tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post3524666246364274554..comments2023-08-17T06:45:58.317-07:00Comments on "Yeshiva" of Brooklyn also Guilty of Child Abuse: "Personal Hygine And Poetry" - Avi Shafran Explainsexposemolestershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02097300261898413798noreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-68798771054166780462009-10-15T18:34:35.809-07:002009-10-15T18:34:35.809-07:00The bastard needs to pay.The bastard needs to pay.When is mondrovitch being extradited?noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-33516695210673854482009-10-15T17:26:03.344-07:002009-10-15T17:26:03.344-07:00Elior Chen to be extradited in the coming weeks
Oc...Elior Chen to be extradited in the coming weeks<br />Oct. 15, 2009<br />jpost.com staff and Dan Izenberg , THE JERUSALEM POST<br /><br />Elior Chen is set to be extradited to Israel from Brazil in the next few weeks, Justice Ministry officials assessed on Thursday, signaling an end to the long legal battle over the fate of the suspected ringleader in one of the worst child abuse cases in Israeli history.<br /><br />The Justice Ministry in Brasilia has already signed the extradition order, having refused to grant Chen refugee status in the country.<br /><br />Chen, a self-styled rabbi, allegedly influenced members of his flock to abuse their children in order to "correct their corrupt souls."<br /><br />His alleged crimes became known after two brothers, one three years old and the other four-and-a-half, were rushed to hospital on March 12, 2008 after suffering from abuse. The younger child suffered severe brain damage and has not recovered. The older one, who was admitted with burns, was released three weeks later.<br /><br />Their mother was indicted for the crime. It emerged that she belonged to a cult led by Chen, who, after the affair became public, fled first to Canada and later to Brazil.<br /><br />After a search of several weeks, Israeli authorities discovered that Chen was hiding in Sao Paolo. On April 23, 2008, Israel asked the Brazilian authorities to arrest and hold him in custody so it could file a formal request for his extradition.<br /><br />It took more than one month to locate him and he was arrested on June 3, 2008. He decided to resist his extradition.<br /><br />Chen will now be brought to trial in Israel.<br /><br />Etgar Lefkovits contributed to this report<br />This article can also be read at:<br /><br />http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1255547730157&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFullElior Chennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-42864925678506536422009-10-15T09:56:36.604-07:002009-10-15T09:56:36.604-07:00http://blog.beliefnet.com/kingdomofpriests/2009/10...http://blog.beliefnet.com/kingdomofpriests/2009/10/abuse-sexual-and-otherwise-in-the-haredi-community-and-elsewhere.html<br /><br />Shmarya <br />October 14, 2009 1:04 PM<br />http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/<br /><br />David,<br /><br />YOU write on the Internet.<br /><br />Yes, there are unreliable bloggers, some with agendas.<br /><br />There are also victims and victims advocates who, if exposed, would face tremendous censure from their religious communities – including religious communities you regularly write about in positive terms.<br /><br />Caution should be used.<br /><br />But doing nothing about child sexual abuse is not an answer.<br /><br />And that, David, is meant to be personal – YOU can not sit back and do nothing.<br /><br />And you must shift your priorities from attempting to make religions look good to making those religions accountable to the weakest among them.<br /><br />I mean "must" as a moral imperative.<br /><br />God doesn't care about flackery or PR, David – he cares about those kids.<br /><br /><br />David Klinghoffer <br />October 14, 2009 1:55 PM<br /><br />Welcome, Shmarya. You know I have mixed feelings about your site. I do feel that for all the good it has done, it does as much evil by presenting a grossly distorted picture of Orthodox Judaism, as if it were all filth and corruption. That contributes to a different source of pain -- cynicism, negativism, despair -- that itself won't in the end leave children (or adults) unharmed. Rod's simple message -- "Go to the police" -- seems much more responsible and untainted by spite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-1769897757164742592009-10-15T09:54:41.072-07:002009-10-15T09:54:41.072-07:00Bloggers mentioned in the NYT are thriving and are...Bloggers mentioned in the NYT are thriving and are a strong deterrent for pedophiles. We need them because the orthodox leadership are phony and frauds who when asked to intercede, instead chose to throw victims under the bus. <br /><br />Many are anonymous because of various legitimate factors, namely being ostracized and threatened by Rabbinic figures and community members who protect molesters and engage in massive cover-ups. In the orthodox world coming out as a victim is very difficult and shameful, some would argue more so than other religions. Hence; the refuge they desperately seek is outing their tormentors anonymously in cyberspace, and that is perfectly legitimate. <br /><br />As far as being held to journalistic etiquette, that is a silly argument, as they do not need to conform when they are not journalists, but are human beings who we can not do without - unless you are a proponent of child predation.