Cuomo unveils plan for Child Victims Act that would do away with statute of limitation
Gov. Cuomo shared his own plan for a Child Victims Act designed to help child sex abuse survivors seek legal recourse as adults.
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo is weighing in for the first time with his own plan
for a Child Victims Act designed to help child sex abuse survivors seek
legal recourse as adults.
Cuomo, as part of a formal written agenda to be given to the
Legislature Tuesday, said he wants to do away entirely with the statute
of limitation that prohibits those who were abused as children from
bringing criminal cases after their 23rd birthday.
Cuomo’s plan would also allow victims to bring civil lawsuits for 50
years after their attacks took place and would open up a one-year
look-back window for survivors who under current law can no longer bring
cases to do so.
In addition, the plan would treat public and private institutions the
same by doing away with a current requirement that gives those abused in
a school or other public entity only 90 days from the attack to notify
of their intent to sue.
"Child victims are one of the most vulnerable populations of this
state,” Cuomo wrote in his message, a portion of which was obtained by
the Daily News. “The outdated laws of New York do not adequately address
the needs of these young victims.”
Kathryn Robb, a sexual abuse survivor and advocate, told The News she expects the governor to get a bill passed this year.
He added that “New York needs to address this injustice in the fight against child sexual abuse.”
Cuomo has told advocates and the News, which made the issue a campaign
in 2016, that the Child Victims Act would be a top priority for him in
2017.
While the issue is part of his overall agenda he plans to release later
Wednesday, the governor never publicly mentioned it during his six
regional State of the State addresses he gave this week.
Kathryn Robb, a sexual abuse survivor and advocate who has regularly
met with Cuomo’s office, told The News earlier this week she expects the
governor to get a bill passed this year.
Senate
Majority Leader John Flanagan said last week it was too early to say
whether the Child Victims Act will reach the floor for a vote this year.
“Just as the governor did the impossible in opening the Second Ave.
subway, we believe that he will clear a path and lead so many victims to
justice,” Robb said. “We trust his promise, we trust his commitment to
justice and fairness, and the safety of children.”
She added that “the governor serves the people first, and he does so
not by the particular words in a speech, but more by the conviction in
his heart and honor in his deeds. The new session is upon us. We trust
he will lead us to justice."
The Child Victims Act has been around for over a decade. And while it
had passed the state Assembly early on, it has never passed the Senate.
Children at risk as Charedi parents say no to vaccinations
Charedi
children in Stamford Hill are at risk of contracting potentially deadly
conditions like measles and the community is in danger of being
affected by an epidemic because too many parents are not getting them
immunised.
Members of the Jewish community in Stamford Hill
The issue also affects the country’s fastest-growing Charedi community in Prestwich, Manchester.
The
World Health Organisation (WHO) has held discussions with communal
leaders from the north-east London suburb, home to Europe’s largest
strictly Orthodox community, because of “persistent outbreaks of vaccine
preventable diseases (VPDs)”. The organisation has decided to intervene
via its Tailoring Immunisation Programme (TIP), which was designed to
identify susceptible populations.
Low uptake levels threaten to
“jeopardise disease elimination”, according to WHO, which is why medical
experts are working with community leaders — many of whom are calling
for action now.
Chief among those is Stamford Hill GP, Dr Joseph
Spitzer, himself an Orthodox Jew. More than 80 per cent of his patients
in Cranwich Road Surgery are Charedi.
Dr. Joseph Spitzer
“Parents who don’t immunise their children are totally irresponsible, for their own children and other people’s,” he said.
For
diseases to be wiped out, communities must have “herd immunity”,
whereby well above 90 per cent of people are immunised. When that is not
reached, as in Stamford Hill, where the percentage is well below 80 per
cent, there is the risk of an epidemic, particularly among the elderly,
young children and pregnant women.
Evidence provided by City and
Hackney Public Health Team revealed that uptake of the 5-in-1 vaccine
(combating diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, polio and Hib), which
should be delivered in early infancy, was around 30 per cent lower in
concentrated Charedi areas than in the rest of the borough of Hackney.
In Stamford Hill, the uptake in 2015-16 was 64 per cent, compared with
90 to 95 per cent elsewhere in the borough.
Rates for the MMR
vaccination in the same area for the same period were 76 per cent, while
the uptake across Hackney was 85 to 89 per cent. This is significantly
better than previously, but is “slowly and steadily declining”, a
council spokeswoman said.
When Rachel Fein’s daughter was four
months old, she contracted measles at the creche at Yesodey Hatorah
Senior Girls School, where Mrs Fein is deputy head.
“She was too
young to have the MMR so when she was exposed to measles she developed
it with complications,” said Mrs Fein. “Thankfully there were no
long-term effects, but she was admitted to hospital with a high fever,
lethargy, a rash and dehydration.”
Children are no longer accepted in the creche without vaccinations, unless there are specific medical reasons.
Dr Spitzer said that reasons for the drop in vaccination rates are “hard to define”.
“A
lot is based on ignorance and myth. Parents aren’t desperately well
informed because they don’t follow secular media,” he explained.
“Sometimes they say the rebbe told them not to immunise, but when I
speak to the rebbes they vehemently deny it. There’s a certain
laissez-faire attitude due to people no longer knowing what these
diseases are. Immunisation is a victim of its own success.”
Babies should be vaccinated from eight weeks onwards, but that advice often falls on deaf ears. “Occasionally we have outbreaks of measles, rubella and mumps which are entirely preventable,” Dr Spitzer said.
The
Cranwich Road Surgery is among three in the area to employ a Charedi
nurse to boost take-up. Naomi Freeman was previously funded by Hackney
Public Health to do just that across the borough and was highly
successful. However, she was recently made redundant due to budget cuts.
“I
got rates up from 54 to 87 per cent [within the community],” said Mrs
Freeman, who was taken on by Dr Spitzer last month. At that time,
immunisations at Cranwich Road were just 50 per cent.
“Health
visitors would be told that Pesach is coming up and they can’t immunise
for six weeks,” Mrs Freeman added. “The health visitors took that at
face value, but I say ‘put your kugel in the oven and come to me’.”
Excuses
for not seeking vaccinations are numerous, according to Mrs Freeman,
who says the risk is heightened by overcrowding and the high proportion
of pregnant women and young children in the community.
