82 year old Renee Rabinowitz—a Holocaust survivor—sued El Al for making her move, and won a $14,000 court judgment

Israeli airports won’t tell women that they don’t have to change seats at the request of ultra-Orthodox Jews

 

People might be surprised to find that, although Israel is seen as a "Jewish state," how secular it really is. As Phil Zuckerman notes in the article I mentioned the other day:

The only nation of secular significance in the Middle East is Israel; 37 percent of Israelis are atheist or agnostic (Kedem 1995) and 75 percent of Israelis define themselves as ‘‘not religious’’ or having a ‘‘non-religious orientation.’’ (Dashefsky et al. 2003).

That's a lot more secular than the U.S., but not a surprise to many Jews. As the old joke goes, "What do you call a Jew who doesn't believe in God?" Answer: "A Jew."  But Israel still caters to its Orthodox minority, even when simple decency says that it shouldn't.

A case in point, documented by both The Guardian and Newsweek, involves a subject I've written about before: ultra-Orthodox ("Haredi") Jews refusing to sit by women, and airlines trying to accommodate these religionists by moving the women. (See my posts here, here, here, here, and here.)  In the most recent case, documented in the last two links, 82 year old Renee Rabinowitz—a Holocaust survivor—sued El Al for making her move, and won a $14,000 court judgment with the help of the Israeli Religious Action Center (IRAC), the Israeli equivalent of the Freedom from Religion Foundation. That judgment also prohibited gender discrimination in seating.

But recently the IRAC wanted to put up ads at Ben Gurion airport, near Tel Aviv, letting women know that they had the legal right to keep their seats despite the complaints of bigoted religionists. (The ruling against gender discrimination in seating applies to both buses and planes, by decree of the Israeli supreme court.) Sadly, the airport refused, which is tantamount to refuse to inform women of their legal rights.  The Israeli airport authority banned the ads as being "politically divisive."

Here's the ad that was banned:

Well, it's not at all politically divisive. It may be religiously divisive, but I think most of us agree that where religious dictum conflicts with civil rights, the latter must win. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's. I hope the airports reconsider, as their refusal to tell women of their rights allows religious sentiments to trump civil liberties.

IRAC also had a campaign video, which I've embedded below. The narrator turns into Woody Allen at about 1:20:

URL: https://wp.me/ppUXF-YBc

Chasing after someone’s approval demonstrates low self-worth, which is why we instead opt to chase after possessions. This explains why the biggest companies in the world spend so much on branding....

The Pursuit Of Status: How To Avoid Chasing The Wrong Things

 

Despite composing several famous works, the French philosopher Denis Diderot spent the majority of his life in poverty.

Like many Enlightenment thinkers of his time, Diderot had little concern for material possessions. That changed when he received a new scarlet robe from his friend as a gift.

The robe was so beautiful that Diderot treasured it above all else. But Diderot also quickly realised that the robe was out of his place amongst his other common possessions. He didn’t own anything that would match the grandeur of his new robe.

And so Diderot went about replacing his old possessions. He replaced his straw chair with a leather one. A large mirror took over the mantle of his fireplace. He filled up the vacant corner of his house with a writing desk.

Before long, Diderot found himself in debt. As he remarks in his essay titled Regrets For My Old Dressing Gown, “I was the absolute master of my old robe. I have become the slave of the new one”.

The Diderot Effect

Diderot’s story shows how the acquisition of new possessions is never a singular event. Each new purchase often creates a spiral of consumption that leads you to acquire more things.

It’s a social phenomenon that explains much of our modern consumption patterns. Savvy marketers often bundle complementary products together and make us offers so compelling we cannot refuse them. One seemingly innocent purchase can lead to many bad decisions.

Having heard Diderot’s warning, we now know what happens when we go about mindlessly acquiring new possessions. But that doesn’t make the suppression of this behaviour any easier. To understand our true challenge, we need to scrutinise Diderot’s story more closely.

As he writes in his essay, Diderot cared little for material possessions before he acquired his new robe. He didn’t see them as representative of the inherent worth and value of a person:

“I can bear the sight of a peasant woman without disgust. That piece of simple cloth that covers her head, the hair that sparsely falls across her cheeks, those tattered rags that half cover her, that poor short petticoat that doesn’t cover half her legs, her naked feet covered with muck cannot wound me. It is the image of a state I respect; its the ensemble of the of the lack of grace of a necessary and unfortunate condition for which I have pity.”

But shortly after he acquired his new robe, Diderot’s views changed. He came to identify with the grandeur and beauty of his scarlet robe. Eventually, he thought the same of his other possessions as well:

“The poor man may take his ease without thinking of appearances, but the rich man is always under a strain”

How did a simple robe end up causing Diderot so much grief?

What We Really Want

As it turns out, Diderot was spot on about how material possessions become intertwined with our identity.

The wealthier we get, the more things become a form of self-expression. We no longer buy shirts and shorts for the cloth that covers our skin but also to reflect our tastes and social standing.

