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Sunday, June 27, 2010

"...Perhaps They Believe That Their Generosity Will Purchase Love, Respect Or Forgiveness"....

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Asst. D.A. Paul Turley never heard back from Mother Teresa (surprise), nor was the $1.25 Million Dollars ever returned to its rightful owners!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Protect A Child - It Could Be Your Own!



PINNED POST - NO COMMENTS! CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGE - PRINT & PASS THEM OUT IN SHUL!

Parents in our community have been powerless until now to really keep their children safe from sexual abuse. Please keep in mind that if one parent feels empowered to call the police about their child's molestation, hundreds of other children can be saved. One child molester can, when left unconfronted, molest literally hundreds of children over the course of his or her lifetime. Those who work in the field know all too well of cases in which entire classes of children have been molested by a rebbe or a teacher. So even those of us who feel that we would do the right thing and call the police, are not protecting our kids unless we convince our neighbors to do so as well.

Therefore we are starting a public service announcement campaign to bring awareness about the issue of sex abuse, utilizing law enforcement, and creating safe schools and camps.

The top half of the above flyer is going to be put on billboards starting in the Catskill Mountains in time for the summer season. We are also having it professionally translated into Yiddish.

For this project we need funding; the JBAC is turning to you.

Each billboard can cost over one thousand dollars for a single month. Please do what you can. Every dollar is used to get the message out. This message WILL save lives of Jewish children.

Please make checks payable to Jewish Board of Advocates for Children Inc., It should be spelled out. It is tax deductible. We are a 501c3. Kindly send it to: Elliot Pasik Esq., 52 East Olive Street, Long Beach, NY 11561. For checks under $250.00, the cancelled check is a receipt. Checks over $250, we'll issue a receipt.

Thank you for all of your support.

Educate Your Children!

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Yes, We Need Achdus!



Guest Post By Steve - Long Time Friend Of UOJ

The navi Yeshaya gives us the answer in the very first perek with two words, "ASHERU CHAMOTZ"- STRENGTHEN THE VICTIMS! The gemara in Sanhedrin explains: "ASHERU CHAMOTZ VELO CHOMETZ"- STRENGTHEN THE VICTIM AND NOT THE CRIMINAL!

This is the type of achdus that was lacking at the time of the destruction of the two temples. The navi cried out, save yourselves by doing teshuva. Save yourselves by caring for the victims, the widows and orphans. Save yourselves by getting rid of your corrupt leaders who are the friends of thieves and love bribes . However, the people did not listen. They instead rallied around their false prophets, their corrupt leaders and the gangsters of that generation. It is said that every generation that the bais hamikdash is not built is as guilty as the generation when it was destroyed.

We have still not learned our lesson. Instead of unanimously rallying around the cause of victims of sexual abuse, we see rabbis and community leaders rallying around the child molesters. Read the latest Daily News article about Baruch Lebovits if you don't believe me. See how many people came to support him in court versus how many who came to support his brave victim. See how his victims have been villified and attacked while pidyon shvuyim funds are being collected for him and other child molesters. Have these people gone insane? No, we have been this insane since the time of Yeshaya. Nothing has changed. That is why we are still in galus. We still have our false prophets who tell us everything is fine and dandy, our corrupt leaders who are friends of thieves and love shochad and who refuse to even acknowledge those that have been victimized. What has changed?

Nothing!


As for Sholom Rubashkin, nebach, it is a human tragedy. Yes, the sentence was excessive. Anti-semitism? I don't think so. The man made one fatal mistake after another. For close to ten years, he refused to heed the call to change the way he operated his business. We begged him to do something about the reports of worker abuse, animal abuse, immigration law violations, identity fraud, health and safety violations, EPA violations, kashrus and labeling issues, etc.,etc. Yet, all we heard back were denials from him, his lawyers and his PR spinmeisters. After the raid and his indictment, instead of cooperating with the authorities, he stubbornly refused to change his ways. Instead of accepting a plea deal, he committed bank fraud, tampered with evidence, violated his bail terms and ultimately perjured himself on the witness stand. I don't put blame him alone for all his troubles.

