I Urge all readers of the blog to take the time, immediately, and whenever possible, to contact Sol Werdiger and let him know the message we want him to convey to the Gerer Rebbe: that we are not going to tolerate any more coverups and whitewashings for Mondrowitz; that this man must face justice for abominable crimes; that anyone who aids or protects a criminal is morally as culpable as the criminal himself; and that we will be sure to expose anyone guilty of coverup just as we are succeeding in exposing the story of Mondrowitz. They might mention Pirkei Avoth, 4:5: "Whoever is mi'chalel Hashem in secret will be chastised publicly."
DO IT NOW. Time is of the essence. We may never have such a good chance to ensure that this worst of cases may finally see some justice.
Contact info for Sol Werdiger:
SWERDIGER@OUTERSTUFF.COM
Outer Stuff Ltd.
1370 Broadway 15th Fl
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212-594-9700
Fax: 212-695-6396
I think this man should hear as much as possible from as many people as possible who are tired of the coverup of Mondrowitz.
Mondrowitz is being held until NOVEMBER 27 (which is his 60th birthday, by the way) when there will be another hearing to determine whether he is to remain incarcerated or released with an electronic tracking device. His lawyer, David Ofek, argued today that the court will have to determine whether he can be held because of the "statute of limitations."
We have to be disciplined and focused in our response. So, for right now... let's hit Werdiger. Hard, and repeatedly. I want him to be so stunned in the next few days he'll be asking the rebbe to do something, anything to get him out of trouble.
***********************************************
TRANSLATION OF JUSTICE SHIMON FEINBERG’S DECISION
CASE No. 011944/07
HONORABLE JUSTICE SHIMON FEINBERG
THE STATE OF ISRAEL,
REPRESENTATIVE OF THE GOVERNMENT
VS.
AVROHOM MONDROWITZ,
RESPONDENT
APPEARING BEFORE THE COURT:
For the Plaintiff: Nili Gesser, Esq. and Marilyn Mazal-Hershkovitz Esq.
For the Defendant: David Ofek, Esq. and Tzivia Golovik Esq.
DECISION
1. In the matter of the request to extend the detention of the Respondents pursuant to Article 7 of the Extradition Law of 1954 (“Extradition Law”).
2. In 1985 the Respondent was issued an indictment in New York, United States on the charges of sodomy and other sexual assaults against five minors between the ages of nine through fifteen. The authorities of the United States issues an arrest warrant against him. However, before they were able to execute the warrant the Respondent fled to Israel. That year, the American authorities requested that the Israeli Government extradite the Respondent back to the United States. At that time the treaty between the two countries did not allow extradition for the crimes the Respondent was accused of. The State of Israel decided to remove him from the country. During that process, the Respondent appealed to the Israeli Supreme Justice Court and the State of Israel decided to abandon the proceedings of his removal. From that time on, the Respondent has been living with his family in Israel.
3. During the course of the past year the protocols of the extradition treaty were modified in a manner in which the crimes that the Respondent stands accused of by the courts of New York became extraditable crimes. In September 2007, the United States authorities requested the extradition of the Respondent from the State of Israel.
4. The Respondent was arrested on November 11, 2007 pursuant to Article 6 of the Extradition Treaty. The Requester now asks for an extension of the Respondent’s incarceration for an additional 12 days for the purpose of obtaining an updated extradition request to amend the request filed many years ago.
5. A hearing of the allegations was held before this Court on November 16, 2007. The Representative today introduced the following additional facts. In May of 2007, a search was conducted of the Respondent’s home where four films containing child pornography were discovered. The Requester also argued that the likelihood of the Respondents fleeing is high if he is not detained, because of his recent knowledge of the change in the Extradition Treaty which now allows his return to United States. The Requester further argues that the Respondent is a threat to the public as evidenced by the above material discovered in his home.
6. The Respondent argued that there are issues of statute of limitations and extensive period of time that has passed since the initial extradition request was made and denied. The Respondent requests that he be released in a manner which assures that the Respondent will reappear once the extradition proceedings commence, even suggesting that the Respondent be released to house arrest and monitored via an electronic monitoring bracelet.
7. The first question to consider is if the Respondent is a candidate for extradition based upon the revised extradition treaty? (See paragraph 6 of the extradition treaty.) We need to answer this request in a positive manner. The treaty between the two countries today states that these offenses are extraditable crimes. The Requester holds affidavits given on behalf of the victims/complainers against the Respondent about the crimes that the Respondent committed. All this evidence is the basis for the indictment against the Respondent, by the Unites States government.
8. Regarding the Respondents claim as to the statute of limitations and the large amount of time that has elapsed, Paragraph 2B (a) 6 of the extradition law, the upholding of the law is conditioned upon the time of the crime or its punishment not exceeding the statute of limitations according to Israeli law. According to paragraph 9 (a) 2 of the Israeli criminal code of 1982, a person cannot be prosecuted for a crime (except in death penalty or life in prison cases) if a period of ten years has past since the day the crime was committed. According to paragraph 9 (3) the statute of limitations commences either from the time of the last day of the investigation, or the day of the indictment or the last day of the proceeding in a court of law, whichever comes last. In our case, all of the proceedings as stated in paragraph 9 (3) above, occurred over ten years ago. The Representative of the government expressed that the statute of limitations might be an issue, however the courts in previous verdicts have recognized other cases where the statute of limitations was frozen where the accused has escaped before prosecution. Based upon paragraph 94-1 (3) of the criminal code, we can come to reject the claim against the statute of limitations.
(See criminal appeal 739-07 (supreme) Yonatan Efrat vs. Attorney General)
I have reviewed this case and concluded that there is a solid basis for the Requesters request regarding the statute of limitations; however this issue has some effect on my decision as to keeping the Respondent incarcerated as I will explain.
9. Another question that paragraph 6 of the extradition law raises is if there is a probable cause that an extradition request shall be filed? To that we answer in the affirmative, and the United States government has declared specifically that it will do so.
10. According to the previous decisions, in a hearing where the subject is in accordance with paragraph 7 to the extradition law, the court shall consider the regular arguments for keeping a person in custody, among them being the safety of the public, the concern of interfering with the investigation and primarily the fear of the accused fleeing, which is a permanent concern in a case of an extradition proceeding. In addition, the court shall consider the commitment that Israel has towards the requesting country – a commitment that is established in an international treaty that is the basis of the extradition law- to extradite the suspect and allow his extradition to the requesting country. This last consideration is a crucial one in a sense that at times it is justified to keep a person in custody even though general custody considerations state that he is to be released, because of the extra dimension that is as a result of Israel’s duty towards the requesting country. [Hon. Justice D. Banish (aka) see case #4422/03 Yitzchak Cohen vs. Attorney General.] These considerations are brought into account also during a proceeding of a requesting of incarceration prior to declaring a person extraditable [See case Jerusalem 11287/04 attorney General vs. Zev Rosenshtien.]
11. In our case, consideration for continued incarceration evolved from danger to the public and fear of the accused fleeing from justice. As to the consideration of danger to the public, findings of the investigation against the Respondent by the Israeli Police Department create a probable cause that the accused is still an active or potential pedophile. The fact that against the accused no criminal offenses have been brought does not negate the known danger of these offenses, especially in the ultra orthodox sector that the accused belongs to, because the victims and their families very often do not complain to the police because of the will of that sector to attempt to solve those problems internally without police involvement, to avoid humiliation to the family. I am not establishing that the accused has commenced any crimes in Israel, but I am not ruling that out either. The fear of fleeing from justice evolves from the revised treaty that allows the extradition of the accused to the United States, a situation that did not exist during the entire period of the accused’s stay in Israel. Additionally, one must bring into account the commitment of the State of Israel towards the requesting country that was established in an international treaty that is the basis of extradition law.
12. All of the above leads me to the conclusion to grant the Representatives request and to hereby order the continued incarceration of the accused. Nevertheless, due to the legality of the statute of limitation as I stated above, there is no room to rule out a potential alternative to incarceration as suggestion by the accused council.
13. Therefore, I hereby extend the incarceration of the accused as requested until November 27, 2007 at 12:00 PM. I am ordering a recommendation report of the Probational Service Office for consideration of a substitute for incarceration including house arrest with an electronic monitoring device. The report shall additionally consider the danger that the accused possesses. The report shall be submitted before the end of the term of incarceration. The report may be used by this court if an additional request for incarceration is filed according to paragraph 7A of the extradition law or if there is a request to declare the accused as extraditable.
