A victim of abuse writes....
Dear Hashem,
I’m at the end of my strength in Emunah.
As a victim of abuse, I was told by YOUR guardians of YOUR Torah that it’s Asur to inform the authorities. Instead of caring about my feelings, pain and soul, they played with me more. YOUR rabbis, called me a liar, threatened my safety, threatened my education, tried to ruin my father’s salary, and more all to protect YOUR honor. YOU watched and did nothing.
Now, YOUR Agudah anointed rabbis have decided to prevent YOUR other children from being protected, all because of fear for their real estate.
Hashem, YOU know what YOU had in mind when YOU wrote YOUR Torah. YOU have been silent too long, and allowed these Agudah anointed rabbis to twist it for their sick pleasure. Help from the authorities was blocked by YOUR people, increasing statute of limitations are being blocked by them too, YOUR bais dins are a corrupt kickback scheme going to the highest bidder. YOU know that my pain is still under YOUR statute of limitations. Please make it up to me already.
Only YOU know how to correct a broken system, only YOU know how to turn a victim into a winner, and a Rodef into one running for his life. It’s time to wake up YOUR Agudah anointed rabbis, and the mentally stunted richies who installed these corrupt evildoers as YOUR messengers to destroy our lives. It’s time for YOU to do justice. Let YOUR Torah be followed, not the malicious lies the Agudah rabbis spread about YOUR Torah.
I don’t want to be pushy, I’ll allow until Pesach Sheni for these imposters to step aside and close shop and pass the torch to those not afraid to follow YOUR Torah. But, then please, please, please turn things over. My only hope for Justice is YOU.
Please don’t let me down.
*
Anonymous writes:
You know, personal experience goes a long way, here, and quite frankly and with all due respect to the "great sages" of our generation, these head in the sand beards - and I am speaking from personal experience - take their egos way beyond their capabilities. Many yeshivos seek out so-called "daas toireh" and these alleged leaders - who know nothing about many of the chidren and cases they are speaking - pasken shailos on these children with the same regard as answering some hausfrau who dropped a chicken wing in the milchig sink how to kasher it.
DISGRACEFUL!
You heard it here folks. Boruch Dayan Emes. DAAS TORAH IS DEAD.
That the Agudah could oppose this bill, Zwiebel should wake up and realize that the nice guy I met 20 years ago sold out. This guy is a disgrace to the race. The CA and DE legislation make it crystal clear that not only do these so called ancient cases never make it - but HUNDREDS of pervs get caught. I wouldn't be surprised if these guys know who they are protecting and refuse to out them. SICK.
The Agudah is meakeiv the geulah with this nazi-like stance. Protect the superior race of yeshivos. That's what they say. Protect our moisdois. HAH! Protect the Almighty Dollar is their truth. These guys shuckle fine and good, but when it comes to a dollar they'll sell all the victims of rape and torture that the Kolkos and Mondrowitzs destroyed.
The Agudah is a sham. Sherer is rolling in his grave.
All we ask is that the children be put first. And the Agudah says no.
Well, let them call me for money again. And when I tell the shik yingle who calls that the Agudah protects rapists from prosecution, maybe I'll get lucky and they'll take me off their call list.
*
Published With Permission
Dear UOJ,
FYI, I sent a letter to Shafran and the other goons. Below is their response. I feel like the last post of yours to Hashem could have been written by me. I am at my wits end. When these guys get up there, they will have a lot to answer for.
Gentlemen,
I was quite surprised to see your statement that you are against the
latest bill making its way to passage in NYS. I was surprised because
usually when something is a done deal, you're usually smart enough not to
come out against it. In addition, your claims that it will bankrupt
institutions are faulty.
When a window like this opened up in California,
no such thing happened. All this just points to is that
you are merely covering up, yet again. It is inconceivable
that we have an organization that is actually against protecting children.
And please don't tell me that Agudah is for it.
It took years for the Agudah to reverse itself visa vis the fingerprinting legislation. I am terribly upset about this.
Please tell me that it was a miscommunication, or that it was solely some sort of crazy PR move. If this actually is the policy of the Agudah and its Moetzes, then the frum Jewish community is in lots of trouble.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Bernie Madoff's biggest fan and admirer responds
Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXXX,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on the joint Agudath Israel-Torah
Umesorah statement regarding proposed new laws amending the existing
statutes of limitation regarding child sexual abuse claims.
Regarding important issues like this, our stances are formulated
by our rabbinic leadership. You may feel that the members of the
Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah and the Vaad Roshei Yeshiva of Torah Umesorah
are misguided here, but I hope you will permit us to remain true to our principles, the principles of Klal Yisroel since Sinai, that the einei ha’eida exist to guide us, not the other way around.
There are a number of errors in your short note. We did not “reverse” any
position on the legislation permitting nonpublic schools to fingerprint
employees for the purpose of ensuring they have no criminal records; nor
are we “covering up”, or have we ever done so, for anyone.
Our position is not, chas visholom, “against protecting children.” As the
statement notes, we do not oppose even an expansion of the statute of
limitations to bring civil or criminal claims against perpetrators. But
our Gedolim feel we cannot support laws that would encourage ancient
claims against yeshivas that could destroy institutions that are the
lifeblood of Klal Yisroel.
It is clear indeed that you are “terribly upset” about our position on the
issue. I think what you are really terribly upset about is the issue
itself, the reprehensible crime of child abuse. That is something well
worth being upset about, as we are too, I assure you. But being upset
must not permit us to make decisions that, while they might be
well-intentioned, have not been well thought-out.
May we see the day soon when all children are safe from abuse of every sort.
Rabbi Avi Shafran
Director of Public Affairs
Agudath Israel of America
*
The decisions of the rabbis have been "well thought-out" --- and have been for the last 50 years!
UOJ
EVERY SIGNATURE MATTERS - THIS BILL MUST PASS!
CLICK - GOAL - 100,000 NEW SIGNATURES! 75,000 SIGNATURES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO!
EFF Urges Court to Block Dragnet Subpoenas Targeting Online Commenters
CLICK! For the full motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/hersh_v_cohen/UOJ-motiontoquashmemo.pdf
81 comments:
I believe this is the first time that Shafran has even pretended to care about abused children, instead of just insinuating they are liars who make up "tawdry tales".
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/27/world/europe/27hungary.html?hp
April 27, 2009
As Economic Turmoil Mounts, So Do Attacks on Hungary’s Gypsies
Alfafa sprout warning issued
By Elizabeth Weise, USA TODAY
The Food and Drug Administration is recommending consumers not eat raw alfalfa sprouts until further notice because the popular crunchy greens have been linked to a salmonella saintpaul outbreak in six states.
Officials believe infected seeds, sold nationwide, are the source of the outbreak. The warning does not include bean and other types of sprouts.
There have been 31 cases of salmonella saintpaul in Michigan, Minnesota, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia linked to alfalfa sprouts since mid-March, FDA says. No deaths have been reported. The current outbreak appears to be an extension of an outbreak that sickened more than 100 in February and March in Nebraska, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas, and Minnesota, officials say.
Raw sprouts have been linked to several outbreaks of salmonella over the past two decades, FDA says.
Salmonella can cause diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps and usually lasts four to seven days. It is especially dangerous to the elderly, infants and people with impaired immune systems.
Dear Friends,
Hashem has not abandoned you any more than He abandoned His children in Mitrayim or other places of great calamity. He is waiting for you to turn to Him. We have placed our trust and hopes in the hands of abusers of trust who create the greatest of depravity by cherry picking causes and maximizing their claims of effort. We, my beloved children, are the issue. We have fostered this atmosphere where we leave it up to the shikshas to run the house and educate the children. In Achrei Mos we read not to place our children by Molech. Why? What's the issue of going between two bonfires? Le'havdil, would we stop the kinder from the Lag B'Omer fire? Molech is the abuse of trust and therefore a great depravity. You hand your child to pretenders who state that your child will go on to a higher spiritual plane. They walk him between flames to burn out his ruchniyus and steal his gashmiyus. They call him bum. They steal his head and his heart. They disenfranchise him. Your child is now vunerable and unprotected.
