Monday, September 07, 2009

Healthy Atmosphere Is A Touchy Issue



http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/good-touch-bad-touch/

How to talk to your kids about a touchy subject

By Mayer Fertig

Beyond the new clothing, a knapsack and school supplies they buy for their young students, moms and dads need to consider if their children are equipped with the information they’ll need to protect themselves from an adult, or even another child, who seeks to betray their trust. “Parents need to teach their children about good touch and bad touch,” said psychologist Michael Salamon of ADC Psychological Services in Hewlett. “Use themselves and their medical doctors as an example,” he suggested, “how the doctor will never examine them without Mommy or Daddy in the room, and anyone who wants to touch them, unless Mommy or Daddy says it’s okay, they should stay away and tell Mommy and Daddy about it.” Second grade is the latest age to have that conversation, Salamon said, and it should be repeated “at every age”; another therapist suggested children first receive age-appropriate warnings about abuse when they are as young as four years old. Context is important, stressed Dr. Asher Lipner, vice president of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, and a therapist in private practice. “Don’t make it out of the blue — ‘Everything’s fine in life, nobody’s going to hurt you but watch out for sexual abuse.’ “You have to teach your kids about their rights,” he urged, “that they have the right to expect that nobody will hurt them physically, or emotionally or even spiritually.” Children should be told, “If a kid or an adult tries to get you to do something you don’t want to do, you have the right to say no if it is something which is invading your privacy, such as touching you in your private place or touching them in their private place,” Lipner explained. A patient who suffered abuse as a child “focused her chinuch so much on this, and in a positive way,” Lipner said, “that your body is special and a gift from Hashem; that your private places are especially yours, and that nobody is even allowed to look.” A child’s vulnerability to predators is dependent to a great extent on the manner in which he or she is treated by their parents, said Lipner. He recalled an incident in which a six-year-old girl scared off a would-be abuser by saying, “That’s stupid and I’m calling the police.” “If parents are overly dictatorial, if parents are neglectful, if parents rationalize that kids don’t have the same needs as adults for autonomy, for being heard, then the kids are going to believe that people have the right to tell them what to do,” Lipner said. They may believe “that adults have more rights than them, and therefore if an adult wants to touch them…” “Parents have to treat their kids with a respect that doesn’t always come naturally,” he added, “because we all have the potential to selfishly put our needs before the needs of people who are more vulnerable — and children especially — because we mistakenly think that their emotional needs are not as strong or as important as those of adults.”

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http://jewishatheist.blogspot.com/2009/08/question-id-like-to-hear-orthodox.html

A Question I'd Like to Hear Orthodox Bloggers Discuss
Your son, a sweet, well-behaved boy, comes to you at age 16 and tells you he does not believe in Orthodox Judaism. He says that while of course he will not violate the laws of shabbat or kashrut in your home, he no longer wants to attend religious schools or participate in davening. He'd like to attend a secular school and start hanging out with non-religious and non-Jewish teens. He doesn't want to wear a kippah any more, either. You can tell that he is speaking from a place of integrity and genuine soul-searching, and you can also tell that his mind is made up.

Do you force him to stick it out in the Orthodox school? Coerce him into continuing to daven as long as he's living in your house? Make him promise to keep kosher and shabbos even outside the house? Forbid him from taking his kippah off at least while any of your friends, family, or neighbors might see? Or do you accept his wishes and support his choices, much as they pain you?

I've never seen an honest discussion about what to do when your kids go off the derech other than discussions about how to get them to stay or utter denial that it's even possible in your family.

It would be great if this became a meme that went through the Orthodox blogging community. I'll start by tagging Ezzie, Chana, DovBear, Orthoprax, and BrooklynWolf. Please tag some others in your replies.

Jewish Philosopher: Don't bother. We know you'd chain your kid to the radiator and try to beat the devil out of him.

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http://www.chabad.org/theJewishWoman/article_cdo/aid/969310/jewish/When-the-Bruises-Cant-Be-Seen.htm

When the Bruises Can't Be Seen
Living with Emotional Abuse

By Anonymous


Just like so many other women, I completed my education and then searched until I found the "right" one, married and proceeded to build a family, raising a string of wonderful children. We are a well-thought-of family—we are considered bright and successful, with good mannered children who are a joy to have in class. But we have a terrible secret.

I'm an abused wife—no, I have no black and blue marks to point to this fact; my husband generally doesn't stoop to outright blows. Actually, that's exactly what prevented me from reaching this inescapable conclusion many years ago, when leaving the marriage may have been less complex and foreboding.

My husband generally doesn't stoop to outright blows
My children hesitate to invite their friends over—they're either afraid that their father may shout and curse in front of their friends, or else the house is terribly messy because I'm still upset over the latest outburst and too depressed for the simplest housecleaning. As we live in Israel, Hebrew is my children's first language—but they could all reel off a string of curses in English from quite a young age.

It is sometimes hard for others to understand what an abusive marriage is like when there are few physical blows. But abuse, as I have come to learn, comes in many forms. And often it is the psychological, emotional and verbal abuse which is even more painful and traumatic than a punch in the face. People who live "normal" lives don't know what it is like to live under a dictatorship. But that is what it is like to live with an abusive spouse.

My husband commandeers the grocery list—if he deems a product to be necessary, only then may it be purchased. Whether repairs are made around the house is dictated by the amount of money he feels justified to spend. If he wants to buy something, it becomes a great need; if I would like to buy something, I will be interrogated as to its necessity. Everyday conversations are dominated by him, and he decides if and when to hold them, as well as their agenda; he may decide that he's not at all interested in listening to what he considers "unnecessary and irrelevant details" and will walk away from a conversation. Even daily quips and insights of our children aren't deemed important enough for his time, so I am left to experience them alone, as if I were a single mother.

If I cook beans, he wants turkey; if the food is hot, he wants it cold. I don't complain; I ask him what he prefers. He answers, sounding so innocent, "how would I know?" And I always end up feeling ashamed and discouraged that I didn't get it right, yet again. His feelings of anger, triggered illogically by the smallest of things, burst forth like a volcano time and again. When he shouts and rants at me, I feel my insides shrivel up into a little black nothingness.

As a young mother, I set out to make him a birthday surprise. Alas, the chocolate chip cookies I labored over weren't to his liking and again no praise, gratitude or even acknowledgment was my due. Years later, when his own daughters prepared the exact same thing, he was delighted and ate them voraciously.

Most families look forward to the Jewish holidays when they can spend quality time with each other and enjoy beautiful meals and traditions. But for me and my children, each and every holiday starts with outbursts and insults as well - we're eating too late or too early; how come [one of the kids] isn't at the table, or why are you forcing them to come. He's impossible to please, makes unpredictable demands, and the demands are always accompanied by shouting, insults, and curses. And then there are the terrible threats—I live in constant fear of reprisals.

Each and every holiday starts with outbursts
The festive Purim meal has always been a special source of distress. For years, the fun and laughter began only after I had retreated from the table in tears, in reaction to a string of undeserved insults and derogatory remarks. Somehow the "action" just couldn't get into full swing with me in attendance, and I could never join in the enjoyment, seemingly so well-deserved after all the cooking and cleaning I'd invested in the holiday.

When my children were young I always attended parenting groups, hoping that if I was a better mother things would be smoother. But I would leave the classes wondering why their advice didn't seem to help my "unruly" children, not realizing that it was not that my parenting skills were so lacking; it was the terrible tension, confusion, and uncertainty that my children live with that is to blame.

Praise from him is so hard to come by but at the same time he doesn't like me to socialize with friends, saying I should spend any spare time with him, begrudging even time spent together with the children. He's totally possessive of me, while at the same time disregarding my wants and desires.

My own feelings are discounted by him time and again as irrelevant, as his needs and feelings prevail at all times. Later, he wonders aloud why I don't enjoy talking to him and criticizes me for the fact that he's not up to date on many things going on in the children's lives and mine. And while he decides what and when I am allowed to feel emotionally, he also feels that physically I belong to him. My body has become his possession to invade at will and my feelings have been trampled to the ground, and I lack the inner personal strength to object.

I had been quite broad thinking and strong-willed when we first met, but gradually I find my entire scope of headspace becoming confined to the four walls of our house, slowing becoming my prison. I am entirely caught up in how to please the un-pleasable; I have lost my very conception of self and have given up decision making as being without purpose.

Afraid to speak, afraid to act, afraid to relax and just be myself; my "self" is melting away into thin air. My opinions are invariably disapproved of and my feelings discounted; I have no avenue of expression; my every move is monitored.

I consulted many friends and advisors over the years and, not truly understanding the abuse I was living with, they all gave me the same advice—be extra nice to him, eventually he'll act in kind. I tried so hard and for so long; unfortunately, even they didn't realize that in cases of abuse, it makes things even worse.

My perception of the situation began to change when I attended yet another talk on building a good marriage, a goal which had proved to be so elusive throughout the years. The speaker prefaced her talk by saying: "this doesn't apply to an abusive relationship— where there's abuse, there's no relationship." This left me in contemplation throughout her talk—is my marriage abusive or is it a relationship?

Eventually, our family system cracked and one of the children refused to go to school, exhibiting aggressive behavior so severe that a therapist was called in. Thank G‑d, the therapist was astute enough to address the real issue at hand, realizing that the child's behavior was an SOS call behalf of a family in distress.

Our family system cracked
Only then did I learn that abuse isn't confined to physical blows; it's the theme of power and the need to control that are the main defining factors. And that even in an abusive home there can be "good" times, but that "good" times do not compensate for the situation or make it acceptable.

Of course, discovering the root of the problem is only half the solution, as facing the issue squarely in the face brings a host of new questions and dilemmas:

Do I really love him or is it all a fixation and a result of his powers of charm, as part of the mechanics of abuse?

Is the marriage still viable—is there any chance of it healing or has too much damage already been done, to the relationship and to my psyche as well?

Would the children fare better in the familiar confusion, or is it healthier for them to be in a stable one-parent home?

Is staying together putting us all in further danger, since the possibility theoretically always exists that the abuse escalate to the physical with little warning?

What if I were to feel the need to run to a shelter? If I go by myself and leave the children at home, I will be deemed an irresponsible parent in the eyes of the law. I could opt to take the "little ones" – but I'm responsible for all those under eighteen, some of whom already have minds of their own (as they should). I envision it as a horrendous tug-of-war of what to do and who's on which side- an image much too awful to consider.

Is it better to include their teachers and the community in my journey, so that they may better understand the children's upheaval or is it better to maintain the facade, at least for a while longer, as our "false" identity is reassuring—or is that a continuation of unhealthy denial?

At present, all I have are questions, with a long road of recovery ahead of me, full of unfamiliar signposts along the way as I struggle to find the answers. I must still "be there" for the children, while at the same time struggling to find my own sense of balance. And even the experts can't know how long my own personal journey will take, as every woman's experience is different.

It seems to me that had we been given the same advice that we're getting now when we were first married, things may have been very different. Maybe we could have re-learned our roles and saved each other a lot of anguish. Or we may have recognized much earlier that this marriage was not viable and terminated it with fewer children involved, and as the children would have been younger, they would have been less exposed to the abuse and less affected by it.

On the one hand, I'm pleased that I stuck it out and allowed all these children to be born into this world, yet what a struggle awaits them all! The older ones exhibit towards me repeats of my husband's behavior, his habits of control and domination. They insist they know better than me what's best for the younger children, so the cycle continues. They are of marriageable age and yet don't recognize the problem—not in him and certainly not in themselves.

If you suspect abuse, don't wait for physical danger to address it
I feel a dire need to re-educate my children, but since I started going to therapy for myself my husband has denigrated it and discounted its value. I can only pray that they receive the guidance that they need at the proper time.

I feel like a tightrope walker teetering on the heights, swaying in the strong winds, struggling for balance as I am pushed and pulled in many directions. I must act as father and mother for my children as best I can, yet not stir up any anger towards my husband and accept all his wishes and demands with a smile, as I continue to try not to degrade their father in their eyes.

I do know that we met and married for a reason (my children are the proof of that). Although my faith in G‑d may falter and waver at times and I may be nauseous and dizzy from the extreme stress, I try hard to believe and accept that G‑d gives the power to overcome a challenge together with the challenge itself, as I've been taught, and that somehow, someway, we will all come out of this even stronger.

If you find yourself relating to my story personally, even if there's no violence in the home at all, you may be in danger: emotionally, psychologically, and physically. Open up your heart to your nearest and dearest friends (NOT to your husband or your children) and share with them what you're going through so they can support you emotionally. And if they cannot, find a professional, someone objective, who can listen to you and evaluate what is going on in your home.

If you suspect abuse, either in your own life or that of someone close to you, don't wait for physical danger to address the issue. Don't wait until the situation is totally out of control or until one experiences severe symptoms of PSTD (post-traumatic stress disorder), as I did, to seek help. The earlier one intervenes the better the prospects of recovery for both husband and wife, and the only possibility of living together as a healthy family unit.

It has taken me a long time to ask the right questions and get the proper advice and guidance. I am working through so much pain, anger and confusion, but I know that I am on the path to recovery and health. We all have the power to change, but we can only change ourselves. This is the month of Elul, the time of the year to focus on growth and repentance. My husband has his own work he must do, but for me, this is my time to ensure that I have the tools necessary to change. I just pray for the strength to work on myself and make the right decisions, so that this can truly be a happy and healthy New Year: emotionally, physically and spiritually.


The following are a few of the resources available for women who need help in dealing with an abusive relationship:

The SOVRI Helpline is an anonymous and confidential helpline staffed by trained volunteers who provide help, information, support, and referrals to survivors of sexual abuse. We don't have caller ID. Our volunteers are trained to understand the dynamics of sexual abuse. They also have training in listening and counseling skills, emergency department protocol, legal protocol, post-traumatic stress disorder, domestic abuse, childhood sexual abuse and incest, and recommending appropriate resources. Our volunteers are supervised by licensed social workers with extensive experience in dealing with these issues. SOVRI Helpline is under the auspices of Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan.

The helpline is open Monday-Thursday 9:30am-5:30pm and Friday 9:30am-1:30pm. The phone number is (212)844-1495.

Find Jewish resources by state through Jewish Women International.

To seek help in Israel, or any country outside the United States, contact Bat Melech, an organization providing freelegal counsel, a crisis hotline, shelters for women and children, and other assitance to women suffereing from abuse: batmelech.org/index-english.html

105 comments:

The Truth About Agudah said...

Rabbinic Sex Abuse In Ultra-Orthodox Judaism

A Partial Biography of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko & Rabbi Lipa Margulies

[This summary was written by an anonymous ultra-Orthodox insider and published as part of an open letter during the first week of December, 2006. The events dated after July, 2006 have been added by this website's adminstrator.]

· 1967 – While working as Dormitory Counselor at Yeshivas Mir, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko calls a student (name withheld) out of his dormitory room and begins discussing matters of a sexual nature with him while rubbing up against him in an aroused state. This abuse continues for the remainder of the school year and into the summer season at Camp Agudah [then owned by Agudath Israel of America]. This student is now a distinguished Manhattan attorney living happily with his partner in New York City and insists that his lifestyle choice has absolutely nothing to do with his abuse by Kolko.

· 1969 thru 1971 - Rabbi Yehuda Kolko begins abusing Dovid Framowitz in Yeshiva Torah Vodaas of Flatbush (now known as Yeshiva Torah Temimah) and Camp Agudah, the details of which abuse are now public knowledge. Mr. Framowitz, a grandfather living in Eretz Yisroel, has not gone a day since being abused without reliving the unspeakable agony he suffered at Kolko’s hands.