But there
are real pressures which deter parents. She explained: “Most mothers
don’t drive and every week there’s Shabbos to prepare for. They are so
overloaded so often they can’t face having a child that’s going to be
unwell for several days. But the side-effects are so minute in
comparison to getting the actual illnesses.” She continued: “I had
someone who never immunised because family members said it was too
dangerous. Would you ask your cleaner for medical advice? Of course not.
So why go to family when doctors and nurses want the best for your
children?”
She cited a recent example of a child from another
Charedi community who had three limbs amputated after contracting
meningitis. “Maybe the mother forgot her appointment or didn’t want her
child to cry for a few days. Would you want that guilt?”
Rabbis
are vital to reverse the trend, she believes and somebody playing his
part is Rabbi Avrohom Pinter, chairman of the Orthodox Jewish Health
Forum.
He said: “People don’t take immunisation seriously because
they’ve seen those illnesses and think ‘it isn’t that terrible’. They
don’t realise that it could kill somebody else. We have a responsibility
to others as well as to ourselves.”
Rabbi Pinter believes the
inaction is partly due to enduring fears about MMR, sparked by former
doctor Andrew Wakefield who was discredited over claims the vaccine
caused autism. He said: “Some people say ‘it’s in God’s hands and I’m
not going to take that risk’. That view has no basis in Yiddishkeit.”
Rabbi
Pinter is critical of the NHS’s decision to axe Mrs Freeman’s role, but
commends her continuing involvement. “Somebody outside the community
may accept some of the excuses out of political correctness, but she
understands the issues,” he said.
The importance of vaccinations
within the community was emphasised by Professor David Katz, an
immunopathologist who is chairman of the Jewish Medical Association
(UK).
He said: “All communities need to be engaged with
immunisation. The Stamford Hill Jewish community is not unique, but they
may need more encouragement, and a different, sensitive approach from
healthcare workers.
“It is very unfortunate that previous efforts
to support high rates of immunisation in that community seem to have
been disrupted due to changes in service funding and provision. Doctors
have already seen serious complications, requiring hospital admission.
“The good work done in this community in the past must not be dissipated.”
The
issue also affects the Charedi community in Prestwich, Manchester.
According to Dr David Hibbert, a local GP who is strictly Orthodox, it
is a problem he has repeatedly encountered in his 30-year career. “I’m
sat here at my desk with a load of immunisation refusers that I need to
chase up,” he said. “On the whole these people blame anecdotal stories
of this person who had a reaction or that person who fell ill, or they
are just mistrustful of the whole system.
“If the government was
really interested in raising rates they would just insist that no child
could go to school without immunisations, like they do in France.”
Dr
Hibbert acknowledged that some people are simply “overwhelmed” by the
pressures of large families which is why his practice periodically
organises home visits to immunise children.
Two years ago a report
into the health of the Salford Jewish community’s health revealed that
uptake was a problem among Charedim in the area.
The report showed
that just over half of people (58 per cent) were totally happy about
immunising their child, while the remainder were either unhappy about it
or unsure. It concluded that a “new, hard-hitting marketing campaign on
immunisation” was needed.
Dr Marc Herscovitz, a GP working with
the Charedi community in Gateshead, painted a rosier picture. He said:
“Rates of immunisation here are within the expected norms, with local
rabbis supporting vaccinations.”
According to Shlomi Isaacson, of
the Jewish Council of Gateshead, the local Labriut Healthy Living Centre
has worked closely with Charedi families and with GPs’ surgeries to
boost numbers being vaccinated and there are currently few concerns
about take-up.
Low take-up rates are not uncommon within Charedi
communities elsewhere in the world. As a result, there have been reports
of several epidemics of preventable diseases in recent years, including
measles outbreaks in Brooklyn in 2013.
by Avi Shafran - Day Job - Spokesman For The Agudath Israel of America
True or False?
The U.S. abstention to the recent U.N. resolution was the first time
an American administration declined to veto a Security Council
resolution critical of Israel and opposed by her.
The resolution is groundbreaking, and pledges the territory captured by Israel in 1967 to a Palestinian state.
It would remove Yerushalayim and the Kosel Maaravi from Israeli sovereignty.
It is one-sided, placing the blame for the stagnated peace process squarely on Israel.
President Obama and Secretary of State Kerry have sold Israel out.
The first four are demonstrably false. The fifth, too.
Please don’t read further if you are not willing to consider a
perspective different from the one you expect from this rightly
respected newspaper and other “pro-Israel” news sources and
organizations, including the wonderful one that employs me, Agudath
Israel of America, which, like many other Jewish groups, condemned the
U.S. abstention. I am resolutely pro-Israel but not necessarily in
agreement with every Israeli administration’s positions. And, as I have
pointed out on several occasions, while I proudly represent Agudath
Israel, and convey its stances to the public and media, I exist as an
individual too, and I write in these pages and in others from my own
personal perspective.
Still here? Good.
Since the Six-Day War in 1967, there have been 42 U.S. vetoes of
Israel-critical resolutions – but, over the course of eight U.S.
administrations, including the Reagan and George W. Bush years, more
than 70 “yes” votes or abstentions. The recent Security Council
abstention was noteworthy, though: it was the Obama administration’s
first non-veto of a critical-of-Israel resolution in its eight years,
the lowest count of any president since 1967.
The recent resolution has no practical effect and takes no position
that has not already been taken by the Security Council (and most of the
world’s governments). It does not determine borders; it only
reiterates the tired truism that Yehudah and Shomron are “occupied”
territory. Technically, that is not entirely accurate, since the land
was not under any state’s legitimate sovereignty before its capture, but
it is true that, of all the captured territory, only Yerushalayim was
annexed by Israel.
And Yerushalayim’s status, although not recognized at present by the
U.N., will not change in negotiations, should the peace process ever
resume. As Secretary of State Kerry said in his detailed post-vote
speech, there must be “freedom of access to the holy sites consistent with the established status quo.” He reiterated that point, too, a moment later, declaring that “the established status quo” at religious sites must be “maintained.”
U.N. resolutions concerning Israel have long been consistently,
notoriously and laughably one-sided. This one, though, as it happens,
while calling on Israel to stop building in settlements, calls too on
Palestinians to take “immediate steps to prevent all acts of violence
against civilians, including acts of terror” and to “to clearly condemn
all acts of terrorism.” That, at least for the U.N., is in fact
groundbreaking.
As to Messrs. Obama and Kerry, consider a thought experiment.
Imagine – just as a theoretical possibility – that they both actually
care deeply about Israel. In fact, over his nearly 30 years in the U.S.