Geoffrey Miller, evolutionary psychologist, notes in Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Behavior that one of the biggest reasons we buy things is to signal virtue:

“Humans evolved in small social groups in which image and status were all-important, not only for survival, but for attracting mates, impressing friends, and rearing children. Today we ornament ourselves with goods and services more to make an impression on other people’s minds than to enjoy owning a chunk of matter — a fact that renders ‘materialism’ a profoundly misleading term for much of consumption. Many products are signals first and material objects second. Our vast social-primate brains evolved to pursue one central social goal: to look good in the eyes of others”

Ironically, the overt pursuit of status is a low-status activity. Chasing after someone’s approval demonstrates low self-worth, which is why we instead opt to chase after possessions. This explains why the biggest companies in the world spend so much on branding.

As Charles Chu notes in his essay, luxury brands like BMW make it a point to advertise to everyone regardless of their income level. It seems like a mistake until you realise that they’re not aiming to sell you a car — not directly at least.

Their goal is to get everyone to believe that their product is valuable. The money comes in when people buy their products in a bid to signal their status.

The Pursuit Of Status

It’s absurd that most of us are unhappy and yet, we have never been wealthier throughout history.

The problem lies in the nature of the game we’re playing.

Status is hierarchical by definition since there can only be one top dog at any time. That makes the pursuit of status an essentially zero-sum game, where your gain is my loss. We can never have enough if we need to have more than our neighbour.

But even if we’re biologically primed to chase status, it doesn’t mean that we need to acquire more possessions. A bigger and better house may force us to spend half of our lives working. The same goes for luxury cars, accessories and jewellery, although to varying degrees.

These items are costly — in terms of both time and money — yet may have little intrinsic value. In other words, we’re really just wasting time and effort to look better to others.

Better instead, to participate in activities that are a form of signal but are also inherently valuable. For instance:

• Work out at the gym. A big reason why people go to the gym is so they can tell others about it. But working out also provides the inherently valuable benefit of being healthy.
• Speaking or debating publicly. Speaking in front of an audience signals some form of expertise, but the prerequisite is that you must be informed. Knowledge is the main benefit.
• Teaching others. It’s another demonstration of expertise, but it’s the Protégé Effect at work as well: you’re helping others learn a skill while refining your own understanding.

Jim Rohn once remarked that “The greatest reward in becoming a millionaire is not the amount of money that you earn. It is the kind of person that you have to become to become a millionaire.”

In other words, we should be aiming for the steak and not the sizzle. If we can’t give up the latter, we must make sure that it’s always accompanied by the former.

What Are We Chasing?

It’s easy to get lost chasing more without considering what we really want.

Therein lies the danger of mindless consumption. Most of the time, all we really get are substitutes or replicas of what we truly desire in life. It takes reflection and honesty with ourselves to figure that out.

Take the time to figure that out before you embark on your chase. As you may have realised from Diderot’s example, it can be very costly when you chase the wrong things.

AVIGDOR MILLER ON "CHASING" & "DOPES"

https://medium.com/personal-growth/the-pursuit-of-status-how-to-avoid-chasing-the-wrong-things-9fc07a6241c2

---

מכש׳ל דורות לגויים גמור׳ם Hershel Schachter's Afikomen Present ----- Like Ivanka before her, Karlie has had some rough patches in her romance because of the severe pressure she faces from Seryl and Charles Kushner, the parents of Josh and Jared, to convert to Orthodox Judaism.

Joshua Kushner and Karlie Kloss at the 2016 Met Gala

Javanka vs. the Klossy Possee

By Maureen Dowd

WASHINGTON — Like England, we have our own famous princelings, brothers bound close to each other and to the poised and beautiful young women at their sides.

But while Will & Kate & Harry & Meghan are seen as a unit, pulling for Mother England together, Jared & Ivanka & Josh & Karlie are seen in opposition, in a public tug of war over American values.

Even as Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump are inside the White House, helping to shape policies, Josh Kushner and Karlie Kloss are outside it, protesting against some of those policies.

It’s a perfect illustration of the riven state of the country right now, where all manner of Americans — from the Kushners to my family to the characters on “Roseanne” — are glaring at each other over an insurmountable fence.

When Donald Trump was elected, Washington held its breath, waiting for the Creature from the Black Lagoon to emerge from the Potomac. With Trump in the thrall of the apocalyptic Steve Bannon, the creepy Michael Flynn and the unconscionable alt-right, the only ray of hope lay in Ivanka and Jared, glossy real estate scions who had been liberal darlings of New York society and Sun Valley conferences.

At first, Javanka found it heady here, ignoring those who called them naïve and nepotistic. Talking about military deals with Saudi Arabia, they got to use words like “deliverables.”

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump

But as Jared got more ensnared in the Russia investigation and infighting in the West Wing, and Ivanka found that she could not reignite her father’s more liberal impulses, any hope that the pair could be a moderating influence vanished. Members of their old moneyed set began to dismiss Jared as “dumb” and “arrogant,” as several put it to me, and Ivanka as complicit, the label she got after Scarlett Johansson played her on “Saturday Night Live.”

Even Vogue, where Anna Wintour had once offered Ivanka a job, stuck in the stiletto. “Look,” one Vogue.com headline sniped in July, “It’s Time to Collectively and Officially Give Up on Ivanka Trump.”