His partners, coworkers, lawyers, PR team, the OU and Weissmandl all share in the blame and chillul hashem that took place at Agriprocessors. SMR is not an evil person. A stubborn, misguided and corrupt businessman maybe, but not evil. For the crimes he committed, a 27 year sentence is ridiculous. However,his arrogance and lack of contrition along with some bad advice all served to grease his skids. Pleading for leniency on behalf of such an individual is noble. I myself signed a petition calling for leniency. However, to make this into a cause celebre and playing the race card is not in our best interests. Further antagonizing the judge and the US justice system is also not wise and it severely backfired in this case. Try and help the man, yes, but please stop with the histrionics and this "achdus" business.

Yes, we need achdus.

Gilad Shalit needs our achdus. The victims of child sexual abuse need our achdus. The State of Israel needs our achdus. The countless poor people need our achdus. The orphans, widows and agunos need our achdus. Let's show achdus where it really counts and where it really means something. Asheru Chamotz Velo Chometz! I will keep repeating it until it starts to sink in.

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

The Power of a Single Blogger!

Guest post by Tropper is Troubled.

Events have moved very quickly this past week and Jews/Israelis have been thrust into the media spotlight with intensity. The way Israel stopped the Gaza blockade busters after it was provoked into action unleashed a storm of, well not pro-Israel sentiment, but rather a torrent of anti-Israel and anti-Semitic venting in the world media and on the streets of many nations.

Once again, Israel was hated and demonized for taking preemptive action against its enemies, almost to the day 43 years since the outbreak of the Six Day War in 1967.The anti-Israel mobs took to the streets aided and abetted by the self-hating Jews and Israel bashers of all stripes and shades. People in the media referred to Israelis in the worst stereotypes of Jews worthy of the Nazis.

While the world was huffing and puffing with all this hate, across the Atlantic at a little-noticed "Jewish heritage month celebration" at the White House (it's not clear what "heritage" was being celebrated there because lately the White House people seem to be surprised that most of the world's Jews do not adhere to the standard group-think so common to secular political Jewish groups), something significant happened!

What happened?

At the height of the ships trying to break the Gaza blockade and with Israel being excoriated, none other than Ms. Helen Thomas, the senior correspondent at the White House, both in age and status, put her foot in her mouth when innocently asked about the event at the White House she chose to throw her notorious verbal nuke at Israel and it's people to tell Israel, meaning its Jews, to "get the hell out of Palestine...and go back 'home' to Poland, Germany and America" that is till reverberating across the news media and when her videotaped live comments were posted online, she was forced to eat humble pie, was fired, condemned by the White House spokesperson and had to apologize.

What was she doing and what was she thinking?

She is not senile, but she was throwing a life-support to the beleaguered blockade-busters who were causing havoc for Israel and she was in effect joining in with all the world's anti-Semites and Israel bashers who were calling for Israel's scalp. While it turned out to be her personal Titanic, it hurt Israel but it taught an even deeper lesson.

What is missed is that Helen Thomas was brought down by a one, until now unknown, Jewish blogger !

The most distinguished voice in journalism at the White House for 50 years, allowed to hector, lecture and interrogate US presidents in public, and one of Israel's most strident and sly critics was cut off at the knees and exposed as a duplicitous anti-Semitic hate-monger and biased anti-Israel advocate and instantly defrocked of her status as a reputable journalist.

The power of one blogger brought down Helen Thomas and it should as a warning to all those who cling to power in the old-fashioned way and hope that their nefarious views and deeds will remain hidden. Tropper learned this the hard way, as have many others, most notably Nixon with the tapes of his White House conversations and the Linda Tripp tapes of Monica Lewinsky exposing Clinton's behavior.

