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Available at Amazon.com
Written and Directed by Amy Berg
EVERY SIGNATURE MATTERS - THIS BILL MUST PASS!
CLICK - GOAL - 100,000 NEW SIGNATURES! 75,000 SIGNATURES HAVE ALREADY BEEN SUBMITTED TO GOVERNOR CUOMO!
EFF Urges Court to Block Dragnet Subpoenas Targeting Online Commenters
CLICK! For the full motion to quash: http://www.eff.org/files/filenode/hersh_v_cohen/UOJ-motiontoquashmemo.pdf
Sunday, March 29, 2009
"Deliver Us From Evil" - Agudath Israel & The Catholic Church!
Available at Amazon.com
Written and Directed by Amy Berg
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
A Welcome Step In The Right Direction!
Lifting the Veil of Silence
By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz - Editor Yated Ne'eman
There is an issue that has been on my mind for several years. It is an extremely sensitive topic and I tried writing about it many times but couldn’t find the right words with which to express what I wanted to say in a way that would be beneficial and adhere to standards of derech eretz and fairness.
I have discussed my predicament with many gedolim and they all encouraged me to write about it here in the Yated and said that Hashem would help me find the proper voice.
The sad fact is that children in our community are being abused by perpetrators who prey upon their innocence and our silence. We don’t have a count of how many people are hurt, but it is much larger than we realized, even a short time ago. There is no real debate about the catastrophic effects of abuse.
The innocence and purity of children is destroyed for life. The victims remain hurt, shamed and scarred. They suffer in silence, afraid to reveal their secret to anyone. They are hounded by feelings of guilt and embarrassment and live lives of tortured pain. The overwhelming majority of survivors suffer in silence, unless they are lucky enough to endure agonizing, arduous, expensive therapy. However, even a lifetime of therapy doesn’t ensure that the victim can ever be fully healthy again. Not every young victim’s psyche can be healed. Victims are much more likely to go off the derech, become addicted to drugs and lead a life of abusing themselves and others.
Let us be clear: For too long, we weren’t tuned in to these innocent victims’ stories and their pain. For too long, we weren’t sufficiently aware that this problem existed and thus were able to ignore the quiet pleas, the sad eyes, the pained lives, and the personalities withdrawn. We didn’t recognize the warning signs and thus largely ignored the phenomenon. Equally clear, this inattention was not a function of some high level conspiracy to harm people or cover up for criminals or abet nefarious activities. It was simply a function of a lack of education about a complex and highly sophisticated problem. It was a result of our leadership simply being unaware of the depths that such sordid people could sink to, and the extreme skill perpetrators exhibit in covering their tracks. And yes, it was undeniably a gezeirah, which, as so often is the case, claims innocent holy souls - bikroyvai Ekodeish.
I am all too aware that it is fashionable in certain circles to blame this all on our rabbinic leadership. These people have yet to explain why our rabbonim, who devote their lives to serving people, would want to hurt anyone. The days when being a rov or rosh yeshiva meant strictly paskening shailos or teaching Torah are long gone. Rabbonim routinely spend an overwhelming portion of their time dealing with every type of personal problem imaginable. I don’t have to elaborate on this now, but suffice it to say that it defies logic to accuse our most choshuve leaders, who exhibit much mesiras nefesh, of coldhearted indifference. As I said, the problem was a lack of understanding.
Those days are behind us. We understand our challenges now and we have to live up to them. There are many things we have to do to help prevent future cases. In fact, in recent years, much has been accomplished. It would probably surprise some of the critics to know that in the past five years, the Vaad Roshei Yeshivah of Torah Umesorah has devoted many meetings, encompassing scores of hours, to these issues. As one who regularly attends these meetings, I can tell you that no single subject has been discussed in greater length and depth, in excruciating detail, than preventing abuse. Many sophisticated guidelines and programs have been designed and disseminated in all our schools. Implementation has not been universal, but we have clearly begun to turn the tide in the school area. I will devote another article to detail some of these efforts. Today, I want to focus on the topic I began with - the innocent victims.
We almost never do anything for these victims. We look at them as small children. We don’t peer into their little hearts. We don’t follow up with them. We don’t do anything to assuage their piercing pain and harrowing hurt. Usually, we don’t know who the victims are, for their parents are petrified lest they be stigmatized for life.
They go through life distressed and tormented, and the fact that they think that we don’t care adds insult to injury and makes the wounds that much more difficult to heal. They think that if we would know what happened to them, we wouldn’t respond with compassion and love. They think that the world around them would turn a deaf ear to their cries and be uninterested in their stories.
So they go through life feeling isolated, betrayed and abandoned. It is about time that as a community we join together and shout out to them that we have been silent for too long. We have been oblivious for too long. And we are going to do something about it. This is what we say:
“We realize it wasn’t your fault. We realize you didn’t do anything wrong. We realize that you were singled out for punishment due to no fault of your own. We realize you were taken advantage of. We love you. We care about you. We are here for you. We will listen and we will hear. You are not alone.”
We have to get a message to the children who have been wronged that they don’t have to resort to drugs or worse to cleanse themselves and restore their self respect and self worth.
How do we get that message across? Neither by being quiet, nor by being shrill. First we strengthen those groups in our machane who are devoted to counseling and aiding victims. We tell the victims they are innocent; we feel their pain and are here to help them. We prove that by continuing to implement parent and community-wide education and prophylactic programs to prevent future horrors. Above all, we deliver the message by living lives of Torah - a Toras Chesed and Toras Emes - by being kind and compassionate to all. We do it by not embarrassing anyone and not jumping to conclusions about the reasons people act the way they do. We must conduct ourselves to all with true love and compassion. We should treat victims like brothers, without prejudice, never knowing what pain and hurt lies in their hearts, forcing them to act the way they do.
One thing is clear: silence is acquiescence. Silence permits the affliction to fester. We must be prepared to lift the veil off the more embarrassing goings-on in our communities so that we rid ourselves of evil and malice and the pain they cause. We will thus be preparing the world for the coming of Moshiach and the erasure of all tears.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Obstructing Justice?
By Michael J. Salamon, Ph.D.
In the United States any individual who works with children is required to report any and all suspected cases of abuse or neglect to the authorities. This reporting law was first formalized in the 1970’s. In many states the law also applies to those who work with adults. When reports are required they are made confidentially and are accomplished via a hotline call to a trained professional who will take the report and evaluate the best response. Responses can include involving the police, childcare services, other social services, or the report may be deemed not to rise to the level for an intervention.
Teachers, doctors, therapists and other childcare professionals are mandated to report what the law calls “any reasonable cause to suspect” abuse or neglect. If, as a mandated reporter, you are aware of such a case and do not report it you may lose your professional license and receive jail time. There are inconsistencies in how situations are handled by these agencies but it is never the responsibility of a mandated reporter to investigate a case nor to try and prevent further abuse. Professionals who work directly in human services are not the police nor are they officers of the courts. They do not have the resources to do the type of legal probing or intervention that the legal system is designed for. But, they do have the ability to see when there is abuse and do the correct legal thing despite any possible shortcomings that may occur after it is reported. And, virtually all shades of Religious poskim within the Orthodox world support the need for reporting cases of abuse to the proper legal authorities.
The Catholic Church has been accused over the last few decades of covering up cases of child abuse perpetrated by pedophile priests on young, mostly male, parishioners. The abusers were given free reign in some cases because people either did not believe that it could be true or were afraid of the repercussions if they did report. At this moment, the Church, as well as organizations within our own community, is fighting against extending the statute of limitations for reporting cases of child abuse. Clearly, these problems are not unique to those of the Catholic faith. Data reported from a variety of sources indicates that as many as one in 5 boys and girls are subjected to some form of sexual abuse in their childhood by teachers, family friends or relatives. And, yes, as we have seen, it does occur in all religious faiths. That is why I was so moved when I was invited to participate in a private conference in September of this past year that addressed sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. Attendees included mental health professionals, survivors, their families and even the New York State Assemblyman, Dov Hikind.
The tone set at the conference was a determined one. All would be done to stop this horrific scourge from continuing. No school or organization would be exempt from confrontation if it were necessary to do so. In October, Mr. Hikind stated that he would “collect a list of suspected child molesters and make that list available to the public.” It turns out that the Assemblyman has recently been subpoenaed. He has collected, by his own admission, over 1000 dossiers involving some 60 names of pedophiles and according to rumors, has not yet reported a single case to the authorities nor has he released a single name to the public. He has made a statement indicating that someone who admitted to him that he recently abused a young boy was referred to a top mental health professional for treatment. The subpoena came not from the authorities but from an attorney representing individuals who were themselves abused. There are interesting inconsistencies in this situation. It may be true that Mr. Hikind is not a mandated reporter, though several legal sources have been quoted as indicating that he might be. But, even if he is not, the treating specialist to whom this individual was referred is mandated to report. Additionally, it is also problematic that the Brooklyn D.A. has apparently not seriously looked into this very same issue though some news reports are suggesting that there are 10 cases currently under review by the D.A.
While Mr. Hikind’s approach is troubling to some perhaps there is a better explanation to this perplexing and painful drama. This approach that Mr. Hikind is employing may be a plan to allow the authorities, the trained legal and child welfare specialists, to find a way into this morass and finally do what is necessary to stop pedophilia. By going public, even in a limited fashion, abusers have been put on notice by Mr. Hikind and so have the authorities. It is a fact that the proper treatment for a child molester is not limited to psychotherapy and possibly medication but also includes constant supervision and monitoring. The proper legal authorities are the only ones who can enforce this requirement. Now that the situation has become so glaringly obvious, there can be no excuse for both the community and the authorities not to follow the proper legal and clinical protocols, unless, of course, there is a massive cover-up. It is time to accept the problem and work within the system not around the system. As Mr. Hikind has himself indicated, it is time to change the “Out of sight out of mind” mentality that allows abuse and molestation to continue.
This brings me to a related issue. There had been some debate regarding whether Halacha allows Mesira or the notification of secular authorities. It has taken some time but, as I have noted, virtually all of the Halachic decisors now agree that in cases of suspected childhood sexual abuse there is no excuse not to involve the police and courts. Also, despite a recent setback, the courts in the United States and Israel are working together on several cases to make sure that extradition is enforced when necessary. And, the recent conviction of an abuser in Federal court indicates that the community can work with the authorities. Interestingly, the application of these decisions to allow the notification of the authorities may have also led to a remarkable misuse of the law.
The Courthouse News Service of October 29, 2008 reported that a man is seeking five million dollars in damages for defamation against the rabbis at a suburban New York Yeshiva who wrongly accused him of pedophilia. According to the complaint, the rabbis allegedly slandered him because they did not approve of his lifestyle. Both the Police department and office of child welfare investigators found the complaints made about him by the rabbis to be baseless. One would hope that the rabbis would find it appropriate to file a complaint to the authorities in cases where there is evidence and the authorities perform their investigations diligently. All of this covering up has to be done away with. Mr. Hikind is performing an admirable task by taking up the issue and confronting it but without proper reporting and follow through with the legal authorities there can be no enforcement.
Dr. Salamon, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is the founder and director of the Adult Developmental Center in Hewlett, NY. He is the author of numerous articles and several psychological tests. His recent books include, The Shidduch Crisis: Causes and Cures, published by Urim Publications and Every Pot Has a Cover: A Proven Guide to Finding, Keeping and Enhancing the Ideal Relationship, published by Rowman & Littlefield.
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
"I had no concept that this exists in the world"... Mrs. Friedman.
I urge everyone to see the entire documentary; the impact it had on me is indescribable !
UOJ
In the United States any individual who works with children is required to report any and all suspected cases of abuse or neglect to the authorities. This reporting law was first formalized in the 1970’s. In many states the law also applies to those who work with adults. When reports are required they are made confidentially and are accomplished via a hotline call to a trained professional who will take the report and evaluate the best response. Responses can include involving the police, childcare services, other social services, or the report may be deemed not to rise to the level for an intervention.
Teachers, doctors, therapists and other childcare professionals are mandated to report what the law calls “any reasonable cause to suspect” abuse or neglect. If, as a mandated reporter, you are aware of such a case and do not report it you may lose your professional license and receive jail time. There are inconsistencies in how situations are handled by these agencies but it is never the responsibility of a mandated reporter to investigate a case nor to try and prevent further abuse. Professionals who work directly in human services are not the police nor are they officers of the courts. They do not have the resources to do the type of legal probing or intervention that the legal system is designed for. But, they do have the ability to see when there is abuse and do the correct legal thing despite any possible shortcomings that may occur after it is reported. And, virtually all shades of Religious poskim within the Orthodox world support the need for reporting cases of abuse to the proper legal authorities.
The Catholic Church has been accused over the last few decades of covering up cases of child abuse perpetrated by pedophile priests on young, mostly male, parishioners. The abusers were given free reign in some cases because people either did not believe that it could be true or were afraid of the repercussions if they did report. At this moment, the Church, as well as organizations within our own community, is fighting against extending the statute of limitations for reporting cases of child abuse. Clearly, these problems are not unique to those of the Catholic faith. Data reported from a variety of sources indicates that as many as one in 5 boys and girls are subjected to some form of sexual abuse in their childhood by teachers, family friends or relatives. And, yes, as we have seen, it does occur in all religious faiths. That is why I was so moved when I was invited to participate in a private conference in September of this past year that addressed sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. Attendees included mental health professionals, survivors, their families and even the New York State Assemblyman, Dov Hikind.
The tone set at the conference was a determined one. All would be done to stop this horrific scourge from continuing. No school or organization would be exempt from confrontation if it were necessary to do so. In October, Mr. Hikind stated that he would “collect a list of suspected child molesters and make that list available to the public.” It turns out that the Assemblyman has recently been subpoenaed. He has collected, by his own admission, over 1000 dossiers involving some 60 names of pedophiles and according to rumors, has not yet reported a single case to the authorities nor has he released a single name to the public. He has made a statement indicating that someone who admitted to him that he recently abused a young boy was referred to a top mental health professional for treatment. The subpoena came not from the authorities but from an attorney representing individuals who were themselves abused. There are interesting inconsistencies in this situation. It may be true that Mr. Hikind is not a mandated reporter, though several legal sources have been quoted as indicating that he might be. But, even if he is not, the treating specialist to whom this individual was referred is mandated to report. Additionally, it is also problematic that the Brooklyn D.A. has apparently not seriously looked into this very same issue though some news reports are suggesting that there are 10 cases currently under review by the D.A.
