"Moster was a senior at the College of Staten Island when he first heard the word “molecule.” Perplexed, he looked around the classroom. Nobody else seemed confused."

Yiddish Isn’t Enough

A Yeshiva Graduate Fights for Secular Studies in Hasidic Education

Naftuli Moster was a senior at the College of Staten Island when he first heard the word “molecule.” Perplexed, he looked around the classroom. Nobody else seemed confused. Yet again, because of gaps in his early education, Mr. Moster was ignorant of a basic concept that everybody else knew.“I felt embarrassed and ashamed,” he said. “Every single time I didn’t know something, I thought, ‘I’m too crippled to make it through.’ ”Mr. Moster had grown up one of 17 children in an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family in Borough Park, Brooklyn, where most Hasidic men marry young and, right after finishing yeshiva, or high school, either immediately enter the work force or dedicate themselves to Talmudic studies.

 But if Mr. Moster’s educational ambitions were unusual among his peers, his limited grasp of English was not.There are 250 Jewish private schools in New York City, and though some schools, like Ramaz on the Upper East Side, have intensive secular curriculums, many do not. Nearly one-third of all students in Jewish schools are “English language learners,” according to the city’s Department of Education. Yiddish is the Hasidic community’s first language, and both parents and educators report that many boys’ schools do not teach the A B C’s until children are 7 or 8 years old. Boys in elementary and middle school study religious subjects from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. followed by approximately 90 minutes of English and math. At 13, when boys formally enter yeshiva, most stop receiving any English instruction.

This has been true for decades, even though Hasidic schools receive millions of dollars in government funds and are required by state law to teach a curriculum that is “equivalent” to what public schools offer.Mr. Moster, worried that the next generation of Hasidic Jews, plagued by high poverty and scant opportunities, will be ill prepared to provide for themselves, is calling attention to the problem with activism and possible legal action against the New York State Education Department. But the odds are against him.

 What Mr. Moster needs most is a groundswell of support, yet he has been marked as a renegade by the very community he says he is fighting for.Mr. Moster, now 28, is working toward a master’s degree in social work from Hunter College. He attributes some of his success to early exposure to English. His parents spoke English between themselves, though they exclusively used Yiddish with their children. Mr. Moster’s sisters spoke English when they were growing up, he said, because Hasidic girls generally receive a better secular education than the boys.

 He was also a curious child. As a boy, he became interested in psychology after an Israeli psychologist came to Brooklyn. The community “really bragged about it, so I became intrigued in that field,” he said.Though Mr. Moster was eager to know about the outside world, he did not realize that secular education could open those doors. In his school, he said, English, math and science were considered “profane.” When Yeshiva Machzikei Hadas Belz, the school on 16th Avenue in Borough Park where Mr. Moster was one of about 1,500 boys, added an extra year of secular studies, the students rebelled. 

“We kids were outraged,” Mr. Moster recalled ruefully. “We’d been waiting so many years to get rid of these nonimportant subjects.” The school soon reverted to its old curriculum.When Mr. Moster first applied to college, after yeshiva, he did not know what a high-school diploma was. He had never learned the word “essay,” let alone been taught to write one. “I know I sound articulate,” he said recently. But nine years after beginning higher education, he said, “there are still times where I’m completely stumped by a certain word or concept that is familiar to the average student.”The man behind the added year was a Yeshiva Belz board member named Jacob Ungar.

 Today, Mr. Ungar has high praise for his community’s educational standards. “It’s like at any school, where you have the main subjects and then the extracurriculars,” he said, adding: “Whatever a child usually gets in a public school, or Catholic parochial school or modern Jewish school — the yeshiva education is superior to that. Our students are as well educated as they were 100 years ago.”“Given basic tools, I could be a lot further in my education,” he said. “That’s true for every member of the Hasidic community.”In 2011, Mr. Moster founded Young Advocates for Fair Education, or Yaffed.

 Its aim was simple. The state’s Education Department requires the city’s nonpublic schools to teach a curriculum that is “substantially equivalent to that provided in the public schools,” and requires local school superintendents to ensure the standards are met. Mr. Moster says those standards are not being met.So he sat down with three superintendents in New York whose districts have large Hasidic populations. “Two of them had no idea it was their responsibility to enforce the law,” he said. 

“In one case I was pointing out the regulations online.”In a statement, the city’s Education Department said Mr. Moster needed to identify wrongdoing in specific schools for superintendents to investigate. “Superintendents cannot just show up at private schools for random inspections without a reason,” a department spokesman said.

The billboard that Mr. Moster’s advocacy group, Yaffed, sponsored in Brooklyn last year reads, in Hebrew: “You must provide your son a proper education.”CreditCourtesy of Naftuli MosterMr. Moster said his goal was to advocate systemic change, not to punish specific institutions. 