· 1972 - Rabbi Yehuda Kolko sexually abuses two young campers (names withheld at the request of the victims) in Camp Agudah who complain to their counselor. Their counselor reports the complaint to Rabbi Simcha Kaufman. The abuse of these two boys cease for the remainder of that summer. Rabbi Simcha Kaufman is a co-worker of Kolko in Yeshiva Torah Temimah (more on Kaufman below) and was a co-worker of Kolko in Camp Agudah until 1976 when Kolko voluntarily left Camp Agudah after he co-founded Camp Ma-Na-Vu with Rabbi Lipa Geldwirth, another co-worker of his at Yeshiva Torah Temimah.

Timeline continued at this link location...

http://www.rabbichildabuse.com/

vladimir putin said...

Exposemolesters must have it in for me. Why else would he make choizek by showing a photo of me licking and smelling a boys stomach.

Rabbi Leib Tropper said...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1113062.html

U.S. rabbi accuses Beitar patron of threatening to defenestrate him

A prominent U.S. rabbi is accusing Guma Aguiar, the billionaire energy industrialist and patron of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, of assaulting him in a Jerusalem hotel in April while the rabbi served as a prosecution witness against the businessman in a civil suit in Florida. Aguiar - who was born in Brazil, raised in the United States and now spends part of the year in Israel - is accused of entering Rabbi Leib Tropper's room at the David Citadel Hotel, assaulting him and threatening to cause him further harm.

At the time of the alleged attack, Tropper was testifying at Aguiar's trial on embezzlement charges brought before a Florida court by the businessman's uncle, Thomas Kaplan. The plaintiff claimed Aguiar misused funds slated for charitable purposes because he believed he was the messiah, a claim Aguiar called "absurd." In June a judge dismissed the case.

n May 24 Tropper, who heads the Kol Yaakov Yeshiva in Monsey, New York, filed a criminal report, and police opened an investigation into the allegations. Tropper told Jerusalem police that on the day he was scheduled to leave Israel he asked hotel staff to help him with his luggage, and when he opened his door he was stunned to see Aguiar and one of his bodyguards - at least one of whom reeked of alcohol - standing next to the bellboy.

Tropper said Aguiar pushed his way into the room, cursed at him and ordered the bellboy to leave. He then pulled off Tropper's glasses and threatened to throw him out of the window.

Tropper said Aguiar told him, "I'll throw you off the ninth floor. You better take a look at the city, because it's the last time you'll see Jerusalem."

When hotel security staff present threatened to call the police, the businessman allegedly said, "I know all of the police in Jerusalem, and they'll listen to me."

Aguiar's bodyguard then restrained him, and returned Tropper his glasses. A hotel security officer soon arrived, and Aguiar and his bodyguard left the scene. Tropper said he required medical attention after the incident.

A U.S. court has filed a restraining order keeping Aguiar from the rabbi and other individuals involved in the trial.

A police investigation was launched following Tropper's report, but closed after only two weeks due to what police called "lack of evidence."

Tropper then filed an appeal to the State Prosecutor's Jerusalem office, claiming that the police hardly collected any testimony from him, the hotel's chief of security or any of the other hotel staff present during the alleged altercation. Aguiar himself was also not questioned.

Last week police notified Tropper's attorney that his appeal had been accepted, and the case against Aguiar would be reopened.

A spokesman for the Jerusalem police confirmed yesterday that the case against Aguiar had been reopened, and that he is scheduled to be questioned in the coming days on suspicion of assault and intimidation.

Aguiar effectively rescued the cash-strapped Beitar Jerusalem soccer club with a bailout to the tune of $4 million in July. Officials at the club declined to comment yesterday on the alleged assault.

Last month, Haaretz reported that Aguiar claimed he had been assaulted by anti-Semitic policemen in Florida, after he was arrested on charges of driving under the influence and drug possession in Broward County in June.

pikuach nefesh said...

(IsraelNN.com) Rabbi Shalom Dov Wolpe ("Eretz Yisrael Shelanu") said Tuesday that events have shown that employing the enemies endangers the state's security and that of its residents.

Rabbi Wolpe was reacting to the news that an Arab worker had stabbed a Jewish shopkeeper to death in Ramat Gan.

The Rabbi issued a call to obey the Halacha (Jewish law) decision that determined that employing Arabs and renting out homes to them was strictly forbidden, for reasons of pikuach nefesh (saving of lives).

sara said...

Child molestation in the insular Jewish sects hardly evoke such an outcry by The Central Rabbinical Congress
But this does......

Orthodox Jewish Community in USA Will Not Tolerate the Cruel and Brutal
Tactics of the Israeli Police


NEW YORK, Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Central Rabbinical Congress
of the United States and Canada held a protest Wednesday in front of the
Israeli Consulate in New York City (800 Second Avenue) where hundreds of
Orthodox Jews took to the streets to protest brutality at the hands of the
Israeli Police in Jerusalem.

After the Jerusalem Mayor decided to violate the status-quo of relations
between secular and religious Jews in Jerusalem by opening a parking lot on
the Jewish Sabbath just right outside the old city walls, members of the
Orthodox Jewish community went out to peacefully protest this desecration of
the Jewish holy day in Jerusalem.

The Mayor knowingly proceeded with his plan to open the parking lot, after he
was warned repeatedly that his actions would incite the religious community
and that his actions would be met with peaceful protests. Orthodox Jewish
protesters were time and time again met with brutal force at the hands of the
Israeli police. Violent police tactics against peaceful protesters included,
merciless police beatings, the firing of tear gas into crowds and the firing
of live ammunition into the air.

The police escalated the conflict this past Sunday night when members of the
Orthodox Jewish community were protesting an autopsy request by the police
after the stabbing of a Jew, in violation of Jewish law, the police knowingly
drove over protesters, putting a protester in serious condition and who still
remains hospitalized.

Rabbi Issac Greenfeld said, "The Orthodox Jewish community in America will not
tolerate or stand for the cruel and brutal police tactics of the Israeli
police. We will continue to protest and demonstrate until the police are
reigned in and the Israeli government stops denigrating Jewish law in
Judaism's holiest city. If the police and the Israeli government continue to
stomp on the rights of the Orthodox community in Jerusalem, one hundred
thousand of us will greet Prime Minister Netanyahu not with flowers but with
shouts for Justice on his upcoming trip to New York."

An additional traffic rally of hundreds of vehicles was planed for today
around the United Nations and the Israeli Consulate in New York.

SOURCE www.TrueTorahJews.org

Rabbi Issac Greenfeld, +1-347-385-1405, igreenfield@thejnet.com, for
www.TrueTorahJews.org

avi shafran said...

What kind of black hat was the suspect donning? I fear the robber put on a Borsalino just to make it look like someone from 42 Broadway is the culprit.
____________________________________

A gas station was robbed at gunpoint in Valley Stream on Monday night, Nassau police said.

A man armed with a black handgun entered the USA Gas Station on West Merrick Road while the owner was counting money and demanded he hand it over at 9:25 p.m., according to 5th Squad Detectives. The victim complied and the robber fled on foot westbound with the cash. The victim was alone in the store at the time of the robbery and was not injured. handgun2-300x22511

The suspect is described as a white man, 18-20 years old, 5’6” tall, 150 pounds and was wearing a red long sleeve shirt, black pants, black hat with white in it and white stocking mask over his face.

Detectives ask anyone with information regarding this crime to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS. All callers will remain anonymous.

Yudi Kolko said...

330 years is overkill. What's the matter - where are the people backing him up like they did in my case?

posek belsky said...

When I'm not busy sending bogus hamzanas or poking fun at ladies that don't look farfrumt - I thank the heibishter that I got my son into ישיבת פוניבז‎.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said...

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3772928,00.html

Rabbi Ovadia: Messiah will rule Sephardic-style

During his weekly class, Shas spiritual leader addresses differences between Ashkenazis and Sephardis and rules that each community must follow its own traditions until the coming of the Messiah, when Ashkenazis will adopt Sephardic traditions. Rabbi also rules that he who sends his children to secular schools ineligible to blow shofar in synagogue
Kobi Nahshoni

He prolifically makes jabs at Ashkenazis and their traditions, but now he is certain – the Messiah will follow Sephardic customs. During his weekly class on Saturday night, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef addressed the halacha for blowing the ram's horn on the High Holidays, as well as the varying customs between Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews.



The rabbi emphasized that each person must stick to the customs of his father's house, but claimed that when the Messiah comes, everyone will follow the Sephardic customs.



The rabbi made these statements in a slightly bemused tone, however, he consistently rules in favor of Sephardic traditions over Ashkenazi traditions when asked to choose between the two. In the past, Rabbi Ovadia ruled that the Sephardic method of religious ruling must be followed in Israel.



The rabbi said, "We cannot determine that we were correct until the Messiah comes and will make us one people. Only the Messiah can do this… When Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will rise up in the revival of the dead, what will they say? They will start to say they were from Halabim, from Aleppo." Rabbi Ovadia claimed that the Ashkenazi method of pronunciation will also give way to the Sephardic pronunciation, and the Ashkenazis will "be reformed."





During the lesson, the rabbi also ruled that a man who sends his children to a secular school is not eligible to act as a cantor or to blow the ram's horn in the synagogue during the High Holidays, even if he himself keeps the commandments.



"If he prays three times a day and lays tefillin, so what will happen? …He prays because he is used to praying. His father made him accustomed to praying, and this is why he prays. Otherwise, he wouldn't pray."



Rabbi Yosef added that only a fair, honest, and God-fearing man who sends his children to religious schools may fill these positions and act as an advocate for the people of Israel. According to him, if the person who blows the shofar is "not a good person," God will not receive his prayers and will only hate the entire population because of him.

Recipe: Round challah with figs for Rosh Hashanah said...

On Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Jews around the world celebrate with sweet, round foods: sweet, to bring a "sweet taste" to the year to come, including good health and happiness; and round, to signify the circle of life and the renewal of the seasons. The traditional challah for Rosh Hashanah is round instead of braided and has an additional symbolic value: It looks like a crown, reminding us that "Rosh" means "head," as in the "head" of the year.

Sweet fruit like raisins and dates are often added to the Rosh Hashanah challah, but this uniquely Californian version from Alain Cohen, chef-owner of kosher caterer Got Kosher? near Beverly Hills, contains fresh figs, which are always available in the early fall. The figs are enclosed in a tube of dough, which is then rolled up into a circle. It's a beautiful spin on tradition.

Round challah with figs for Rosh Hashanah
1 Tbsp instant yeast
3 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup warm water
4 eggs
1 1/2 tsp table salt
3 Tbsp sugar
3 Tbsp honey
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups fresh figs, chopped (preferably Mission; can substitute moist dried figs)
2 Tbsp sesame seeds (for topping)

In a stand mixer whisk together the yeast, 1/4 cup of the flour, and 1/4 cup of warm water until smooth. Let the mix stand for 10 to 20 minutes. Add 3 eggs, vegetable oil, honey, sugar and salt in the bowl and whisk until the eggs are well incorporated. Take out the whisk attachment and put in the kneading hook. Add the rest of the flour, and knead for at least 5 minutes. The dough should stay firm to the touch. Place the dough in a warm bowl and cover it with a kitchen cloth or a warm blanket.

Let the dough rise until it has doubled its size (about 2 hours depending on room temperature). Putting it in a warm closet helps speed up the rise. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

To make a high-rising spiral (the common shape for the Rosh Hashana challah), roll the dough flat into a long even strand 30 to 36 inches long. Fill up the flattened dough with the figs. Close the dough around the figs to form a long tube. Wind the strand tightly around from one side to make the spiral, and make sure the last loop is closed and firmly attached to the round of dough. Place the challah on the baking sheet.

Beat the last egg with a little bit of water. Brush the challah with the egg glaze, and add the sesame seeds on the top. Let the challah rise until tripled in size (about 2 hours depending on room temperature). Preheat the oven to 325 degrees while the dough is rising.

Bake challah 35 to 40 minutes or until well browned, turning the loaf around in the oven after 20 minutes if it is not browning evenly. The interior of the challah is cooked when the bottom is not wet anymore.

Yield: a 2-pound family-size challah
For more info: Got Kosher?, 8914 W. Pico Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90035, 310-858-1920. Order ahead for Rosh Hashanah specialties.

Neturei Karta Putz said...

Religious Jewry Suffers Under Zionist Oppression, Says Neturei Karta
International

NEW YORK, Sept. 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by
Neturei Karta International:

A press conference followed by a rally of Anti Zionist Orthodox Jews, will
take place today outside the United Nations in New York City. Rabbis from NY
and Jerusalem will discuss the ongoing oppression of religious Jews in the
Holy Land by the Zionist State of "Israel."

What: Rally and Press conference
Date: TODAY, Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Time: 5:30 PM
Place: Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 47th St. between 1st & 2nd Ave. NYC


Another Rally will be held in front of the NY office of the Hadassah Hospital,
today Wednesday at 50 W. 58th St. NYC, at 4:00 PM

Rabbi Eliyahu Blatt has come from the anti-Zionist community in Jerusalem to
be with us today. At a meeting last night, he stated: "Over the past three
months, the state oppression of our community has reached new levels. When the
religious mother of a three-year-old child realized that Hadassah Hospital had
been giving the child painful unnecessary treatments for almost two years, the
hospital, in collaboration with the Zionist government, quickly turned the
tables on her and took her to court, blaming her for the entire episode, then
they arrested her. The family of the child, in conjunction with religious
leaders in the Jewish community, have accused the doctors and hospital
involved, with medical mal-practice and that this was not merely a
misdiagnosis on their part, but a scheme to test new drugs and procedures on a
human guinea pig. This would fit in to a known familiar pattern and a long
criminal and tragic past history of "Israel." The Rabbinical leaders of the
community, viewing this as the "final straw" in an ongoing pattern, called for
mass demonstrations. At these peaceful demonstrations tens of religious Jews
were brutally beaten and arrested.

Yochanan Levitansky said...

Yochanan Levitansky didn’t just swindle hundreds of thousands of dollars from eBay customers — he undermined the public’s faith in a vital institution.

So argued a prosecutor in federal court Wednesday. The judge saw it the prosecutor’s way.

Levitansky, a 22-year-old New Haven man, spent most of his life studying to be a rabbi before he changed career paths and opened an electronics business on eBay. He pleaded guilty in May to defrauding over a thousand eBay customers by selling them Bluetooth headsets and cell phones that he never intended to deliver.

He pocketed $237,257 from his customers. He also made them “less likely to trust the Internet,” argued Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang.

In full>>>

http://www.newhavenindependent.org/archives/2009/09/ebay_scammer_ge.php

Rabbi Avi Shafran the putz said...

“That’s a lot of money,” the judge said of the swindled $237,257. He called the defendant “well short of Bernie Madoff, but somewhat tracking in that same direction.”

He ordered Levitansky to surrender to prison on Oct. 16, and to pay back $300 per week in restitution once he’s employed.

After receiving his sentence, Levitansky lit a cigarette on the courthouse steps.

“No comment,” he said.


This judge is delinquent. Bernie Madoff repented and is a hero. But this wanna- be Rabbi showed no remorse as evident in the photo of him smoking a cigarette after he was sentenced.

The only heroic words he uttered were two - "No Comment" (wonder if he copied me).

exposemolesters said...