Senate, Mr. Kerry was a reliable, stalwart and unapologetic defender of
Israel. Pretend that Mr. Obama is of similar mindset. (Which he is,
but if you’re convinced otherwise, just pretend.) And that they both
believe, honestly and deeply, that (whatever you or I may hold to be
true) only a two-state solution can ensure Israel’s security and
integrity, and that continued settlement-building gives the Palestinians
an excuse (unjustified, but still) to not engage in peace negotiations.
What would the two men then rightly do, with only days left for their
administration, if a resolution reiterating the world’s objection to
that building activity and calling for negotiations were put on the
Security Council table? Veto it, against their convictions about
Israel’s wellbeing? Or try to send a message, as they prepare to leave
the world stage, about what they feel is best for Israel?
They might be entirely wrong about that (although they might be
right). And, yes, the overwhelming blame for the lack of peace is
unarguably on the Palestinian leadership and populace. And yes, all of
Eretz Yisrael is bequeathed to the Jewish People.
Still and all, the American leaders’ determination to issue a final,
passive call for what they believe is in Israel’s best interest does not
bespeak disdain for Israel, but precisely the opposite.
Which is why all the shouts of “betrayal!” and “traitors!” and
“complicit!” are so very wrong and so very sad. This is an
administration that has stood by Israel time and time again for eight
years, and that mere months ago forged a 10-year, $38 billion military
aid package for Israel, the largest for any U.S. ally ever.
One can consider Mr. Obama and Mr. Kerry (and most Israelis, as it
happens, because a clear majority are in favor of a negotiated two-state
resolution) misguided, if one must. But one cannot slander them as
Israel-betrayers. Must everyone be either “with us” or “against us,”
“friend” or “enemy”? Can no one be with us and a friend but with a
different perspective than our own?
What the outgoing U.S. administration wants from Israel isn’t
capitulation to her enemies. What it has always sought is a sign of
willingness on the current Israeli government’s part to simply act
decisively on its declared commitment to a peace process aimed at a
two-state solution.
To be sure, even a restarted peace process is far
from assured of success; there are many issues that could prove
intractable. And yes, there have been moratoriums on “disputed
territories” building in the past, to no avail. But an acceptance of
yet another one, instead of a continuation of the recently accelerated
pace of building, will put the ball again in the Palestinian court, and
offer something to an angry world.
Yes, that world is unreasonable, obnoxious and ugly. Not to mention
ridiculously hyper-focused on Israel, when so many truly unspeakable
true human tragedies exist elsewhere, ignored.
So why, so many ask, should its opinion matter to us? That sentiment
is what Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu expressed when he
said, in the wake of the Security Council vote, that “Israelis do not
need to be lectured of the importance of peace by foreign leaders” and
that “Israel is a country with national pride, and we don’t turn the
other cheek” and that he has had “enough of this exile mentality.”
And it is what he expressed, too, by summoning ambassadors of
countries who voted for the resolution, and the American ambassador as
well, to reprimand them, on the day that Christians consider the holiest
on their calendar. “What would they have said in Jerusalem,” an
unnamed Western diplomat later fumed, “if we summoned the Israeli
ambassador on Yom Kippur?” Think hard about that.
It may feel gratifying to snub one’s nose at real or perceived enemies. Personally, though, I am a talmid, so to speak, of Rav Elchonon Wasserman and Rav Reuvein Grozovsky, zecher tzaddikim liv’racha, not of Reb Bibi Netanyahu. I believe that we are indeed in exile, in galus;
that “secular Jewish nationalism” is wrong and dangerous; and that a
modicum of modesty is demanded of all Jews, especially those who claim
to represent other Jews. I believe that humility, not arrogance (and
certainly not “kochi v’otzem yadi”) should be the operative principle of Klal Yisrael, and of anyone who deigns to lead a “Jewish state.”
Maybe, with the help of the Trump administration, Israel will be able
to cow the 2.8 million Palestinians in “the territories” into
submission. And maybe Hamas will not be able to seize whatever
peace-seeking Palestinian hearts and minds are left. Maybe all will be
well, Israelis will sleep safely and the fears of the Obama
administration will prove to have been without warrant.
Maybe.
But whatever may happen in the future, what the present requires of us, al pi mesoraseinu, I believe, is hatznea leches and hakaras hatov, not snubbing, sneering or insults.
In Orthodox Jewish circles, single women are largely forgotten
You
don’t need to consult a rabbi to figure out that being a single woman
of a certain age in the Orthodox Jewish community is no piece of babka.
While 27 is the median age for an American woman’s first marriage, in many Orthodox circles — even modern ones — a single woman is considered over the hill by her late 20s.
“We
feel the onus is on us,” said Naomi, a 42-year-old teacher at a modern
Orthodox day school outside Manhattan. “It’s almost like the
[matchmakers] are desperate to get the women married because there are
so many of them. We don’t sense they tell the men to get a better
profile picture or do this, do that. It’s more like ‘oh, the women are
desperate for you, so it’s okay, you can do whatever you want.’”
However,
the bigger issue for a modern Orthodox single woman may not be her
relationship status, but how she is treated by her community because of
it. “For me, it is a ‘crisis’ because I think we are looked at
differently. I think we are forgotten,” Naomi said.
She described
how she feels her ideas are often dismissed by her colleagues, who are
mostly married Orthodox women. “I definitely get treated differently at
work. I think they just think I don’t know anything. If I mention a
recipe, they’ll just ignore me,” Naomi said. She said she feels it in
more substantive areas, as well, such as working with young students,
because she herself is not a mother. “I don’t sense they really think I
know what I’m talking about when I’m working with the kids.”
Other
single women in the modern Orthodox community shared similar
experiences of feeling slighted by community members because they were
not married. “Slowly you start to
realize your single status, and realize that even though you might have a
master’s degree or be accomplished in your work, people in the
religious community still talk to you as if you are in high school,”
Eryn London, a 31-year-old rabbinical student at Yeshivat Maharat, wrote in an email. She described how, at her parents’ synagogue, “very rarely do the young married couples talk to me.”
Toby,
a 38-year-old psychotherapist in Manhattan, said she suspects she isn’t
afforded the same privacy and respect that married congregants are.
When she visits her family in Atlanta and goes to their synagogue, she
says that “people stop me, and the first thing they say is, ‘How’s your
social life?’ or ‘How’s dating?’”