14. The secretarial office shall send a copy of this decision to the probation service office.
Given today November 18, 2007 in the presence of all parties.
Shimon Feinberg, Judge
**********************
I came across this a while ago and finally found it again. This applies to all of us. May we all be blessed for it with continued success health and happiness. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world.Indeed it's the only thing that ever has.
Mark Weiss - Survivor - Activist
Ex-Brooklyn rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz faces extradition to U.S. on kid-sex rap!
BY MATTHEW KALMAN
SPECIAL TO THE NEWS
Monday, November 19th 2007, 4:00 AM
Avrohom Mondrowitz (this summer - left ---- In court - right )
JERUSALEM - A Jerusalem magistrate Sunday ordered a former Brooklyn rabbi accused of raping several boys 20 years ago to jail while American and Israeli officials finalize a U.S. request for his extradition.
Avrohom Mondrowitz, a father of seven, faces extradition to stand trial in New York to answer a 1985 indictment on four counts of sodomy and eight counts of sexual abuse in the first degree.
Mondrowitz, 60, once a popular child psychologist and youth counselor in Borough Park, allegedly sodomized the boys after befriending them or after taking them on trips to the movies and amusement parks.
The U.S. extradition request, resubmitted in September after a change in the treaty between the U.S. and Israel, was delayed after one of the five complainants withdrew from the case.
The U.S. Justice Department is expected to file an amended request this week.
Mondrowitz was arrested early Friday morning at his Jerusalem home and arraigned the same day.
Judge Shimon Feinberg, vice president of the Jerusalem Magistrates' Court, found that Mondrowitz was a possible candidate for extradition and rejected defense arguments that the statute of limitations applied to the offenses, even though they were allegedly committed more than 20 years ago.
Feinberg granted a prosecution request to extend Mondrowitz's imprisonment until Nov. 27 after the prosecution told the court that an Israeli police raid on Mondrowitz's home in May had netted four pedophile movies.
Mondrowitz is due to appear in court again Nov. 27, when Feinberg will decide whether to extend his jailing until the end of the extradition proceedings, which could take several months.
Mondrowitz's wife, Raizel, declared his innocence.
"People can come up 25 years later and say all kinds of things about anybody. No one's had any complaints about him for the last 25 years. This is all old stuff," she said.
********************************
Rabbi Yosef Blau Comments!
The debate about whether the Haredi or modern Orthodox leadership has been more negligent in dealing with sexual abuse and which abuser is worse is at best a side show. Thr Mondrowitz case has raised serious questions about how the Orthodox rabbinate responded to the many accusations that emerged twenty plus years ago in Brooklyn.
Since almost no one has denied his guilt, minimally a public statement should be made expressing sympathy for his apparently many victims (my sources say that he sexually abused essentially all the boys that were sent to him)and support for his being extradited. It is also neccesary that there be a thorough investigation of the reports that various rabbis discouraged Jewish children from cooperating with the police and were complicit in his fleeing to Israel after being indicted. If these allegations are false then no one should be afraid of the facts being uncovered.
Yosef Blau
Steve....Kicks Shafran Where It Should Hurt If He Had Any.....
That is part of why the Torah-observant population is greatly underrepresented in the realms of societal ills like rape, AIDS, prostitution and marital infidelity that affect their less repressed neighbors.
WOW!! Don't we all feel so much better now!! Thank you Avi! UOJ, there is no need for this blog anymore. Tell Elliot Pasik that there is no need for all the fuss about background checks, fingerprinting, registry and mandatory reporting. After all, we are "underrepresented" when it comes to such things as child molestation! Tell all the victims of clergy sexual abuse that they really don't matter, you are "underrepresented".
How this moron continues to write such gibberish and gets away with it is beyond me. It's been a year and a half since that article he's referring to, and forty years since Kolko started his molestation career. Do we have anything in place from the Agudah or Torah Umesorah that will give our children one iota of protection? Why is it that public school children have this protection and our children have nothing? Will Avi L. Shafran or the Agudah ever address these questions head on, or will we continue to hear how wonderful the Orthodox world is, and that we are "underrepresented"? It's like the false prophets before the first Temple destruction, telling the people how wonderful they are.
Until there is a tremendous outcry from the community and a demand for change, we will continue hearing from these false prophets. If you care about your children and grandchildren, start putting pressure on the Agudah, Torah Umesorah and your local politicians. Mandatory background checks, fingerprinting, sex offender registry and mandatory reporting MUST BE ENACTED IN THE YESHIVA SYSTEM AT ONCE!!! I am sorry to say that we are underrepresented when it comes to people crying out for the children. Avi, you are wrong, we have more than our fill of perverts!!
Opinion - In child pornography, fight harder By Ernie Allen
Mon Nov 26, 3:00 AM ET
Alexandria, Va. - Millions of children around the world are being sexually abused and molested. Billions of dollars are changing hands as part of a growing crime wave of child pornography. This is anything but a victimless crime. Children – some as young as infants – are being barbarically assaulted for the sexual gratification of their abusers and those who view their photos.
While inroads have been made in the fight against child pornography, the problem remains severe. We have much more to do.
The Internet has become a child pornography superhighway, turning children into a commodity for sale or trade. Analysts at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) have reviewed 9.6 million images and videos of child pornography on the Internet just since 2002. There are millions more such images in cyberspace that we have yet to find.
Law enforcement agencies are cracking down on this crime wave. In November, the chief operating officer of the National Children's Museum in Washington was arrested and charged with distributing child pornography over the Internet. Also this month, police across Europe announced they had arrested nearly 100 people linked to a network that allegedly produced and sold child pornography videos to 2,500 customers worldwide.
In 1998 Congress asked NCMEC to create a "9-1-1 for the Internet." We established CyberTipline (www.cybertipline.com), which has received more than 500,000 reports from the public and Internet service providers regarding child sexual exploitation. More than 460,000 of those reports involved child pornography.
What is child pornography? It goes far beyond nude pictures of children. It is the visual depiction – whether in still photos or video – of children being sexually assaulted. In some instances, rapes of children have been shown live over the Internet to paying customers. In 1982, the US Supreme Court held that child pornography is not protected speech but child abuse.
Some suggest that many people who view child pornography just "look at the pictures." But our work on these cases has led us to conclude that for most of those who view these images, sex with children becomes a compulsion and evolves into physical acts with real children.
When NCMEC analysts scour the Internet for child pornography, they determine whether website content is illegal, use search tools and techniques to identify and track down the distributors of child pornography, and then provide the information to the appropriate local, state, federal, or international law enforcement agency.
Law enforcement agencies and NCMEC have managed to identify almost 1,200 of the many children who appear in child pornography. We have found that 35 percent of the photos were taken by a parent, 15 percent by another family member, and 20 percent by someone close to the child or the family. We have provided more than 12,000 evidence reports to prosecutors and law enforcement officers to assist in prosecutions of those accused of these crimes.
Sadly, NCMEC has found that the children being used in these images are getting younger and younger, and the images are becoming more graphic and more violent. Of the children in pornographic photos and videos who have been identified, 58 percent had not yet reached puberty.
To stop the use of credit cards that fuel the child pornography industry, NCMEC created the Financial Coalition Against Child Pornography. Today this coalition includes 90 percent of the US payments industry, with growing international involvement. The 30 companies in the coalition include MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Bank of America, Citigroup, Microsoft, America Online, Yahoo, Google, and many others.
Thanks to the participating companies and extraordinary leadership from federal, state, and local law enforcement, we have virtually eliminated the use of credit cards in child pornography transactions. Although credit card logos still appear on some sites, now when consumers attempt to use credit cards, they either become victims of identity theft or are redirected to another method of payment.
In too many places around the world, the possession of child pornography is handled as a relatively minor offense. In fact, in 136 countries it is not even a crime.
Children depend on adults to keep them safe. We need to do more to protect them from dangerous, cold-hearted predators who want to harm them for pleasure and profit. We need to recognize child pornography as a crime against humanity that must be attacked more forcefully and that deserves harsh punishment.
