"Fallen Short"

 

Senior rabbi, 55, is caught having an 'inappropriate association' with a married woman by a private eye hired by her multi-millionaire husband after he became suspicious of his 'frequent pastoral visits'

 

• Yonason Abraham, 55, had an 'inappropriate association with a married woman' 
• He was forced to quit Toras Chaim synagogue and his position at Beth Din court 
• He said he had 'fallen short of the standards expected' and he was 'deeply sorry'

 Forbidden sexual behaviors, known as gilui arayot, are viewed so negatively that a Jew is obliged to sacrifice one's life before committing them, only 3 transgressions out of 613 fall into this category.

Yonason Abraham, 55, was caught having an 'inappropriate relationship with a married woman'. He was forced to quit as rabbi at Toras Chaim synagogue and resigned from his position as a judge at Beth Din court.

A senior rabbi has been forced to quit his synagogue after an ‘inappropriate association with a married woman’.

Yonason Abraham, 55, said he had ‘fallen short of the standards expected’, adding he was ‘deeply sorry I have let you down’.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis issued a statement saying the ‘shameful episode ... has shaken us to the core’. 

He added: ‘When one of us fails in this manner, we are all greatly diminished.’ The disgraced rabbi is said to have quit over his links with the wife of a millionaire, to whom he gave ‘pastoral support’ in her marital home.

The marriages of both the rabbi and the millionaire were said to have been rocked by the scandal – although it is understood that neither couple has split. 

Rabbi Abraham had founded the Toras Chaim synagogue near Golders Green in north London, and had long been respected as one of the four judges in the London Beth Din court. He has also resigned from this latter role.

His reputation as a devout leader of the Jewish community was questioned last month when he sent his sudden resignation letter to his congregation.

The rabbi said he had been under ‘exceptional strain and stress for some time which has taken its inevitable toll’, adding: ‘I now need to help myself and my family.’ A source close to the community told the Daily Mail: ‘He had got far too close to the glamorous wife of a multi-millionaire and senior figure in the community. 

They have children. She suddenly started receiving a lot of pastoral support from [Rabbi] Abraham at her marital home. It’s said it wasn’t long before he crossed personal and religious boundaries.

‘The husband became so concerned at the rabbi’s frequent visits that he hired a private eye to find out what exactly was going on. 

What he told the husband was enough for him and his wife to face possible divorce – and for the rabbi to resign.’

The source went on: ‘The husband’s hackles were first raised when his wife said she wanted the family to “embrace their faith” more. They attend synagogue like any other family so this seemed to him an odd thing to say.

‘Then there were all the visits from the rabbi, including his using the swimming pool, which on reflection was odd as well as he was supposed to be there to give pastoral support. 

His worst fears were realised when the private eye produced evidence that left him in no doubt the rabbi was behaving inappropriately.

‘It was assumed they were divorcing but somehow they are holding it together. The rabbi’s reputation however has been ruined.

‘I don’t know how his marriage has survived. The fact that he is a judge in the religious court makes this even more embarrassing and hypocritical.’

The millionaire and his wife declined to comment when approached by the Daily Mail with the allegations. Rabbi Abraham also declined to comment.

Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis told rabbis in his statement: ‘A Beth Din [religious judge] must be unimpeachable – anything less is entirely unacceptable.

‘It was for this reason that I, together with the United Synagogue, ensured that the matter was dealt with so swiftly.

‘This shameful episode has been met by many with disbelief and has caused great pain.

‘In addition, there are innocent family members who have been directly affected and whose lives have been devastated by it.’ 

A spokesman for the Chief Rabbi refused to elaborate on the details of the scandal, but dismissed concerns that the Jewish court could face appeals in cases heard by Rabbi Abraham going back years.

The spokesman said: ‘There is no concern about the validity of any previous judgements.’

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6917795/Senior-rabbi-55-caught-having-inappropriate-association-married-woman.html?fbclid=IwAR2VF_xqc11MeuomZKHqP4lCniOBNy98Cf9TeV25kiCeLZzc0WfbMimNuhA

Ger - The Epitome Of Perversion!

Woman was removed from ultra-Orthodox polling station so top rabbi could vote

 

Followers of Ger Hassidic dynasty’s leader reportedly called Likud lawmakers to intervene after female polling officer refused to leave her post in Bnei Brak

A polling station in the city of Bnei Brak, Israel on April 9, 2019

 

 

A female Likud election worker was forced out of a polling station in the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak during Tuesday’s election at the request of the leader of the Ger Hassidic sect, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, according to a Friday report in Haaretz.

The woman initially refused to leave the polling station, so the rabbi’s followers contacted Likud Knesset members who arranged to have the woman removed, the report said.

The Likud lawmakers sent a male party official to the polling station to replace the woman “while she took a lunch break,” during which time the rabbi cast his ballot.

Sources told Haaretz that when followers of the rabbi noticed the female Likud member at the polling station, they knew it was “going to be an issue right from the beginning.”

 Yaakov Aryeh Alter of the Gur Hassidic Dynasty

 

“They did almost everything to try to convince her to leave, including offering her money,” the source said.

One of Alter’s followers told Haaretz on Friday that the rabbi did not intend to insult the woman, but saw her presence at the polling station as a “matter of respectability.”

“The Rabbi does not receive women or look at them,” he said.”Its just the same as honoring a special request for a prime minister or president.”

Alter is the Admor, or head, of the Ger Hasidic movement and the powerful patron of Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman from the United Torah Judaism party.

