tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post7503252696064904992..comments2023-08-17T06:45:58.317-07:00Comments on "Yeshiva" of Brooklyn also Guilty of Child Abuse: Rabbis: Donkeys: You Disgust Me...exposemolestershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02097300261898413798noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-43345743016761616032010-02-09T01:59:27.258-08:002010-02-09T01:59:27.258-08:00It is very interesting for me to read that post. T...It is very interesting for me to read that post. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything that is connected to them. I would like to read more soon.<br /><br />Best regards<br /><a href="http://www.prestigeclubcasinos.com/" rel="nofollow">Alice Tudes</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-47799626242657678612009-02-04T15:29:00.000-08:002009-02-04T15:29:00.000-08:00In Venezuela, ‘People Are Terrified’by Stewart Ain...In Venezuela, ‘People Are Terrified’<BR/><BR/>by Stewart Ain and Sharon Udasin<BR/>Staff Writers<BR/><BR/>The crisis in Venezuela deepened this week in the aftermath of the beating of a rabbi, Friday’s attack on a synagogue and the growing exodus of Israelis from Caracas.<BR/><BR/><BR/>All of this comes a month after Venezuela expelled Israel’s ambassador and the embassy’s staff because of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. In New York Monday, more than 150 demonstrators shouting “Never Again” rallied outside the Venezuelan Consulate to protest the country’s failure to protect its Jewish citizens.<BR/><BR/>And in a letter this week to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed by 19 members of Congress, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the letter’s co-author, expressed fear that the synagogue attack could lead to more Jews fleeing Chavez’s hard-line rule.. by Stewart Ain and Sharon Udasin<BR/>Staff Writers<BR/><BR/>The crisis in Venezuela deepened this week in the aftermath of the beating of a rabbi, Friday’s attack on a synagogue and the growing exodus of Israelis from Caracas.<BR/><BR/><BR/>All of this comes a month after Venezuela expelled Israel’s ambassador and the embassy’s staff because of Israel’s offensive in Gaza. In New York Monday, more than 150 demonstrators shouting “Never Again” rallied outside the Venezuelan Consulate to protest the country’s failure to protect its Jewish citizens.<BR/><BR/>And in a letter this week to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed by 19 members of Congress, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-Bronx), the letter’s co-author, expressed fear that the synagogue attack could lead to more Jews fleeing Chavez’s hard-line rule. <BR/><BR/>http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c39_a14815/News/International.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-34069166994025475212009-02-04T10:02:00.000-08:002009-02-04T10:02:00.000-08:00Where was the penetration, did I miss something?Ju...Where was the penetration, did I miss something?<BR/><BR/>Judge releases Howard teacher twice convicted of child sex abuse<BR/><BR/>By Carolyn Peirce<BR/>Examiner Staff Writer 2/3/09<BR/>A former Howard public school teacher, who was convicted Monday of sexually abusing a second male student, was released from prison after agreeing not to appeal either of the convictions.<BR/><BR/>Alan Beier, 54, pleaded guilty Monday in Howard Circuit Court to a child sexual abuse charge for taking nude photographs of a 17-year-old male student at River Hill High School in February 2006.<BR/><BR/>As part of the plea agreement, Beier withdrew his appeal for a previous child sex abuse conviction involving another male student, for which he was sentenced in June to four years in prison.<BR/><BR/>In return for Beier's guilty plea, prosecutors didn't object when defense attorneys asked the judge to grant Beier time served and release him from prison after serving only 10 months of that four-year sentence.<BR/><BR/>Howard Circuit Judge Diane Leasure said she agreed to the plea bargain after considering the closure it would bring to the victims and their families.<BR/><BR/>The appeals process would force the victims to endure further court hearings with the possibility that Beier's conviction could be overturned, she said.<BR/><BR/>"This removes the uncertainty of appeals ... and gives them certainty that the convictions will stand."<BR/><BR/>Prosecutors said Beier photographed both victims on separate occasions purportedly for the "Mr. River Hill High" contest.<BR/><BR/>In both instances, Beier pulled down the boys' pants and handed them objects to cover their genitals, prosecutors said.<BR/><BR/>Beier, who appeared frail in a suit that was noticeably large on his thinning frame, fought tears as he entered his plea and paused to ask his attorney, "If I say this, I'm going to be free today?"<BR/><BR/>Defense attorney Richard Woods said Beier paid "a terrible, terrible price" for his actions and endured physical abuse from other inmates while he was incarcerated.<BR/><BR/>Beier was placed on supervised probation for three years and ordered to register in Maryland as a child sex offender for the next 10 years.<BR/><BR/>cpeirce@baltimoreexaminer.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-83896108857035331072009-02-04T09:55:00.000-08:002009-02-04T09:55:00.000-08:00If this guy at least wore a yarmulkah he would hav...If this guy at least wore a yarmulkah he would have my full support. I'm sure Niederman from United Jewish Organizations would agree with me.