaths of Palestinian civilians, including those killed in the recent war in the Gaza Strip. Like any country, Israel can be criticized. But the massive and unceasing eruptions of outrage against the Jewish state -- in a world in which other countries and groups have, often provoking barely any outrage, engaged in immensely more destructive and immoral behavior -- can only be explained in a few ways. One is that attacking Israel has become a means of attacking Israel's ally, the United States. Another is that over-the-top attacks on Israel, particularly those invoking Holocaust language, have become a means of once again attacking the Jews.

The Anti-Defamation League has documented the way this weapon was used during the recent war with Hamas. Here are a few of the placards spotted at rallies: In Times Square, the group reported such signs as, "Israel: The Fourth Reich," "Stop Israel's Holocaust," "Holocaust by Holocaust Survivors," "Stop the Nazi Genocide in Gaza" and "Nazi Genocide, Israeli Genocide." In Chicago: "Palestinian Holocaust in Gaza Now." In a Los Angeles demonstration, the Star of David in an Israeli flag was said to have been replaced by a swastika, accompanied by the words, "Upgrade to Holocaust Version 2.0." In San Diego: "Stop the Israeli Holocaust on Gaza." And the league reported that one rally in Washington included an effigy of the Israeli prime minister wearing a swastika armband and holding a dead baby.

Continued....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013002770_pf.html

Anonymous said...

From the University of Iowa News Services Office

Sexual abuse survivors are invited to participate in a free and confidential support group, Voices of Courage.

The group will meet Tuesdays this spring, beginning March 3 and continuing until April 21. The group will meet from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Rape Victim Advocacy Program (RVAP) office, located at 320 S. Linn St. in Iowa City.

The registration deadline is Feb. 26. For more information or to set up a screening appointment, call Karen Siler, Johnson County Services Coordinator for RVAP at 319-335-6001.

For more information visit http://www.rvap.org/.

The site provides information about statistics, education, victim services and resources. The 24-hour Rape Crisis Line number, 319-335-6000, offers free and confidential information, support, advocacy and counseling to victim/survivors of sexual assault and their partners, friends and family members.

Anonymous said...

Stefan Colmer style!


Parents should stay on alert from someone befriending them for the sole motive of gaing access to their kids so they can sexually abuse them.
--------------------------------

MSNBC.com

'Underwear Measurer' Gets 44 Years For Sex Crimes
Man Tricked Parents To Gain Access To Children
WLWT.com
updated 2:15 p.m. ET, Fri., Jan. 30, 2009

CINCINNATI - A judge sentenced the so-called “Underwear Measurer” to 44 years in prison Thursday for sex crimes.

Ben Hawkins pleaded guilty Dec. 10 to 13 counts, including gross sexual imposition and importuning, in connection with a scheme to trick parents into providing access to their underwear-clad children.

Prosecutors said Hawkins told parents that he worked for Springfield Research, a fictitious company, and asked for assistance as part of a marketing survey.

Hawkins met with the parents and children, who ranged in age from 9 to 16 years old, and moved the children to a separate area, where he asked them to remove their clothing so he could inspect their underpants, prosecutors said.

Investigators said Hawkins pretended to take notes while he watched his victims try on undergarments and returned home later to sexually gratify himself.

According to authorities, Hawkins committed these crimes from March 1 through July 25 in several Hamilton County cities, including Amberly Village, Saint Bernard, Springdale and Harrison.

Authorities said he had previous convictions on charges connected with the attempted use of minors for sexual purposes.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28915256/

Anonymous said...

On Saturday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan continued his criticism of Israel, this time for arresting leading Hamas parliamentarians in an interview with the Washington Post. In the interview, Erdogan described the West Bank and Gaza Strip as "an open-air prison" and said Israel's moves provoked Hamas.

"You expect them to sit obediently?" he asked in the interview.

The Turkish Prime Minister's frank criticism has come as its relationship with Israel appears to be in a downward spiral.

On Thursday, Israeli President Shimon Peres had a heated exchange with Erdogan at a panel discussion in Davos, Switzerland in which he accused the Israelis of killing children.

Later on Friday, Erdogan suggested the high Palestinian civilian death toll in Gaza during Israel's operation was intentional. On Saturday, Erdogan said the Israeli government "should check itself" over its war in Gaza.

"They should not exploit this issue for the upcoming elections in Israel," he said.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor condemned Erdogan's comments.

"If Mr. Erdogan wants to be heard, he needs to be more truthful and more respectful of the facts, not to mention to show more respect to the Israeli president," he said.