While Mr. Hikind’s approach is troubling to some perhaps there is a better explanation to this perplexing and painful drama. This approach that Mr. Hikind is employing may be a plan to allow the authorities, the trained legal and child welfare specialists, to find a way into this morass and finally do what is necessary to stop pedophilia. By going public, even in a limited fashion, abusers have been put on notice by Mr. Hikind and so have the authorities. It is a fact that the proper treatment for a child molester is not limited to psychotherapy and possibly medication but also includes constant supervision and monitoring. The proper legal authorities are the only ones who can enforce this requirement. Now that the situation has become so glaringly obvious, there can be no excuse for both the community and the authorities not to follow the proper legal and clinical protocols, unless, of course, there is a massive cover-up. It is time to accept the problem and work within the system not around the system. As Mr. Hikind has himself indicated, it is time to change the “Out of sight out of mind” mentality that allows abuse and molestation to continue.
This brings me to a related issue. There had been some debate regarding whether Halacha allows Mesira or the notification of secular authorities. It has taken some time but, as I have noted, virtually all of the Halachic decisors now agree that in cases of suspected childhood sexual abuse there is no excuse not to involve the police and courts. Also, despite a recent setback, the courts in the United States and Israel are working together on several cases to make sure that extradition is enforced when necessary. And, the recent conviction of an abuser in Federal court indicates that the community can work with the authorities. Interestingly, the application of these decisions to allow the notification of the authorities may have also led to a remarkable misuse of the law.
The Courthouse News Service of October 29, 2008 reported that a man is seeking five million dollars in damages for defamation against the rabbis at a suburban New York Yeshiva who wrongly accused him of pedophilia. According to the complaint, the rabbis allegedly slandered him because they did not approve of his lifestyle. Both the Police department and office of child welfare investigators found the complaints made about him by the rabbis to be baseless. One would hope that the rabbis would find it appropriate to file a complaint to the authorities in cases where there is evidence and the authorities perform their investigations diligently. All of this covering up has to be done away with. Mr. Hikind is performing an admirable task by taking up the issue and confronting it but without proper reporting and follow through with the legal authorities there can be no enforcement.
Dr. Salamon, a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, is the founder and director of the Adult Developmental Center in Hewlett, NY. He is the author of numerous articles and several psychological tests. His recent books include, The Shidduch Crisis: Causes and Cures, published by Urim Publications and Every Pot Has a Cover: A Proven Guide to Finding, Keeping and Enhancing the Ideal Relationship, published by Rowman & Littlefield.
CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS
"I had no concept that this exists in the world"... Mrs. Friedman.
I urge everyone to see the entire documentary; the impact it had on me is indescribable !
UOJ
Monday, March 23, 2009
Editorial
A Window for Justice
March 22, 2009
For decades, priests who preyed sexually on children did so with shocking ease and impunity. Their superiors acted as functional accomplices, shuttling abusive priests among parishes and buying or bullying victims into silence. Shame and guilt did the rest, burying abuses under a shroud of secrecy that often far outlasted the statute of limitations for prosecutions or lawsuits.
Those victims deserve a day in court. The New York Legislature should grant it to them, by passing a bill that would temporarily lift the statute of limitations for civil lawsuits involving the sexual abuse of children.
The bill would open a one-year window during which accusers would be allowed to sue in civil court, no matter how old the case. After a year, the statute of limitations would be restored, but an accuser would have up to 10 years after turning 18 to make a claim, instead of five. The statute of limitations for criminal prosecutions would not be changed.
Like similar measures in Delaware and California, the Child Victims Act seeks to balance the need for reasonable time limits for lawsuits against the unusual challenges in uncovering sexual crimes against children.
It can take decades before victims are ready to make the wrenching decision to tell their stories.
Add to that problem the particulars of the priest abuse scandal. It had its roots in the 1960s and 70s, but did not engulf the Catholic Church — which systematically covered up for the criminals in its clergy — until 2002, when its many victims were in their 30s or older.
The bill does not explicitly target any institution. Catholic and Orthodox Jewish officials are lobbying against it, arguing that it is unfair to allow decades-old accusations against old men who are ill equipped to defend themselves when evidence is lost or forgotten and witnesses are dead. They also, naturally, fear a wave of expensive settlements and damage awards like the one that struck the Los Angeles Archdiocese when the statute of limitations was lifted under a 2003 law.
Those fairness concerns are vastly outweighed by the need to dispense fairness to those who were powerless to seek it. Exposing abuse is also a matter of public safety. It is wrong to allow the institutional shame of the Catholic Church to remain hidden in church files and in the anguished hearts of victims. Their continued suffering and the prevention of future abuses are the strongest arguments for passage of the Child Victims Act.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
"On the other hand"
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http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/03/18/seeking-second-shot-at-predator-clergy/
"Rabbi David Zwiebel, Agudath Israel’s Executive Vice President, said that they have not yet taken a position on the issue.
“It’s a subject of conversation at the highest levels of our rabbinical leadership,” Rabbi Zwiebel told The Jewish Star.
“There are likely to be real-life cases that are resuscitated as a result of the passage of such a bill. And that is part of the consideration,” he elaborated. “You can’t ignore the real world potential of a bill like this in evaluating whether it is the correct thing for our community to embrace. On the other hand, you can’t ignore the real impact on victims of abuse.”
*
The victims of abuse are "the other hand" when they should be the "ONLY HAND" that counts!
In my life, I have not come across an entire group of rishaim, even close to the menuvalim, on the inside of Orthodox Judaism -- as the Agudath Israel. They are concerned about the yeshivas and criminals that perpetrated these crimes on unsuspecting children, damaged them for life, and the kids are the OTHER HAND?
How far have these born Jews fallen into the depths of depravity? How ill is Zwiebel who dares to open his foul mouth with such a statement? How sick is Perlow and Kaminetzky who use Zwiebel and "yenner tipish" Shafran as their ventriloquists?
They are the prime cause of the child-rape machla to have metastasized in the Jewish community by covering-up these crimes for decades! They are the epitome of evil and vile rishus! And now the "rabbis at the highest level are talking"?
Talking about what?
Whom next to cover for? What other child-rapists and their rabbi enablers, scores of them, should do to cover their crimes? Bribe a few politicians? Squeeze D.A. Charles Hynes out of office if he does not continue in the decades long cover-up?
Send out Aron Twerski and David Mandel to another gathering of idiot parents and assure them that all the various rabbis/pigs/enablers are "honorable animals"? Who the hell do they think they're kidding? They've been exposed as the "kapos" of this generation. They knowingly have participated in the murder of Jewish children! Does it get any lower than this?
I got news for you filthy animals, if you block this bill in any manner, I will make every effort to get your sorry rear-ends tossed into jail! Think I'm kidding, don't you? You thought I was kidding three years ago, didn't you?
I keep my promises! You pray hard that the Markey bill passes or you have not seen yet what I'm capable of doing!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
ANNOUNCING - YEDEI ESAV!
Destroy Yedei Esav --- Educate Yourselves And Your Children! Take responsibilty for your child's welfare --- I REPEAT --- YOUR CHILDRENS' SAFETY CAN'T BE TRUSTED TO ANYONE! IF YOU SUSPECT A PROBLEM, WHETHER WITH A TEACHER... OR A FAMILY MEMBER, GO TO THE POLICE! Anybody who advises you to speak to your rabbi before going to the police is your enemy!
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE:
***UPDATED -- NEW PHOTOS!***
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Rabbi Red (Kolko) Isaacson - President Yedei Eisav
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Chairman of the board - Lippy (The Child-Slapper) Margulies
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Anonymous Friends Of UOJ!
Finally, our Orthodox Jewish leadership is formally publicizing its hugely successful organization to assist “frum” child molesters!
Yedei Esav provides the following services to our community:
Psak from Gedolim to intimidate victims so they dare not report crimes to the police.
Rabbinic connections to police community liaisons to destroy evidence and close cases.
Positions available in chinuch to provide really easy access.
We train molesters in how to build stellar reputations in Torah and chesed so that nobody would ever think that you also molest.
Assistance in having the children of your accusers thrown out from any and all yeshivas.
Referrals to OHEL's sex offender "treatment" program, set up to cover for you to avoid angry people going to the authorities.
We can convene a “Bais Din” against anyone who publicizes the "false" claims of “motzi shem ra“.
In keeping with our mission, we will continue to promote "sweeping the problem under the carpet" at Agudah Conventions, as a way of encouraging better compliance with “Daas Torah“.
If you need to run to Israel, we will help you avoid police arrest, and will fight your extradition wholeheartedly.
Ready made statements of our concern for victims of abuse to give the impression that we care about them more than about the real victims, the molesters, R"L.
Ample funding for really "chashuva" families, for needed bribes of all kinds.
Political alliances with District Attorneys' offices in a growing number of cities to lobby prosecutors to "go easy" on hard working, tax paying (well, some of them actually do) citizens who "slipped through our fingers".
Custom made "monitoring programs," like on yeshivah campuses, where long time serial molesters can be retired and watched without ever needing to have their crimes, or, uh, the "so called" danger they present to others publicized.
Automatic cherem put on any blog or newspaper that identifies any of us molesters.
We will work mightily to continue to keep the psak of Rav Elyashiv, the Gadol Hador, saying that people should go to the authorities with proof about child molesters, out of the public's knowledge, as it would upset the entire aim of Yedei Esav.
Our motto is; "The voice is the voice of Yakov (he talks frum) but the hands are the hands of Esau (no explanation necessary)"
Testimonials from satisfied clients:
Rabbi K: "If not for Yedei Esav, I would now be rotting in jail. Not only did I "walk", but I am now relocated, as if in a witness protection program, to Lakewood, where I am free to pursue another teaching job and prey on children in shul. Thank you, Yedei Esav!"
Rabbi E: "It is mamash a life-saver. The chesed of Yedei Esav is incredible. I even get to daven on the mizrach vant, am still on the Aguda's Vaad for Russian boys (some of my all time favorites, they are so geshmack) and Rabbi F continues to give haskamas to my "parenting" books."
Rabbis Shalom and Aaron (Victoria's not so secret models) Tendler - RCC members:
*** Rabbi Avrohom Union Rosh Gangster Cover-Upper ***
*** Los Angeles, California***
"Mee K'amcha Yisroel! While in other communities they prosecute people for having sexual relations with teenage girls and oh so many adulterous relationships, B"H the Jewish people have come up with an approach that allows the child-rapists free reign. We were kept in chinuch and rabbanus for years, until we finally decided ON OUR OWN to retire. Rabbi Union Rosh criminal Putz of the RCC made certain we were kept around teenage girls and kept "counseling" women only -- without their husbands. When young women came to the RCC with their "lies", Rabbi Union threatened to destroy them and their families. That's what we Tendlers call a Gadol! High-Five Rabbi Union! You should just see the faces of our victims when me and my uncle pass them on the street, and they know we have Yedei Esav supporting us. HA!"
Rabbi M: “If not for Yedei Esav, where would I be? I don’t even want to think about it. First they got me out of the country for 25 years so I could escape justice. Then when Jewish victims have the chutzpah to try to get me extradited, Yedei Esav comes to the rescue. I have more supporters in the frum community than Jonathan Pollard, but hey, how many little boys did he teach about the ‘mitzvah‘?”
Rabbi L: "I know what you will say. That I did have to get fired from my job and go to jail. But only for three years and now I'm out. Today I am a free man, and have help from many rabbis in convincing people that I was wrongfully accused. I hope to be back in a position of working with teenagers, at which I have been so successful, in a short time, IY"H, and all thanks to Yedei Esav.”
Rabbi R: “It doesn't matter if you are chassidish or litvish or modern orthodox, Kol Hamatzil Nefesh Achas B'yisroel, K'eelu Hitzil Kol Haoloam Kulo.“
The S family: "Our father, Rabbi S, Z"TL and our brother, Yibadel, Rabbi S, Shlita, molested dozens of innocent Bar Mitzvah boys. We felt so guilty and ashamed that we were going to apologize for it, R"L. But thanks to the awesome support of Yedei Esav, we were spared this embarrassment. They begged and threatened the press not to publish anything. When the Jewish Times did it anyway against Daas Torah, we had them blacklisted by Rabbi H, and a boycott by frum advertisers was organized. Thank you Yedei Esav!!!!"
Chief of Police of Lakewood NJ police department: "Thanks to Yedei Esav, our job in the police department here is much easier. We are the only city in America that can boast a zero arrest rate for sexual crimes against children. Yedei Esav has made it clear that they speak for the community here who want to allow child molesters full access to children. "
Ploni Almoni (name withheld upon request): "I have molested kids for years. Nobody seemed to care or complain. I think most of the kids liked it. Just in case, I told them not to tell or else they would be in trouble with their yeshivas, and that Hashem would punish them. But for some sick reason there were those parents who found out and complained. I was PETRIFIED. I thought I would be brought up on charges and sent to jail. But thanks to the rabbis of Yedei Esav, the parents were convinced not to go to the police. I ended up in front of a "Bais Din" convened for just this purpose. What a joke! When I pleaded, based on the good works I've done for the community, and my big mishpacha who need shidduchim, the "Bais Din" was incredibly understanding. They told me I should stop, but did not even make me go for an expert ATSA evaluation - or even a lie detector test - which is so basic - and they made incredible efforts that the whole thing would be in Reb S’s words "swept under the carpet.” Baruch Hashem. I promised to do "t'shuvah" and leave town and I now live in a new city where I am currently "grooming" several kids from baal tshuvah homes. For SURE nobody is going to care about them! What a mechaya. Thanks Yedei Esav!"
Cardinal Mahoney of the Los Angeles Diocese: "Yedei Esav is truly an inspiration. The Jewish people are our "older brothers", and like us, they protect their own. We may have more molesters in our priesthood than you do in your rabbinate. But your passion for cover-up is something we can only aspire to. The devotion and dedication you show to the child rapists and sexual abusers of innocent children truly sets the standard for us in practicing our religion. If only Yedei Esav was around ten years ago, maybe we could have used your techniques for bullying and intimidating victims to protect ourselves even more, and we would not now be paying over three BILLION dollars in settlements. Please, everyone of all faiths, support this noble organization in any way you can."