<BR/>-----------------------------------------<BR/><BR/>Wilson offered the girl candy and money in exchange for her to perform sexual acts with him. Wilson told the victim to keep the encounters a secret, police say.<BR/><BR/>Wilson is currently being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center on charges of third and fourth-degree sex offense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-8681898660249578792009-02-04T00:09:00.000-08:002009-02-04T00:09:00.000-08:00“We’re going to be making investments, and I shoul...“We’re going to be making investments, and I shouldn’t say ‘we,’ but the administration ‘we.’ ... With these investments we are going to create good jobs as we renovate and modernize more than 10,000 schools and improve the learning environment,” Obama said, making a pitch for her husband’s economic stimulus plan.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-75417735179365390712009-02-03T23:11:00.000-08:002009-02-03T23:11:00.000-08:00"To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, o..."To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion -- big time."<BR/>...........................<BR/><BR/>Niederman's statements are outrageous. The putz obviously doesn't know what he's talking about. <BR/><BR/>It's clear this is another example of someone conducting a cover up of child molestation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-23012988801855264392009-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:002009-02-03T21:39:00.000-08:00Hasidic sexual abuse scandalTuesday February 3, 20...Hasidic sexual abuse scandal<BR/>Tuesday February 3, 2009<BR/>Categories: Judaism<BR/><BR/>A reader sends this link to an NPR story about pedophilic abuse among Hasidic Jews. Excerpt:<BR/><BR/> Four ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn have been sued or arrested for abusing boys in the past three years. That's a tiny fraction of the actual abuse, says Hella Winston, author of Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. She says that in researching her book, she encountered dozens of alleged victims who told her sexual abuse is an open secret in the Hasidic community. But the community is so insulated and the rabbis are so powerful that few dare to come forward.<BR/><BR/> "If I become known as an informer, then people also won't want to have anything to do with my family," she explains. "They won't want to marry my children, won't want to give me a job. This is the fear."<BR/><BR/> But more and more accusations against rabbis have begun to circulate. Last August, politician and radio talk show host Dov Hikind devoted an hourlong program to sexual abuse. He interviewed Pearl Engelman, who spoke under an alias, about her son's case.<BR/><BR/> The calls flooded in. Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew himself, represents this area in the New York Assembly. He says after the show, people started showing up at his office with their stories.<BR/><BR/> "Fifty, 60, 70 people," he says, "but you got to remember for each person who comes forward, God only knows how many people are not coming forward."<BR/><BR/> Hikind refuses to release the names of alleged perpetrators, although he is working with the district attorney's office. He says the people who confided in him are afraid to go public, which creates a perfect situation for abusers.<BR/><BR/> "If you're a pedophile, the best place for you to come to are some of the Jewish communities," he says. "Why? Because you can be a pedophile and no one's going to do anything. Even if they catch you, you'll get away with it."<BR/><BR/> "To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion -- big time." <BR/><BR/>I don't know any of the facts in this case, so in theory, it might be being blown out of proportion. But I very much doubt it. We've been to this rodeo before. Catholics went through the same thing -- denial of how serious the problem was, until it could no longer be denied. I hope God gives the Hasidic Jewish victims of sexual abuse the courage to come forward -- and others within that community the grace to support them. And I hope God gives the DA the guts to go after the rabbis and others against whom there is credible evidence of abuse.<BR/>Comments (8) <BR/><BR/>http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/02/hasidic-sexual-abuse-scandal.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-40382670369732789172009-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:002009-02-03T21:34:00.000-08:00http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?story...http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807<BR/><BR/>---------------------------------<BR/><BR/>Abuse Scandal Plagues Hasidic Jews In Brooklyn<BR/><BR/>by Barbara Bradley Hagerty<BR/><BR/>All Things Considered, February 2, 2009 · Joel Engelman and Joe Diangelo are driving through their old Brooklyn neighborhood. Williamsburg is a place from another time and country. The shop signs are in Hebrew. The men scurry by in long black coats; their hair hangs in corkscrew curls. Married women wear wigs to cover their heads.<BR/><BR/>Engelman and Diangelo haven't been here in years. They just met a few weeks ago, but as they begin swapping stories and the names of family members, they realize they have a lot in common. Both men are in their 20s, both were raised as strict Hasidic Jews, and both fled their upbringing for the same reason.<BR/><BR/>"Are you ready for this?" Engelman asks Diangelo, glancing at his friend in the back seat.<BR/><BR/>"Yeah," Diangelo says, his breath quickening. "Yeah, I'll do it, just a quick pass by."