The until-now unknown Jewish blogger is an online rabbi, someone who has tried to make a living from work in the media over the years, or so he claims, with credentials from the Conservative JTS. He is no different to tens of thousands of other Jewish bloggers many of them rabbis of all shades and denominations who hope to make splash and a difference with their blogs or websites.

On his site/blog, Rabbi David Nesenoff's main "credential" is that he is the "Founder, RabbiLIVE.com" and as he explains about himself at:

http://www.rabbilive.com/RabbiLIVE/About.html:

"No Need To Wait... It's LIVE !

Anne Frank, while hiding for two years during World War II's Holocaust, wrote in her diary: 'How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.' Certainly in our new world of speed of light, sound bite, and mega byte there is no rhyme or reason to wait when it comes to helping our fellow man and woman. Slow motion, time delay, and reruns must be substituted with LIVE. RabbiLIVE.com is dedicated to preparing, repairing, caring, and sparing the world... and doing so now... in real time as captured on video at real LIVE events with real LIVE people concerning real LIVE issues reported by a real LIVE rabbi.

Israel, politics, family, religion, the arts, peace, war, controversy, celebrity, events, celebrations, rallies, sermons, and of course even, if not especially, comedy make up our lives. The rabbi must sometimes leave the pulpit and mingle with life’s fellows and foibles. The new literature, for good or bad, is video. RabbiLIVE presents LIVE literature that exposes and proposes...teaches and preaches. -Rabbi David F. Nesenoff."

He's earned his ten minutes of fame, that's for sure, but more importantly he has taught a very important lesson in this television+cyber-age with it's 24 hour news cycles and live blogospheres, that with the ability to use words and especially with a small recorder or video camera (it could be in a cell phone or pen) a tiny 25 second sound bite can expose a cancer, deliver a mortal blow to bring down falsehood and hate and equalizing an otherwise unequal battle between puffed up ego maniacal over-confident abusers of the Jewish people and the few who are bravely perpetually struggling against them.

New Hampshire cases of sexual assault of a minor, the statute of limitations starts 22 years after the victim turns 18

I THOUGHT I HEARD IT ALL!

http://womensrights.change.org/blog/view/teenager_forced_to_apologize_to_her_church_for_being_raped

In 1997, 15-year-old Tina Anderson became pregnant after being raped repeatedly by an older man she knew from church. Shockingly, when her pastor found out, he forced her to apologize in front of the entire congregation in Concord, New Hampshire, and then promptly helped whisk her away to live in Colorado.

According to Tina, the first time she was raped by Ernest Willis, it was in the backseat of his car after he'd given her a driving lesson. She didn't tell anyone because she was terrified that she'd be blamed. After being raped by Willis again, Tina became pregnant. Willis, ever the vile human-being, offered to drive her out-of-state for an abortion or to punch her in the stomach to cause a miscarriage. It was at this point that Tina confided in her mother, who in turn notified their pastor, Chuck Phelps.

It turns out, she was right was right to fear being blamed. In a disgusting turn of events, Phelps told Tina she would have to go before the entire congregation to apologize for her sins. Excuse me? It seems that Phelps explained to Tina that while Willis "may have been 99 percent responsible," she needs to confess to her "1 percent guilt in the situation."

After Tina acquiesced in this humiliating act of victim-blaming, the church and her family shipped her off to live in Colorado against her wishes, where she was instructed to give the baby up for adoption. While Phelps did contact the police about Willis — you know, since he was 99% guilty and all — it became nearly impossible for them to do anything about it since Tina was now hidden away in Colorado.

This appalling story is finally seeing the light of day because Tina Anderson decided to come forward this year. Sadly, it wasn't until this February that Tina truly realized that the assault on her was, in fact, zero percent her responsibility. That's when she decided it was time to share her experience with others and to seek justice for what had happened to her as a teenager.