Anonymous said...

Watching the 8 part Nuchum Rosenberg film was saddening. In a world where so much chesed takes place with Jews for one another, it is astounding to what level some "leaders" of the Jewish community would step into to obstruct any investigations against pedophile Jews. It's really a shame that mishmeret hatzinut can accept bribes for brutal crimes.

Anonymous said...

Hamas' Meshaal arrives in Tehran - Egypt's Gaza ceasefire proposals up in the air

DEBKAfile Exclusive Report

February 1, 2009, 4:34 PM (GMT+02:00)
Gaza ceasefire? Decision in Tehran

Hamas is nowhere near signing off on Egypt's proposals for a long-term ceasefire in Gaza on Feb. 5, as claimed in a flurry of Arab media reports Sunday, Feb. 1, DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report. A large Hamas delegation from Damascus headed by Khaled Meshaal landed in Tehran Sunday for separate briefings from supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on how to respond to the Egyptian initiative.

He will also receive instructions on tactics for the coming months. There is no end in sight therefore to the current standoff whereby Hamas ignores its own ceasefire by daily missile and shooting attacks into Israel. At Israel's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, prime minister Ehud Olmert threatened a "disproportionate response" to the ongoing attacks, while defense minister Ehud Barak indicated he preferred to mark time.

DEBKAfile's Iranian sources disclose the three topics uppermost in Meshaal's talks with Iranian leaders:

1. Tehran will decide whether or not to play tough in Middle East, including Gaza, depending on the prospect of direct talks with the Obama administration in Washington. Iranian leaders have so far taken a harsh line toward the new administration in an effort to dictate the ground rules ahead of any dialogue, so it is hard to believe they will turn soft on Gaza.

2. Iranian-Egyptian relations have never been so adversarial. Tehran will therefore be loath to grant president Hosni Mubarak advantages on the Palestinian playing field.

3. Tehran must hurry up and pump military and economic assistance into the Gaza Strip to shore up Hamas' rule. A delay carries the risk of the Palestinian Islamists turning to Cairo and Riyadh to earn the proffered Saudi-Egyptian aid package for reconstructing the ruined territory. Most urgently, Hamas needs large amounts of cash to stay afloat.

So if Meshaal comes away from his talks in Tehran with pledges of funds and arms, he will almost certainly instruct the Hamas delegation to ditch the Egyptians and their proposals.

The Israeli defense minster will then lose out on his tactic of gambling on an Egyptian success.

Our Iranian sources stress that Tehran does not make decisions of this magnitude without due consideration. Meshaal will therefore have to cool his heels while waiting for answers. His appointment book includes a lecture at Tehran University on Feb. 2, and attendance at a session of the Iranian parliament (majlis) the next day.

While Hamas waits for Iranian leaders to decide, Cairo may stage a face-saving unilateral ceasefire on Feb. 5, although it is more likely that Hamas will opt to continue firing missiles, in which case Olmert's line will prevail over that of Barak and the IDF will be sent back into Gaza.

Anonymous said...

Efforts for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit forge on. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Shas' spiritual leader, will meet with Gilad Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, at his home in Jerusalem on Monday morning. Shas Chairman Eli Yishai has also been invited.


The rabbi has met in the past with the families of the soldiers kidnapped in Lebanon.

Anonymous said...

Shas nabs promise for extra NIS 162 million for yeshivas
By Yair Ettinger

A bit of ultra-Orthodox history took place on Friday: Shas Chairman and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister, Eli Yishai, paid Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv a visit at his Jerusalem home. Elyashiv is the spiritual leader and patron of the Degel Hatorah faction of Agudat Yisrael. It has been years since Yishai was invited to meet a leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox public. Yishai and Meshulam Nahari, another Shas minister, were rewarded with the sought-after picture of the two beside the Ashkenazi rabbi.

Yishai did not show up empty-handed. He and Nahari said they had managed to obtain another NIS 162 million from the Finance Ministry for yeshivas, in addition to the NIS 140 million already budgeted. The money made headlines in the ultra-Orthodox press and garnered a lot of praise for Shas from influential Ashkenazi rabbis.

Just hours earlier, Yishai had managed to head off an attempt to depose religious court judge Rabbi Avraham Sherman.

Anonymous said...

I will be one of the honorable speakers at an upcoming function to help you become an honorable person.

Some other honorable donkeys who will lecture are - Matt Salamon and Jake Perlow aka "the Noviminsker tush."

Anonymous said...