He also sent a concerned letter to the State Board of Regents, which oversees the State Education Department. He received a response that said that “although there is an equivalency of instruction requirement,” nonpublic schools “largely operate outside the scope of state-mandated general education requirements and oversight.”

To Mr. Moster, this meant that the state was acknowledging its responsibility and then willfully ignoring it.He went to Albany to plead his case in person but said the meetings were unproductive.The state department would not discuss Mr. Moster’s letter to the Board of Regents with The New York Times or speak about the equivalency mandate except to say that enforcement was the city’s responsibility. For its part, the city said the state was responsible.So now Mr. Moster is taking legal action. A handful of modern Orthodox supporters have agreed to cover the legal fees and, with Mr. Moster, are interviewing lawyers. The plaintiffs in a lawsuit, however, must be either students who are currently enrolled in Hasidic schools or their parents.

 Mr. Moster said many families in New York’s Hasidic enclaves were sympathetic to his cause. So far, a small number of parents have agreed to take part in a lawsuit if they can remain anonymous. They worry that the yeshivas will expel their children and that the community will ostracize them if their names are revealed.Today, instead of black trousers, a white shirt and a broad, black hat, Mr. Moster wears V-neck sweaters and plaid button-down shirts. He still considers himself “very Jewish,” but that’s not how many ultra-Orthodox Jews see him. Once, he said, on the subway, a Hasidic mother instructed her son to “stop looking at the goy” — the non-Jew. She was talking about Mr. Moster.

Mr. Moster is also a potential liability to his own project. Secular education pushed him away from his Hasidic roots. 

The formal break came after Mr. Moster filed for a “dependency override” from his family — proof that he was no longer a dependent — in order to apply for financial aid. In doing so, Mr. Moster went “off the derech,” or “off the path.” He said that he felt free but that his community considered him a disgrace.Last year, Yaffed sponsored a billboard near the Prospect Expressway in Brooklyn with a quotation in Hebrew from the Talmud, “You must provide your son a proper education.” Below that was a caveat in English. “It’s your mitzvah” — or religious commandment — it said. “It’s the law.”After the billboard went up, Mr. Moster said, Yaffed was bombarded with sympathetic emails and phone calls. Then word spread that Mr. Moster was off the path, and the response changed. “Suddenly it was, ‘We don’t want anything to do with you,’ ” he said.

Hasidic parents who want better secular education for their children worry that any association with an outcast like Mr. Moster will do more harm than good. “Until the government is sued, they won’t do anything,” said one Borough Park mother who was furious about her sons’ poor English. Fearing opprobrium in the community, she would speak only anonymously. “This has to be done in a culturally sensitive way,” she added. “I care about the children.” But activists outside the community, she said, “care about how they were wronged.”That, Mr. Moster insisted, is not true. “We’re fighting the same battle,” he said. “We’re fighting the Department of Education, not the yeshivas. Every Hasidic boy deserves a minimum education, and the state has simply ignored us.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/23/nyregion/a-yeshiva-graduate-fights-for-secular-studies-in-hasidic-education.html?ref=nyregion

What the Bible Teaches about Capitalism!

THE UOJ ARCHIVES - JUNE 2012:

As the Ten Commandments instruct, envy is corrosive to the individual and to those societies that embrace it.

Who would have expected that in a Republican primary campaign the single biggest complaint among candidates would be that the front-runner has taken capitalism too far? As if his success and achievement were evidence of something unethical and immoral? President Obama and other redistributionists must be rejoicing that their assumptions about rugged capitalism and the 1% have been given such legitimacy.

More than any other nation, the United States was founded on broad themes of morality rooted in a specific religious perspective. We call this the Judeo-Christian ethos, and within it resides a ringing endorsement of capitalism as a moral endeavor.

Regarding mankind, no theme is more salient in the Bible than the morality of personal responsibility, for it is through this that man cultivates the inner development leading to his own growth, good citizenship and happiness. The entitlement/welfare state is a paradigm that undermines that noble goal.

The Bible's proclamation that "Six days shall ye work" is its recognition that on a day-to-day basis work is the engine that brings about man's inner state of personal responsibility. Work develops the qualities of accountability and urgency, including the need for comity with others as a means for the accomplishment of tasks. With work, he becomes imbued with the knowledge that he is to be productive and that his well-being is not an entitlement. And work keeps him away from the idleness that Proverbs warns leads inevitably to actions and attitudes injurious to himself and those around him.