You might have noticed that I am using her real name, something highly unusual in rape cases because victims' names are protected. This is because Tina wanted it this way. She wanted you to know exactly who she is and what was done to her, not only by Ernest Willis, but by those she entrusted to protect her.

Since Tina came forward, Willis has been arrested and released on bail. In New Hampshire, in cases of sexual assault of a minor, the statute of limitations does not run out until 22 years after the victim turns 18. Just as importantly, police are investigating exactly how much church leaders knew about the rape. Of course, if the adults in Concord — meaning Phelps, Tina's family, and every church congregant who heard Tina's "confession" and sat silent — had acted compassionately and responsibly back in 1997, they would have saved Tina over a decade of heartache and their community a lifetime of guilt.

Roxann MtJoy is a freelance writer and case manager at a domestic violence shelter. She is producing and directing a documentary on women's colleges in the United States.

Sunday, June 06, 2010

Urgent! Seeking Information about a Boro Park Child Molestor.

The UOJ Archives - September 3, 2007



Dear UOJ,

After I wrote the article on August 2 about my experience with a predator (read here) I was contacted by someone with a horrifying story that demands immediate action. This reader identified the man in my story and he painstakingly relayed details of his own ghastly experiences with this monster over three decades ago. This child molester has been targeting innocent children (and young adults) in Boro Park for over thirty years and nothing has been done! I am seeking any information on BEREL GOLDMAN, such as where he lives and where he is employed. Action (within the parameters of the law) will be taken and I pity him (and his employer) if he is currently still in chinuch.

I shudder when I think of how many victims he must have ruined for so many years. UOJ, there is a fire raging in Boro Park and it must be extinguished! The attitude of cover-up in the chassidishe velt is fueled by a clannish attitutude that is worse than the shanda of the Kolko/Margulies/Scheinberg/Belsky fiasco.

Here is the tell-all email that was sent to me by someone who has never recovered from the pain he suffered as an innocent child.

UOJ & friends, this is not a sensational piece of yellow quasi-journalism. This is a serious matter that requires the help of your vast audience. I and this victim implore the community to provide further information on:

Berel Goldman
Age: mid-to-upper 50’s
Height: approx 5’6
Built: Stocky
Hair/Beard: black with streaks of gray
Skin color: olive
Eyes: blue (a little bloodshot)


This monster wears chassidishe garb and has been seen walking around Boro Park and Flatbush and often engages in seemingly harmless conversation with young men and children.

Email sent to me:

Hello,

It took me a few days to get the courage to write back to you since I am still haunted by this guy and it brings back to me very bad memories that will live with me for the rest of my life....
I would hope that this letter gets posted on the UOJ blog and gets to the appropriate channels so that we get rid of this pervert and molester once and for all...
I have kept this in me for many years and I want to get it out of my system at this time...
I am now in my lower forties now and this started around 35 years ago when I was in the fourth grade in the Bobover Yeshiva..
The guy who we are talking about was my rebbe that year and his name is Berel Goldman...
He was in his low twenties at that time, he was very strong and muscular and he used to take me and lift me up with his hands and seat me on his lap and flex his big muscles at me and ask me if i liked it and while on his lap he would touched me all over including my penis thru my pants.
One day in middle of the year after I got to sit on his lap again, he told me to come out of the classroom with him and he took me to the bathroom and he locked the door and he exposed his penis to me and told me to rub it with my hands, I get very scared and terrified but he grabbed my hand and forced me to rub him while he unzipped my pants and was fondling my penis until he masturbated, of course at that age I did not know what this was and I started to cry, he told me that I better not tell anybody or he would punish me...I was scared and did not .a week later he did it to another kid in the class..he happened to tell his mother about it, and she called my mother and told her that he did it to me also, my mother asked me about it and I told her what happened..My mother and the other lady went to the principal and told him, and the answer was that he can not do anything about it, since this rebbe is from a prominent family in the shul and he does not want to ruin their name, our parents were furious and I left the yeshiva for a different yeshiva for the rest of the year and returned only the following year..He continued being a rebbi for a few years until he was fired and the reason was because the principal's son was to enter his grade...
After he was fired, he went to the Viener Yeshiva and was fired from there too..
Since I know him from shul, I know that he did not stop and he continues to molest kids and teenagers in shuls and in yeshivas and in mikvas..
I wrote this email with my heart full of pain of what this guy did to me and to many others...