"CAUTION: "RABBI" YEHUDAH NUSSBAUM IS STILL EMPLOYED BY YESHIVA OF BROOKLYN."

This is really upsetting. YOB kind of reminds me of the Catholic Church in many ways but even worse. They ought to do something and shut that place down so no more victims come about.

From what i'v heard and seen about their methods and their relentless physical and sex abuse, it is a wonder to me how they can laugh at everyone and think they can get away with it, never to answer the kids who are affected forever.

exposemolesters said...

Go to Jpost.com to read the article in its entirety.

Here is a portion of it.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's caregiver fired
Feb. 1, 2009
Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST

The family of Shas leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who suffers from a heart condition, fired his caregiver last week after Jerusalem police discovered that she was romantically involved with a Palestinian with a criminal record.

The family feared that the woman, a Moldavian national brought to Israel to care for the octogenarian rabbi, was collaborating with a resident of Beit Hanina in northeastern Jerusalem to assassinate Yosef, according to a source close to the family....

Anonymous said...

(IsraelNN.com) Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has invited the parents of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit to come to his Jerusalem home on Monday morning. Shas chairman Eli Yishai will also be attending the meeting, as efforts for the release of Shalit continue.

Knesset Member Yaakov Margi stated that this is not the first time that the sage will meet Gilad’s parents. “Shas has always viewed Gilad Shalit with great responsibility. We have already stated in the past that Gilad must be returned for any price,” Margi told Ynet.

On the diplomatic front, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert invited Minister Rafi Eitan (Pensioners’ Party) to join the team working to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. “I aim to use the knowledge and experience he accrued over many years in the defense establishment. We are taking action on many fronts,” the Prime Minister stated. %ad%

Eitan, a former intelligence official, was responsible for recruiting and handling Jonathan Pollard.

Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Shaul Mofaz warned Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, that he would not be able to move about freely if Gilad Shalit remained captive and issued a stern warning against Hamas.

"As long as Gilad Shalit does not see daylight, Haniyeh will not see daylight either," Mofaz stated, adding, “As long as Gilad Shalit is not free, Haniyeh will not be able to move freely in the streets of Gaza. I tell Hamas leaders – do not again make a mistake when it comes to us. Do not try to harden your position before negotiations on a (prisoner) exchange" involving Shalit, he said.

"The Israeli operation in Gaza has created better conditions to achieve the freeing of Gilad Shalit," Mofaz said a week into Israel’s war in Gaza.

Egypt has attempted to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas over an Arab prisoner release in return for Shalit. According to an al-Arabia network report on Sunday, Hamas has agreed to Egypt’s ceasefire initiatives. However, the terrorist organization demanded that the agreement not be conditional upon Shalit’s release.

Hamas also rejected Israel’s demand for Shalit’s release as a prerequisite for opening the Gaza crossings.

In a media statement, the Almagor Terror Victim association said, “The Israeli government must inform Egypt that it does not accept an agreement for the opening of crossings without the unconditional return of Shalit. In the agreement that the Egyptians are leading, the Egyptians are cooperating with the Palestinians to pressure Israel to free terrorists by means of Shalit.”

Almagor further stated that Shalit must be freed without Israel “releasing murderers of children and women.” Prime Minister Olmert has previously gone on record that a heavy price would have to be paid for Shalit’s release.

Anonymous said...

The war plan included a massive attack on the civilian population of the Strip. The real aims of a war can be understood less from the official declarations of its initiators, than from their actions. If in this war some 1300 men, women and children were killed, the great majority of whom were not fighters; if about 5000 people were injured, most of them children; if some 2500 homes were partly or wholly destroyed; if the infrastructure of life was totally demolished – all this clearly could not have happened accidentally. It must have been a part of the war plan.

The things said during the war by politicians and officers make it clear that the plan had at least two aims, which might be considered war crimes: (1) To cause widespread killing and destruction, in order to “fix a price tag”. “to burn into their consciousness”, “to reinforce deterrence”, and most of all – to get the population to rise up against Hamas and overthrow their government. Clearly this affects mainly the civilian population. (2) To avoid casualties to our army at (literally) any price by destroying any building and killing any human being in the area into which our troops were about to move, including destroying homes over the heads of their inhabitants, preventing medical teams from reaching the victims, killing people indiscriminately. In certain cases, inhabitants were warned that they must flee, but this was mainly an alibi-action: there was nowhere to flee to, and often fire was opened on people trying to escape.

An independent court will have to decide whether such a war-plan is in accordance with national and international law, or whether it was ab initio a crime against humanity and a war-crime.