We enabled this. We have the power to stop it. The shiksha can't run the house anymore; the excuses are lame. Wringing the hands and exasparatingly asking the air what to do isn't taking into account that Hashem has told you what to do. He wants to hear you cry out to Him, to depend on Him. How many crisis of faith do you need to get the message? How many children will you Yeshivalite and Chassidshe machers pass to Molech? How many times will you go to the zoneh? He wants to hear from you, not from your Rebbe or Rosh Yeshiva. He has already told you what to stay away from, falsehood, depravity, indecent behavior. He has already told you that for six days you work and rest when He says so.
When did work become a perversion? When the perverted took over the minds of the young and passed them to Molech. Molech is not work. Molech is not making a living. Molech is not paying your bills. Anyone who can extoll the perverted view that a cheder is only fit for those whose fathers are klei kodesh, is an eved avodah zorah and a pervert. How many learned in Nahardea, in Pumpedisa, in Susa? All told they didn't make up the student population of any one of the modern yeshivas transplanted from Europe. They toiled in the fields, tanneries, as butchers, shoemakers, whatever. Today Rashi's daughters would not be accepted into a Beis Yaakov because he was wine merchant? Hashem yerachem! Our greatest reproof are the children who have opted out and who have chosen to be among goyim and not amongst their own kind. Bringing them back means to root out depravity in the home and to fill the home with the geshmak of Torah - simple, authentic Torah.
Our colleges of higher learning masquerading has Yeshiva Gedolahs to receive government funding on top of Harvard level tuitions, where is the geshmak? Oh, so some Aleph-Beis kind can get up at his shver's table and recite the Gemorrah. So his even more befuddled shviger can kvell to her friends what a talmud chochom she got for her daughter. Work is such a nivel peh. Work, is what Hashem did for six days in creating this place that has been transformed from a potential to a heap of garbage. You don't like work, you hate Hashem.
My dear friends, you are suffering and no amount of words can truly comfort you. Turn to Hashem, seek His good and know that this Father is not abusive. Know that Hashem is there. Live a life of geshmak and you will open your door to Him and close it to those who pervert Him.
http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/04/26/ohel-will-oppose-bill-to-allow-victims-in-old-cases-to-name-abusers/
After an article was published on The Jewish Star website Sunday evening Mandel denied the characterization of Ohel’s position as opposing the legislation. Later, an Ohel spokesman released a statement that read, in part, “At no time in the conversation with the reporter was any statement made that Ohel was opposing any legislation — and nor by any other source of authority.”
The statement from Ohel ended, “The Jewish Star got it wrong. Ohel will provide its own written statement on this issue.”
The original story did not claim that Mandel had made the statement. The Star stands by its online report that two reliable sources characterized Ohel’s position as opposed to the Markey bill.
"Agudah and Torah Umesorah “vigorously oppose” legislation that would do away with the statute of limitations, even temporarily for a year, since that “could subject schools and other vital institutions to ancient claims and capricious litigation, and place their very existence in severe jeopardy.”
------------------------
"Capricious" is more of the same Shafran-style below-the-belt attack on victims. It means that they suddenly make something up.
I have heard from both Rabbi Blau and Rabbi Dratch that people generally do NOT make these kinds of stories up. Since the yeshivish knuckleheads will demand some kind of mekor from this in the seforim, which is not needed since it makes sense misevoro, does anyone know of any teshuva sefer or the like that says like Rabbis Blau & Dratch?
Let's put the lies of the Agudah connivers to bed for once and for all.
That is why they did not need to consult other rabbis who are equally as big such as Rabbi Blau, Rabbi Moshe Wolfson, and others who do not own yeshivas and have no conflict of interest. Because "we are the biggest rabbis" "we are the gedolim".
And I wonder what the real gedolim of our generation, Rav Elyashiv and Rav Chaim Kinievsky would say about this Avla.
To be honest, if they would allow themselves to be convinced to back the Aguda's Gedolim, then we are in serious need for Mashiach. How does one stay frum in a time where all the rabbis care about institutions more than children's safety?
I'm dead serious. How does one stay frum?
Rav Elyashev, Rav Wosner & Dayan Sillman in Bnei Brak have already said that molesters must be pursued and have imposed no statute of limitations with the bogus excuse of "capricious" claims.
You have rabbonim in America like Scheinerman who bother the gadol hador, Rav Elyashev, with inane shaylos like if you can eat fake pepperoni on cheese pizza, but here the gedolei hador have a direct psak in inyanei pikuach nefesh that they completely ignore.
The present-day Agudah also never listened on various matters to gedolim in America much bigger then they are, like R' Zelig Epstein & R' Shmuel Berenbaum.
Hillel discovered the paradigm of Torah, what it all hinges on--kindness. Upon this one thing everything else hinges. You try to change it and it results in taking Torah and attaching it to something else. You can't change what Torah is about. If you try to as in Orthodox Judaism (making halacha the central theme) you get mindless machines, in Litvak Judaism (where learning Torah is the central theme) you get some kind of monsters I have not yet figured out what makes them tick yet I think R Nachman put it the best "Torah scholar demons".
Orthodox Judaism is schizophrenic (constantly changing its core beliefs from Talmud to a new set of hysterics every few years--now it is mixed sitting on buses) and paranoid and corrupt, sinister and dangerous
It is quite likely the most ruthless, the most classically terrorist, the most litigious and the most lucrative cult the world has ever seen. No cult extracts more money from its members.
In Charedi Judaism you have these types of experiences in that
can produce a drugged-like, mind-controlled euphoria that keeps customers coming back for more.
Orthodox Judaismdeserves an investigation. What could replace it i don't know. I really don't have an alternate. I was thinking about the Rambam for a while but I felt the rambam was a bit complicated.
He hated the kalam. Why? because he did want apologetics. He hated the idea of using philosophy in service of religion. In his view Faith ought to stand on its own merits. If religion and reason disagree then religion must give way.
But the Rambam was going with Aristotle. That was a mistake. He attempted to fill in the gaps. But some gaps can't be filled. It would have made sense for people seeing Aristotle did not work to go back to Plato but that did not happen--except with the kabalah-but i have got my own troubles with kabalah. Basically I like the ARI and R nachman a lot but i don't think that their alternative version of Torah is really Torah. Like I said I think changing the paradigm is wrong and damaging and unhinges the whole thing from its root. that is why hasidut as known to the Besht is gone.
So what is Torah? If anyone wants to know I think a return to Talmud as pesak halach makes sense--this is what the Rambam said in laws of judges. Just in cases where the Talmud is not clear he held we should go by the Rambam.
Incidentaly rabbainu yerucham from the Mir yeshiva in Europe said the same thing.00about kindness being the real essence.
Orthodox so-called advice are manipulations. They take the best and brightest people and destroy them.
Breslov rabbis take legal (and illegal) action against those who set up as independent practitioners. They called the police against rav shick to say he was inciting treason. In Brooklyn they use the law suits not to win but to wear down who they don't like. There has never been in history an organization so evil as orthodox Judaism.
In orthodoxy it is decided that you have to "disconnect" (refuse any communication or contact) family or anyone not frum enough.
This is worse than it sounds. The highest level of morality of a secular Jew does not reach the lowest level of evil inclination of a frum Jew. Or thus the head of Breslov in jerusalim said. The stipler held the same way.