<BR/><BR/>Diangelo grows quiet as we approach a nondescript brownstone building: a synagogue.<BR/><BR/>"See the Hebrew sign?" he says, pointing. "You go downstairs, and that's where the mikvah is."<BR/><BR/>The mikvah is a bathhouse usually used by women for ritual cleansing. But in some Hasidic communities, like this one, fathers bring their young sons on Friday afternoons before Shabbat begins. Twenty-one years ago, when he was 7, Diangelo recalls going to the mikvah with his father to find the place packed with naked men and boys.<BR/><BR/>"And I was in the tub, and I had my back turned, and somebody raped me while I was in the water," he says. He takes a shaky breath. "And I didn't know what happened. I couldn't make sense of it, really."<BR/><BR/>Diangelo says he never saw the man who abused him. These days, monitors are posted by the bath to stop any sexual activity. But back then, the boy was on his own. He told no one but began refusing to go to the mikvah. He left Orthodox Judaism when he was 17. He changed his name from Joel Deutsch and cut almost all ties with his family and friends.<BR/><BR/>Now, Diangelo wears black leather and mascara. He plays in a rock band and takes refuge in the heavy-metal lyrics of Metallica.<BR/><BR/>"There are so many songs, you know. They have a latest song, which is called 'Broken, Beaten & Scarred,' and one of the verses is: 'They scratched me, they scraped me, they cut and raped me.' " He laughs wearily. "And that's my life right there. When I listen to it, it gives me strength."<BR/><BR/>Allegations Of Abuse<BR/><BR/>For these two men, this is a tour through aching secrets and violent memories. Diangelo and Engelman are unusual because they let their names be used. But they believe that sexual abuse is woven throughout this Hasidic community.<BR/><BR/>For Engelman, the loss of innocence came at school.<BR/><BR/>"This is it, right here," he says.<BR/><BR/>Engelman parks his car across from the United Talmudical Academy, a hulking building on a desolate street. This was the yeshiva, or Jewish boys' school, that Engelman attended. Engelman says he was 8 years old, sitting in Hebrew class one day, when he was called to the principal's office. When he arrived, he says, Rabbi Avrohom Reichman told him to close the door.<BR/><BR/>"He motioned for me to get on his lap, and as soon as I got on the chair, he would swivel the chair from right to left, continuously," Engelman says. "Then he would start touching me while talking to me. He would start at my shoulders and work his way down to my genitals."<BR/><BR/>Engelman says this occurred twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade. Reichman was, after all, a revered rabbi... ContinuedAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-35046570900445799352009-02-03T14:42:00.000-08:002009-02-03T14:42:00.000-08:00This is frightening. Why is Stamar getting away wi...This is frightening. Why is Stamar getting away with this? I'v come to a conclusion that Parents are enablers too. <BR/>-<BR/><BR/>“Even after these accusations were publicly made,“ he says, “the parents continue to compete among themselves for the opportunity to have their children be educated by Rabbi Reichman.“Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-48854184839211868372009-02-03T09:28:00.000-08:002009-02-03T09:28:00.000-08:00Joel Engelman is a saint for coming forward. On a...Joel Engelman is a saint for coming forward. On a scale of 1 to 10, which prison should the Satmar enablers land beind, 1 being the easiest and 10 the hardest?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-7464904182190208572009-02-03T00:31:00.000-08:002009-02-03T00:31:00.000-08:00Seattle Post-Intelligencerhttp://seattlepi.nwsourc...Seattle Post-Intelligencer<BR/>http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/swift/398314_mary02.html<BR/><BR/>Group helps abuse survivors create peaceful homes<BR/><BR/>Last updated February 1, 2009 10:52 p.m. PT<BR/><BR/>By MARY SWIFT<BR/>P-I COLUMNIST<BR/><BR/>SHE WAS a young mother from out of state, fleeing a relationship spinning dangerously out of control.<BR/><BR/>INFORMATION<BR/><BR/><BR/>For information on Shalom Bayit, go to http://www.ncjwseattle.org/<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>or call 425-558-1854.<BR/><BR/>Last March, she landed in Seattle with $80 to her name, two young sons at her side, some luggage filled with clothing -- and the dream of a safer life.<BR/><BR/>Afraid that her former partner might find her, she asks to be called Chanel rather than by her real name. "I was a bus driver. I was working all the time. He started cheating," she says. "I found out about it. I confronted him. There were arguments at first. Then he started throwing things -- the iron, the phone -- whatever was in reach."<BR/><BR/>Tensions escalated when her partner lost his job and began abusing drugs and alcohol.<BR/><BR/>"One day I came home from work and wouldn't cook for him. He started hitting me in the kitchen, with his hands around my throat," she says.<BR/><BR/>A brief separation was followed by a hopeful reunion. Then came the day the already fragile relationship exploded beyond anything that had happened in the past.<BR/><BR/>"We were in the kitchen arguing. He pushed me against the counter. I grabbed a knife. He came at me, and I lashed out and I stabbed him in the arm," she says.<BR/><BR/>"I ended up going to jail, getting charged, going through anger management and getting put on probation.<BR/><BR/>"I knew I had to leave, that I wasn't safe," she says. "If I stayed, there were only three places I was going to end up: in jail, in the hospital -- or dead.