This was a war of a regular army with huge capabilities against a guerrilla force. In such a war, too, not everything is permissible. Arguments like “The Hamas terrorists were hiding within the civilian population” and “They used the population as human shields” may be effective as propaganda but are irrelevant: that is true for every guerrilla war. It must be taken into account when a decision to start such a war is being considered.

In a democratic state, the military takes its orders from the political establishment. Good. But that does not include “manifestly” illegal orders, over which the black flag of illegality is waving. Since the Nuremberg trials, there is no more room for the excuse that “I was only obeying orders”.

http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14769

Anonymous said...

Former Iowa plant manager wants charges dismissed

The Associated Press
Monday, February 2, 2009

DES MOINES, Iowa: The former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse wants a judge to dismiss nearly 100 counts against him. If not, he wants to be tried separately on different charges.

In motions filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Sholom Rubashkin is asking a judge to dismiss 97 charges, arguing that a grand jury was biased by improper testimony and conduct.

The indictment against Rubashkin and four other defendants followed a May 12 immigration raid at the Postville plant that resulted in 389 arrests.

Anonymous said...

The woman, who lives in northern Israel, maintains that the six-year-old boy was born of a rape by the father, with whom she underwent a very torturous relationship. She took part at the time in a support group for victims of sexual harassment, but was afraid to actually turn to the police.

Anonymous said...

Hot seat like us?

Cardinal Mahony to Face Scrutiny Over Sex-Abuse Scandal
Posted by Dan Slater
mahony_art_200h_20090202093840.jpg
Cardinal Roger Mahony. (AFP/Getty Images)

Cardinal Mahony, the archbishop of the nation’s largest archdiocese, is back on the hot-seat.

Last week, the WSJ reported that a federal grand jury had issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in a probe to see whether top church officials tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests.

Today, the Journal writes that the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by clergy will bring a new level of scrutiny to Cardinal Roger Mahony, who previously has dealt with a criminal investigation into his archdiocese by the L.A. district attorney’s office and has signed off on a massive settlement by the archdiocese of civil lawsuits brought by people who claimed to have been abused by clergy.

The archdiocese has said it is cooperating with the federal investigation. An archdiocese attorney told the Journal that Cardinal Mahony long “has been at the forefront of dealing with” clergy sexual-abuse issues. “We have been unable to even hypothesize a crime that might have been committed in the handling of these problems,” the attorney added.
Permalink | Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/02/cardinal-mahony-to-face-scrutiny-over-sex-abuse-scandal/trackback/

Anonymous said...

http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/02/npr-to-air-report-on-sex-abuse.html

NPR to air report on sex abuse in Hasidic Jewish community
Feb 02, 2009 |

The report airs today on All Things Considered. Details below:

NPR NEWS REPORTS ON GROWING SCANDAL OVER SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS

IN BROOKLYN'S HASIDIC JEWISH COMMUNITY

AFTER YEARS OF SILENCE, TWO ALLEGED VICTIMS COME FORWARD TO NPR,

WHILE COMMUNITY LEADERS DOWNPLAY ABUSE CLAIMS

REPORT AIRING ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

TODAY, FEBRUARY 2

February 2, 2009; Washington, D.C. - NPR News reports on a growing scandal involving the sexual abuse of minors in New York City's cloistered Hasidic Jewish community, where an increasing number of alleged victims are challenging the insular culture by coming forward. Reporting from Brooklyn, NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty finds that community leaders stringently downplay abuse claims, despite a growing number of sexual abuse cases before Brooklyn's district attorney.

The complete report is airing today on NPR News' All Things Considered; a web story and photographs are available now at: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807

After years of silence, two alleged victims - both men in their twenties who were raised as Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn - tell NPR's Hagerty about the sexual abuse they endured as minors, and their decisions to finally come forward. Joel Englemen says he was 8 years old when his school principal began molesting him twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade because of the rabbi's standing in the community; last year, his family finally confronted the rabbi and the school, and he was dismissed.

But a few weeks later, Engleman's mother says a religious leader questioned the extent of the abuse, asking her: "'On a scale of one to 10, how bad was the molestation? We found out, there was no skin to skin contact. That it was through clothing.' So he's telling me, on a scale of one to 10, this was maybe at two or a three, so what's the big fuss?"

The rabbi was rehired by the school in July 2008.