For help with protection, and to join this vital organization, please contact any of the rabbis of the "Vaad L'Hatzalas ROYDFEY Yisroel."
International Headquarters, Lakewood, NJ.
WE WILL NEVER, CHAS V'SHALOM, ALLOW OUR CHILDREN'S SAFETY ISSUES TO INTERFERE WITH THE PROTECTION OF “BNEI TORAH” WHO HAPPEN TO BE MOLESTERS!
*
Trip to Albany Advocating for Child Victims Act -- March 11th!
Buses will leave at the following locations:
Avenue J & Coney Island Avenue
Flatbush, Brooklyn:
7:00am
82 Lee Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn:
7:30am
Please RSVP at: sfjalbanytrip@gmail.com
(Depending on where you are coming from, we may be able to pick you up)
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE:
***UPDATED -- NEW PHOTOS!***
**********************************************
Rabbi Red (Kolko) Isaacson - President Yedei Eisav
.jpg)
Chairman of the board - Lippy (The Child-Slapper) Margulies
.jpg)
Anonymous Friends Of UOJ!
Finally, our Orthodox Jewish leadership is formally publicizing its hugely successful organization to assist “frum” child molesters!
Yedei Esav provides the following services to our community:
Psak from Gedolim to intimidate victims so they dare not report crimes to the police.
Rabbinic connections to police community liaisons to destroy evidence and close cases.
Positions available in chinuch to provide really easy access.
We train molesters in how to build stellar reputations in Torah and chesed so that nobody would ever think that you also molest.
Assistance in having the children of your accusers thrown out from any and all yeshivas.
Referrals to OHEL's sex offender "treatment" program, set up to cover for you to avoid angry people going to the authorities.
We can convene a “Bais Din” against anyone who publicizes the "false" claims of “motzi shem ra“.
In keeping with our mission, we will continue to promote "sweeping the problem under the carpet" at Agudah Conventions, as a way of encouraging better compliance with “Daas Torah“.
If you need to run to Israel, we will help you avoid police arrest, and will fight your extradition wholeheartedly.
Ready made statements of our concern for victims of abuse to give the impression that we care about them more than about the real victims, the molesters, R"L.
Ample funding for really "chashuva" families, for needed bribes of all kinds.
Political alliances with District Attorneys' offices in a growing number of cities to lobby prosecutors to "go easy" on hard working, tax paying (well, some of them actually do) citizens who "slipped through our fingers".
Custom made "monitoring programs," like on yeshivah campuses, where long time serial molesters can be retired and watched without ever needing to have their crimes, or, uh, the "so called" danger they present to others publicized.
Automatic cherem put on any blog or newspaper that identifies any of us molesters.
We will work mightily to continue to keep the psak of Rav Elyashiv, the Gadol Hador, saying that people should go to the authorities with proof about child molesters, out of the public's knowledge, as it would upset the entire aim of Yedei Esav.
Our motto is; "The voice is the voice of Yakov (he talks frum) but the hands are the hands of Esau (no explanation necessary)"
Testimonials from satisfied clients:
Rabbi K: "If not for Yedei Esav, I would now be rotting in jail. Not only did I "walk", but I am now relocated, as if in a witness protection program, to Lakewood, where I am free to pursue another teaching job and prey on children in shul. Thank you, Yedei Esav!"
Rabbi E: "It is mamash a life-saver. The chesed of Yedei Esav is incredible. I even get to daven on the mizrach vant, am still on the Aguda's Vaad for Russian boys (some of my all time favorites, they are so geshmack) and Rabbi F continues to give haskamas to my "parenting" books."
Rabbis Shalom and Aaron (Victoria's not so secret models) Tendler - RCC members:
*** Rabbi Avrohom Union Rosh Gangster Cover-Upper ***
*** Los Angeles, California***
"Mee K'amcha Yisroel! While in other communities they prosecute people for having sexual relations with teenage girls and oh so many adulterous relationships, B"H the Jewish people have come up with an approach that allows the child-rapists free reign. We were kept in chinuch and rabbanus for years, until we finally decided ON OUR OWN to retire. Rabbi Union Rosh criminal Putz of the RCC made certain we were kept around teenage girls and kept "counseling" women only -- without their husbands. When young women came to the RCC with their "lies", Rabbi Union threatened to destroy them and their families. That's what we Tendlers call a Gadol! High-Five Rabbi Union! You should just see the faces of our victims when me and my uncle pass them on the street, and they know we have Yedei Esav supporting us. HA!"
Rabbi M: “If not for Yedei Esav, where would I be? I don’t even want to think about it. First they got me out of the country for 25 years so I could escape justice. Then when Jewish victims have the chutzpah to try to get me extradited, Yedei Esav comes to the rescue. I have more supporters in the frum community than Jonathan Pollard, but hey, how many little boys did he teach about the ‘mitzvah‘?”
Rabbi L: "I know what you will say. That I did have to get fired from my job and go to jail. But only for three years and now I'm out. Today I am a free man, and have help from many rabbis in convincing people that I was wrongfully accused. I hope to be back in a position of working with teenagers, at which I have been so successful, in a short time, IY"H, and all thanks to Yedei Esav.”
Rabbi R: “It doesn't matter if you are chassidish or litvish or modern orthodox, Kol Hamatzil Nefesh Achas B'yisroel, K'eelu Hitzil Kol Haoloam Kulo.“
The S family: "Our father, Rabbi S, Z"TL and our brother, Yibadel, Rabbi S, Shlita, molested dozens of innocent Bar Mitzvah boys. We felt so guilty and ashamed that we were going to apologize for it, R"L. But thanks to the awesome support of Yedei Esav, we were spared this embarrassment. They begged and threatened the press not to publish anything. When the Jewish Times did it anyway against Daas Torah, we had them blacklisted by Rabbi H, and a boycott by frum advertisers was organized. Thank you Yedei Esav!!!!"
Chief of Police of Lakewood NJ police department: "Thanks to Yedei Esav, our job in the police department here is much easier. We are the only city in America that can boast a zero arrest rate for sexual crimes against children. Yedei Esav has made it clear that they speak for the community here who want to allow child molesters full access to children. "
Ploni Almoni (name withheld upon request): "I have molested kids for years. Nobody seemed to care or complain. I think most of the kids liked it. Just in case, I told them not to tell or else they would be in trouble with their yeshivas, and that Hashem would punish them. But for some sick reason there were those parents who found out and complained. I was PETRIFIED. I thought I would be brought up on charges and sent to jail. But thanks to the rabbis of Yedei Esav, the parents were convinced not to go to the police. I ended up in front of a "Bais Din" convened for just this purpose. What a joke! When I pleaded, based on the good works I've done for the community, and my big mishpacha who need shidduchim, the "Bais Din" was incredibly understanding. They told me I should stop, but did not even make me go for an expert ATSA evaluation - or even a lie detector test - which is so basic - and they made incredible efforts that the whole thing would be in Reb S’s words "swept under the carpet.” Baruch Hashem. I promised to do "t'shuvah" and leave town and I now live in a new city where I am currently "grooming" several kids from baal tshuvah homes. For SURE nobody is going to care about them! What a mechaya. Thanks Yedei Esav!"
Cardinal Mahoney of the Los Angeles Diocese: "Yedei Esav is truly an inspiration. The Jewish people are our "older brothers", and like us, they protect their own. We may have more molesters in our priesthood than you do in your rabbinate. But your passion for cover-up is something we can only aspire to. The devotion and dedication you show to the child rapists and sexual abusers of innocent children truly sets the standard for us in practicing our religion. If only Yedei Esav was around ten years ago, maybe we could have used your techniques for bullying and intimidating victims to protect ourselves even more, and we would not now be paying over three BILLION dollars in settlements. Please, everyone of all faiths, support this noble organization in any way you can."
For help with protection, and to join this vital organization, please contact any of the rabbis of the "Vaad L'Hatzalas ROYDFEY Yisroel."
International Headquarters, Lakewood, NJ.
WE WILL NEVER, CHAS V'SHALOM, ALLOW OUR CHILDREN'S SAFETY ISSUES TO INTERFERE WITH THE PROTECTION OF “BNEI TORAH” WHO HAPPEN TO BE MOLESTERS!
*
Trip to Albany Advocating for Child Victims Act -- March 11th!
Buses will leave at the following locations:
Avenue J & Coney Island Avenue
Flatbush, Brooklyn:
7:00am
82 Lee Avenue
Williamsburg, Brooklyn:
7:30am
Please RSVP at: sfjalbanytrip@gmail.com
(Depending on where you are coming from, we may be able to pick you up)
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Confronting Child Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community!
Reports are on the rise concerning incest and child abuse in yeshivas, Jewish girl schools, and day schools. Many deny it’s a problem, we strongly disagree.
The Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ) is hosting a special “awareness” program featuring rabbis and children advocates who stand on the forefront of combating this Chilul HaShem. The program is Sunday, March 15, from 9:30a.m. - 1:00p.m. at UTJ Headquarters, 811 Palisade Ave., Teaneck, N.J. To register or for more information, call (201) 801-0707 ext. 200
Featured speakers are:
Rabbi Mark Dratch, Executive Director of JSafe, a nonprofit organization committed to combating child abuse and domestic violence in homes, schools, yeshivot and in the community
Rabbi Fred Hyman, congregational rabbi in Springfield, MA. Rabbi Hyman has become an advocate on behalf of victims of child molestation
Rabbi Dr. Michael Kaplowitz, psychiatrist in private practice who directs the pastoral counseling course for rabbinical students at the ITJ. He is also Director of Behavioral Health at the Blanche Kahn Rehabilitation Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Michael Lesher Esq. writer, journalist and attorney who has fought on behalf of mothers and children navigating the dangerous terrain of the family court system.
Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at Mt. Sinai.
Elliot Pasik Esq. of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children will provide copies of a legislative proposal aimed at helping victims.
Webcast available for those outside the New York Area. Please call 201-801-0707 ext. 200 to inquire.
Program includes continental breakfast. (To encourage members of the Agudath Israel to attend - UOJ add-on, I could not resist)
Mitch Morrison
Group Editor
CSP Information Group
973-685-2882
mmorrison@cspnet.com
*
My name is Mikele Rauch.
I am a psychotherapist in Boston, and have been working with men and women who are survivors of clergy and rabbinical sex-abuse since 1990.
I am pleased to announce that my book, Healing the Soul after Religious Abuse: The Dark Heaven of Recovery -- will be in print at the end of March. (http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C34670.aspx )
It speaks about the impact of religious abuse not only on the psyche but the soul, and how to recover the deepest parts of the self, rediscover the sacred and create meaning again.
There are powerful interviews with persons from all five major religions, who were survivors of sexual, physical and ritual abuse, as well as homophobia, racism, sexism and misogyny in religious cultures. The book looks at shame and its place in individual development and religious community. Healing the Soul explores leadership and narcissism in religious clergy, especially the powerful and potential dangerous connection between spiritual guide and those he or she serves. There is also a special section about the unique nature of the guru disciple relationship and how abuses happen in the context of Buddhism and Hinduism and how that interfaces with Westerners and western culture. The book grapples with the paradox of "holiness" and spiritual stature, and how persons with such stature still are capable of doing harm.
Healing the Soul has both a personal story and a larger viewpoint, about hope and possibilities in the face of darkness and alienation.
Because the book has a small distribution, the price is $44.95. If you wish to read it but do not want to purchase the book, please contact your local library acquisitions and request the book.
Praeger Publishers
Book Code: C34670
ISBN: 0-313-34670-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34670-5
DOI: 10.1336/0313346704
Purchases can be made through --- malesurvivor.org:
http://www.malesurvivor.org/bookstore.html.
All orders through malesurvivor.org will receive a 40% discount.
Thank you for your attention. Peace in all the important work you do for those who suffer.
*
I traveled to Albany on Wednesday as part of a SFJ sponsored trip to meet with our representatives and express support for a bill pending in the Assembly and Senate that, if passed, will open a one year window in the current statute of limitations and allow victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits and expose their abusers. The Catholic Church and certain Orthodox Jewish groups are aggressively opposing the bill and trying to intimidate our legislators into withdrawing their support for the bill. The Legislators we met with were very impressed with the presence of Orthodox and secular Jews pushing for the passage of the bills. Please combat the Church’s campaign by taking a minute to copy the message below, add the specific name of the representative you are addressing the letter to, and e-mailing it to as many members of the Assembly and Senators as you are able. I’ve included a link on the UOJ sidebar above, which will give you the e-mail and mailing information for your representatives. Please make our voice heard. Every letter and e-mail will make a difference. The Church sent 700 letters, I hope we can surpass that. Thank you for your help.
Joel Engelman
Hon. (name), Senator, State of New York
Dear Senator (name):
I am a member of the Jewish community. As a constituent, I strongly urge you to support, without amendment, the Child Victims Act of New York, recently introduced in the Senate as Bill #S2568 by Senator Thomas Duane.
There is a virulent but silent epidemic of child sexual abuse in our society. FBI studies show that one in five children will be sexually abused by the age of 18! Measures such as safety zones, offender registries, safe environments, and background checks help with known abusers, but we need to do much more to discover the unknown predators, those who are often shielded by New York's archaic and inadequate Statute of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse. Since predators are known to abuse multiple victims—as many as 100—we can not continue to let New York's children be at risk!
Studies reveal that children who are victims of this heinous crime require many years into adulthood to gain the strength and courage to name their abuser. And only 10% of these crimes are ever reported! I hope you agree we must change this appalling situation.
The Child Victims Act would accomplish the following:
1. Extend the deadline for a victim to file a claim in court—from age 23 to age 28.
2. Suspend the Limitations for just one year, so those who have been denied justice in the past when little was known of this silent epidemic, and victims could be more readily intimated into silence, can now have their day in court.
When California enacted such a suspension, more than 300 previously undetected predators were discovered. We must do the same for the children of New York!
Please don't let NY state law be used against our children! I will call your office next week for your position on this bill, and to answer any questions.
Thank you for your attention to this most serious matter. Thanks, too, for all that you do for the people of New York.