Rabbi Meir Kahane is an irreplaceable icon. His leadership qualities were second to none.

He exemplified the beauty of life and the sacrifices that go along with it.

He had a legendary vision and was assassinated because of it.

He was bold, intelligent, and had no qualms staring down evil. What you saw is what you got. He did what was right and certainly not what was popular.

A learned man who's fate was sealed at an early age, Rabbi Meir Kahane died sanctifying G-d's name.

His blueprint remains with us forever. Perhaps it will be implemented in our lifetime. The Amalaikim certainly want no part of such a reality, but they are the puppets; the master of the universe has the final say!

EM

Nice article in The Jewish Press about Rabbi Meir Kahane

Meir said...

Jews give the world constant magazines of ammunition to hate us. The latest being this.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=105711&sectionid=3510203

New Jewish organ theft gang busted

New reports have surfaced on the arrest of yet another Jewish organ trading gang in the United States involved in the abduction of Algerian children.

Dr. Mustafa Khayatti, the head of the Algerian National Committee for the Development of Health Research, revealed on Sunday that the New York city police have arrested members of a Jewish gang who abducted Algerian children for their organs.

Khayatti said the arrests came after Interpol found that children in western Algeria were abducted and taken to Morocco to have their kidneys harvested.

Their organs were later trafficked to the United States and Israel and sold for $20,000 to $100,000 each.

The group is said to be connected to Israeli rabbi Levi Rosenbaum, who was recently arrested in New Jersey for direct involvement in importing human organs.

Following Rosenbaum's arrest, US authorities detained some 44 others, including rabbis and mayors in New Jersey, who were prosecuted for money laundering and human organs trade.

Last month, a report published in the Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet, accused Israeli soldiers of kidnapping Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the Gaza Strip for their organs, indicating a possible link between the Israeli military and the mafia of human organs detected in the US.

Some Arab countries have called for an international inquiry into the allegations.

Yeshiva of Brooklyn abuses children said...

Stop Abuse of Children in Schools - New York Times
The New York Times | July 25, 1987

LEAD: To the Editor: To the Editor: Your front-page article on the tradition of paddling in schools (July 9) makes it timely to draw a firm connection between corporal punishment in schools and child abuse. All too often social policies proceed in mutually exclusive tracks, and obvious connections are ignored. It is paradoxical that on one hand our country invests millions of dollars annually to prevent and cope with child maltreatment, while on the other, policy makers at every level of government turn a blind eye to the deliberate injuring of children by school personnel in the name of ...

yudi kolko, yudi nussbaum, avi reichman, avi mondrowitz, avi lezerowitz, and all other child molesters said...

We find the headline "Healthy Atmosphere Is A Touchy Issue" extremely offensive and in poor taste!

Pomegranates and the Jewish New Year said...

By Giora Shimoni, About.com


Pomegranate Seeds
Giora Shimoni
Celebrating with Pomegranates

Pomegranates are traditionally eaten on the second night of Rosh Hashanah. More specifically, the pomegranate often serves as the “new fruit”- a fruit not yet eaten this season – for second evening Rosh Hashanah rituals.

The New Fruit

There are two reasons why the pomegranate is used as the "new fruit" on the second night of Rosh Hashana in many (but not all) Jewish homes.

The Land of Israel is praised for its pomegranates in the Bible.

Secondly, pomegranates supposedly contain 613 seeds. Thus, Jews display their desire to fulfill God’s 613 mitzvoth (commandments from the Torah) by eating the pomegranate.

The Blessings

After the blessing over the wine and before washing hands for the blessing over the bread, the ritual leader blesses the new fruit.

First, the Shehechiyanu blessing thanks God for keeping us alive and bringing us to this season.

You are blessed, Lord our God, King of the world, Who has kept us alive and sustained us and enabled us to reach this season.

Then the blessing for the fruit is recited.

You are blessed, Lord our God, King of the world, Who creates fruit from the trees.

After the fruit is passed out for everyone to eat, the food’s symbolism is explained.

May it be Your will, Lord our God and God of our forbears, that our merits increase like the seeds of a pomegranate.

About Pomegranates

The pomegranate is a fruit, native from Iran to northern India, that has been cultivated and naturalized over the whole Mediterranean region since ancient times. Spanish settlers introduced the pomegranate tree to North America in the 18th century, and today it is grown there primarily in California and Arizona.

The popularity of the pomegranate has increased greatly in the 21st century due to the fruit’s health benefits.

Studies have found that pomegranate juice can improve heart health, protect against prostate cancer, slows cartilage loss in arthritis, and even help diabetics.

Many diseases have been linked to unstable little molecules called free radicals. Antioxidants protect the body from free-radical damage. And pomegranate juice has high levels of antioxidants.

Nutrition Facts: Pomegranate1

Cooking with Pomegranates

An increasing number of people today seek kosher recipes that use pomegranates due to the fruit’s Rosh Hashanah ritual role, health benefits, sweet flavor, and colorful appearance. Enjoy these pomegranate recipes.

Anonymous said...

Corruption probe nets first guilty pleas in N.J.

News Wire Services

Thursday, September 10th 2009, 4:00 AM
Related News

* Articles
* FBI informant Solomon Dwek's financial victims still angry over his lies and scams
* Rogue kidney brokers resell organs fetched from poorest nations on black market
* Corruption arrests in N.J. hurt Gov. Corzine's re-election bid, thrill GOP
* Missing-file fugitive says he's been in Bronx the whole time
* Hoboken mayor: I didn't take bribes
* Key player nabbed in Jersey corruption found dead
* Political columnist Robert Novak dies at 78
* Elizabeth Edwards opens furniture store
* Voice of the People for Aug. 27, 2009
* New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson cleared in pay-to-play fed investigation, says source
* Editorial: Pedro's peril
*

Two former Jersey City officials entered the first guilty pleas Wednesday in a corruption probe that swept up dozens of politicians and rabbis.

Maher Z. Khalil, the city's former health and human services assistant director, pleaded guilty to taking more than $72,000 in bribes from a "cooperating witness" who sought real estate approvals and to helping to bribe other municipal officials, said Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph Marra.

Guy Catrillo, a former planning aide and city council candidate, admitted taking $15,000 in bribes, Marra said.

The corruption sting played out over more than two years and grew out of a federal investigation into allegations of money laundering in the Syrian Jewish enclaves of Brooklyn and Deal, N.J.

The centerpiece was Solomon Dwek, the son of a Deal rabbi, who became a cooperating witness after his 2006 arrest for bank fraud and was introduced to public officials in northern New Jersey in 2007, prosecutors said.

Khalil, 39, brokered introductions for Dwek with other public officials in exchange for as much as $10,000 in cash.

During one exchange, Khalil promised Dwek he'd set him up with "players" who would "do the right thing" by approving Dwek's development projects "without any problems," prosecutors said.

Catrillo allegedly met with Dwek at least three times in restaurants in Jersey City and Weehawken and was given cash in $5,000 increments.

Khalil faces up to seven years in prison and Catrillo faces up to two years when they're sentenced Dec. 15. Both are free on bond.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/09/10/2009-09-10_corruption_probe_nets_first_guilty_pleas_in_nj.html?print=1&page=all#ixzz0QjOPdgG2

around the blogs said...

http://tzedek-tzedek.blogspot.com/2009/09/when-abuse-becomes-mundane.html

Three calls in 24 hours. Three distressed victims of abuse. And that’s just to my private line, not even to the Lema’an Achai office line (where there are professionals who deal with kind of stuff 24/6…).

A man who called to say that he’d found a toddler wondering around in the streets, and had returned the child to their home – where the parents were apparently oblivious to the child’s absence; the family seemingly have other problems, including “troubles” with the police. The man who called suspected neglect, and was frightened the child in future might run into a road or otherwise get hurt... What should he do?
He said had considered reporting this to the Child Protection Services, but was afraid of suffering retaliation on members of his family, if he reported them…

A woman whose child had returned home on several occasions from the transportation service to the out-of-town school she attends, with scratch marks and bruises on her body. There were gruesome pictures as evidence. The mother believed she knew the culprit. She had reported it to the police, the school, and child protection services. What else could she now do?

And a third person, who was so concerned about “consequences” that they asked me to not even generically describe the nature of the alleged abuse they called me about.

Unfortunately, each is a humdrum everyday kind of event, that happens in every neighborhood. No screaming headlines, or flashing blue lights, or public outrage.
People get rightly distressed by child sex-abuse - but other forms of abuse, physical, mental, adult sex-abuse tend to be overlooked.

Abuse is all around us, all the time, and it is easy to become numb and even uncaring.

It is hard to grade abuse in levels of severity. Because abuse is not just the process, it’s the result. People can amazingly recuperate from the most outrageous forms of physical, mental and sexual abuse, and yet, for example, a few vicious words can scar someone for life.

That wondering toddler may stay quietly in their home, or he may walk under a car; the beaten child, who has already regressed in development, might bounce back to the cheery child they were – but they may be traumatized for life; and the third person may have an overly vivid imagination – or may indeed suffer the most appalling attack and "consequences"….

So how is one to go about responding to such calls?

It is my position that the key factor in any case of alleged abuse, is not to presume guilt or presume innocence of the alleged perpetrator – because only the police are equipped or authorised to investigate that – but always, always, presume risk to the alleged victim.
Always Presume Risk!!

halachic dispute ends in murder said...

"Defending a rabbi's honor is no excuse to commit such an act," Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said in response to Wednesday's murder of yeshiva student David Mansharov in Netanya.


Police suspect that Mansharov was stabbed to death by two fellow yeshiva students following an argument over a halachic ruling.


The "Haredim" website reported that the students were arguing over the status of the head of their yeshiva, Rabbi Amos Gueta.


During a visit to a school in Ra'anana on Thursday, Metzger said that the search for truth during halacha-related disputes must never deteriorate to violence.


In the spirit of the upcoming Rosh Hashanah holiday, Rabbi Metzger said that the blowing of the shofar teaches us to take something violent, like a ram's horn, and turn it into something spiritual and dignified.


Prominent Religious-Zionist Rabbi Shlomo Aviner said, "It is obvious that killing over a halachic dispute is forbidden, and it is also clear that anyone who kills over such an argument has major problems."


The rabbi said of the murder, "We cannot let such incidents distort our way of looking at things. In general, good things come out of places that teach Torah."

Rabbi Mordechai Tendler said...

Many Women Targeted by Faith Leaders, Survey Says

One in every 33 women who attend worship services regularly has been the target of sexual advances by a religious leader, a survey released Wednesday says.

The study, by Baylor University researchers, found that the problem is so pervasive that it almost certainly involves a wide range of denominations, religious traditions and leaders.

"It certainly is prevalent, and clearly the problem is more than simply a few charismatic leaders preying on vulnerable followers," said Diana Garland, dean of Baylor's School of Social Work, who co-authored the study.

It found that more than two-thirds of the offenders were married to someone else at the time of the advance.

sex offender yehuda nussbaum said...

PALM CITY, Fla. -- New technology is helping to protect schools on the Treasure Coast from sexual offenders.

The Raptor Technologies V-Soft System catches sex offenders by running a person's driver's license through a database of known sexual offenders in all 50 states.

"It checks their information -- first and last name and date of birth with offender databases for sexual offenders and predators," said network specialist Paul Ferreira.

The system only checks sexual offender status and does not delve into any other personal information. If a visitor to a school is a sexual offender, the system will quickly notify school officials.

In Bessey Creek Elementary, where a test run was conducted, parents had a chance to see the system in action. The test run showed that a sexual offender was on campus.

"I mean, it was in five seconds, so I know our students are very safe on campus," said school representative Niccole White.

Ferreira said that the database is updated weekly based on states that have updated their own information.

The system will be in place in all Martin County schools starting this week.

Chabad Lubavitch of Litchfield County said...

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-litchfield-synagogue-0911_.artsep11,0,2788357.story
---------------------------------------

LITCHFIELD — - A religious freedom suit over the right of a town to restrict the building plans of an Orthodox Jewish group has been filed in federal district court in Hartford.

Rabbi Avi Shafran's secret for raise in salary said...

Which Foods = Happy New Year?

Dear Rabbi Hyim,
On Rosh Hashanah my family always dips an apple in honey and asks for a sweet year. My neighbor tell me that in addition to apples and honey, his family eats a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah. Do I have to do that too? Will I have a bad year if I don’t?!

Sincerely,
Divashi


Dear Divashi,
I don’t think God judges humans based on whether they eat an apple and honey or not on the New Year. The main thing for this reflective time of year is to see it as an opportunity for introspection and change for the better, to work on and improve our relationships with other people and with the Divine.

There are many Rosh Hashanah night customs, from eating an apple dipped in honey to eating a pomegranate or even carrots, leeks and other symbolic foods. Generally before the foods are eaten, short sentences that can be found in the prayer book are recited, such as “May we have a sweet year,” and “May our year be filled with good deeds like the seeds of a pomegranate.”

Some of these declarations are actually puns on the Hebrew names of the foods. In fact, one high school teacher of mine, Rabbi Avi Shafran, even said if someone is hoping for a raise in income during the coming year it would be appropriate on Rosh Hashanah to eat a piece of celery and a raisin and say, “May it be Your will that we have a raisin celery (raise in salary).”

Remember what counts most is what we do the rest of the year, not what foods we eat on Rosh Hashanah.

My best wishes for a sweet New Year,
- Rabbi Hyim Shafner

Remembering 9/11 video said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6CZy3diQ7Y

With familiar rituals of grief and a new purpose to honor those who rushed into danger to help, the nation marked eight years since the Sept. 11 terror attacks Friday, with volunteers reading the names of the World Trade Center lost.

breast cancer cure said...

New stem cell identification technology could cure breast cancer
Fri Sep 11, 2009

NEW YORK, Sept. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - (OTCBB: GVBP.OB) - GENova
Biotherapeutics, Inc., ("GENova"), released important information about its
innovative method for destroying breast cancer cells, using stem cell
technology.
GENova's approach is based on cutting-edge technology that enables us to
identify the protein expression in the original cancer stem cells that give
rise to tumors. This ability to identify the molecular markers of these cells
is an important first step in developing new and superior cancer cures, says
John Savin, VP for GENova. "By recognizing the existence of cancer stem cells,
we have taken a great step towards understanding this complex disease. Now
that we know how to identify the unique characteristics of these stem cells,
we can develop cell-specific therapies that can eradicate them --and thus
neutralize breast cancer right at the source."
The key behind GENova's biotechnology is tracing cancer cells to their origin,
the very stem cells from where the first malignant cell arose. Now that they
are identifiable, scientists are developing tailor-made proteins that are
programmed to destroy cancerous cells, whilst leaving the healthy cells
intact. GENova has targeted these bio-engineered proteins for acquisition into
its growing anti-cancer drug pipeline.
In the future, this technology will also enable us to identify healthy stem
cells and then develop, inject, and nurture them in such a way that they can
overcome the malignant cells. Eventually, healthy stem cells will overcome the
sick cells, leaving the patient cured. This novel method for treating breast
cancer is far superior to existing treatments, and is the underpinning of
GENova's IP (Intellectual Property) portfolio.
Development of this important biotechnology would mean a new cure for cancer,
rendering disfiguring mastectomies and harmful radiation therapies obsolete.

About GENova Biotherapeutics Inc.