Yet capitalism is not content with people only being laborers and holders of jobs, indistinguishable members of the masses punching in and out of mammoth factories or functioning as service employees in government agencies. Nor is the Bible. Unlike socialism, mired as it is in the static reproduction of things already invented, capitalism is dynamic and energetic. It cheerfully fosters and encourages creativity, unspoken possibilities, and dreams of the individual. Because the Hebrew Bible sees us not simply as "workers" and members of the masses but, rather, as individuals, it heralds that characteristic which endows us with individuality: our creativity.

At the opening bell, Genesis announces: "Man is created in the image of God"—in other words, like Him, with individuality and creative intelligence. Unlike animals, the human being is not only a hunter and gatherer but a creative dreamer with the potential of unlocking all the hidden treasures implanted by God in our universe. The mechanism of capitalism, as manifest through investment and reasoned speculation, helps facilitate our partnership with God by bringing to the surface that which the Almighty embedded in nature for our eventual extraction and activation.

Capitalism makes possible entrepreneurship, which is the realization of an idea birthed in human creativity. Whereas statism demands that citizens think small and bow to a top-down conformity, capitalism, as has been practiced in the U.S., maximizes human potential. It provides a home for aspiration, referred to in the Bible as "the spirit of life."

The Bible speaks positively of payment and profit: "For why else should a man so labor but to receive reward?" Thus do laborers get paid wages for their hours of work and investors receive profit for their investment and risk.

The Bible is not a business-school manual. While it is comfortable with wealth creation and the need for speculation in economic markets, it has nothing to say about financial instruments and models such as private equity, hedge funds or other forms of monetary capitalization. What it does demand is honesty, fair weights and measures, respect for a borrower's collateral, timely payments of wages, resisting usury, and empathy for those injured by life's misfortunes and charity.

It also demands transparency and honesty regarding one's intentions. The command, "Thou shalt not place a stumbling block in front of the blind man" also means that you should not act deceitfully or obscure the truth from those whose choice depends upon the information you give them. There's nothing to indicate that Mitt Romney breached this biblical code of ethics, and his wealth and success should not be seen as automatic causes for suspicion.

No country has achieved such broad-based prosperity as has America, or invented as many useful things, or seen as many people achieve personal promise. This is not an accident. It is the direct result of centuries lived by the free-market ethos embodied in the Judeo-Christian outlook.

Furthermore, only a prosperous nation can protect itself from outside threats, for without prosperity the funds to support a robust military are unavailable. Having radically enlarged the welfare state and hoping to further expand it, President Obama is attempting to justify his cuts to our military by asserting that defense needs must give way to domestic programs.

Both history and the Bible show the way that leads. Countries that were once economic powerhouses atrophied and declined, like England after World War II, once they began adopting socialism. Even King Solomon's thriving kingdom crashed once his son decided to impose onerous taxes.

At the end of Genesis, we hear how after years of famine the people in Egypt gave all their property to the government in return for the promise of food. The architect of this plan was Joseph, son of Jacob, who had risen to become the pharaoh's top official, thus: "Joseph exchanged all the land of Egypt for pharaoh and the land became pharaoh's." The result was that Egyptians became indentured to the ruler and state, and Joseph's descendants ended up enslaved to the state.

Many on the religious left criticize capitalism because all do not end up monetarily equal—or, as Churchill quipped, "all equally miserable." But the Bible's prescription of equality means equality under the law, as in Deuteronomy's saying that "Judges and officers . . . shall judge the people with a just judgment: Do not . . . favor one over the other." Nowhere does the Bible refer to a utopian equality that is contrary to human nature and has never been achieved.

The motive of capitalism's detractors is a quest for their own power and an envy of those who have more money. But envy is a cardinal sin and something that ought not to be.

God begins the Ten Commandments with "I am the Lord your God" and concludes with "Thou shalt not envy your neighbor, not for his wife, nor his house, nor for any of his holdings." Envy is corrosive to the individual and to those societies that embrace it. Nations that throw over capitalism for socialism have made an immoral choice.

Rabbi Spero has led congregations in Ohio and New York and is president of Caucus for America.


READ MORE:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577179303330474134.html?mod=djemBestOfTheWeb_h

Satmar Rebbe blames observant Jews ascending Temple Mount for Har Nof massacre, says it 'costs lives.'

Satmar Rebbe Blames Massacre on Jews Visiting Temple Mount

Satmar Rebbe blames observant Jews ascending Temple Mount for Har Nof massacre, says it 'costs lives.'

The Satmar Rebbe eulogized the victims of the massacre in Har Nof Tuesday, pointing the blame not at the Palestinian Arabs who killed them, but at Jews who ascend the Temple Mount (Judaism's holiest site - ed.) as the cause. 

"These days, bad news comes from the holy city of Jerusalem," the Satmar Rebbe stated, as quoted by hareidi website Kikar Hashabbat. "Just today we heard terrifying news from Jerusalem of the loss of precious lives." 