Sincerely yours,
The Union for Traditional Judaism (UTJ) is hosting a special “awareness” program featuring rabbis and children advocates who stand on the forefront of combating this Chilul HaShem. The program is Sunday, March 15, from 9:30a.m. - 1:00p.m. at UTJ Headquarters, 811 Palisade Ave., Teaneck, N.J. To register or for more information, call (201) 801-0707 ext. 200
Featured speakers are:
Rabbi Mark Dratch, Executive Director of JSafe, a nonprofit organization committed to combating child abuse and domestic violence in homes, schools, yeshivot and in the community
Rabbi Fred Hyman, congregational rabbi in Springfield, MA. Rabbi Hyman has become an advocate on behalf of victims of child molestation
Rabbi Dr. Michael Kaplowitz, psychiatrist in private practice who directs the pastoral counseling course for rabbinical students at the ITJ. He is also Director of Behavioral Health at the Blanche Kahn Rehabilitation Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Michael Lesher Esq. writer, journalist and attorney who has fought on behalf of mothers and children navigating the dangerous terrain of the family court system.
Dr. Rachel Yehuda, Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Director of the Traumatic Stress Studies Division at Mt. Sinai.
Elliot Pasik Esq. of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children will provide copies of a legislative proposal aimed at helping victims.
Webcast available for those outside the New York Area. Please call 201-801-0707 ext. 200 to inquire.
Program includes continental breakfast. (To encourage members of the Agudath Israel to attend - UOJ add-on, I could not resist)
Mitch Morrison
Group Editor
CSP Information Group
973-685-2882
mmorrison@cspnet.com
*
My name is Mikele Rauch.
I am a psychotherapist in Boston, and have been working with men and women who are survivors of clergy and rabbinical sex-abuse since 1990.
I am pleased to announce that my book, Healing the Soul after Religious Abuse: The Dark Heaven of Recovery -- will be in print at the end of March. (http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C34670.aspx )
It speaks about the impact of religious abuse not only on the psyche but the soul, and how to recover the deepest parts of the self, rediscover the sacred and create meaning again.
There are powerful interviews with persons from all five major religions, who were survivors of sexual, physical and ritual abuse, as well as homophobia, racism, sexism and misogyny in religious cultures. The book looks at shame and its place in individual development and religious community. Healing the Soul explores leadership and narcissism in religious clergy, especially the powerful and potential dangerous connection between spiritual guide and those he or she serves. There is also a special section about the unique nature of the guru disciple relationship and how abuses happen in the context of Buddhism and Hinduism and how that interfaces with Westerners and western culture. The book grapples with the paradox of "holiness" and spiritual stature, and how persons with such stature still are capable of doing harm.
Healing the Soul has both a personal story and a larger viewpoint, about hope and possibilities in the face of darkness and alienation.
Because the book has a small distribution, the price is $44.95. If you wish to read it but do not want to purchase the book, please contact your local library acquisitions and request the book.
Praeger Publishers
Book Code: C34670
ISBN: 0-313-34670-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-313-34670-5
DOI: 10.1336/0313346704
Purchases can be made through --- malesurvivor.org:
http://www.malesurvivor.org/bookstore.html.
All orders through malesurvivor.org will receive a 40% discount.
Thank you for your attention. Peace in all the important work you do for those who suffer.
*
I traveled to Albany on Wednesday as part of a SFJ sponsored trip to meet with our representatives and express support for a bill pending in the Assembly and Senate that, if passed, will open a one year window in the current statute of limitations and allow victims of sexual abuse to file civil suits and expose their abusers. The Catholic Church and certain Orthodox Jewish groups are aggressively opposing the bill and trying to intimidate our legislators into withdrawing their support for the bill. The Legislators we met with were very impressed with the presence of Orthodox and secular Jews pushing for the passage of the bills. Please combat the Church’s campaign by taking a minute to copy the message below, add the specific name of the representative you are addressing the letter to, and e-mailing it to as many members of the Assembly and Senators as you are able. I’ve included a link on the UOJ sidebar above, which will give you the e-mail and mailing information for your representatives. Please make our voice heard. Every letter and e-mail will make a difference. The Church sent 700 letters, I hope we can surpass that. Thank you for your help.
Joel Engelman
Hon. (name), Senator, State of New York
Dear Senator (name):
I am a member of the Jewish community. As a constituent, I strongly urge you to support, without amendment, the Child Victims Act of New York, recently introduced in the Senate as Bill #S2568 by Senator Thomas Duane.
There is a virulent but silent epidemic of child sexual abuse in our society. FBI studies show that one in five children will be sexually abused by the age of 18! Measures such as safety zones, offender registries, safe environments, and background checks help with known abusers, but we need to do much more to discover the unknown predators, those who are often shielded by New York's archaic and inadequate Statute of Limitations on Child Sexual Abuse. Since predators are known to abuse multiple victims—as many as 100—we can not continue to let New York's children be at risk!
Studies reveal that children who are victims of this heinous crime require many years into adulthood to gain the strength and courage to name their abuser. And only 10% of these crimes are ever reported! I hope you agree we must change this appalling situation.
The Child Victims Act would accomplish the following:
1. Extend the deadline for a victim to file a claim in court—from age 23 to age 28.
2. Suspend the Limitations for just one year, so those who have been denied justice in the past when little was known of this silent epidemic, and victims could be more readily intimated into silence, can now have their day in court.
When California enacted such a suspension, more than 300 previously undetected predators were discovered. We must do the same for the children of New York!
Please don't let NY state law be used against our children! I will call your office next week for your position on this bill, and to answer any questions.
Thank you for your attention to this most serious matter. Thanks, too, for all that you do for the people of New York.
Sincerely yours,
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
The Lakewood boy that died of a drug overdose over the weekend was a victim of sexual abuse!
Steve writes.....
"The Lakewood boy that died of a drug overdose over the weekend was a victim of sexual abuse. The boy was involved in a project called "Ashrecha" to help other victims and to bring public awareness to the painful subject. May his death be a wake up call to ALL of us and may he be the last such victim, Amen. May Hashem avenge his blood. These are his words, posted on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=132867835462&topic=8106\
There is thing called child molestation that we have all heard of we all know it happens in different places we all know maybe priests or that creepy uncle.
Let me tell you a little about this thing and first hand what it can do to a kid. A frum child is molested he knows nothing about tummah and kedusha all he knows is that he was violated that his body is a toy thats what gets engraved into his brain not that he is a person worthy of respect but that he is an object a tool. This kid grows up he knows nothing of sex all he knows is that he is dirty and that his rabbis say sex is bad he doesn't understand he thinks he is bad any mussar shmooz he hears it directly at him and this innocent kid begins to believe of himself as a bad person.
Nobody likes being bad he will look for a place with no expectations of him a place were he can be free to fit in a world where everybody is bad....Chances are he will either convince himself this is the normal and pass it in to another innocent child or he will resort to rebelling to prove to himself he is as bad as he thinks he is......Often he will find drugs to take him away to give him an escape from his horrible reality....That being said...
Did you ever notice a support our troops symbol on the back of somebody's car? do you know what that represents? that means that thousands of miles there are people no different then yourself fighting a war and that we support them that gives them the morals they need to keep doing what they must do in order to protect us.
I dont expect to see "save our kids" on the back of all of our cars but is it too much to ask that each and everyone of us do our part???I will not mention names but there was one play group accused cased closed and dealt with. thats a start but that should send a chill down your spine theses are kids we are talking about.... there is another play group that is still open after over 5 cases have been brought against it!!!!! do you love your kids???? theses are the same kids that some vaad in lakewood will put in ad in the paper to protect from cellphone texting or god forbid a concert but did you see an ad saying
Guard your kids!!!!? DO research!!!!! If your in doubt dont send them there!
A play group that has had 5 allegations against it is still open????? Of course its there parnasah we are so worried about...
Maybe i should fill you in on some facts there is a jewish rehab whose name i will not mention that deals with kids whose lives are in danger i spoke to the intake administrator there about the cliental from Lakewood and i was told 99.% of all kids from lakewood Yes lakewood our holy town who doesn't allow text messaging were molested in this town!!!!! and that is what led to there addiction! now some facts of this rehab which has a high success rate 50% dont stay clean and out of all the jewish kids there that leave and relapse there is an average of 3 jewish souls that die a year!!! Murdered by you and me and all of us unwilling to take a stand against these people in our community the rabbis are scared to do anything? its political?? how dare they say that?? this is life and death we are killing kids over here we are condemning them to a life of misery of lonely depression and god forbid of passing on this horrible sickness.
IT IS YOUR DUTY as a Jew, As a Human to find these people in our community and no longer let them live among us!!!! 'Oy le rosha Oy le schayno' I think over here we are all the reshoim if we sit back and do nothing!! and if you dare say you are worried that people in play groups will lose there jobs there is some math you may want to do. a rehab a 6 month program to give a molested kid a chance $5,000 per months totals $30,000 now this place on average has 20 kids per six months thats $60,000 do you want me to count in the average fee of therapy $150-per hour????? or maybe you want the numbers i got from the local funeral homes?????? WAKE UP!!!!!! Ask yourself honestly is it that you are truly concerned about this just isn't your place or do you just not know what to do? I think trying to be worried about innocent money just went the window....
This cannot be hidden any more!!!!! you know something speak up!!! have you been thru this??? share your story, help create support groups Help publicize this letter share your story.... If you are an offender seek help it can be done your amends will not be easy but it can be done.
You can make one fatal mistake and that is to try and hide and think you will get passed by come out help fix the wrong before you will no longer have that chance EVER.
If we all get together as a town to help weed this community it can be done with minimal damage. Anybody innocent who may receive slight setbacks because of this consider it your part in saving a life."
ASHRECHA
"The Lakewood boy that died of a drug overdose over the weekend was a victim of sexual abuse. The boy was involved in a project called "Ashrecha" to help other victims and to bring public awareness to the painful subject. May his death be a wake up call to ALL of us and may he be the last such victim, Amen. May Hashem avenge his blood. These are his words, posted on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=132867835462&topic=8106\
There is thing called child molestation that we have all heard of we all know it happens in different places we all know maybe priests or that creepy uncle.
Let me tell you a little about this thing and first hand what it can do to a kid. A frum child is molested he knows nothing about tummah and kedusha all he knows is that he was violated that his body is a toy thats what gets engraved into his brain not that he is a person worthy of respect but that he is an object a tool. This kid grows up he knows nothing of sex all he knows is that he is dirty and that his rabbis say sex is bad he doesn't understand he thinks he is bad any mussar shmooz he hears it directly at him and this innocent kid begins to believe of himself as a bad person.
Nobody likes being bad he will look for a place with no expectations of him a place were he can be free to fit in a world where everybody is bad....Chances are he will either convince himself this is the normal and pass it in to another innocent child or he will resort to rebelling to prove to himself he is as bad as he thinks he is......Often he will find drugs to take him away to give him an escape from his horrible reality....That being said...
Did you ever notice a support our troops symbol on the back of somebody's car? do you know what that represents? that means that thousands of miles there are people no different then yourself fighting a war and that we support them that gives them the morals they need to keep doing what they must do in order to protect us.
I dont expect to see "save our kids" on the back of all of our cars but is it too much to ask that each and everyone of us do our part???I will not mention names but there was one play group accused cased closed and dealt with. thats a start but that should send a chill down your spine theses are kids we are talking about.... there is another play group that is still open after over 5 cases have been brought against it!!!!! do you love your kids???? theses are the same kids that some vaad in lakewood will put in ad in the paper to protect from cellphone texting or god forbid a concert but did you see an ad saying
Guard your kids!!!!? DO research!!!!! If your in doubt dont send them there!
A play group that has had 5 allegations against it is still open????? Of course its there parnasah we are so worried about...
Maybe i should fill you in on some facts there is a jewish rehab whose name i will not mention that deals with kids whose lives are in danger i spoke to the intake administrator there about the cliental from Lakewood and i was told 99.% of all kids from lakewood Yes lakewood our holy town who doesn't allow text messaging were molested in this town!!!!! and that is what led to there addiction! now some facts of this rehab which has a high success rate 50% dont stay clean and out of all the jewish kids there that leave and relapse there is an average of 3 jewish souls that die a year!!! Murdered by you and me and all of us unwilling to take a stand against these people in our community the rabbis are scared to do anything? its political?? how dare they say that?? this is life and death we are killing kids over here we are condemning them to a life of misery of lonely depression and god forbid of passing on this horrible sickness.
IT IS YOUR DUTY as a Jew, As a Human to find these people in our community and no longer let them live among us!!!! 'Oy le rosha Oy le schayno' I think over here we are all the reshoim if we sit back and do nothing!! and if you dare say you are worried that people in play groups will lose there jobs there is some math you may want to do. a rehab a 6 month program to give a molested kid a chance $5,000 per months totals $30,000 now this place on average has 20 kids per six months thats $60,000 do you want me to count in the average fee of therapy $150-per hour????? or maybe you want the numbers i got from the local funeral homes?????? WAKE UP!!!!!! Ask yourself honestly is it that you are truly concerned about this just isn't your place or do you just not know what to do? I think trying to be worried about innocent money just went the window....
This cannot be hidden any more!!!!! you know something speak up!!! have you been thru this??? share your story, help create support groups Help publicize this letter share your story.... If you are an offender seek help it can be done your amends will not be easy but it can be done.
You can make one fatal mistake and that is to try and hide and think you will get passed by come out help fix the wrong before you will no longer have that chance EVER.
If we all get together as a town to help weed this community it can be done with minimal damage. Anybody innocent who may receive slight setbacks because of this consider it your part in saving a life."
ASHRECHA
Sunday, March 01, 2009
MONDROWITZ DAY OF RECKONING MAY BE NEAR -- DON'T FORGET TO DO YOUR PART!
With whatever else is happening, PLEASE don't forget: The last effort of Avrohom Mondrowitz -- Mondro the Monster, the Brooklyn Bugger, Rabbi Retro, Doctor Petzel, Sodomy on Two Legs, whatever you want to call the animal -- to escape extradition from Israel for his long-awaited trial in Brooklyn was heard by the Israeli Supreme Court in December. A final decision is likely in the near future!
By my calculations, Mondrowitz's is probably the worst serial child sex abuse case ever against Orthodox Jewish victims, and if it had been up the rabbis -- and the "justice" system in Brooklyn and Israel -- he'd still be laughing at us from his cozy apartment in Jerusalem.