The head of the Likud polling committee Yaakov Vidar downplayed the report, saying the party made “manpower changes as needed” during the busy election day.

Ultra-Orthodox communities frequently try and impose a separation between men and women. The two genders sit separately at synagogues and weddings, and women and men who are not relatives refrain from physical contact.

There have also been attempts to enforce gender segregation on public buses, but the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled it illegal, and also frequent instances where ultra-Orthodox men have refused to sit next to women on planes.

It’s not just in person, most of Israel’s ultra-Orthodox media — which includes four daily newspapers, two main weeklies and two main websites — refuse to show images of women, claiming it would be a violation of modesty.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/woman-removed-from-ultra-orthodox-polling-station-so-top-rabbi-could-vote/?utm_source=The+Daily+Edition&utm_campaign=daily-edition-2019-04-13&utm_medium=email

 

But we can’t use the defense of parent’s “right to choose” to defend yeshivas that severely disadvantage graduates like myself. There is no parental nor communal right or defense for neglecting a child’s education....

Elite private schools help keep yeshivas in Dark Ages

 

Lawsuit hinders state's effort to ensure basic education at Jewish schools

 

Roughly 20 years ago I graduated from a Hasidic yeshiva high school that failed to instruct me to read or write in English, or educate me in basic math, science, or history. Today, yeshivas are suing to continue their decades long pattern of educational neglect, without any regard to the suffering of their students. And like Sun Tsu famously wrote, “all warfare is based on deception,” they’re masters at manipulation. But the state and courts must not be blinded by their tactics.

Last November the New York State Education Department revised its guidelines for non-public schools to make sure that all students in New York receive an education that’s up to standard, as required by law. For many years, Hasidic yeshivas have been violating the constitutional rights of their students, ignoring state law, and systematically neglecting the education of their students. Subsequently, over the years, thousands of young Jewish Hasidic boys have been left without even a rudimentary education. Thanks to the efforts of Naftuli Moster, the executive director of Yaffed, and a group of former students and parents, the state finally stepped up its commitment to reasonable oversight.

But what started as an advocacy effort over a social, ethical, and civil injustice has now spiraled into a political and religious battle. In March, a group of Catholic and elite private schools—like Brearley and Spence—filed separate lawsuits to prevent the state from enforcing the guidelines. What is most appalling here is that the Hasidic yeshivas with severe educational deficiencies will benefit while the better private schools battle it out with the state.

One of the basic principles in conflict resolution is remembering to maintain focus on the problem at hand. The court and state must not be sidetracked by these lawsuits. It is unfortunate and even shocking that the elite private and Catholic schools which value education actually filed these lawsuits even though they’d likely easily pass any state inspection. But by fighting these guidelines they are providing cover for non-compliant Hasidic yeshivas and thereby enabling the ongoing and systemic educational neglect of Hasidic children.

Seth Godin, the prolific author, points out that it’s important for organizations not to forget who they are and to continuously reexamine their cultural DNA. In other words, they must ask themselves questions such as who do we serve? And what do those we serve need? His focus is on marketing, but the concept applies here as well. Hasidic yeshivas ought to ask themselves what their goals are and how they define success? Do they really want to be in the business of fighting to keep children uneducated? Do they want to be defined as fighting to weaken educational standards? Do they want to push for a position that will ensure that their graduates are unable to communicate effectively in English? Do they want to create an atmosphere where graduates are limited or fearful to navigate through the world?

No doubt that there is a parental right to educate their children according to their preferred religion and parents should certainly be able to send their children to schools of their choosing. There is also no doubt that many private religious schools are in compliance with the law and do an excellent job in terms of balancing a religious and secular curriculum. But we can’t use the defense of parent’s “right to choose” to defend yeshivas that severely disadvantage graduates like myself. There is no parental nor communal right or defense for neglecting a child’s education.

https://www.crainsnewyork.com/op-ed/elite-private-schools-help-keep-yeshivas-dark-ages?fbclid=IwAR2Josl0u491kx6U_Pa8Q5YbJFGxagOtOMsMjxxClvWixS45vu0-2dsETNU

An ultra-Orthodox "Jewish Leader" and his Eloquent Diatribe! "The Nazis Did This"... 2.1 Million Views So Far...

‘Monkey, Rat and Pig DNA’: How Misinformation Is Driving the Measles Outbreak Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews

NYC Health Department Puts Yeshiva Schools In Williamsburg On Notice: Allow Unvaccinated Students In At Own Peril

NEW YORK (CBS NewYork) — New York City officials are cracking down on schools in Brooklyn that allow unvaccinated children to attend, telling them to comply or be shut down.

Neighborhood officials said the vast majority of Orthodox Jews in Williamsburg are vaccinated, but because the community is so tightly knit, just a small number of anti-vaxers is allowing this outbreak to grow, CBS2’s Ali Bauman reported Monday.

“There is no religious exemption on measles,” said Gary Schlesinger, CEO of Parcare Community Health Network. “All rabbis, all prominent rabbis have issued proclamations that everyone should vaccinate.”

THE LATEST: Health Emergency: City Mandates Vaccinations For Children And Adults Or Face $1,000 Fine

Schlesinger is trying to reverse false information being spread about the measles vaccine through the Orthodox community.

“They’re spreading this information through hotlines, some publications. I’ve seen some mailings,” Schlesinger said.