The low point for the self-proclaimed daddy’s girl came a month ago when The Times reported that the president might be using his chief of staff, John Kelly, an adversary to Javanka, to push them out and back to New York.

Jared and Ivanka seem torn about whether to keep crossing the rapids or turn back to shore. And as someone in their camp says: “It’s not like they could leave and all of a sudden you have this quiet life. Look at Don Jr.” At this point, being a Trump is less a good brand than a bad state of mind. 

Besides, as their ally says, with Ivanka’s trip to the Olympics in South Korea and her success helping Republicans increase the child tax credit, “she feels she’s actually found her groove.”

Her groove, if she even has one, is not as groovy as that of her prospective sister-in-law, a supermodel who has become the First Daughter of the Resistance.

The 25-year-old Karlie Kloss publicly broke from the Trump clan when she tweeted a picture of herself voting for Hillary Clinton. Then she showed up at the women’s march the day after the inauguration. Josh, 32, who thought about giving a TV interview about his differences with his brother but changed his mind, was spotted with her. But he also went to the White House on his own and Instagrammed a picture of himself with Jared, standing beneath the portrait of J.F.K.

Josh, routinely described by mentors as “respectful,” has built a technology investment firm called Thrive that is worth billions. His crown jewel, a health insurance company called Oscar, was structured around Obamacare — the main thing Trump has been trying to explode.

After Trump won, Forbes said, Josh had to hold one-on-one meetings with nearly a hundred employees to say he is neither responsible for this administration nor able to get special favors.

Josh and Karlie, both about 6-foot-2, ambitious and private, also showed up at the gun-control march last weekend. Josh posted a picture on Instagram of Karlie holding a sign that read “Load Minds, Not Guns” and donated $50,000 to the cause.

(Tiffany Trump, for her part, liked a post on Instagram showing a guy holding a sign that said “Next massacre will be the GOP in the midterm elections.”)

While many have become disillusioned with Ivanka’s status as an advocate for women and children, Karlie’s status has been growing. She landed on the 30-under-30 cover of Forbes in December; the magazine noted that her off-duty uniform was a Planned Parenthood T-shirt with jeans. After taking coding classes herself, she founded Kode with Klossy, a coding summer camp for girls.

Like Ivanka before her, Karlie has had some rough patches in her romance because of the severe pressure she faces from Seryl and Charles Kushner, the parents of Josh and Jared, to convert to Orthodox Judaism. (The brothers’ grandparents were Holocaust survivors.) Charles Kushner went to jail in a messy sex and campaign finance scandal in 2005.

Karlie’s friends describe her as “insanely nice,” as one put it, and often showing up with homemade baked goods. Some of them are upset, claiming that Ivanka has not been as supportive to Karlie as she could have been during her trial by fire imposed by the Kushner parents over the conversion issue.

In a story in The Forward, Margaret Abrams noted that, of course, the Kushners would not have been pleased with two such “WASP-worthy girls,” but given Charles’s controversial past, “they can’t exactly complain about the shiksas treating Yom Kippur like a juice fast.”(Dowd - a Catholic gets the farce, but Schachter and the RCA could care less what it looks like to the world at large, never mind the Jews)

מכש׳ל דורות לגויים גמור׳ם

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/31/opinion/sunday/kushner-kloss-trump.html?mabReward=ART_CBD1&recid=12dc8CcWB5iqLIIX5S4Y5WqxW8z&recp=0&moduleDetail=recommendations-0&action=click&contentCollection=Obituaries&region=Footer&module=WhatsNext&version=WhatsNext&contentID=WhatsNext&src=recg&pgtype=article

Chag Sameach חג כשר ושמח

DAYEINU

    

These past few years, the chareidi community and its leadership have been providing innumerable lessons to the world about the way a Torah-True Jew lives his life. Let us be grateful to them for all the many things they have taught us all!