<br /><br />Without any ruckus from bloggers, the recent arrests of pedophiles within the Jewish communities would not have occurred. <br />-------------------------- <br /><br />Rod Dreher has a strong and important post up about sexual abuse in the Haredi community. My only reservation, and I've thought about this for a long time, concerns Jewish and other blogs like the ones mentioned in the New York Times article that Rod cites. Some of these crusading blogs allow, even encourage, anonymous or poorly sourced accusations. This is absolutely ripe for a different but also insidious kind of abuse.<br /><br />Yes, Jewish and Christian spiritual leaders have been shown to harbor a certain number of sexual predators, but the Internet too harbors its share of people psychologically and spiritually twisted in other ways who use the power and lack of accountability built into the medium to hurt or humiliate, with no proper journalist's regard for truth. If we can believe that rabbis and priests do terrible things, we can also believe that anonymous Internet users would use blogs to strike at clergy members (or whole religions) they hate, using this most hideous of accusations, including for reasons that have nothing to do with sexual abuse.<br /><br />There are a lot of crazy, spiteful people out there, and a whole lot more who are eager to pass on rumors and innuendo if it suits their prejudices. Very tragically, rabbis and priests cannot any longer be assumed to be reliable. But neither can people who write on the Internet, especially when they do so anonymously or pseudonymously.David doesn't get itnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-89707511577374923872009-10-15T09:16:50.763-07:002009-10-15T09:16:50.763-07:00Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was hospitalized Wedne...Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv was hospitalized Wednesday night at Sha'arei Hesed Hospital in Jerusalem with symptoms of pneumonia. <br /><br />The nonagenarian rabbi, considered to be the greatest living authority of halacha, was suffering from a high fever and a cough. <br /><br />Leaders of the haredi community called on the public to pray for the rabbi whose mother's name was Chaya Musha. <br /><br />According to Jewish custom a sick person's name followed his or her mother's name is included in prayers for the person's recovery.Yosef Shalom ben Chaya Mushanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-83114211359768943332009-10-14T21:42:56.081-07:002009-10-14T21:42:56.081-07:00Get the name, number and address of this man for m...Get the name, number and address of this man for me right away. <br /><br /><i> <b> "A then 42-year-old man told the Tennessee Department of Children's Services that when he was a teenager Levine sexually abused him"</b></i> <br /><br />42 is too old an age to remember a thing from youth. <br /><br />You saw how quick with my pen I can be. As you may recall during kolko's unfair ordeal, It was I who issued moitze shem rah Hazmanas to those responsible for the demise of Lipa and Yudi.Hazmana Belskynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-6388323333343749072009-10-14T09:54:36.726-07:002009-10-14T09:54:36.726-07:00Four years before Louis Jay Levine was indicted on...Four years before Louis Jay Levine was indicted on charges of producing child pornography, someone complained to the state that Levine had sexually abused him years earlier.<br />Advertisement<br /><br />At the time of the complaint, Levine was working as a substitute teacher at Metro Nashville Public Schools and also taught nature-related programs at the Jewish Community Center. A then 42-year-old man told the Tennessee Department of Children's Services that when he was a teenager Levine sexually abused him. He reported the alleged abuse in 2005 in hopes of preventing Levine from working with children any longer.<br /><br />Though the DCS complaint was made four years ago, it wasn't until April of this year that Levine, 52, was arrested by federal agents on charges of producing child pornography with an extensive hidden camera system in his home. He also has been charged in state court with multiple counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and sexual battery by an authority figure. Reports filed this week in Davidson County Criminal Court document the extent of accusations against Levine by more than a dozen people — young people who spent time at Levine's Alton Road home recently, and adults who frequented the house when they were teenagers decades ago.<br /><br />Rob Johnson, spokesman at DCS, said he can't speak specifically about the 2005 complaint made about Levine, but the agency is not able to launch a search for possible victims based on something that may have happened years ago.