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Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Who Governs The Jews?

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/opinion/01tue3.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Editorial - The New York Times

Acts of Contrition
Published: February 28, 2011

One can scarcely imagine the pain borne into St. Mary’s Pro-Cathedral in Dublin last month at a Mass — “A Liturgy of Lament and Repentance” — offered for the victims of sexually abusive priests.

It was a reminder that the scandal, a global catastrophe for the Roman Catholic Church and a national tragedy in Ireland, is also a universe of individual tragedies. But there was also hope that some church leaders, at least, are facing up to that pain and that catastrophe. The archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin, and Cardinal Séan O’Malley, the archbishop of Boston, presided over the Mass, which went to unusual lengths to involve victims and to gaze unflinchingly at their suffering.

With 400 people in attendance, lectors read long passages from official reports on decades of abuse in Irish parishes and schools — horrific reading for a sacred space. A few victims interrupted the proceedings with their own stories of shame and terror.

Just as unusual, even startling, was the way the archbishop and cardinal made personal the church’s act of contrition. They lay prostrate in silence before a bare altar. They washed and dried the feet of eight abuse victims — just as the Catholic clergy do at Mass on Holy Thursday to recall how Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, a gesture of humility and service.

Archbishop Martin offered what may be the most specific apology yet, showing an understanding — rare among his peers — of the difference between lip service and true repentance. “When I say ‘sorry,’ ” the archbishop said, “I am in charge. When I ask forgiveness, however, I am no longer in charge. I am in the hands of the others. Only you can forgive me; only God can forgive me.”

Not all survivors of abuse will likely accept the apology. They are right that the church has a long way to go to cleaning house and repairing trust with its flock. Reforms are lagging, many victims are still waiting for compensation and a full accounting of crimes. Some predator priests are still in ministry. Bishops have largely avoided punishment or credible repentance.

Still, gestures and ritual can be meaningful, and forgiveness has to begin somewhere, which is why the Dublin Mass seemed to be a true step forward. “We want to be part of a church that puts survivors, the victims of abuse, first,” Cardinal O’Malley said, getting it right.

And for that Sunday, anyway, the victims took precedence. “What the hell did I do wrong as a child?” asked a man, Robert Dempsey, who told of being abused in a mental institution. “What the hell did any of us do?”

***

President and Founder of The Jewish Board of Advocates for Children - JBAC - Elliot Pasik Esq. writes:

The umos ha'olam not only get kind words, but the Church also, without compulsion of law, provides free therapy for the victims. The Church is now also in strict compliance with all American background check and mandatory reporting laws.

The Jews, in May 2009, receive a tongue lashing from Rosh Aguda Rabbi Perlow who, at the annual Aguda dinner says: Only gedolim can divine what is good for the Jews, not well-meaning baal ha'battim, nor presumptous bloggers and picketers.

Their Executive Vice President, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, Esq., echoed the same theme when he told the NY Times, in October 2009: I hope the Brooklyn DA isn't making a power grab from the rabbis, by prosecuting orthodox Jewish sex abusers.

Last night, on PBS, Channel 13, there was a riveting documentary about the March 25, 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, in which 146 people died, mostly young Jewish women. About half were teens. The fire started from a dropped cigarette. The two rich factory owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris, had locked all the doors, and there was overcrowding. The owners escaped the fire by scampering to the roof, and crossing to an adjacent building. Nobody told the workers. The owners were acquitted of manslaughter, and collected the insurance money. The NYS Legislature responded with 32 new laws, covering worker safety, child labor, and fire equipment. The fire department ladders reached only to the 6th floor, not to the 8th floor.

The academic commentators at the end of the documentary said that the fire produced a sea change on how people felt they should be governed. Pre-fire, people believed that the factories and workers were a private relationship only. Post-fire, there was a consensus that worker safety was subject to public policy.

So 32 new laws got passed!

Halavei!