GENova is positioning itself as the world's leading bioscience company in the
development and commercial licensing of novel therapeutic proteins that
disrupt the advance of life-threatening cancers. The company leverages
cutting-edge research collaborations to achieve breakthroughs in anti-cancer
treatments, and then licenses these patented drug product candidates to Big
Pharmaceutical and Biotechnology companies such as Pfizer, Amgen, Myriad
Genetics, Medarex, and Biogen Idec. Visit GENova online at www.genovabio.com

Forward Looking Statements

This document includes certain statements that may be deemed to be
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of
historical fact, are expected by the Company to be forward-looking statements.
Although GENova believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not
guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ
materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking
statements include but are not limited to the success of the owned
intellectual property, the strength of the patents, continued availability of
capital and financing, and general economic market or business conditions.
SOURCE GENova Biotherapeutics, Inc.

Investor Relations: Brian Cook, Windfall Communications LLC, 1-866-797-8703,
info@windfallcommunications.com

I.D.F. said...

September 14, 2009
Son of Israel’s First Astronaut Dies During Air Force Course
By ISABEL KERSHNER

JERUSALEM — Lt. Assaf Ramon, the son of Israel’s first astronaut, Col. Ilan Ramon, who died in the space shuttle Columbia disaster in 2003, was killed Sunday when an F16-A plane he was piloting crashed in the hills near Hebron in the West Bank.

Israeli military officials said Lieutenant Ramon’s plane went down during a routine flight as part of the Israeli Air Force’s advanced pilot training course. They added that the commander of the air force, Maj. Gen. Ido Nehushtan, had appointed an investigative committee to examine the causes of the crash, which were not immediately clear.

Lieutenant Ramon, 21, excelled in the prestigious pilot training course, the military said. He graduated from flight school in June, received a presidential honor and was given his pilot’s wings by President Shimon Peres.

He was posthumously promoted to the rank of captain.

The army chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, said in a statement that he “received the bitter announcement of Captain Assaf Ramon’s passing with teary eyes, as did the commanders and soldiers of the I.D.F., and the whole of Israel.”

He added: “This is, unfortunately, a part of the price we pay for living in this beloved country.”

Lieutenant Ramon’s father, Colonel Ramon, was killed along with six other astronauts when the Columbia broke up during re-entry over Texas on Feb. 1, 2003. The son of a Holocaust survivor and a former combat pilot, Colonel Ramon took part in the Israeli strike against the Iraqi nuclear reactor at Osirak in 1981.

Israelis view Colonel Ramon as a national hero, and the news of his son’s fatal accident was met here with widespread shock and grief. The main television channels showed special broadcasts, and the anchors wore black.

Gen. Eitan Ben-Eliahu, a former chief of the air force and a close friend of the Ramon family, appeared on Channel 2 News on Sunday evening and said that he was at a loss for words. The Ramon family is “the story of the state of Israel” and “a model family,” he said.

Soon after the shuttle disaster, Assaf Ramon, the oldest of the family’s four children, told the newspaper Yediot Aharonot that he wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps, first as a combat pilot and then as an astronaut. Israelis followed his progress through news reports.

In a televised conversation last spring on Israel’s annual memorial day for fallen soldiers, Rona Ramon, Assaf’s mother, said he had always wanted to fly and as a child built spacecraft from Lego bricks.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef sends prayer book to Gilad Shalit


Published: 09.13.09, 18:46 / Israel News


Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef sent kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit a prayer book and the book of Psalms along with a personal dedication blessing him with a speedy release from Hamas captivity.



The holy books were entrusted with Interior Minister Eli Yishai who left for Egypt Sunday morning and was asked to hand them over to Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, with whom he met Sunday, in order to relay them to Shalit in Gaza. The dedication read, "God willing your salvation is near." (Kobi Nahshoni)

Astronaut Ilan Ramon's son dies in IAF crash said...

Tragedy struck the family of late Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon again Sunday, when his son Captain Asaf Ramon was killed in a crash while flying an Israel Air Force F16-A.

Ilan Ramon, Israel's first astronaut was one of seven crew members killed when the U.S. space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon re-entry on February 1, 2003.

Asaf Ramon's aircraft crashed near the settlement of Bnei Haver, in the rugged terrain of the Hebron Hills. The Israel Defense Forces carried out an aerial and terrestrial search of the area for some 90 minutes before locating the crash site.

IAF Blackhawk ("Yanshuf") helicopters carrying soldiers from 669, the Air Force's elite search and rescue unit, were the first to locate the plane, and they retrieved the pilot's body...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1114256.html

Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood deals with sex abuse said...

APP

http://www.app.com/article/20090912/NEWS/909120323/1070/NEWS02/Orthodox+Jewish+community+in+Lakewood+deals+with+sex+abuse
----------------------------

[Excerpt]

LAKEWOOD — At some point, amid battling a drug addiction and childhood memories of molestation, Shua Finkelstein wrote a letter. Discovered on his computer after he died Feb. 28 from an overdose of pain killers, the letter admonished his Orthodox Jewish community...




"It is your duty as a Jew, as a human to find these people in our community and no longer let them live among us!!!" it read. On April 14, a few weeks after the letter became public online, the Finkelsteins' house was gutted by a fire while they were out of town for Passover. A police report cited arson as the likely cause. Authorities say they are still investigating.
RELATED
Orthodox community in Lakewood uses internal tribunals
Orthodox Jews and Lakewood's parallel system of services

Not until about a year ago did Shua, then 19, finally confide in his mother that, starting at age 6 and lasting for several years, he was sexually abused by an older male. When asked why she didn't go to the police, Rivkah Finkelstein said it didn't occur to her. As part of an outsider-wary religious community, she had been given every indication that such sensitive matters didn't belong in the secular world. Instead, she went to her rabbi, and eventually the alleged offender was put into therapy.

A similar approach has been used to deal with sex abuse complaints against private child care centers in the community. This year alone, rabbinical tribunals, or Batei Din, have closed at least one such play group at a home and allowed another to stay open when not enough evidence surfaced to close it. Neither was reported to authorities.

"There's no one monitoring them," said Finkelstein, whose two daughters attended a play group a decade ago that was closed down by one of the community's Batei Din, which more routinely handle civil disputes. "What's to say they don't move to another town and do the same thing?"

Critics say a problem with sex abuse reporting has pervaded this growing Orthodox hub for years. Lakewood rabbis downplay that contention but acknowledge more can be done in opening up dialogue with secular authorities.

Meir said...

The headliner in the APP article Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood deals with sex abuse is very misleading. It should have said NOT DEALING WITH SEX ABUSE.

One would conclude (wrongly)that they are actually taking steps to conquer the sex abuse epidemic in their midst. By reading the article it is plainly obvious the opposite is true.

With Rosh Hashonah around the corner, tshuvah, repentance, claiming responsibility and accountability for a massive community failure is the furthest thing from these so-called "leaders" and "Jews."

Instead, the cover-up and sweeping under the carpet tactics seems to be the ongoing trend.

Read the ENTIRE ARTICLE at

http://www.app.com/article/20090912/NEWS/909120323/1070/NEWS02/Orthodox+Jewish+community+in+Lakewood+deals+with+sex+abuse

Ohel Treatment Center in Brooklyn said...

Yet while operating like a legal system, the tribunals are not enforcement agencies, which make handling criminal matters more complicated.

Still, in certain cases, Batei Din have decided sex abuse cases and have sent victims and alleged offenders to therapy, most often at the Ohel Treatment Center in Brooklyn. However, less than two years ago, community leaders requested that Ohel no longer be the sole operator in Lakewood, which now has another, in-house center — the Lakewood Community Services Corp. — to treat its own victims and offenders, said Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, the center's
president.

Zalkin Law Firm - New York Clergy Abuse Attorney said...

New York Jewish Sexual Abuse Lawyer
Rabbi Sexual Abuse Attorney in New York
Have you been sexually abused by a member of the Jewish or Jewish Orthodox Community?

Sexual abuse occurs in many communities and institutions throughout the United States. Abusive individuals who prey on children, adolescents and young adults can be found in any setting or religious group or denomination. Recently, light has been shed on acts of sexual abuse perpetrated by rabbis, spiritual teachers and other leaders in the Jewish faith.

Reports of abuse, complaints against rabbis, teachers, mentors and other authority figures in the Jewish community have reportedly gone ignored or unnoticed in previous years. With recent media and public attention on sexual molestation, abuse and inappropriate behavior in religious institutions and groups, many survivors and their families have made the decision to come forward with their own stories of illegal and immoral sexual abuse.
Jewish Orthodox Community Sexual Abuse Lawyer

At the Zalkin Law Firm, it is our mission to provide legal representation and assistance to survivors of sexual abuse throughout the country. If you have been abused by a rabbi or other member of the Jewish faith, orthodox or otherwise, you do have legal rights and you can receive the help and support that you need. We understand that it can be very difficult to relate your story even if it occurred many years in the past. That is why we are dedicated to providing a safe, welcoming environment in which you and your family are protected and supported throughout the process.

Children and adults who have suffered sexual abuse often feel emotions such as shame, regret, embarrassment and anger as a direct result of their experiences. Many times, these thoughts and feelings can inhibit a person from going to parents, authorities or other individuals who could offer help and assistance. We at the Zalkin Law Firm encourage and support those survivors who have been able to come forward and we want to help others who have similar situations.

If you or a loved one has been sexually abused by a member of the Jewish community, please contact a New York Sexual Abuse Attorney at the Zalkin Law Firm. We can help you.

Contact Us
The Zalkin Law Firm, P.C.


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Rabbi Matt Salamon said...

What's all the bilbul about in Lakewood? Some goy writes fairy tales and the ganze olylem believes it?

The gedolim have already admitted that one slipped through our fingers - what else does everybody want from us?

Harav Shloime Mandel said...

I just finished saying סליחות‎ and then it dawned on me.

Is it just me - or does anyone else think like me - that this year we probably should be clapping our fists to our hearts only one time when saying חטאנו etc.

For the one that Salomon says slipped through our fingers.

To fake it real good this year, on Rosh Hashonah I will cry louder than last year - so that everyone in shul will give me more kovod in the future.

Meanwhile I permit Nussbaum to remain on the YOB premises and around children.

Why, you ask? Because I'm a monster and I couldn't care less about some kid Nussbaum fondled.

We grew up together and he's allowed to touch little boys where he wants to as long as I don't see it.

Oh, you see what this night made me do? Going on this rant having to explain to you guys why a child molesting Rebbe is not the worse thing in the world. I'm getting heartburn again.

I can say the סליחות again tomorrow night and start a new day over.

Joint Terrorism Task Force said...

Breaking: Sep 15, 2009 12:45 am US/Eastern
FBI, NYPD Hunting For Al-Qaida In NYC
Queens Residents Witness Joint Terrorist Task Force Blitzkrieg; Rep. King Conveys Seriousness Of Situation

baltimore jewish times said...

Rabbi Jay Kenneth Wagner Indicted For “Continuing Theft”
September 15, 2009

Phil Jacobs
Executive Editor


Baltimore City State’s Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy announced today that the Baltimore City Grand Jury indicted Rabbi Jay Kenneth Wagner, 32, of the 3400 block of Labyrinth Road for continuing theft. The indictment was filed on Sept. 10.

Court documents allege that between January 2007 and May 2009 Rabbi Wagner stole over $13,000 from Yeshivat Rambam. Mr. Wagner worked as an assistant principal at the school. It is also alleged that the theft was discovered by the school and involved a series of school checks taken by the defendant which were either cashed or deposited into the defendant’s account.

An indictment is not a finding of guilt. An individual charged by indictment is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at some later criminal proceeding.

An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 19, 2009 before Judge Charles G.
Bernstein at the Mitchell Courthouse.

Mr. Wagner was released on his own recognizance.

In an e-mail to parents, school officials wrote:

“Several months ago, through our normal internal controls and procedures, it became clear that our school had experienced some financial irregularities and, in addition, that school funds were missing. Our bank and the State Attorney’s office thoroughly investigated the incident. With the help of our financial institutions, we have every expectation that we will fully recover all misappropriated funds; the vast majority of missing funds have, in fact, already been recovered.

“The investigative process, conducted by the State’s Attorney’s office, has led to the indictment of Rabbi Jay Wagner, a former assistant principal of our elementary school.

“On the advice of counsel, and in the hope of a happier resolution, we remained silent during the investigative phase of this situation. While we are deeply saddened by this turn of events, we are confident that this matter will be resolved in a fair, impartial and judicious manner.

“In closing, Yeshivat Rambam remains a financially strong and vibrant institution, committed to providing the Baltimore Jewish community with excellence in education, both Judaic and secular."

APP.com said...

September 14, 2009


No exemptions for sex abuse

"Orthodox community deals with sex abuse," read the page 1 headline in Sunday's Asbury Park Press. But just how the Orthodox community in Lakewood deals with the problem in its midst is disturbing.

Far too often, cases of sexual abuse are handled internally through a rabbinical tribunal that routinely handles civil disputes but deals with possible cases of sexual abuse as well. The Orthodox community lacks the investigative and judicial powers to issue sentences, weed out false accusations and monitor offenders.

The most the rabbinic tribunals can accomplish is to urge therapy for the abuser. That's not justice for the victim. And it may be against the law. A therapist in Brooklyn's Orthodox community for more than eight years who has treated sex offenders referred by Lakewood religious authorities said he could not recall one instance when a rabbi referred a case to law enforcement officials.

Religious authorities say they do what is necessary to rid the community of sex offenders swiftly, but it is typically done outside the framework of secular law. The rabbinic leaders must send an unequivocal message to the Orthodox community that incidents of sexual abuse must be reported to the appropriate authorities. And that point must be reinforced by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

First Amendment freedoms to practice one's faith are not absolute, particularly when it puts the most vulnerable citizens at risk for irreparable physical and emotional harm. One would think that a community dedicated to Torah law would recognize the limits of that law in dealing with criminal matters and welcome the legal means to get child sexual abusers out of their communities and into the arms of the law.

State law requires anyone with "reasonable" suspicions to report acts of child abuse to the police or the state Division of Youth and Family Services. That law runs up against a different law, the Cleric-Penitent Privilege, which requires clerics such as rabbis to keep privileged any communication made in confidence unless both he and the person who did the confiding agree to release it or the information pertains to a future criminal act.

Given the rate of recidivism among sex offenders, a single confessed incident of abuse can reasonably hint at an ongoing pattern of abuse with a widening circle of victims. This sounds remarkably similar to Catholic priest scandals, where pedophile priests were counseled and transferred without ever facing the law.

If, as Job says, it is God who "reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into the light," then those who believe in him must do the same work of bringing light out of the shadows. Secular law has the means to do just that and the rabbinic leadership needs to encourage members of the community to speak up without fear.

If the Orthodox community believes that playing cases of sexual abuse so close to the vest is a proper response, that's beyond troubling.

Anonymous said...

http://www.app.com/article/20090914/OPINION01/909150305/1029/OPINION/No+exemptions+for+sex+abuse

humble_poster wrote:

Since when do we allow for a underground judicial system.. .we have our laws and a "one off" being the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ ) . Religious law is nice but if we see them harboring sex offenders they should all be brought up on charges... Jew, Catholic, Christian etc..... I also believe it is about time to tax the religious groups based on declared donations and property owned .... it is a scam to hid behind religion we have freedom of religion not freedom of taxes..... start in Lakewood then expand. Our property taxes will drop significantly


Tax'em all, let the IRS sort them out.

yob sux said...

Life isn't getting better. That's because religious institutions hide behind their religion and refuse to get secular authorities involved.