Community leader Rabbi David Niederman, who heads the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, defends the school's actions to NPR: "I'm convinced they made a serious investigation. They felt that it's not credible." Niederman also questions increasing claims of sexual abuse in the community: "That so many people have been violated, and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up! It's being blown out of proportion, big time."

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, who says he has ten active sexual abuse cases involving the Hasidic Jewish community, tells NPR that Hasidic schools are private and therefore aren't required to report accusations of abuse. Instead, rabbis try to handle cases internally. "You have no business taking these cases to religious tribunals," says Hynes. "They are either civil or criminal in nature. Or both. Your obligation is to bring these allegations to us and let us conduct the investigation."

Anonymous said...

http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/sexual_abuse_in_brooklyns_hasidic_community_20090202/

February 2, 2009
Sexual abuse in Brooklyn’s Hasidic community

By Brad A. Greenberg

http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/sexual_abuse_in_brooklyns_hasidic_community_20090202/
Joel Engelman at 7

NPR aired a brutal story today about two former Hasidic boys who were sexually abused as youngsters—one at the mikvah and the other at his school. Joel Engelman’s tale is particularly troubling and evokes memories of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal. Shame. A code of silence. Fear of God and man.

NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty explains:

Engelman parks his car across from the United Talmudical Academy, a hulking building on a desolate street. This was the yeshiva, or Jewish boys’ school, that Engelman attended. Engelman says he was 8 years old, sitting in Hebrew class one day, when he was called to the principal’s office. When he arrived, he says, Rabbi Avrohom Reichman told him to close the door.

“He motioned for me to get on his lap, and as soon as I got on the chair, he would swivel the chair from right to left, continuously,“ Engelman says. “Then he would start touching me while talking to me. He would start at my shoulders and work his way down to my genitals.“

Engelman says this occurred twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade. Reichman was, after all, a revered rabbi. Four years ago, he told his parents. And a year ago, when he heard that Reichman had allegedly abused several other boys, they confronted Reichman. When the school heard about it, they gave the rabbi a polygraph.

“He failed miserably,“ Engelman says. “So they told me, ‘This guy is gone. This guy has to go.‘ “

But a few weeks later, a religious leader from the school approached Engelman’s mother, Pearl. He posed an astonishing question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was the molestation?

She was speechless. Then she says, the man continued, “ ‘We found out there was no skin-to-skin contact, that it was through clothing.‘ So he’s telling me, ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, this was maybe a 2 or a 3, so what’s the big fuss?‘ “

The school hired Reichman back. That was in July 2008 — one week after Joel Engelmen turned 23 and could no longer bring a criminal or civil case against the rabbi.

Reichman and school officials declined to be interviewed for this story. But Rabbi David Niederman, who heads the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, says the school did its due diligence. He says the allegation was thoroughly investigated by an independent committee of lay people and rabbis.

“I’m convinced that they made a serious investigation,“ he says. “They felt that it’s not credible.“

Now Engelman has filed a long-shot civil suit against Reichman and the school, claiming they broke an oral contract.

Reichman’s attorney, Jacob Laufer, says the lawsuit is baseless and that the community is fully behind the rabbi.

“Even after these accusations were publicly made,“ he says, “the parents continue to compete among themselves for the opportunity to have their children be educated by Rabbi Reichman.“

The Reichman case is not isolated. Four ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn have been sued or arrested for abusing boys in the past three years. That’s a tiny fraction of the actual abuse, says Hella Winston, author of Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. She says that in researching her book, she encountered dozens of alleged victims who told her sexual abuse is an open secret in the Hasidic community. But the community is so insulated and the rabbis are so powerful that few dare to come forward.

“If I become known as an informer, then people also won’t want to have anything to do with my family,“ she explains. “They won’t want to marry my children, won’t want to give me a job. This is the fear.“

But more and more accusations against rabbis have begun to circulate. Last August, politician and radio talk show host Dov Hikind devoted an hourlong program to sexual abuse. He interviewed Pearl Engelman, who spoke under an alias, about her son’s case.

The calls flooded in. Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew himself, represents this area in the New York Assembly. He says after the show, people started showing up at his office with their stories.

“Fifty, 60, 70 people,“ he says, “but you got to remember for each person who comes forward, God only knows how many people are not coming forward.“

The Jewish Journal published a cover story two years ago about sexual abuse, under the headline “Don’t Kid Yourself: There’s abusive clergy in the Jewish community, too.“ It’s worth a read.

Anonymous said...