<BR/><BR/>"I packed up, took what clothes I had and came to Washington."<BR/><BR/>When plans to stay with a friend didn't work out, she turned to a shelter, where she went through classes on domestic violence, found counseling and other support, and got help with medication and treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.<BR/><BR/>In October, Chanel and her children moved into an apartment in South King County through Journey Home, a program that provides long-term support services to previously homeless families.<BR/><BR/>"They subsidize my rent now, but I'm supposed to be getting on Section 8," Chanel said, referring to a government rent subsidy program. She is now studying to be a medical assistant and receiving counseling through Valley Cities Mental Health.<BR/><BR/>For a time, Chanel and her boys slept on the floor of the unfurnished apartment under blankets from the shelter, but then Shalom Bayit, a furniture bank for survivors of domestic violence in King County, intervened.<BR/><BR/>Founded in 2001 by the Seattle section of the National Council of Jewish Women, the organization's name is Hebrew for "peaceful home." Clients referred by social service or other agencies are invited to visit the organization's warehouse in Redmond to choose items they need for their homes.<BR/><BR/>"Domestic violence doesn't know the difference between Jewish and non-Jewish. Ninety-six percent of the people we serve are non-Jewish," says Lauren Simonds of Kirkland, executive director of the Seattle section of the NCJW.<BR/><BR/>A display at the annual Bellevue Home Show helps garner donations. Last month's home show was no exception. "Between a quarter and a half of the donations we receive come because of the home show," Simonds says.<BR/><BR/>The program offers pick-up service for item donations only on the Eastside and asks for a $25 donation to help defray operating costs.<BR/><BR/>The program's value isn't lost on Lee Drechsel, executive director of Domestic Abuse Women's Network in South King County.<BR/><BR/>"DAWN makes extensive use of Shalom Bayit," she says. "Shalom Bayit helps save lives and create homes."<BR/><BR/>Last year, Shalom Bayit served 317 women and children. Chanel and her children were among them.<BR/><BR/>"I got beds, couches, a TV, a radio, dishes, linens, comforters, sheets, towels, pictures for the walls -- even a shower curtain with the hoops to go with it," Chanel says.<BR/><BR/>"I am so grateful to have made it this far. Whatever you write, put in a lot of thank-yous."<BR/><BR/>P-I columnist Mary Swift can be reached at 206-909-9612 or swiftyk@netscape.com.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-18968212624062381732009-02-02T22:54:00.000-08:002009-02-02T22:54:00.000-08:00http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/sexua...http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/sexual_abuse_in_brooklyns_hasidic_community_20090202/<BR/><BR/>February 2, 2009<BR/>Sexual abuse in Brooklyn’s Hasidic community<BR/><BR/>By Brad A. Greenberg<BR/><BR/>http://www.jewishjournal.com/thegodblog/item/sexual_abuse_in_brooklyns_hasidic_community_20090202/<BR/>Joel Engelman at 7<BR/><BR/>NPR aired a brutal story today about two former Hasidic boys who were sexually abused as youngsters—one at the mikvah and the other at his school. Joel Engelman’s tale is particularly troubling and evokes memories of the Catholic clergy sex abuse scandal. Shame. A code of silence. Fear of God and man.<BR/><BR/>NPR reporter Barbara Bradley Hagerty explains:<BR/><BR/> Engelman parks his car across from the United Talmudical Academy, a hulking building on a desolate street. This was the yeshiva, or Jewish boys’ school, that Engelman attended. Engelman says he was 8 years old, sitting in Hebrew class one day, when he was called to the principal’s office. When he arrived, he says, Rabbi Avrohom Reichman told him to close the door.<BR/><BR/> “He motioned for me to get on his lap, and as soon as I got on the chair, he would swivel the chair from right to left, continuously,“ Engelman says. “Then he would start touching me while talking to me. He would start at my shoulders and work his way down to my genitals.“<BR/><BR/> Engelman says this occurred twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade. Reichman was, after all, a revered rabbi. Four years ago, he told his parents. And a year ago, when he heard that Reichman had allegedly abused several other boys, they confronted Reichman. When the school heard about it, they gave the rabbi a polygraph.<BR/><BR/> “He failed miserably,“ Engelman says. “So they told me, ‘This guy is gone. This guy has to go.‘ “<BR/><BR/> But a few weeks later, a religious leader from the school approached Engelman’s mother, Pearl. He posed an astonishing question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was the molestation?<BR/><BR/> She was speechless. Then she says, the man continued, “ ‘We found out there was no skin-to-skin contact, that it was through clothing.‘ So he’s telling me, ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, this was maybe a 2 or a 3, so what’s the big fuss?‘ “<BR/><BR/> The school hired Reichman back. That was in July 2008 — one week after Joel Engelmen turned 23 and could no longer bring a criminal or civil case against the rabbi.<BR/><BR/> Reichman and school officials declined to be interviewed for this story. But Rabbi David Niederman, who heads the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, says the school did its due diligence. He says the allegation was thoroughly investigated by an independent committee of lay people and rabbis.