“I feel like I’m doing
something wrong because I’m not married — and then, they feel this need
to tell me what I’m doing wrong,” Toby added. “If someone were trying to
get pregnant, would they experience the same thing? I don’t know, but I
do feel people probably treat me a little different than if I were
married.”
What may contribute to this treatment is that many of
the Orthodox obligations for adult women are tied to being married.
Sharon Weiss-Greenberg, who is the executive director of the Jewish
Orthodox Feminist Alliance and has advocated for better treatment of singles
in the community, said the high value on being married starts with the
first mitzvah, or good deed, described in the Torah: “You shall be
fruitful and multiply.” While this line can be interpreted in different
ways, many view it as a commandment to have children. And some, such as
Rabbi Aryeh Citron, dean of Yeshivah College in Miami Beach, Fla., view
it as a directive “to have as many children as possible.”
“I
feel like the commandments specifically designed for me as a woman are
not something I can do. It makes me feel like I can’t be Orthodox in
that way I was always taught I was supposed to be,” she said.
The
separation between married and single Orthodox Jews goes
beyond religious responsibilities. It’s embedded in the culture, too.
Many single women said couples and families tend not to invite them over
for Shabbat meals. As a result, they end up feeling isolated, not
just at weddings or other family milestone events, but every week. The
ritual of sharing a Shabbat meal with family, friends or community
members is a cornerstone of Orthodox culture.
Naomi said that
she’s taken on the responsibility of organizing and hosting some of her
single friends, but she’s “tired of always being the one to make the
meals” and “wishing the families I knew would invite me.” Toby also said
that Shabbat has become lonely and, thus, a burden. “I would much
rather be going out than sitting in my apartment,” she said. “You’re
also taught you’re supposed to love Shabbat, and I don’t.”
Naomi
said she has sensed that, if couples were to invite her for Shabbat,
they would feel pressured to have other single people come, too. So they
end up excluding singles altogether. “They could invite me, but then
they don’t know who to invite me with, so, I think they just don’t,” she
said. “I think they’re just not sure what to do with me. I find they
look at me differently. They don’t see me as someone they can be friends
with, because I’m not in their life station.”
If this divide
between singles and marrieds remains, it may hurt the modern Orthodox
community at large — not just its single congregants. At best, single
women have less of an incentive to be active participants if they are
not viewed as such. At worst, they leave the community, as some women
said their single friends have.
Weiss-Greenberg
warned: “If they’re going to make people who are single, for whatever
reason they are, feel different or less than, then they’re missing out
on all they could be contributing.”
All bets are off now that the Security Council voted 14-0 to
condemn Jewish settlement activity over Biblical Judea, Samaria, and
even Jerusalem.
Israel now has the green light to build, baby, build and Trump will have all the incentive he needs to move the United States Embassy to Jerusalem.
All because that Security Council measure is so preposterous.
Coming
as it does from the United Nations, which is in the hands of
terrorists, mobsters and tyrants whose only business is to condemn
Israel.
Blast and damn the gluttonous Liberals, here, there
and everywhere who delivered Israel into the claws and arms of those
jackals.
Their names will be associated together with Haman.
As
of that day, another date that will live in infamy, Friday, December
23, 2016, Israel owes nobody nothin’. Annex Judea and Samaria. Forget
the Oslo Accord. Forget 800 trucks a day plying food and supplies into
Gaza. Forget the illusion of Abbas as a partner in peace. Declare him
and his PA (Palestinian Authority) persona non grata.
From
Donald Trump and US Congress, cease $600 million a year in direct
funding for the PA and millions more through UNRWA and other false-front
agencies.
Dismantle the PLO’s office in Washington, D.C.
Forget the mirage of a two state solution. For Kerry, Obama, and Samantha Power, the action was taken to “further peace.”
Nothing can be further from the truth. This was an act of infamy against the Jewish State.
They say it was meant to advance a two state solution whereby two peoples live side by side in peace and security.
Letting it go through by the trick of abstaining, is an everlasting blight on Obama.
Where do Arabs live in peace and security even among themselves – Syria, Iraq, Yemen?
The two state solution is a trap – a device to swarm Israel out of existence.
That’s been the plan all along…to uproot the Jewish people from their ancestral homeland, by hook or by crook.
That
the United States, under Obama, took part in this abomination, by
letting it go through by the trick of abstaining, is an everlasting
blight on Obama and his failed administration.
Senators Lindsay Graham and Ted
Cruz say so. Here’s Cruz: "And for those who acquiesced or facilitated
the UN resolution--especially President Obama, Secretary Kerry, and
Ambassador Power--history will record your abiding and shameful legacy
undermining our friend and ally Israel.”
How have the
mighty fallen? This is President John F. Kennedy in 1961 at his
inaugural address: “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or
ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship,
support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the
success of liberty.”
Instead, friends of liberty were blindsided by Obama’s farewell address of sorts, his parting shot to sock it to the Jews.
So now the table has been set for Donald Trump to do what’s right.
As the news came in, in anger we wrote (on Facebook): “Donald Trump will have to DRAIN THAT SWAMP.
“Immediately
end all financing for the UN, consider all resolutions against Israel
flagrant, nonsensical, bigoted and non-binding...dissolve diplomatic
status and immunity across the board...give all members 48 hours to pack
up and leave town...and then destroy the building to a heap of rubble.”
Now that we’ve had a chance to calm down, we say it again, exactly as is, but add – Build, Baby, Build.
New
York-based bestselling American novelist Jack Engelhard writes a
regular column for Arutz Sheva. New from the novelist: “News Anchor
Sweetheart,” a novelist’s version of Fox News and Megyn Kelly. Engelhard
is the author of the international bestseller “Indecent Proposal.” He
is the recipient of the Ben Hecht Award for Literary Excellence.
Website: www.jackengelhard.com
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the following remarks on the first night of Chanukah this
evening (Saturday, 24 December 2016) at an event in salute of wounded
IDF and security forces veterans and victims of terrorism:
“Citizens of Israel, I would like to reassure you. The resolution
that was adopted yesterday at the United Nations is distorted and
shameful but we will overcome it. The resolution determines that the Jewish Quarter [in the Old City of Jerusalem] is ‘occupied territory’. This is delusional. The resolution determines that the Western Wall is
‘occupied territory’. This too is delusional. There is nothing more
absurd than calling the Western Wall and the Jewish Quarter occupied
territory. There is also an attempt here, which will not succeed, to
impose permanent settlement terms on Israel. You might recall that the
last one who tried to do this was Carter, an extremely hostile president
to Israel, and who just recently said that Hamas is not a terrorist
organization. Carter passed sweeping decisions against us at the UN of a
similar kind, and this was also unsuccessful. We opposed this and
nothing happened.