MEASLES HEALTH EMERGENCY RESOURCES

• NYC.gov Measles Information Page
• Where To Get Immunizations In New York City
• Citywide Immunization Registry (CIR)
• Signs And Symptoms
• CDC Measles Statistics

Since the measles outbreak began in October, the Department of Health says there have been 285 reported cases in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community, 246 of which are children. And so far, 21 people have been hospitalized.

As a result, the health department now says any yeshiva school in Williamsburg allowing unvaccinated students to attend will face fines or possibly be shut down.

“If you ask me, I say do it. Immunize your child, save lives,” one resident said.

“It has nothing to do with Judaism. People are afraid. It’s damaging. People are afraid of the medicine,” another person said.

City Councilman Stephen Levin represents Williamsburg.

“Every child has to be registered and we can work with the schools to do this,” Levin said.

MORE: Rockland County Officials Searching For Solution To Ongoing Measles Outbreak

In Rockland County, there have been 167 confirmed cases of measles. On Friday, a Supreme Court judge blocked an executive order banning unvaccinated children from public places.

“It’s happening around New York state. It’s only going to spread unless we fix the problems in the system, and the problems are we have way too lax of a requirement,” state Sen. David Carlucci said.
New York City ordered yeshivas to ban unvaccinated students in December, but said one in Williamsburg did not comply and has since been linked to more than 40 cases.

“Oversight from one of the administrators who thought the breakout had stopped,” Schlesinger said. “But by now, I’ve spoken to many administrators. Most of them … all of them are very strict about the orders.”

So will this plan be more effective?

“I’m going to be focusing on this and putting out a bigger plan,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said. “But right now we’re going to have inspectors out. We have clear penalties, clear sanctions.”

Neighborhood officials said it is particularly important for members of this community to get vaccinated now because next week families will be gathering for the start of Passover.

https://newyork.cbslocal.com/2019/04/08/measles-outbreak-brooklyn-orthodox-jews-yeshiva-unvaccinated-nyc-health-department/

‘Monkey, Rat and Pig DNA’: How Misinformation Is Driving the Measles Outbreak Among Ultra-Orthodox Jews

 

A handbook created by Parents Educating and Advocating for Children’s Health. “It is our belief that there is no greater threat to public health than vaccines,” the handbook states.

 

 

Handbooks distributed in some Jewish communities in New York, as well as messages on hotlines, contradict the scientific consensus that vaccines are safe and highly effective.

“The Vaccine Safety Handbook” appears innocuous, a slick magazine for parents who want to raise healthy children. But tucked inside its 40 pages are false warnings that vaccines cause autism and contain cells from aborted human fetuses. 

“It is our belief that there is no greater threat to public health than vaccines,” the publication concludes, contradicting the scientific consensus that vaccines are generally safe and highly effective.

The handbook, created by a group called Parents Educating and Advocating for Children’s Health, or Peach, is targeted at ultra-Orthodox Jews, whose expanding and insular communities are at the epicenter of one of the largest measles outbreaks in the United States in decades.

 READ IT ALL:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/nyregion/jews-measles-vaccination.html

 

“This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very troubling and must be dealt with immediately,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference in Williamsburg

After Measles Outbreak, de Blasio Declares Health Emergency in Parts of Brooklyn

 

New York City on Tuesday declared a health emergency following a measles outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn

 

New York City on Tuesday declared a public health emergency following a measles outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn.

Mayor Bill de Blasio said that the city would require unvaccinated individuals living in select ZIP codes in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, to receive the measles vaccine as the city escalated its efforts to stem one of the largest measles outbreaks in decades.

The mayor said that the city would issue violations and possibly fines for those who did not comply.

“This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very troubling and must be dealt with immediately,” Mr. de Blasio said at a news conference in Williamsburg, adding, “The measles vaccine works. It is safe, it is effective, it is time-tested.”

“What about the people who clean and sweep in the school?” argued Kamenetzky. “They are mostly Mexican and are unvaccinated. If there was a problem, the children would already have gotten sick.” “I see vaccinations as the problem. It’s a hoax. Even the Salk vaccine [against polio] is a hoax. It is just big business.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/nyregion/measles-vaccination-williamsburg.html?emc=edit_na_20190409&nl=breaking-news&nlid=32999454ing-news&ref=headline

"We have no right to regard ourselves as a religious community if we do not establish a mechanism for dealing with abuse within the rabbinate"....

We need a proper, transparent way of holding our mediocre (& WORSE) rabbis to account!

 

Rabbis can get away with poor performance because the profession is not properly regulated

by Daniel Greenberg 
 
(Greenberg's point is eloquent without the harsher language he could have resorted to. Abraham has violated one of the harshest sins --- which as the Halacha clearly says one must be subject to "y'harog v'al y'aavor."He clearly is frustrated with a system that has overlooked Abraham's conduct which has been going on for years. PM)


Here we go again: another rabbinic departure to sweep under the extraordinarily capacious carpet of Anglo Jewry.

Dayan Yonason Abraham abruptly left Toras Chaim Synagogue in Hendon because, in his words, he had "fallen short of the standards expected of him", but no further information has been forthcoming.

The impression seems to be that, whatever we do, this must be hushed up as quickly as possible and, in particular, let's hope it doesn't get into the national press, because the Eleventh Commandment of Anglo Jewry over the decades has been “thou shalt not wash dirty linen in public”.

The problem is that, as we have seen time and again, private laundries don't wash.