<br /><br />"We, as a government agency, are required to weigh the rights of individuals who may be targeted for an investigation against the rights of children to be protected from any abuse," Johnson said. "We would always err on the side of child protection, but we would need specific enough information to know whom we are protecting, and from what."<br /><br />The complaint to DCS notes that the allegations were referred to internal affairs.<br /><br />No information was filed with the court about the outcome of any DCS investigation.<br /><br />A police investigation began in late March, when a concerned parent told a Metro detective that her teenage son and other teenagers were given alcohol and marijuana at Levine's house and allowed to use the bedrooms for sex.<br />(2 of 2)<br /><br />Investigators allege that the teenagers were taped having sex and hundreds of home videos were found at the house.<br />Concern raised<br /><br />Just before the federal investigation began, a teacher voiced a concern about Levine at the Murfreesboro City Schools, where Levine began teaching full-time in 2008.<br /><br />The human resources director, Lee Wilkerson, told investigators he had gotten an e-mail from another teacher saying Levine was paying a lot of attention to a certain student and took pictures of him, according to court documents.<br /><br />No action was taken until the school district learned of the federal investigation.<br /><br />School officials interviewed the elementary school student and he said he didn't feel like Levine was paying him any special attention, Wilkerson said.<br /><br />Once the teacher made the complaint, Wilkerson said that Levine, who taught districtwide, never returned to that particular school.<br /><br />He was arrested soon after on federal charges stemming from the investigation in Davidson County.<br /><br />"As soon as we began to ask questions, that's when the (federal) investigation began," Wilkerson said.<br /><br />Levine is also facing a civil lawsuit from a family that says he victimized three of its children. The family got permission from a judge to leave their names off the suit, filed last week in Davidson County Circuit Court.<br /><br />The family is asking for $1 million in damages from Levine for each of the victims, alleging that his conduct in videotaping the children had intentionally caused emotional distress...Lepold Margulies, Shloime Mandel, enablers of child molestationhttp://www.tennessean.com/article/D4/20091014/NEWS01/91014007/Nashville-Murfreesboro+teacher+worked+after+sex-abuse+complaintnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-73513662405148902722009-10-14T09:50:37.153-07:002009-10-14T09:50:37.153-07:00New York’s Ultra-Orthodox Jewish population is beg...New York’s Ultra-Orthodox Jewish population is beginning to see the limits of traditional proscriptions on talking to authorities outside the faith about certain matters, such as crimes against members of the community itself.<br /><br />Case in point: child sexual molestation, a crime that for years, an Oct. 13 New York Times article said, saw a number of arrests made annually in every demographic in New York except for the Ultra-Orthodax.<br /><br />But recent headlines and efforts by DA Charles J. Hynes have helped convince the Ultra-Orthodox of something they simply did not used to believe: that there could be child molesters in their midst.<br /><br />The culture’s strict disapproval of involving outside authority in matters concerning family and business had long kept child molestation cases involving the community, who call themselves the haredi, from the criminal justice system.<br /><br />However, the rabbinical courts that are meant to address such issues are now being seen as inadequate to handle cases of child sexual abuse.<br /><br />The New York Times article quoted one father who said, "I’m not one who believes rabbis are capable to handle this." The man’s son, 10, informed him last year of abuse allegedly perpetrated on him by a neighbor. Rather than leave it to the rabbinical court, the father went to the civil authorities.<br /><br />"What we have witnessed in the past year is completely unprecedented," the artricel quoted the chief of the Brooklyn DA’s sex crimes bureau, Rhonnie Jaus.<br /><br />"This would be inconceivable just a few years ago."<br /><br />But in that time, the media have played a role in educating the haredi as to the nature and extent of the problem, which is believed to be as prevalent in the Ultra-Orthodox community as in any other demographic.<br /><br />Newspapers and other media have taken note of such crimes within the haredi culture recently, leading to headlines in cases such as that of Rabbi Yaakov Weiss, founder of an upstate New York Hebrew school who is accused of improper contact with two male students in a ritual bath.<br /><br />The case of Brooklyn Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, accused of abusing at least three victims over the course of decades, was also profiled in the media, including online at a Web site called Exposemolesters.<br /><br />Survivors for Justice founder Ben Hirsch called Jewish online publications and groups like his own "a major catalyst" in convincing haredi victims and parents to go outside of rabbinical authority in such cases, despite traditional proscriptions, the Times article reported.