“All American presidents since Carter upheld the American commitment
not to try to dictate permanent settlement terms to Israel at the
Security Council. And yesterday, in complete contradiction of this
commitment, including an explicit commitment by President Obama himself in 2011,
the Obama administration carried out a shameful anti-Israel ploy at the
UN. I would like to tell you that the resolution that was adopted, not
only doesn’t bring peace closer, it drives it further away. It hurts
justice; it hurts the truth. Think about this absurdity, half a million
human beings are being slaughtered in Syria. Tens of thousands are being
butchered in Sudan. The entire Middle East is going up in flames and
the Obama administration and the Security Council choose to gang up on
the only democracy in the Middle East – the State of Israel. What a
disgrace.
My friends, I would like to tell you on the first night of Chanukah
that this will not avail them. We reject this resolution outright, just
as we rejected the UN resolution that determined that Zionism was
racism. It took time but that resolution was rescinded;
it will take time but this one will also be rescinded. Now I will tell
you how it will be rescinded. It will be rescinded not because of our
retreats but because of our steadfastness and that of our allies. I
remind you that we withdrew from Gaza, uprooted communities and took
people out of their graves. Did this help us at all at the UN? Did this
improve our relations at the UN? We were hit with thousands of rockets and at the UN we were hit with the Goldstone report!
“So I will tell you what is clear, I know, to the vast majority of
Israeli citizens: We learned this lesson, and we will not go there. But I
also want to tell you something else: We are not alone. I spoke last
night with many American leaders. I was pleased to hear from members of
the American Congress, from Democrats and Republicans alike, that they
will fight an all-out war against this resolution with all the power at
their disposal. I heard the exact same things from our friends in the
incoming administration, who said that they will fight an all-out war
against this resolution. And I heard this from across the spectrum of
American public opinion and American politics – Republicans, Democrats,
Jews and non-Jews. As I spoke yesterday with leaders in Congress and the
incoming American administration, they told me unequivocally: ‘We are
sick of this and it will not continue. We will change this resolution.
We will not allow anyone to harm the State of Israel.’ They are
declaring their intention to pass legislation to punish countries and
bodies that try to harm Israel. They say that this will also include the
UN itself. I remind you that the UN receives a quarter, 25%, of its
budget from the US alone.
“In my most recent speech to the UN, in September,
I said that a storm was expected in the UN before it gets better there.
We knew that this is possible and we expect that it will come. The
resolution that was passed at the UN yesterday is part of the swan song
of the old world that is biased against Israel, but, my friends, we are
entering a new era. And just as President-elect Trump said yesterday, it
will happen much sooner than you think. In the new era there is a much
higher price for those who try to harm Israel, and that the price will
be exacted not only by the US, but by Israel as well.
“Two countries with which we have diplomatic relations cosponsored
the resolution against us at the UN; therefore, I ordered yesterday that
our ambassadors be recalled from, Senegal and from New Zealand. I have
ordered that all Israeli assistance to Senegal be halted, and there’s
more to come. Those who work with us will benefit because Israel has
much to give to the countries of the world.
But those who work against
us will lose – because there will be a diplomatic and economic price for
their actions against Israel. Additionally, I have instructed the
Foreign Ministry to complete, within a month, a reassessment of all of
our contacts with the UN, including Israeli financing of UN institutions
and the presence of UN representatives in the country. But I am not
waiting; already now I have ordered to halt approximately NIS 30 million
in financing for five UN institutions, five UN bodies that are
especially hostile to Israel. I have already ordered that this be
stopped, and there is more to come.
“We are on a campaign of improving our relations with the nations of
the world. And it will take more time, and I have said this as well,
until our improved relations with countries on five continents are also
reflected in their decisions in UN institutions. But I would like to
tell you something else, and listen closely to what I’m saying. Contrary
to what you might expect, it is very likely that last night’s
scandalous resolution will accelerate this process, because it is the
straw that broke the camel’s back.
Last night’s resolution is a call to
arms for all of our many friends in the US and elsewhere around the
world, friends who are sick of the UN’s hostility toward Israel, and
they intend to bring about a fundamental change in the UN. Therefore,
this evening I tell you in the language of our sources, the sweet will
yet come forth from the bitter and those who come to curse will yet
bless.
“Here, on the first night of Chanukah, I stand next to the Maccabees
of our times, IDF soldiers and wounded IDF heroes. I salute you and I
say to you clearly: The light will dispel the darkness.
The spirit of
the Maccabees will overcome. Happy Chanukah.”
Man, 35, arrested in connection with child sex abuse
Joseph Goldman faces rape, assault charges
Joseph Goldman
SOURCE: Baltimore Police Department
BALTIMORE —
Police said a 35-year-old man has been arrested in connection with child sex abuse.
Detectives arrested Joseph Goldman around 8:15 a.m. Monday at his home in the 3500 block of Taney Road.
A
juvenile victim disclosed several incidents over a period of time to a
third party, and that third party relayed the information to the
Baltimore Police Department, which began an investigation, police said.
The incidents happened over the course of several years, but was disclosed in October this year, police said.
Police
said they seized suspected marijuana, two handguns, one shotgun with an
altered barrel, one rifle and a homemade silencer from his home.
Goldman
was taken to Central Booking, where he has been charged with first- and
second-degree rape, second-, third- and fourth-degree sex offense,
first- and second-degree assault, perverted practice, and other related
charges.
The investigation into the guns will continue, police said.
‘How did my son, product of an Orthodox family, educated in a yeshiva, become an addict?’
Ari Glassman a"h
By Rebecca Glassman
Rebecca Glassman of West Hempstead spoke at a gathering
in Woodmere last week that confronted the issue of adiction in the
Orthodox community. Her son, Aryeh Nathan Glassman, died from a heroin overdose in May.
When I was trying to figure out what I would say tonight, many
well meaning friends and family strongly suggested that I speak from my
heart. Most who have attended different functions at my home as well as
Ari’s funeral have heard me speak and know that I always speak from my
heart. But how do you speak from the heart when the heart is shattered
to pieces?