No one has confirmed what Dayan Abraham may have done to warrant his departure. It is true that instances of misbehaviour by the Anglo-Jewish rabbinate are relatively rare, although less rare than one would hope given the nature of the vocation. But looked at in the round, the rabbinic cadre is for the most part mediocre at best and significantly under-performing at worst.

While there are a number of community rabbis who are extraordinarily inspiring in their dedication to their community and tireless in its service, they are the exception rather than the rule.

The perception held by some that the quality of the communal rabbinate is in general superb rests largely on the low standards expected of them, and the lack of transparency and accountability around their role that encourages a culture of flourishing mediocrity.

Sometimes when I am being told how wonderful a communal rabbi is because he visited somebody in hospital or gave thorough attention to a family wedding or funeral, I point out that this is precisely what they have been paid for: and with many rabbis on remuneration packages amounting to actual or full-time equivalent salaries that many of their communities can only dream of, when one calculates an hourly rate for their performance, the heroism of spending several hours a day visiting their parishioners in hospital suddenly appears in context to be nothing more than simply performing their job in the way that the rest of us have to do without the compensation of uncritical adulation.

In part, this is because the expectations of communities have become matched to their experiences over time. And perhaps because it is “public money”, synagogue boards are less rigorous in determining what value for money they are getting day by day from their rabbi than they would be in other professional circumstances.

But the main reason why rabbis can perform poorly and get away with is because there simply are no properly regulated standards for the rabbinic profession.

While contracts have become more detailed and, to some extent, restrictive than they used to be, there is no systematic method of regulation or enforcement to support the greater detail on those contracts.

If I am unimpressed or offended by the performance of my doctor, my lawyer, my dentist or any other trained professional, there is a clear method by which I can complain. And that applies to simple under-performance as much as to rarer cases of misconduct or impropriety. 


There is no professional body that regulates the rabbis in a transparent and accountable way and investigates complaints. In extreme cases I can of course complain to the Chief Rabbi – whose dedication and commitment to the community and to the quality of the rabbinate is well-known – but there is no mechanism for him to make a transparent and accountable investigation and produce publicly identifiable results.

This is simply unacceptable in today's world. 


Even judges are now subject to an unaccountable and public investigatory mechanism for misconduct or significant under-performance (such as unreasonable delay in producing written judgments) and the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, far from diminishing the reputation of the judges, ensures that they can be seen to earn the respect that the system requires them to be accorded.

Exactly the same is true of the rabbis; and in order to preserve the reputation of hard-working, honest and decent rabbis, it is now overdue that we have a proper mechanism for dealing with those who underperform or misbehave.

Over the last few years a number of UK rabbis have behaved improperly and in some cases have left behind victims suffering from their behaviour in a number of different ways. The reaction of the community has been to enjoy a passing scandal, but beyond that the establishment has raced to cover up the wider picture and the mechanisms of reputational damage-limitation have taken precedence over thoughts about support and care for victims and imposing enforceable standards.

We have no right to regard ourselves as a religious community if we do not establish a mechanism for dealing with abuse within the rabbinate, and accountable and transparent ways for people to address inadequate performance, so that we can go back to respecting the rabbis as a group knowing that those who deserve respect will receive it and those who don’t will be dealt with appropriately.

Daniel Greenberg is a lawyer specialising in legislation and the legislative process. He has 30 years experience in the private and public sectors dealing with legislation. He was a Parliamentary Counsel for 20 years; he is now an officer in the House of Commons, and a writer, trainer and adviser.

https://www.thejc.com/comment/comment/we-need-a-proper-transparent-way-of-holding-our-mediocre-rabbis-to-account-1.481395

"Best Guy in Lakewood" Is Not What It Used To Be!

Sex Offender In Ocean County Accused Of Sharing Child Porn 

 

The man is accused of soliticting a nude photo from a young girl, the prosecutor said.

By Karen Wall, Patch Staff | Apr 7, 2019 12:53 am ET

Samuel Schwinger, 34, of Lakewood, was on probation in connection with a previous conviction, prosecutors said. (Via Ocean County Prosecutor's Office) 

 

LAKEWOOD, NJ — A registered sex offender living in Lakewood has been charged with creating and distributing child pornography following an investigation by the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office.

Samuel Schwinger, 34, of Lakewood, was arrested Friday, Prosecutor Bradley Billhimer said. Schwinger was arrested following an investigation that started in Oklahoma after the parents of a young girl contacted the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Department saying their daughter had been contacted by someone in New Jersey posing as a young girl asking her to send explicit videos of herself.

Oklahoma authorities traced the request to a phone number and account registered to Schwinger, Billhimer said. A search warrant was obtained and executed Friday evening at Schwinger's residence in Lakewood, he said.

Schwinger was serving 10 years probation in connection with a sexual assault in New York Billhimer said, and following the investigation was charged with possession of marijuana along with production of images/videos of children under the age of 16 engaged in prohibited sexual acts, distribution of images/videos of children under the age of 16 engaged in prohibited sexual acts, and possession of of images/videos of children under the age of 16 engaged in prohibited sexual acts.

Schwinger is being held at the Ocean County Jail, the prosecutor's office said.

"Prosecutor Billhimer would like to thank the swift work of the Pottawatomie County Sheriff's Department, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Computer Crimes Unit, Ocean County Prosecutor's Office Megan's Law Unit, Lakewood Police Department, New Jersey State Police and United States Department of Homeland Security Investigations," the prosecutor's office said.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/lakewood-nj/sex-offender-ocean-county-accused-sharing-child-porn?utm_term=article-slot-1&utm_source=newsletter-daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Look Mommy - "Goyim" Have Gedolim Too!