Rebbe called to pray and study the Torah in wake of the massacre, ''and to teach the books of our holy Satmar teachers, to memorize the pure view in times like these."

He then pointed an accusatory finger at Jews ascending the Temple Mount. 

"Regarding the prohibition of ascending the Temple Mount, which all Jews who fear G-d know demands the punishment of karet [a severe punishment; open to interpretation, could mean premature death or spiritual excision - ed.], it has unfortunately become easy for people to take it lightly because of false beliefs," he stated. "Who knows how many victims were killed by observant Jews going up to the Temple Mount, and who knows what it will cost us, G-d have mercy, as a result of them."

Satmar hassidim believe, based on their interpretation of a Talmudic passage, that the State of Israel should have been established only after the coming of the Messiah.

The more stringent of the Satmar hassidic sect do not visit the Western Wall or Rachel's Tomb because Jews were killed in order to gain control of those sites. 

It should also be noted that the hareidi community at large disapproves ofascending the Temple Mount, the allowance of which in Jewish law constitutes a controversial debate among contemporary Torah sources. 

This, however, is not the first time the Satmar Rebbe has made controversial statements after a tragedy.

In July, Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum of Satmar blamed the abduction of murdered teens Naftali Frankel (16), Gilad Sha'ar (16), and Eyal Yifrah (19) on the boys' parents for being "settlers" living beyond 1949 Armistice lines and the “evil inclination and the desire for Jews to inhabit the entire State of Israel.”

Several senior Satmar officials later condemned the statements. 

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/187652#.VGzaSDTF--m

MEIR KAHANE A"H - CNN - 1983 - LOVE HIM - HATE HIM - WATCH THIS VIDEO!

With a 54% Unemployment Rate - 5 X Higher Than Al Sharpton's Constituency --- Yet Bar Chaim is Considered a traitor because he has recruited thousands of young dropouts from Jewish seminaries, or yeshivas.

Tanks vs. Talmud: Israel’s Ultra-Orthodox Soldiers

With his black hat, dark suit, and thick, white beard, Yitzchak Bar Chaim looks every inch the ultra-Orthodox rabbi that he is. Yet to many in his community, Bar Chaim is a traitor. The reason: He helps young men join the Israeli army.

For decades, Bar Chaim has sought to build bridges between the military and the ultra-Orthodox known in Israel as Haredim, or “those who tremble” before God. While most Haredi leaders oppose service in the army, Bar Chaim has recruited thousands of young dropouts from Jewish seminaries, or yeshivas.

Israeli soldiers of the Jewish Ultra-Orthodox battalion 'Netzah Yehuda' hold morning prayers..

That success has earned him respect from secular Israelis and the upper echelons of the army -- and scorn from the conservative quarters of his community, a reaction Bar Chaim says he understands but no longer embraces.

“I was brought up to be against the army and everything it represents,” Bar Chaim said between sips of instant coffee at his home in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Givat Mordechai. “But some of our youth can’t keep up with the intensive demands of a life of learning, and I realized that the army is a good place.”

As Israel seeks to boost growth and reduce income inequality, one issue putting the brakes on both are the large numbers of Haredi men who opt out of the workforce in favor of religious study, living on their wives’ salaries, government stipends and child allowances. That’s because Haredim typically believe that a man’s highest calling is learning ancient Jewish texts -- and that secular values threaten their traditional lifestyle.

Their commitment to Talmudic studies means that only about 46 percent of working-age men in the community were employed in 2011, compared with 78 percent of all Israeli adult males. For a nation in a near-constant state of war -- the fighting this summer in Gaza killed more than 70 Israelis and 2,100 Palestinians, according to officials on both sides -- the army is a respected bulwark of security.

Last year, the number of Haredim serving in the army jumped 35 percent to 3,860 -- with roles ranging from technical jobs to infantrymen fighting in last summer’s Gaza war. The battalion founded by Bar Chaim now includes about 1,000 soldiers, versus just 30 when it was started 15 years ago. Yet about 40,000 ultra-Orthodox men aged 18 to 25 are still "studying" in yeshiva with a deferment from service, according to figures the army gave lawmakers....

READ ENTIRE FACT BASED ARTICLE:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-11-17/tanks-vs-talmud-israel-s-ultra-orthodox-soldiers.html

A Man With No Shame!

Jacob Perlow - A Leader of One - Himself - and his Self- Interests!

Agudath Israel Convention November 15, 2014

...“Rabbosai, we have become a society of lookers,” said the Novominsker. “We look at yenem and we make comments.  There are many self-appointed mevinim amongst us unfortunately, ready to sound off on anything and everything. These mevinim have no compunctions about opinionating about whatever goes on in the Jewish world, in the Torah world especially and very often, as a result of that curse of technology called the blogs, they engage in cynicism and zilzul talmidei chochomim and downright chutzpah.”