Elliot Pasik

12 comments:

chaim said...

what exactly is the 'fire' that will set off the '32 new laws?'
Moshiach?

Berlusconi and Tropper resort to financial bribery to buy off opposition said...

The Telegraph:

"Italian MP claims he was offered bribe to support Berlusconi

Italian prosecutors [Jewish bloggers] have opened an investigation into an opposition MP's [B"H's] claim that he was offered £128,000 to defect to Silvio Berlusconi's [Leib Tropper] government [horizonsejfkolyaakov].

By Nick Squires, Rome 3:56PM GMT 28 Feb 2011

Gino Bucchino [Harry Maryles], a member of the Democratic [Bloggers] Party, said that in addition to the cash, he was guaranteed that he would be made a candidate for a safe seat held by Mr Berlusconi's [Mr Tropper's] People of Freedom party [Horizons Kolyaakov Conversions party] at the next election [agudaconvention], due in 2013 [or sooner].

It is the latest allegation of vote-buying to hit the embattled prime minister [rosh yeshiva], as he strives to shore up a slender majority in parliament amid a sex scandal for which he will face trial on April 6, accused of abuse of office and paying for sex with an under-age prostitute [wannabe convertee].

Mr Bucchino [Rb Maryles], 63, is a doctor who has Canadian [Chicagoan] residency and represents Italians [Bloggers] living in North and Central America, one of a handful of MPs [B"Hs] elected by the Italian diaspora [Jewish blogosphere].

He claimed last week that he had been contacted by a man speaking on behalf of Denis Verdini [Nochum Eisenstein], a national coordinator for Mr Berlusconi's [Mr Tropper's] party.

"It was proposed that I should enter the group of the Responsibles [Fornicators]," he said, referring to a number of MPs [Y"SHs] who have defected to the government [moetzes] in recent weeks.

He said he declined both the offer of a guaranteed seat and "expenses" of 150,000 euros.

Mr Berlusconi's [Mr Tropper's] supporters denied the allegations and said they might sue for defamation [and for loshon hora].

The prime minister, 74, [rosh yeshiva, 60+] scraped through a parliamentary [moetzesgedolim] no-confidence vote by three votes [Shechter-Wachtfogel-Green] in December but has since managed to bolster his majority, allegedly by enticing opposition MPs [SOBs] with money and political appointments.

Pierluigi Bersani [Yerachmiel Lopin], the leader of the Democratic [Bloggers] Party, said the government [moetzes] had "crossed every threshold of decency" with its alleged buying of votes.

Prosecutors in Rome [Jerusalem] are already investigating accusations made by Antonio Di Pietro [Da Niel Eidensohn], the leader of another opposition [bloggers] party, that some of his MPs [NEBECHs] were bribed to switch their allegiance to the government [moetzes] just days before the no confidence vote."

Berlusconi and Tropper lavished money on their harems and think that the world does not see their duplicity said...

The Telegraph:

"Silvio Berlusconi may have paid for 'Bunga Bunga' girls' cosmetic surgery

Italian [Israeli] prosecutors are investigating whether Silvio Berlusconi [Leib Tropper] paid for young women in his inner circle to have cosmetic surgery to their breasts, bottoms and lips.

By Nick Squires, Rome 5:55PM GMT 28 Feb 2011

Prosecutors [Bloggers] in Milan [Monsey], who accuse the prime minister [rosh yeshiva] of abuse of office and sleeping with an under-age prostitute [wannabe convertee], believe at least seven women in his inner circle were given money for operations to enlarge their breasts, shape their buttocks and plump up their lips with collagen [shmaltz] implants.

Investigators [blogowners] have already amassed evidence suggesting that Mr Berlusconi [Mr Tropper], Italy's [Israel's] third richest man [biggest liar], gave jewellery, cars, and bundles of cash worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to showgirls and aspiring actresses who "prostituted themselves" at so-called "bunga bunga" parties at his mansion [yeshiva] near Milan [Monsey].