YOB monsters use the same tactics as the Lakewood reshoim. And the Rabbis' all over the world usually act with the same disregard when protecting one of their own pedophiles. Pitiful, but true.

Rabbi Dovid Cohen said...

Ethics who? kish mine tuches!
------------------------

During the High Holidays, which begin Friday night with Rosh Hashanah and end Sept. 27 on Yom Kippur, Jews are supposed to take stock of their lives, and rabbis' sermons on these days can touch on everything from personal religious observance to social issues, and from personal morality to international relations.

The letter, which several Orthodox rabbis in New Jersey say they will heed, urges Jewish clergy to publicly affirm, at least once during the High Holidays, that the Torah forbids all stealing; that secular laws bind religious Jews; that Jews should lead efforts to promote honesty in society; and that when making decisions, Jews must sacrifice financially rather than bring shame to God or Jewish law.

"This is not a time for splitting hairs over possible dissenting views," the letter, signed by six leading Orthodox rabbis, reads. "... (W)e must make the ethical demands of the Torah and the day clear in the most public of ways. We strongly urge you to join with us and loudly declare, to our own communities and to the world, that we, representing Torah, will not tolerate any but the highest standards of ethics."

The letter, while mentioning no specific arrests, refers indirectly to money-laundering charges against three Orthodox rabbis -- two from Deal, Rabbi Ben Haim of Congregation of Ohel Yaacob and Rabbi Edmund Nahum of the Synagogue of Deal, and one from Brooklyn -- and organ-trafficking charges against a Jew from Brooklyn. Those arrests were part of a massive sting operation that also led to dozens of politicians being arrested on corruption charges.

Another arrest seemingly referred to is that of Bernie Madoff, whose fraudulent investment company cost thousands of people billions of dollars.

Among the New Jersey rabbis planning to address these issues during the holidays is Rabbi Shmuel Goldin of Ahavath Torah in Englewood, the first vice president of the Rabbinical Council of America, an organization of Orthodox rabbis.

"There are times you have to say things that really should be apparent in and of themselves, and that the ethical dimension of our religion and the ethical requirements of our religion are extremely high and should not be ignored," Goldin said.

He stressed that personal devotion to religious ritual does not excuse a failure to follow the law.

Rabbinic Weasel Society said...

This 5 year old boy is lying if you asked us.

The Novominsker Tush said...

http://www.5tjt.com/news/read.asp?Id=4930

Novominsker Rebbe To Speak For Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim, September 22

Next Tuesday at 8:00 p.m., at the home of Aharon Wolfson, the Novominsker Rebbe will be speaking on behalf of Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim—the Rabbinical Seminary of America. Rabbi Dovid Harris, the rosh hayeshiva will be speaking following the Novominsker Rebbe.

Since the yeshiva’s inception in 1933, Chofetz Chaim has been at the forefront of producing bnei Torah dedicated to serving Klal Yisrael.

Last year, HaGaon HaRav Henoch Leibowitz, zt’l passed away. He led the yeshiva with heart and soul for over 66 years. The yeshiva has launched a national sefer Torah campaign in memory of the rosh hayeshiva. The lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews have been affected by the rosh hayeshiva and his talmidim.

Indeed, the sheer numbers of Chofetz Chaim alumni who serve the Far Rockaway/Five Towns and Long Island community in numerous capacities are staggering: Rabbi Yosef Amster, Rabbi Shmuel Bernson, Rabbi Binyomin Blumberg, Rabbi Arie Chait, Rabbi Moshe Cheplowitz, Rabbi Shaya Cohen, Rabbi Yehuda Cohen, Rabbi Rafael Draiman, Rabbi Shlomo Drebin, Rabbi Shmuel Fink, Rabbi Aharon Friedler, Rabbi Henoch Gewirtz, Rabbi Aryeh Zev Ginzberg, Rabbi Eli Goldgrab, Rabbi Yitzchok Goldstone, Rabbi Yair Hoffman, Rabbi Reuvain Kamin, Rabbi Binyomin Kaminetsky, Rabbi Dovid Kramer, Rabbi Gershon Kramer, Rabbi Nossi Leiberman, Rabbi Baruch Lovett, Rabbi Yaakov Morgenbesser, Rabbi Shmuel Morgenstern, Rabbi Amnon Nissan, Rabbi Ezra Pacht, Rabbi Avrom Pollak, Rabbi Naftali Portnoy, Rabbi Shaya Richmond, Rabbi Yitzchok Riselsheimer, Rabbi Avraham Sebrow, Rabbi Reuvain Selevan, Rabbi Yehuda Shmidman, Rabbi Chaim Siegel, Rabbi Shimon Yisroel Siegel, Rabbi Yisroel Moshe Siff, Rabbi Dovid Sternberg, Rabbi Yonasan Sternberg, Rabbi Moshe Turk, Rabbi Chaim Dov Wahrman, Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, Rabbi Yehuda Winder, and Rabbi Nesanel Yachnes.

A letter was sent to most of the community by Rabbi Binyomin Kaminetsky, Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, Rabbi Shaya Richmond, and Rabbi Aryeh Zev Ginsberg encouraging everyone to attend the reception at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Wolfson, 1019 New McNeil Avenue in Lawrence.

True Torah Jerks said...

American Jews to Protest Against Hadassah Hospital
Tue Sep 15, 2009 10:07pm EDT

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following was released today
by True Torah Jews:

Jewish groups in the United States who are concerned about the ongoing
accusations of an Israeli hospital, Hadassah, against a religious Jewish woman
plan to protest outside the hospital's Manhattan office at 50 W. 58th St. this
Wednesday, September 16 at 3:30 PM.

The woman's child, now three and a half years of age, was hospitalized at
Hadassah on and off for the last two years, as doctors at the hospital claimed
he had a mysterious illness that they could not diagnose. During that time,
hundreds of tests and procedures were performed on the child, many of them
painful and dangerous. Over the last several months, the child was fed only
intravenously. Many sorts of drugs, some with dangerous side effects, were
administered. All these procedures left the child weak and emaciated, weighing
half of what a child his age should weigh.

The current battle began in July 2009, when the mother stopped trusting the
doctors and decided to transfer the child to a different hospital. Realizing
that this might lead to bad publicity for them, Hadassah decided to accuse her
of causing the child's illness. They alleged that she was suffering from a
mental condition known as Munchausen's syndrome, causing her to deliberately
withhold food from her son and lie about his symptoms in order to fool doctors
into thinking he was ill. (This is belied by the fact that before each period
of hospitalization, the child's health was much better than at the end of the
hospitalization.)

According to True Torah Jews, the police arrested her and took her to jail,
where they tortured and intimidated her for ten days in the hopes that she
would confess to the charges. But she remained resolute.

The reaction of the Orthodox community of Jerusalem was swift. Tens of
thousands protested in the streets, demanding that the woman be set free and
her son be released from the hospital. Under immense pressure, an Israeli
court decided to release the woman and her son, but that they could not see
one another. The young boy quickly began to gain weight and is on his way to
recovery.

But Hadassah Hospital is not finished. They are still pursuing legal action
against the mother, which could lead to the court taking all her five children
away from her. The State of Israel cannot bear to see its most prestigious and
symbolically important hospital be tarnished with the terrible crime of
conducting medical research on an innocent child, so their legal system is
cooperating with Hadassah to make sure that the child's mother gets fully
blamed.

"Orthodox Jews in Jerusalem and around the world are outraged over this
injustice and are coming out in protest," said Rabbi Menashe Fulop of
Brooklyn's Williamsburg Jewish community. "Letters and phone calls are pouring
into the hospital's offices demanding that the charges against the woman be
dropped and an investigation committee be set up to examine the conduct of the
doctors. Tomorrow's demonstration is a part of this protest. We will not stop
until the woman is reunited with all of her family."

"This is not the first time that we have raised a storm over Hadassah's human
rights violations. In the 1960's and 70's, they were doing autopsies for
medical research without permission from the bereaved families. Then they cut
up dead people; now they cut up live people. It is not only this child; we
have testimony from hundreds of people who were used for research by doctors
at Hadassah." said Rabbi Fulop.


SOURCE True Torah Jews

Rabbi Menashe Fulop of True Torah Jews, 888-560-9634

yob sux said...

Shloime Mandel of yeshiva of Brooklyn is a farce. He deserves a din vechesbon on rosh hashana for humiliating those who dared disobey his commands. He is a vicious pedophile protector. He is known as a monster for good reason. Hope he rots. Sickening that he makes believe he is so pious, running his yeshiva like a prison. He has ruined countless souls and continues to employ a sex offender. Do the math. This guy is rasha gumur.

Shloime Mandel said...

"Shloime Mandel of yeshiva of Brooklyn is a farce"


It's Yeshiva and Mesifta of Brooklyn to you.

Jweekly said...

Why do media outlets love to focus on Jewish scandals?
Thursday, September 17, 2009 | by William Helmreich

When reading a newspaper headline like “12 Brooklyn Builders Indicted in Bribery Scheme,” do you find your heart skipping a beat as you hope they aren’t Jews, or at least Jews with recognizably Jewish names?

And when they aren’t, do you breathe a sigh of relief?

How about: “Two Americans Share Nobel Prize in Chemistry” — do you immediately look at the names to see if they’re Jewish?

If you do, then you have what my son calls Jewdar, a unique type of radar that hones in on anything Jewish, pro or con. You’re also apt to believe that the media focus too much on Jewish malfeasance.

There is no evidence that Jews are more or less likely to be involved in dishonest behavior than anyone else. But we Jews often charge that media outlets focus more on Jewish scandals than those committed by other groups.

Scandal sells, but Jewish scandal probably sells more.

Jews long have been stereotyped as sharp, cunning, crafty and dishonest, especially when it comes to money matters. Stories like the ones about allegations of money laundering by rabbis in New Jersey both feed into it and allow people to discuss it openly. After all, it’s news.

There is another reason why scandals involving Jews sell: Jews are overrepresented among activists for social justice and charity, be it the civil rights movement, the feminist movement or, going back in history, the Russian Revolution.

When those who often play a leading role in telling others what’s right and what’s wrong screw up, that’s news. It also gives others an opportunity to gloat that these annoying do-gooders, the Jews, are far from perfect.

All this explains why Jews are seen the way we are and why people love to talk and write about us when we do wrong. But it doesn’t explain why we do these things.

What is it that causes some of our most prominent fellow Jews to behave so shamefully?

In full:

http://www.jweekly.com/article/full/39943/why-do-media-outlets-love-to-focus-on-jewish-scandals/

exposemolesters said...

SHANA TOVA U'METUCA!

HAPPY & HEALTHY NEW YEAR!

EM

shlomo mandel of yob: resign now said...

He should resign NOW! NOW! NOW!

In the link see this shyster with his wicked crocodile smile speaking at the Kabolas Ponim For Rav Moshe Tuvia Leif As New Rov In Aguda Of Ave L. SHLOMO MANDEL RESIGN NOW!!!

HE DIPPED IN THE MIKVAH TODAY, BUT is STILL THE SAME VICIOUS PUTZ PROTECTING HIS BUDDY AND CHILD MOLESTER YEHUDA NUSSBAUM.

His brother, Yaakov, is also is a sick monster and pervert.
Mandel, you are a maniac.

RESIGN NOW!

Dovid said...

Rosh Hashanah has come and gone and left me with this question.

Is it reasonable to watch a child die in the name of religion?

Where is the standard of reasonableness?

A child is sexually abused - and you who represents the community - does nothing - is that normal behavior?

For the community to say they are not responsible for the well being of a child by refusing to get involved - for fear that seeking medical care will result in a "Jewish" abuser being sent behind bars - is absoluteness a crime in of itself.

The community that is silent, refusing to get involved and dialing 911 - in the name of religion, is not reasonable.

When will the Jewish community wake up to this insanity?

If Rosh Hashonah did not change the mindset of religion fanaticism, then nothing will.

This is not about protection of religious freedom.

The obligation of a human being is to be responsible and care for others in distress. This is not only the Torah way - It is the law of the land.

Today in Jewish History said...

http://www.chabad.org/calendar/view/day.asp?id=158984&tDate=9/23/2009
---------------------------

Rabbi Akiva martyred (134)

The great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Akiva, was taken captive by the Romans on Tishrei 5 of the year 3894 from creation (134 CE). His subsequent torture and execution is recalled in the stirring Eleh Ezkarah poem of the Yom Kippur service.


Laws and Customs Open All



Ten Days of Repentance

The 10-day period beginning on Rosh Hashahnah and ending on Yom Kippur is known as the "Ten Days of Repentance"; this is the period, say the sages, of which the prophet speaks when he proclaims (Isaiah 55:6) "Seek G-d when He is to be found; call on Him when He is near." Psalm 130, Avinu Malkeinu and other special inserts and additions are included in our daily prayers during these days.

The Baal Shem Tov instituted the custom of reciting three additional chapters of Psalms each day, from the 1st of Elul until Yom Kippur (on Yom Kippur the remaining 36 chapters are recited, thereby completing the entire book of Psalms). Click below for today's three Psalms.

Chapter 100 Chapter 101 Chapter 102

Silence may be golden, but not when abuse is involved. said...

When a young person has been repeatedly abused, the child very often stops thinking of God as being loving. God comes to be viewed as unjust and cruel, like those he trusted who turned out, instead, to darken his life. Little by little, the child's image of God becomes drained of its light.

Thankfully, even when children are sexually abused, their spiritual essence can never be completely destroyed. The pure flame within can be dimmed, but no matter what, the indestructible spark remains in each child. That spark, that neshama, that spiritual essence is what we need to strive to recognize. And it is what the survivors of abusive, illicit relationships need to work hard to re-discover within themselves.

Women of the Wall said...

A powerful documentary, “Praying in Her Own Voice,” chronicles twenty years of struggle for religious equality at one of Judaism’s most sacred sites and asks: How can there be unity when half the population is silenced?“

A woman at the Wall is like a pig at the Wall.” This was the statement made by Yehuda Getz, the late Chief Rabbi of the Western Wall in Jerusalem, following one of the most shocking demonstrations of violence at one of Judaism’s holiest shrines—the Kotel (Western Wall)—on a bleak December morning in 1988.

What had happened? Rivka Haut, an Orthodox Jewish woman from Borough Park, Brooklyn, had decided to organize the first women’s Rosh Chodesh (welcoming of the new month) Torah reading at the Western Wall, complete with a Torah scroll and wearing tallitot (prayer shawls).

Calling themselves “The Women of the Wall,” the group of 70 Jewish women assembled quietly on the women’s side of the wall at 7 a.m. and began to pray. By 7:20, they were gone; driven away by Ultra-Orthodox men, who caused a near riot. When the women opened the Torah scroll, the men began to throw chairs, hurl verbal abuse, and spit on them, and the police did nothing to curb the violence. Haut was injured when she was hit over the head with a chair.

The incident was the first of its kind, but it wasn’t the last. Over the past two decades, the Women of the Wall’s efforts have been met with attacks by both Orthodox men and women at the Kotel, ranging from throwing chairs and feces to attacks by Israeli police with tear gas...

aseret yemai tshuva won't cure these ketanim said...

Link to YWN to see a room full of fakes.

http://theyeshivaworld.com/photos.php?albumid=5382130940600959617

Sholom Rubashkin said...

Now my lawyers are gonna show those natzi loving anti-Semites a thing or two about not messin with me.

These U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement bastards think they can pick on me.