Let's keep up the effort at this crucial moment!
Please! Everyone! Take a few minutes, whenever you can, as often as you can, to call or write Israel's Supreme Court regularly to check on the status of the Mondrowitz case. This will remind court officials, and other politicians, that plenty of people in the U.S. are watching this case closely and care very much about justice being done.
Make no mistake. It's do-or-die time. If Israel's Supremes rule in favor of extradition, Mondrowitz will be sent to New York for trial. If they cave to Mondrowitz and his friends, we'll never see the monster face his victims in a Brooklyn courtroom.
I must tell you that rumors are floating -- maybe more than rumors -- about some sort of deal between various politicians and Ger to protect Mondrowitz from a New York trial: a trial that would blow the lid off the extent of the cover up that went on for years in his case. With a new government forming in Israel, I'm afraid this is even more likely. We've got to do our part to fight back. Let the politicians know they're under scrutiny. That some Jews do care about other Jews. That some Jews know about al sa'amod al dam rei'echa.
You can reach Israel's High Court, Public Affairs Department at 011-972-2-675-9612 and 011-972-2-675-9613. I believe their email address is: tlunotrasham@court.gov.il and the fax number is 011-972-2-651-3191.
No bad behavior, please -- nothing Mondro's lawyers can use to claim "intimidation." But PLEASE, call, email, fax, and repeat! -- with queries about the status of the case. Let them know how many people care, and care enough to keep checking. The word will surely get around.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
You are asked to show support to our fellow brothers and sisters who have been affected by abuse.
Updated February 26, 2009
Dear Friends:
On Sunday March 1, 11:00 A.M. at the Borough Park Y, 4912 14th Avenue, our office will be hosting a solidarity rally for individuals affected by abuse in our community. The rally has no agenda other than this; for our community to show support to our fellow brothers and sisters who have been affected by abuse.
There will be distinguished rabbis and professionals speaking to give chizuk to those in attendance, and Tehilim will be recited for victims and their families. By joining this event we will be giving tremendous chizuk to those who have been victimized, and we will be making an enormous kiddush Hashem by showing our public support for them.
As Jews, we have a responsibility to empathize and show support to our fellow Jews in distress. Please join us on Sunday so we can fulfill this responsibility.
Thank you,
Dov Hikind - Member of Assembly - State of New York
*
This day of chizuk and saying Tehillim publicly for the victims and families that have been devastated by clergy sex-abuse, and all forms of child-abuse, was unfathomable a mere two years ago. I proposed it to various people -- they said the community was not ready!
It is incumbent upon every Jewish parent, victim of abuse, and all Jews of good will to attend this Yom Chizuk. This abominable crime of child sex-abuse must be eradicated from our communities.
UOJ
Dear Friends:
On Sunday March 1, 11:00 A.M. at the Borough Park Y, 4912 14th Avenue, our office will be hosting a solidarity rally for individuals affected by abuse in our community. The rally has no agenda other than this; for our community to show support to our fellow brothers and sisters who have been affected by abuse.
There will be distinguished rabbis and professionals speaking to give chizuk to those in attendance, and Tehilim will be recited for victims and their families. By joining this event we will be giving tremendous chizuk to those who have been victimized, and we will be making an enormous kiddush Hashem by showing our public support for them.
As Jews, we have a responsibility to empathize and show support to our fellow Jews in distress. Please join us on Sunday so we can fulfill this responsibility.
Thank you,
Dov Hikind - Member of Assembly - State of New York
*
This day of chizuk and saying Tehillim publicly for the victims and families that have been devastated by clergy sex-abuse, and all forms of child-abuse, was unfathomable a mere two years ago. I proposed it to various people -- they said the community was not ready!
It is incumbent upon every Jewish parent, victim of abuse, and all Jews of good will to attend this Yom Chizuk. This abominable crime of child sex-abuse must be eradicated from our communities.
UOJ
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
So don’t comment Sheftel Neuberger. Your silence says it all!
Sheftel Neuberger - Member UOJ Hall Of Shame!
by Phil Jacobs - Baltimore Jewish Times
Ner Israel President Sheftel Neuberger left a voice mail to our managing editor Alan Feiler telling him that he would not talk to the Jewish Times anymore since we wrote articles about the dead child molester Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro.
Times like these make me miss his late father, Rabbi Herman Neuberger, even more.
The reason Neuberger won’t talk is because he sees it is a violation of Jewish law for us to write the truth about a dead person. In this case, the truth is that Ephraim Shapiro molested on occasions too numerous to count, both boys and girls. It wasn’t until years after his death that the truth started emerging like ooze from a waste dump that this man had ruined the lives of many innocent people.
Alan Feiler was calling Neuberger to learn if the yeshiva had done any internal counseling with its student population over the apparent suicide of one of its own students.
What Neuberger and those who think like him don’t get is that Ephraim Shapiro (I hesitate to use the word rabbi, a term of respect here) was more alive than some of the people whose spirits he so arrogantly killed. Think about it, he molested people in a matter of moments leaving them with an imprint that could for some last forever. And what is so interesting, we have reason to believe that there is at least one former Shapiro student who allegedly committed suicide because of possible molestation from his teacher.
So don’t comment Sheftel Neuberger. Your silence says it all.
by Phil Jacobs - Baltimore Jewish Times
Ner Israel President Sheftel Neuberger left a voice mail to our managing editor Alan Feiler telling him that he would not talk to the Jewish Times anymore since we wrote articles about the dead child molester Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro.
Times like these make me miss his late father, Rabbi Herman Neuberger, even more.
The reason Neuberger won’t talk is because he sees it is a violation of Jewish law for us to write the truth about a dead person. In this case, the truth is that Ephraim Shapiro molested on occasions too numerous to count, both boys and girls. It wasn’t until years after his death that the truth started emerging like ooze from a waste dump that this man had ruined the lives of many innocent people.
Alan Feiler was calling Neuberger to learn if the yeshiva had done any internal counseling with its student population over the apparent suicide of one of its own students.
What Neuberger and those who think like him don’t get is that Ephraim Shapiro (I hesitate to use the word rabbi, a term of respect here) was more alive than some of the people whose spirits he so arrogantly killed. Think about it, he molested people in a matter of moments leaving them with an imprint that could for some last forever. And what is so interesting, we have reason to believe that there is at least one former Shapiro student who allegedly committed suicide because of possible molestation from his teacher.
So don’t comment Sheftel Neuberger. Your silence says it all.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
A Frum Therapist Reports!
......."Hardly a day goes by in which I do not learn of another victim of abuse in our community that could have been avoided if our leaders would start leading.
- A woman taken advantage of by a rabbi who everyone has heard does this but nobody has stood up to him.
- A man molested as a boy by a rebbe who is also known in this small chassidic community but is being protected by a powerful Rebbe.
- Another boy who learned in Ner Yisroel, who suddenly became clinically depressed after reports that he had a "close" relationship with Rabbi Eiseman, that he refuses to discuss.
- A mother of a boy who is now a severe drug addict with suicidal tendencies, who was molested by an older boy from a "chashuv" family. A "Gadol" told her not to confront the boy's family but to tell her rov. Her rov told the mother that it is now "mashiach tzeitin, and these things are to be expected." I told the mother to confront the family, which she did, and they were very thankful to be informed that their son had this problem.
- A known incest-rapist has children in a yeshivah and the Torah Umesorah psychologists refuse to get involved with helping his children, even though they are presented with psychological symptoms.
- A frum play-group is found to have several little toddlers who were sexually traumatized in some way. Parents and grandparents ask me if children that young should be kept home.
- Some rabbis are telling some parents that it is best NOT to send their kids to overnight camp.
And this is the tip of the iceberg. Over the last few months, especially once Dov Hikind has started shining light publicly on this problem, stories are coming out that make all of this look like kids play, no pun intended.
In some cases, the level of abuse has become almost institutionalized and ritualized among groups of molesters. Among some teens at risk in Monsey, being molested is seen as a kind of rite of passage so that a boy might ask his friend "where did you learn? Who molested you?"..........
My Friend Steve Adds With Great Passion:
Wake up you morons in RBS (and other charedi communities) before your rabbis destroy our future.
We have our own share of child molesters in our yeshivos in the U.S. We are bigger morons than those in RBS because we haven't learned from the mistakes of the past. How do we allow a serial child molester named Avrohom Reichman, free access to young children on a daily basis at UTA Satmar? How can we be silent after Dov Hikind boldly promised last summer that he will not be back in a classroom in September? How do we allow Hikind to be conned by that filthy, lying, conniving enabler, David Niederman?
"To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion — big time."
They have been quiet for so many years because of people like Neiderman who continue to muzzle the victims while enabling the molesters to continue molesting our children. He says he conducted an investigation. What kind of "investigation"? The perv failed every polygraph test! Let the police do the investigating, you chamor! Then they asked one of the victim's mother, "On a scale of 1-10, how bad was the molestation"? If it was through clothing, they claim, it's not so bad. Sure, let him molest another hundred kids through clothing. It's not so bad! If those heroic children, mentioned in Maseches Gittin, that jumped off the boat, were told that they would only be molested "through clothing", do you think they would have submitted to their captors and not jumped off? This contention that "it's not so bad" is as ridiculous as the "no penetration, no molestation" argument. Ask any professional psychologist and he will tell you that the results of such molestation are just as devastating. Go speak to the victims of Mondrowitz that were sodomized and then go speak to victims of Kolko and Eiseman, and you will see that they are all permanently scarred for life! How many more korbanos do we need? How many more lives need to be destroyed?
This case at UTA in some ways is worse than the YTT case. At YTT, they were in total denial. Here, they were connivers. They first removed the molester, promising the victims' family that he would not return. They then waited for the statute of limitations to expire, and then brazenly brought him back. We cannot give these bastards a free pass. They must be held accountable and Reichman must be removed immediately. Let's hope that the Engelmans succeed in their lawsuit and that Niederman and all the criminals at UTA are exposed. We need to lobby vigorously to suspend the statute of limitations for one year to allow victims a chance to report old cases to the police. We should all attend Hikind's prayer service on March 1 at the Y in Boro Park, show our support for his efforts, but also voice our dissatisfaction in his handling the Reichman case.
We should not underestimate what a group of determined and caring individuals can accomplish. We need to learn the lesson that UOJ taught us three years ago when he singlehandedly defeated the powerful Establishment that was protecting the likes of Kolko, Nussbaum, Leizerowitz, Mondrowitz, Colmer and Eiseman. The disturbing cases at UTA and RBS show that we still have a lot of work to do before this war is finally won. Let's all do what we can and beezras hashem, we shall succeed. We have no choice but to win this war, for our children's sake!
- A woman taken advantage of by a rabbi who everyone has heard does this but nobody has stood up to him.
- A man molested as a boy by a rebbe who is also known in this small chassidic community but is being protected by a powerful Rebbe.
- Another boy who learned in Ner Yisroel, who suddenly became clinically depressed after reports that he had a "close" relationship with Rabbi Eiseman, that he refuses to discuss.
- A mother of a boy who is now a severe drug addict with suicidal tendencies, who was molested by an older boy from a "chashuv" family. A "Gadol" told her not to confront the boy's family but to tell her rov. Her rov told the mother that it is now "mashiach tzeitin, and these things are to be expected." I told the mother to confront the family, which she did, and they were very thankful to be informed that their son had this problem.
- A known incest-rapist has children in a yeshivah and the Torah Umesorah psychologists refuse to get involved with helping his children, even though they are presented with psychological symptoms.
- A frum play-group is found to have several little toddlers who were sexually traumatized in some way. Parents and grandparents ask me if children that young should be kept home.
- Some rabbis are telling some parents that it is best NOT to send their kids to overnight camp.
And this is the tip of the iceberg. Over the last few months, especially once Dov Hikind has started shining light publicly on this problem, stories are coming out that make all of this look like kids play, no pun intended.
In some cases, the level of abuse has become almost institutionalized and ritualized among groups of molesters. Among some teens at risk in Monsey, being molested is seen as a kind of rite of passage so that a boy might ask his friend "where did you learn? Who molested you?"..........
My Friend Steve Adds With Great Passion:
Wake up you morons in RBS (and other charedi communities) before your rabbis destroy our future.
We have our own share of child molesters in our yeshivos in the U.S. We are bigger morons than those in RBS because we haven't learned from the mistakes of the past. How do we allow a serial child molester named Avrohom Reichman, free access to young children on a daily basis at UTA Satmar? How can we be silent after Dov Hikind boldly promised last summer that he will not be back in a classroom in September? How do we allow Hikind to be conned by that filthy, lying, conniving enabler, David Niederman?
"To me, it does not make sense," says Niederman, of the United Jewish Organizations, "that so many people have been violated and for so many years they have been quiet. Something does not add up. It's being blown out of proportion — big time."
They have been quiet for so many years because of people like Neiderman who continue to muzzle the victims while enabling the molesters to continue molesting our children. He says he conducted an investigation. What kind of "investigation"? The perv failed every polygraph test! Let the police do the investigating, you chamor! Then they asked one of the victim's mother, "On a scale of 1-10, how bad was the molestation"? If it was through clothing, they claim, it's not so bad. Sure, let him molest another hundred kids through clothing. It's not so bad! If those heroic children, mentioned in Maseches Gittin, that jumped off the boat, were told that they would only be molested "through clothing", do you think they would have submitted to their captors and not jumped off? This contention that "it's not so bad" is as ridiculous as the "no penetration, no molestation" argument. Ask any professional psychologist and he will tell you that the results of such molestation are just as devastating. Go speak to the victims of Mondrowitz that were sodomized and then go speak to victims of Kolko and Eiseman, and you will see that they are all permanently scarred for life! How many more korbanos do we need? How many more lives need to be destroyed?
This case at UTA in some ways is worse than the YTT case. At YTT, they were in total denial. Here, they were connivers. They first removed the molester, promising the victims' family that he would not return. They then waited for the statute of limitations to expire, and then brazenly brought him back. We cannot give these bastards a free pass. They must be held accountable and Reichman must be removed immediately. Let's hope that the Engelmans succeed in their lawsuit and that Niederman and all the criminals at UTA are exposed. We need to lobby vigorously to suspend the statute of limitations for one year to allow victims a chance to report old cases to the police. We should all attend Hikind's prayer service on March 1 at the Y in Boro Park, show our support for his efforts, but also voice our dissatisfaction in his handling the Reichman case.