<br /><br />Ancient religious proscriptions among the haredi may be giving way to more contemporary understanding in other ways, as well. Though some haredi do not even admit that gay exist--at least, not among their community--otehrs have begun to address the issue openly, such as Rabbi Menachem Burstein, an Ultra-Orthodox who has a comparatively compassionate view on gays....edgeboston.comhttp://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc&sc3&id=97689&pf=1noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-42064843571669143702009-10-14T09:43:16.692-07:002009-10-14T09:43:16.692-07:00On Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Chabad Houses around the w...On Rosh Chodesh Kislev, Chabad Houses around the world will commemorate the first anniversary of the Mumbai massacre. Chabad Houses, communities of Anash, and Jews all over the world will remember the brutal murder of five Jews, including Shluchim Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg HY"D •<br /><br />At the Kinus Hashluchim in New York, to take place November 11-16, participants will be able to write a letter in the Torah in memory of the Holtzbergs. It will be completed Thursday night, November 12, and will be led to 770 with dancing, Hakafos and a special Farbrengen.<br /><br />Both their fathers, R' Nachman Holtzberg and R' Shimon Rosenberg will be present and will address the crowd.<br /><br />In addition, the following events will take place in Israel and India.<br /><br />Wednesday, Kislev 1:<br /><br />Morning visit to the graves of the Holtzberg couple in Har Hazeisim in Jerusalem.<br /><br />A large prayer gathering at 770 in Kfar Chabad, Israel, with rabbis and public figures.<br /><br />Thursday, Kislev 2:<br /><br />Celebrating the 3rd birthday and Upshernish of Moishy Holtzberg at the tomb of Rashbi in Miron.<br /><br />Sunday, Kislev 5:<br /><br />Concluding the letters in a new Torah in memory of Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg HY"D.<br /><br />Thursday, Kislev 9:<br /><br />A memorial ceremony at the temporary location of Chabad in Mumbai, India.CHABADhttp://chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=16205noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-7617197900274018152009-10-14T09:37:01.588-07:002009-10-14T09:37:01.588-07:00October 14, 2009
Orthodox Jews Rely More on Sex Ab...October 14, 2009<br />Orthodox Jews Rely More on Sex Abuse Prosecution<br />By PAUL VITELLO<br /><br />For decades, prosecutors in Brooklyn routinely pursued child molesters from every major ethnic and religious segment of the borough’s diverse population. Except one.<br /><br />Of some 700 child sexual abuse cases brought in an average year, few involved members of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community — about 180,000 followers of Hasidic and other sects who make up the largest such cluster outside Israel. Some years, there were one or two arrests, or none.<br /><br />But in the past year, there have been 26. District Attorney Charles J. Hynes has brought charges against a variety of men — yeshiva teachers, rabbis, camp counselors, merchants and relatives of children. Eight have been convicted; 18 await trial.<br /><br />If the sudden spike in prosecutions is startling, even more surprising is the apparent reason: ultra-Orthodox Jews, long forbidden to inform on one another without permission from the rabbis who lead them, are going to the police and prosecutors on their own.<br /><br />Members of this close-knit community, who refer to themselves as the “haredim,” meaning those who fear God, reject modern secular culture and keep strict control over what they consider internal affairs. For centuries, disputes involving children, marriage and business have been decided by rabbinical courts called beth dins, which do not report their findings to the secular authorities, even when they judge someone guilty. Taboos codified long ago during times of persecution discourage community members from informing on other Jews; violations can result in ostracism.<br /><br />Now, a growing number of haredi Jews in Brooklyn say they do not think they can get justice from the rabbinical courts, which in several high-profile cases have exonerated people who were later criminally convicted of child abuse. And although some advocates for victims contend that the district attorney has been too accommodating of the rabbinical hierarchy — a charge that Mr. Hynes denies — more families are turning to his office for help....NYThttp://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/14/nyregion/14abuse.html?_r=1&pagewanted=printnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-22103581822387827892009-10-14T09:27:44.025-07:002009-10-14T09:27:44.025-07:00On sex abuse, haredim are fed up