Ernie Allen is president and CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a nonprofit charitable organization based in Alexandria, Va.
465 comments:
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I hate to admit, but UOJ really does get RESULTS.
http://bp1.blogger.com/_PWsyVBvNUGU/R0n_fflFItI/AAAAAAAAAhM/1hGO2N1FPWs/s1600-h/MOTEL.jpg
This place is on the way to Lake Compounce.
http://bp1.blogger.com/_PWsyVBvNUGU/R0nQPflFIoI/AAAAAAAAAgk/992q4ia0JD0/s1600-h/agudah+convention+2007.jpg
Does anyone know if UOJ was secretly in attendance at the Agudah convention?
It is a given amongst Orthodox Jews that a life of Torah observance will produce a better person. (Rav Yisral Salanter ZTL questioned whether this happened automatically.) This is an important argument used in encouraging baalei teshuva. Studies, anecdotal evidence and media reports that imply that Orthodox Jews exhibit the same problematic behavior as the general population are threatening to the community's self image. Since there are hostile elements to Orthodoxy defending Orthodoxy is often appropriate. Unfortunately, it also leads to denying realities and covering up to protect that image.
If Rabbi Shafran's defence of Orthodox Jews would be accompanied by some clear indication that communal leadership is acting to prevent future victims and helping those who are still suffering from earlier abuse then it would not appear so one sided. To write such an article while the extradition of Mondrowitz is before an Israeli court is to be tone deaf.
Yosef Blau
Last year, an article appeared in New York magazine that told the tawdry tale of an alleged serial Orthodox child abuser.
You didn't think I was going to let you get away with that line, did you Avi? Tawdry tale? Again, Shafran spits in the face of David Framowitz and all of Kolko's victims. Alleged abuser? Try INDICTED ABUSER, on several counts, and soon to be CONVICTED MOLESTER, B"H.
Avi Shafran is a honorable man
Avi Shafran u miserable lier and condemner of children to sexual abuse! We are officialy under represented when it comes to molestation because we supress going to the police or talking "loshon whora". Your right avi, I as a victim of leizerowitz am grossly underrepresented by askonim like u. Filthy dog that u r! Right in hell with your gedolim who facilitated the escape of mondrowitz. Do me a favor, quit fornicating on the blogs and in the media. Every time you issue a turd/statement an awful smell emanates from your NYC offices. Kolko wouldn't come near u if yours was the last pickle in the jar.
Shafran;
If you need stats on white-collar hareidi Fraud, just take a drive up to Otisville.
You can hitch a ride with Rabbi Savitsky who goes on a regular basis.
Come early enough and you can catch the Daf.
BTW; Shafran,
Tagid Lee.
Were you a co-screenwriter for "Pulp Fiction"?
Does anyone have info about mondrowitzs hearing yesterday? I didnt see any mention of it in any of the news outlets.
UOJ, u want pics for the side of your blog?
u really want them?
i cant heeeeeaaarrrrr u?
louder uoj!
good, now your beggin' like mondrowitz is gonna beg in prison.
So, u want some pics, right?
well then i'm gonna give u picks.
but only cause u asked nicely
Here u go, cant believe u haven't put these up till now.
http://www.judicialwatch.org/rabbiphotos3.shtml
Attention anybody giving money to Lakewood:
http://www.newsmeat.com/fec/bystate_detail.php?city=LAKEWOOD&st=NJ&last=kotler&first=aaron
Total: $8,350
Is this how mamon hekdesh is spent?
R' Boog,
Which Savitsky goes to Otisville? Do you mean the Savitskys originally from Boston that are considered to be overboard in their kanoyus for the Brisker Rov's shitos? There's one brother in Torah Vodaas and one in Queens that seem to hold of Belsky.
http://www.thejc.com/home.aspx?ParentId=m11s18&SecId=18&AId=56743&ATypeId=1
Violence at home ruins young lives
22 November 2007
By By Dana Gloger
THREE to five children in each Jewish classroom on average are exposed to domestic violence at home, a new report claims.
The survey, commissioned by Jewish Women’s Aid (JWA), follows a Metropolitan police report suggesting that similarly large numbers of children had experienced such violence in the general population. The charity wanted to find out whether the statistic also applied to Jewish children, and found that it did.
Its research was based on questionnaires given to children and on
information gathered from those using its services.
Abigail Morris, chief executive of JWA, said: “This new research gives all of us cause for concern.
“Children are, sadly, more exposed to domestic violence than we had previously thought, and Jewish children are no exception.”
This is often a hidden problem, she said, particularly within the Jewish community, which places great emphasis on family and the home.
“This means that many of the women affected feel they are the only ones and will suffer a lot more abuse before they come forward,” Ms Morris said.
“The effect on the children is awful. A common problem is that it affects their self-esteem. Often, they can’t sleep and it begins to affect their schoolwork.”
Seeing domestic violence at home also means that children do not see a positive model of a relationship, she added. Children in these situations see their parents locked in a cycle of victim and perpetrator.
“Many children also start acting like parents, trying to look after and protect their mothers.
“And it’s difficult, because they love their fathers too.”
Some of the children are also physically abused themselves.
Ms Morris added that the number of Jewish women using JWA’s services is “growing exponentially”.
“The Jewish community mirrors the wider population in this problem,” she said.
She suggested that in fact there might be a higher proportion of Jewish children affected by domestic violence than children in wider society, because some members of the Jewish community have more children than the national average.
JWA was established in 1992. It is run by and for Jewish women and their children who have experienced domestic abuse. It runs a refuge in London which houses up to eight women and their children.
According to a blog now focusing on this, 3 administration members are out of control:
Their crimes
• Physically and emotionally assaulting students
• Ridiculing and berating students
• screaming and yelling inappropriately constantly, at students and other staff
Calling students 'nigge*rs and Puerto Ricans'.
• using profanity and vulgar speech towards students
• Throwing a students kippas on the ground and stepping on them
• using racial slurs in reference to dress code against students
• charging a student who came from a poor home; for tefillin $200 (even though a fund-raising event earlier in the year specifically collected money for this very reason)
• going out of their way to embarrass students, rebbeim, teachers, and staff (making a female teacher cry after she was berated in front of her students)
• Placing students and the whole school in mortal danger by padlocking one of the exits and creating a major fire hazard in May and June of 2007
• Forbidding a teacher from saying kaddish for his brother at mincha in school (thanks to Rabbi **, whose violent temper is scary.)
• punishing students who have contact with the girls on the second floor of the same building (BHI would like you to believe they are separated by buildings, when in fact they are merely separated by a floor. The chances of no boy/girl contact is unrealistic and unfair under these circumstances.
• punching a boy so hard it left black and blue bruise marks
• grabbing a student by the neck and choking him
• Taking away a teachers senior class in beginning of year, out of spite and resentment towards that individual; and leaving the students without a teacher for the rest of the year.
• When the fire department and police came to check on an anonymous tip that one of the exits was chained and padlocked; the head janitor was sent to unlock it before fire marshals got a chance to see it. Unfortunately for BHI, the fire department saw it and cited the school for multiple violations. Seconds after the Fire department left; the padlock and chain was back on the door again.
• In late June another anonymous tip brought the fire truck roaring in with sirens which alerted the BHI Director to quickly order the chain and lock removed. This time it was off before the firefighters could get to it. The administration of course denied any chain or lock on the doors. As soon as the Fire Department left, just like they had done previously, the chain and lock was back on the doors.
Docking teachers/rebeim pay without just cause - pure geneiva
'Troubled' children who don't fit into their classrooms; and are sent out daily by their rebbe or teacher, are left to roam the building freely all day, in many cases leaving school premises for hours without being accounted for.
One student on an interview to come to the school was asked (by Rabbi **) while his mother was in the room, if he had ever tried coke or heroin; because he looked like like the type that did, he was told.
Providing no adequate counselors on premises who can counsel emotionally troubled kids.
Student bullies who bully and pick fights with other students are given free reign.
Students physically assault each other at probably a higher rate than public school.
