On Sunday, May 20th, 2012, thousands are expected to gather in Citi Field to rally against the perceived evils of the internet. Join us for a massive counter rally to bring awareness to a far bigger problem in the Frum (ultra-orthodox Jewish) community: keeping our children safe.
We are fed up with rabbinical leaders' dismissive attitude towards sexual and physical violence against children, inadequate educational systems and the shattering of families due to the religious choices of parents or children.
This is NOT an anti-religious protest. We are ultra-Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, secular, male, female, young and old. This is not an ideological issue. This is not an issue only for “insiders.” When it comes to the safety of our children, we must be united and unabashed in our actions.
Nothing comes before the safety of our children!
For More Info: http://www.facebook.com/events/320642868009045/
It's all very clever, isn't it? They are now going to have not one, but TWO "rallies" -- one to celebrate the siyum Hashas and one to "burn the witch" of the Internet.
ReplyDeleteFor months the hype and hoopla in the New York Charedi press has been about the upcoming siyum Hashas and how many tens of thousands will be coming to watch the grand celebration.
But someone had the bright idea to ruin this extravaganza and "twin" it to yet another hyped-up hoopla to condemn the Internet with the idiotic slogan of "we can't live with it and we can't live without it" -- the same one that has been the joke about what men say about their women, that "it's bad with them, and even worse without them!"
So now the two mega hoopla events are promoted with some people's hundreds of thousands, together, a "two-fer" to make it clear in the frum public's mind that Internet-condemnation and Talmud-celebration go hand in hand, like positive and negative mitzvos are bound together in the Torah. A "horse and carriage" marriage made in yeshivisha self-delusional hell.
But, bad enough that huge amounts of big money are being poured down the drain at the very time when so many families in Israel are pleading for "kuppas ha'ir/rabbonim" appeals for tzedaka every week, and instead now there's gonna be not one huge waste of money on celebrating the siyum Hashas in a goyisha stadium (will they also sell cholent and kugel?) but an additional mega waste of money in a stadium that will convince no one and and do nothing because the Internet is not something that can be cut out and shut out like a radio or TV since every cell phone, Email, Skype, laptop and you name the communications device are hooked up to it. May as well ban electricity, that would "solve" everything !!!
There is no way people are going back to smoke signals, carrier pigeons, pony express, running messengers, Morse code or snail mail.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4212178,00.html
ReplyDeleteUOJ should look into this whether the Star K or Ner Yishmoel got to the directors & chairman of the Jewish Film Festival and convinced them to pull the screening of "Standing Silent" which documents the molestation cases in Baltimore. With all the crap they screen at the festival, something is definitely fishy that only this film was pulled. The producer is preparing a lawsuit against the Festival directors.
http://www.thejc.com/news/israel-news/66320/hazon-yeshaya-staff-arrested-charity-investigation
ReplyDeleteThe head of an Israeli soup kitchen has been arrested along with nine employees amid claims that the charity stole from its donors.
Hazon Yeshaya, which has been mired in a scandal since last year and was reportedly the subject of an undercover fraud investigation, was founded by Rabbi Abraham Israel 15 years ago. At its height it claimed to make and serve some 14,000 meals every day to Israel's impoverished.
This weekend the charity's head and his colleagues were arrested on suspicion of pocketing donations from fundraising groups based in the diaspora, including money given to the charity by Holocaust survivors. The charity had benefited from funds given by the Claims Conference, an organisation which supports Holocaust survivors.
According to Ha'aretz, investigators believe those accused of the scam may have sold food that was intended for the soup kitchen to external buyers, then kept the profits.
It is also thought that Hazon Yeshaya issued false lists of food distribution points around Israel. There are also allegations involving money laundering and forged documents.
A police spokesman said that the charity was one of Israel's largest and "receives tens of millions of dollars from donors abroad".
Suspicions were raised about the charity's activities last October, when donors to the British and Canadian arms of Friends of Hazon Yeshaya questioned where their money was going.
The British group, which raised about £750,000 annually, suspended its fundraising operations and shut itself down last December over the allegations, which in addition to financial mismanagement included complaints it had misled donors by funding religious training.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/Flash.aspx/238576#.T6H_pLMu3ng
ReplyDeleteThe kashrut-fraud unit of the Chief Rabbinate has revoked the kosher certification of "Pri Ha'aretz" catering, following suspicions it served non-kosher meat to senior state officials and 120 outstanding soldiers at the President's Residence on Independence Day, according to the Ma'ariv daily, which broke the story on Sunday. Rabbi Rafi Yochai, who manages the unit, told the manager that its investigation confirmed suspicions that the meat was bought in the Arab town of Abu-Gosh, west of Jerusalem, and that the event's kashrut supervisor was stunned to see security video that showed the meat did not come from the company's kitchen in Kibbutz Giv'at Chaim Me'uchad.