“An ehrliche yid should behave with humility and understatedness and speak with kavod hatorah and respect talmidei chochomim and not appropriate themselves as a commentator and a mayvin on everything that goes on.”

Offering his own view as a member of the older generation, Rabbi Perlow spoke about the lost passion for Torah that was prevalent decades ago, threatened by those who feel free to criticize others in a public forum.

“What I need to stress is that we must curb the urge to opinionate, because opinionating…means poor judgment, unfair comments and unwise chinuch,” said Rabbi Perlow...."

Sociopaths and Psychopaths: Have you no shame?

Shame, along with guilt, embarrassment and pride, is a moral emotion. Shame is the emotion we experience when we discover a defect in ourselves. The expression of shame is a submissive response. It is an acknowledgment to others of the defect and the decline in our status that results from the defect. This submissive response shows to others our attempts to conform, improve ourselves, apologize, and make amends.

Early experts in psychopathy documented that the absence of shame is part of the disorder. According to Dr. Cleckley, author of The Mask of Sanity, psychopaths are incapable of feeling shame. Because they do not feel shame, they blame everyone else for their problems. “The psychopath apparently cannot accept substantial blame for the various misfortunes which befall him and which he brings down upon others,” Cleckley says. “Whether judged in the light of his conduct, of his attitude, or of material elicited in psychiatric examination, he [the psychopath] shows almost no sense of shame.“

More recent researchers also recognize the fact that psychopaths accept no personal blame. Item 16 on the “gold-standard” psychopathy measure, the Hare Psychopathy Checklist–Revised (PCL–R), assesses a failure to accept responsibility for actions. Item 16 of the PCL–R identifies “an individual who is unable or unwilling to accept personal responsibility for his own actions (both criminal and non-criminal) or for the consequences of his actions.” Instead of accepting responsibility for his/her actions, the psychopath produces “some excuse for his/her behavior, including rationalizing and placing the blame on others” (Hare, 2003).

I have emphasized that the lack of shame and consequent blaming behavior of sociopaths and psychopaths is caused by their excessive dominance motivation. Sociopaths and psychopaths live for power and control. As dominants, they cannot afford to admit any weakness or error, not even to themselves. I want to share with you the results of two recent studies that demonstrate that a lack of shame correlates with clinical measures of sociopathy and psychopathy....

READ MORE:

http://www.lovefraud.com/2007/11/10/sociopaths-and-psychopaths-have-you-no-shame/

How Do You Spell UGLY? A Tale of Two (more) "Icons"!

Bill Cosby raped me. Why did it take 30 years for people to believe my story?

READ STORY:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/11/13/bill-cosby-raped-me-why-did-it-take-30-years-for-people-to-believe-my-story/

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) – An El Cajon doctor, accused of taking explicit photos of female patients in exam rooms, is on leave. Now the District Attorney's Office Wednesday is deciding whether to file criminal charges against the doctor also accused of sexually assaulting at least one patient at a low-income clinic.

Court records show the Department of Consumer Affairs-Health Quality Investigation Unit is investigating Dr. Jeffrey Abrams, M.D. for sexual penetration of an unconscious person and sexual battery of an unconscious person. The doctor has not been charged or arrested involving these allegations.

READ STORY: 

http://www.cbs8.com/story/26853458/doctor-accused-of-taking-explicit-photos

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Jeffrey-Abrams-San-Diego-El-Cajon-Volunteers-in-Medicine-281180831.html

“Blogs like UOJ and Failed Messiah, along with the Awareness Center, were instrumental in fostering the anti-abuse movement in the Orthodox community, publicizing stories of abuse and exposing those (often powerful and until then, untouchable) people, who enabled it and connecting survivors and advocates who went on to effect real change in the world.”

by Professor Marci A. Hamilton:

"....In short, it is no longer as feasible to perpetuate historical misinformation by religious organizations as it was before the Internet. With blogs, a proliferation of media outlets, social media, and websites established to address specific problems in particular communities, the balance of power between the powerful and the vulnerable has been altered for the better and hopefully permanently.

Religious cultures control the beliefs and perceptions of their believers by limiting access to outside information and especially information that undermines their authority. The Internet is the first populist tool that creates nearly insurmountable challenges to such image-building and unless the group bans the use of computers and smartphones altogether (not just ownership of them), the information streaming on the Internet can send shockwaves into firm foundations carefully constructed by religious leaders.