• If they had only been wise enough to ban music that has electric guitars, but had not boycotted a store that had a sheitel advertisement in the window, it would have been enough to show us their greatness!
• If they had only protested against a store that had a sheitel advertisement in the window, but had not felt it was inappropriate for a magazine to carry an ad for an eyebrow-shaping service, it would have been enough to prove their wisdom!
• If they had only felt it was inappropriate to advertise eyebrow-shaping, but had not publicly revealed that they were ignorant of basic facts about reality, it would have been enough to demonstrate their brilliance!
• If they had only publicly revealed that that were ignorant of basic facts, but had not referred to drug smuggling yeshiva bochurim as holy, it would have been enough!
• If they had only referred to drug smuggling yeshiva bochurim as kedoshim, but did not feel it necessary to restrict men and women to different sides of the streets, it would have been enough!
• If they had only felt it necessary to restrict men and women to different sides of the streets, but not demand that women sit at the back of buses, it would have been enough!
• If they had only demanded that women sit at the back of buses, but not beat them when they didn't, it would have been enough!
• If they had only beat the women when they didn't sit at the back of the bus, but they didn't stone or throw acid at them when they didn't meet the extremist standards of modesty, it would have been enough!
• If they had only thrown acid at women who weren't dressed to their satisfaction, but didn't break into peoples homes and violently attack innocent women, it would have been enough!
• If they had only attacked innocent women, but didn't nod and wink at all the financial indiscretion they knew was going on in their community, it would have been enough!
• If they had only nodded and winked at all the financial indiscretionss they knew about, but had not confessed to finding Bernie Madoff a more inspiring individual than Captain Sully, it would have been enough!
• If they had only praised Madoff, but not publicly admitted that it was halachically ok to cheat on one's taxes as long as you don't get caught, it would have been enough!
• If they had only admitted that it was ok to cheat on one's taxes, but refrained from holding an event dedicated to business ethics where the tax cheating Spinka Rav was given a place of honor, it would have been enough!
• If they had only given kavod to the Spinka Rav, but had not also at that event honored a man who unjustly caused a charity to lose half a million dollars, it would have been enough!
• If they had only honored a man who unjustly caused a charity to lose half a million dollars, but were not involved in granting special treatment to chassidic prisoners, it would have been enough!
• If they had only been granting special favors to Jewish prisoners, but had not tried to destroy an innocent persons reputation and livelihood, it would have been enough!
• If they had only destroyed an innocent persons reputation, but had not banned a book that tells the truthful history of their gedolim it would have been enough!
• If they only had banned a book that tells the truthful history of their gedolim, but had not covered up decades of child molestation in their community, it would have been enough!
• If they had only covered up decades of child molestation, but not fought against a bill that would help bring justice to victims of molestation, it would have been enough!
• If they had only fought against a bill helping abuse victims, but had not issued a psak beis din admitting to witness tampering in an effort to help an accused molester, it would have been enough!
• If they had only been guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice, but had not demonstrated utter disregard for a victim of molestation while showing overwhelming support for his molester, it would have been enough!
• If they had only shown overwhelming support for a convicted molester, but not chosen to vociferously advocate on behalf of a cold-blooded killer, it would have been enough.
• If they had only chosen to vociferously advocate on behalf of a cold-blooded killer, but not been virtually silent when a most prominent rabbinic figure was caught in a scandalous adulterous relationship, it would have been enough!
• If they had only stood by silently when one of their most prominent rabbinic figures was caught in an scandalous adulterous relationship, but had not been frozen with inaction as a rabbi who made efforts to combat the rampant child abuse was bullied into silence, it would have been enough!
• If they had only done nothing as a rabbi who made efforts to combat the child abuse was threatened into silence, but had not been silent about their chief rabbi's involvement in having a teenager kidnapped and beaten, it would have been enough!
• If they had only been silent about the chief rabbi's involvement in kidnapping a teenager, but did not support rabbis who fraudulently manipulate hundreds of thousands of dollars from emotionally vulnerable devotees, it would have been enough!
• If they had only extorted money from emotionally vulnerable devotees but had not laundered money through their yeshivas, it would have been enough!
• If they had only laundered money through their yeshivas, but didn't operate a kosher meatpacking company that was found guily of fraud and child labor abuses, it would have been enough!
• If they had only supported the convicted head of a scammy shechita company, but did not also operate an underground organ trafficking operation, it would have been enough!
• If they had only operated an underground organ trafficking operation, but had not had a prominent rabbi caught extorting millions of dollars from a hedge fund, it would have been enough!
• If they had only extorted millions of dollars, but had not allowed their constituents to violently riot because of a parking lot open on shabbos, it would have been enough!
• If they had only allowed their constituents to violently riot on behalf of a parking lot, but not to riot on behalf of a woman who starved her own child, it would have been enough!
• If they had only rioted on behalf of a woman who starved her own child, but not staunchly proclaimed the innocence of a man who murdered his own baby, it would have been enough!
• If they had only proclaimed the innocence of a man who murdered his own child, but did not defend one of the worst child abusers in recent history, it would have been enough!

Dai-dai-yeniu… dai-dai-yeniu… dai-dai-yeniu… daiyeinu, DAYEINU!!!

http://daashedyot.blogspot.com/2010/03/dayeinu.html

Genuine scholars of the Talmud are not the ones out demonstrating, throwing stones, spitting or bullying...

Orthodox Jews Must Allow and Support Secular Education

One of the biggest challenges that Judaism faces is the Haredi schism. On the one hand, the sect is the most dynamic, fastest growing, most passionately committed and scholarly section of the Jewish world. On the other, it is the most fundamentalist, anti-intellectual, narrow-minded, excessively restrictive sector that refuses to countenance any change, moderation, or amelioration in Jewish law.

And the Haredi world, in almost all cases, does not countenance any serious secular education that might help those who want to find a means of making a living in the world outside.

In my youth the dominant strain, numerically, of UK Anglo Jewry was the United Synagogue. All the big communal synagogues belonged to it. Officers wore top hats. Rabbis or reverends wore canonicals. Services were formal and boring. Most members were hybrids, attesting to Orthodoxy in public — but disregarding it in private.