Aryeh Natan, born June 12, 1988, died May 15, 2016. Ari died of
a heroin overdose. I will no longer see the face that lit up my heart,
the twinkling blue eyes and that magnificent smile. Heroin took his life.
I could stand here and tell you all about Ari, how
well-rounded he was, how talented and smart he was. I could tell you
about what a great friend he was, how each of his friends
considered themselves to be his best friend because they knew that he
would always have their backs no matter what. I could tell you about how
he shut down our street on the weekend with his organized hockey games …
how much Ari loved to read … how much he enjoyed playing the piano,
jamming with friends and even alone on the keyboard in his room. I could
share with you Ari’s love of cooking and how he used to drive me crazy
asking for different recipes. I could tell you how much Ari adored his
younger sister and brother, and they him. But really, what would be the
point of any of this. Ari is gone and the pain of his loss is immense.
Ari was brought up in an Orthodox home, not unlike many
of the people here. He attended yeshiva from nursery aleph as a three
year old, through the twelfth grade. He was given all of the
things that parents give their kids including love and emotional
support. He was cherished from the time he was born even through
adulthood and through his addiction.
But here’s where I have a problem. How did my son, the product
of an Orthodox family, educated in a yeshiva, become an addict? After
all, doesn’t drug abuse only exist in the outside world? How can this
happen to us? As far as I was concerned, drug addicts came from public
schools and the inner cities, broken homes, and homes where there is
abuse. Drugs were found in poverty stricken areas like the slums, and
areas where there is a lack of education.
We know that drug use has become rampant among the yeshiva
students. I was told by several mothers that they were aware that
students were leaving school during lunch breaks to use drugs and
somehow no one was the wiser. Why weren’t the teachers, administrators
and parents on top of this?
Drug addiction does not discriminate between the races, religions or genders. It affects us all in one way or another.
Many in the Orthodox community don’t believe it could happen to them. Sadly, my family is an example of the fact that it can.
I was told, that in the last year within the Orthodox
community, we have lost 60 young men and women to drug overdoses. My
heart breaks for the families of these children.
My Ari suffered from the disease of addiction. The surgeon
general, Dr. Vivek H. Murthy wrote that “addiction is a chronic brain
disease that has the potential for both recurrence (relapse) and
recovery.”
Addiction is in fact a deadly disease. We need to take charge
of it by saying we have a problem and not sweeping it under the rug. We
need to understand that it is a disease not unlike cancer or diabetes.
Would anyone deny that cancer or diabetes exists? Would we deny our
children medical treatment for those illnesses? Absolutely not! So then
why are we ashamed to say that the disease of drug addiction exists in
our communities and in our schools? Our kids need help and there is help
out there if we just reach out and ask for it.
Unfortunately, while Ari had been in many rehab
programs, he could not get out of his own way and accept the help that
was offered. …
Ari did however, choose to help others, while he was sober and in rehab.
After he died I received several messages from people who were
residents with him in the various programs. They told me that if it
hadn’t been for Ari’s encouragement, and insistence that they stay in
rehab, they would have definitely relapsed or worse. One young man told
me that he had been clean and sober for several years now, and was
shocked when he heard about Ari’s death. It warms my heart to hear these
stories because it confirms what I knew all along. Drug addiction was a
disease that Ari battled with, but it did not define him as a human
being. He was a kind and generous person who was ill.
I would like to help prevent what happened to Ari from
happening to others. People need to wake up and understand that there is
work to be done when it comes to drug abuse. And if the work starts now, we can hopefully save more children instead of watching them die. There have been too many deaths.
Education and programming within the schools for students,
teachers, administrators as well as parents, is necessary for
prevention. It is also necessary to have the tools to deal with those
who are already unfortunately addicted.
Tomorrow it will be seven months since Ari died. … I firmly
believe that he would want us to continue on this journey of life. Part
of Ari’s legacy are the years that he should have lived. So now, we go
on and live them for him. We cherish those years and make them count.
Ari always wanted to help people. To that end I am addressing this crowd in his memory, in the hope that I can help even one person who is struggling.
Finally, I was reading through some chapters in Rabbi Maurice
Lamm’s book, Consolation, the follow up book to The Jewish Way in Death
and Mourning. There is a paragraph that I would like to share with all
of you that gave me some comfort:
“As we separate and ‘die’ from the womb, only to be born to
life, so we separate and die from our world, only to be reborn to life
eternal. The exit from the womb is the birth of the body. The exit from
the body is the birth of the soul.
“As the womb requires a gestation period of nine months, the world requires a residence of decades. As the womb is ‘prozdor’ (an anteroom) for the preparation of life, so our present existence is prozdor to the world beyond.”
Ari had almost three decades of residence in this world as
preparation for the world beyond. I would like to think that maybe he
was extra special to Hashem, as he didn’t need as much time as the rest
of us do to prepare for the world to come.
Ari struggled so much in this world and even through his
struggles he tried to help others. Ari was a gift that we received and
gift that was taken back earlier than anticipated. …
In Ari’s memory I hope that we can work together on getting the
information about addiction out there, both on the level of prevention
as well as assisting those who are in the midst of fighting the disease.
May Ari’s neshama have an aliyah. And may the neshamas of all of the beautiful children that we have lost to addiction have an aliyah.
Rabbi defrocked for alleged sex offences is still practicing — report
Shimon Garelick of Nahariya continues to present himself as a community rabbi and counselor, Channel 2 reveals
Former rabbi Shimon Garelick
A rabbi who was defrocked by the
Chief Rabbinate after accusations of sexual assault still presents
himself as a rabbi and counselor, according to a Channel 2 investigative
report aired Sunday.
Rabbi
Shimon Garelick had his rabbinic license revoked in August at the
recommendation of the rabbinic disciplinary committee after accusations
that he committed a spate of sexual crimes over many years.
Garelick served as a neighborhood rabbi in the
northern city of Nahariya, as a kashrut supervisor, and as a chaplain
at the city’s hospital.
Accusations against Garelick have come from
girls, boys, women and men, according to Channel 2. Some date back many
years, while some are recent.
Police have closed all cases against him
because the complainants were minors and there was not sufficient
corroborating evidence to prosecute him.
Channel 2 found that he still serves as the
head of a synagogue in his neighborhood. A reporter also went to the
rabbi for counseling and secretly filmed him.
In response, Garelick’s lawyer told Channel 2
that “the complaints were investigated by the correct authorities. The
claims are malicious rumors put about by people with vested interests.