The Internet also has been useful in uncovering the bad acts of religious organizations (and plenty of others), particularly where they resisted transparency. Thus, it can be an agent for justice and the truth. In large part due to the Internet and the World Wide Web, we know much more now about the dangers of polygamy and clergy sex abuse. This sword is double-edged, however, as ISIS and other jihadist organizations are using the Internet to recruit new members into terrorism. Yet, the answer to this is likely the Internet!

The Internet and Uncovering Sex Abuse and the Cover-ups

The Internet had one of its most fortuitous impacts on crime in its capacity to bring survivors of abuse in religious organizations together, and to unveil the orchestrated cover-ups that have become one of the marks of religious organizations (and many others) in this era. The impact has been felt from the largest religious organization in the world, the Roman Catholic Church, to the small and insular, like the FLDS and the ultra-Orthodox Jews. In each of these religious organizations, among many others across the faith spectrum, higher-ups hid knowledge about child sex abuse for a variety of motives, including the protection of image, the preservation of power, and the fear of legal and financial liability.

The Internet has flushed out even the most insular. As Hella Winston, award-winning journalist and author of Unchosen: the Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels, explains, “For people living in a community where speaking out publicly about abuse can be socially, emotionally and even physically perilous, the Internet played a critical role not only in exposing the problem of abuse but allowing survivors to connect safely with one another and with others—both within and outside their communities.” These survivors have been able to find comfort and power through the Internet.

 “Blogs like UOJ and Failed Messiah, along with the Awareness Center, were instrumental in fostering the anti-abuse movement in the Orthodox community, publicizing stories of abuse and exposing those (often powerful and until then, untouchable) people, who enabled it and connecting survivors and advocates who went on to effect real change in the world.”......

Marci A. Hamilton

Marci A. Hamilton is one of the leading church/state scholars in the United States and the Paul R. Verkuil Chair in Public Law, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. She is the author of God vs. the Gavel: The Perils of Extreme Religious Liberty and Justice Denied: What America Must Do to Protect Its Children, and numerous scholarly articles. She has been a visiting professor at Princeton University, New York University School of Law, Emory University School of Law, and the Princeton Theological Seminary. Professor Hamilton was lead counsel for the City of Boerne, Texas, in the landmark decision,Boerne v. Flores, 521 U.S. 507 (1997), and has served as constitutional law counsel in many important cases involving religion, particularly in the area of clergy sex abuse and religious land use. Professor Hamilton clerked for Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor of the United States Supreme Court and Judge Edward R. Becker of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit; and received a J.D. from Pennsylvania Law School, where she served as Editor-in-Chief of the University of Pennsylvania Law Review; an M.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University; an M.A. in Philosophy from Pennsylvania State University; and a B.A. from Vanderbilt University.

- See much more at: http://verdict.justia.com/2014/11/13/internet-religion-transparency-battling-tyranny#sthash.ALvAr8MG.dpuf

Prosecutors Search for More Potential Victims of D.C. Rabbi Charged With Voyeurism

 Barry Freundel

VIDEO: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/282487291.html

Prosecutors continue looking for more possible victims of an Orthodox rabbi accused of recording women in the ritual bath area next to Kesher Israel in Georgetown.

Rather than step forward themselves, some women are calling lawyers.

• Emails Reveal Activity at Towson U. After Rabbi Accused of Voyeurism

“I can tell you that the pain that our client is feeling is palpable, that just thinking about the invasion of her privacy, the breach of her trust, that evil lurked in the place you least expect it,” lawyer Ira Sherman said.

In a court hearing Wednesday, prosecutors said they need more time before making a plea offer to Rabbi Barry Freundel, who is charged with six counts of voyeurism. Detectives need until Thanksgiving to review all the video they seized as evidence from the rabbi's home and computers. 

They have about 10 years of videos they have to review. Women who wonder if they are victims are told to submit a photograph so detectives go through the painstaking process of reviewing the video.

A woman formerly a member of the Kesher Israel congregation said she used to urge young women to use the mikvah when they converted to Judaism but now regrets it.

“It's very upsetting and distressing that I might have in some unintentional way helped him in his, really all you can call it is an evil scheme,” Lisette Garcia said. “It's disgusting.”

• Woman Fears She Was Recorded in Shower by Rabbi

She believes there are more victims at the synagogue and the universities where the rabbi taught.

“I know for a fact,” she said. “Not just Towson, but Georgetown Law. Nobody is talking about those students. I saw students from Georgetown Law go in there. He drew students from University of Maryland, PhD candidates."

• Micro Cameras Found in Search of Rabbi's Towson U. Office

Emma Shulevitz reported her fears that she had been caught on camera and went public. As a result, she and her husband say, they were shunned and made to feel like snitches at their synagogue in Rockville.

“No one talks to us in that synagogue,” Jeffrey Shulevitz said.