<BR/><BR/> “I’m convinced that they made a serious investigation,“ he says. “They felt that it’s not credible.“<BR/><BR/> Now Engelman has filed a long-shot civil suit against Reichman and the school, claiming they broke an oral contract.<BR/><BR/> Reichman’s attorney, Jacob Laufer, says the lawsuit is baseless and that the community is fully behind the rabbi.<BR/><BR/> “Even after these accusations were publicly made,“ he says, “the parents continue to compete among themselves for the opportunity to have their children be educated by Rabbi Reichman.“<BR/><BR/> The Reichman case is not isolated. Four ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn have been sued or arrested for abusing boys in the past three years. That’s a tiny fraction of the actual abuse, says Hella Winston, author of Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. She says that in researching her book, she encountered dozens of alleged victims who told her sexual abuse is an open secret in the Hasidic community. But the community is so insulated and the rabbis are so powerful that few dare to come forward.<BR/><BR/> “If I become known as an informer, then people also won’t want to have anything to do with my family,“ she explains. “They won’t want to marry my children, won’t want to give me a job. This is the fear.“<BR/><BR/> But more and more accusations against rabbis have begun to circulate. Last August, politician and radio talk show host Dov Hikind devoted an hourlong program to sexual abuse. He interviewed Pearl Engelman, who spoke under an alias, about her son’s case.<BR/><BR/> The calls flooded in. Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew himself, represents this area in the New York Assembly. He says after the show, people started showing up at his office with their stories.<BR/><BR/> “Fifty, 60, 70 people,“ he says, “but you got to remember for each person who comes forward, God only knows how many people are not coming forward.“<BR/><BR/>The Jewish Journal published a cover story two years ago about sexual abuse, under the headline “Don’t Kid Yourself: There’s abusive clergy in the Jewish community, too.“ It’s worth a read.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-78228333562470580132009-02-02T22:51:00.000-08:002009-02-02T22:51:00.000-08:00http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/0...http://religionblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/02/npr-to-air-report-on-sex-abuse.html<BR/><BR/>NPR to air report on sex abuse in Hasidic Jewish community<BR/>Feb 02, 2009 | <BR/><BR/>The report airs today on All Things Considered. Details below:<BR/><BR/>NPR NEWS REPORTS ON GROWING SCANDAL OVER SEXUAL ABUSE OF MINORS<BR/><BR/>IN BROOKLYN'S HASIDIC JEWISH COMMUNITY<BR/><BR/>AFTER YEARS OF SILENCE, TWO ALLEGED VICTIMS COME FORWARD TO NPR,<BR/><BR/>WHILE COMMUNITY LEADERS DOWNPLAY ABUSE CLAIMS<BR/><BR/>REPORT AIRING ON ALL THINGS CONSIDERED<BR/><BR/>TODAY, FEBRUARY 2<BR/><BR/>February 2, 2009; Washington, D.C. - NPR News reports on a growing scandal involving the sexual abuse of minors in New York City's cloistered Hasidic Jewish community, where an increasing number of alleged victims are challenging the insular culture by coming forward. Reporting from Brooklyn, NPR religion correspondent Barbara Bradley Hagerty finds that community leaders stringently downplay abuse claims, despite a growing number of sexual abuse cases before Brooklyn's district attorney.<BR/><BR/>The complete report is airing today on NPR News' All Things Considered; a web story and photographs are available now at: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99913807<BR/><BR/>After years of silence, two alleged victims - both men in their twenties who were raised as Hasidic Jews in Brooklyn - tell NPR's Hagerty about the sexual abuse they endured as minors, and their decisions to finally come forward. Joel Englemen says he was 8 years old when his school principal began molesting him twice a week for two months. He told no one for more than a decade because of the rabbi's standing in the community; last year, his family finally confronted the rabbi and the school, and he was dismissed.<BR/><BR/>But a few weeks later, Engleman's mother says a religious leader questioned the extent of the abuse, asking her: "'On a scale of one to 10, how bad was the molestation? We found out, there was no skin to skin contact. That it was through clothing.' So he's telling me, on a scale of one to 10, this was maybe at two or a three, so what's the big fuss?"<BR/><BR/>The rabbi was rehired by the school in July 2008.<BR/><BR/>Community leader Rabbi David Niederman, who heads the United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg, defends the school's actions to NPR: "I'm convinced they made a serious investigation. They felt that it's not credible." Niederman also questions increasing claims of sexual abuse in the community: "That so many people have been violated, and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up! It's being blown out of proportion, big time."<BR/><BR/>Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, who says he has ten active sexual abuse cases involving the Hasidic Jewish community, tells NPR that Hasidic schools are private and therefore aren't required to report accusations of abuse. Instead, rabbis try to handle cases internally. "You have no business taking these cases to religious tribunals," says Hynes. "They are either civil or criminal in nature. Or both. Your obligation is to bring these allegations to us and let us conduct the investigation."