Investigators [blogowners] believe the operations were carried out by Giacomo Urtis [Tom Kaplan], a cosmetic surgeon [financial fixer] based in Sardinia [Tuna-sia].

Venezuelan born Dr Urtis [Dr Kaplan], 34, has been questioned by Ilda Boccassini [Ester Jungreis], one of the magistrates [rebbetzins] pursuing the case against the prime minister [rosh yeshiva], but is not accused of any wrongdoing.

In the course of their investigation [blogging] prosecutors [bloggers] recorded hundreds of telephone conversations, in which some of the women caught up in the scandal discussed having work done to their breasts and bottoms.

Dr Urtis [Dr Kaplan] told Corriere della Sera [Jewish For Ward] that prosecutors [bloggers] were particularly interested in whether he had performed work on Karima El Mahroug [Shannon Orand], the teenage belly dancer [wannabe convertee] who the prime minister [rosh yeshiva] is accused of paying for sex when she was 17 [whatever]. The surgeon [shneider] insisted that he had never met her.

Mr Berlusconi [Mr Tropper] said he was not worried about the prostitution trial, due to start on April 6, claiming he had been unfairly persecuted for years by the Italian [Israeli] judiciary [badatz] and quoting Jesus Christ [Shabtai Tzvi].

"I'm the person who's been subjected to the most trials in Italy [Israel], I've had to face 2,952 hearings [so quit already]," he said at a business conference in Milan [Monsey]. "If I tell you how much I've spent in consultants and lawyers I think you'll faint: more than 600 billion lire (£2.5 million) [faint? it's peanuts compared to what you spent on the whores]."

"When people say that I should let myself be put on trial, I think 'forgive them, for they know not what they do.' [because only Tropper knows what's best]"

Even Mr Berlusconi's [Mr Tropper's] lawyers [liars] admitted it was extraordinary that the [disgraced] leader of a Western democracy [Stoneage cult] should be entangled in so many legal battles [what? he should be given a free ride instead?].

"Having four trials at the same time is truly something beyond normal," said his main lawyer, Niccolo Ghedini [Nisht Amentsch], who is also an MP [Y"SH] in his party [let's party, purim is on the way]."

Saudis and Haredis refuse to face the realities of the world that rejects their corrupt ways said...

The Guardian:

"Saudi Arabia's subtle protests are serious

Saudis [Haredis] may not be massing on the streets like others in the Middle East [Frum World], but their petitions and complaints are momentous

Brian Whitaker Tuesday 1 March 2011 11.30 GMT

With Tunisia's [Shtetel's] Zine El Abidine Ben Ali [Vus Iz Gevein Iz Gevein] and Egypt's [Ghetto's] Hosni Mubarak [Shmuel Bloom] gone, Muammar Gaddafi [WakoJako Perlow] teetering on the brink in Libya [Aguda] and Arab [Frum] leaders everywhere nervously reassessing their survival prospects, there has never been a more auspicious time for people across the region to demand their rights. Even in Saudi Arabia [Haredi Stan] people are stirring...

"Unhappiness with the current situation is something that has brought sworn enemies together," writes Eman al-Nafjan [Eim Habanim], a postgraduate mother of three who blogs under the name Saudiwoman [Harediveibel]:

"It's becoming more and more difficult to tell apart the demands of conservatives [chnyoks] from those of liberals [modern] and the demands of the majority [shtiebels] from those of minorities [yeshivas]...

Yet another, "from Saudi [Haredi] intellectuals to the political [rabbinical] leadership", is headed "Declaration of national reform". On Monday, that too was blocked by the Saudi [Haredi] authorities [moetzes]...

In 2006, Musa al-Qarni [Avi Weiss] and three other men politely asked the king [roshiva] to form an Islamic [Judaic] debating society that would discuss "freedom, justice, equality, citizenship, pluralism, [proper] advice, and the role of women". The king [roshiva] ignored his request and several months later, Qarni [Weiss] was arrested and carted off to jail [cherem] after the secret police [kollel yungerleit] stormed a villa [choveveitorah] in Jeddah [Jersey] where several men "widely known for their advocacy on issues of social and political reform" were meeting...