ROCKLAND COUNTY, New York — Joe Hendrick’s sons are part of a growing number of children in the U.S. who haven't been vaccinated. Their family decided against vaccines for reasons that mix a firm belief in personal freedom with scientifically unconfirmed concerns about what’s inside vaccines.

But Hendrick is now facing a first-of-its-kind ultimatum: Get his kids vaccinated or keep them out of all public places. And if he doesn't, he could face a potential punishment of six months in jail, although county officials and police admit that'll be hard to enforce.

 "I'd rather move and make sure my family is safe and, you know, we have the right to choose for ourselves instead of being forced into something that could potentially hurt my child," Hendrick said.

Rockland County, New York, (Monsey, Spring Valley, New Square) has seen 161 confirmed cases of measles, one of the most contagious diseases known to man. Last week, the county declared a state of emergency after six months of uncooperative people hanging up the phone, closing the door on inspectors, and refusing to report cases.

Patricia Ruppert, the Rockland County health commissioner, said that many more cases like exist that the county doesn't even know about.

 While 98 percent of the cases to date have been among Orthodox Jewish residents who live in tight-knit enclaves, the health department is fighting to communicate to the county that every single unvaccinated person, regardless of faith, bears responsibility for potential spread. Newborns who haven't been vaccinated, pregnant mothers, and people going through chemotherapy are all vulnerable.

In the interim, Hendrick has chosen homeschooling over vaccination. He's now juggling that with his job and a two-week old newborn child. His wife is also on maternity leave.

"Oh, it's gonna make it next to impossible to do work," Hendrick said of the ban.

VICE News traveled to Rockland County, where officials are trying to reach people who have put personal choice over public health.

This segment originally aired April 3, 2019, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.

https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/kzdmzw/this-county-banned-unvaccinated-kids-from-public-spaces

9 Measles Cases As 2019 Outbreak Grows: DOH

The outbreak has spread beyond Ocean County, state health department officials said. Read the list of sites of possible exposures.

By Karen Wall, Patch Staff | Apr 4, 2019 9:19 am ET | Updated Apr 4, 2019 3:48 pm ET

There are 11 cases total in New Jersey but two are not related to the Ocean County outbreak

The measles outbreak in Ocean County continues to spread: state health department officials say there are now nine confirmed cases of measles — seven in Ocean County and two in Monmouth County. At least three counties have been impacted, officials say.

In an update on the state Department of Health website, officials said they are continuing to track and investigate the outbreak declared March 15. Those confirmed cases and one "highly suspect case" may have exposed others to infection between March 9 and March 14.

Read more: Measles Outbreak In New Jersey: Potential Exposure In 3 Counties

An outbreak in Ocean County that started in late October and stretched to mid-January sickened 33 people. Health department officials have not indicated a connection between the two outbreaks. More than 12,400 doses of vaccine were distributed in response to the October outbreak.

Read more: 33 Measles Cases As Ocean County Outbreak Spikes
Anyone who visited the following locations may have been exposed to measles:

• Congregation Bais Tefilla, 33 East 8th St, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 9, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. and 1:45 p.m.
  • March 10, 11, 13, 14 from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.
• Beth Medrash Govoha, Bais Yitzchok Hall, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 10, 11 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • March 13 from 12:45 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Beth Medrash Govoha, Yoshon Hall, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 10, 11 from 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
  • March 12 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
• Beth Hamedrash Zichron Binyomin, 701 Princeton Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 9 from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
  • March 10, 11 from 9:30 p.m. to midnight each night
  • March 13 from 10:45 p.m. to 1:15 a.m.
• Lake Terrace Hall, 1690 Oak St, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 11 from 10 p.m. to 12:45 a.m.
• Kol Shimshon, 323 Squankum Rd, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 12 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.
  • March 12 from 9 p.m. to 11:15 p.m.
• Bais Medrash Tiferes Pinchos, East 5th St and Negba St, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 9 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Newark Liberty International Airport Terminal B
  • March 14 from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
• Tottini Kidswear, 204 Clifton Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 10 from 12 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.
• Clover, 115 Clifton Ave, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 10 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
• Kidichic, 251 2nd St, Lakewood, NJ 08701
  • March 10 from 1:45 p.m. to 5 p.m.
• Monmouth Medical Center, Emergency Department, 300 2nd Ave, Long Branch, NJ 07740
  • March 13 from 7:30 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.

The department is working in collaboration with local health officials to identify and notify people who might have been exposed during the time the individuals were infectious. Anyone who visited any of the locations above during specified dates and times should contact a health provider immediately to discuss potential exposure and risk of developing the illness.

If you have been exposed, you are at risk if you have not been vaccinated or have not had measles. Individuals potentially exposed, if infected, could develop symptoms as late as April 21.

Anyone who suspects an exposure is urged to call a health care provider before going to a medical office or emergency department. Special arrangements can be made for evaluation while also protecting other patients and medical staff from possible infection.

Funeral Services Held For Samantha Josephson --- Ladies and Girls in Particular, Take Every Precaution Before You Get Into Anyone's Car!

Chilling surveillance video shows South Carolina student entering car of accused killer.

Services for Samantha Josephson were held Wednesday at Congregation Beth Chaim in West Windsor. Josephson, 21, was from nearby Robbinsville and attended the University of South Carolina.