BE’ER HAGOLAH INSTITUTES
671 Louisiana Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11239
718.642.6800
Founding Rabbinic Board:
Horav Yaakov Kamenetsky, zt”l
Horav Shneur Kotler, zt”l
Horav Avrohom Pam, zt”l
Vaad Hachinuch:
Horav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita
Horav Aryeh Malkiel Kotler, shlita
Horav Yaakov Perlow, shlita
Horav Aaron Schechter, shlita
Horav Elya Svei, shlita
Board of directors:
Marc Ratzersdorfer, President
Jonah Blumenfrucht, Chairman
Jonathan Gross, Chairman
Richard L. Hirsch, Vice President
Joel Beritz - Abraham Biderman
Jason Cury - Abraham Fruchtandler
Rabbi Yosef Gelman - Milton Gralla
Rabbi Mechel Gruss - Matthew Maryles
Moshe Z. Newman - Thomas Schick
Myron M. Sokal, M.D. - Joseph K. Stern
Richard Stone, Ph.D. - Jerome M. Turk
Gedalya Weinberger - Shlomo Weinberger
Ira Yavarkovsky
Rabbi Avner German, Dean
Pearl Kaufman, Executive Director
http://www.argusobserver.com/articles/2007/11/23/news/us/doc47472b60ca1d9642777655.txt
Sunday NOVEMBER 25, 2007 Last modified: Friday, November 23, 2007 11:38 AM PST
$50 million sex-abuse settlement with Alaska Natives
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A Roman Catholic religious order has agreed to pay $50 million to more than 100 Alaska Natives who allege sexual abuse by Jesuit priests, a lawyer for the accusers said Sunday.
The settlement with the Oregon Province of the Society of Jesus is the largest one yet against a Catholic religious order, said Anchorage lawyer Ken Roosa, who called it ‘‘a great day’’ for the 110 victims.
‘‘These are people who were altar boys and altar servers and altar girls,’’ Roosa said. ‘‘These are people who tried to tell their story and in many instances were beaten or told to shut up and told, ’How can you say such things about a man of God?’’’
The settlement does not require the order to admit fault, Roosa said. None of the priests were ever criminally charged.
Now that the OU & others have done such a piss poor job of getting Rubashkin to shape up, the Nathan Cummings Foundation in Manhattan has now given a major grant to the Conservative for the "Hechsher Zedek" initiative.
Nathan Cummings was a Litvak, born in 1896, who founded the Sara Lee Corp.
http://www.citicomonline.com/clients.aspx
I'm the PR man for Margo & many other lowlives.
What about the David Schick investment fund?
http://www.citicomonline.com/testimonials.html
Select name to view testimonial:
RABBI MOSHE SHERER
President, Agudath Israel of America
GEORGE KLEIN
Founder, Manhattan High School for Girls
RABBI AVROHOM C. LEVIN
Rosh Hayeshiva, Telshe Chicago
DAVID SINGER
Chairman, Keren Nesivos Moshe
RABBI ARON KOTLER
Beth Medrash Govoha of Lakewood
ABRAHAM BIDERMAN
Chairman, Shuvu Chazon Avrohom
RABBI YOSSI GORODETSKY
Executive Director, Chabad of France
DAVID MANDEL
Chief Executive Officer, Ohel
NACHUM SEGAL
Jewish Radio personality
HESHY KORENBLIT
Director of Advertising, The Jewish Press
RABBI PINCHOS LIPSCHUTZ
Publisher, Yated Neeman
http://www.citicomonline.com/events.html
Scroll over my picture to enlarge. Mehlman got a snapshot of my good side.
http://www.daashakohol.com/archives/189
It was about a year and a half ago that Moshe Rubashkin attempted to install an illegitimate Beis Din in the Community under the pretenses of an “election”. With thanks to Hashem most of us stayed away from the so called “elections” and there were few voters that participated. Note that the fraud extended over 5 days of voting unsealed ballots, supervision by a company that was only accountable to Rubashkin, and, most of all, it was openly against the Rebbe’s clear directives and against the Psak Din of Horav Schwei Shlito, together with 2 other Rabbonim who joined him.
At the so called ”Coronation” there was not even a minion present, as the participants themselves were embarrassed. If anyone had any doubt in his mind that these so called elections were not done for the benefit of the Community (as was claimed at the time), but rather for a totally different reason completely, all is now very obvious and clear, as many of us said at the time of the fraud.
The real reason for this was to be able to remove and eject Horav Schwei Shlito from the Beis Din, so that Rubashkin could consolidate his power through this puppet Beis Din that serves at his beck and call.
First he cut Rabbi Schwei off the payroll even before he installed his puppet Beis Din as a means of coercing him to remove his objections to the “election”. (The Rov is owed almost $120,000 to date!) When Rabbi Schwei refused to cave in to this extortion, Rubashkin then literally threw the Rov out of his office, the office that he was occupying for the past few years.
As if that was not enough, he made sure to cut off his cell phone and health insurance. Rubashkin claims this was all done with the consent and encouragement of his puppet Rabbis!!!!! This is an unprecedented outrage!!!!!
Click Here to Download the complete two page letter PDF
Below, is photo of a small segment of the Letter
Shafran has really got his smelly foot stuck in his mouth now.
Tawdry has rather unbecoming origins to be vocalized by an Agudah rabbi.
Etheldreda, later known as Saint Awdry, was a nun who lived 1400 years ago in Anglia (Old England). When the Vikings started invading England 200 years later in the 800s, they destroyed her convent.
Tawdry is the corruption of Saint Awdry. The modern English name Audrey is the same name.
Tawdry currently is used to describe something trashy, which means Shafran is resorting to Margo's dirty tricks to discredit the entire Kolko affair.
Maybe Shafran will get tongue tied trying to pronounce her name, Æthelthryth or Æðelþryð, in the original old Anglian and no more STUPID utterances will come out of his mouth again.
http://nymag.com/nymag/letters/41279/
Published Nov 25, 2007
1. Robert Kolker’s story last year about one man’s mistreatment as a young boy by Yehuda Kolko, a longtime rabbi and teacher at Brooklyn’s Yeshiva Torah Temimah (“On the Rabbi’s Knee,” May 22, 2006), helped influence others to file suits against the rabbi and eventually resulted in Kolko’s arrest late last year. Now, another case highlighted by Kolker’s story has also resulted in an arrest, that of Rabbi Avrahom Mondrowitz, the notorious child psychologist who was indicted in 1985 for molesting four boys in his care but decamped for Israel, where he was protected from extradition. For years, advocates have campaigned in vain for Mondrowitz to face trial. Then one of his alleged victims, Mark Weiss, read “On the Rabbi’s Knee,” which led him to voice his own horrifying memories. After Weiss told his story on ABC’s Nightline, the U.S. and Israel started working to change the extradition rules. Mondrowitz, now 59 and the father of seven children, was arrested in Israel earlier this month. He is expected to be returned to the U.S. to face trial (his wife has told reporters he is innocent). Kolker’s story, Weiss said, “inspired me to become active. I was then able to plug into the network of advocates and help get the truth out.”
http://www.thejewishadvocate.com/this_weeks_issue/news/?content_id=4052
The Jewish Labor Committee (JLC) is currently issuing a “kosher safety alert,” in hopes of impacting Agriprocessors, the country’s largest kosher slaughterhouse, which has been the subject of ongoing scrutiny.
“We are terribly concerned about the health and safety issues, which have been ongoing problems for the past few years at Agriprocessors,” said David Dolov, New England regional director of the JLC. “USDA inspections have revealed serious doubts about Agriprocessors’ ability to maintain sanitary conditions and to produce a safe and wholesome product.”
Agriprocessors, which produces beef, poultry, and lamb products under such brand names as Aaron’s Best, Aaron’s Choice, European Glatt, Nevel, David’s, and Supreme Kosher, has received a laundry list of charges from the Unites States Department of Agriculture and others over the past year.
The slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, received 250 noncompliance reports from the USDA during 2006, which cited inadequate safeguards against mad cow disease as well as fecal contamination and rodent problems in the food production area. In August, the company was reprimanded by the United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) regarding food safety concerns.
The UFCW was most concerned over two large-scale food recalls this year and the plant’s checkered reputation of screening for mad cow disease.
Gary Reckrodt, spokesperson for Agriprocessors, said the company was not aware of the JLC’s current food safety alert, but added that organizations like the JLC and the UFCW simply use the issue of food safety to ultimately talk about workers’ rights.