To its left was the Reform movement. To its right, groups of smaller synagogues. Then there was the Golders Green Beth HaMedrash, which combined its Orthodoxy with a Germanic intellectual tradition, a respect for academic study, and Wissenschaft — the academic analysis of Judaism. It was affectionately known as Munk’s, after its rabbi, who was a member of an illustrious Germanic Orthodox family.

The community was proud of its motto “Torah im Dereh Eretz“: “Torah combined with secular knowledge.” It was the slogan of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808-1888), who had led the Orthodox Jews of Frankfort in a breakaway from the main community, which he saw drifting towards Reform and assimilation. He campaigned hard for an intellectually rigorous interpretation of traditional Orthodoxy, to offer what he saw as the best of both worlds. He was a powerful essayist and spokesman. He wrote a German commentary on the Torah. He composed Nineteen Letters as a polemic against Reform. His essays on Judaism were published in a volume called Horeb.

Most significantly, he insisted on secular education in his religious school.

His was a remarkable community, until Eastern European Orthodoxy and Hasidic fundamentalism slowly recovered from the impact of the war, flourished, and began the process of becoming more Haredi and less interested in either secular education or rational discourse, and scholarly approaches to traditional texts and sources. Munk’s has, sadly, veered strongly towards the Haredi right.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch is sadly missed. His slogan, “Torah im Derek Eretzis,” is mocked and rejected.

The Talmudic term “Dereh Eretz” has two meanings. The one most people associate with it is the Yiddish expression — which means good manners. But the Talmud also uses it to mean earning a livelihood in a totally secular sense (Avot 2:2 and 3:5). This second meaning is what Rav Hirsch meant: “It is good to combine studying Torah with a livelihood, for the effort needed for both will keep a person away from doing the wrong things.” (Pirkei Avot 2:2) This was why Rav Hirsch introduced secular education in his schools.

The Talmud made the study of Torah the pre-eminent expression of Jewish identity and activity. Yet the Torah discusses the relative merits of Torah and Dereh Eretz.

Rebbi Shimon bar Yochai was forced to hide from the Romans in a cave for 12 years, which he spent studying Torah with his son. When he came out of the cave, he could not understand how ordinary people were going about their business, plowing and sowing. He wanted to destroy them. A heavenly voice told him that he had no right to destroy them, and sent him back to the cave to cool off.

Rebbi Shimon argued that in the Book of Joshua it says that “the words of the Torah should never leave your mouth, and if one studied, others would take care of earning a livelihood.” Rebbi Yishmael disagreed with Rebbi Shimon, and insisted that, as the Torah says, “You should gather in your corn, wine, and oil.”

A scholar’s life is admirable. We should all aspire to as much Torah study as we can. But most, even of the outwardly pious, are not suited to permanent study.

The secular world today has adopted both aspects of Greece: its intellectual exploration of the world around us and its morality of self-indulgence that offends everything that the Torah stands for. We should stand in contrast to it, morally. But scientifically, medically and technologically, we all benefit from it. Yet Haredi leadership, in principle, resists any secular education altogether. This cannot make sense.

Having studied Greek philosophy at Cambridge and Talmud in yeshivah, I can confirm that nothing is as mentally hard or demanding as Talmud studies “Lishma” (purely for its own sake). The problem is with the majority, who are neither gifted nor inclined to so.

This is why we can also see how hordes of so-called Talmudic scholars swarm onto the streets of religious enclaves to protest against what they see as assaults on their communities, when in fact requirements that governments try to impose are usually no more than attempts to protect them from their own unrealistic expectation that the rest of the world owes them a livelihood and protection.

Genuine scholars of the Talmud are not the ones out demonstrating, throwing stones, spitting or bullying. They do indeed study day and night. Ironically, that is why in their ivory towers they often appear oblivious to the realities of the world around them.

When I studied at Be’er Yaakov Yeshivah in Israel in the 1950s, there were two heads. The academic head was the Rosh Yeshivah, the brilliant mercurial Rav Moshe Shapiro. The Spiritual Head, the Mashgiah (often called the Dean) was Rav Shlomo Wolbe.

Both had been students at Mir in Lithuania. Rav Wolbe was serious, pensive and intense. Rav Wolbe went on to become the greatest voice of “Mussar“ — spiritual self-analysis — in the Jewish world and published several volumes of his intense religious outlook. Amongst his letters collected posthumously is this extract:

I was delving into the topic of Torah Im Dereh Eretz which is, ultimately, the foundation upon which live most Shomer Mitzvos in the world. We do not sufficiently relate to this approach, and the result of this is that many Bnei Yeshivah who eventually leave to engage in business and suchlike see this as a contradiction to the life of Torah, which is a great mistake. I head in the name of the Steipler that today’s effort to make people stay permanently in kollel is a horaas shaah (temporary decree), and Rav Chaim Kanievsky said that it is reasonable that his father said this. The basic path of the Torah is that a person works for a living and also establishes regular times for Torah study…”

Is it possible to have one without the other? That is the challenge we face today. Rav Wolbe thought we could. But then, he was a very special man, and there are no leaders of his stature in the Haredi world today — as it lurches ever more towards obscurantism.