King Abdullah [Aron Schechter], meanwhile, is plainly apprehensive. His response so far has been to dig deep into his – or the state's – pockets [tzedaka fund's and gemach's] in Saudi Arabia [Haredi Stan] there isn't really much distinction between the two. Since returning from medical treatment abroad he has splashed out $36bn in the hope of heading off unrest, with promises of a further $400bn (£245bn) over the next four years for education [pellgrants], infrastructure [sectioneight] and healthcare [medicaid].

A spoof news item posted on the internet on Sunday said King Abdullah [Aron Schechter] was also offering $150bn in cash to buy out Facebook and presumably close it down [with Abraham Fruchthandler's zillions] "in order to end the Arab [Frum] revolt" [climaxing attacks on the Internet that he started with the Michael Hersh case]. Although the source of the story – LOL News [good name, "LOL" news, like all "frum" news] – should have given a clue that it was just a joke [nope, they really do try to buy off things they hate], the tale was sufficiently plausible for the Saudi [Haredi] government [moetzes] to issue a straight-faced official [aguda] denial...

It may be enough to placate some disaffected Saudis [Haredis], as in the past, but many others are saying money is not the issue: they want real change. The question is whether that message will get through to King Abdullah [Aron Schechter] without mass protests on the streets. [yup, go for it, no one wants to be in his yeshiva they all leave.]"

Chinese and Satmar fear the Internet and plan more controls said...

The following reveals "official" Chinese thinking about the Internet, not much different to Haredi views, Arab dictators views, and the way some Obama officials want to control it to their own ends:

CRI China News:

"China Needs to Be Cautious of "Internet Mercenaries": CPPCC Spokesman

2011-03-02 16:36:52 Xinhua
Web Editor: Jiang

China [Satmar] should be cautious about "Internet mercenaries", a group of people posting comments online to manipulate public opinion, Zhao Qizheng [Zali Teitel], spokesman for the annual session of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) [Disunited Aggressive Always Fighting Aroni and Zali Factions (DAAFAZF)], said in Beijing [Williamsburg] Wednesday.

The influence of public opinion via the Internet is getting stronger as more and more people use the channel to exchange views and participate in political issues, Zhao [Zali] said, noting that China [Satmar] had 457 million Internet users by the end of last year [chasidim like to exaggerate, it's good for business].

"We feel that Internet culture and environment is getting more complicated and there has emerged a group of people called 'Internet mercenaries'", he said.

Some of them, backed by institutions for certain purposes, disguise them as ordinary netizens and post comments in order to affect and divert public opinion, or even disturb government [rebbes] policy-making, he said.

It needs attention and alert from the government [rebbes], and China [Satmar] lacks legislation [pashkvils] in this regard, Zhao [Zali] said."

Sure, and now the one party dictators of the communist Chinese totalitarians are going to "control" those they deem to be Internet "terrorists" what a great joke that all is.

Internet as part of Orthodox life JTA article 1 said...

Part One:

JTA:

"Orthodox grapple with ubiquity of Internet

By Ben Harris · March 1, 2011

NEW YORK (JTA) -- For Josh, a Brooklyn computer technician who deals almost exclusively with a haredi Orthodox clientele, it was quite the conundrum: A man brings his computer to be cleaned of a virus that Josh believes was acquired while visiting a pornographic website. A few weeks later the man returns with the same problem.

Should Josh (not his real name) advise his client about which sites will give him the rush he's after without harming his computer?

While this wouldn't be much of a problem in much of the world, inside the walls of Brooklyn's insular Orthodox communities it's a religious and moral dilemma of the utmost seriousness.

Josh feared for his business reputation; his client was frustrated by the recurring problem.