“We take food safety concerns very seriously, but the UFCW is using this tactic to force its way in when the real issue is workers’ rights,” said Reckrodt.
On Nov. 14, the JLC organized a hand billing at Trader Joe’s grocery store locations nationwide. Dolov and other local participants stood in front of the store’s Cambridge and Brookline locations and handed out flyers. According to Dolov, the JLC focused its efforts at Trader Joe’s because the store stocks products from Agriprocessors.
“We want the message to go to Trader Joe’s and ‘up the chain’ to Agriprocessors that they have to improve the workplace at the plant,” said Dolov. “Traders Joe’s is a big chain and can make an impact, not to mention the fact that they distribute a lot of kosher products.”
As the country’s leading producer of kosher meats, Agriprocessors plays an important role in the lives of those who follow Jewish dietary customs. If the plant were to be shut down or put temporarily out of business, the impact would be felt in many kosher households, according to Walter Gellerman of The Butcherie in Brookline.
“They’re the premier kosher producer. They supply the majority of the market nowadays,” said Gellerman. “If they closed their doors tomorrow there wouldn’t be any glatt kosher meat out there.”
Dolov insisted that while he does not want to see Agriprocessors shut down, it is the responsibility of the Jewish people to make sure kosher products are acceptable.
“It is our collective responsibility to let the industry know that we demand quality products,” he said.
http://www.iowapolitics.com/index.iml?Article=111122
Clinton Campaign: Clinton proposes new safety measures to ensure imported products are safe for American families
11/20/2007
Contact: Press Office, (703) 875-1271
press@hillaryclinton.com
Would Strengthen Safety Net For Imported Food, Toys and Medicine
Ahavas Yisrael Charity Fund in Baltimore
The following is posted on the Jewish Survivors Blog by an anonymous poster.
I have heard similar stories over the last few years.
If you are a victim of sexual abuse and live in Baltimore keep your mouth shut if you need financial assistance from Ahavas Yisrael.
If you have been donating to this fund, STOP!
The word is out that if you speak out you will be cut off. It's happened to four friends of mine so far.
What happens is that victims get called into meetings by either Mrs Isbee or Eli Schlossberg.
They are told that Ahavas Yisrael is running out of money and that they have met the maximum amount that they will pay per family or individual person.
I have another friend who was told that they could no longer help pay for medication, yet they did have the money to hire mover to get them out of town.
Some of the people involved with this organization include
Mrs. Aviva Isbee
Eli Schlossberg
Rabbi Boruch Brull
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer
Rabbi Moshe Heinemann
Rabbi Shraga Neuberger
Rabbi Ari S. Neuberger
Rabbi Simcha Shafran
Rabbi Zvi Hersh Weinreb
The IRS National Research Program indicates that the percent of income not reported is quite low for wages and salaries, but tax evasion rises to 40 percent for business income. Income tax payments overall are under reported by about 13 percent.
I have read comments on blogs to the effect that one of the rabbis in particular at Be'er Hagolah has been reported several times to the police for getting violent. NYPD detectives have been down there a few times to interview other students to see if they witnessed anything.
The student body is of course mostly Russian. Does anyone know of websites frequented by Russian Jewish youth where UOJ could reach out to potential victims?
The public should find even more troubling, Shafran's inappropriate use of the word salacious. He is not only slandering David Framowitz when attributing this adjective to him but it shows what kind of perverted, filthy mind Shafran himself has (much like his filthy Borsalino).
Salacious can be defined as:
1. Appealing to or stimulating sexual desire; lascivious.
2. Lustful; bawdy.
3. Of, concerning, or promoting sexual love or desire
From Latin salāx, salāc-, fond of leaping (on someone's body), lustful, from salīre, to leap. Who knew Shafran had such a dirty mind?
What steps did Rav Scheinberg take to keep Kolko from repeating and continuing his behavior? What did he advise Lipa Margulies? At least the Tenker Rav, while concluding there was insufficient evidence to turn Kolko over to the police, did recommend that he be kept away from young boys. Rav Scheinberg did nothing and recommended nothing, which put him in the position of allowing behavior which is assur to continue.
Harry Maryles on haemtza.blogspot.com also criticizes Shafran on his blog. What's interesting is that just two weeks ago Harry praised Shafran to the heavens calling him one of his "favorite people". When I commented then about Shafran's response to the NY Magazine article (Shafran's response at the time was very similar to his current post in Cross Currents), Harry deleted my post. When I posted Shafran's e-mail to SIW regarding Kolko's arrest last December,("why should we comment") Harry kept trying to defend him saying that the quote was taken out of context(meanwhile I had quoted the entire e-mail). So now we can all see the hypocrisy of Harry Maryles.
Avi Shafan is an idiot, an evil idiot to be precise but you are barking the wrong tree. He is a spokesmen ($70,000 a year according to JWB) for Aguda and his job responsibility is to try to show the best face for Aguda (a job which he miserably fails which is a good thing).
Shafran is doing his job really well. As the spokesman of Agudah, he is making sure that the venom and outrage of everyone is towards HIM and not towards the actualy Agudah and those that run it.
By everyone expressing their outrage at him, they are allowing him to deflect the attention from Agudah and bad policies etc...to yelling at Avi Shafran.
Imagine if everyone now blamed the Iraq war on Ari Fleischer, and yelled at screamed at him all day on blogs and everyone else. Obviously, this is ridiculous.
We should kill the message, but not allow us to kill the messenger (in this case Shafran)to distract our attention from those who hire him.
Shafran and the Agudah need to attend sensitivity training classes. They have become totally desensitized regarding child molestation. To them it is just another "issue" that maybe should be discussed at a future meeting, somewhere in between kollel subsidies and the school lunch program. It is nowhere near as urgent as the shidduchim "crisis" or stopping bloggers such as UOJ. Shafran is acting as the Agudah's mouthpiece, but if he didn't share the same views, he wouldn't constantly repeat them.
Shafran thinks that his views are representative of the majority of Orthodox Jews. That view being that sexual molestation in yeshivas is highly uncommon and therefore, when it occurs, it should be swept under the carpet. I think that this disturbing attitude is not the majority, but the minority opinion of certain desensitized, uncaring, heartless individuals. The overwhelming majority, albeit silent majority, feel the same outrage and would like immediate action taken to protect our children. Shafran is so hung up on statistics and percentages, that he doesn't realize the destruction that even one molestation can cause. Can you measure the destruction of families and the massive chillul hashem that is caused in numbers and percentages? It's like measuring the impact of 9/11 by the number of casualties. If you go by this logic, there are more people killed on the highways each year than the number of people killed on 9/11, therefore, the US should suspend all activities in Afghanistan in trying to catch Bin Laden.
http://orthomom.blogspot.com/2007/11/enabling-and-apologetics.html
Rabbi Shafran is spending too much time explaining and obsessing on how Orthodox Jews are the victims of the media, and how our culture is under siege by people hell-bent on proving that the molestation issue is as prevalent in the Orthodox community as it is in society at large - and in doing so, Rabbi Shafran is completely dodging the issue here, an issue which sorely needs addressing. The issue that child molestation does exist in our schools, in our camps, in our neighborhoods. The issue that every single allegation of child molestation needs to be fully and thoroughly investigated. The issue that there are too many instances coming to light of people in our community turning a blind eye - whether out of ignorance or out of willful denial - to the cases of abuse that have seemingly occurred.
…It's almost as if Rabbi Shafran would have us believe that the fear of the community losing face over these allegations are somehow anywhere near as disturbing as the allegations themselves. The allegations, some quite credible, of children being abused in the most heinous manner by those who we entrust to care for them, to educate them. If Rabbi Shafran were to put out just one statement that would lead me to to believe that he is chagrined, devastated, completely emotionally wrought by the allegations of abuse and cover-up that have rocked the Orthodox world, then maybe I would feel more comfortable with the apologetics and attempts to paint the community at large as the actual victims of unfair media attention here. But the bottom line is that the victimhood is getting old. The victim here is not the Orthodox community, at the hands of a sensationalist press - or at least they are not the most pitiable victims. The victims, that just once, Rabbi Shafran might consider showing at least as much compassion for as he does for the reputation of our entire community, are...well, the actual victims of these heinous crimes.…
"…While the many accusations about abusers may or may not imply something about the general Orthodox community, the cover-ups, the diminishing of the seriousness of these accusations, and the belittling of the victims and the immense courage that many of them have shown by coming forward, is in my mind a greater indictment of our community than any Brooklyn courtroom can issue.…"
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=12049
Here he is mirroring the crap from Abu Shafran's Am Echad website with no balance of counter opinions.
http://hirhurim.blogspot.com/2007/11/wikipedia-entry.html
I don't know the rules about this, but perhaps an interested and sufficiently informed reader can either explain or intervene regarding the pending deletion of the Wikipedia article about ME ME ME ME
You would think that Shafran, who purports to represent the Agudas Yisroel, would show at least a modicum of rachmoness for the victims, that he was supposed to inherit from the Avos Hakedoshim, Avrohom, Yitzchok & Yaakov.