Tuesday October 1...On sex abuse, haredim are fed up<br />Tuesday October 13, 2009<br />Categories: Judaism<br /><br />Now this is news. Finally, the wall of silence within New York's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community over child sexual abuse has begun to crack, as ordinary Jews get fed up with a religious establishment allowing children to suffer to protect the image of the community.<br /><br /> "What we have witnessed in the past year is completely unprecedented," said Rhonnie Jaus, chief of the Brooklyn district attorney's sex crimes bureau. "This would be inconceivable just a few years ago."<br /><br /> Children in haredi families are no more or less likely to suffer sexual abuse than others, according to several recent studies. But Ben Hirsch, founder of Survivors for Justice, a New York group whose members include ultra-Orthodox Jews molested as children in communities nationwide, said the clandestine handling of molestation cases had kept leaders from dealing with the problem and made it easier for predators to operate.<br /><br /> Mr. Hirsch credits the Jewish press, therapists and rabbis in the Orthodox population itself, and organizations like his, with bringing the issue to light. Jewish blogs like FailedMessiah.com and theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com, he said, have also been "a major catalyst," giving abuse victims their first opportunity to vent and connect without fear of being identified.<br /><br /> "People are rising up," he said. <br /><br />Thank G-d! And why are they rising up?:<br /><br /> The father of a Brooklyn 10-year-old said in an interview that the mishandling, as he viewed it, of sex abuse cases by rabbinical courts had persuaded him to contact the police immediately when his son told him last year that a neighbor had abused him.<br /><br /> "I'm not one who believes rabbis are capable to handle this," he said.<br /><br />Of course not. By now, everybody should have learned from the bitter experience of the Catholic laity in these matters. Go straight to the police. Don't give it a second thought. It doesn't make you a bad Jew, a bad Catholic, or a bad anything. Religious authorities are not to be trusted to handle these things justly. If, God forbid, something like this were to happen to one of my children in the Orthodox Church, I would let my priest and bishop know after I had already spoken to the police. Nothing personal there; I have no reason to suspect that my particular priest and my particular bishop would be anything but responsible in such a case. But I would take no chances.<br /><br />I am reminded of a Latino immigrant father in one diocese about a decade ago -- I wrote about the case -- who arrived in the US to find that a nest of abuser priests at the local parish had set upon his young son, who had come earlier to this country with his mother. He went to the vicar for Hispanic affairs to report the situation, and was confronted by a bishop who pulled out a checkbook, and offered to write him a check for thousands of dollars, in exchange for the father's signature on a piece of paper giving the diocese's law firm the right to "represent" the boy in this matter. The father may have been an immigrant laborer, but he knew he was being had. He marched out, got a Jewish lawyer, and sued their sorry butts. Haredim parents might want to take a lesson from this, though I don't know about the hiring a Jewish lawyer thing in this context.<br /><br />What this signals is a breakdown of trust within a community. It is wrong that any parent should feel compelled to seek recourse in the civil courts, or with the police, for crimes like this. But when religious authorities have failed in their duty to the victims, to their families, and indeed to God, what choice does the laity have?beliefnet.comhttp://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/10/on-sex-abuse-haredim-are-fed-u.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-79072003360698443302009-10-14T00:16:47.417-07:002009-10-14T00:16:47.417-07:00Add me to the list of putz Rabbis' who are fra...Add me to the list of putz Rabbis' who are frauds. <br /><br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3789574,00.html<br /><br />As time went by and no products were supplied, the inventors began questioning Schneider, who allegedly provided them with fictitious invoices indicating the manufacturing process was underway. <br /><br /> <br /><br />The police allege that Schneider defrauded both his clients and his business partner to the amount of millions. Early Tuesday morning, police officers raided Schneider's office, arrested him and confiscated computers and various files. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Schneider will be arraigned later Tuesday and the police are expected to ask the court to allow him restricted bail.Rabbi Yosef Schneiderhttp://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3789574,00.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-2472437645475003072009-10-12T22:27:16.668-07:002009-10-12T22:27:16.668-07:00Man guilty of murdering boy in Ga. trailer park