We should not underestimate what a group of determined and caring individuals can accomplish. We need to learn the lesson that UOJ taught us three years ago when he singlehandedly defeated the powerful Establishment that was protecting the likes of Kolko, Nussbaum, Leizerowitz, Mondrowitz, Colmer and Eiseman. The disturbing cases at UTA and RBS show that we still have a lot of work to do before this war is finally won. Let's all do what we can and beezras hashem, we shall succeed. We have no choice but to win this war, for our children's sake!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
If Only The Jewish Press Would Have Called Elliot Pasik Esq. - The Founder Of JBAC
The UOJ Archives - February 28, 2006
Dear Rabbi Klass and the Jewish Press editorial board,
I am truly sorry about mailing out thousands of letters to the New York Jewish community. You see Rabbi Klass, what I'm sorry about has nothing to do with your editorial. I'm sorry that our community has let all of us down, including you and your paper. There was no need to do a mass mailing, in fact I pleaded with Lipa Margulies to "consider" putting Yudi Kolko on paid leave, pending the outcome of a hearing at a mutually agreed upon bais din.
I sent emissaries to him weeks before the mailing asking him to "consider" putting Kolko on leave. He denied ever hearing about Kolko being a problem around children and therefore was not only not going to put him on leave, but that he was going to defend him if it ever came to bais din, which he said would never happen. He is a pathetic liar and a very evil man.
I e-mailed you the letter that I intended to mail out to the community two weeks before the mailing took place asking you to investigate. What happened R' Yaakov, why did you not call Lipa Margulies and ask him what's going on? Were you also of the belief that one day I woke up with nothing really important to do, so I just picked up the phone book and picked out a name and started ranting about the danger Yudi Kolko poses around children?
R' Yaakov, you could have been a contender!
Your paper could have investigated and seen that an esteemed frum attorney, Elliot B. Pasik put his name on this campaign. No, not necessarily endorsing any or all of my opinions, but endorsing my efforts to get rid of Yudi Kolko from the classroom!
Instead you busied yourself with the "eat until you die" Pesach ads. I ask you why have you ignored this issue? Is there no more important issue to Klal Yisroel than the safety of our children? Do you really think any reputable attorney would "impose" on Klal Yisroel such a "mundane" issue as safety from sexual predators without a thorough investigation?
Why did you not call Elliot Pasik Esq? Why did you not call Jeffrey Herman Esq? Do you think that these respected attorneys would take a case of this magnitude if they thought for a brief second that these were false claims? Or is it easier to just ramble on about the issue of an anonymous mailing? I challenged you to investigate these claims; I challenged you to call Lipa Margulies and demand that he sign a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury that he was not aware of any of these accusations.
I'm going to say it again...really clear for the entire frum world to hear, to digest, and to help you rise up out of your slumber...Lipa Margulies is harboring a pedophile knowingly and willingly for thirty plus years, he was informed and knew without a shadow of a doubt for thirty very long years and countless victims later that Kolko is a dangerous predator; and Yudi Kolko is seriously ill, he needs help immediately and must be removed from any environment that children find themselves in.
*
February 16, 2006
Dear Chaverim,
Because I am an attorney who has long been involved in advocating a program for protecting our children from sex abuse, I feel the need to publicly comment in the forum of this blog on the allegations being made against a rebbe at Yeshiva Torah Temimah.
Over the past several weeks, I have read various posts of alleged victim accounts which have given dates, places, type of sex abuse, and other factual detail.
In addition, the blog administrator ("UOJ"), a frum Jew and a musmach, has mailed thousands of letters to frum Jews in Flatbush and Borough Park. He has demanded that this rebbe's employment at the yeshiva be terminated.
I have also spoken to several adult individuals who confided in me their stories of childhood sex abuse committed against them by this man.
The allegations are serious, but there are solutions, and I will present them in this letter. In addition, concerned community members have been in contact with the yeshiva, and I hope and pray, b'ezras Hashem, that a resolution will be reached, along the lines to be outlined here.
For a fair amount of time, I have been advocating a two-part approach for eradicating the problem of child sex abuse in our yeshivas, day schools, camps, and other youth settings.
First, we need to perform fingerprint-based criminal background checks on all of our employees and volunteers, and in this way, we will avoid hiring convicted sex offenders, drug offenders, violent criminals, and other dangerous predators.
I have previously written in my letters to Torah U'Mesorah, Agudath Israel, the Rabbinic Council of America, the Orthodox Union, and the National Council of Young Israel that 42 out of 50 states now require their public schools to perform fingerprint based criminal background checks on their employees (including New York State); 10 states require their nonpublic schools to perform such checks (not New York). In addition, after too-numerous child sex abuse incidents, every major youth group in the U.S. is performing background checks: the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Little League of America, the American Youth Soccer Organization, Pop Warner Football, the Civil Air Patrol.
In the wake of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has required employee and volunteer background checks for all Catholic schools and youth groups since April 2003, whether required by law or not.
Even private corporations whose employees do not have regular access to children are voluntarily performing criminal background checks. An August 26, 2004 Wall Street Journal article reported that 80% of America's 400 largest corporations are performing background checks on their employees. Wal Mart, the nation's largest employer, joined this group after two convicted sex offenders working in their South Carolina stores were alleged to have molested children on store premises.
All of these background checks have weeded out thousands of convicted sex offenders and other dangerous criminals who would otherwise constitute a grave danger to children.
How great is the danger? The U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education most recently addressed the school sexual abuse problem in a lengthy June 2004 report entitled, "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature", authored by Hofstra University Prof. Charole Shakeshaft, a leading expert. This report informs us that nearly 10% of U.S. students are targets of contact and noncontact sexual misconduct during their K-12 years. Among the security recommendations are that all public and private schools perform fingerprint based criminal background checks. This report is available on the U.S. Department of Education website.
Another good resource for people who want to educate themselves about the problem is a book called, "Predators" (2004), authored by Dr. Anna Salter, a Harvard College, Harvard Medical School-educated psychiatrist, who presents a mountain of evidence that establishes the great danger that child sex abuse presents. Dr. Salter has also written the two leading textbooks in use in our country on the treatment of sex offenders. Dr. Salter proves through her evidence that sex offenders should never work near children. Pedophiles are actually never cured, and they are in need of lifetime therapy.
In addition, there is also a mounting body of medical evidence which proves what we already intuitively know: that childhood sex abuse has long-term consequences. Medical studies have established that people who have suffered childhood sex abuse are at a greater risk for depression, substance abuse, and suicide.
Our own community has not ignored the child sex abuse problem. In May 2003, for example, both Torah U'Mesorah and the RCA, at their respective conventions, addressed the issue. I have listened to the audiotapes. A psychologist prominent in our community for specializing in this problem spoke at each convention, and described an incident in a yeshiva where a janitor with a criminal record for sex abuse attacked our children. In addition, the psychologist stated that we have suffered an unconscionable number of suicides of children who have been sex abuse victims.
Hashem yerachim.
I have made some progress on achieving my goal of having every yeshiva and Hebrew day school in New York State perform fingerprint-based employee background checks. The New York State Senate is drafting a bill, which I hope to have in my hands shortly. State Assembly sponsors will then be needed, and hopefully the Governor will support the bill, and it will pass.
But background checks are only one part of the overall solution. What do we do about the vast majority of sex offenders who never see the inside of a courtroom? Most child sex abuse victims never report the crimes done to their bodies, and unfortunately, even when they do, they are often not believed. More unfortunate, even when they are believed, successful criminal prosecutions are difficult, particularly where there is an absence of physical evidence.
Clearly, our yeshivas and day schools need to unite to form our own internal disciplinary system and registry, which will record the names of those individuals, who after a hearing conducted under careful rabbinic auspices, are found guilty of either violence or sex abuse, and will then be forever barred from employment in our mosdos.
Such a disciplinary system and registry would be neither novel, nor difficult to establish. Every public educational system in our country has such a program in place, as does the Catholic Church. We Jews therefore have numerous models to follow, and we should quickly establish our own disciplinary system and registry. In fact, the registry concept was specifically discussed and spoken of very approvingly at the May 2003 Torah U'Mesorah Convention.
In addition, I approached the Rabbinical Council of America, an organization of approximately 1,000 rabbis, and proposed and drafted for them a Resolution endorsing background checks, and a disciplinary system and registry for all of our 700 yeshivas and Hebrew day schools that teach 200,00 Jewish children in the United States, including 100,000 in New York State. The Resolution passed at their May 2005 Convention, you can read it on rabbis.org, and I credit this Resolution for the great progress I am making in the New York State Senate for achieving a law that will allow fingerprint based criminal background checks to be conducted in our schools.
Our yeshivas and day schools do need to be concerned about laws that protect our children, and performing background checks, and having an internal disciplinary system and registry, will accomplish that goal.
Some New York laws that come into play are: Education Law section 3204, which provides that a nonpublic school teacher must be "competent". It is highly questionable, to say the least, as to whether a teacher who is a child sex abuser is "competent".
New York State Education Law section 549(1) provides that "the state has a primary responsibility to ensure the health, welfare and safety of children attending both public and nonpublic schools."
New York State Penal Law section 2601.10 is entitled, "Endangering the Welfare of a Child", and provides that it is a misdemeanor for a person legally charged with the custody of a child to fail to exercise reasonable diligence in preventing such child from becoming "abused". Statutes like these have been used in prosecutions of cases against the Catholic Church.
New York State Social Service Law section 413 makes it a misdemeanor for a school official not to report sex abuse to the New York central registry of childhood sex abuse.
In addition, New York courts have, on multiple occasions, declared the duty that a school owes to a child, sometimes referred to by the ancient Latin phrase, "in loco parentis", in place of the parent. When a parent transfers physical custody of his child to a school, the school stands in place of the parent, and assumes the same duty. Thus, just as parent would never hire a sex offender as a babysitter, so too should a school never employ a sex offender as teacher. See, e.g., Pratt v. Robinson, 39 NY2d 554 (1976).
The Torah has much to say about this situation, which time and space do not allow here, but suffice it to say that the Torah commands, Lo sa'amod al dam ra'echa, Do not stand upon the blood of your brother. This is a positive mitzvah that requires one Jew to save the life of another. In addition, the Torah tells us, V'shmartem nafshosachem me'od, You will guard your lives exceedingly. The Torah also tells us, Tsedek, tsedek tirdof, l'maan tichyeh. Justice justice shall you pursue, in order that you may live.
Certainly, if the individual accused of sex abuse at Torah Temima declines to resign, or if the yeshiva declines to terminate his employment, an evidentiary-type hearing, in my opinion, should be held. The alleged victims should testify, the accused abuser can also testify, and a decision should then be rendered by the professional panel of judges - unbiased rabbis and lawyers from our community.
Barring resignation or termination, the hearing may be the solution to our current problem. This hearing can be the first step taken towards establishing our own internal disciplinary system and registry. Gam zu l'tovah.
This process and verdict can also be a refuah for the alleged victims who have suffered in silence for so long, at cost to their physical and mental health. They are entitled to some small measure of justice.
The establishment of our own disciplinary system and registry can also be a first step in teshuvah and recovery for the accused individual.
In the future, cases like these need not be addressed through anonymous mass mailings, blogs, and public letters from a lawyer such as myself. Our own genuine justice system, which will itself act as a deterrent, can properly handle such problems.
Together with our own hishtadlus, may the Ribono Shel Olam endow all of us with the kochus and chochma that we will need to resolve our current situation.
Very truly yours,
Elliot B. Pasik
Attorney at Law
145 West Olive Street
Long Beach, New York 11561
efpasik@aol.com
Dear Rabbi Klass and the Jewish Press editorial board,
I am truly sorry about mailing out thousands of letters to the New York Jewish community. You see Rabbi Klass, what I'm sorry about has nothing to do with your editorial. I'm sorry that our community has let all of us down, including you and your paper. There was no need to do a mass mailing, in fact I pleaded with Lipa Margulies to "consider" putting Yudi Kolko on paid leave, pending the outcome of a hearing at a mutually agreed upon bais din.
I sent emissaries to him weeks before the mailing asking him to "consider" putting Kolko on leave. He denied ever hearing about Kolko being a problem around children and therefore was not only not going to put him on leave, but that he was going to defend him if it ever came to bais din, which he said would never happen. He is a pathetic liar and a very evil man.
I e-mailed you the letter that I intended to mail out to the community two weeks before the mailing took place asking you to investigate. What happened R' Yaakov, why did you not call Lipa Margulies and ask him what's going on? Were you also of the belief that one day I woke up with nothing really important to do, so I just picked up the phone book and picked out a name and started ranting about the danger Yudi Kolko poses around children?
R' Yaakov, you could have been a contender!
Your paper could have investigated and seen that an esteemed frum attorney, Elliot B. Pasik put his name on this campaign. No, not necessarily endorsing any or all of my opinions, but endorsing my efforts to get rid of Yudi Kolko from the classroom!
Instead you busied yourself with the "eat until you die" Pesach ads. I ask you why have you ignored this issue? Is there no more important issue to Klal Yisroel than the safety of our children? Do you really think any reputable attorney would "impose" on Klal Yisroel such a "mundane" issue as safety from sexual predators without a thorough investigation?
Why did you not call Elliot Pasik Esq? Why did you not call Jeffrey Herman Esq? Do you think that these respected attorneys would take a case of this magnitude if they thought for a brief second that these were false claims? Or is it easier to just ramble on about the issue of an anonymous mailing? I challenged you to investigate these claims; I challenged you to call Lipa Margulies and demand that he sign a sworn affidavit under penalty of perjury that he was not aware of any of these accusations.
I'm going to say it again...really clear for the entire frum world to hear, to digest, and to help you rise up out of your slumber...Lipa Margulies is harboring a pedophile knowingly and willingly for thirty plus years, he was informed and knew without a shadow of a doubt for thirty very long years and countless victims later that Kolko is a dangerous predator; and Yudi Kolko is seriously ill, he needs help immediately and must be removed from any environment that children find themselves in.
*
February 16, 2006
Dear Chaverim,
Because I am an attorney who has long been involved in advocating a program for protecting our children from sex abuse, I feel the need to publicly comment in the forum of this blog on the allegations being made against a rebbe at Yeshiva Torah Temimah.