That head of Breslov told someone to steal the passport of an American citizen (who was a newcomer to breslov) to give to a member of the Tel Aviv mafia who wanted to flee the country because he had murdered someone. If that is the head of breslov, what do you think about the rest? How moral could they be? and he pointed out the major question on breslov. R Nachman who even I admit is clean abd pure 100% and yet breslowreaksks with sexual sin. the head of the cheder in yerushalim is sitting in prison for raping his students.
Davening is a simple, thoroughly designed means, of concentrating the mind to the state of a controlled trance. The aim and result is progressively to enforce loyalty to and identification with Orthodoxy to the detriment of one's natural awareness of divergent ways of thinking and cultural influences. Love and allegiance are more and more given exclusively to Orthodoxy and the Rabbi."
The evidence is clear and conclusive: orthodox Rabbis are charlatans.
They ways and means: Deprival of property, injury by any means, trickery, suing, lying or destruction have been pursued throughout and to this day with the fullest possible vigour.
(I know from personal experience)
letters of defamtion impossibilityty of finding employment, loose of children wife, family, friends--I know all about orthodox Judaism and their tactics.
Orthodox Judaism is both immoral and socially obnoxious. (By example, and by teachings. Two witnesses? You could have found 100 witnesseses for me of every possible crime in the booklyn. When rabbis find a scapegoat for their crimes there is no protection from them. Anyone and everyone will provide falstestimonyny in the orthodox community when the rabbis want them to.) Orthodox Judaism is pernicious, corrupt, sinister and dangerous. It is corrupt because it is based on lies and deceit and has as its real objective money and power for the Rabbis
It is sinister because it indulges in infamous practices (I listed a few up above. raping of children( in particular mine while in Ohel and Ohel refused to let me have custody since i was an outsider and my e wife was married to a child rapist boston Chasid who had connections with the Boston Rebbi who in turn controlled the courts), destruction of families, intention to destroy the state of israel. etc intention to destroy all gentiles and secular jews by what ever means possible) both to its adherents who do not toe the line unquestioningly and to those outside who criticizes or oppose it. It is dangerous because it is out to capture people, especially children and impressionable young people, and indoctrinate and brainwash them so that they become the unquestioning captives and tools of the cult, withdrawn from ordinary thought, living and relationships with others.
I assert it engages in authoritative hypnosis.
and other types.
One basic practice is the third meal with the rebbi and induced trance like states when people are open to suggestions of the absolute power and knowldge of the rosh yeshiva or rebbi.
In hypnosis, a degree of dependency develops and the expert practitioner is on guard against, and realises the potential danger of, this condition. In authoritative Orthodox Judaism in sessions with the rebbi, this dependency is allowed to develop, often with harmful results. In Chasidut there is this same dependence which is allowed to develop without restraint. It persists after the yechidut has finished and has significance in the desire of the chasid to return again and again to the Rebbi for further help. In the case of some witnesses a quality of almost desperate dependency on the rebbi was observable.
Many active 0rthodox Jews believe they have obtained benefit from orthodox Judaism. This is not proof that in fact they have obtained benefit, because processing and training result in the dulling of one's critical faculties, and are specifically designed and conducted to create in the mind of the student the very delusion that benefit has been obtained. Apt parallels are the drug addict and the inebriate who, in their bemused state, have feelings of well-being.
In a remarkably skilful way, Orthodoxy has developed methods whereby people are lured into it and, once ensnared, are kept in subjection. So diabolical are the methods for procuring "bodies in the shop" that, but for the fact that the procedures are fully documented, one would be pardoned for doubting that anyone could be capable of planning such villainy.
A particular technique are methods of deception designed to entice people into Orthodoxy by creating and exploiting anxieties and fears which constrain them to embark upon orthodox processing to cure their real or imagined ills.
OK last word--Orthodox is good to keep people out of other cults that might be worse. But that does not diminish the amount of damage that it does cause. The only redeeming features that i can see are Torah Talmud Rambam Rebbi Nachman. OK these are great features I admit. Reason of the Rambam is Reason, not brain washing. Private prayer of R Nachman is the opposite of mind control. It is getting away from peopel and talking with God alone. Talmud is at least in my opinion a work of unparalled genius. A way of living a life of Torah in a practical way. OK this is abused but in itself it is great.
How does one stay frum in a time where all the rabbis care about institutions more than children's safety?
I'm dead serious. How does one stay frum?
Hashem is the mekor of being observant. Hashem wants you to be observant. If you place your trust in mankind, you've made an agregious error. One is made observant by observing Hashem and His true ovadim. The one's who sit and don't make a lot of noise about how "frum" they are and how much they do for Yiddishkeit. You want to be observant then go back to the basics - Chumash and Rashi, Mishnah, Shulchan Orech. Don't buy the Reader's Digest version and then go break you head. The reward is in the trying, not getting there. Work at it. Break your head at it. Don't stand up and point to yourself by reciting the poetry of Torah or the Rebbe's pshat that's in the guise of learning. You have the tools to be observant and to stay that way. Jump the hell in the water already. It isn't going to come from the other guy - you have to be the other guy. Hashem is dangling the rope, don't hang yourself; grab it. Pull yourself up out of the morass. You're worried what the Schwart's will say - then you're not being honest with yourself. Rabbonim, poskim, give specific answers to specific questions and the answer to plony is not the same as the answer to you.
Hashem is the answer. The final answer. The only answer.
Baruch - your words are inspiring and fresh. There is no stirah between Torah and honest work. Your point that Hashem worked for 6 days to create the world is powerful on two points. First, Hashem could have created everything in a nanosecond (and then repaired off to the bais medrash to sit in Kollel). But He chose to reflect to us derech eretz. The natural way of the world is to work and refresh on Shabbos. Kollel is super-natural. Not every bochur/BY girl is zocheh to supernatural.
Second, Chazal say "Histekel b'Oraisah u'Barah Alma" Hashem used the Torah as the blueprint of His creation. The work we do needs to be rooted in Torah and Halachah. But there wouldn't be myriad Mitzvos and Halachos regarding work, money, farming, ownership etc if sitting in the Bais Medrash was our only task. Otherwise, there would be no chiddush to the axiom "ben sorer umoreh lo hoyoh v'lo nivra", that this Mitzvah was given only that we should get schar for learning it. Everything would be only theoretical, too.
Perhaps our "leaders" have opted to bring about Moshiach by the "we've sunk so low Hashem has to save us" tack, as opposed to raising us high to earn Moshiach's arrival. There is an inherent immorality to the Kollel system, and as pointed out already, an underlying selfishness. For a Kollel man to say that he is not concerned about his family's welfare, only about his own olam haba (I heard this with my own ears) is not Torah, and his Rebbeim are at fault.
And don't even get me started about how many people we sit with in shul are shagging zonos and/or beating their wives and we all sit there and ignore it while the rabbonim kiss their behinds. We are a dirty disgrace.
I'm in Kollel, and would love to work for a living. I need money, and I refuse to be supported.
Yet, if I work, my father-in-law will stop talking to me. He will take it as an insult.
The entire family will look at me as an outcast.
I am doomed.
Yours truly,
Kollel-man
Anyone who acts towards another - Jew or non Jew – in a manner that is perceived as unjust may have caused a Chilul HaShem. The duty to avoid such behavior is especially incumbent on conspicuous Jews - even if they only look pious. Such individuals are always judged by a higher standard. So when a pious person does things that may not be a technical violation of Halacha but are nevertheless seen that way by others – that too is a Chilul HaShem! A person who is great in Torah that causes the public to murmur against him is causing a Chilul HaShem.
If someone is recognizable as a pious Jew then even common behavior can become a Chilul HaShem if it can be interpreted negatively by the beholder. For example - buying something and not paying for it immediately can be a Chilul HaShem. Or just not speaking pleasantly to others or even not receiving others with a pleasant countenance!