Seattle Post-Intelligencer
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/swift/398314_mary02.html

Group helps abuse survivors create peaceful homes

Last updated February 1, 2009 10:52 p.m. PT

By MARY SWIFT
P-I COLUMNIST

SHE WAS a young mother from out of state, fleeing a relationship spinning dangerously out of control.

INFORMATION


For information on Shalom Bayit, go to http://www.ncjwseattle.org/



or call 425-558-1854.

Last March, she landed in Seattle with $80 to her name, two young sons at her side, some luggage filled with clothing -- and the dream of a safer life.

Afraid that her former partner might find her, she asks to be called Chanel rather than by her real name. "I was a bus driver. I was working all the time. He started cheating," she says. "I found out about it. I confronted him. There were arguments at first. Then he started throwing things -- the iron, the phone -- whatever was in reach."

Tensions escalated when her partner lost his job and began abusing drugs and alcohol.

"One day I came home from work and wouldn't cook for him. He started hitting me in the kitchen, with his hands around my throat," she says.

A brief separation was followed by a hopeful reunion. Then came the day the already fragile relationship exploded beyond anything that had happened in the past.

"We were in the kitchen arguing. He pushed me against the counter. I grabbed a knife. He came at me, and I lashed out and I stabbed him in the arm," she says.

"I ended up going to jail, getting charged, going through anger management and getting put on probation.

"I knew I had to leave, that I wasn't safe," she says. "If I stayed, there were only three places I was going to end up: in jail, in the hospital -- or dead.

"I packed up, took what clothes I had and came to Washington."

When plans to stay with a friend didn't work out, she turned to a shelter, where she went through classes on domestic violence, found counseling and other support, and got help with medication and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.

In October, Chanel and her children moved into an apartment in South King County through Journey Home, a program that provides long-term support services to previously homeless families.

"They subsidize my rent now, but I'm supposed to be getting on Section 8," Chanel said, referring to a government rent subsidy program. She is now studying to be a medical assistant and receiving counseling through Valley Cities Mental Health.

For a time, Chanel and her boys slept on the floor of the unfurnished apartment under blankets from the shelter, but then Shalom Bayit, a furniture bank for survivors of domestic violence in King County, intervened.

Founded in 2001 by the Seattle section of the National Council of Jewish Women, the organization's name is Hebrew for "peaceful home." Clients referred by social service or other agencies are invited to visit the organization's warehouse in Redmond to choose items they need for their homes.

"Domestic violence doesn't know the difference between Jewish and non-Jewish. Ninety-six percent of the people we serve are non-Jewish," says Lauren Simonds of Kirkland, executive director of the Seattle section of the NCJW.

A display at the annual Bellevue Home Show helps garner donations. Last month's home show was no exception. "Between a quarter and a half of the donations we receive come because of the home show," Simonds says.

The program offers pick-up service for item donations only on the Eastside and asks for a $25 donation to help defray operating costs.

The program's value isn't lost on Lee Drechsel, executive director of Domestic Abuse Women's Network in South King County.

"DAWN makes extensive use of Shalom Bayit," she says. "Shalom Bayit helps save lives and create homes."

Last year, Shalom Bayit served 317 women and children. Chanel and her children were among them.

"I got beds, couches, a TV, a radio, dishes, linens, comforters, sheets, towels, pictures for the walls -- even a shower curtain with the hoops to go with it," Chanel says.

"I am so grateful to have made it this far. Whatever you write, put in a lot of thank-yous."

P-I columnist Mary Swift can be reached at 206-909-9612 or swiftyk@netscape.com.

Anonymous said...

Joel Engelman is a saint for coming forward. On a scale of 1 to 10, which prison should the Satmar enablers land beind, 1 being the easiest and 10 the hardest?

Anonymous said...

This is frightening. Why is Stamar getting away with this? I'v come to a conclusion that Parents are enablers too.
-

“Even after these accusations were publicly made,“ he says, “the parents continue to compete among themselves for the opportunity to have their children be educated by Rabbi Reichman.“

Anonymous said...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807

---------------------------------

Abuse Scandal Plagues Hasidic Jews In Brooklyn

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

All Things Considered, February 2, 2009 · Joel Engelman and Joe Diangelo are driving through their old Brooklyn neighborhood. Williamsburg is a place from another time and country. The shop signs are in Hebrew. The men scurry by in long black coats; their hair hangs in corkscrew curls. Married women wear wigs to cover their heads.

Engelman and Diangelo haven't been here in years. They just met a few weeks ago, but as they begin swapping stories and the names of family members, they realize they have a lot in common. Both men are in their 20s, both were raised as strict Hasidic Jews, and both fled their upbringing for the same reason.