My father hurts not a cat. I hurt not a fly. Whutz the reason for not showing their raid plans to my lawyers demands.

Theyre scared i'm gonna be right and theyre gonna be proven wrong you just sit back and watch the show.

shlomo mandel the schmuck said...

Kapparos is a like a free pass to commit more crimes. Mistameh hakodoish buruch thinks that killing these chickens is betzem the same as killing human beings. I think I agree with him. But what if someone likes the sight of blood, is he still mekayem the mitzvah? And does it mean that even a monster and child abuser and pedophile protector gets to start new all over again? The tshuveh to the shileh is yes of course. The velt is like dark chocalate. Bitter yet so very sweet. Bitter that we get many aveiros, and sweet that 364 days of aveiros disappears in one day.

Rabbi Avi Shafran said...

Learning about the Phelps Clan targeting Brooklynites left me wondering if I should speak to yanky perlow to decide if this is a borough park matter or not.

So far I'm happy they didn't picket Staten Island, and I don't recall ever bumping into any of them on the ferry.

You can expect Some real interesting material that I will discuss in length for my upcoming write up titled "GOD IS A WOMAN."

The article that inspired my article can be found here ---

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=96677

Ahmadinejad and Gadhafi not welcome in the u.s. said...

September 24, 2009

NJ rabbi among those arrested at UN protest

By Larry Higgs
Gannett New Jersey

Rabbi Yerachmiel Shapiro of Congregation Beth Shalom in Red Bank was one of more than 100 rabbis who were arrested Wednesday for blocking the motorcade of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who was en route to address the United Nations General Assembly.

"A bunch of rabbis showed up and were able to block First Avenue at 41st street ... the majority of us didn't move from the street when we heard his motorcade was coming," Shapiro said Wednesday night. "We stayed there, they (city police) arrested us and put us in a wagon, we didn't resist."

Shapiro wore a sign which read "Ahmadinejad is not welcome in the USA or New York."

Shapiro had high praise for city police officers, many of whom said they agreed with what the rabbis were doing, he said.

"There were a ton of New York City police. There were all kinds of demonstrations going on, there was a much larger demonstration of Iranians against Ahmadinejad," he said.

The rabbis had expected to spend 12 to 24 hours in custody at central booking at the police station when they were arrested, he said.

"The police were overwhelmed in central booking. . .they checked (our records) and understood none of us had (criminal) records, and let us out with a ticket for disorderly conduct," Shapiro said. "We definitely did not expect to get out that early, they went easy on us."

Upon their release, the rabbis went back to the Unitied Nations and joined the Iranian rally protesting Ahmadinejad, to the surprise of some of the participants of that demonstration, Shapiro said.

"They couldn't believe a bunch of Jews were protesting against him. . .we had an issue we were united on," he said. "Not many of them were pro-Israelis, the fact that we came together on a similar issue was powerful to see."

There was some talk between the two groups about common ground.

"We talked about Iran as a dangerous nation, but the truth is many people of Iran are against the (Ahmadinejad) government," he said.

The group of 100 plus rabbis came from the New York and New Jersey area for the protest, Shapiro said, and he admitted that he felt some apprehension while riding the train to the city. Members of his congregation who knew of his intentions cautioned him to "just be careful, rabbi," he said.

"I have so much respect for the police. I was feeling terrible on the way in, the idea of getting arrested didn't set well," Shapiro recalled. "But it's someone who's a murderer and a dictator, and suppressing people and threatening nations. Today was the time to send a message."

Shapiro said he was equally as upset about the appearance of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi before the United Nations, especially in the wake of the release and welcoming reception for Abdel Baset al-Megrahi, the Libyan convicted of the bombing Pan Am Flight 103. Al-Megrahi was recently freed from prison in Scotland because he's dying of prostate cancer.

''The message I'm hoping it sends is shame on the Unitied Nations for welcoming proven murders and terrorists, like Ahmadinejad and Gadhafi, who spoke and were given a platform," Shapiro said. "I hope the world will see the irony of rabbis being arrested, while dictators are applauded."

Anonymous said...

Man pleads no contest to killing rabbi in 2007 Long Beach DUI crash

LONG BEACH - A 30-year-old Los Angeles man pleaded no contest Wednesday to a charge that he killed a 61-year-old rabbi while driving drunk two years ago.

Willie Norton Jr., 30, entered his plea - considered the same as a guilty plea in criminal court - as jury selection was slated to begin in his trial Wednesday, said Long Beach Police Sgt. Hans Kohnlein.

After entering his plea Norton was promptly sentenced to 17 years in prison, said Kohnlein, who is in charge of the Accident Investigations Detail.

The victim, Gilbert Shaffer, was visiting from Brooklyn, New York, on March 7, 2007, when the fatal crash occurred.

The car Shaffer was driving - a white 2007 Saturn Ion - was hit by Norton's gold 1990 Cadillac Fleetwood and Shaffer was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators said then that Norton's Cadillac spun out of control after he was hit by a Los Angeles Metro bus near Pacific Coast Highway and Long Beach Boulevard.

Investigators said Norton appeared to be drunk and the cause of the crash. He was eventually arrested and charged with the rabbi's death in October of 2007.

Relatives of Shaffer said the rabbi - who lived in the Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York - was in Long Beach on a business trip at the time of his death.

The driver of the Metro bus, a 24-year-old Whittier man, was never charged in the fatal crash.

tracy.manzer@presstelegram.com

BREAKING: Rabbi Indicted On Child Sex Charges Charges Date Back To 1970s said...

http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/21102820/detail.html
_______________________________________


TheBostonChannel.com
Rabbi Indicted On Child Sex Charges
Charges Date Back To 1970s

POSTED: 11:07 am EDT September 24, 2009
UPDATED: 11:22 am EDT September 24, 2009
BOSTON -- A former Massachusetts rabbi has been indicted on child sexual assault charges dating back to the 1970s, when he allegedly assaulted two of his pre-teen male students, Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said Thursday.

A Suffolk County grand jury returned indictments charging Stanley Z. Levitt, 63, of Philadelphia, with four counts of indecent assault and battery on a person under 14 for allegedly assaulting two former students of the Maimonides School in Brookline, where Levitt was a teacher.

"This was a betrayal of trust in the most awful sense," Conley said. "The evidence suggests that Levitt abused a position of power, respect, and authority to engage in sexual behavior with boys who were too young to resist and too afraid to speak out."

Levitt is charged with offenses against two former students, both about 11 years old at the time of the crimes, Conley said.

One charge stems from a May 1975 incident in which Levitt allegedly visited a Maimonides student who was recuperating at Children’s Hospital in Boston after an accident.

The other three offenses were allegedly committed against a different male student during a three-night visit to Levitt’s Chiswick Road home, also believed to have taken place in 1975.

"It was the tolling provision in the statute of limitations that allowed us to bring these charges," Conley said. "When Levitt left Massachusetts for Pennsylvania in 1980, the clock stopped and left him open to these charges."

Conley’s office learned of the allegations when the Children’s Hospital victim notified Boston police in September of last year.

Levitt is expected to face arraignment in Suffolk Superior Court on Oct. 17.

YouTube said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4ashyoYV8Q

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly, Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, launched a scathing attack on what he called the "Tyrants of Tehran".

He also said that the most urgent challenge facing the United Nations today is stopping Iran from producing nuclear arms.

Delegates from Iran were absent, as Netanyahu denounced the UN for Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's previous speech.

Al Jazeera's Ayman Mohyeldin reports from New York.

Rabbi Stanley Zusia Levitt said...

Rabbi accused of sexually assaulting 2 students in the 1970s

By Brian R. Ballou, Globe Staff | September 25, 2009

A rabbi who taught at a Jewish day school in Brookline in the mid-1970s has been indicted by a Suffolk County grand jury on charges that he sexually assaulted two students three decades ago.

Rabbi Stanley Zusia Levitt, 63, of Philadelphia is expected to surrender to Suffolk County authorities Oct. 17, the date of his scheduled arraignment on four counts of indecent assault and battery on persons under 14. Prosecutors accuse Levitt of assaulting two preteen boys while he served as a teacher at the Maimonides School in Brookline. School officials could not be reached for comment.

One of his accusers who called the Globe yesterday said that Levitt visited him at Children’s Hospital in May 1975. The alleged victim, now 46, said he was Levitt’s student and about 11 years old when the incident occurred. He said he was recovering from a school accident in which he lost the tip of his finger. The accuser, who requested that his name be withheld, said Levitt visited him on the first night of his two-week hospitalization, and sexually assaulted him in his hospital room. Levitt faces a single count of indecent assault and battery for that incident.

“I want it to be known to protect other children,’’ the accuser said. The alleged victim said he has suffered from depression, stemming from the incident, for most of his adult life.

Levitt moved to the Philadelphia area in the 1980s. Records from the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania show he was charged there with several similar offenses, including indecent assault, endangering the welfare of children, indecent exposure, and unlawful restraint. He was found not guilty of the exposure and restraint charges, but pleaded no contest, which carries the same weight as a conviction, to indecent assault and corrupting a minor and was sentenced to probation on both offenses.

It was not clear yesterday whether Levitt was listed as a sex offender or continued to teach after leaving Maimonides or where he might have worked after leaving the state.

In Massachusetts, the other three counts against Levitt stem from a three-day visit another boy made to Levitt’s Chiswick Road home in 1975. Prosecutors accuse Levitt of assaulting the boy on three occasions.

“This was a betrayal of trust in the most awful sense,’’ Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement yesterday. “The evidence suggests that Levitt abused a position of power, respect, and authority to engage in sexual behavior with boys who were too young to resist and too afraid to speak out.’’

Conley learned of the allegations against Levitt after the alleged victim in the Children’s Hospital case contacted authorities last September. An investigation followed that led to a grand jury hearing the case. Levitt was indicted Wednesday.

If Levitt remained in the state, he would probably not have faced prosecution, because the statute of limitations, which was recently extended from 15 to 27 years, would have expired. The alleged incidents occurred more than 30 years ago. But the state has a provision in the statute that essentially stopped the clock when Levitt moved out of Massachusetts.

Scott Curtis, a lawyer in Boston representing Levitt, declined comment on the charges.

Rudy Giuliani said...

“The current Iranian regime is an affront to the civilized world,” Giuliani said. “It's a disgrace and, of course, it's a terrible menace not only to its own citizens but a terrible menace to all of us. All decent people should stand up against the Iranian regime."

http://jta.org/news/article/2009/09/24/1008132/jews-lead-anti-iran-demonstrations-in-ny-dc

Israel seals West Bank for Yom Kippur said...

Israel seals West Bank for Yom Kippur

JERUSALEM — The Israeli army will close off the West Bank from Saturday on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar which starts at sunset on Sunday, a military spokesman said.

The closure becomes effective from Saturday midnight (2100 GMT) and continues until midnight Monday (2200 GMT), the spokesman said.

The Israeli-occupied West Bank is routinely closed before Jewish holidays for fear of attacks by Palestinian militants.

Twenty-one Israelis were killed on the eve of Yom Kippur three years ago when a female suicide bomber from Islamic Jihad blew herself up in a restaurant in the northern port city of Haifa.

Since the start of the second intifada in September 2000, the West Bank has been partially blocked off, with Israel authorising only tens of thousands of Palestinians to travel to the Jewish state every day.

Israel comes to a standstill during Yom Kippur, or Day of Atonement, when observant Jews fast during 24 hours and pray for forgiveness for their sins.

Israel suspends all television and radio broadcasts, stops all public transport, closes ports and airports, and shuts down entertainment venues.

The 1973 Arab-Israeli war, in which some 2,700 Israeli soldiers were killed, began when Egyptian and Syrian troops launched a surprise attack on Yom Kippur.

Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur said...

Yom Kippur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Day of Atonement" redirects here. For other uses, see Day of Atonement (disambiguation).
For the war, see Yom Kippur War.Yom Kippur

Jews Praying in the Synagogue on Yom Kippur, by Maurycy Gottlieb (1878)
Official name Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר or יום הכיפורים
Observed by Jews
Type Jewish
Significance Soul-searching and repentance
Date 10th day of Tishrei
2008 date Sunset, October 8 – nightfall, October 9
2009 date Sunset, September 27 – nightfall, September 28
2010 date Sunset, September 17 – nightfall, September 18
Observances Fasting, prayer, abstaining from physical pleasures, refraining from work


Yom Kippur (Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּר‎, IPA: [ˈjɔm kiˈpur]), also known as the Day of Atonement, is the most solemn of the Jewish holidays. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue services.

Yom Kippur is the tenth day of the month of Tishrei. According to Jewish tradition, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year into a "book" on Rosh Hashanah and waits until Yom Kippur to "seal" the verdict. During the Days of Awe, a Jew tries to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrongs done against God (bein adam leMakom) and against other human beings (bein adam lechavero). The evening and day of Yom Kippur are set aside for public and private petitions and confessions of guilt (Vidui). At the end of Yom Kippur, one considers one's self absolved by God.

The Yom Kippur prayer service includes several unique aspects. One is the actual number of prayer services. Unlike a regular day, which has three prayer services (Ma'ariv, the evening prayer; Shacharit, the morning prayer; and Mincha, the afternoon prayer), or a Shabbat or Yom Tov, which have four prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf, the additional prayer; and Mincha), Yom Kippur has five prayer services (Ma'ariv; Shacharit; Musaf; Mincha; and Ne'ilah, the closing prayer). The prayer services also include a public confession of sins (Vidui) and a reenactment of the special Yom Kippur avodah (service) of the Kohen Gadol in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Yom Kippur is considered one of the holiest of Jewish holidays and it is observed by many secular Jews who may not observe other holidays. Many secular Jews fast and attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, where the number of worshippers attending is often double or triple the normal attendance.

a yid who cares said...

How are you doing my dear friend, EM? On this erev Yom Kippur I would like to wish you a hearty thanks for exposing the dirty laundry.

Deterring the forces of evil from committing more transgressions upon the innocents is a mission that any decent human being will root for.

It is scary that every Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur passes by with the same stale results. The big (coughs!) Rabbannim representing Aguda don't have the courage to admit they killed the spirit of every yid who was betrayed by their lies and deceit.

They can't, won't and will not bend. Their stubbornness in the face of overwhelming facts is not something that Hashem will overlook so easily.

Adding insult to injury is how these Rabbannim get up on the podium time after time, perhaps thinking, perhaps hoping that we are stupid and our short term memories forgot that these words of mussar are coming from the very same mouths who are guilty for covering up these crimes.

Keep up the fantastic work and may you be blessed with all that is good.

G'mar V'chasima Tova!

cheshbon nefesh FOR ALL RABBINIC WEASELS said...

All through the Yom Kippur prayers, we're called to do "cheshbon nefesh," a moral accounting, as a community: "We have sinned," we pray. "Forgive us."

going ban crazy said...

Rabbi Yossef Shalom Elyashiv recently banned wearing crocks on Yom Kippur. You can now add Shabbos lifts as well.

Elyashiv also paskened in the past that a sexual predator has a din of a rodef and must be reported to the police, but many haredim conveniently ignore that one.

Yudi Kolko said...

What's wrong with baby-sitting neighbors' kids?

posek belsky said...

An immodestly dressed women will bear the wrath of my thuggish planning, including a psak din that one must knock her down, steal all her belongings and then off to stealing the clothes off her back - leaving her naked in middle of the street.
*-*

“Please, Rabbis, Stop Telling Us It’s Bad to Steal”

By Rob Eshman

http://www.jewishjournal.com/bloggish/item/please_rabbis_stop_telling_us_its_bad_to_steal_20090929/

David Suissa has a response to Rabbi Dan Moscowitz’s High Holiday sermon, “Shame on the Jews.”