The greater the scholar, the more – the stricter he must be with himself. If such a person goes the other way and always speaks pleasantly with others, mixes with them, greets them cheerfully, when insulted – does not respond in kind, respects people even of they denigrate him and conducts all of his business affairs with integrity then he creates a Kiddush HaShem.
Here is what I would like to ask R. Shafran:
Are the Gedolim aware of the extent of the abuse problem over the last decades?
If not - then they are certainly not the einei ha-eidah.
If yes - then why has nobody ever gone to prison as a result of the actions of the Moetzes??
Do you agree that it is good that Kolko was arrested?
Do you agree that this only happened as a result of UOJ, a blog that Agudah railed against?
Yet, if I work, my father-in-law will stop talking to me. He will take it as an insult.
The entire family will look at me as an outcast.
I am doomed.
How does your wife feel about this? I don't know your shver, but if you were my aidem I would look up to you and honor you more so than the guy who took my check and waxed vacuous at a bar mitzvah or sheva berachos to justify taking my check. You're not doomed. You've earned olam haboh by recognizing Hashem's will. You're more like Avrahom Avinu who recognized that there is one creator. I'm proud of you. Your family should be proud of you. Even if you were to work part time, they should be supporting you and clearing the way for you. There are those of us that know your value.
Dear Kollel Man,
You are going to have to make the tough choice. You are a man now. You have a wife (and I presume you have or will have children). It is your duty and obligation to provide for your family. If you father in law has a problem with this, then so be it. Step up to the plate. This is between you and Hashem, and you have to do the right thing even if no one else you know will do it with you. No one said it would be easy - but you know in your heart of hearts what is right and good and pleasing to Hashem. So take a deep breath and just do it. Our prayers are with you.
Shalom!
Nu Harry? Is Shafran still one of your "favorite" people?
The Yenta reminds me that Belsky, with his friends Mendel Epstein & company, attempted a bittul kiddushin that Rav Elyashev and every gadol hador since the chasimas Hatalmud have been against.
Filed at 3:10 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Treasury Department says it will need to borrow $361 billion in the current April-June quarter, a record amount for that period.
It's the third straight quarter the government's borrowing needs have set records for those periods. The all-time high in borrowing needs for any quarter was $569 billion set in the October-December period.
The huge borrowing needs reflect the soaring costs of the $700 billion financial rescue program and the recession.
Advanced degrees command higher salaries. As much as you and Shmarya would love to see Whites earn less money than Blacks, Blacks are not known to mostly graduate with PHDs.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/04/27/us/politics/AP-US-Race-Disparities.html
April 27, 2009
Racial Disparities Persist in Higher-Paying Jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Blacks and Hispanics lag behind whites for higher-paying jobs at the largest rates in about a decade as employment opportunities have dwindled during the nation's economic woes and housing slump.
Shmarya, you need to learn genetics and medicine before you go hurling accusations at innocent people (like the Holtzberg kedoshim of Mumbai). The likelihood of tay-sachs carriers having a tay-sachs baby is 25% for each pregnancy. Most carrier couples do try multiple times because they can have a normal child. You can't just hurl statements like this because you hate Chabad. Its nasty and really, actually one of those things that is not really your business. I support your general attacks on appropriate targets, but this is really distasteful, going after young parents, tragically killed, who can say nothing in their own defence and certainly went through a great deal of suffering in this regard. Perhaps if you ever find love and try to be a parent you may develop some sensitivity (and perhaps actually learn some genetics and medicine).
Posted by: maven | April 26, 2009 at 12:21 PM
I agree with maven and with Isaac Balbin.
Even WoolSilkCotton criticized Shmarya.
Shmarya is a self hating Jew and type of an Anti Semite similar to the Anti Semites who Killed in Bombay and who attacked the Bolivian Lubavitcher Shliach.
The only difference between the terrorists who killed Lubavitcher in Bombay and Shmarya is only that in Bombay and in Bolivia they attacked them physically while Shmarya does the exact same thing, but does it verbally.
Shmarya's pathological hate for all frum Jews and for all Chassidim and even more so for Lubavitchers may stem from the possibility that he may not really be genuinely Jewish himself.
Several people had Challenged Shmarya if his mother was really Jewish or not or if she had a halachic conversion.
If not Shmarya is indeed a full fledged Goy and understandably his Jew hatred is pathologically very deep seated.
Posted by: Michoel | April 26, 2009 at 05:15 PM
One conclusion I can draw here, is that when it comes to Chabad, Shmarya has a spike up his a**, and that spike has a spike up its a**.
We know that orthodox Jews will not opt for abortion, no matter how horribly diseased the fetus is found to be during prenatal testing. How each of us feels about that is another topic for discussion.
Genetic testing for perspective mates has been discussed at length.
As I stated earlier, it is not appropriate to criticize the Holtzbergs at this time.
Posted by: WoolSilkCotton | April 26, 2009 at 07:09 PM
(Shmarya defends himself like a crybaby):
But it's perfectly fine "at this time" to lie about the Holtzbergs to make Chabad look good?
Please.
If I wanted to criticize the Holtzbergs, I had many months to do it. They've been gone five months now, and I did not do it until Chabad lied about them to further its own agenda.
The only "spike up my ass" that I have here comes from people like you and maven, who feel perfectly fine attacking me, even in the basest of ways.
Posted by: Shmarya | April 26, 2009 at 07:22 PM
If Chabad stretched the truth about the Holtzbergs, that's their decision. Has any real harm resulted? Anyone injured by what Chabad said?
I don't have to jump on the bandwagon of 'exposing the truth'. The truth is sometimes best kept to oneself, until the timing is more appropriate. Jews of all stripes agree that the Mumbai horror is still very fresh on everyone's psyche.
It is extremely rare that I attack you. You know I admire what you do with this website.
The spike up the ass comment was kind of humorous, I thought. Let's face it, you do rather enjoy delivering a knee to the Chabad groin whenever possible.
Posted by: WoolSilkCotton | April 26, 2009 at 07:52 PM
I reread the New York magazine article.
I still don't see what Shmarya's problem with it is.
That article was not the place to go into the problems of Chabad and the mechichist nutjobs that plague the organization.
That article was also not the place to criticize the decisions of the Holtzbergs.
It came across as a tribute to the victims of the Mumbai horror.
So what's wrong with that?
Past and future NY magazine articles will deal with the mechichist issue.
Future articles may examine the Holtzberg's decisions, and the decisions of others who carry genetic diseases.
But as I said yesterday, this is not the time to criticize the Holtzbergs.
Posted by: WoolSilkCotton | April 27, 2009 at 10:58 AM
JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Swine flu? Not in the Jewish state.
"We will call it Mexico flu. We won't call it swine flu," Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman, a black-garbed Orthodox Jew, told a news conference Monday, assuring the Israeli public that authorities were prepared to handle any cases.
Under Jewish dietary laws, pigs are considered unclean and pork is forbidden food -- although the non-kosher meat is available in some stores in Israel.
(Writing by Jeffrey Heller; Editing by Charles Dick)
Oh, Chaim Kaminetzky told me swine fever is when the Hungarians go nuts over the food at the Agudah Convention. But when I told this to a UOJ agent, he got angry and explained it's a strain of flu that some guys brought back from the Pesach hotels in Cancun, Mexico.
The major newspapers are pro-Obama and are not reporting all the details. There was mass panic with dozens of skyscrapers evacuated because no one was informed.
In N.Y., Low-Flying Planes Panic Locals, Infuriate Lawmakers
White House Apologizes for Not Warning of 'Aerial Photo Mission'
By Tomoeh Murakami Tse
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, April 27, 2009 5:53 PM
NEW YORK, April 27 -- A plane used as a backup for Air Force One and a fighter jet escort swooped low in the sky over New York Monday morning as part of a government photo-op, panicking workers, forcing evacuations and prompting an outcry from lawmakers.