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-31591486223244423022009-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:002009-02-02T14:43:00.000-08:00Hot seat like us?Cardinal Mahony to Face Scrutiny ...Hot seat like us?<BR/><BR/>Cardinal Mahony to Face Scrutiny Over Sex-Abuse Scandal<BR/>Posted by Dan Slater<BR/>mahony_art_200h_20090202093840.jpg<BR/>Cardinal Roger Mahony. (AFP/Getty Images)<BR/><BR/>Cardinal Mahony, the archbishop of the nation’s largest archdiocese, is back on the hot-seat.<BR/><BR/>Last week, the WSJ reported that a federal grand jury had issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in a probe to see whether top church officials tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests.<BR/><BR/>Today, the Journal writes that the investigation into allegations of sexual abuse by clergy will bring a new level of scrutiny to Cardinal Roger Mahony, who previously has dealt with a criminal investigation into his archdiocese by the L.A. district attorney’s office and has signed off on a massive settlement by the archdiocese of civil lawsuits brought by people who claimed to have been abused by clergy.<BR/><BR/>The archdiocese has said it is cooperating with the federal investigation. An archdiocese attorney told the Journal that Cardinal Mahony long “has been at the forefront of dealing with” clergy sexual-abuse issues. “We have been unable to even hypothesize a crime that might have been committed in the handling of these problems,” the attorney added.<BR/>Permalink | Trackback URL: http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2009/02/02/cardinal-mahony-to-face-scrutiny-over-sex-abuse-scandal/trackback/Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-88688462997899923072009-02-02T09:58:00.000-08:002009-02-02T09:58:00.000-08:00The woman, who lives in northern Israel, maintains...The woman, who lives in northern Israel, maintains that the six-year-old boy was born of a rape by the father, with whom she underwent a very torturous relationship. She took part at the time in a support group for victims of sexual harassment, but was afraid to actually turn to the police.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-78027699618527253972009-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:002009-02-02T09:51:00.000-08:00Former Iowa plant manager wants charges dismissedT...Former Iowa plant manager wants charges dismissed<BR/><BR/>The Associated Press<BR/>Monday, February 2, 2009<BR/><BR/>DES MOINES, Iowa: The former manager of a kosher slaughterhouse wants a judge to dismiss nearly 100 counts against him. If not, he wants to be tried separately on different charges.<BR/><BR/>In motions filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Cedar Rapids, Sholom Rubashkin is asking a judge to dismiss 97 charges, arguing that a grand jury was biased by improper testimony and conduct.<BR/><BR/>The indictment against Rubashkin and four other defendants followed a May 12 immigration raid at the Postville plant that resulted in 389 arrests.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-71687309549070654842009-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:002009-02-02T09:49:00.000-08:00The war plan included a massive attack on the civi...The war plan included a massive attack on the civilian population of the Strip. The real aims of a war can be understood less from the official declarations of its initiators, than from their actions. If in this war some 1300 men, women and children were killed, the great majority of whom were not fighters; if about 5000 people were injured, most of them children; if some 2500 homes were partly or wholly destroyed; if the infrastructure of life was totally demolished – all this clearly could not have happened accidentally. It must have been a part of the war plan.<BR/><BR/>The things said during the war by politicians and officers make it clear that the plan had at least two aims, which might be considered war crimes: (1) To cause widespread killing and destruction, in order to “fix a price tag”. “to burn into their consciousness”, “to reinforce deterrence”, and most of all – to get the population to rise up against Hamas and overthrow their government. Clearly this affects mainly the civilian population. (2) To avoid casualties to our army at (literally) any price by destroying any building and killing any human being in the area into which our troops were about to move, including destroying homes over the heads of their inhabitants, preventing medical teams from reaching the victims, killing people indiscriminately. In certain cases, inhabitants were warned that they must flee, but this was mainly an alibi-action: there was nowhere to flee to, and often fire was opened on people trying to escape.<BR/><BR/>An independent court will have to decide whether such a war-plan is in accordance with national and international law, or whether it was ab initio a crime against humanity and a war-crime.<BR/><BR/>This was a war of a regular army with huge capabilities against a guerrilla force. In such a war, too, not everything is permissible. Arguments like “The Hamas terrorists were hiding within the civilian population” and “They used the population as human shields” may be effective as propaganda but are irrelevant: that is true for every guerrilla war. It must be taken into account when a decision to start such a war is being considered.<BR/><BR/>In a democratic state, the military takes its orders from the political establishment. Good. But that does not include “manifestly” illegal orders, over which the black flag of illegality is waving. Since the Nuremberg trials, there is no more room for the excuse that “I was only obeying orders”.