There are no criminal or disciplinary investigations against the rabbi
at this time.”
Claims against the rabbi first surfaced in
2007 when he was detained for several days with many accusations against
him. However, police closed all the cases against him due to lack of
evidence, and Garelick, a father of 11, was released.
The matter was referred to the Takana Forum,
which specializes in dealing discreetly with sexual abuse cases within
the Orthodox community. In 2011, the body ruled that despite not having
been convicted, Garelick should not serve in a public role. They warned
the community to keep their distance from him, the religious website
Kipa reported.
“Since we first heard of complaints against
[Garelick] and without any connection to disciplinary court,” a
statement on the website reads, “the Forum has heard other complaints
against that rabbi, of serious claims of sexual attacks. Some of the
male and female complainants have turned to the disciplinary committee
of the Chief Rabbinate.”
Fliers were circulated in Nahariya against
Garelick, warning people to be particularly careful not to be alone with
the rabbi and to be particularly vigilant not to let young girls speak
with him or be secluded with him.
Rabbi
David Harrison has been charged with a dozen counts of sodomy, rape,
indecent assault and threatening behavior for acts he committed while serving as
rabbi of a religious girls' school in Jerusalem.
According to an indictment filed Sunday morning in the Jerusalem
District Court, the acts attributed to him occurred two to four times a
week.
Rabbi David Harrison in court
Esther Bar-Zion, who is representing Harrison, said, "From our point of view, nothing has been attributed to my client."
The court decided to release Harrison to house arrest, where he will remain with his son in Petah Tikva.
Harrison, aged 58 from Jerusalem, worked at Ulpanat Beit Shlomit
between the years 2007-2010. He is accused of committing serious sexual
offenses against teenage girls—including rape—while he was working at
the school.
According to the indictment, in 2009 while serving as a substitute
teacher, Harrison met a 14-year-old student who eventually filed a
report with the police when she was 20. According to the victim, he
would ask her to perform tasks in class, such as handing out papers, and
touch her each time to judge gauge her response.
Harrison with his lawyer
Eventually, Harrison asked her to meet him alone in a teacher's
lounge where he attacked her for the first time. Afterward, he would
tell her to meet him again every week in the teacher's lounge or another
area of the school where he would perform dozens of acts of rape,
sodomy and indecent assault.
The indictment also alleges that Harrison threatened the girl and
told her he would hurt her and tell everyone she was a prostitute.
Harrison also threatened the girl that she would be kicked out of school
and no other school would accept her. Additionally, he also threatened
to tell her parents and others that she acted inappropriately with him.
According to the indictment, on one particular occasion, Harrison even forced the girl to take the "morning after" pill.
Harrison denied the allegations, saying "When I was arrested, I was
told I'm suspected of rape. I went into questioning smug and didn't ask
for a lawyer because I was sure this was a complete mistake. There isn't
even a hint of an offense. I didn't touch (her). I ask to be allowed to
undergo a polygraph test and to be confronted with the girl ... The
school was full of people; I didn't even have a private office there."
"RETROACTIVE ANNULMENT: subsequent non-observance of the commandments
annuls the conversion. 'The essence of conversion," R. Feinstein
maintained, is sincere acceptance of the yoke of the commandments. In
the case of converts who later disobey Jewish law, "it is obvious, even
though he orally affirmed his acceptance of the commandments, that he
possessed mental reservations."While one might contend that the would-be
convert's intent at the moment of acceptance would be sufficient to
establish true intent, Rabbi Feinstein rejected this as unacceptable.
For such a person to be presumed a Jew, he would have to perform the
commandments. Yet, in this case,he never did so. His promises and
affirmations before the rabbinic court were simply "empty talk designed
to deceive the rabbinic court. Since he did not [sincerely] accept the
commandment, he is not a proselyte and his betrothal is nothing,""
The Rabbinate’s new conversion criteria committee? Same-old, same-old, but now it’s official
HASKEL LOOKSTEIN
Israel’s Chief Rabbinate met
this week to form a committee to draft criteria for recognizing the
weddings, divorces and conversions of rabbis in the Diaspora. After the
messy political firestorm following the rejection of a conversion conducted by Rabbi Haskel Lookstein
as well as legal challenges demanding the full list of “approved”
rabbis, the Rabbinate finally agreed to establish an official set of
criteria.
To
those who have hailed this move as an important step forward towards
transparency and openness on the part of the Chief Rabbinate, I would
caution a great deal of skepticism. From the details of the draft document that have been reported, the Chief Rabbinate seems poised to officially adopt its longstanding practices.
[Chief Rabbi
David] Lau suggested that rabbis approved by the Chief Rabbinate must
work where there are “established and organized rabbinical courts that
work in accordance with the principles of Jewish law and whose status is
accepted by the community rabbis.” He cited the rabbinical courts in
London and Paris as examples.
In addition, Lau
said rabbis who operate under the authority of rabbinical associations
and rabbinical courts that are approved by such associations would be
another criteria, citing organizations such as the Rabbinical Council of
America; the US Agudath Harabonim and the Conference of European
Rabbis.
Finally, the chief
rabbi suggested that in instances where there is no “organized
rabbinate,” the individual rabbis and their “path in Jewish law” must be
examined by the Chief Rabbinate’s department with the rabbis of the
community in question, along with an examination of the rabbi’s
ordination and his decision making in Jewish law.
In other words, no individual rabbis’
conversions would be recognized automatically, and these conversions
would be examined and scrutinized by the Chief Rabbinate. Meaning, the
Rabbinate will continue to do what it has been doing until now, only in
an official capacity. This means that the conversions of the London Beit
Din, or the Beit Din of America (or South Africa or Detroit) will be
accepted without question, but any other conversion will be examined on a
case by case basis. Any other rabbi similar to Rabbi Lookstein would be
examined and evaluated, as well as his “ordination and his decision
making in Jewish law.” That’s a pretty broad definition of scrutiny.
In America, this will mean that a rabbi who
performs a conversion outside the RCA’s GPS system or another recognized
Beit Din will not automatically be recognized, but will be evaluated
individually. There will be no list of individual rabbis. Such a list is
legally impossible to defend, ends up growing outdated (leaving many
deceased rabbis approved to perform conversions), and generally smacks
of favoritism and nepotism.
What does this mean for the thousands of converts who were converted by ad hoc batei din before the GPS system? For those that have been “approved” by the Beth Din of America and its poskim
— and there are many — one hopes that the Rabbanut will have the good
sense to automatically accept those conversions.