The White House later issued a profuse apology over the incident.
The flyover -- involving a 747 that is one of two used by the president and an Air Force F-16 fighter jet -- took place in Lower Manhattan's financial district and caused traders, construction workers and others to flee for safety. An Air Force spokeswoman said the "aerial photo mission" was authorized to take place in Lower Manhattan and New Jersey and was to last 30 minutes.
The New York Police Department said in a statement that the flight was authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration "for the vicinity of the Statue of Liberty." It added that "local authorities" had been told not to disclose information about it and to direct inquiries to the FAA.
The FAA did not return calls for comment, but a spokesman there was quoted earlier today by news agencies as saying local authorities were made aware of the flight before it took place.
The flyover infuriated New York lawmakers, who said they were not notified in advance and lashed out at federal authorities. The Air Force referred calls to the White House, but White House spokesman Robert Gibbs, when questioned about the matter at his daily briefing, said he was unaware of the photo mission.
Louis Caldera, director of the White House Military Office, subsequently said in a statement that he approved the mission last week.
"I take responsibility for that decision," Caldera said. "While federal authorities took the proper steps to notify state and local authorities in New York and New Jersey, it's clear that the mission created confusion and disruption. I apologize and take responsibility for any distress that flight caused."
Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said it was "outrageous and appalling" that the FAA would plan the photo-op "knowing full well that New Yorkers would still have the memory of 9/11 sketched in their minds."
"We cannot let this happen again," he said.
New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg (I) said he was "furious" that he was not notified about the flyover. Had he known, he said, he would have tried to stop it.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20275150,00.html
Fiancée Still Stands By Accused 'Craigslist Killer'
By Diane Herbst
Monday April 27, 2009
As the evidence mounts, so does Megan McAllister's resolve: She remains committed to Philip Markoff, the man identified by authorities as the "Craigslist Killer."
"To me and my family, he is a loving and caring person and in the eyes of the law and the constitution, he is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt," she said in a statement Monday. "I just can only hope that the criminal justice system will not be overwhelmed and persuaded by what is being put forth in the media."
The statement was read by family attorney Robert A. Honecker Jr. outside the McAllister home in Little Silver, N.J. Markoff, 23, has been charged with the murder of a woman and the assault of another, both in Boston hotels. In a new twist, there's an allegation the preppy medical student used Craigslist to seek out men as well as women for sexual activities.
Markoff and McAllister, 25, were planning an August wedding, and the recent events have clearly strained her family.
When asked how Megan was doing, her father, Jim, with tears in his blue eyes, told reporters: "Megan is not doing so well, it's a very tense situation."
And in her statement, she says: "In the past two short weeks, my life and what I hoped my life to be has dramatically changed."
"I also love my fiancé and I will continue to support him throughout this legal process," she says.
McAllister says she intends to cooperate with Markoff's attorney and the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office within the next few days, but insists: "What has been portrayed and leaked to the media is not the Philip Markoff that I know."
Megan McAllister shows no signs of abandoning her fiancé despite the murder charge.
To the anonymous poster of "DEAR HASHEM",
I dont know what to tell you b/c I am in the same sinking titanic as you, I beleive in almost nothing and its getting worse(thanks to agudah/torah umesorah inc.
Thank you for taking the words out of my mouth, (and probably many others)and put it in writing, something I am not the greatest at.
Dear avi shafran, DROP DEAD!!!
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090427-719030.html
The Journal was from the only newspapers that reported the truth about Obama's screw up.
New Jersey office building were also evacuated because of the state of panic.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20274975,00.html
The case of accused Craigslist Killer Philip Markoff has taken a decidedly new turn with the admission of a male Boston corporate professional who told NBC News that, based on his own experience, Markoff used Craigslist to seek out men as well as women for sexual activites.
"I posted an ad on Craigslist under 'male for t,' which stands for 'males for transsexuals,' " said the man, who requested his name not be revealed, for fear of jeopardizing his job. "That's where he found me."
The man said Markoff, reputedly through his Yahoo email account under the name "sexaddict5385," responded to the posting under Craigslist's "Casual Encounters" with revealing photos of himself (which NBC was not able to show on TV, other than a single snapshot of a muscular bare chest) and the message, "I am a 22 y/o grad student. 6'3, 205, good build, blond/blue eyes ... let me know what else you want to see or know about me."
In a segment on Monday's Today show, NBC News correspondent Jeff Rossen said, "Philip Markoff reportedly told his Massachusetts-based family this weekend, 'There's more coming out ... Forget about me and move to California.' "
It was through the photos, later released by Boston police, that the man was able to identify Markoff, 23, a clean-cut medical student who has been charged with the murder of a woman and the assault of another, both in Boston hotels.
Following Markoff's arrest, the man said, "I immediately went to the computer and typed his name in. It popped right up. I was scared like you wouldn't believe."
The man also told NBC that in emails from sexaddict5385, the sender addressed him as "babe" and wrote, "What are you into and what are your stats? What are you doing tonight?"
"He seemed like a great guy!" said the man, who corresponded with sexaddict5385 last spring and then again in January, though the two never met in person. Based on the photos that were sent, "He was very cute. I was really taken by his looks."
Starting from Fall 2002 and continuing until early 2005, I tried to persuade Agudath Israel and Torah U'Mesorah to enact a national, voluntary system of background checks for all yeshiva employees, to assure that convicted sex offenders and other dangerous persons should not work in close proximity to our children. In the end, after a lot of talk, nothing was done.
In 2005, I took a different tack, and wrote letters to New York's Governor and legislative leaders. A bill was written, eventually passed, which permitted, but did not require, religious schools to fingerprint their prospective employees. Aguda did support this bill, and it passed, in June 2006.
In 2007 and 2008, a bill was before the NYS Legislature that would make the fingerprinting mandatory. Aguda and Torah U'Mesorah announced they were neutral, and the bill did not pass.
In mid-2007, Aguda and Torah U'Mesorah sent out a memo to their yeshivas recommending - but not requiring - employee background checks.
This is a weak record.
Elliot Pasik, Esq.
.....And the rabbi that ran Torah Umesorah's Internet "learning" program, who had access to thousands of children in Torah Umesorah schools, was convicted of a felony for having and sharing child porn with kids gleaned from Torah Umesorah's e-mail list. Mysteriously, his prison record evaporated into thin air; Vicki Polin was able to find it and was in contact with his parole officer.
Which TU rabbi from the internet program was into kiddie porn?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/us/28cyber.html?hp=&pagewanted=print
April 28, 2009
U.S. Plans Attack and Defense in Web Warfare
By DAVID E. SANGER
When American forces in Iraq wanted to lure members of Al Qaeda into a trap, they hacked into one of the group’s computers and altered information that drove them into American gun sights.
When President George W. Bush ordered new ways to slow Iran’s progress toward a nuclear bomb last year, he approved a plan for an experimental covert program — its results still unclear — to bore into their computers and undermine the project.
And the Pentagon has commissioned military contractors to develop a highly classified replica of the Internet of the future. The goal is to simulate what it would take for adversaries to shut down the country’s power stations, telecommunications and aviation systems, or freeze the financial markets — in an effort to build better defenses against such attacks, as well as a new generation of online weapons.
Shmarya is truly a sociopath. He has to get in the last word about the Holtzbergs hy"d by claiming he is really honoring their memory by badmouthing them, that his silence in the face of what he calls "lies" by New York Magazine in making them look good would be a disservice to them.
Never mind that HE is the one lying by disputing anyone who knows them in claiming they were Meshichistim.