Two men console each other before funeral services for Samantha Josephson at Congregation Beth Chaim in West Windsor, N.J., on Wednesday, April 3, 2019. Authorities say Josephson, a college student, ordered an Uber ride early Friday but mistakenly got into a similar car, was kidnapped and killed in South Carolina. (Ed Murray/NJ Advance Media via AP)

WEST WINDSOR, N.J. (AP) — Hundreds of mourners packed a temple in New Jersey for the funeral of a college student who authorities say mistakenly got into the wrong car and was kidnapped and killed in South Carolina.

Josephson ordered an Uber ride early Friday but mistakenly got into a similar car driven by Nathaniel David Rowland , 24, authorities said. They allege that he killed Josephson and dumped her body.
Josephson had spent the night with friends at Columbia’s Five Points bar district, authorities said. She got separated from the group, so she called an Uber to take her home around 1:30 a.m. Friday.

The first dark car Josephson went up to was not her ride, her father, Seymour Josephson said. So she jumped into a second similar looking car, he said, adding that the vehicle’s child safety locks were on.

After Josephson got into Rowland’s car, he attacked her, causing numerous wounds to her head, neck, face, upper body, leg and foot with a sharp object, according to arrest warrants and the coroner’s report. The documents didn’t say what was used to attack her.

Josephson’s blood and cellphone were found in his car the next night when he was arrested two blocks from Five Points, authorities said.

Josephson’s body was found in Clarendon County, about 65 miles (105 kilometers) from Columbia, police said.

Rowland skipped a first court appearance, and records don’t show if he has a lawyer. He’s charged with kidnapping and murder.

Malka Leifer is facing possible extradition on 74 counts of suspected sexual abuse. She was the headmistress of an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne and fled to Israel in 2008

 

'There's a Hole in the System. Israel Became a Haven for Suspected Jewish Sex Offenders' 

 

The case of Malka Leifer, one of 65 suspected sexual offenders allegedly seeking refuge in Israel, has highlighted how Israeli law and the insular world of the ultra-Orthodox can at times shield them from justice, activists and prison officials tell Haaretz

Y. grew up the 13th of 14 children in a Hasidic family where money and parental attention were in short supply. He says that when he was 12, a rabbi who taught at his New York state yeshiva sexually abused him.

The trauma he still lives with began with the teacher buying him ice cream and later invitations home for lunch — seeming kindnesses that, Y. alleges, morphed into sexual abuse.

Years passed, but when he was 27, Y. (Haaretz is in possession of his real name) says he saw his alleged abuser again when he came to Y.’s father’s shivah. Something snapped inside. Y., now 38, recalls feeling a surge of rage and approaching the rabbi. “If I did not forget, you still remember,” he recalls telling him.

When Y. then started making his allegations known within the community, he says the rabbi moved to Israel. Activists say the man eventually got a job in Jerusalem, again teaching boys, until they made the accusations against him public.

Also in New York state, A., 29, alleges that an older cousin started abusing him when he was 6 and the cousin was also a minor. The two were part of the Chabad community and in 2013, A. won a U.S. lawsuit against his cousin, who was ordered to pay him $3.5 million in damages. But A. says his alleged abuser immigrated to Israel after the decision, aided by some of their joint relatives and some members of the community, and the damages were never paid.

“More than half of my life has included dealing with the fallout from what this person did to me,” A. tells Haaretz. “He never had to answer to anyone for the harm he inflicted on me and was protected by our community and even by members of my own immediate family. Despite this, and despite the pressure that has been placed on me to just ‘move on,’ I took every step possible to get justice and I’m proud of that decision — despite the steep price I paid for it."

Related Articles

• In Israel, Australian Sisters Recount Alleged Sex Abuse by Principal

• Australian Sisters in Leifer Abuse Case: Haredi Community Is Protecting Its Own

One of Israel’s foundational laws is the Law of Return, which gives Jews the right to immigrate to Israel and become citizens — unless they are deemed a danger to Israeli society, security or the Jewish people. Israeli law, however, does not define what that means.

According to advocates for victims of child sex abuse, it is the exploitation of this law that has potentially made the country an unintentional haven for Jewish alleged sex offenders who flee here.

This issue of Israel becoming a haven, for those seeking citizenship or those who already have it, has taken center stage with the high-profile case of Malka Leifer. The headmistress of an ultra-Orthodox girls’ school in Melbourne fled to Israel in 2008 after allegations surfaced of her sexually abusing several of her female students. Leifer is facing possible extradition to Australia on 74 counts of suspected sexual abuse, including indecent assault of a minor and rape.

Malka Leifer is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem

“The Law of Return is basically why it’s so easy for people to come here,” says Shana Aaronson, the chief operating officer of Jewish Community Watch — an advocacy group for victims of child sexual abuse everywhere in the Jewish world, with offices in the United States and Israel.

“There is certainly more focus on whether or not the person is Jewish than there is on a possible criminal record,” she charges, alleging that criminal background checks run on individuals looking to immigrate are not as thorough as they should be.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad tells Haaretz that, in order to act, Israel is reliant on information tipping it off about a potentially dangerous applicant for immigration, such as an alert by an international crime-fighting organization.

And if a convicted sex offender manages to immigrate to Israel, officials say there is no legal way for Israel to impose supervision — which would often be mandatory if they were still living in their home country — unless they are convicted of reoffending in Israel.