Over the past several weeks, I have read various posts of alleged victim accounts which have given dates, places, type of sex abuse, and other factual detail.
In addition, the blog administrator ("UOJ"), a frum Jew and a musmach, has mailed thousands of letters to frum Jews in Flatbush and Borough Park. He has demanded that this rebbe's employment at the yeshiva be terminated.
I have also spoken to several adult individuals who confided in me their stories of childhood sex abuse committed against them by this man.
The allegations are serious, but there are solutions, and I will present them in this letter. In addition, concerned community members have been in contact with the yeshiva, and I hope and pray, b'ezras Hashem, that a resolution will be reached, along the lines to be outlined here.
For a fair amount of time, I have been advocating a two-part approach for eradicating the problem of child sex abuse in our yeshivas, day schools, camps, and other youth settings.
First, we need to perform fingerprint-based criminal background checks on all of our employees and volunteers, and in this way, we will avoid hiring convicted sex offenders, drug offenders, violent criminals, and other dangerous predators.
I have previously written in my letters to Torah U'Mesorah, Agudath Israel, the Rabbinic Council of America, the Orthodox Union, and the National Council of Young Israel that 42 out of 50 states now require their public schools to perform fingerprint based criminal background checks on their employees (including New York State); 10 states require their nonpublic schools to perform such checks (not New York). In addition, after too-numerous child sex abuse incidents, every major youth group in the U.S. is performing background checks: the Boy and Girl Scouts, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, Little League of America, the American Youth Soccer Organization, Pop Warner Football, the Civil Air Patrol.
In the wake of the Catholic priest sex abuse scandal, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has required employee and volunteer background checks for all Catholic schools and youth groups since April 2003, whether required by law or not.
Even private corporations whose employees do not have regular access to children are voluntarily performing criminal background checks. An August 26, 2004 Wall Street Journal article reported that 80% of America's 400 largest corporations are performing background checks on their employees. Wal Mart, the nation's largest employer, joined this group after two convicted sex offenders working in their South Carolina stores were alleged to have molested children on store premises.
All of these background checks have weeded out thousands of convicted sex offenders and other dangerous criminals who would otherwise constitute a grave danger to children.
How great is the danger? The U.S. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education most recently addressed the school sexual abuse problem in a lengthy June 2004 report entitled, "Educator Sexual Misconduct: A Synthesis of Existing Literature", authored by Hofstra University Prof. Charole Shakeshaft, a leading expert. This report informs us that nearly 10% of U.S. students are targets of contact and noncontact sexual misconduct during their K-12 years. Among the security recommendations are that all public and private schools perform fingerprint based criminal background checks. This report is available on the U.S. Department of Education website.
Another good resource for people who want to educate themselves about the problem is a book called, "Predators" (2004), authored by Dr. Anna Salter, a Harvard College, Harvard Medical School-educated psychiatrist, who presents a mountain of evidence that establishes the great danger that child sex abuse presents. Dr. Salter has also written the two leading textbooks in use in our country on the treatment of sex offenders. Dr. Salter proves through her evidence that sex offenders should never work near children. Pedophiles are actually never cured, and they are in need of lifetime therapy.
In addition, there is also a mounting body of medical evidence which proves what we already intuitively know: that childhood sex abuse has long-term consequences. Medical studies have established that people who have suffered childhood sex abuse are at a greater risk for depression, substance abuse, and suicide.
Our own community has not ignored the child sex abuse problem. In May 2003, for example, both Torah U'Mesorah and the RCA, at their respective conventions, addressed the issue. I have listened to the audiotapes. A psychologist prominent in our community for specializing in this problem spoke at each convention, and described an incident in a yeshiva where a janitor with a criminal record for sex abuse attacked our children. In addition, the psychologist stated that we have suffered an unconscionable number of suicides of children who have been sex abuse victims.
Hashem yerachim.
I have made some progress on achieving my goal of having every yeshiva and Hebrew day school in New York State perform fingerprint-based employee background checks. The New York State Senate is drafting a bill, which I hope to have in my hands shortly. State Assembly sponsors will then be needed, and hopefully the Governor will support the bill, and it will pass.
But background checks are only one part of the overall solution. What do we do about the vast majority of sex offenders who never see the inside of a courtroom? Most child sex abuse victims never report the crimes done to their bodies, and unfortunately, even when they do, they are often not believed. More unfortunate, even when they are believed, successful criminal prosecutions are difficult, particularly where there is an absence of physical evidence.
Clearly, our yeshivas and day schools need to unite to form our own internal disciplinary system and registry, which will record the names of those individuals, who after a hearing conducted under careful rabbinic auspices, are found guilty of either violence or sex abuse, and will then be forever barred from employment in our mosdos.
Such a disciplinary system and registry would be neither novel, nor difficult to establish. Every public educational system in our country has such a program in place, as does the Catholic Church. We Jews therefore have numerous models to follow, and we should quickly establish our own disciplinary system and registry. In fact, the registry concept was specifically discussed and spoken of very approvingly at the May 2003 Torah U'Mesorah Convention.
In addition, I approached the Rabbinical Council of America, an organization of approximately 1,000 rabbis, and proposed and drafted for them a Resolution endorsing background checks, and a disciplinary system and registry for all of our 700 yeshivas and Hebrew day schools that teach 200,00 Jewish children in the United States, including 100,000 in New York State. The Resolution passed at their May 2005 Convention, you can read it on rabbis.org, and I credit this Resolution for the great progress I am making in the New York State Senate for achieving a law that will allow fingerprint based criminal background checks to be conducted in our schools.
Our yeshivas and day schools do need to be concerned about laws that protect our children, and performing background checks, and having an internal disciplinary system and registry, will accomplish that goal.
Some New York laws that come into play are: Education Law section 3204, which provides that a nonpublic school teacher must be "competent". It is highly questionable, to say the least, as to whether a teacher who is a child sex abuser is "competent".
New York State Education Law section 549(1) provides that "the state has a primary responsibility to ensure the health, welfare and safety of children attending both public and nonpublic schools."
New York State Penal Law section 2601.10 is entitled, "Endangering the Welfare of a Child", and provides that it is a misdemeanor for a person legally charged with the custody of a child to fail to exercise reasonable diligence in preventing such child from becoming "abused". Statutes like these have been used in prosecutions of cases against the Catholic Church.
New York State Social Service Law section 413 makes it a misdemeanor for a school official not to report sex abuse to the New York central registry of childhood sex abuse.
In addition, New York courts have, on multiple occasions, declared the duty that a school owes to a child, sometimes referred to by the ancient Latin phrase, "in loco parentis", in place of the parent. When a parent transfers physical custody of his child to a school, the school stands in place of the parent, and assumes the same duty. Thus, just as parent would never hire a sex offender as a babysitter, so too should a school never employ a sex offender as teacher. See, e.g., Pratt v. Robinson, 39 NY2d 554 (1976).
The Torah has much to say about this situation, which time and space do not allow here, but suffice it to say that the Torah commands, Lo sa'amod al dam ra'echa, Do not stand upon the blood of your brother. This is a positive mitzvah that requires one Jew to save the life of another. In addition, the Torah tells us, V'shmartem nafshosachem me'od, You will guard your lives exceedingly. The Torah also tells us, Tsedek, tsedek tirdof, l'maan tichyeh. Justice justice shall you pursue, in order that you may live.
Certainly, if the individual accused of sex abuse at Torah Temima declines to resign, or if the yeshiva declines to terminate his employment, an evidentiary-type hearing, in my opinion, should be held. The alleged victims should testify, the accused abuser can also testify, and a decision should then be rendered by the professional panel of judges - unbiased rabbis and lawyers from our community.
Barring resignation or termination, the hearing may be the solution to our current problem. This hearing can be the first step taken towards establishing our own internal disciplinary system and registry. Gam zu l'tovah.
This process and verdict can also be a refuah for the alleged victims who have suffered in silence for so long, at cost to their physical and mental health. They are entitled to some small measure of justice.
The establishment of our own disciplinary system and registry can also be a first step in teshuvah and recovery for the accused individual.
In the future, cases like these need not be addressed through anonymous mass mailings, blogs, and public letters from a lawyer such as myself. Our own genuine justice system, which will itself act as a deterrent, can properly handle such problems.
Together with our own hishtadlus, may the Ribono Shel Olam endow all of us with the kochus and chochma that we will need to resolve our current situation.
Very truly yours,
Elliot B. Pasik
Attorney at Law
145 West Olive Street
Long Beach, New York 11561
efpasik@aol.com
Thursday, February 05, 2009
Call Me Crazy!
1- Working on Sunday - I kept the CC muted TV in my office on Bloomberg News not on the Superbowl channel. I hate "Steelers" and "Cardinals"!
2- I do not care what kind of car my neighbor drives.
3 - Fun for me is speed-reading 10-20 books on religion, history, science, philosophy.... at Barnes & Noble on a given Sunday with a cup of Starbucks!
4 - I told my sister that I don't care if she thinks me crazy because I put a picture up on UOJ. (She did say I'm better looking in person - I agree -- but she'd say anything to get me to take it down - she lives in Lakewood, whaddya expect?)
5 - I don't care what anyone thinks about me and never did!
6 - Blessed with a 170 IQ - I still say hello happily, and converse freely with immigrants that came across the Mexican border legally, that are in my employ, mow my lawn and clean my house -- on issues that are important to them! I always praise them warmly on a job well done and never fail to ask how their family is. Why? Because I genuinely care about their welfare!
7 - The more hate mail I get - the better I feel!
8 - I don't give a hoot about how many square feet of living space my neighbor has. The more dumpsters in front of his house for home expansion and renovations every year - the more pity I have for him!
9 - I never go to parties other than dropping my head in to my accountant's New Years party as a courtesy!
10 - I own 14 suits - I wear one a day (yeah - one at a time wise guys) and send them to the cleaners - 7 per week. I am very passionate in all my endeavors during the day and the suit I wear is generally soaked through with sweat and looks like I slept in it.
11 - Whenever I ask a question to someone I know - I know their answer before they respond!
15 - I never wear the same tie twice in a given month!
16 - I am extremely shy!
17 - Once I enter a shul - I never speak divrei chol!
18 - I completed Shas three times with all Rashi and most Tosefos (and some rishonim) without ArtScroll or Soncino (once before ArtScroll was born). I said a daf yomi for 3 years. I received a maggid shiur daf yomi plaque from Moshe Sherer, and threw it in the garbage upon receipt.
19 - In general, conversations with most people never last more than a few minutes. I find most people possessed with themselves and very boring! There are exceptions - not many!
20 - I hate the telephone! Cell phone conversations, at the max, (barring emergencies) last one minute!
21 - My S'micha, one of the signatories happens to be R' Arthur's uncle -- says I'm a baki b'kama v'kama sugyas b'Shas (gimmee a break I'm only 20), with b'kius and charifus in Gemora, Poskim, Pilpul and Halacha and another 300 words of praise and accomplishments in Torah and middos (embarrassing). {If they only knew what became of me}
22 - Attending weddings is an uncomfortable chore that I try to avoid. With the statistics of divorce (and misery) in the Jewish community increasing rapidly - chances are high that the poor parents throwing the wedding party will be paying for marriage counselling and ultimately and sadly in many cases, a rabbi that writes gittin. {This is what goes through my mind at the chupah - will this couple make it? - spoils everything - I don't care who the chazzan is}
23 - I remember over 1000 telephone numbers.
24 - I type with one finger! I play the piano with ten fingers - on Purim, I throw in a couple of toes!
25 - I sleep no more than 4 hours per night!
26 - I remember every license plate on every car I owned.
27 - I used to live in Brooklyn 11, New York - with an Evergreen phone number EV 7 - 7818. Then we moved to Brooklyn 13, New York - with a President phone number - PR 4- 4142 - private line 467-4336.
28 - I am very happy with my lot in life.
29 - I tell people "try to be happy 70% of your day."
30 - After my kids got married I told them "if you need money, lose my phone number." {Truth be told, they have been disrespectful to this request}
31 - Everything to me is black & white - no gray area.
32 - I'm either loved or hated - no pareve feelings towards me. (No kidding Margo)
That's all for now...folks!
2- I do not care what kind of car my neighbor drives.
3 - Fun for me is speed-reading 10-20 books on religion, history, science, philosophy.... at Barnes & Noble on a given Sunday with a cup of Starbucks!
4 - I told my sister that I don't care if she thinks me crazy because I put a picture up on UOJ. (She did say I'm better looking in person - I agree -- but she'd say anything to get me to take it down - she lives in Lakewood, whaddya expect?)
5 - I don't care what anyone thinks about me and never did!
6 - Blessed with a 170 IQ - I still say hello happily, and converse freely with immigrants that came across the Mexican border legally, that are in my employ, mow my lawn and clean my house -- on issues that are important to them! I always praise them warmly on a job well done and never fail to ask how their family is. Why? Because I genuinely care about their welfare!
7 - The more hate mail I get - the better I feel!
8 - I don't give a hoot about how many square feet of living space my neighbor has. The more dumpsters in front of his house for home expansion and renovations every year - the more pity I have for him!
9 - I never go to parties other than dropping my head in to my accountant's New Years party as a courtesy!
10 - I own 14 suits - I wear one a day (yeah - one at a time wise guys) and send them to the cleaners - 7 per week. I am very passionate in all my endeavors during the day and the suit I wear is generally soaked through with sweat and looks like I slept in it.
11 - Whenever I ask a question to someone I know - I know their answer before they respond!
15 - I never wear the same tie twice in a given month!
16 - I am extremely shy!
17 - Once I enter a shul - I never speak divrei chol!
18 - I completed Shas three times with all Rashi and most Tosefos (and some rishonim) without ArtScroll or Soncino (once before ArtScroll was born). I said a daf yomi for 3 years. I received a maggid shiur daf yomi plaque from Moshe Sherer, and threw it in the garbage upon receipt.
19 - In general, conversations with most people never last more than a few minutes. I find most people possessed with themselves and very boring! There are exceptions - not many!
20 - I hate the telephone! Cell phone conversations, at the max, (barring emergencies) last one minute!