Meanwhile his hero Obama has had his mortgage modification fantasy shot down - and by Senate Democrats no less - who recognize that banks will never lend at normal interest rates again if he gets away with it. Obama is now shifting $50 billion in taxpayer money to refinance 2nd mortgages of losers who can't even pay the FIRST mortgage.
Archie:
I do not believe Shmarya is a sociopath -- I do believe he is a hopeless and unrepentant Liberal - and in his lifetime he will do teshuva for that as he watches his comrades destroy this country.
I "luv" you anyway Shmarya...even though you happen to be a Liberal basket-case:-)
http://chareidi.shemayisrael.com/ZAV69afish.htm
Cleaning Fish is Risky Business
By G. Lazer
Every year during the Pesach and Rosh Hashanah holiday seasons, Ziv Medical Center in Tzfas treats an increased number of patients with infections in their fingers and hands as a result of untrained handling and cleaning of fish. This is especially common in preparation for Pesach, when people try to do more things on their own. After the bacteria enters the body it causes an infection accompanied by fever.
Doctors say if treatment is not begun right away the infection can spread throughout the body, including serious harm to the kidneys and liver, and in rare cases can lead to gangrene and even death.
A study that tracked health problems related to cleaning fish during the past eight years in Israel found that 3 percent were infected by tilapia ("amnon" or "musht"), 10 percent by carp or mullet ("buri") and the rest by comber, trout and other types of fish. The study also reveals men come to the emergency room after an average of just two days, while women typically wait four days.
Dr. Gad Ben Dror, an expert on infectious diseases at the Ziv Medical Center, warns that "getting pricked by the fins, scales or bones can cause a bacterial infection to enter the finger and sometimes lead to the rapid development of an infection throughout the hand. Vibrio bacteria, and the most common among them is Vibrio vulnificus, develop an infection, and within a few hours one can discern swelling in the affected finger, accompanied by pain, local redness and edema. Later the infection process can spread to the palm and to other fingers, and in rare cases even to the arm up to the elbow or the shoulder. Based on experience acquired over the years in cases of this kind most of the people [infected] were in contact with fish — fish farmers at fish pools, fish stores or people who buy fish at stores or the shuk and decided to clean them by themselves."
Hard core Liberals are not necessarily sociopaths but I don't know what else to make of Shmarya's bizarre & malicious behavior when it comes to Orthodox Jews. It's one thing if he is angry at Torah Jewry, and even if he uses dishonest tactics to badmouth them, but even his likeminded readers are aghast at how his underwear-clad diatribes have turned to maligning a selfless young couple who were murdered al kiddush Hashem by al Qaeda.
Shmarya,
Do you care to refute Archie's allegations against you, that you have it in for Orthodox Jews?
I applaud Phil Jacobs for his articles exposing the shameful sexual behavior of an ordained rabbi Jacob Max. It’s shocking that rabbi Max got away with an unsupervised parole sentence. It reminded me the case of another Baltimore rabbi Moshe Eisemann who was retired from his teaching position at NIRC for his sexual misconduct but remained unsupervised and living on campus. Last December, a Ner Israel student who was organizing Saturday meals at the Eisemann’s residence, committed a suicide. And still rabbi Eisemann’s unsupervised status have not changed. These rabbis are a disgrace to the community and should be under a permanent supervision if we want to stop these tragedies. The fact they remain free proves that the Baltimore Jewish leaders don’t take seriously the safety of their people.
Posted by S. Katz
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/specter-will-run-as-a-democrat-in-2010/
Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania said he would switch to the Democratic party Tuesday, potentially presenting Democrats with a possible 60th vote and the power to break Senate filibusters as they try to advance the Obama administration’s new agenda.
Congressional aides and others close to the long-time Republican party maverick said Mr. Specter, who faced a difficult re-election next year, was going to announce he would become a Democrat.
If Al Franken prevails in his ongoing court case in Minnesota and Mr. Specter begins caucusing with Democrats, Democrats would have 60 votes and the ability to deny Republicans the chance to stall legislation. Mr. Specter was one of only three Republicans to support President Obama’s economic recovery legislation.
“We will welcome him with open arms,” said Senator Debbie Stabenow, Democrat of Michigan.
ANOTHER PERVERT TEACHING IN OUR YESHIVAS:
Teaching Assistant at Two Yeshivas Arrested On Child Porn Charges
Merrick, NY - A teacher who worked at two Queens yeshivas and a Long Island elementary school was arrested after cops found child pornography on his home computer, cops said yesterday.
Two online tipsters told state police that Timothy Holt, 44, of Baldwin, sent child pornography over the Internet last month.
Cops seized the divorced father's computer and allegedly found nine videos and pictures depicting sexually explicit images of children.
Holt, who pleaded not guilty to felony child-pornography raps on Friday, worked as a third-grade teacher's assistant at the Birch Elementary School in Merrick and taught Earth science at Yeshiva Chofetz Chaim and Yeshiva Tiferes Torah.
"We are shocked and saddened by these charges," said a Yeshiva Chofetz representative who would not give his name.
State Police Inspector Carlos Ramos said there was no evidence that Holt had inappropriate contact with any of his students but he's been fired from all three school
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/health/policy/29drug.html?hp
WASHINGTON — In a scolding report, the nation’s most influential medical advisory group said that doctors should stop taking much of the money, gifts and free drug samples that they routinely accept from drug and device companies.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/opinion/28intriago1.html
Every year in the United States, criminals amass hundreds of billions of dollars in cash and goods from illegal activities — mortgage fraud, extortion, embezzlement, illegal gambling, bank fraud, public corruption, human trafficking, identity theft, securities violations, insurance fraud, intellectual property piracy and bankruptcy fraud — though it’s impossible to gauge the total take precisely. Drug trafficking alone brings in an estimated $18 billion to $64 billion a year, while estimates of Medicare fraud earnings are $35 billion to more than $70 billion a year. The part of that loot that is seized by federal, state and local governments amounts to a few billion dollars at most. Here again, it is difficult to assess the exact value because so many different government entities are involved in collecting it, and no one agency adds it all up.
Even when criminals are behind bars, their profits gather interest in bank and securities accounts, or are held in real estate, cars, aircraft, yachts, art, jewelry, racehorses and countless other assets. If they were routinely seized, it would bring in tens of billions to compensate victims or finance law enforcement, break the backs of criminal organizations and deter future crimes.
Was Chofetz Chaim yeshiva "shocked" when Rabbi Scheinberg's nephew was arrested for molesting kids?
RPS was formerly the Mashgiach and his nephew was the son of a rebbe.
YTT is the Chofetz Chaim cheder located in Kew Gardens.
Wow, dear UOJ, are you doing anything now to kick rabbit Ass-man out of Ner?
Shas' spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, called on parents and teachers to act to prevent smoking among youth, a phenomenon which he referred to as "a breach which must be thwarted."
Rabbi Yosef, who spoke during the sermon about the laws allowing smoking during holidays, stressed that dealing with the issue does not make it legitimate.
"It's very bad. Whoever can quit - blessed be he," he added. "It damages a person's body? puts smoke inside his lungs, God forbid, it stupefies the lungs, the lungs can't operate. There are people who die of this thing? Some rabbis have written that it's strictly forbidden."
The rabbi went on to slam yeshiva students' habit to hand out cigarettes to their friends after getting engaged. "This is stupid. Why are you getting used to cigarettes? It starts with one cigarette, and then they get used to it. You want to give them gifts? Hand out candy."
The historical record is absolutely clear; I gave Ner Israel months of notice before going public with the Moshe Eismann cancer.
They chose to keep him around the hundreds of children, both in the school and on the campus living quarters.
I pleaded with them to do the only right thing --- get him off campus and into therapy.
The Neubergers and Aron Feldman are criminals!
UOJ, something MUST be done to stop Ner Israel gang. That's a matter of pikuach nefoshos. It should be addressed immediately!