"Are you ready for this?" Engelman asks Diangelo, glancing at his friend in the back seat.

"Yeah," Diangelo says, his breath quickening. "Yeah, I'll do it, just a quick pass by."

Diangelo grows quiet as we approach a nondescript brownstone building: a synagogue.

"See the Hebrew sign?" he says, pointing. "You go downstairs, and that's where the mikvah is."

The mikvah is a bathhouse usually used by women for ritual cleansing. But in some Hasidic communities, like this one, fathers bring their young sons on Friday afternoons before Shabbat begins. Twenty-one years ago, when he was 7, Diangelo recalls going to the mikvah with his father to find the place packed with naked men and boys.

"And I was in the tub, and I had my back turned, and somebody raped me while I was in the water," he says. He takes a shaky breath. "And I didn't know what happened. I couldn't make sense of it, really."

Diangelo says he never saw the man who abused him. These days, monitors are posted by the bath to stop any sexual activity. But back then, the boy was on his own. He told no one but began refusing to go to the mikvah. He left Orthodox Judaism when he was 17. He changed his name from Joel Deutsch and cut almost all ties with his family and friends.

Now, Diangelo wears black leather and mascara. He plays in a rock band and takes refuge in the heavy-metal lyrics of Metallica.

"There are so many songs, you know. They have a latest song, which is called 'Broken, Beaten & Scarred,' and one of the verses is: 'They scratched me, they scraped me, they cut and raped me.' " He laughs wearily. "And that's my life right there. When I listen to it, it gives me strength."

Allegations Of Abuse

For these two men, this is a tour through aching secrets and violent memories. Diangelo and Engelman are unusual because they let their names be used. But they believe that sexual abuse is woven throughout this Hasidic community.

For Engelman, the loss of innocence came at school.

"This is it, right here," he says.

Engelman parks his car across from the United Talmudical Academy, a hulking building on a desolate street. This was the yeshiva, or Jewish boys' school, that Engelman attended. Engelman says he was 8 years old, sitting in Hebrew class one day, when he was called to the principal's office. When he arrived, he says, Rabbi Avrohom Reichman told him to close the door.

"He motioned for me to get on his lap, and as soon as I got on the chair, he would swivel the chair from right to left, continuously," Engelman says. "Then he would start touching me while talking to me. He would start at my shoulders and work his way down to my genitals."

Engelman says this occurred twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade. Reichman was, after all, a revered rabbi... Continued

Anonymous said...

Hasidic sexual abuse scandal
Tuesday February 3, 2009
Categories: Judaism

A reader sends this link to an NPR story about pedophilic abuse among Hasidic Jews. Excerpt:

Four ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn have been sued or arrested for abusing boys in the past three years. That's a tiny fraction of the actual abuse, says Hella Winston, author of Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. She says that in researching her book, she encountered dozens of alleged victims who told her sexual abuse is an open secret in the Hasidic community. But the community is so insulated and the rabbis are so powerful that few dare to come forward.

"If I become known as an informer, then people also won't want to have anything to do with my family," she explains. "They won't want to marry my children, won't want to give me a job. This is the fear."

But more and more accusations against rabbis have begun to circulate. Last August, politician and radio talk show host Dov Hikind devoted an hourlong program to sexual abuse. He interviewed Pearl Engelman, who spoke under an alias, about her son's case.

The calls flooded in. Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew himself, represents this area in the New York Assembly. He says after the show, people started showing up at his office with their stories.

"Fifty, 60, 70 people," he says, "but you got to remember for each person who comes forward, God only knows how many people are not coming forward."

Hikind refuses to release the names of alleged perpetrators, although he is working with the district attorney's office. He says the people who confided in him are afraid to go public, which creates a perfect situation for abusers.

"If you're a pedophile, the best place for you to come to are some of the Jewish communities," he says. "Why? Because you can be a pedophile and no one's going to do anything. Even if they catch you, you'll get away with it."

"To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion -- big time."

I don't know any of the facts in this case, so in theory, it might be being blown out of proportion. But I very much doubt it. We've been to this rodeo before. Catholics went through the same thing -- denial of how serious the problem was, until it could no longer be denied. I hope God gives the Hasidic Jewish victims of sexual abuse the courage to come forward -- and others within that community the grace to support them. And I hope God gives the DA the guts to go after the rabbis and others against whom there is credible evidence of abuse.
Comments (8)

http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/02/hasidic-sexual-abuse-scandal.html

Anonymous said...