Please, Rabbis, Stop Telling Us It’s Bad to Steal

By David Suissa

When I hear rabbis get up and sermonize about the importance of not stealing money, I cringe.

When I hear them sermonize about the imperative of not cheating in life, I yawn.

When I hear them talk about collective Jewish shame from the unethical acts of Jews, my eyes glaze over.

And when I hear them tell me it’s “not easy” for them to talk about all this stuff, I don’t believe them.

I mean, please.

DON’T STEAL MONEY? BE ETHICAL? It takes courage to say that?

Don’t get me wrong. Stealing and cheating are terrible. Jews who steal and cheat are criminals. They are a disgrace and a shanda to all of us. I get it.
But is that all a rabbi can come up with?

Rabbis are supposed to push and challenge and surprise us—not bore us with the obvious.
Their job is to use the law not to bludgeon us, but to inspire us.
Of course, they need to remind us of the importance of leading an ethical life.

But why stop there? Why not go deeper? Why not go into the soul of the mitzvah?

For example, stealing and cheating are not just about money—they’re also about human relationships.

When you bore someone—either by being dull or pompous or self-righteous—you are stealing a piece of their time.

When you use selective facts to sell your point, you are cheating.

When you humiliate someone, you are robbing them of their dignity.

When you gossip or spread rumors about someone, you are killing a part of their name. When you are late for an appointment, when you break a promise, when you’re not truthful, one way or another, you are stealing and cheating.

We steal and cheat in a million little ways, and we do it every day. Sure, these daily steals and cheats are not as dramatic as a billion-dollar shanda on the evening news, but they’re just as dangerous to the cohesion of our families and communities. They corrode our relationships and leave lasting scars.

Rabbis who focus on big money shandas think that they’re challenging us. They’re not. They’re letting us off the hook. We hear them and we think, “Yes, this sucks. But I pay my taxes and I don’t steal, so this doesn’t really apply to me. Now I can go back to whining about a shanda this is for the Jews.”

The deeper ethical crisis in our communities is in the personal stuff—the stuff that’s hard to see. It’s in the way we treat each other while the cameras are not rolling.

The real shame is in the rabbis who haven’t yet figured this out.

Anonymous said...

By accident I came across this blog. Lucky for me it must have been just what the doctor ordered.

My yob days were short lived, but the memories remain to this day. And no - they are not pleasant ones.

How do I contact you?

The more I read, the more sick to my stomach I become.

You are so courages for doing this. Wow... I mean I knew in my heart yob was hiding stuff. Kids talk to one another. Saw things with my own eyes.

Never had the guts to really tell anyone what I know.

These scoundrels were scared off by my folks because of incidents of abuse they put me through.

As a result, I was pulled out of there and put into another school.

Now years later, coming across this blog just floods my brain like it was yesterday. Guess it must not have been an accident. It was meant to be.

I do feel at peace knowing the word is out on yob, but my heart aches for all the victims.

Michael Jackson Tapes presented by Rabbi Schmuley on CNN Larry King Live part 1 said...

Larry King Live on CNN hosted Rabbit Shmuley Boteach, a friend and spiritual adviser to the late pop star Michael Jackson on the September 29, 20009 talk show. The Rabbi presented tapes of Michael Jackson as he revealed his private thoughts. The 30 hours of tapes with Jackson are the basis of a new book 'The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation.



Rabbi Shmuley Boteach was a a friend and spiritual adviser to Jackson who recorded conversations with Jackson between August 2000 and April 2001. The book includes transcripts of conversations with Michael Jackson and the rabbi's thoughts based upon their conversation and relationship.



Following are excerpts of the program, from the transcript on the Larry King Show.



King: Why were they (the tapes) recorded, Rabbi?




Rabbi Smuley Boteach: Well, Larry, I was Michael's guest, along with my family, for his 41st birthday at Neverland in August of 2000. And it became clear this was not a happy birthday. Michael was lifeless, he was indolent and he was energy-less. And the principal was he felt the world hated him. He felt utterly misunderstood. He felt that the 1993 allegations against him had destroyed the public's perception of him. And the solution was to tape the conversations that he and I were having so regularly about depth. It -- the solution was to have Michael heard in his own voice.

Michael Jackson Tapes presented by Rabbi Schmuley on CNN Larry King Live part 1 said...

Boteach: The tapes delve deeply, and sometimes painfully, into Michael's relationship with his father. This is Michael talking about his physical abuse.

JACKSON: He would make you strip nude first. He would oil you down. It would be a whole ritual. He would oil you down. So when the foot of the -- of the ironing cord hit you, it just you know -- and it was just like me dying. And he would just whip you all over your face, your back, everywhere. And I would always here in the mother in the back, "No, Joe, you're going to kill them, you're going to kill them, go." And I was like -- I was -- I would just give up, like there was nothing I could do, you know. And I hated him for it. I hated him.........

KING: What ended your relationship with him?

BOTEACH: I no longer felt that I could positively influence him. And you only had two choices in Michael's life. You were either going to be a friend who helped him gain control of a disorderly existence, or a hanger-on, a sycophant. And I said to him, once I really felt that my influence had been neutralized, once so many of the managers had said to him, Shmuley is trying to get you to do lectures about family and to involve yourself in healing the American family; you need to get back to your concerts. You need to get back to making your albums. That's what you do. Why are you doing these free lectures, when you could be making a lot of money?

When I understood that I was neutralized, I said to Michael, I'm not going to stay here and clap while you drive your life off a cliff. If you love someone, you have a responsibility to help them. But if they will not allow you to -- and I tried everything to -- you certainly cannot wait around and watch them self-immolate.

Shabbat-mode elevators said...

Elevators operating in Shabbat mode should not be used, according to a recent halachic decision issued by the heavyweights of the haredi rabbinical world.

"Regarding elevators on Shabbat, it is my opinion as well that one should not use them on Shabbat, whether one goes up or down," read a statement dated last Friday, signed by Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the nonagenarian spiritual leader considered the most important living halachic authority in Ashkenazi haredi circles.

The statement was appended to an earlier notice on the subject issued several weeks ago by Rabbi Shmuel Halevi Vosner, Rabbi Haim Kanievsky and Rabbi Nissim Karelitz - all highly respected halachic arbiters based in Bnei Brak.

A certified "Shabbat elevator" does not merely stop at designated floors automatically; its operating system is adjusted so that the weight of the passengers does not influence the amount of electricity the elevator uses.

exposemolesters said...

My yob days were short lived, but the memories remain to this day. And no - they are not pleasant ones.

How do I contact you?

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

Anon,

Thanks for writing.

Kindly send me an email:

Matzil_Nefoshos@yahoo.com

Rabbi Aaron Shlechter said...

How come I never heard of this guy?

He was ordained at Mesivta Rabbi Chaim Berlin at the age of 22. He taught at schools in New York and New Jersey, taking some time off to visit Israel. There he met Shoshana Weingarten. The couple married in New York and worked together for 43 years until her death in 2000.

Yona Weinberg said...

http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20090930-3.html

Bar Mitzvah tutor sentenced for sexual abuse of two boys

BROOKLYN - Yona Weinberg, of Brooklyn, was sentenced to 13 months in prison for sexually abusing two boys. Weinberg, 31, was convicted last June of seven counts of sexual abuse in the second degree and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child.

At his sentencing today, the District Attorney’s Office requested the maximum sentence, of two years.

The victims were ages 12 and 13 at the time. One was one of Weinberg’s students, from the Khal Beth Abraham synagogue, where Weinberg gave Bar Mitzvah lessons. The other was a client from Weinberg’s work as a licensed social worker for the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services.

Agudas Israel, protectors of pedophiles said...

We want to know who is spreading this loshon hara?

A story in Ha’aretz claimed that two students had come forth with allegations, and YNET reported there were three complainants. Most of the readers’ comments following the stories were made by students that defended the accused passionately, calling him a tzaddik (righteous person) and accusing those who made the allegations of jealousy and malice.

However, according to another source that wished to remain anonymous, the allegations of sexual impropriety had begun to surface as far back as June, but were kept secret.

Avi Shafran said...

Reformeisters and blogmeisters are not admirable. I have more respect for true heros like Bernie Madoff.

http://www.bloggernews.net/122470

My family decided to try a different synagogue for Yom Kippur services this year, a Reform synagogue in the San Fernando Valley that has been around for a long time. We had been congregants of a fabulous Reconstructionist temple for many years, but several of our child’s friends were in Hebrew school at the Reform location, so we decided we’d try it.

For the uninitiated, Yom Kippur is generally considered the holiest day of the year. It is a day of reflection and repentance, in which we acknowledge the wrongs we have committed during the year and ask others and God for forgiveness.

I think many Jews want to attend a service that makes them feel part of a community; that offers spiritual renewal; that makes them feel that Judaism is relevant to their everyday life; and that they are being guided along a spiritual path by a scholar of Judaic text — a Rabbi who can communicate the wisdom of Jewish thought in a clear and thoughtful manner.

Much of this burden falls to the Rabbi’s sermon. And I felt the Rabbi at this synagogue made numerous mis-steps that more than offset her sermon’s positive aspects.

The theme of the sermon was terrific. It recalled the story of Jonah, the moral of which is not to shirk your mission in life. The Rabbi talked about her mission in life — primarily reversing different injustices that many associate with issues taken up by members of left-wing philosophies in this country. Okay, good for her. She really exhibited her passion for these causes up on the pulpit. She shared with us that she is gay, that she cried at the last election because of how proud she’d been of the “Jewish activism” that got an African-American elected President, how sad she was that California’s controversial Proposition 8 had passed, and how committed she was to seeing that every American had health care, and that we pull troops out of Afghanistan since al-Qaeda was now in Pakistan, and so on.

Except that’s not why I come to synagogue.

I’m not interested in the Rabbi talking about herself.
I’m not interested in the Rabbi talking about her mission.
I’m not interested in the Rabbi talking about our country’s policies — whether I agree with them or not.
I’m not interested in the Rabbi talking about her fight for gay rights.
I’m certainly not interested in hearing about her sexuality.

avi shafran said...

It is reckless to label these people as heroes.
-------------------------------------

19 local Jews in running for national ‘hero’ award
by stacey palevsky, staff writer

Follow j. on

What does a Jewish Community Hero actually do?

In the Bay Area, they teach cooking classes to children, practice law, write books, advocate for LGBT Jews and make people laugh as a stand-up comedian

Nineteen Bay Area Jews were nominated for the Jewish Community Heroes award, an interactive Web initiative that seeks to identify North America’s top Jewish hero.

More than 400 people were nominated as part of the campaign, which was organized by the United Jewish Communities, the North American arm of the federation system. “Never in wildest dreams did we think we would get so many nominations,” said Andy Neusner, Web content manager for UJC. “I guessed we’d get about 50 nominations. I’m happy to be pleasantly wrong on that one.”

So far, more than 400,00 votes have been cast. Voting continues through midnight Oct. 8, at which point the top 20 vote-getters will be named finalists.

“I don’t know who nominated me, but I was excited,” said Michelle Stern of San Rafael, who teaches kids about cooking and do-gooderism via her business, What’s Cooking.

eileen fleming is obviously a bigoted fool said...

Partial:

In defense of freedom of the press, conscience and speech; I have seized the liberty to counter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's spinning at the UN on September 24, 2009.

He is "N" and I am "E" and so it begins:

N: Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen

Nearly 62 years ago, the United Nations recognized the right of the Jews, an ancient people 3,500 years-old, to a state of their own in their ancestral homeland. I stand here today as the Prime Minister of Israel, the Jewish state, and I speak to you on behalf of my country and my people. The United Nations was founded after the carnage of World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust. It was charged with preventing the recurrence of such horrendous events. Nothing has undermined that central mission more than the systematic assault on the truth.

E: In agreement on principal and the brutal truth is:

Israel has been targeted by at least 65 UN resolutions and the Palestinians have been targeted by none. [1]

"Aside from the core issues—refugees, Jerusalem, borders—the major themes reflected in the U.N. resolutions against Israel over the years are its unlawful attacks on its neighbors; its violations of the human rights of the Palestinians, including deportations, demolitions of homes and other collective punishments; its confiscation of Palestinian land; its establishment of illegal settlements; and its refusal to abide by the U.N. Charter and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. [2]

"Israel holds the record for ignoring United Nations Security Council resolutions…Since 1968, Israel has violated 32 resolutions that included condemnation or criticism of the governments' policies and actions…The resolutions Israel violated were either about its annexation of East Jerusalem or settlements in the territories. Israel also ignored UN Security Council resolutions that called for Israel to cease using harsh measures against the Palestinian population and to cease expelling Palestinians. [3]

N: Yesterday the President of Iran stood at this very podium, spewing his latest anti-Semitic rants. Just a few days earlier, he again claimed that the Holocaust is a lie.

E: I am no fan of the President of Iran-or any politician, for they all get addicted to power and I don't trust any of them; but it is way past time to move on from the useless canard of labeling anyone who denounces the policies of Israel as an anti-Semite.

Annie said...

Oh my god. (I apologize if I offend by saying that; I am not Jewish.) I found your site looking for a photo, and read this woman's story, saw the dedication of this page. I am there. My husband is not as 'terrible' (if one can qualify such a thing) as many, but I do see the face of abuse on a regular basis. I am only at 4 /2 years of marriage, with no children. I believe G-d is directing us towards a path of healing, but ... well, there are still major changes necessary. Thank you for sharing and writing this. As completely odd as it sounds, it is comforting. Just to know (and see) that I am not crazy or being too sensitive or selfish to stand my ground and insist on change. Well, anyway. Thanks again.

Dayton said...

Imagine if the abusers were haredim, how they would be defended by every bozo Jew.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/child-abuse-cases-alarmingly-high-and-more-severe-officials-say-330151.html


More children are being severely abused, officials say. The crisis in Dayton has seemed to crescendo in the last four months, during which high-profile cases included:

• Malechi Wilson, 2, beaten to death in June. Police detained Malechi’s mother and boyfriend, but no arrests have been made.

• Ashonti Johnson, 23 months, and her 8-month-old brother, Tommie Johnson III, in July were left overnight in trash cans by their mother’s boyfriend, Tommie Johnson Jr., police say. Johnson was arrested on kidnapping charges.

• Just two weeks ago, police said Donnishia Peterson, 20, was accused of burning her 10-month-old baby’s legs and feet in 140-degree water. Peterson was arrested on a charge of child endangering.

Anonymous said...

Yona Weinberg gets 13 months. Seems like the penalty doesn't fit the crime. Why so little?

exposemolesters said...

Oh my god. (I apologize if I offend by saying that; I am not Jewish.)

Annie,

Jewish or not you are always welcome here.

Nice blog BTW.

exposemolesters said...

FALSE!

kishke said...

Are you aware that Yona Weinberg is in jail today b/c of R' Dovid Cohen, and that R' Cohen has been reviled publicly and privately for his actions in that case? Are you aware that he is one of the only rabbonim to regularly pasken that the authorities may be alerted regarding credible accusations of sexual abuse? These are facts. If only there were more rabbonim like him. If you really wanted to stop child abuse, you wouldn't attack those who actually take action against it.

Yudi Kolko said...

Are there any openings for first grade rebbeim jobs?

around the blogs said...