The legal department of the President's Residence called the findings "serious" and said it was reviewing courses of action against Pri Ha'aretz. The caterers stood by their record and said they would cooperate with the rabbinate and carry out their own investigation. (Is that like Margulies telling the Debreciner Rov there is no need for his beis din to investigate Kolko because he is carrying out his own "investigation"?)
http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/jerusalem-men-charged-with-stealing-rare-judaic-books-1.427877
ReplyDeleteTwo Jerusalem men have been charged with stealing rare, ancient Judaic books, estimated to be worth tens of thousands of dollars, from the Israel National Library.
Yisrael Pinto, 26, and Yekutiel Barkman, 23, used false documents to steal 18th century books, according to the indictment submitted to Jerusalem Magistrate's Court about two weeks ago. The thefts took place in May 2009.
According to authorities, the pair walked into the Gershom Shalom Hall in the Jerusalem library, where the Judaism and kabbala books are kept, and asked to study a book. Due to the rarity and value of some of the books in the hall, recommendations are required to study them on the premises.
The two are charged with presenting false recommendations from Torah research institutes and false personal recommendations from senior officials in these institutes. Prosecutors say they asked to study "Meor Einayim", a book by Rabbi Menachem Nachum of Chernobyl, published in 1798 and valued at tens of thousands of dollars. Some time after receiving the tome, however, the defendants allegedly returned a different book with a similar catalog number, and took "Meor Einayim" out of the library.
Rabbi Nachum, who founded the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty, was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov, founder of the Hasidic movement. "Meor Einayim," a collection of his teachings, is known as one of the major Hasidic works.
According to the indictment, one week after the first incident, the two returned to the library and asked for a different Hasidic classic, "Kedushas Levi," by Hasidic leader Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev. The book, also published in 1798, is a commentary on numerous Jewish laws and religious books, arranged according to the weekly Torah portion. Levi Yitzchok of Berditchev (1740-1809 ), also known as the Berditchever, was one of the main disciples of the Maggid of Mezritch.
His book is also valued at tens of thousands of dollars and was kept in the library's rare book closet. This time authorities say the defendants returned the original book's cover to the librarians, but had inserted another book into the cover.
"They used a false document in order to receive objects ... and stole objects of scientific and historic value," the indictment says.
It is unclear when the library's management discovered the theft and filed a complaint to police. Pinto and Barkman were arrested after police say they identified the two in the footage from the library's security cameras. But the stolen books have not been retrieved and are believed to have been sold.
The defendants are charged with grave forgery, using a false document, fraud and theft.
Officials in the National Library said large sums of money have been invested over the past two years in renovating the library and improving security in order to prevent book thefts.
If there was ever a showcase example of institional corruption, this is it.
ReplyDeleteRabbi Rafi Butler who continues to be the rabbi of a Queens Vaad and Young Israel shul was originally forced out of a top position at the OU. The OU did not want to give him the boot but they had no choice when their criminal conspiracy was exposed that they had protected the since convicted child molester Baruch Lanner for so many years.
Butler continued to have a business relationship with the OU through his Afikim Foundation that might be getting free office space at the National Council of Young Israel.
When Rabbi Butler's son Moshe Butler was arrested by FBI agents in connection to the Spongetech scandal chilul Hashem on Wall St, the orthodox institutional world went into full swing to help Rabbi Butler cover up for his son. Large amounts of money started moving around for the legal defense including from an entity that is registered to Basil Herring, the head of the RCA until a few months ago. IT experts also went to work to scrub the internet of any mention of the arrest.
http://www.justice.gov/usao/nj/Press/files/Butler,%20Moshe%20Plea%20News%20Release.html
But there is only so far that a cover up can go when Moshe Butler continues to be arrested, over and over again because he finds it irresistible to steal millions of dollars.
Moshe Butler also admitted in a newspaper interview that he was blowing loads of money at Atlantic City casinos while being mechalel Shabbas and eating treif food.
You should hear the pathetic rabbis from all the above mentioned organzations trying to defend Rabbi Butler's cover up of child molestation. They know they are full of it which is why their voice tone suddenly turns to sounding like they are talking with a mouth full of marbles.