<BR/><BR/>http://www.palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=14769Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-49878326163920687342009-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:002009-02-02T09:40:00.000-08:00(IsraelNN.com) Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia ...(IsraelNN.com) Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef has invited the parents of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit to come to his Jerusalem home on Monday morning. Shas chairman Eli Yishai will also be attending the meeting, as efforts for the release of Shalit continue.<BR/><BR/>Knesset Member Yaakov Margi stated that this is not the first time that the sage will meet Gilad’s parents. “Shas has always viewed Gilad Shalit with great responsibility. We have already stated in the past that Gilad must be returned for any price,” Margi told Ynet.<BR/><BR/>On the diplomatic front, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert invited Minister Rafi Eitan (Pensioners’ Party) to join the team working to secure the release of Gilad Shalit. “I aim to use the knowledge and experience he accrued over many years in the defense establishment. We are taking action on many fronts,” the Prime Minister stated. %ad%<BR/><BR/>Eitan, a former intelligence official, was responsible for recruiting and handling Jonathan Pollard.<BR/><BR/>Meanwhile, Minister of Transportation Shaul Mofaz warned Hamas's leader, Ismail Haniyeh, that he would not be able to move about freely if Gilad Shalit remained captive and issued a stern warning against Hamas.<BR/><BR/>"As long as Gilad Shalit does not see daylight, Haniyeh will not see daylight either," Mofaz stated, adding, “As long as Gilad Shalit is not free, Haniyeh will not be able to move freely in the streets of Gaza. I tell Hamas leaders – do not again make a mistake when it comes to us. Do not try to harden your position before negotiations on a (prisoner) exchange" involving Shalit, he said.<BR/><BR/>"The Israeli operation in Gaza has created better conditions to achieve the freeing of Gilad Shalit," Mofaz said a week into Israel’s war in Gaza.<BR/><BR/>Egypt has attempted to broker an agreement between Israel and Hamas over an Arab prisoner release in return for Shalit. According to an al-Arabia network report on Sunday, Hamas has agreed to Egypt’s ceasefire initiatives. However, the terrorist organization demanded that the agreement not be conditional upon Shalit’s release.<BR/><BR/>Hamas also rejected Israel’s demand for Shalit’s release as a prerequisite for opening the Gaza crossings.<BR/><BR/>In a media statement, the Almagor Terror Victim association said, “The Israeli government must inform Egypt that it does not accept an agreement for the opening of crossings without the unconditional return of Shalit. In the agreement that the Egyptians are leading, the Egyptians are cooperating with the Palestinians to pressure Israel to free terrorists by means of Shalit.”<BR/><BR/>Almagor further stated that Shalit must be freed without Israel “releasing murderers of children and women.” Prime Minister Olmert has previously gone on record that a heavy price would have to be paid for Shalit’s release.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-74621441726350260712009-02-01T22:52:00.000-08:002009-02-01T22:52:00.000-08:00Go to Jpost.com to read the article in its entiret...Go to Jpost.com to read the article in its entirety. <BR/><BR/>Here is a portion of it.<BR/><BR/>Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's caregiver fired<BR/>Feb. 1, 2009<BR/>Matthew Wagner , THE JERUSALEM POST<BR/><BR/>The family of Shas leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who suffers from a heart condition, fired his caregiver last week after Jerusalem police discovered that she was romantically involved with a Palestinian with a criminal record.<BR/><BR/>The family feared that the woman, a Moldavian national brought to Israel to care for the octogenarian rabbi, was collaborating with a resident of Beit Hanina in northeastern Jerusalem to assassinate Yosef, according to a source close to the family....exposemolestershttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02097300261898413798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-22257385026947898212009-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:002009-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00"CAUTION: "RABBI" YEHUDAH NUSSBAUM IS STILL EMPLOY..."CAUTION: "RABBI" YEHUDAH NUSSBAUM IS STILL EMPLOYED BY YESHIVA OF BROOKLYN."<BR/><BR/>This is really upsetting. YOB kind of reminds me of the Catholic Church in many ways but even worse. They ought to do something and shut that place down so no more victims come about. <BR/><BR/>From what i'v heard and seen about their methods and their relentless physical and sex abuse, it is a wonder to me how they can laugh at everyone and think they can get away with it, never to answer the kids who are affected forever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-44239247558481959742009-02-01T13:48:00.000-08:002009-02-01T13:48:00.000-08:00I will be one of the honorable speakers at an upco...I will be one of the honorable speakers at an upcoming function to help you become an honorable person. <BR/><BR/>Some other honorable donkeys who will lecture are - Matt Salamon and Jake Perlow aka "the Noviminsker tush."