Lav davka that we listen to the Avos HaKedoshim.
They were from a previous generation.
There are 65,000 registered sex-offenders in California...and God only knows how many hundreds of thousands that are not registered! Shafran is the spokesperson for Shmuel Kaminetzky & Co...in a perfect world would be in jail today. Nothing surprises me anymore! Nothing!
-----------------------
Viability of sex-offender law in doubt
The lifetime GPS monitoring ordered by Prop. 83 may be too costly and complex to ever fully implement.
By Michael Rothfeld, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
November 27, 2007
SACRAMENTO -- -- Law enforcement leaders who pushed for a ballot initiative requiring sex offenders in California to be tracked by satellite for life are now saying that the sweeping surveillance program voters endorsed is not feasible and is unlikely to be fully implemented for years, if ever.
Under the measure, approved overwhelmingly a year ago, sex offenders must be strapped with global positioning system devices that can record their whereabouts even after they finish parole and leave the criminal justice system.
Despite their qualms, law enforcement groups contend that the benefits of Proposition 83, popularly known as Jessica's Law, outweigh its problems, and they insist that many of the flaws can be fixed. But in interviews and testimony to a state board, they have cited complications with almost every aspect of the provision requiring lifetime monitoring.
The difficulties include the impracticality of tracking sex offenders who no longer must report to parole or probation officers, the lack of any penalty for those who refuse to cooperate with monitoring and the question of whether such widespread tracking is effective in protecting the public.
The biggest issue, however, is that the law does not specify which agency or government should monitor felony sex offenders -- and shoulder hundreds of millions of dollars a year in related costs.
Only a small percentage of the 65,000 sex offenders thought to be living in communities throughout the state are subject to the law, but the numbers are expected to grow by thousands every year as more offenders are released from prison.
As a result, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state law enforcement leaders, who were allied in backing the measure, are engaged in a standoff over who should bear its financial burden.
"I don't know of any agency that has the resources to track and monitor . . . in real time," said Vacaville Police Chief Richard Word, president of the California Police Chiefs Assn. "You'll need an air traffic controller to track these folks."
Word and other law enforcement leaders said the global positioning system satellite technology probably would never be used for full-time electronic surveillance of sex offenders as the law suggests. They said GPS is more effective for acting on tips about potential crimes or investigating incidents that have already occurred than for blanket monitoring that reveals a location as a blip on a map but not what the subject is doing there.
The state's new Sex Offender Management Board, which began meeting during the summer, is taking testimony from local officials and others for a report due in January on how the law works in practice and what changes might need to be made.
"We've heard significant concerns with how monitoring would be implemented and how it would be paid for," Suzanne Brown-McBride, the board's chairwoman, said in an interview.
Tze nisht azoy pushett tzee brengen a raaya fin Avruhum. Don't forget that my old friend Nimrod threw him in the kivshan shel aish.
Nimrod iz geven an honorable man.
Belsky just told me a very important point. I think I should speak about this tonight at Peretz Steinberg's shul.
It's much more teef than just shlogging up the Avos HaKedoshim. Adam Harishon was 20 doros before Avrohom Avinu. And the Midas HaRachamim was one of the few things created even before Shayshes Yemai Breishis.
Memayla, the Midas HaRachamim was from the earliest of generations and we certainly shouldn't listen to him either!
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm00602.htm
Why Was Mondrowitz Not Arrested Sooner?
According to this United States Department of Justice (US DOJ) manual, extradition from a foreign country involves four basic steps:
1.contacting the Office of International Affairs;
2. making a preliminary determination of extraditability;
3. deciding whether to ask for provisional arrest;
4. submitting the required documents in support of the formal request for extradition.
Israel did not arrest Avrohom Mondrowitz until November 16, 2007 after Aviva Lori's piece was published in the Ha'aretz weekend magazine 12 days ago, even though Mondrowitz is a proven flight risk.
The US DOJ spokesman confirmed yesterday that Israel was asked on September 7, 2007 to extradite Mondrowitz. In other words, more than two months passed before the arrest.
What does this mean?
It could mean several things:
THe Brooklyn DA did not ask for Mondrowitz to be provisionally arrested.
The DOJ ignored the Brooklyn DA's request for arrest.
The State Department ignored the Brooklyn DA's request for arrest.
Israel ignored the US request for arrest.
What's the most likely scenario? Time and some additional legwork will tell.
So I guess we can deduce that since the Agudah Fresser Convention came & went without incident, that they weren't stupid enough to attack UOJ again?
Does this mean Wachsman sued the town because they wouldn't give him tax exempt status?
Rockland Civil Supreme Index Number: 004683/2004 Upstate RJI Number:
Case Name: MEOR YITZCHOK INC. vs. RAMAPO,TOWN OF
Case Type: Tax Certiorari
Track: Standard
Disposition Date: 08/09/2006
Date NOI Due: NOI Filed: Disposition Deadline:
Calendar Number: RJI Filed: 07/19/2006
Jury Status:
Justice Name: THOMAS A. DICKERSON
Attorney/Firm For Plaintiff: 845 356 8700/ALAN SIMON, ESQ. Attorney Type: Attorney Of Record Status: Active
83 SOUTH MAIN STREET
SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. 10977
845-356-8700
Attorney/Firm For Defendant:
845 357 5100/RAMAPO TOWN ATTORNEY Attorney Type: Attorney Of Record Status: Active
237 RT. 59
SUFFERN, NY 10901
914-357-5100
MICHAEL KLEIN/RAMAPO TOWN ATTORNEY Attorney Type: Trial Counsel Status: Active
237 RT. 59
SUFFERN, NY 10901
914-357-5100
On the contrary, "Pulp Fiction" Shafran is doing an excellent job for the Aguda and no doubt his handlers are quite pleased and getting more than their money's worth out of him.
Deflect, deflect, deflect. Repeat the mantra often enough and it becomes accepted belief. It's them (the anti-semites) against "us" and our way of life. Unsubstantiated allegations, heresay, disgruntled and emotionally unbalanced accusers, and pure Loshon Hora. And of course the coup-de-grace to those of our tribe who refuse to march in lock-step: "Dass Toiyrah".
Chazora:
1. Metzizah B'Peh: they're out to get us.
2. Rubashkin's Tainted Meat: It's PETA, the enemies of Schechita, the Union trying to organize the workers, etc.
3. Kashrus Fiascos: Lax hashgochos,
Bribed hashgochos, No Hashgochos (Finkel)Hey Breslauer, WAKE UP! Higiya Zman Krias Shema, and ignorant Hashgoches. It's 10 P.M. (or anytime) do you really, really know what you're eating?
This would make for a very funny Seinfeld sitcom if it were not so tragic. And then of course we have "Ohel Moshe" Mo Scheinerman (of Avenue J. Plumba Fame) lecturing the Oilam on this years Designer topic: Keeping Shemitta In Eretz Yisroel. Howze about your own backyard? But of course, this current disgraceful state of Kashrus is not our fault, it's "them".
4. Child-Sex molestation, Pedophilia: It is all being covered here on the UOJ Blog and elsewhere.
A long and difficult uphill climb for UOJ, Eliot Pasik, Michael Lesher, et al; but definite progress is being made.
http://www.callingsuperstore.com/seattle/cardinfo/36/
He & his wife were sued by this scammer phone card company which means he was probably a shutef.
http://cameronadvertising.com/
He's actually been sued a bunch of times including by the above company.