So Josh turned to several rabbis, none of whom gave him the go-ahead to advise his client on where to find virus-free porn. And though in subsequent years he has encountered the problem numerous times, Josh says he abides by the will of the rabbis.

"I know the virus when I see it. I know they got it from pornography,” said Josh, who works out of a basement office strewn with computer equipment and soda cans. “When they come back two to three weeks later and they got the same virus, it's pretty clear they got a problem.”

The potentially adverse effects of the Internet on everything from neural wiring to the male libido has produced a rapidly expanding body of literature, prompting concerns that the brave new wired world is undermining relationships, fostering anti-social behavior, shrinking attention span and degrading the human capacity for deep thought.

But in the Orthodox world, the ready availability of Internet pornography is merely the most salacious manifestation of a broader challenge: How to cope with a technology that is becoming increasingly necessary for carrying out an ever expanding universe of daily tasks but offers limitless possibilities for religiously inappropriate behavior.

"There's no question it's a major problem,” said Rabbi Mordechai Twerski, a Brooklyn therapist who treats patients with a range of conditions he says are exacerbated by the Internet. “Our entire culture is overwhelmed by the flow of information in every facet of life. There's no way to escape it anymore.”

For a long time, Orthodox Jews could escape it. Many haredi homes lack televisions and don't subscribe to mainstream newspapers, abstentions that once presented effective barriers against the intrusions of the wider culture. But the Internet's growing ubiquity has breached those walls in ways that undermine traditional communal taboos.

In response, the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah, the council of rabbinical authorities that routinely issues edicts on Orthodox religious life, repeatedly has urged Jews not to have Internet access at all. And if that proves unavoidable for business reasons, the council has mandated the installation of filters that block the most objectionable materials.

Such injunctions appear to be only marginally effective, however, as the Internet has intruded gradually into every facet of life. More potent may be restrictions placed by religious schools, several of which have official policies that students may not be enrolled if they have Internet access at home."

Internet as part of Orthodox life JTA article 2 said...

Part Two:

JTA:

"Orthodox grapple with ubiquity of Internet

Gershon Singer's children attend one such school in the Borough Park section of Brooklyn that is affiliated with the Bobov Chasidic sect. An electronics salesman at an emporium on 15th Avenue, Singer's inventory includes computers, software and smartphone accessories, but he has no Internet connection at home even though one of his teenagers has been angling lately for it.

“Why does someone need the Internet?” Singer asked.

How about airline tickets? News? Sports scores? The weather?

Singer gave up caring about the Yankees years ago. Plane tickets he purchases online at work, where there is a connection. And important news he hears about eventually, either in the newspaper -- he subscribes to the haredi daily Hamodia -- or around the neighborhood.

“It means that 90 percent of the bad news in the world I won't know on the spot. Big deal,” Singer said. “I know I sound like a Puritan settler from 200 years ago.”

Given the communal taboo on Internet access, it's hard to know precisely how widespread its use is in the Orthodox world. Singer says he believes most parents in his children's school abide by the prohibition on household Internet, but Josh says in certain quarters its use is relatively common.

In more conservative districts such as Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a stronghold of the Satmar Chasidim, perhaps 10-20 percent of homes have Internet connections, Josh estimates. In other areas he pegs the figure at 50-90 percent.

Concern over the Internet's corrosive impact nevertheless remains common and extends beyond the threats posed by easy access to pornography. Social networking sites such as Facebook provide young boys and girls with a discreet avenue to socialize, breaking down the community's strict separation between the sexes. Dating sites have helped erode well-established norms which dictate that men and women should date solely for the purpose of finding suitable marriage partners.

“We find that families are falling apart,” said Twerski. “The divorce rate is up. The amount of marriage counseling problems and personal problems, anywhere from anxiety to depression to obsessive compulsive behaviors, is up.”

Even seemingly innocuous online pursuits, like reading the news, carry pitfalls for the religiously observant. A handful of news sites targeting the Orthodox not only have brought stories into homes that once were reported solely by secular outlets, but several also feature talkback functions that provide an anonymous platform for the kind of hard-edged commentary many would be reluctant to offer up in public."