Some people never get it. like this guy.

http://chaptzem.blogspot.com/2008/05/frum-tutor-charged-with-molesting-boys.html

Rediculous! Contarary to many of the inaccurate news reports Yona Weinberg is NO WAY a paid employee at the synagogue. THAT IS FALSE. He is a practicing Social Worker at the Interborough clinic and Jewish Board of Family and Children Services. He tutors boys how to read from the Torah as a side job independently. There is no way he could have been molesting children without anyone in the synagogue knowing! There are always other people there studying. The synagogue is one large room. It is only opened during prayer services and the Jewish Sabbath. Otherwise it is completely closed to the public. Yona Weinberg has nothing to do with the school. The school at the synagogue is a pre-school! These allegations make no sense at all! I am a VERY CLOSE friend of Yona Weinberg and can not imagine him doing something like this at all. He is married with 3 girls and one boy. I hope they find these parents who made these accusations and put them in cheirim for good!
Comment Credit ---This article posted by Yehoshua Solomon : May 05, 2008 12:28 PM

Jewish community still downplays rabbi's acts said...

I am very offended at the quoted comments by the representatives of the Jewish establishment in the article about Rabbi Jacob A. Max ("Breaking decades of silence," Oct. 4).

A rabbi that has a reputation of having molested girls and women in his synagogue's office, Hebrew school, shiva houses, funeral home, etc. from the 1960s through 2008 and is finally convicted though given virtually no punishment, in my mind does not merit the statement that "Its a very sad ending to a very marvelous career." Another lay leader stated, "I would like to think that the situation with Rabbi Max is a one-time deal." This comment, like the first, minimizes the many crimes committed and the pain of the many victims who were personally traumatized by the rabbi and by the indifference to their trauma that was shown to them by their own parents and by others who were in positions of authority.

For many of these girls and women, the collateral damage was that their ability to seek spiritual sustenance from anything Jewish was severely wounded if not amputated altogether. What tragedy for them and their families! A segment of the Baltimore community allowed Rabbi Max to stay in his position, basically acquiescing to his inappropriate behavior and giving the message to the girls that it was no big deal and they should shut up and just deal with it.

Respectful, modest behavior between the genders and laws that insure that sexuality remains sacred within a sacred marriage relationship are at the core of Judaism. Sadly, it was and is the lack of Jewish education and ignorance of Torah that allowed the predatory behavior to carry on for so many years. It sounds like educational enrichment is still desperately needed in the Jewish community.

exposemolesters said...

Thank you judge for bluntly setting the record straight.

Visit The Jewish Week article by Hella Winston!

Speaking from the bench the day after Yom Kippur at the sentencing of Yona Weinberg, who received a 13-month jail term, Judge Reichbach said he found it "troubling" that the community "seeks to blame, indeed punish victims who seek justice from the … civil society," according to a court transcript. He went on to add that the Orthodox community's religious courts are "inappropriate" and "incapable" of dealing with criminal matters.

Rabbi Leib Glanz said...

Scandal-Scarred Jailhouse Rabbi Busted With UFA Parking Placard


Rabbi Leib Glanz
The NY Post is clinging to Rabbi Leib Glanz like a tenacious dybbuk. After exposing the perks he arranged for Jewish inmates at the Manhattan Detention Complex—from allowing one to throw his son's bar mitzvah at the Tombs to allegedly allowing sex with female prisoners—Rabbi Glanz resigned. But the Post is still all over him, and on Friday they caught him using an official Uniformed Firefighters Association placard.


A reporter spotted a black Chevy Suburban with official license plates double-parked in front of Glanz's home on Ross Street in Brooklyn; the vehicle had emergency lights on the roof and dashboard, plus two parking placards. One read, "Active firefighter . . . This vehicle is on official UFA Business . . . Uniformed Firefighters Association . . . Expires Feb 1, 2010 . . . #22344." The other was a placard from "Chevra Hatzolah," the volunteer emergency ambulance service.

The reporter followed Glanz as he drove around Brooklyn, parking illegally at will. When confronted, Glanz explained that he'd been given the firefighter placard by the Fire Department "as a courtesy" so he could park at the main synagogue of the Satmar sect on Hooper Street: "In case I have to respond, I can park there. There aren't a lot of spaces." But when asked why had been seen using the placard to illegally park away from the Hooper Street synagogue, he replied: "I'm willing to take it off. I don't need it." Then he drove off.

They Bloomberg administration has made reducing the glut of parking placards a priority, with mixed results. Last February there was an outcry over employees at an Upper East Side synagogue using bogus DIY parking placards, as local cops looked the other way.

exposemolesters said...

Judge Lashes Out At Orthodox Community In Sex-Abuse Case; Says It Protects Abusers, Not Victims!

WSJ said...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204488304574431453210263592.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_MIDDLETopStories
----------------------------

A Community, Shaken
A wealthy, insular Syrian Jewish enclave in Brooklyn reels after rabbis' arrests

Rabbi Aharon Feldman said...

This piece of advice that I'm about to offer you is important. Don't trust people to say they're sorry for this or for that.

Look at me?? Do I offer my apologies to anyone for not objecting to the residency and presence of Rabbi Moshe Eisemann on Yeshiva Lane??

I know Dr. Asher Lipner spoke at that thing in Passaic. He's a cry baby. I just want you to know that.

You know who should be sorry?? The JewGoy who is mechalel shabbos just because when he was young a rebbe felt him below his belt and kissed him on the lips. Get over it already.

Then you wonder what made me round up some Baltimore Jews and hold a rally against muktza on shabbos kodesh. That's why.

So maybe you get the point now. Moshe Eisemann, despite his taiveh for body grinding, is a nice erlich talmid chuchum. It's' geshamckeh feeling to really get to know him.

And no i am not sorry.

Rabbi Shlomo Mandel said...

I agree with everything Rav Feldman, Shlita, said.

That person who calls himself a psychologist and also tells bubba meisehs will have his kids kicked out of yeshiva immediately.

And the 5 bums who stood up there - in my yeshiveh this is called chutzpah.

Pubicly naming tamidei chachomim who would never do such things they're accused of. The ganz oilam who participated in the erev yom kippr circus, should be put in cherem.

They should do tshuvah and become religious then they will not make things up against rabbonnim hakdoishim.

Even if let's say a Mondrovich, a Kolko, a Eisemann, and a Nussbaum did molest boys, I cannot say I'm sorry for that. I don't think it's so terrible like they make it sound.

And that girl, Sara, she has no proof that she was raped. I mean why did she agree to do what this man wished? She even said she let him do it.


This all goes back to what Feldman said. They who went off the derech should apologize. Yeshiva of Brooklyn only meant for the abuse that took place to be leshem shomayim.

Nussbaum is a shtarkeh mechanech. The abuse portion comes along with his expertise in practicing sadism, which puts the fear of hashem in tamidim, always a good thing for YOB, bringing to your doorstep a century of chinuch.

like they say, there are pros and cons. Nussbaum's yiras shomyim is good enough for me and it should be good enough for you too.

A last note.. 'Aavas Yisroel' shul should cahnge the name to loshon hara. And the Rov of this place, Ronnny, is that what they call him, or is it Ron Yitzchok Eisenman - whatever - he has a big mouth and he is a big bum!

No wonder the Rabbonim slammed down their phones on him when he called for their haskama.

fatso margo said...

Fat peeple have to take the steps? I am not maskim to this psak.

Ger Rebbe said...

The whole meeting in Passaic was aagainst halacha. So was naming mondrovitch.

Who does motty weiss think he is fooling with his stories? Avremele was nice enough to take him out to pizza and drive him around in a fancy car - and this is the hakoras hatoiv he gets?

Mamesh a chilul hashem..

Stanley Levitt said...

Wed, Oct. 7, 2009


Ex-Mass. rabbi's sex abuse case heads to court


The Associated Press

BOSTON - A rabbi who once taught at a Boston-area school faces arraignment on child sex abuse charges dating to the mid-1970s.

Stanley Levitt of Philadelphia is scheduled to appear in Suffolk Superior Court on Wednesday to face four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child.

Prosecutors allege Levitt, now 63, assaulted two former students, both about 11 years old, who attended the Maimonides School in Brookline in 1975.

One alleged victim who says he was molested while recuperating at Children's Hospital went to police last September.

Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley brought the charges because the clock stops on the statute of limitations when a suspect leaves the state.

Levitt's lawyer, Scott Curtis, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.





Find this article at:
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/state/pennsylvania/20091007_ap_exmassrabbissexabusecaseheadstocourt.html

Agudath Israel Senior Citizen Division said...

This allegedly took place back in the 70's. How dare they bring this up now.

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

A rabbi who once taught at a Boston-area school has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting two children in the mid-1970s.

Stanley Levitt of Philadelphia was released Wednesday on $5,000 surety after his Suffolk Superior Court arraignment on four counts of indecent assault and battery on a child. He was ordered to have no unsupervised contact with children.

Prosecutors say Levitt, now 63, assaulted two boys about 11 years old who attended the Maimonides School in Brookline where he taught between 1974 and 1977. One allegedly was assaulted in a hospital room where he was recovering from an accident, and the other on a weekend visit to Levitt's home when his parents were out-of-town.

Levitt's lawyer, Scott Curtis, did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Levitt is due back in court Dec. 10.

Lois Cohn and Arlene Fishkind said...

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-rabbiletter1006b,0,6487290.story
baltimoresun.com
Sun story on Rabbi Max was appalling

5:16 PM EDT, October 6, 2009

We were appalled and disgusted to read your article, "Breaking decades of silence" (Oct. 4). It is true that Rabbi Jacob A. Max was tried and found guilty of second-degree assault and a fourth-degree sex offense. We supported The Sun and other publications that reported all of the details as the events unfolded, agreeing that these offenses should not be hidden. As a result, Rabbi Max was tried both in court and in the press.

Your recent article did not add anything to the events other than the meeting on September 13th, which was held for any victims of abuse. To publish it during the Jewish High Holidays (in fact, Sunday was a holiday) was inconsiderate and very disturbing to us. The man is sick and needs help. It seems that he has two sides. One is the rabbi of many families where he became a member of the family. The other is the dark side that led to his conviction. Baltimore is already aware that Rabbi Max has ruined his own reputation.

Your very lengthy article was not necessary. Our only conclusion is that there was no other news on Sunday. The Sun continues to shrink as it publishes trashy articles like yours to fill some pages. Your article, however, will just decrease your readership even more. You should have written a much longer article based on interviewing the many families whose life-cycle events would not have been complete without the presence of Rabbi Max.

Lois Cohn and Arlene Fishkind

Send your comments to talkback@baltimoresun.com.

shlomo mandel of yob: resign now said...

Childhood stress can cut your life short
Verbal, physical abuse increase risk of premature death, study finds
LiveScience
updated 1:10 p.m. ET, Tues., Oct . 6, 2009

Stressful childhood experiences, such as verbal and physical abuse, can take years off an individual's life, a new study finds.

In a survey of more than 17,000 adults, researchers found that individuals who had been exposed to six or more so-called adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) before the age of 18 were twice as likely to die prematurely as kids who hadn't suffered those experiences.

The results, which will be published in the November issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, come on the heels of a recent study linking childhood spanking with lower IQs.

"Our hope is that, as a result of this research, child maltreatment and exposure to childhood traumatic stress in its various forms will be more widely recognized as a public health problem," said study researcher David Brown, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. "It is important to understand that consequences to childhood trauma can extend over an individual's life."

Brown and his colleagues reviewed data from individuals who had visited a Kaiser Permanente clinic in San Diego between 1995 and 1997 and had completed a questionnaire about their childhood. The team followed participants through 2006, using the National Death Index to determine who had died.

In the survey questions, participants had to indicate which, if any, adverse experiences they had endured, including: undergoing verbal or physical abuse; having a battered mother and witnessing domestic violence; living in a household with substance abuse or mental illness; having an incarcerated household member; or having parents who separated or divorced.

They found that two-thirds of study participants reported at least one such adverse childhood experience. And on average, those reporting six or more ACEs died at age 60, compared with low-risk children (no ACEs) who lived to age 79.

The researchers linked some of this increased risk of premature death to conditions (and behaviors) that have been associated with ACEs in past research, including heart disease and stroke, smoking and alcohol abuse, depression, general health and social problems, among others.

Brown notes that he can't say whether the childhood stressors actually cause premature deaths, as causation is always difficult to establish with a single study. However, as prior research has linked ACEs and health problems, he thinks the new results suggest an accumulation of ACEs can cause premature death (compared with individuals with no ACEs).

"The central message of the publications from the ACE study is that our children are confronted with a terrible burden of stressors that negatively affects their neurodevelopment, which leads to health problems and diseases throughout the lifespan," Brown told LiveScience. "As a consequence, these stressors may cause them to die younger."

Dr. Margo Hausdorff Vale said...

www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-rabbiletter1007,0,501647.story
baltimoresun.com
Cover-ups of bad rabbis are too common

4:56 PM EDT, October 7, 2009


As a former student of Rabbi Jacob Max's Hebrew school at Anshe Emunah Congregation, I was shocked to learn about his years of sexual predation ("Breaking decades of silence," Oct. 4). Thank God I was spared -- my parents thought girls didn't need a bat mitzvah. Now that he has been exposed and brought to justice, I pray his victims can at last find healing.

As for the solution to the years of cover-up, Malka Levine's proposal (Readers respond, Oct. 6) -- better knowledge of Jewish family laws -- is at best simplistic and at worst chauvinistic. The reasons for the Baltimore Jewish community's ostrich-like reaction to Rabbi Max's detestable behavior are all stated in The Sun's article of Oct. 4: the victims' shame and fear of his power; others' disbelief of accusations; the standing of and attitudes toward women at the time; avoidance of community embarrassment. The same reasons have allowed sexual predators to "get away with it" for years in other Jewish communities.

In New Jersey, the principal of a Modern Orthodox high school and leader of a national youth group persistently molested teen girls. An expose in the Long Island Jewish Week (whose editor, Gary Rosenblatt, is a former editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times), finally ended these young women's misery. Wasn't this Orthodox community well-educated in Jewish religious law? This same newspaper also brought to light teachers who molested young boys in ultra-Orthodox schools (both stories made many readers unhappy for "embarrassing the community").

The principals -- mostly rabbis -- of these schools did little to get these sex offenders out of education and into the courts. Instead, they covered up the crimes. Surely, these men were very well-versed in the Torah. These same scholars must have also been aware that the Talmud teaches one must obey the laws of the country in which one lives. New York State law demands that school officials who know of sexual abuse must report it to the proper authorities. So, Torah knowledge did not prevent a cover-up of molestation. Indeed, these Torah-educated people committed as evil a sin as the abusers. Not only did they allow the abuse to continue, they disobeyed civil law, Torah law and were hypocrites. Such actions by religious leaders have turned many victims away from Judaism.

What the Jewish community needs is to stop denying that Jews, whatever denomination or depth of religious education, are immune to sexual violence, domestic violence and drug addiction. We have to end the fear of shame. Only then can we help heal those afflicted with these scourges that affect all ethnicities and religions in our society.

Dr. Margo Hausdorff Vale, Huntington, N.Y.

victim said...

We cannot be saved until we have risen above all our enemies, not the least of which is ignorance.

molester yehuda nussbaum from yob said...

I look forward to continue working at Yesivah of Brooklyn after the chag. Boy, do I miss torturing those boys.

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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!!!!!!!