B...Man guilty of murdering boy in Ga. trailer park<br /><br />By RUSS BYNUM (AP) – Oct 5, 2009<br /><br />BRUNSWICK, Ga. — A jury deliberated for about two hours Monday before finding a Georgia man guilty of murder and child molestation in the death of a 6-year-old boy whose body was later discovered wrapped in trash bags and dumped near a road.<br /><br />The jury in coastal Brunswick convicted David Edenfield, 61, in the March 2007 sexual assault and choking death of young Christopher Michael Barrios.<br /><br />The jury now must decide whether to sentence Edenfield to death or life in prison.<br /><br />Edenfield is the first of three suspects to stand trial for the boy's slaying. His wife and grown son have also been charged with molesting and killing the boy, then hiding his body.APhttp://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hsxLEirzy5oRJlaAMWz13wSx-xaQD9B588U00noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-65016127612026571352009-10-12T21:37:48.199-07:002009-10-12T21:37:48.199-07:00Let me tell you who I would have nominated for the...Let me tell you who I would have nominated for the Hero award, Agudas Yisroel of America. <br /><br />Like a Poet who opts not to shower, we at 42 Broadway are committed to lobby in the best interests of the Orthodox communities. <br /><br />It is true I tried to compare personal hygiene in defense of the Rubashkins', but perhaps some of you realize by now that that analogy is a big goof on my part. <br /><br />One might interpret my actions as an indication of having no compassion for humans or animals. <br /><br />That person may conclude that Agudah stomp on Halacha and ethics, hence they are not Hero-worthy, based on my poet analogy. <br /><br />The only way to sway such a thinker to my side is by writing some more fascinating Op-Eds, triggering a positive influence over my critics. <br />><br />><br />><br /><br />http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705332495/Utah-rabbi-nominated-for-award.html<br /><br />Utah rabbi nominated for Hero award<br /><br /><br />Published: Friday, Sept. 25, 2009 6:01 p.m. MDT <br /><br />Rabbi Benny Zippel of Chabad Lubavitch in Salt Lake City has been nominated as a Utah Community Jewish Hero by United Jewish Communities. <br /><br />The Jewish Community Heroes campaign celebrates the selflessness and courage of those who put others before themselves. <br /><br />During the next three months, anyone across North America can go online, submit nominations and vote for the candidates they believe best embody the spirit of the award.<br /><br />Five finalists will be honored this November at a General Assembly in Washington, D.C. Of the five finalists, one will be named the Jewish Community Hero of the Year. <br /><br />The Hero of the Year will be provided with $25,000 to be used as an investment in his or her community project or nonprofit effort via that person's local Jewish Federation, or another recognized 501(c)3 charitable entity or Canadian equivalent, and he or she will be invited to and recognized at next year's General Assembly. <br /><br />The remaining four finalists will receive a smaller amount to be used as an investment in their community project or nonprofit effort via their local Jewish Federations, or recognized 501(c)3 charitable entities or Canadian equivalents. <br /><br />"As I was nominated a Jewish Hero, I'd like to ask you that you kindly help support our important outreach work throughout Utah by voting for me," Rabbi Zippel said.<br /><br />He has worked with Salt Lake area youth dealing with substance abuse and related addiction issues.<br /><br />To vote for Rabbi Zippel, go to: www.jewishcommunityheroes.org/nominees/profile/benny-zippel/ <br /><br />— Lynn AraveRabbi Avi Shafranhttp://www.deseretnews.com/article/705332495/Utah-rabbi-nominated-for-award.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-72689633194368529372009-10-12T18:53:06.064-07:002009-10-12T18:53:06.064-07:0019 local Jews in running for national ‘hero’ award...19 local Jews in running for national ‘hero’ awardavi shafran wants to know why Bernie Madoff did not make the hero listhttp://www.jweekly.com/article/full/40039/19-local-jews-in-running-for-national-hero-award/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-66122062765280231032009-10-12T14:54:22.537-07:002009-10-12T14:54:22.537-07:00Only 37% of haredi men work, as opposed to some 80...Only 37% of haredi men work, as opposed to some 80% of their secular counterparts, according to statistics presented to Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer while touring centers for women's employment in the ultra-Orthodox town of Modiin Ilit. <br /><br /> <br /><br />Among working women, there is also a significant gap. Some 49% of haredi women are gainfully employed, while 70% of secular women work. <br /><br /> <br />The average gross monthly salary of haredi women is NIS 3,690 (about $980), about 40% lower than haredi men's gross monthly salary, which stands at an average NIS 6,123 (about $1,625). <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br />The gap in earning power between the sexes is lower in the secular population, in which women earn 36% less than men. The average gross monthly salary for secular women is NIS 5,698 (about $1,512). The average gross monthly salary for secular men is NIS 8,955 (about $2,375). <br /><br /> <br /><br />This puts the average gross monthly salary of haredi women at about 35% lower than that of the average gross