21 - My S'micha, one of the signatories happens to be R' Arthur's uncle -- says I'm a baki b'kama v'kama sugyas b'Shas (gimmee a break I'm only 20), with b'kius and charifus in Gemora, Poskim, Pilpul and Halacha and another 300 words of praise and accomplishments in Torah and middos (embarrassing). {If they only knew what became of me}
22 - Attending weddings is an uncomfortable chore that I try to avoid. With the statistics of divorce (and misery) in the Jewish community increasing rapidly - chances are high that the poor parents throwing the wedding party will be paying for marriage counselling and ultimately and sadly in many cases, a rabbi that writes gittin. {This is what goes through my mind at the chupah - will this couple make it? - spoils everything - I don't care who the chazzan is}
23 - I remember over 1000 telephone numbers.
24 - I type with one finger! I play the piano with ten fingers - on Purim, I throw in a couple of toes!
25 - I sleep no more than 4 hours per night!
26 - I remember every license plate on every car I owned.
27 - I used to live in Brooklyn 11, New York - with an Evergreen phone number EV 7 - 7818. Then we moved to Brooklyn 13, New York - with a President phone number - PR 4- 4142 - private line 467-4336.
28 - I am very happy with my lot in life.
29 - I tell people "try to be happy 70% of your day."
30 - After my kids got married I told them "if you need money, lose my phone number." {Truth be told, they have been disrespectful to this request}
31 - Everything to me is black & white - no gray area.
32 - I'm either loved or hated - no pareve feelings towards me. (No kidding Margo)
That's all for now...folks!
Monday, February 02, 2009
JBAC - Jewish Board of Advocates for Children
Overheard in cyberspace:
...."Our job is to inform and to motivate people to do the right thing. We are civilized human beings that have to work together to find a way to escort these uncivilized animals to their proper cages where they can do no more harm to anyone. WE are not the judge and jury so we can only be the advocates and the facilitators up to that point. We can support people who write new legislation or change old legislation that will support the safety and security of our children. WE follow the Torah and the Torah’s laws and values and keep that as our guiding light in the forefront of everything we do. WE don’t deviate from the emes of the Torah.
Going after the gannovim and the sheker that other frum Jews dirty themselves with, that is not the reason the JBAC was formed. There are many reasons frum and honest Jews have to be ashamed and embarrassed about. But we have to choose the battles we are willing to take on and what OUR priorities are. At the JBAC we chose our priorities to be saving yiddishe neshomas and the first issue we are tackling is the issue of child abuse and molestation --- because by far that is the worst crime against K’lal Yisroel. Too many respectable and responsible Jewish adults have hidden and guarded themselves from this issue but are willing to touch upon all the other issues such as tznius, loshon horah, tzedakah, gezeila, richilus, shalom bayis, etc. but when it comes to the issue of child sex-abuse, NO ONE’S HOME!"
...."Our job is to inform and to motivate people to do the right thing. We are civilized human beings that have to work together to find a way to escort these uncivilized animals to their proper cages where they can do no more harm to anyone. WE are not the judge and jury so we can only be the advocates and the facilitators up to that point. We can support people who write new legislation or change old legislation that will support the safety and security of our children. WE follow the Torah and the Torah’s laws and values and keep that as our guiding light in the forefront of everything we do. WE don’t deviate from the emes of the Torah.
Going after the gannovim and the sheker that other frum Jews dirty themselves with, that is not the reason the JBAC was formed. There are many reasons frum and honest Jews have to be ashamed and embarrassed about. But we have to choose the battles we are willing to take on and what OUR priorities are. At the JBAC we chose our priorities to be saving yiddishe neshomas and the first issue we are tackling is the issue of child abuse and molestation --- because by far that is the worst crime against K’lal Yisroel. Too many respectable and responsible Jewish adults have hidden and guarded themselves from this issue but are willing to touch upon all the other issues such as tznius, loshon horah, tzedakah, gezeila, richilus, shalom bayis, etc. but when it comes to the issue of child sex-abuse, NO ONE’S HOME!"
Thursday, January 29, 2009
U.S. Investigates Los Angeles Archdiocese Officials
JANUARY 29, 2009
By JOHN R. EMSHWILLER
LOS ANGELES -- Federal authorities are investigating the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles to see whether top church officials tried to cover up the sexual abuse of minors by priests, said a person familiar with the matter.
A federal grand jury has issued subpoenas and begun calling witnesses in the probe, which began late last year, said this person. The investigation is still in its early, fact-gathering stage, and it isn't known whether any criminal charges will result.
Thomas O'Brien, the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles, declined to comment on the investigation.
J. Michael Hennigan, a lawyer for the archdiocese, said in an email on behalf of church officials: "The Archdiocese has received requests from the U.S. Attorney's office for information about a number of individual priests, two of whom are deceased; none of whom remain in ministry. We have been and will continue to be fully cooperative with the investigation."
Cardinal Roger Mahony, who heads the archdiocese, the largest in the U.S., has been criticized by victims' groups for his past handling of sexual-abuse allegations against priests. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's office has been investigating allegations of such abuses for several years.
District Attorney Steve Cooley criticized the archdiocese in 2007 for its "institutional moral failure" to "supervise predatory priests." A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office said their investigation is still open.
Catholic Church leaders said they have done much to address the priest sexual-abuse problem. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, for example, set up a national review board in 2002 aimed at "preventing the sexual abuse of minors in the United States by persons in the service of the Church," according to the organization's Web site. Individual dioceses "have made significant strides to instill practices that will ensure the safety of children in the church," said the organization's Web site.
The district attorney's investigation began in 2002, around the same time that internal archdiocese emails about priests accused of abuse surfaced in the media.
Over the following two years, dozens of alleged victims stepped forward, with many filing lawsuits. They claimed the archdiocese shielded priests accused of molestation by keeping the allegations secret and allowing them to keep working, sometimes moving them from one parish to another.
In 2004, the archdiocese, which covers three Southern California counties containing more than four million Catholics, issued a report on the priest sex-abuse scandal. Cardinal Mahony apologized to victims and acknowledged "my own mistakes during my 18 years" as the archdiocese's leader.
In 2007, the Los Angeles archdiocese agreed to pay $660 million to 508 alleged victims, among the largest settlements in the U.S. priest scandal.
No senior Catholic Church officials have been criminally charged in the national scandal. But representatives of abuse victims alleged that senior officials helped perpetuate the crimes by ignoring or covering up evidence of misdeeds. They have argued that prosecuting senior church officials would help stop future abuse.
"Everything else has been tried with minimal impact except charging an individual bishop. That would have to an impact," says David Clohessy, national director for the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, a nonprofit victims-advocacy group based in Chicago.
A spokeswoman for the Catholic bishops conference said her organization has seen no evidence that senior church officials were involved in criminal acts. "Enormous strides have been made" in recent years by the Catholic church in dealing with the priest-abuse problem, she said. More than 1.8 million clergy and other church personnel have been trained to create a safe environment for children and to prevent abuse, she said, and a similar number of background checks also have been done on clerics and other church workers.
The federal investigation in Los Angeles is the latest chapter in government's efforts to grapple with the priest-abuse scandals in the Catholic Church that have struck in waves over the past three decades.
{"OY! Such a headache - much bigger than the first one!"}
Numerous individual priests have been criminally charged and convicted in abuse cases, and Catholic dioceses around the U.S. have agreed to settle civil lawsuits.
While most of the investigations have been done by state and local officials, federal investigators also have gotten involved at times. In 2005, the Archdiocese of Boston resolved a federal criminal investigation into whether the church officials had withheld information about an allegedly abusive priest. The archdiocese, which denied any criminal wrongdoing, agreed to new disclosure requirements and audits regarding its child-protection practices.
Write to John R. Emshwiller at john.emshwiller@wsj.com
Sunday, January 25, 2009
"Molestation is rampant, It’s not a one-in-a-million case. There’s at least one in every school!"
New York Magazine - May 15, 2006
........“I too was molested by Rabbi Kolko,” he wrote, “both while a student in 7th and 8th grades and during those same summers whilst a camper in Camp Agudah. . . . He would insert his hands down the front of my pants and would begin to ‘search around,’ to say the least. At the same time he would pull me closer to himself, or would push himself forward against myself, sometimes even pushing me into the steering wheel, to the point that it hurt. Unfortunately I didn’t react or complain. I of course told my parents and tried on several times to explain to them what I was going through, but they didn’t want to believe me and my ‘stories,’ etc. So I just shut up and let the molestation and perversion continue. . . . I feel that it is about time that the wall of silence be torn down.”
A few months later, after getting dozens of similar comments and e-mails, UOJ listed Jeffrey Herman’s name and phone number. He says he hadn’t spoken with Herman—he’d just noticed him as a guest on The O’Reilly Factor, talking about a clergy sex-abuse case, and thought that anyone reading his site who wanted confidentiality might consider calling him. “The key for me,” UOJ says, “was that on his Website, Herman said that he had strategies for getting around the statute of limitations.”
UOJ posted Herman’s name and number. When Herman, in turn, sent an e-mail saying he’d be happy to speak with alleged victims confidentially, Framowitz saw the posting and called him. Herman, an observant Jew from Miami, has handled millions of dollars in sex-abuse claims against clergy and school systems, mainly against the Catholic Church. He says he was interested in working on Jewish cases for the same reasons he works on Catholic ones. “People say, ‘Oh, are you gonna go after a rabbi?’ ” he says. “That’s kind of a funny question to me. I see the kind of work I’m doing as protecting kids. Jewish kids are certainly as worth protecting as Catholic kids.”
On February 2, UOJ paid for a bulk mailing to Orthodox homes in Borough Park, Flatbush, Williamsburg, and Crown Heights that might be too observant to have access to the Internet. The mailing accused Kolko of molestation and Margulies of a cover-up and even included their phone numbers. That’s when UOJ says he started receiving threats—“We’re gonna get your family” and “We know who you are.” (Many of these e-mails have been forwarded to Herman.) People accused him of betraying his community and having an ax to grind against Kolko and Margulies. The Jewish Press ran an editorial blasting the mailing. A rival blog called End UOJ was created. But the most shocking responses came from those who believed that accusing Kolko of abuse—true or not—was worse than the abuse itself. “Certainly speaking evil of somebody, truth or otherwise, establishes the most severe of all wrongdoings,” one pseudonymous comment on UOJ reads—“far, far worse then [sic] ‘child sexual abuse,’ and the punishment far more severe.” The post goes on to claim that having sex with a child is punishable by 39 lashings “at the most,” whereas lashon hara is punishable by leprosy—“a far worse penalty.”
Now that there’s a lawsuit, UOJ feels vindicated. “Molestation is rampant,” he says. “It’s not a one-in-a-million case. There’s at least one in every school. And I’m going to go after them one at a time."..........
http://nymag.com/news/features/17010
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Teen sex rap for principal of Bensonhurst private school
BY SIMONE WEICHSELBAUM
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU
Monday, January 26th 2009, 12:46 AM
Two teenage boys told cops they endured years of sexual abuse at the hands of a Brooklyn high school principal who was arrested over the weekend, police said.
Emanuel Yegutkin, 30, was suspended Sunday from Elite High School, a private Jewish school in Bensonhurst with mainly Russian-American students.
Yegutkin forced a 17-year-old into lewd sex acts from the age of 7 to 14, cops said.
He subjected a 19-year-old to five years of fondling, beginning when the teen was 12, police said.
Neither child attended Elite, school officials said.
"This has nothing to do with the school," said Elite High School Headmaster Tzvi Koff. "But we have to protect our students. He no longer has access to the school building and he is not part of our institution anymore."
The disgraced educator - who also worked in upstate Gilboa as a lifeguard at Oorah summer camp last year - was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and sexually abusing children for more than a four-month period, according to a spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney's office.
A message left at Yegutkin's Ocean Parkway home was not returned.
Oorah Camp Director Elisha Lewenstein said Yegutkin came highly recommended.
"We investigated him before we hired him and never had a complaint," Lewenstein said.
Yegutkin, a one-time rising star within the Orthodox Jewish community, lost a second prominent job yesterday: volunteer medic for the Flatbush Hatzoloh ambulance service.
"If anybody in Hatzoloh is accused of any criminal issue, we suspend them until the issue is cleared up," Hatzoloh spokesman Heshey Jacob said.
Yegutkin "suspended himself" when he was contacted yesterday, Jacob said.
Yegutkin's arrest is the latest blow to Brooklyn's Orthodox Jewish community. Since October, at least four Orthodox Jewish men in the borough have been charged with sexually abusing children.
simonew@nydailynews.com
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Emanuel Yegutkin was also employed at Oorah's summer camp as a lifeguard!
Via E-Mail From Eliyohu Mintz Of Oorah.
We are shocked and saddened by the unfortunate news about Emanuel Yegutkin, who was an employee of Oorah’s Boy Zone for the past two summers. During the time that Mr. Yegutkin worked at Boy Zone we received no reports of improper behavior or anything that would have raised even the slightest concern. We have not been informed by law enforcement officers of specific details or heard of allegations of any incidents in Boy Zone.
However, we take this matter extremely seriously and have offered our full cooperation to the authorities in their investigation of this matter. We wish to reiterate our zero tolerance policy with respect to behavior that may endanger children. Our first concern is, and always be, the safety of the children entrusted to our care.
UPDATED STATEMENT
Statement Issued by Elisha Lewenstein, Camp Director of Oorah
Lakewood, NJ, January 26, 2009-- Following is a statement issued by Elisha Lewenstein, camp director of Oorah, Inc., regarding news about one of its former volunteers:
"We are shocked and saddened to hear about the allegations involving Mr.Emanuel Yegutkin, who was one of 400 volunteer staffers at our Upstate New York camp. Our primary concern has always been, and remains, the safety and well being of the children entrusted to our care.
"Oorah has a zero tolerance policy when it comes to any improper or illegal behavior by staff. That is the way we have run our camp since it opened and that is the policy we will continue to abide by in the future.
"None of our children ever complained about the conduct of Mr. Yegutkin and we have no reason to believe that Mr. Yegutkin did anything improper while at our camp. Obviously, we hope that this remains to be the case through the course of the police investigation. "We will continue to fully cooperate with law enforcement officials in their investigation.
"Since this is an ongoing investigation, we will reserve further comment until more facts about this case become available from law enforcement officials.
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