“Well the president did speak to us and he said, Don't expect an apology,” Emma Shulevitz said.

Freundel will return to court for his next hearing Jan. 16.

Other possible victims can contact the U.S. Attorney's Office.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/news/local/Prosecutors-Search-for-More-Potential-Victims-of-D-C--Rabbi-Charged-With-Voyeurism/282487291

The 23 State Solution!

The Middle East destroys itself 

Blame Israel; it's the cool thing to do. What a mess. The world needs someone to blame. Hey, why not the Jews?

After all, it’s all Israel’s fault. Everyone else knows that all the problems in the region would be solved if only the Middle East had just one more Muslim country.
What could possibly go wrong?

A quick review. After the passing of Muhammed in 632 A.D., his adherents, having left no sons, broke into a family feud over who were the real heirs apparent, the true followers.

The ensuing Shia-vs.-Sunni split rages on today and erupts throughout much of the 1.6 billion Muslim world, with seemingly more violence every day.

The rage is about piety, purity, politics, power, personality, territory, legitimacy and, of course, religion.

Take just a partial tour of the recent region.
Saddam Hussein, with his Sunni-minority Baathist party, brutally ruled over Iraq’s majority Shia country, until we toppled him. He was replaced by Nouri al Maliki, whose Shia government (backed by Shia Iran) got even by encouraging extreme violence against the country’s Sunnis and excluding them from any meaningful role in governance or life.

Iran meddles everywhere, sponsoring terrorist Hamas in Gaza, arming terrorist Hezbollah in Lebanon by way of Damascus, having backed the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, and now supporting the Houthies who are progressing in the overthrow of Yemen (If only Iran became a nuclear state, I’m sure their behavior would improve!).

Al Qaeda and its allies are Sunni extremists who hate and want to destroy moderate Sunni governments for being, well, moderate. They despise the West as well.

ISIS, ISIL, IS Everywhere is an Islamic group so nasty they were thrown out of Al Qaeda for bad manners. They want to violently overthrow existing governments and establish an extreme religious Sharia Law Caliphate that recognizes no national boundaries. Among other things, they make rather violent home videos.

Then there’s the terrorist Nusra Front trying to dislodge the Alawite minority rulers in Syria (as are IS, and separately, scores of independent liberation groups as well as additional terrorist types. On the terror roster, these groups are metastasizing and taking the field so fast you need a new score card every day).
They are so brutal they almost create sympathy for the Assad dynasty of assassins who murdered hundreds of thousands of their own citizens with poison gas. (Interesting how one minute Assad is elected with 98% of the popular vote, and the next minute more people are trying to kill him than voted against him.)

In Turkey, there has been a reluctance to stem the genocidal slaughter of Kurds by ISIS on the Syrian side of their mutual border. This, out of fear those Syrian Kurds would like to join the Kurds on the Turkish side of their border and declare their own separate state.

Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia each understandably despise Shia Iran (whose operatives tried to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador in D.C.), but are each other’s rivals for influence in the region.

Lebanon, whose prime minister was blown up, allegedly of course, by the Syrians, is wracked by Sunni-Shia-Christian strife and seems to struggle in finding a formula to govern.
Libya, never a bed of roses, has devolved into an ungovernable failed state since the killing of its hated tyrant, Moammar Khaddafy.

And Palestinian Fatah and Hamas seem to hate each other without a state.

The region is on fire. Violence, murder and mayhem prevail. Things must settle down.

Of the 22 Arab states, almost all are simmering, if not at full boil.

The world knows where the problem lies, and upon whose doorstep to lay the blame: The UN is focused like a laser on the Jewish nation.

Things would be wonderful if only Israel would get out of the way, and allow for a 23-State Solution.

Ackerman represented parts of Queens and Nassau County in Congress from 1983 to 2013. This originally appeared in the Oct. 30 issue of the Queens Tribune.

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/middle-east-destroys-article-1.2003410

Opportunities In Adversity!

THE UOJ ARCHIVES - NOVEMBER 4, 2008

When my father passed away, a part of me died forever. I tried to move on, and I did in many ways, but his death shook me like nothing else I could imagine. Every day I think about - what would daddy say about this - or would he approve of that.

Years passed, and his yahrzeit is a milestone. Not just because it's the anniversary of his death, but it was actually the turning point in my life.

Every day meant something important to me. I searched for meaning of my existence. I was starving for real answers - not the nonsense most people pacify themselves with, but real answers.

I conceptualized a new shul, a shul where people actually came to daven - and dragged a friend out of kollel to become the rabbi. A shul that is the pride of its community.

I created a fund for people that were not capable of taking care of themselves. They don't even know from where the help comes.