monthly salary of secular women. The gap between secular and haredi men is narrower, with haredi men earning on average 30% less than their secular counterparts. <br /><br /><br />Some 52% of haredi men reported that being unable to cover their monthly household expenses in contrast with 42.4% of secular men. <br /><br /><br /> <br />Following these findings, Minister Ben-Eliezer said that his ministry would take measures to integrate the haredi community into the workforce, through initiatives such as professional training courses and additional benefits. Despite the dim statistics, some 63% of haredim said they were highly satisfied with their lives, in comparison with only 28% of seculars.Only 37% of haredi men workhttp://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3782668,00.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-54736329193975946392009-10-12T12:12:00.377-07:002009-10-12T12:12:00.377-07:00So far no child abuse cases have been
brought to m...So far no child abuse cases have been<br />brought to my attention in all of Borough-Park.The Novominsker Tushnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-39973455006207316732009-10-12T11:49:49.354-07:002009-10-12T11:49:49.354-07:00A Ft. Payne man was charged Friday with two counts...A Ft. Payne man was charged Friday with two counts of sexual abuse related to alleged sexual activity with a child.<br /><br />Ft. Payne police said Grady Lee Hughes, 78 was arrested on charges related to first-degree sexual contact with a female minor under the age of 12. These incidents occurred in Fort Payne, police officials said.<br /><br />Hughes was transferred to the Dekalb County Jail, where bond was set at $10,000 for each charge.Agudas Israel, Senior Citizens Divisionhttp://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=11298130noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-5587756967314722132009-10-12T11:42:33.440-07:002009-10-12T11:42:33.440-07:00www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-rabb...www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/letters/bal-rabbiletter1007,0,501647.story<br />baltimoresun.com<br />Cover-ups of bad rabbis are too common<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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").<br /><br />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.<br /><br />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.<br /><br />Dr. Margo Hausdorff Vale, Huntington, N.Y.<br /><br />Send your comments to talkback@baltimoresun.com.shlomo mandel of yob: resign now and take nussbaum with younoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-10887679373079684292009-10-12T11:30:01.739-07:002009-10-12T11:30:01.739-07:00When I saw Brackman's headline, I admit it mad...When I saw Brackman's headline, I admit it made me a little nervous. But after reading the article, I noticed Brackman was careful to name only the Hollywood rabbis. <br /><br />http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3788112,00.html<br /><br />Identifying a phony rabbi<br /><br />Relationship between clergyperson or spiritual guide and guidance seeker or congregant must be very different from any other type of professional relationship<br />Rabbi Levi Brackman<br /><br />There have been numerous examples over the last year of religious leaders causing difficulties for the people that they guided or advised. The most famous amongst them was Barack Obama’s former pastor, Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Obama was forced to distance himself from his pastor after Wright was exposed as making anti-American comments.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Then there was the story of John McCain and Pastor John Hagee. After it was alleged that John Hagee made anti-Catholic and anti-Semitic comments, the then Presidential Candidate John McCain publically rejected Hagee’s endorsement. <br /><br />But it is not only politicians who have very public relationships with their religious guides. Madonna is often outspoken about her respect for Michael Berg at the Kabbalah Center. And Tom Cruise is public about his faith in scientology. In fact Scientology leader David Miscavige was best man at Tom Cruise’s wedding to Katie Holmes and in 2004 Miscavige awarded Cruise a medal for being “the most dedicated Scientologist I know.”<br /><br /> <br /><br />Now clearly the rich and famous are as much in need of religious and spiritual guidance as anyone else. And any successful spiritual guide or clergyperson will count the rich and famous amongst those that they have relationships with.