‘A hole in the system’

Jewish Community Watch says Leifer and Y.’s alleged abuser are among 65 people in the last decade, most of them either ultra-Orthodox or Orthodox Jews, who they know fled to Israel. They were either already Israeli citizens, began the immigration process here, or came and stayed here on tourist visas. Though they say it is impossible to be precise about the number of convicted or alleged child sex offenders seeking refuge in Israel, they believe about half of those 65 faced criminal charges concerning sexual abuse of children or have seen proceedings started against them in their home countries. The other half have been accused by alleged victims but not prosecuted.

However, the Jewish Agency, which helps facilitate the aliyah process for many potential immigrants, counters that its staff conducts what it calls “extensive background research on applicants.” Every year, it says, cases are found where some of the applicants have lied and their applications rejected, although it could not say precisely how many were found to be lying in any specific year.

The Israeli police do not keep data on such alleged child sex offenders, making it nearly impossible to verify their number.

Aaronson says that of those alleged offenders who have faced criminal proceedings, some have served time and others took plea deals that included parole time in their home country or state — where they were supposed to be monitored by local police under the terms of their probation.

It is illegal for those on parole to leave their country of residence. Others, as a condition of their release or plea deal, may have been ordered to be registered on a sex offenders list. However, according to Aaronson, as long as registered sex offenders provide a forwarding address, they are legally allowed to move.

“The problem is the forwarding address given in Israel in such cases is never accurate, in my experience,” she says. “And the U.S. Registry is powerless to enforce that in Israel, because it’s beyond its jurisdiction.”

When any such individual is in Israel, the Israel Prison Service (which oversees parolees) says there is no monitoring unless the person is convicted of a crime in the Jewish state. “If the individual was never a prisoner in our system, there is no supervision,” prison service spokesman Assaf Librati tells Haaretz. “It’s a hole in the system — and it’s truly problematic.”

READ MUCH MORE:

https://www.haaretz.com/whdcMobileSite/israel-news/.premium-there-s-a-hole-in-the-system-israel-became-a-haven-for-jewish-sex-offenders-1.7070290?fbclid=IwAR3bnrWwZR_BA0XV-RMa6MtmbYe-YYOEkZg2RGUJuajl1lYEdGBv1_ExLZ4

For years, the Jewish community denied the prevalence of sexual abuse, so it is undeniable that this discussion is progress....

Changes in the communal response to sexual abuse

Not a week goes by without a new case of sexual abuse being reported in mainstream media. Almost every heartbreaking story is accompanied by numerous articles exposing the layers and layers of institutional, community, and leadership cover-up of those same cases. The community protection of perpetrators, which has allowed the devastating life-altering crime of child sexual abuse to thrive, is now finally being publically acknowledged.

The unprecedented level of exposure has forced our community to stare the ugly truth in the face. It is unfortunate that it has taken such a public explosion, which has brought tremendous pain, shame, fear, conflict, and the shattering of communal myths, for this issue to finally be seen and spoken about. For years, the Jewish community denied the prevalence of sexual abuse, so it is undeniable that this discussion is progress. 

However, the presence, weight and lengthy continuation of the ‘speaking about the problem’ stage, has created a distraction, allowing many individuals, communities, and organizations to hide behind or disappear within the emotions and details of the chaos.  It is clearly much easier to discuss, criticize, and get angry, then it is to take direct and responsible action to prevent abuse from occurring again.  However, we need to recognize that if we remain comfortable or paralyzed in the analytical space of this painful and shameful history, stuck in the wounds after the Band-Aid has been ripped off, the injury will continue to bleed and children will continue to be abused.

It takes bravery and leadership to step up and set standards, and instead of just hoping and discussing that it shouldn’t happen again, implementing training and concrete policies and changes to ensure that it won’t.

Many Jewish summer camps have been taking a strong step forward in the area of abuse prevention by partnering with ASAP’s Camp Safety Program to ensure all their staff are trained before camp even begins. Moving one step forward, a new trend is developing – leaders of the different camping communities, Bnei Akiva of the US and Canada for example, are creating this partnership from the top down, and bestowing the abuse-prevention program as a gift for all of their affiliated independent summer programs. Through this pioneering act, these umbrella organizations have prioritized the safety of the children and youth entrusted in their care above all else, sending a clear message throughout their chain of impact that safety is the new standard.

It is time for us as a community to move to the next stage. We are ready to transition beyond discussions and cultural shifts, and instead take concrete actions that are practical, simple, and most importantly, proven to prevent the next generation of pain, suffering, and public explosions of shame. Preventing abuse is simple, all it takes is willingness and a small amount of effort.

About the Author:

Department of Development and Oversight at Yedidut Toronto, supported by the Friedberg Charitable Foundation. Program manager for ASAP: The Association for Sexual Abuse Prevention and Treatment.

https://blogs.timesofisrael.com/changes-in-the-communal-response-to-sexual-abuse/?fbclid=IwAR3sIXF_2gwixE7bTvEtQsfNjxWiv6ZFwwkF4GZnu0J5JCcO7jqL-mn3zms

The (Pre) Easter Post!

A man and his ever-nagging wife went on vacation in Jerusalem . While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her buried here in the Holy Land for $150 or we can have her shipped back home for $5000.

The husband thought about it and told the undertaker he would have her shipped back home. The undertaker asked him, "why would you spend $5000 to have her shipped home when you could have a beautiful burial here, and it would only cost $150???"