I became UOJ! Your children and grandchildren will be forever safer, and corrupt rabbonim, eyes twitching, and hands shaking, are looking over their shoulders for the big, bad, scary guy that despises evil and will destroy them for ruining a part of our future generations.

Everything looked different. I became unorthodox in my thinking, and acted upon my feelings with passion and new-found energies. I no longer permitted my mind to be on a leash. I searched. I learned. I read everything meaningful I could get my hands on that I wanted to read before - but was verboten.

I comforted as many people that sought my advice. I made mistakes - because I stepped too far outside the traditional box. But...I don't look back, because I learn from my mistakes; and to live life to the fullest --- one will always make mistakes. I look forward with anticipation of great things to come. I can't change the past, I am only capable of changing tomorrow.

The Democrats will control all three branches of government. Not good at all. To me - it's actually sickening, and I worry for my kids and their kids, but I can't change the facts. There will be a different America - an America that will have lost its identity, as it has under George W. Bush; but worse...much worse. A part of America died tonight, and chances are that we, as a country, will not recover the glory past.

Make your lives more meaningful. Do what you thought you could never do. Dig deep, you'll be amazed at the things you're able to do, that you thought were impossible. Be kinder, help as many people as you can. Read, learn meaningful things, love your children and family more. Give a damn! Do something positive tomorrow that you would not have done yesterday!

I miss my father and I will miss the America I grew up in.

November 4, 2008 - another yahrzeit that will probably live with me forever.

RIBBONO SHEL OLAM!

YIBONEI HAMIKDOSH!

Another 'pillar of the Jewish community'

Former Stanmore man and 'pillar of the Jewish community' jailed for instructing child abuse over Skype

Simeon Osen pleaded guilty to 13 offences of arranging and facilitating the commission of child sex offences during 2012.

A former Stanmore businessman and big name in the Jewish community has been jailed for nearly six years for instructing sexual abuse involving young children online.

A former Stanmore businessman and big name in the Jewish community has been jailed for nearly six years for instructing sexual abuse involving young children online.

Simeon Osen, 53, of Forest Lane in Chigwell, Essex used to lived in Stanmore, he pleaded guilty to 13 offences of arranging and facilitating the commission of child sex offences during 2012.

Harrow Crown Court heard today (November 6) that Osen who is Jewish and been described as, a 'pillar of his community', used online video tool, Skype to instruct girls as young as 10 years-old in the Philippines to penxxxxxx themselves, maxxxxx and expose their private parts.

He was sentenced to just under five years and 11 months in jail after pleading guilty to all 13 counts which included having indecent images.

Sentencing Osen was Judge Martyn Barklem, he said: "These children were for the most part pre pubescent, ranging from ages 10 years-old to 15 years-old. These children were not objects to be used for your sexual gratification, they are real children and real people.

"I accept that most of your life you have been a pillar of your community and it comes as no surprise that your extended family have turned their back on you despite your remorse. It is a complete revulsion."

The court heard how Osen would transfer money via Paypal for young girls in the Philippines to touch themselves via Skype.

Prosecutor, Rhiannon Sadler said: "He paid for sex shows involving children as young as 10 years-old, he would arrange the girls and direct them via Skype. Officers went through over 41,000 Skype messages which they discovered on Mr Osen's computers. He would negotiate ages, prices and what kind of acts he would like to see."

The court also heard how on one occasion Osen was watching a 13 year-old girl over Skype penxxxxxx herself, but he could not ejaxxxx because he was in his workplace and the cleaner was around.

The prosecution believe that over £5,000 was transferred from Osen's accounts to pay for these online sex videos, however the defence disagree with that sum.

Osen has also been ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life and has been given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order.

The Met's Child Abuse, Exploitation and Sexual Abuse Command, began investigating Osen in 2013, following an allegation that he abused a 13-year old girl.

During the course of the investigation Osen's personal computers were examined and a quantity of images and movies of an indecent nature were found, including some categorised as extreme pornography.

A further computer seized from his work premises in Harlow revealed over 41,000 messages via online video chat with people in Manila, Philippines, during which Osen is directing the abuse of children.

Detective Constable Rachel Snow from the Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse, Command said: "On the surface Simeon Osen was a successful business man with a family, but in reality he was a paedophile who was abusing children.

“I hope his arrest, prosecution and imprisonment today serves as a warning to other sex offenders in the UK, who think they can get away with abusing children anywhere in the world. This investigation is a very good example of the lengths the police and other law enforcement agencies will go to in order to find and secure the evidence to convict you.

“I also hope this case gives victims of sexual abuse, who may not have previously reported their ordeal to the police, the confidence to come forward.”

http://www.getwestlondon.co.uk/news/west-london-news/former-stanmore-man-pillar-jewish-8064710