A long and difficult uphill climb for UOJ, Eliot Pasik, Michael Lesher, et al; but definite progress is being made.
-----------
Thanks for the chizuk - Boog & chevra! There's goings on behind the scenes that's gonna break their backs! These are rishaim plain & simple...and ignorant ones to boot!
http://ecksteinworld.blogspot.com/2007/10/yehudah-eckstein.html
Eckstein World
Everything, but the Yeshiva.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Yehudah Eckstein
There is the real world, and there is the Eckstein world.
They are very different.
For example,
In the real world a Yeshiva is a place to learn torah, in the Eckstein world a Yeshiva is a place for news stories and לשון הרע.
In the Eckstein world a Gadol is someone who flies in helicopters.
http://ecksteinland.blogspot.com/2007/10/disclaimer.html
Please be advised: All thought I may be the mashba"k of Moran Harav Hagaon R' Shmuel - THE ONLY REAL Rosh Yeshiva - Nothing I quote from the Rosh Yeshiva may be considered accurate.
As the Rosh Yeshiva Rav Berenbaum himself said "do hust dus gehert fun Ekshtein, eh, Ekshtein Shmekshtein. Er farshiet gurnisht fun vos ich reht."
http://ecksteinland.blogspot.com/2007/10/hatzala-f-121.html
Hatzala F-121
Just ask anyone in Hatzala about me, you'll understand the definition of under control, calm, rational, collected, cool, level-headed, and common sense.
Just kidding, you'll find out the definition of arrogant, full of it, flying off the handle, someone you just don't want to have anything to do with.
http://ecksteinland.blogspot.com/2007/10/welcome.html
I imagine I am the source for jewish news. What I don't think happened, didn't happen.
If I imagine that I get 100,000 hits a day, then I do, and I'll tell my advertisers the same.
Elliot Pasik, Esq. comments on the Hirhurim blog:
------------------
R Shafran's article is deficient on many counts.
He criticizes the Friedman/Yehuda article, and refers to first-person victim sex abuse testimony as anecdotal, but there is a Catch-22 elephant in the middle of the room. Aguda and its twin, Torah U'Mesorah, maintain no yeshiva-wide record-keeping system of sex abuse incidents, or even simple accidents. There is no paper trail. Nothing is put into writing. Parents and children must rely on the wisps of blogs and media reports to get a glimpse of what is going on.
Every public educational system in the country investigates sex abuse incidents, and just simple accidents, occurring on their school premises. They do keep track. There is paperwork. There are investigations. Teachers and other personnel get disciplined and fired. When there are accidents, repairs get made. In the wake of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, the Catholics are doing things comparable. Nothing of the sort exists in the yeshiva world.
At the May 2003 Torah U'Mesorah Conference, dealing with sex abuse, a registry of sex abusers was promised. Obviously, even they recognize there's a problem. Four years later, has it been done? No. The New York Magazine article, in May 2006, specifically noted the absence of a registry. The article was well-researched, and factually accurate.
So R Shafran takes advantage of this lack of paper trail, to suggest that all of the Jewish sex abuse cases we're reading about in the media, and on the Awareness Center site, constitute anecdotal evidence only.
There is a legal concept: equitable estoppel. No man can take advantage of his own wrong. Some people call, it, Catch-22.
If a surgeon leaves an instrument in your body, he doesn't tell you despite your complaints, and then the statute of limitations expires, he will be "estopped" in court from raising that defense when you sue him for malpractice.
Taking advantage of their private status, and failing to fulfill their promises, Agudath Israel/Torah U'Mesorah, through R Shafran, says, the sex abuse problem consists of anecdotal evidence only. To which we should all say, Nonsense. Equitable esptoppel. Catch-22. Awareness Center.
So what exactly is the Aguda/Torah U'Mesorah approach for eradicating the sex abuse problem in the yeshiva world? The September 2007 Jewish Observer article tells parents to watch their kids. Shall we sit in the back of the classroom six days per week?
And what does Agudath Isarel/Torah U'Mesorah have to say about mandatory criminal background checks? As some readers may know, I've been a strong advocate in this area. On June 19, 2007, the NYS Senate passed a mandatory fingerprint and criminal background check bill for all New York nonpublic schools. It was supported by the RCA and OU. Agudath Israel's support would have helped. Instead, they were silent. The bill remains parked in the Assembly Education Committee.
Does R Shafran support background checks? Is Rabbi Shafran aware that at the same May 2003 Torah U'Mesorah Convention, one of the speakers described an incident where a janitor with a criminal record working in a yeshiva molested some children? Instead of speaking out on this issue, R Shafran chooses to link media coverage of Jewish sex abuse incidents to an attack on Torah u'mitzvos. This is an absurdity on its face.
Meanwhile, the RCA approach to the problem is clearcut, and free of the intentional ambiguity that permeates R Shafran's article. Their May 2007 Resolution states: mandatory background checks; mandatory abuse incident reporting; mandatory abuse incident prevention plans; mandatory employee discipline. All of this should be legislated. I was the proponent of this plan.
Meanwhile, Agudath Israel has no real plan, except to think that magazine and op-ed articles might solve the problem.
I agree with Gil. Child sex abuse is not an anecdote. Sworn/affirmed first-person victim testimony, subject to rigorous cross-examination, and all of the formalities of centuries of Western jurisprudence intended to determine the truth, is not anecdotal. Suggesting that, and casting doubt on the in-court testimony of victim/survivors, and on their credible media accounts as well, is an insult to them and their families.
Elliot Pasik, Esq. | 11.27.07 - 1:48 pm | #
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/105415.html
You know we are in trouble when mainstream news sites start quoting Eckstein & Yeshiva World.
http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/news/articles.asp?articleID=9411
Friday, November 23, 2007
Report and Commentary, By George J. Bryjak
China is the world’s leading exporter of fruits and vegetables as well as a major producer of other foodstuffs in the international marketplace. Between 1980 and 2006, agricultural exports from that Asian country to the U.S. increased more than 16-fold from a value of $133 million to $2.26 billion.
With the deaths of approximately 4,000 animals earlier this year as a consequence of pet food laced with an industrial chemical (melamine), we learned that the safety of Chinese foodstuffs leaves much to be desired. In the first four months of 2007, U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors refused 298 food shipments from China, including:
¯dried apples preserved with a cancer-causing chemical
¯juices and fruits rejected because of “filth”
¯frozen breaded-shrimp preserved with nitrofuran, a cancer-producing antibacterial
¯“poisonous” swordfish
¯frozen catfish laden with banned antibiotics
¯scallops and sardines coated with putrefying bacteria
¯prunes tainted with chemical dyes not approved for human consumption
¯frozen red raspberry crumble contaminated with pesticides
¯mushrooms laced with illegal pesticides.
By way of comparison, during that same four-month period, FDA inspectors rejected only 56 shipments from Canada even though food imports from our northern neighbor have approximately five times the annual value of agricultural imports from China.
In light of the dangers associated with an undetermined and, perhaps, unknowable amount of tainted food produced in China, I was surprised to learn that broccoli, cauliflower, green beans and mandarin oranges from that Asian nation were being served to senior citizens at the Saranac Lake Adult Center and through the Meals on Wheels program. Prior to a recent Meals on Wheels delivery, cook Michael Baryk informed me that produce shipments from Quandt’s Foods contained fruits and vegetables from at least four overseas nations, including China.
In October, Scott Brady, director of the Association for Senior Citizens in Franklin County, told directors and cooks of the county’s senior centers it was their decision whether or not to use produce from China and other foreign countries. Mr. Brady plans to recommend to the Contract Committee of the Franklin County Association of Senior Citizens (subcontractor to the Franklin County Office for the Aging) that his agency work with another produce supplier, preferably a company that obtains fruits and vegetables from growers in the United States.
Mr. Brady later informed senior center directors that they could hold, but should not use, Chinese-grown produce in the hopes of getting a refund from Quandt’s. Elizabeth Kochar, director of the Adult Center in Saranac Lake, stated that’s exactly what she will do.
“If we cannot get a credit from Quandt’s, the vegetables will be destroyed,” Kochar said.
Kudos to Baryk, Kochar and Brady for recognizing the potential danger of feeding seniors with Chinese produce as well as their collective decision to discontinue using these foods.