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-70369729194104233482009-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00Shas nabs promise for extra NIS 162 million for ye...Shas nabs promise for extra NIS 162 million for yeshivas<BR/>By Yair Ettinger<BR/><BR/>A bit of ultra-Orthodox history took place on Friday: Shas Chairman and Industry, Trade and Labor Minister, Eli Yishai, paid Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv a visit at his Jerusalem home. Elyashiv is the spiritual leader and patron of the Degel Hatorah faction of Agudat Yisrael. It has been years since Yishai was invited to meet a leader of the Lithuanian ultra-Orthodox public. Yishai and Meshulam Nahari, another Shas minister, were rewarded with the sought-after picture of the two beside the Ashkenazi rabbi.<BR/><BR/>Yishai did not show up empty-handed. He and Nahari said they had managed to obtain another NIS 162 million from the Finance Ministry for yeshivas, in addition to the NIS 140 million already budgeted. The money made headlines in the ultra-Orthodox press and garnered a lot of praise for Shas from influential Ashkenazi rabbis.<BR/> <BR/>Just hours earlier, Yishai had managed to head off an attempt to depose religious court judge Rabbi Avraham Sherman.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-69969245240149257472009-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:00Efforts for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad...Efforts for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit forge on. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Shas' spiritual leader, will meet with Gilad Shalit's parents, Noam and Aviva, at his home in Jerusalem on Monday morning. Shas Chairman Eli Yishai has also been invited.<BR/><BR/> <BR/>The rabbi has met in the past with the families of the soldiers kidnapped in Lebanon.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-57009372403704094732009-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00Hamas' Meshaal arrives in Tehran - Egypt's Gaza ce...Hamas' Meshaal arrives in Tehran - Egypt's Gaza ceasefire proposals up in the air<BR/><BR/>DEBKAfile Exclusive Report<BR/><BR/>February 1, 2009, 4:34 PM (GMT+02:00)<BR/>Gaza ceasefire? Decision in Tehran<BR/><BR/>Hamas is nowhere near signing off on Egypt's proposals for a long-term ceasefire in Gaza on Feb. 5, as claimed in a flurry of Arab media reports Sunday, Feb. 1, DEBKAfile's Middle East sources report. A large Hamas delegation from Damascus headed by Khaled Meshaal landed in Tehran Sunday for separate briefings from supreme ruler Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on how to respond to the Egyptian initiative.<BR/><BR/>He will also receive instructions on tactics for the coming months. There is no end in sight therefore to the current standoff whereby Hamas ignores its own ceasefire by daily missile and shooting attacks into Israel. At Israel's weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, prime minister Ehud Olmert threatened a "disproportionate response" to the ongoing attacks, while defense minister Ehud Barak indicated he preferred to mark time.<BR/><BR/>DEBKAfile's Iranian sources disclose the three topics uppermost in Meshaal's talks with Iranian leaders:<BR/><BR/>1. Tehran will decide whether or not to play tough in Middle East, including Gaza, depending on the prospect of direct talks with the Obama administration in Washington. Iranian leaders have so far taken a harsh line toward the new administration in an effort to dictate the ground rules ahead of any dialogue, so it is hard to believe they will turn soft on Gaza.<BR/><BR/>2. Iranian-Egyptian relations have never been so adversarial. Tehran will therefore be loath to grant president Hosni Mubarak advantages on the Palestinian playing field.<BR/><BR/>3. Tehran must hurry up and pump military and economic assistance into the Gaza Strip to shore up Hamas' rule. A delay carries the risk of the Palestinian Islamists turning to Cairo and Riyadh to earn the proffered Saudi-Egyptian aid package for reconstructing the ruined territory. Most urgently, Hamas needs large amounts of cash to stay afloat.<BR/><BR/>So if Meshaal comes away from his talks in Tehran with pledges of funds and arms, he will almost certainly instruct the Hamas delegation to ditch the Egyptians and their proposals.<BR/><BR/>The Israeli defense minster will then lose out on his tactic of gambling on an Egyptian success.<BR/><BR/>Our Iranian sources stress that Tehran does not make decisions of this magnitude without due consideration. Meshaal will therefore have to cool his heels while waiting for answers. His appointment book includes a lecture at Tehran University on Feb. 2, and attendance at a session of the Iranian parliament (majlis) the next day.<BR/><BR/>While Hamas waits for Iranian leaders to decide, Cairo may stage a face-saving unilateral ceasefire on Feb. 5, although it is more likely that Hamas will opt to continue firing missiles, in which case Olmert's line will prevail over that of Barak and the IDF will be sent back into Gaza.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28305689.post-83722991144864242482009-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:002009-02-01T09:33:00.000-08:00Watching the 8 part Nuchum Rosenberg film was sadd...Watching the 8 part Nuchum Rosenberg film was saddening. In a world where so much chesed takes place with Jews for one another, it is astounding to what level some "leaders" of the Jewish community would step into to obstruct any investigations against pedophile Jews. It's really a shame that mishmeret hatzinut can accept bribes for brutal crimes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com