How will this all play out? The Haredi world has already split into extreme factions. It has rejected so-called Modern Orthodoxy. It refuses to accept any other expression of Judaism as legitimate. It looks as though we might be heading toward a split similar to that which disrupted Judaism 2,000 years ago — and contributed to its near destruction.

Dead Sea Sects, Pharisees and Sadducees. Déjà vu?

https://www.algemeiner.com/2018/03/25/orthodox-jews-must-allow-and-support-secular-education/#

דבר הי בוזא Agudath Israel of America Mourns the Loss of its Honorary Member of Their Board of Directors Ztz”l, Z"tl, Z'l, A"H,..."All Our Policy Decisions Are Made By Our Rabbis Who Grew Up Watching & Influenced by Bozo ...And We Are Determined To Keep Carrying Bozo's Legacy Forward "

Performer known for Bozo the Clown act dies at 89

By JTA March 26, 2018

Frank Avruch, a Jewish entertainer known for his portrayal of Bozo the Clown on television, has died.

Avruch, a longtime Boston television personality, died Tuesday at his home there from heart disease, his family said in a statement to WCVB-TV. He was 89. 

He played Bozo from 1959 to 1970, when local TV stations franchised a character originally created by another Jewish American, record producer Alan W. Livingston. Avruch became the first nationally syndicated Bozo the Clown.

“He had a heart of gold,” manager Stuart Hersh told The Associated Press on Wednesday. “He brought the Bozo the Clown character to life better than anyone else’s portrayal of Bozo the Clown.”

Avruch was an active philanthropist and a board member of UNICEF’S New England chapter. He toured the world performing as Bozo for UNICEF, the United Nations organization dedicated to helping children in need.

In an interview for “TV Party,” Avruch, who was born in Boston to Russian-Jewish parents, revealed that he did not use his real last name when he first started out in television.

“You had to go on television, you had to change your name. Frank Stevens was my name. And when I came out of the Army, I decided to use my real name,” he said.

The decision to use his real name was after seeing “a very famous announcer from the network television called Andre Baruch,” he recalled in the interview. “And I said, well, if he can do it, I can do it, too.”

http://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/performer-known-for-bozo-the-clown-act-dies-at-89/

The Magazine of the ULTRA-ORTHODOX JEWS -- Keep Women In The Kitchen & Fress Your Way To Freedom! The Religion That Lost its Soul To Crass Materialism, Consumerism & Frivolity!

90% of Orthodox Women Are In Kitchen Jail Over Pesach

 The other 10% ---- Quoting from a person who is so happy with the numbers and statistics below - He is "baked" in to the Orthodox  Establishment! AKA AGUDAH KOSHER FRESSER.

Direct Quote From This Genius:

"We’re on the verge of breaking a record this Pesach: 

100,000 Jews will be going away for Pesach to an estimated 125 properties and programs. 30,000 Jews have virtually taken over the Orlando area. Economics? When you add up hotels, food, travel, new clothing, car rentals, admission to attractions etc. and go conservative and allocate $1,000 per person…that’s $100 million right there and guess what? I suspect that it is much higher. When you put it all together, if my math is correct, Pesach is about a $1.5 billion industry. 

So now I understand when the Torah says that we left Egypt with a “big fortune!”

From - "A People of the Book" to A People of Slaves to their Desires.  These New Jews Will Never Be Free!

Coach Jim Cleamons WILL BE OUR GUEST

Coach Jim Cleamons was selected in the very first round of the 1971 NBA Draft by the L.A. Lakers. Coach Cleamons has 10 NBA Championship rings, 1 as a player with the 1972 Los Angeles Lakers and 9 coaching the Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers. Coach Cleamons and his 1972 Laker team still hold the record for most games won in a row, 33! He played his college ball at Ohio State and was named All NBA Defensive Team in 1976 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Coach Clemons was also an NBA Head Coach with the Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Hornets. He coached superstars such as Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, and many other elite NBA and College players. Coach Cleamons was selected to be in the Ohio basketball Hall of Fame in 2008. He continues to energize and teach our youth on a daily basis and currently consults and assists with the YULA Boys varsity basketball team in Los Angeles. Coach also runs a one of a kind Community summer basketball and life camp in South Los Angeles. He conducts numerous basketball clinics throughout the country and is also working on a new book detailing his incredibly successful life journey. Coach Cleamons and his wife, Cheryl, reside in Manhattan Beach, CA and have two daughters.

The law in most jurisdictions require that any reasonable cause to suspect abuse must get reported to the authorities so that well trained investigators, not rabbis, can do their job without hinderance.

There is Talmudic precedent for dealing with abusive rabbis. The Talmud in Moed Katan, 17a tells of a rabbi who had a bad reputation, because as the Talmudic interpreters indicate, he was sexually inappropriate. He was excommunicated and not allowed back to the community. It is a simple direct and highly relevant position that some of our current religious leaders might want to restudy before making questionable pronouncements.