There are a number of reasons for the volume of unsafe Chinese foodstuffs arriving in this country:
1. China has more than 200 million mostly peasant farmers working on one- to two-acre plots who have little if any understanding of correct chemical and antibiotic use. In at least one instance, farmers raising ducks were injecting egg yolks with a with a red dye (to get a better price) that turned out to be a cancer-causing agent. William Hubbard, who spent 14 years with the FDA, stated that a Chinese supplier dried tea leaves with truck exhaust fumes.
2. Small farmers typically sell their produce to wholesale marketers. Fruits and vegetables of one farmer are mixed with those of others, making the source of contaminated foodstuffs untraceable.
3. Weak regulatory and legal systems in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies has resulted in an anything-goes, free-wheeling capitalism that permits unscrupulous businesses to sell fake baby formula, produce lead-coated toys and baby bibs, toxic cosmetics, and tainted dietary products. Earlier this year, counterfeit cold medicines were responsible for the deaths of at least 100 Panamanians. The New York Times reported that “Panama’s death toll leads directly to Chinese companies that made and exported the poison as 99.5 percent pure glycerin.” Wang Fei Ling, a professor of international affairs at Georgia Tech, stated, “We’re now learning some of the dirty secrets behind this (Chinese) fast growing economy. And the dirty secret is they’re cutting corners in making things.”
4. In a recent edition of Foreign Affairs, Elizabeth Economy, author of “The River Runs Black: The Environmental Challenges to China’s Future,” gives us a bleak overview of what must certainly be the most polluted nation on earth. She notes that “much of China’s arable soil is contaminated, raising concerns about food safety ... and every year 12 million tons of grain are contaminated with heavy metals absorbed from the soil.” China is one of the world’s largest producers and users of chemical pesticides. According to a report in the Wilson Center’s “China Environment Series,” 70 percent of the pesticides used in that country are “highly toxic.” This disturbing statistic is from the Chinese government’s own pesticide classification system.
5. The Washington Post reported that FDA inspectors checked fewer than 1 percent of regulated imports to the U.S. in the first quarter of this year. At this paltry rate of inspection, it’s anybody’s guess how much tainted food is being sold and consumed annually in this country.
6. Robert B. Cassidy, a former assistant U.S. trade representative for China, notes that “So many U.S. companies are directly or indirectly involved in China now, the commercial interest of the United States these days has become to allow imports to come in as quickly and smoothly as possible.” Cassidy believes we are “kowtowing to China” even though that country continues to export adulterated and mislabeled food to our shores. Professor John C. Blair chaired a 2003 National Academies committee that recommended the implementation of significant changes in the nation’s food safety system. The committee’s advice was all but ignored, prompting Blair to state he was increasingly concerned that both corporations and the federal government were putting the interests of big business “above the welfare of the people.”
7. Some (many?) U.S. corporations continually push Chinese companies to lower the cost of their goods and foodstuffs. As a consequence of these demands, China’s factory owners use the cheapest — and not always the safest — ingredients available to meet the expectations of their corporate customers.
Chairman Mao’s broccoli turning up in Franklin County adult centers leads one to ponder the obvious question: What other North Country institutions funded, in part or whole, with taxpayer dollars are using Chinese foodstuffs? Grammar schools? High schools? Community colleges? Universities? Hospitals? Recreation Centers? Food banks? Jails? Prisons? I have no idea how food distribution systems in our region work. Perhaps it’s time we all learned.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/124387
Agudath Israel of America adopted a resolution Sunday at its 85th national convention in Connecticut bluntly stating "Israel should not relinquish parts of Jerusalem to Palestinian sovereignty, and the American government should not pressure the Israeli government into doing so."
Nathan Diament, public policy director for the Orthodox Union, led the group of American Jewish and Christian leaders who met with Stephen Hadley, the National Security Advisor for U.S. President George W. Bush and other senior White House officials.
Included in the delegation was Jeff Ballabon, head of the Coordinating Council for Jerusalem, as well as representatives from Agudath Israel and the National Council of Young Israel, David Brog of the Christians United for Israel, the Southern Baptist Convention and former presidential candidate Gary Bauer.
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/105522.html
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker rebbe and the head of the council, described a meeting in Jerusalem with two leading rabbinic authorities, Rabbis Yoseph Sholom Elyashiv and Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman, in which both expressed their opposition to any change in the status quo.
Perlow noted that it is Agudah policy on matters relating to Israel to refer to rabbinic authorities based in Israel.
"Agudath Israel will find appropriate ways to express itself on this matter," he said.
What a Disgrace. 100 people protest outside the Agudah Fresser Convention except they weren't our boys - they were Neturei Karta nuts.
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-protest5nov25,0,1624791.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
By Monica Potts
Staff Writer
Published November 25 2007
STAMFORD - About 100 Orthodox Jews from communities in Brooklyn and upstate New York protested outside the Westin Hotel at First Stamford Place last night as Jerusalem's mayor addressed an American Jewish organization's conference inside.
The protest took place for more than an hour, beginning shortly after 10 p.m. at the corner of Greenwich Avenue and First Stamford Place, the access road leading to the hotel. Police had blocked off the road in anticipation of the demonstration.
No one was arrested and there were no injuries, police said. The state police used a helicopter to monitor the crowd, while Stamford police had at least one canine unit at the scene of the demonstration.
A Westin employee would not provide any information last night during a telephone call to the hotel seeking comment from Lupolianski.
Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss, from Monsey, N.Y., said he helped organize the protest as part of the group Jews United Against Zionism.
As conference attendees began leaving the hotel an hour later, some took cell-phone camera pictures from their cars and others honked at the protesters.
One car passenger yelled out of their window, calling the group "disgusting."
Are they trying to protect any molesters in Texas?
http://www.jhvonline.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=96&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=3456&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1291&hn=jhvonline&he=.com
Rabbi Asher Block, executive director of the newly founded Texas regional office of Agudath Israel of America
Aron Twerski said...
Nimrod iz geven an honorable man.
1:36 PM, November 27, 2007
Hey tort putz! There should not be any mentioning of the gedoilim from the previous dor.
It’s time to look into BMG grants they received and see if they went to promised use, or to other political campaigns:
1] $500,000 shall be awarded to Beth Medrash Govoha, Lakewood, New Jersey, for equipment, exhibits and preservation of Holocaust collections. [Grantor: U.S. Office of Museum and Library Services]
2] Jamesway property:
In June 2000, Lakewood rabbinical college Beth Medrash Govoha (BMG) purchased the property for $1.9 million. Instead of taking out an equity line of credit on the property to improve its appearance, the college continued to use the building in the same rundown condition. BMG received numerous Inspections Department violation notices as a result.
In October 2005, college Director Ahavon (Aaron) Kotler made a presentation for grant funding before members of the Lakewood Development Corporation (LDC), which oversees the UEZ and its fund. Kotler said his college planned to build a medical center and a business incubator inside the former Jamesway. He said state and Federal grants would pay for renovations to the structure and interior of the building, but requested UEZ grants to pay for improvement of the grounds.
LDC members discussed the project during the December 2005 board meeting. Some members opposed the use of public monies to improve private property, while others supported the request. Dr. David Eisenberg, who had criticized the plan, was not reappointed to another 2-year term on the LDC in 2006. The following year, retail advocate Lynn Celli, civil rights advocate James Waters and Lakewood Airport Director Bertram Albert were not reappointed to the board either. All four had all been critical of the Jamesway and other projects they deemed unsafe or inappropriate for UEZ funding.
Their criticism of the Jamesway project turns out to be justified.
NJ News & Views recently made an Open Public Records Act request to view information on file with the township Code Enforcement and Zoning Department. Despite Kotler's assertion that the Jamesway was planned as a business incubator and medical center, the facility was always intended to be a school. [BMG used their weight to involve themselves in politics]
IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SUPPORT A POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE AND A FRAUDULENT INSTITUTION DON’T SUPPORT BMG OF LAKEWOOD.
I SPOKE TO SOL WERDIGER. HE SAID THAT GER IS DOING NOTHING TO HELP MONDEROWITZ.
UOJ,
THE AWARENESS CENTER ALREADY KNOWS THIS.
PLEASE REMOVE SOL'S CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU.
Any news fron the 1/9/08 hearing?
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