Internet as part of Orthodox life JTA article 3 said...

Part Three:

JTA:

"Orthodox grapple with ubiquity of Internet

In December, several prominent haredi rabbis issued an edict against one such site, Vos Iz Neias (Yiddish for “What's News?”), a popular news aggregator. The site gathers news of interest to Orthodox Jews from various sources, including reports on sexual misconduct allegations in the religious community.

The edict slammed the site's “contamination, filth, foul language, slander, gossip, and degrading of Torah scholars,” according to one translation, and prohibited both reading and advertising on its pages.

The site's administrator declined JTA's requests for comment. But Dov Gordon, an administrator at a competing site, Yeshiva World News, which thus far has escaped that kind of rabbinic opprobrium, said he is far more restrained than Vos Iz Neias, using softer euphemisms when the news is of a sensitive nature. Others say there is no difference between the sites and that the ban has more to do with internal community politics.

Regardless, the incident highlights the fear that an unrestrained online conversation elicits in certain quarters and the desire of rabbinic leaders to reassert some measure of control over communal behavior. But while that kind of rabbinic disapproval might be an effective suppressant when frowned-upon activities occur in public, the homebound nature of Internet use lowers the social costs of ignoring the rabbis.

“If you have access to these things in the privacy of your office, it's almost impossible to resist the curiosity,” said Yaakov Gold, who runs a website to help the religiously observant combat pornography addiction. “People who don't have protected Internet, they're going to fall at some point. It's almost inevitable.”

Gold's Israel-based website, GuardYourEyes.org, has more than 1,800 subscribers to a daily e-mail meant to strengthen recipients against the temptations of online pornography. Hundreds more participate in the online forums, where addicts share tips and success stories. The site has prominent rabbinic endorsements, and Gold is developing ambitious plans for a substantial expansion of its services.

Like many Orthodox Internet users, Gold is a strong proponent of content filters, which have become increasingly sophisticated since KosherNet arrived on the scene about 15 years ago -- from filtering software that is installed on computers, and in some cases can be readily uninstalled, to services like JNet, in which objectionable Internet traffic is cut off by an outside provider, to white lists specifying which sites can be accessed rather than those that cannot.

Gold also recommends a software that automatically sends a report of a user's Internet traffic to a third party, like a spouse or rabbi.

Nevertheless, for the savvy technician or the particularly ambitious teenager, almost every method has its vulnerabilities. That creates particular problems for people like Josh, who respects his religious obligation to guard against sexual impropriety but has the technological know-how to subvert it.

“It's not easy,” Josh said of his efforts to keep his Internet usage clean. “It's a daily struggle.”

Ben Harris is a staff writer for JTA who covers American Jewish life and is author of The Wandering Jew blog (blogs.JTA.org/wanderingjew)."

New Frummista attacks on Jewish blogs reported said...

"BREAKING NEWS The Kol Koreh to Silence all Voices: The Mother of All Bans

by Yerachmiel Lopin on March 1, 2011

According to informed sources, a kol koreh (proclamation or ban) is being prepared in Lakewoodhttp://frumfollies.wordpress.com/2011/01/03/lakewood%E2%80%99s-reasons-for-supporting-the-vos-iz-neias-ban/ and signatures are being solicited to:

* Ban all internet talkbacks, comments and forums
* Ban any news that is negative about any Jewish individual or group, by name or by hint
* Require every website to name its rabbinic advisor (i.e., censor)
* Require every website to name all authors and owners

If adopted it will force every website to defy the ban or convert itself into a pixilated equivalent of the heavily censored Homodiah and Yated Neeman. Even Matzav would have to drop its pseudonymous Rabbi Gavriel Rivlin and comments. Yeshiva World News would have to drop its popular and lively Coffee Room forums. Others affected would include the Jewish Press, Mishpacha Magazine, and Cross Currents. For that matter, we don’t even have any named rabbi-censors for any of the approved newspapers.