Rabbis Misunderstand Sexual Abuse

by Michael J. Salamon --- Dr Michael Salamon, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, is the founder and director of ADC Psychological Services in … [More]

• Communities That Protect Abusers

Over the last few weeks there have been several displays of limited awareness by some rabbinic leaders regarding the subject of childhood sexual abuse. Rabbi Michael Broyde, in what might have been another wise reasonable article on the topic (http://jewishweek.timesofisrael.com/six-steps-for-dealing-with-abuse-scandals/), erred on several points. His most notable was the implication that in the case of abuse “false accusations are sometimes raised.”

False accusations are rarely raised! In fact, virtually every study reported in Israel, America and elsewhere, documented by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, indicate that false accusations of childhood sexual abuse occur in only about two percent of reported cases. 

There is also a tonal error on the rabbi’s part. One could read portions of his essay as suggesting that abusers be afforded the same treatment as those they abuse. Rabbi Broyde is also a lawyer, a professor of law at a prestigious law school so his sense of fairness and balance is understandable. But, his awareness of the reality of sexual abusers seems narrow.

Broyde implied that the media has a limited role, “while newspapers serve a valuable purpose of pressing for an initial investigation, they are almost never the right channel to conduct such an investigation… in an era of anonymous Internet accusations, we have to maintain a presumption of innocence in the face of an accusation”

In response to that I refer him to a USA today piece about Larry Nassar (https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation-now/2018/01/25/its-why-we-do-how-journalism-stopped-larry-nassar/109819500/), the doctor to elite gymnasts who abused as many as 250 young people. Rachel Denhollander, was the first to file an official complaint against Nassar. If not for a newspapers’ dogged investigation of her case it is likely that Nassar would still be in his exam room sexually abusing young athletes.

It took at least two years until a complete investigation of Nassar revealed the depth of his perversion and the vast number of young people he harmed.

Sometimes it takes even longer. In 2008 an 18-year-old who goes by the name Maria reported that she was raped at knife point. Initially she was not believed (https://www.propublica.org/article/false-rape-accusations-an-unbelievable-story). The disbelief created so much conflict for her that she recanted her story. It was not until years later that solid police work uncovered a pattern of similar rapes more than 1000 miles from where Maria was attacked, and her rapist was arrested. On the point of statute of limitations in cases of sexual abuse I also find Broyde’s position to be disingenuous.

Another misstep came from Rabbi Yitzhak Dovid Grossman of Migdal Ohr.

 Two weeks ago Rabbi Grossman testified on behalf of Malka Leifer, accused of 74 charges of sexually abusing young girls in a school that she ran in Australia. Grossman requested from the court that she be allowed to be under house arrest with his supervision rather than stay in jail. Leifer is finally being detained to determine if she should be extradited to face charges back in Melbourne and jail is where she should remain.

This is not the first time Rabbi Grossman was involved on the wrong side of a case of sexual abuse. 

Not that long ago He pleaded for leniency for Motti Elon (https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4439094,00.html). Just a few days after testifying for her, perhaps under pressure from the Migdal Ohr Board, Rabbi Grossman wrote “I notified the courts that I am completely withdrawing my involvement in the case of Malka Leifer, and my recommendation that she be placed under house arrest with my supervision.” Grossman purports to have sensitivity “to the pain and plight of children and adults who are abused” and I am sure that he does but his method of displaying that sympathy is questionable.

Rabbis have several issues to deal with and concomitant layers of conflict in addition to an ethical problem when confronted by cases of abuse in the community. They are put in a position of mixed and divided loyalties. Who in fact do they represent? Do they represent the victim, the abuser, the community?

Rabbis are often asked to provide counsel to victims and act as advocates on their behalf. Can they perform that role if they question the fact that abuse even occurred? What if the abuser also is part of the same community? Should rabbis decide if a suspected abuser is to be be reported to the authorities or not? The law in most jurisdictions require that any reasonable cause to suspect abuse must get reported to the authorities so that well trained investigators, not rabbis, can do their job without hinderance. And then there is the need for the community to gain guidance on how to handle not just the abuser but the victims as well. We have seen far too many instances where communities have turned against victims to support abusers even in situations where there was incontrovertible evidence that abuse occurred.

Three levels of responsibility and overlapping loyalties that rabbis find themselves saddled with. This problem is exacerbated by not having a licensing board and code of professional conduct. It should not be such a great dilemma though. There is Talmudic precedent for dealing with abusive rabbis. The Talmud in Moed Katan, 17a tells of a rabbi who had a bad reputation, because as the Talmudic interpreters indicate, he was sexually inappropriate. He was excommunicated and not allowed back to the community. It is a simple direct and highly relevant position that some of our current religious leaders might want to restudy before making questionable pronouncements.

http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/rabbis-misunderstand-sexual-abuse/

A man who raped, sexually abused and then beat his victims - to ensure their silence - has been jailed for 22 years.

Man who raped and sexually abused young victims beat them to ensure their silence

 

David Glausiusz, 47, must sign the sex offenders register for life after being jailed for 22 years after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown Court

David Glausiusz convinced his victims they would not be believed if they reported his crimes

A man who raped, sexually abused and then beat his victims - to ensure their silence - has been jailed for 22 years.

David Glausiusz, 47, must sign the sex offenders register for life after being convicted after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown Court.

A sentencing hearing was told how he raped one of his victims, struck them with a piece of wood and stood on their stomach.