<br /><br /> <br /><br />There have been lots of discussion about the authenticity of spiritual and religious leaders such as the Berg family of the Kabbalah Center, David Miscavig of Scientology and those who have tried to cultivate an image of spiritual guide to the stars.Yisroel Halevi Beskynoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-58385996879865694062009-10-12T11:16:47.855-07:002009-10-12T11:16:47.855-07:00Great, another kol koreh for the "instrument...Great, another kol koreh for the "instrument of impurity" finds the cult Rabbis issuing warnings and threats. <br /><br /><i> "Boys and girls whose homes have the instrument of impurity called the Internet cannot receive a Vizhnitz education in any shape or form," leading Vizhnitz rabbi Yisroel Hager told followers Saturday in Bnei Brak. </i><br /><br />Great, take the frustration out on the children once again. <br /><br />Great, this they open up their mouths <br />for objection, but child molestation that's not objectionable. No sermons dedicated for such impurity. <br /><br /><i> "Every day," he said, "I hear stories about young people, both boys and girls, who have gone downhill via this horrible instrument to the edge of the abyss. This epidemic must be stopped." </i><br /><br />How many times have we witnessed the rabbinic cult movement threaten parents with expelling their children from their yeshiva's?<br /><br />Talk about frosting with indecent behavior, perhaps it's time for these imbeciles to look in the mirror and issue some pertinent lecturing, the ones they are unforgivably silent about.just another rabbinic cult movementhttp://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1120444.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-52012687910015151032009-10-09T14:06:25.034-07:002009-10-09T14:06:25.034-07:00The man is not kosher. Rabbi Leib Tropper is trapp...The man is not kosher. <a href="http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133755" rel="nofollow">Rabbi Leib Tropper</a> is trapped in a pit with no escape.Tropper must be stoppednoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-1468470934705120722009-10-09T12:26:02.870-07:002009-10-09T12:26:02.870-07:00Agudath Israel of
America's support has
stea...Agudath Israel of <br />America's support has <br />steadily declined in <br />recent years. They turned<br />what was once a <br />proud organization - founded by the true and pious - into a total <br />laughingstock.<br />The mockery of <br />Jewish values cannot<br />be overlooked here.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-80562026938964360852009-10-09T11:51:39.875-07:002009-10-09T11:51:39.875-07:00The effects of childhood cancer treatment, not to ...The effects of childhood cancer treatment, not to mention the psychological effects of battling the disease itself, linger in ways that are only beginning to be explored. Three new studies offer a possible glimpse at life years later.<br /><br />- In one new study, researchers took data on 8,928 adult survivors of childhood cancer and 2,879 of their siblings and compared their marital status. They found that survivors were less likely to wed, with those who had been treated for central nervous system tumors the least likely to wed. But divorce patterns for all survivors were similar.<br /><br />The abstract for the study, published this month in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. And the Yale University news release.<br /><br />- Other researchers found that children born to female survivors were slightly more likely to be born early and small, but otherwise fared well. The abstract, published this month in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.<br /><br />- And children born to male survivors have been found to be at only a marginal risk of having a low birthweight, compared with the general population. Otherwise, they too fared well. The abstract, published in the same issue, and the news release from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center on both studies.<br /><br />Here's an overview of the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study from the National Cancer Institute. And a story from the Los Angeles Times on this new field of research: "Health of childhood cancer survivors is still at risk: About two-thirds of pediatric cancer survivors experience at least one late health effect of treatment, and for more than one-quarter of survivors it is severe or life-threatening."<br /><br />-- Tami Dennischildhood cancerhttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots/2009/10/childhood-cancer-plus-how-it-might-affect-marital-status-and-future-children-.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-42120082526145913672009-10-09T11:45:30.861-07:002009-10-09T11:45:30.861-07:00Bus driver gets fired for using cell phone when dr...Bus driver gets fired for using cell phone when driving<br /><br />A bus driver in Stockholm has to quit his job after using his cell phone when driving the bus.<br /><br />The driver was caught on tape this Tuesday when a passenger filmed him with a mobile phone camera. On the film it seems like he was sending text messages while driving the bus with his forearms.<br /><br />The driver, who had a trial employment, says to the daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter that he only tried to get in touch with the management since they had tried to call him just before. The management does not want to comment on this particular case but says that they never call the drivers when they are driving.<br /><br />Representatives for the trade union believe the company puts all the blame on the driver to avoid criticism against their own practice and regulations.margo was calling his therapistnoreply@blogger.com