On the other hand, I do
not believe that conversions performed by individual rabbis who
established their own Batei Din will enjoy automatic approval and
acceptance by the Rabbanut.
Moreover, liberal Orthodox rabbis and their batei din
stand little chance (to my mind) of gaining acceptance by the Chief
Rabbinate for their conversions. Does this mean that they shouldn’t
perform conversions? Of course not! But it does, in my view, obligate
them to be honest and completely open with their prospective converts,
and explain to them that currently, the Chief Rabbinate does not
recognize them as Jewish for the purpose of marriage in Israel. Armed
with that information, they will have the ability to make the best
choice for themselves.
Finally, what’s most alarming about this
report is the fact that the committee does not include any rabbi with
any personal familiarity with the rabbis it will actually be evaluating.
The joint committee will be comprised of rabbinical judges Rabbis Aharon Katz, Shlomo Shapira and Yitzhak Elmaliach, along with Council of the Chief Rabbinate members rabbis Yitzhak Ralbag and Yehuda Deri.
I do not question the expertise, knowledge and piety of any of these
rabbis. But their biographies demonstrate that each of the was either
born in Israel or raised here from a young age — without any meaningful
interaction with the English-speaking Orthodox community. How can rabbis
who don’t speak English and have no personal knowledge of the rabbanim
in question — their attitudes, writings or teachings — or the scope and
nature of the congregations — realistically evaluate whether a rabbi is
“appropriate” to conduct conversions, and whether his conversions
should, or should not be recognized? If you don’t know the difference
between “KJ” and “BMG” — nor what those letters represent, how can you
have any understanding of conversions in those respective communities?
Rabbi Seth Farber of Itim has done important
work to force the Chief Rabbinate to have taken this step at all. But it
will have been in vain if they do not at the very least, add at least
one member or advisor to the committee who speaks English, knows the
communities in question, and can give the rabbis an honest and clear
assessment of the facts on the ground. That, to me, seems to be a most
basic demand that the rabbinate could and should accept.
—
Rabbi Reuven Spolter is the Overseas
Rabbinic Coordinator for Irgun Rabbanei Tzohar, and coordinates Jewish
status applications on behalf of Tzohar from English speaking countries.
Avrohom Gordimer adds: " Would we seek for a kosher agency to fail to properly assess the kosher
status of a food product before certifying it? Would we fail to
carefully make sure that our food bears reliable kosher certification
before eating it? And as people who care about the well-being of others
and of ourselves, would we approve of a hospital hiring a doctor or
administering a drug before a comprehensive evaluation of competence and
quality? Would we seek treatment from a doctor or take a drug that has
not been thoroughly evaluated and vetted? Why should conversion not be
held to the same high standards of scrutiny?"
Rabbinate forms conversion vetting panel, raising hackles anew
Committee
includes member who rejected New York rabbi Lookstein, who brought
Ivanka Trump into Judaism and now apparently won’t be accepted despite
chief rabbis’ promises
The
Chief Rabbis of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef (L) and Rabbi David Lau (R)
The state-appointed chief rabbis
of Israel’s two main Jewish streams on Wednesday appointed members to a
committee which will define the criteria according to which the
Rabbinate will recognize conversions to Judaism performed abroad by
Diaspora rabbis.
The
Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbis, Yitzhak Ysef and David Lau,
convened a meeting Wednesday with the Chief Rabbinate Council and the
Supreme Rabbinical Court to determine which overseas rabbis and their
converts would be accepted by all the rabbinic courts in Israel.
Previously, municipal city courts could rule on the issue.
The chief rabbis appointed five rabbis to the
committee, including three judges from the Supreme Rabbinical Court —
rabbis Aharon Katz, Shlomo Shapira and Yitzhak Elmaliach.
The high-profile case was one the factors that led to the rabbis setting up the committee.
Elmaliach has in the past faced strong criticism from Mavoi Satum, a nonprofit organization helping women denied a get, or Jewish divorce, for controversial rulings he had made in divorce cases.
The other two members of the committee are
rabbis Yitzhak Ralbag, Lau’s father-in-law, and Yehuda Deri, elder
brother of Shas MK Aryeh Deri.
Rabbi
Yitzhak Ralbag
The head of Itim, an organization that helps
Israelis navigate the state’s religious bureaucracy, was quick to
condemn the decisions of the chief rabbis. Rabbi Seth Farber, founder
and director of Itim, said the decision “gives cause for concern,
especially when looking at the committee members and their history.”
“One of the committee members served on the
bench of the Supreme Rabbinical Court that rejected the conversion
overseen by Rabbi Haskel Lookstein, one of the most influential and
senior Orthodox rabbis in the United States. Another one has been
operating behind the scenes for years rejecting conversions from North
America and is partially to blame for the chaotic situation that has
been created.”
Farber claimed that despite their stated
intention to ease the plight of converts, the Chief Rabbinate may have
made it worse. He called for the rabbinate to enter into dialogue with
the Jewish communities of the Diaspora and recognize the challenges
facing local synagogue rabbis in their fight against intermarriage and
assimilation with an eye toward building trust with Jewish communities
around the world, not disenfranchising them.
Lau said according to the new system, local
rabbis abroad will first need approval by the heads of organizations
like the Conference of European Rabbis and the Rabbinical Council of
America before being considered by the Israeli rabbinate.
The chief rabbi singled out the Beth Din of
America headed by Rabbi Gedalia Schwartz as a reliable organization. The
Beth Din is affiliated with the RCA.
Any rabbi who is a member of the RCA will need
the approval of the Beth Din of America for any matter pertaining to
Jewish identity, including divorce and conversion, Lau said. That body
will be the final arbiter of Jewish status for America.
However, “Rabbi Lookstein, as we know also in
Israel, is not prepared to accept the authority [of the Beth Din of
America],” Lau said. “He is a member of the RCA but he will not allow
the RCA to rule for him.”
Gedalia Dov Schwartz
In effect this means that Ivanka Trump’s conversion would not automatically be recognized by the Israeli rabbinate.
Lookstein, 84, is now rabbi emeritus of
Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan after serving as senior
rabbi there since 1979. Schwartz, 91, and has headed the Beth Din since
1991.
Lau also proposed creating a register of
marriages and conversions from abroad — in effect a list of who is a
Jew, which would allow those people and their children automatic
recognition as Jews by the Israeli rabbinate.