The Jews in Baltimore obviously could care less about what's going on in their community... I'm only one guy with a computer, attempting to assist victims of abuse as best I can.
At a certain point I have to throw-up my hands in disgust and move on to communities that I can help, or at the least, attempt to.
UOJ –
First of all, Archie is wrong about the Holtzbergs.
Chabad so-called anti-messianists or "antis" still believe the Rebbe is moshiach, and they do many of the same things messianists do, with the exception of publicly proclaiming the Rebbe moshiach.
Chabadniks of all stripes use various methods to determine the Rebbe's "answer" to questions and to divine his "advice."
I have nothing against Orthodox Jews – but I have everything against a system that shelters sexual predators.
As for being a liberal, I was a neocon for more than 20 years. I'm probably the only regular reader of this blog who was asked to work for a Republican US Senator.
My political views changed as I covered the Rubashkin scandal and saw first hand that the Bush Administration was ignoring the law and doing zero enforcement. Add to that Abramoff and DeLay, Alberto Gonzales and so many others. And don't forget Christopher Cox at the SEC.
George Schultz, who I dealt with a little when he was Secretary of State, is an impeccably honest man and a mentch.
I don't think you can name any recent vintage Republican conservative and make the same claim.
I know very well that many Lubavitchers are closet Meshichists. By all accounts however, the Holtzbergs were not. Readers of Shmarya's blog who knew them like Professor Balbin have stated so. Even some of the yeshivishe drei kops who post on YWN say they have been there in Mumbai on business and that Rabbi Holtzberg was an "old style" Luavitcher who was into learning and did not have even a hint of Meshichist taint.
I think that the universal condemnation coming even from Shmarya's usual supporters along with Shmarya's weak defense speaks for itself. And as Steve pointed out over there, even if Shmarya is somehow right, it is in very bad taste and serves no purpose to attack the memory of 2 murder victims who gave their lives to others.
It is also clear to anyone reading his blog that Shmarya's hatred of the orthodox goes far beyond those who harbor sexual predators.
As far as his past life as a Neocon, Shmarya's Affirmative Action racial agenda does not exactly work for outside of Left wing Democrat circles. How long did it take for him to figure that out?
And Shmarya wouldn't be the first to make such a radical switch. Does anyone remember David Brock? He had a long list of grievances as to why he abandoned the GOP for the Donkeys. None of them made much sense and he was ridiculed for years on the Wall Street Journal editorial page.
SHmarya has been banging on for over a year now about the Bush Administration letting the Rubashkins get away with murder. A friend of Shmarya named Yochanan Lavie has protested every time he brings this up that politicians in both parties are corrupt. He's right. Bill Clinton had earlier been involved in cover ups for chicken behemoth Tyson Foods, friends of his from Arkansas.
DEAR UOJ,
HOW DARE YOU!!!!
We are dying here in Baltimore, but we dont know how to stop our corrupt leadership... you say we dont care? Its the leaders that dont care, we are screaming out for our precious children. It is insulting to say you cant hyelp us. We all talk about your blog and how we can use your help to effect change in Baltimore.
You are right you are only one man, and the scope your job is unimaginable. but we need help here...we dont know where to start though.
again...we care!
"an impeccably honest man and a mentch ... I don't think you can name any recent vintage Republican conservative and make the same claim"
Has Shmarya ever heard of Alexander Haig & Lamar Alexander?
And which Democrats are on the up & up? That party is not exactly the bastion of morality.
"we dont know where to start though"
*********
Please tell me how the caring has translated into any action whatsoever.
I did not mean to hurt your feelings, however, I have seen NO public protests, No full page ads in any newspaper, I'm not aware that any local parent pulled their kid out of Ner Israel.....
So for Heaven's sake.... What more can I possibly do?
UOJ is right. It's almost like trying to "save" the current YTT Hungarians from Margulies.
Even YTT had a single mentch in Eli Greenwald who pulled his kids out.
there are many of us, for instance i am 26 . I dont have pull in the community. my friends dont have kids in NIRC. We dont know what we can do. I agree the general Agudah followers here see no reason for alarm. And we are disgusted, Known pedophiles are greeted with a warm Good Shabbos instead of people recoiling in disgust. It really is quite sad, i have people constantly quoting me from Yeshiva World News and Yated and that is where they get their info from. They dont wanna rock the boat, they woulodnt pull their kids out of Ner b/c they are all friends with Sheftel. Why should they uproot their cushy neatly p[packaged lives for the sake of their children?
Nevertheless there is a fringe group here. And we are moving away from these monsters and their Kehillos b/c it seems we are powerless.
Also, im not sure how taking one child out of Ner would help. it would only serve to disrupt that childs life. It would only work as a group effort, and it is quite clear the sheep here are not capable of such insubordination to their masters
Nevertheless there is a fringe group here. And we are moving away from these monsters and their Kehillos b/c it seems we are powerless.
*************
Good for you.
Every person has to do what they are able to. To live in a community that violates the basics that a civilized world requires --- getting rid of and isolating dangerously ill people --- should not even have a minyan in any of their shuls.
Al the more so when these predators and their enablers victimize helpless kids!
Shame on the ENTIRE Baltimore and Brooklyn communities! Every person that shows up at an Agudah, Torah Umesorah, Ner Israel function, is a disgrace to all of humankind!
The only way you will see any movement on the Eiseman front is if Dr. Lipner, Sir Vivor and a few other Eiseman survivors band together and confront R'Neuberger, as well as R' Scherman of Artscroll. There is nothing that UOJ or anyone else can do, as they will simply dismiss any allegations as lies and "tawdry tales". When you put actual names and faces behind the accusations, then the denials become more difficult, if not impossible. What went on with Rabbi Hopfer three years ago when they "retired" Eiseman is not enough. I don't think it is right for us to pressure these survivors or to be judgmental of them if they refuse to confront these rabbis. However until they all agree to work together, all we can do here is rant and rave.
As far as the Agudah opposing the Markey bill, who cares? We need to continue lobbying Albany to pass this bill AS IS. The Agudah only decided to publicly state they are against it (even though they were privately working to defeat it all along, is because of Hikind's flip-flop. This gave them the brazenness to openly oppose it. A month ago, when the entire community led by Hikind were pushing for it, Zwiebel and Shafran wouldn't dare open their mouths. Once they got to Hikind and the Lopez Molester Protection Bill got renewed life, this gave them the courage to spew out the venom that they were withholding. As far as "compromises" go, we have been compromising the safety of our children for decades. It's about time we stop compromising. The Torah frowns upon judges and politicians who compromise. "Ubotzea Berech Ne'etz Hashem".
where can we go from here? every Shabbos my guests and I discuss these issues and eventually have to stop b/c it ruins our oneg Shabbos, it is just too saddening. But like i said, we are not the powerful ones, our parents while well known, are not in a position to demand anything from the Rabbonim. We talk about where we are going to move, my children are just a year or 2 away from school and i am TERRIFIED!
I dont want them realizing they are not important in the community's eyes. At least they will damn well know their parents wont sell them out for Shiddcuh opportunities and community prestige.
The day my faith in this town died is when David Mandel of OHEL got up to speak at a community event at Shaarei Zion ( a sham event to begin with to make it appear as if the Rabboinate was on top of things) and didnt demand going to the authorities about abuse and shut down those that tried to bring it up.
We talk about where we are going to move, my children are just a year or 2 away from school and i am TERRIFIED!
************
Don't be terrified! Stand tall - that you are willing to stand up for what's right! Your kids will have a great role model!
Have nachas.
Someone is using my call name. I am not from Balti and have never been there. I think it is unfair for someone to steal a blog name. Go make up your own! I am a victim of Mondrowitz and have been in contact with UOJ for years. We did some real neat things shaken up the folks in Boro Park. Was fun working as a deputy for the big gun, UOJ.