A member of Salford’s Orthodox Jewish community, Glausiusz also cut off one of his victims’ sidelocks, which the judge described as a ‘despicable act to cause him maximum humiliation and distress’.

He convinced his victims they would not be believed if they reported his crimes.

The court was told the victims were also threatened about potential repercussion in the community if they dared to report it.

Glausiusz, of Broughton Park, Salford , was convicted of three counts of rape of a boy under the age of 13.

He was also found guilty of six counts of sexual assault against a child under the age of 13, three counts of assault, and three counts of child cruelty.

Judge Martin Rudland told Glausiusz he will spend half of his sentence in prison, and the rest on licence.

Compensation is set to be awarded to his victims at a further hearing, to be held at the same court within 28 days.

Judge Rudland said: “Because of their youth and lack of understanding of sexual matters all children had some difficulty describing what had happened to them.”

Glausiusz was convicted after a seven-week trial Manchester Crown Court

The judge commended the police officers in the investigation for their work in bringing the case to court and supporting the victims.

In an unusual move, nine jurors who had served during the trial came back to court to hear the sentence passed for themselves.

Police were first alerted in April 2014, when a referral was made to Salford Children’s Social Care raising concerns about a young boy.

Officers said after months of further enquiries, both locally and internationally, they identified a number of other victims.

Glausiusz, of Leigh Road, was found guilty of recent and non-recent abuse against his victims including children as young as seven.

After the hearing, Det Ch Insp Alan Clitherow, of GMP’s Salford Borough, said: “The astounding bravery shown by those who suffered at the hands of Glauciusz has helped put a stop to his prolific and frankly evil actions.

“We are determined to continue working with a range of partners to safeguard victims and prosecute offenders and I’d like to recognise the valiant steps his victims have taken to put him behind bars.
“Tackling sexual and physical abuse of children and young people will remain a priority for GMP but protecting children and young people is the responsibility of us all.

“It is crucial that we work together to identify individuals who prey on vulnerable children and empower young people to speak up.”

An NSPCC spokesman added: “Glausiusz is a clear danger to children and his calculated and sickening attacks will have had a deeply damaging effect on his young victims.

“His lack of remorse, coupled with his attempts to evade justice by intimidating his young victims into silence, is deeply shocking.

“Their incredible courage in speaking out has helped bring Glausiusz to justice and we hope the sentence will give his victims some level of comfort and that they are receiving the necessary support to recover.”

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/man-who-raped-sexually-abused-12961737

MANCHESTER JEWISH COMMUNITY RESPONSE

Several parents came forward and testified that Jacobs urged them in 2012 to not report to the authorities, the sexual abuse suffered by their children at the hands of a teacher employed at the Cheider...

And They Excommunicated Baruch Spinoza....

Dutch Jewish Community distances itself from Chief Rabbi Jacobs

The organization representing the Jewish community in Amsterdam has severed ties with Rabbi Binyomin Jacobs because of the Chief Rabbi’s involvement in covering up child sexual abuse.

This is according to a letter by David Brilleslijper, Chairman of the Jewish community of Amsterdam (NIHS), which was obtained by The Parool. (A leading Dutch newspaper.)

These actions mark the first time that a Jewish organization has distanced itself from the Chief Rabbi, after years of allegations of his involvement in several abuse cases.

Jacobs is chief rabbi of all Jewish communities in The Netherlands, except for the capitol Amsterdam, the Hague and Rotterdam.

Several parents came forward and testified that Jacobs urged them in 2012 to not report to the authorities, the sexual abuse suffered by their children at the hands of a teacher employed at the Cheider.  

Jacobs warned them of “severe penalties” of falsely reporting crimes, and that their children, the abuse victims, would not be able to find suitable marriage candidates within the Jewish community.

Because of the delay in reporting to the police, the teacher suspected of sexual abuse, Ephraim S, was able to flee to Israel where he became a citizen.

After lengthy legal battles, he was extradited in 2016. On Wednesday he will appear in front of a judge for the initial hearing of the case.

Jacobs denied these accusations. He maintained that he followed the protocols of the education inspection.

However, this week it became clear from evidence of the Telegraaf and NRC (Leading Dutch newspapers), that only after severe pressure from the then Minister of Education, Marja van Bijsterveldt, did the school finally report the abuse of Ephraim S.

According to Brilleslijper, there have been numerous attempts to engage in a conversation with Jacobs regarding these abuse allegations, but the Chief Rabbi ignored these requests.

“With great regret we conclude that you (Jacobs) do not want to engage in a conversation about the allegations with the NIHS, therefore, we have to suspend any contact with yourselves until such date where this discussion takes place,” wrote Brilleslijper in his letter to Jacobs.

Brilleslijper added in writing that his community has suspended any contact with rabbinical organizations where Jacobs fulfils any roles, and that from now on they will only engage with Amsterdam based Rabbis.

In the meantime, the VVD (main Dutch political party) stated in Parliamentary questions on this matter that the board and management of the Cheider have been advised to step down.

http://www.jewishcommunitywatch.org/dutch-jewish-community-distances-chief-rabbi-jacobs/