Here are some of the topics that could no longer be discussed:

* Child and spouse abuse (Rabbi Noach Oelbaum)
* Spouse abuse, substance abuse, and internet porn addiction (Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski)
* Alcohol abuse as addressed last Purim (Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky)
* Financial fraud as keynoted at the Agudah Convention in 2009 and acknowledged in an Agudah sponsored event with the Spinka Rebbe.
* Children at-risk of school failure
* Shalom bayis (marital) problems

Can the advocates of the ban really believe the problems will go away just because they ban talking about them? Do they think that the public doesn’t know about these problems? Lately people are muttering “aiyn bayis sh’aiyn bo meis.” The community is hungry for discussions that will lead to a tikkun (repair or restoration). But tikkun requires emes (truth), charatah (regret) and tshuvah (repentence). Censorship is the opposite of repair. Censorship is destructive and this new ban, one of the most extreme forms of censorship ever proposed, would be extremely destructive.

Honest rabbonim, and those of you who advise them, I beg you, do not support this ban. It will not stop the flow of information and dissent. It will not enhance respect for leadership. Instead, it will make baalabatim suspect that you have something to hide. It will lead to enormous chillul hashem (desecration of G-d’s name) and it will drive the masses in the community away from the leadership.

Yes there are embarrassing problems in the community. You can regain respect if you admit them and fix them. The torah is full of problems that would be censored by this ban. The torah is also full of stories about the greatness of leaders who admitted their mistakes and fixed them including Yehudah, Moshe, Aaron, Dovid Hamelech, and so on. Nobody would tear those sections out of the torah. Let’s not tear the stories about communal problems out of the orthodox media. Learn from the torah and follow its ways. Admit and discuss the community’s problems and fix them.

ACTION CALL- Please disseminate this posting and approach any individual who is a potential signer to share your thoughts about such a ban. If you wait until after the ban is out, it will be too late. I am not aware of any kol koreh that was rescinded after it was circulated. But many bans were averted before they appeared. There will not be any Shushan Purim for this kol koreh."

Elliot Pasik said...

I didn't realize it at the time, but when I wrote the above yesterday, it was the yahrtzeit,
25 Adar. Today's NY Times has a touching article, with photos, about kaddish being recited yesterday at the graves of 22 Jewish victims at the Staten Island cemetery maintained by the Hebrew Free Burial Society.

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/03/01/triangle/?ref=nyregion

The religious and all nonpublic school children are also deserving of public health and safety laws, such as mandatory fingerprinting and criminal history background checks of all employees. Registered sex offenders, and other dangerous persons with serious criminal histories, should not be employed near children.

We are working with key people in the NYS Legislature trying to secure the passage of such laws. Our February 2009 Position Paper to the Legislature, available on our web site at www.jewishadvocates.org, has caught the attention it well deserves.

Your tax-deductible contribution would be helpful. We have out-of-pocket expenses for document reproduction, travel, postage, advertising, web site maintenance. You can mail your donation to:

Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, Inc.
52 East Olive Street
Long Beach, NY 11561

Anonymous said...

former kolel rabbis wife is refusing to go to montreal with him

perhaps it has to do with his behavior patterns

Boruch said...

As Reagan said to Carter, "well, there you go again." The internet will destroy all that exists and that is good in the world. Really? So the closeted and insular whose taivehs have a protected and insulated path to their chesronos will be cleansed because no one can talk about it. I guess we can now eliminate viduy from Yom Kippur - no reason to talk about it and we have a kol koreh not to. Al Chet, has no one read them in the past 30 years. Most of them deal with taivehs of the very nature we have been discussing. Stop the klop on Yom Kippur, we can't talk about it.
Teshuvah, need we go further! First you have to verbalize what you did - now, there's a kol koreh, not to talk about it. Teshuvah is a moot point for our sterlized and insulated community.

We are the enemy.