UOJ, if u need a reminder as to who I am, I ocassionaly share an email address with another big time deputy and I sent you some incriminating pics awhile ago that you are holding for.....
anonymous - out of curiosity - Is Rabbi Heber part of the problem in terms of covering up these crimes, or not really involved one way or the other?
Litzman is offended that they named the flu virus after him. Netanyahu should have appointed him as Child Services and Welfare Secretary instead of Health Secretary, considering how Litzman has been protecting Mondrowitz for over twenty years.
I am terrified b/c the damage cannot be undone. If something were to happen to them i couldnt live with myself. having a good role model for a lifetime wont make up for 2 minutes of betrayal by a trusted Rebbe.
mandel is in danger of being indicted for knowingly covering up a fraud
there are rumors that the da is trying to work out a deal with them so they can hold on to there jobs
the next step is call the nyc childrens services administration and ask them how they can fund a group that has allowed and protected molestation of children
then have a survivor speak to the ny post
thats how we start to dismantle ohel
Most rebbes are dedicated servants of Hashem, not necessarily geniuses, but they would never knowingly harm your child.
Having said that, you must do your due dilligence.
I have a case on my desk right now, where the principal responded to allegations of child-abuse by a rebbe, by putting in a rebbe's assistant in the classroom to keep an "eye" on the rebbe.
And Dovid Cohen knows about it ---- and NOTHING!
R' Sir Vivor,
I never forget friends! I'm waiting for the appropriate time to post the photos...
B'yididus
"anonymous - out of curiosity - Is Rabbi Heber part of the problem in terms of covering up these crimes, or not really involved one way or the other?"
I dont have any deep info...but as far as i know there is no info that he is anything but ehrlich. and also he isnt really involved in these matters. Even if he may be a pawn of Heinemann
Rabbi Heber was a childhood friend, so I am very relieved.
Off Topic:
If anyone knows any families that lost loved ones in the 9/11 tragedy, please have them contact me via e-mail:
a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.com
To the real Sir Vivor,
I apologize for the misunderstanding. There was another individual using your handle who claimed to be an Eiseman survivor.
In response to numerous requests from lobbyists, we are dropping the new disease name.
Instead of SWINE Flu, we will call it AGUDATH ISRAEL Flu. No Jew wants to come down with THAT illness.
Gov. Schwarzenegger Declares Swine Flu Emergency in California
ABC News - 2 hours ago
UOJ –
Bunker (in all his various incarnations and names) is dishonest.
1. The people who oppose what I wrote regarding the Holtzbergs do so because they feel it is wrong to disparage the dead, as you can see by visiting my site and reading their comments in context.
My response to that is that Chabad LIED about the Holtzbergs and did so to further its own goals – which include fundraising and "mekareving" Jews who don't recognize the lies.
My post is a response to those lies.
As for when I first said the Bush Administration is corrupt, I believe you can find posts dealing with the Rubashkin Scandal saying that going back to 2005, perhaps even late 2004.
But Bunker writes:
SHmarya has been banging on for over a year now about the Bush Administration letting the Rubashkins get away with murder. A friend of Shmarya named Yochanan Lavie has protested every time he brings this up that politicians in both parties are corrupt. He's right. Bill Clinton had earlier been involved in cover ups for chicken behemoth Tyson Foods, friends of his from ArkansasBesides the fact that Bunker incorrectly makes it seem as if my criticism of Bush is recent, he ignores the facts.
The Bush Administration enforced little – far less than Clinton, far less than Bush Sr.
That lack of enforcement spawned Rubashkin's multiple crimes.
It also spawned the crimes that led to our current financial collapse.
It isn't that Clinton did no wrong or that he does not share some of the blame – he does.
But any honest accounting would put Clinton's share of that blame at a very small percentage, and George W, Bush's at a very large percentage.
Blame does not equal intentional crime. But it does equal very poor judgment, negligence and a disregard for the laws he was supposed to uphold.
Shmarya calls the kettle black.
But at least he admits even his own friends have a problem with him disparaging murder victims who were killed because they stuck out as religious Jews. (It would have come as no surprise, knowing Shmarya, had he denied even that.)
And my great sin is that I only mentioned Shmarya's more recent anti-Republican screeds? Shall I say viduy? He probably did have some outbursts going back to 2005 but it has become more of a theme since the DHS raid on Rubashkin.
It is rather amusing to watch Shmarya squeak out that pathetic defense of Philanderer / Liar-in-Chief Bill Clinton.
Under Clinton's watch, law "enforcement" was really at it's prime between the President of United States perjuring himself and being impeached by the Congress and all the other criminal shenanigans that trailed back to the White House.
Even the current mortgage crisis is the direct result of Clinton crony Henry Cisneros and Democrat Barney Fag who had to make sure that every Black dude with no income got to live in a spanking new 4 bedroom house.
Much to Shmarya's discomfort he cannot block me from posting on any blog except his own. Alas censorship is another great Liberal pastime. So who is dishonest?
As far as kiruv, I cannot vouch for Chabad that they only use 100% honest tactics, but try naming ANY kiruv organization that Shmarya doesn't have it in for. The only organization he does favor is one that encourages orthodox Jews to LEAVE the fold.
Perhaps Shmarya has deluded himself into believing that he is not full of hatred for the orthodox but the opposite is abundantly clear to anyone who reads his cyanide-laced website.
Incidentally, I must have REALLY unnerved Shmarya in exposing him before he pulled the plug on my IP.
He offered that I am the "worst" person he has "ever" dealt with.
When a good friend of his chimed in and admonished him to stop being ridiculous, asking how a critic using the screen name of a TV character could be worse than the likes of Madoff & Mondrowitz, Shmarya had no adequate answer as usual.
"Bunker (in all his various incarnations)"
Shmarya believes in gilgulim?
Schmarya, you just lost a bet! I am still registered republican, and have not only worked senatorial campaigns and house campaigns and governor's campaigns, but have for the last several years worked as a judge for the republican party at polling places during elections.
But I don't consider myself a neocon anymore, and in fact am pondering changing my party affiliation, maybe to democrat - not because I like or believe in Obama, because I don't - but because I can't take the greed and economic hubris the republican party has allowed and is still pushing. There are some things that should just not be "for profit," and basic human rights such as healthcare and a reasonable amount of electricity and water and basic local phone service (or maybe even basic dial-up internet, which kids really do NEED for homework these days) should not be withheld from people due to inability to pay the price of big business greed.
Let what-not manufacturers duke it out, let gadget makers fight to the death, to thrive or fail by the market - but don't try to rationalize having Western workers compete with people who make 50 cents an hour starting as teenagers working 18 hours a day with no sabbaths, holidays, sick days, no wage or labour laws, child labour and unsafe or toxic working conditions. It's insane to say that's a level playing field.
Adam Smith's free market doesn't work at international levels - there is no accountability, no oversight, no fear of losing reputation - none of the factors Smith claims kept the market in check exist at that level. It is nothing but greed and exploitation run amok.
And Unions didn't kill American manufacturing, lack of nationalized healthcare did. Our businesses can't even compete with other western nations because of that. If you took a pen and wiped out all GM's health care costs for active and legacy workers, they would be profitable almost instantly. But it can't be done as long as the US is the only first world nation that lacks guaranteed basic health care for our citizens.
And this whole ethic of exploitation and profiteering at the expense of others has been a hideous disease in Jewish communities - they may not vote republican, but they sure "do business" that way. It's shameful, and I can't support it anymore. In fact, the only reason they vote democrat is probably due to reliance upon welfare and other state handouts and breaks. If it weren't for that, they'd be openly cheering for the robber barons of the republican party.
Shalom.
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