The husband replied, "Long ago, a man died here, was buried here, and three days later, rose from the dead.

 I just can’t take that chance!"

It's Those Self-Hating Jews Again at The New York Times...What Can They Possibly Know Without Torah?

An Outbreak Spreads Fear: Of Measles, of Ultra-Orthodox Jews, of Anti-Semitism

 

A measles outbreak in a New York suburb has sickened scores of people and stoked long-smoldering tensions between the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and the secular world at large.

In Rockland County, children under 18 who have not been vaccinated against measles are barred from public places

In Rockland County, children under 18 who have not been vaccinated against measles are barred from public places

SPRING VALLEY, N.Y. — Erica Wingate was working at a clothing store in town this week when a male customer, with the black hat and sidelocks typically worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews, started coughing. 

Another shopper standing next to him suddenly dropped the item she had been holding and clutched her child. “She was buying something, and she just threw it down,” Ms. Wingate recalled. “She said, ‘Let’s go, let’s go! Jews don’t have shots!’”

A measles outbreak in this suburban New York county has sickened scores of people and alarmed public health experts who fear it may be a harbinger of the growing influence of the anti-vaccine movement. But it has also intensified long-smoldering tensions between the rapidly expanding and insular ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and secular society. 

The authorities here in Rockland County have traced the spread of measles to ultra-Orthodox families whose children have not been vaccinated.

And so some residents say they now wipe public bus seats and cross the street when they see ultra-Orthodox Jews. Hasidic leaders said they feared not only a rise in anti-Semitism but an invasion of their cloistered community by the authorities under the guise of public health.

On Tuesday, county officials took the extraordinary step of announcing a state of emergency, barring unvaccinated children under 18 from public places, including restaurants, shopping centers, houses of worship and schools. 

“They did it to themselves,” Ms. Wingate said, referring to the Hasidic people who have refused to vaccinate. “But I feel terrible for everyone.”

The emergency order has emerged as a flash point in a continuing clash in Rockland County, a collection of five towns just northwest of New York City with a combined population of more than 300,000 people. 

About 31 percent of the population is Jewish, according to the state, and includes one of the largest concentrations of ultra-Orthodox Jews in the country. The surge in the ultra-Orthodox population has been driven in part by Hasidic families from Queens and Brooklyn, where there has also been an outbreak.

Some suburbanites are concerned about the changes to their neighborhoods caused by new enclaves of high density developments intended to accommodate the often large size of Hasidic families. In some places, the influx has upended the housing market, causing some non-Orthodox buyers to seek homes elsewhere. Parents have also clashed over whether the Orthodox community has exerted disproportionate influence on public schools and siphoned funding to its yeshivas. 

But while those tensions were once buffered by yeshiva walls and eruvim, the symbolic perimeters around Hasidic enclaves, the outbreak of measles, which is highly contagious, cannot be kept to such boundaries. 

“I think that for the most part people have been just annoyed — in certain parts of the county you can’t buy a house or can’t sell your house,” said Jessica Finnegan, 32, who was pushing her eight-month-old son, Kieran, in his stroller through a Target store in Spring Valley. The store had been previously identified by officials as one place where people may have been exposed to measles. The outbreak of the disease began in October.

Erica Wingate, right, said she felt “terrible for everyone” involved in the measles outbreak in Rockland County

 

 

She had Kieran immunized six months earlier than the recommended age, because of the outbreak, she said. “But now they are affecting us, which I think could get nasty.”

Still, Ms. Finnegan said she feared the emergency measure would spur a backlash against her Orthodox friends and neighbors. “I think this could really start something,” she said. “What if someone decided to take this into their own hands?”

Ever since the public health declaration, Aron B. Wieder, a legislator in Rockland County and a prominent member of the Hasidic community, has fielded nonstop phone calls from fellow Hasidim fearful of being vilified, he said. 

“The conception that is out there is completely distorted, and that is, that the Orthodox community for the most part don’t vaccinate their children, and that is not true,” Mr. Wieder added. “The county executive had a moral obligation to point these things out.”

An unfounded fear of vaccines has spread around the world in recent years, with childhood vaccination rates reportedly declining in several countries as a result. Nothing in the belief system of Orthodox Jews makes them any more likely to oppose vaccines, and several Orthodox rabbinical organizations have called on parents to vaccinate their children. But Hasidic Jews are prey to the same misinformation that has affected others, and some ultra-Orthodox rabbis have come out against vaccines.  This is the same genius who tells sexual abuse victims to go to their rabbis for discussions...maybe tosfos says somewhere that it's not really abuse!

“What about the people who clean and sweep in the school?” argued Kamenetzky. “They are mostly Mexican and are unvaccinated. If there was a problem, the children would already have gotten sick.” “I see vaccinations as the problem. It’s a hoax. Even the Salk vaccine [against polio] is a hoax. It is just big business.”

 

(Anyone ask R' Shmuel Kaminetzky of the Philadelphia Yeshiva, if he has one kid in their school that has not been vaccinated?)

Mr. Wieder, who said he first learned about the order in news reports, felt that the exclusion of the Hasidim from the decision-making process was emblematic of the divisions in the county and would only sow more mistrust. “When you have people who are true haters,” he said, “they will take advantage of this type of situation and it just pours fuel on the fire.”

 READ MORE FROM THE SELF-HATING MEASLES SPREADING  JEWS AT THE NY TIMES:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/29/nyregion/measles-jewish-community.html