Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Two more babies stricken with herpes after ritual ultra-orthodox Jewish oral blood sucking circumcision in New York City

Since 2000 --- 13 known cases of herpes have been contracted from the religious practice


  • Two deaths and two babies suffering brain damage have resulted

  • Department of health warns there being no safe way to perform the ritual that dates back more than 5,000 years


Two more infants have been infected with a deadly herpes virus in the last three months after undergoing a controversial religious oral circumcision in New York City.

The latest cases bring the count to 13 infants since 2000, two of which suffered brain damage and two died from the virus which can rapidly spread throughout its body.

The ultra-Orthodox Jewish practice of metzitzah b'peh requires a practitioner to orally suck the baby's penis to 'cleanse' the open wound following its circumcision, making them susceptible to the virus.

Contraction: The ultra-Orthodox practice of metzitzah b'peh requires a practitioner to orally suck the baby's penis to 'cleanse' the open wound following its circumcision, making them susceptible to the virus (file photo)
Contraction: The ultra-Orthodox practice of metzitzah b'peh requires a practitioner to orally suck the baby's penis to 'cleanse' the open wound following its circumcision, making them susceptible to the virus (file photo)

The department of health says one of the latest infants to contract the virus developed a fever and a lesion on its scrotum, seven days after the procedure. The boy later tested positive for HSV-1. That virus differs from HSV-2, the genital herpes, which is contracted during sexual intercourse.

'A herpes infection in a newborn baby has the risk of leading to severe illness and death,' Jay Varma, deputy commissioner for disease control at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene told ABC News.
    'The reason is that the baby doesn't have the same fully developed immune system as an adult. Instead of staying in the genital area, it extends throughout different organs in the body,' he explained.

    He said it's too soon to tell whether the boys will suffer permanent effects.

    The identify of the rabbi who performed the circumcision is being withheld by the boys' parents, preventing the health department to step in, they said.

    Dangers: Since 2000 13 known cases of herpes have resulted from the practice, two of which suffered brain damage and two others died
    Dangers: Since 2000 - 13 known cases of herpes have resulted from the practice, two of which suffered brain damage and two others died

    The religious practice that dates back to more than 5,000 years defies warning by the city's department of health which says there is no safe way to perform the oral suction on an open wound.

    More modern Jewish practices use a sterile aspiration device to clean the wound or a pipette opposed to the oral sucking.

    But some rabbis stand grounded behind the practice, calling it a religious freedom while noting its long history.

    In September the department voted to require parents to sign forms consenting to the risks of the practice after the death of two children who contracted the virus through the practice.

    The parents of those newly infected boys are said to have not signed those forms.

    According to Rabbi David Zwiebel, executive vice president of the Orthodox Jewish organization Agudath Israel of America, two-thirds of boys born in New York City's Hasidic communities are circumcised in the oral suction matter.

    The health department claims they've had complaints in past by parents who say they weren't made aware that the oral practice would be performed on their child.

    Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2304793/Two-babies-stricken-HERPES-ritual-oral-blood-sucking-circumcision-New-York-City.html#ixzz32NehIuje 

    Did They Call The Cops Or A Rabbi?

    Pleasant Plains man 

    accused of stealing

     $50K in checks 

    from Yeshiva of Staten Island

    yeshiva.jpg
    Yeshiva of Staten Island is located in Pleasant Plains. (Staten Island Advance/Maura Grunlund)
    STATEN ISLAND, N.J. -- A Staten Island man cashed more than $50,000 worth of checks stole from the Yeshiva of Staten Island over a five-month period, police allege.
    Back in 2011, two checkbooks were lifted from a drawer inside an office in the Pleasant Plains school, according to a law enforcement source.
    That led to 16 separate checks, all from a Staten Island account belonging to the Yeshiva's Manhattan affiliate, Mesivtha Tifereth Jerusalem, cashed between August and December of that year, all at a Pay-O-Matic in Brooklyn, according to court papers.
    Police identified a person wanted for questioning in the theft -- Yehuda Rubin, 31, of Hallister Street in Pleasant Plains, authorities said.

    On Thursday, after a routine car stop led to Rubin's arrest on drug charges, police brought him in for questioning, linked him to the theft and hit him with multiple felony charges.

    A law enforcement source familiar with the case said Rubin was a student at the Yeshiva back in 2001, but the head rabbi there didn't recognize him from surveillance footage. A family with the same last name had a recent affiliation with the Yeshiva, though, the source said, and court papers show he lives just a few blocks away.

    Rabbi David Ceder, the Yeshiva's head of security, said he had no knowledge of the case.

    The criminal complaint against Rubin alleges that Rubin started with smaller amounts, cashing checks for $1,800 or $2,400 in August and September of 2011. By that October, though, the amounts started to grow, and between Oct. 12 and Dec. 14, 2011, he cashed seven checks for $4,000 each, court records show.

    He'd cash many of the checks late at night, and, in a few instances, at 2:55 a.m. or 4:34 a.m., and each time, he'd use the Pay-O-Matic at 1813 Kings Highway, police allege.

    Rubin referred to the allegations as a "misunderstanding" when questioned by police, the law enforcement source said.

    When police arrested him on Thursday, on the 100 block on Pleasant Plains Avenue, not far from his home, he had in his possession marijuana, the painkiller oxycodone, the anti-anxiety drug alprazolam (marketed as Xanax), and amphetamine dextromephetamine (marketed as Adderall), court papers allege.

    That led to misdemeanor drug possession charges, while the checks led to multiple counts of second, third- and fourth degree grand larceny, and third- and fourth-degree criminal possession of stolen property charges, according to information from District Attorney Daniel Donovan's office.

    He was arraigned Friday in Stapleton Criminal Court, where his bail was set at $35,000. He's slated to return to court Wednesday.

    http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/05/pleasant_plains_man_accused_of.html

    New Jersey Passes Jessica's Law Today - Mandatory 25 Year Minimum 1st offense for sex crimes against children~!

    In February 2005, a nine year old Florida girl named Jessica Lunsford was raped and murdered. The accused offender lived across the street from Jessica and had a history of crimes against children. He was required to register as a sex offender under Florida law but failed to keep his registration information current, as required. This case prompted Florida House Bill 1877 later that year, which increased punishment and monitoring of child sex offenders.

      Two major components of the bill include a mandatory 25 years to life prison sentence for first time offenders convicted of sex crimes against children and the use of global positioning satellites (GPS) or electronic devices to track the location of sex offenders following release.

    Several states have since passed similar versions of the original Jessica's Law although the title of acts may vary by state.

    At least 25 states have enacted mandatory 25 year minimum sentences for first time child sex crime offenders; at least 39 states have enacted GPS or electronic monitoring provisions specific to sex
    offenders; and at least 23 states have enacted both GPS or electronic monitoring and 25 year minimums, identified below by an asterisk next to the state name. Some states have not yet enacted
    these Jessica's Law components but may have comparable or related provisions; that information is also included below.

    http://www.leg.state.vt.us/WorkGroups/sexoffenders/NCSLs_Jessicas_Law_Summary.pdf