"To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion -- big time."
...........................

Niederman's statements are outrageous. The putz obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.

It's clear this is another example of someone conducting a cover up of child molestation.

Anonymous said...

“We’re going to be making investments, and I shouldn’t say ‘we,’ but the administration ‘we.’ ... With these investments we are going to create good jobs as we renovate and modernize more than 10,000 schools and improve the learning environment,” Obama said, making a pitch for her husband’s economic stimulus plan.

Anonymous said...

If this guy at least wore a yarmulkah he would have my full support. I'm sure Niederman from United Jewish Organizations would agree with me.
-----------------------------------------

Wilson offered the girl candy and money in exchange for her to perform sexual acts with him. Wilson told the victim to keep the encounters a secret, police say.

Wilson is currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on charges of third and fourth-degree sex offense.

Anonymous said...

Where was the penetration, did I miss something?

Judge releases Howard teacher twice convicted of child sex abuse

By Carolyn Peirce
Examiner Staff Writer 2/3/09
A former Howard public school teacher, who was convicted Monday of sexually abusing a second male student, was released from prison after agreeing not to appeal either of the convictions.

Alan Beier, 54, pleaded guilty Monday in Howard Circuit Court to a child sexual abuse charge for taking nude photographs of a 17-year-old male student at River Hill High School in February 2006.

As part of the plea agreement, Beier withdrew his appeal for a previous child sex abuse conviction involving another male student, for which he was sentenced in June to four years in prison.

In return for Beier's guilty plea, prosecutors didn't object when defense attorneys asked the judge to grant Beier time served and release him from prison after serving only 10 months of that four-year sentence.

Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure said she agreed to the plea bargain after considering the closure it would bring to the victims and their families.

The appeals process would force the victims to endure further court hearings with the possibility that Beier's conviction could be overturned, she said.

"This removes the uncertainty of appeals ... and gives them certainty that the convictions will stand."

Prosecutors said Beier photographed both victims on separate occasions purportedly for the "Mr. River Hill High" contest.

In both instances, Beier pulled down the boys' pants and handed them objects to cover their genitals, prosecutors said.

Beier, who appeared frail in a suit that was noticeably large on his thinning frame, fought tears as he entered his plea and paused to ask his attorney, "If I say this, I'm going to be free today?"

Defense attorney Richard Woods said Beier paid "a terrible, terrible price" for his actions and endured physical abuse from other inmates while he was incarcerated.

Beier was placed on supervised probation for three years and ordered to register in Maryland as a child sex offender for the next 10 years.

cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.com

Anonymous said...

In Venezuela, ‘People Are Terrified’

by Stewart Ain and Sharon Udasin
Staff Writers

The crisis in Venezuela deepened this week in the aftermath of the beating of a rabbi, Friday’s attack on a synagogue and the growing exodus of Israelis from Caracas.


All of this comes a month after Venezuela expelled Israel’s ambassador and the embassy’s staff because of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. In New York Monday, more than 150 demonstrators shouting “Never Again” rallied outside the Venezuelan Consulate to protest the country’s failure to protect its Jewish citizens.

And in a letter this week to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed by 19 members of Congress, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the letter’s co-author, expressed fear that the synagogue attack could lead to more Jews fleeing Chavez’s hard-line rule.. by Stewart Ain and Sharon Udasin
Staff Writers

The crisis in Venezuela deepened this week in the aftermath of the beating of a rabbi, Friday’s attack on a synagogue and the growing exodus of Israelis from Caracas.


All of this comes a month after Venezuela expelled Israel’s ambassador and the embassy’s staff because of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. In New York Monday, more than 150 demonstrators shouting “Never Again” rallied outside the Venezuelan Consulate to protest the country’s failure to protect its Jewish citizens.

And in a letter this week to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed by 19 members of Congress, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the letter’s co-author, expressed fear that the synagogue attack could lead to more Jews fleeing Chavez’s hard-line rule.

http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c39_a14815/News/International.html

Anonymous said...

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Best regards
Alice Tudes

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It is unfortunate that it has come to this. It is a big darn shame it has come to this. It is very hurtful that it has come to this. But yet, IT HAS COME TO THIS. It has come at the price of a GREAT CHILUL HASHEM. It has come to Hashem having to allow his holy name to be DESECRATED so that his CHILDREN remain SAFE. Shame on all those responsible for enabling and permitting Hashem's name to be desecrated! When you save children you save the future. You save the future you save generations. You save generations you save lives. You save lives you have saved the world!!!!!!!