Thank You Very Much

Tuesday, June 01, 2010

"They are the true heroes of the human race, but for whom we should still be living in caves......"

"Psychoanalysis has demonstrated the ambiguous nature of our thinking processes. Indeed, the power of rationalization, this counterfeit of reason, is one of the most puzzling human phenomena. If we were not accustomed to it, man's rationalizing effort would clearly appear to us as similar to a paranoid system. The paranoid person can be very intelligent, make excellent use of his reason in all areas of life except in that isolated part where his paranoid system is involved. The rationalizing person does exactly the same. We talk to an intelligent Stalinist who exhibits a great capacity to make use of his reason in many areas of thought. When we come to discuss Stalinism with him, however, we are suddenly confronted with a closed system of thought, the only function of which is to prove that his allegiance to Stalinism is in line with and not contradictory to reason.

He will deny certain obvious facts, distort others, or, inasmuch as he agrees to certain facts and statements, he will explain his attitude as logical and consistent.

He will at the same time declare that the fascist cult of the leader is one of the most obnoxious features of authoritarianism and claim that the Stalinist cult of the leader is something entirely different, that it is the genuine expression of the people's love for Stalin. When you tell him that is what the Nazis claimed too, he will smile tolerantly about your want of perception or accuse you of being the lackey of capitalism. He will find a thousand and one reasons why Russian nationalism is not nationalism, why authoritarianism is democracy, why slave labor is designed to educate and improve anti-social elements. The arguments which are used to defend or explain the deeds of the Inquisition or those used to explain racial or sex prejudices are illustrations of the same rationalizing capacity.

The degree to which man uses his thinking to rationalize irrational passions and to justify the actions of his group, shows how great the distance which man has still to travel in order to become Homo Sapiens. But we must go beyond such an awareness. We must try to understand the reasons for this phenomenon lest we fall into the error of believing that man's readiness for rationalization is a part of "human nature" which nothing can change.

Man by origin is a herd animal.

His actions are determined by an instinctive impulse to follow the leader and to have close contact with the other animals around him. Inasmuch as we are sheep, there is no greater threat to our existence than to lose this contact with the herd and to be isolated. Right and wrong, true and false are determined by the herd. But we are not only sheep. We are also human; we are endowed with awareness of ourselves, endowed with reason which by its very nature is independent of the herd. Our actions can be determined by the results of our thinking regardless of whether or not the truth is shared by others.

The split between our sheep nature and our human nature is the basis for two kinds of orientations: the orientation by proximity to the herd and the orientation by reason. Rationalization is a compromise between our sheep nature and our human capacity to think. The latter forces us to make believe that everything we do can stand the test of reason, and that is why we tend to make it appear that our irrational opinions and decisions are reasonable. But inasmuch as we are sheep, reason is not our real guide; we are guided by an entirely different principle, that of herd allegiance.

The ambiguity of thinking, the dichotomy between reason and a rationalizing intellect, is the expression of a basic dichotomy of man, the coextensive need for bondage and freedom. The unfolding and full emergence of reason is dependent on the attainment of full freedom and independence.

Until this is accomplished, man will tend to accept for truth that which the majority of the group wants to be true; his judgment is determined by the need for contact with the herd and by fear of being isolated from it.

A few individuals can stand this isolation and say the truth in spite of the danger of losing touch. They are the true heroes of the human race, but for whom we should still be living in caves......"

Psychoanalysis and Religion
1950, Erich Fromm
Chapter III, An Analysis of Some Types of Religious Experience