Can You Hear Me Now? - Part 2 - What I Would Say at The Agudah Convention!

THE UOJ ARCHIVES NOVEMBER 2010:

The first, last and only time I attended a convention sponsored by the Agudath Israel, is when it took place at the Pioneer Country Club in upstate New York; the brilliant accountants that are here tonight I'm certain can tell you how long ago that was without taking off their socks.

I was a bochur, just turning eighteen at the time, I looked forward to spending Shabbos in the presence of my rosh yeshiva, and a few classmates from yeshiva that were also Pirchei leaders. I did not know what to expect, and indeed it was a disappointing display by the "esteemed" baalei batim of their new cars, their wives' jewelry and designer clothes. Single girls of marriageable age were being hawked off to the would be shadchanim and parents of eligible boys. For the most part, bochurim of marriageable age were not invited. Food was being gulped down by the pound and by the cow, and the waiters were sweating bullets keeping up with the crowd. At breakfast on Friday, one behaimishe baal habayis tells his waiter, " I vant an omelette mit ah dozen - 12 eggs, fried on baider zeiten, and if it's 11 eggs, I'll know -- hahaha". Putz! We kids were sitting at the entrance to the kitchen as the waiter rushes in to tell his story. Ugly I tell you, stuff that stays with you for a lifetime.

I swore I'd never go back, and never did.

Rabbi Joshua Silbermintz a"h (aka Josh - a name that I would never call him by), asked me at the third Shabbos meal (shalosh seudas)...if I would please speak to the assembly about the importance of Pirchei; the second scheduled speaker took ill. He gave me 10 minutes to Shir Ha'maalot.

As Moshe Sherer taught, never begin your speech with " I'm not really prepared", so I stood up and blurted out what came to my mind, that's been on my mind since my very brief stint as a Pirchei leader.

".... Parents - what we must all learn from the Avos and Imahos - our patriarchs, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov and their rebbetzins --- is the sacrifices and love showed to their children. Avraham Avinu was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice with Yitzchak -- and the Torah goes out of its way to describe the love Yitzchak and Yaakov, Rivkah, Leah and Rachel had for their children. I quoted the relevant psukim and Rashi to a now attentive crowd. I continued... Many or most of you here tonight are survivors, you know the meaning of heartache. I went on now... raising the pitch of my voice (I was a quick learner); you have an obligation to teach your children that sleeping Shabbos afternoon is not more important than the walking of your children to Pirchei and Bnos...leaving them hefker in the streets (in what was then a very safe Crown Heights). [Many kids wandered off to Lefferts Av. Park and to other unsupervised places,]... your childrens' safety is paramount. I beseech you to please pay heed to your childrens' physical and emotional safety. Thank you".

Nothing changed; I resigned my high-paying job.

And in all these years, parents trusted their kids to people that used their kids as "objects" - either making money off of them in their schools, summer camps, seminaries etc., and as we now know, that in every yeshiva and girls school, many kids were sexually, physically and emotionally abused by staff members, principals, teachers --- and these crimes were covered up by criminal circus midgets with long beards, like the ones sitting at your dais here tonight.

I look around this room and I know many of you; I find it incredible to believe that you are here showing support for this criminal enterprise. In effect, you have created "a race to the bottom" of what was once a beautiful heritage and tradition. Have you no shame? What will your legacy be, if not leaving the world a much worse place than how you found it? Your kids are ashamed of you --- and are voting with their souls, hearts and feet " out of here!"

Don't take my word for it! Did you read Mishpacha magazine? Who do you think you're kidding? They see through you! They know that there's not a darn thing about your lifestyle that they want to have anything to do with!

Hashem had sent His messenger to America in September 1913 to set up shop with a model that would work for American Jewry. And a model that was mostly foolproof until the end of time. Children were to be cared for and loved by how you educated them. They were to be first and foremost bnei Torah in all its glory. Being a mensch was not optional! They needed to spend most of their school day with model rebbes/humans... not some garbage can with a lid that the sanitation department would refuse to pick up!

They needed to be educated as proud Americans, with full knowledge of most every subject taught in American secular schools (at the time). They needed to understand that they would one day need to go out in the world and either be a proud supporter of Torah institutions, or become a member or founder of a Torah institution. There was no gray area;... in order to support Torah, you had to appreciate what you learned as a child. And you had to love it, not loathe or fear it! In order to "stay in chinuch" you had to excel in your abilities, in your emunah, in your middos, and wisdom of the printed Torah and its spirit. And that required that you had to give up the so-called good-life, "without ever having to say you're sorry!" There had to be mesiras nefesh, knowing that your ben Torah neighbor that has gone to work, may have a nicer car than you.

Look at you! Look at what you have become! Either felons, or felons that have not been caught yet!

You trusted your kids to lowlifes, degenerates and perverts! They'd sell you down the river in a second, the second you stopped giving them money, or not as much as they wanted from you! And then your kid would be out on the street too, because he "did not measure up"! Which guy at the dais here has to be concerned about mundane issues like paying their mortgage, or tuition? Do they even have a mortgage? Or was it paid off with your money combined with whatever they could steal from Uncle Sam?

So why are you here?

There was a reason that Dr. Joseph Kaminetzky was appointed the head of Torah Umesorah. He graduated from Columbia University and had the wisdom needed in every area of education, and was rightfully in charge of the curriculum in each and every Torah Umesorah affiliated school.

It was no coincidence that Dr. David Stern was selected as menahel/principal of Yeshiva Torah Vodaath. He too was a graduate of Columbia University and a rabbi at one of the early Young Israel synagogues.

And when Rabbi Alexander Linchner z"l left his position at Mesifta Torah Vodaath to focus full time on the building of Boys Town Jerusalem, he hired Rabbi Moshe Lonner PhD, to be the high school secular studies principal; with the same intent, gusto and spirit that his father in-law had in appointing Drs. Kaminetzky and Stern to their respective positions.

So how did we get here? What group of ignoramuses led us down this path of "the more ignorant, the more uneducated, the more dumb" -- the better? "Where are the lomdim?" an ultra-orthodox rabbi recently bellowed! Where are the Torah scholars?

What have you done to your kids and their kids?

Go back to the original model set up by Hakodesh Baruch Hu Himself; pick the few select students to toil in Torah, to stay in chinuch, and to be a model for your grandchildren. Get rid of the gangsters running the American yeshiva system and its affiliated organizations -- they have already destroyed two complete generations.

Genug!

Can You Hear Me Now?

THE UOJ CLASSICS - FEBRUARY 19, 2007!

Quotes from Samuel Reshevsky a former U.S. Chess Grandmaster
( and a devout Orthodox Jew)

"By playing slowly during the early phases of a game I am able to grasp the basic requirements of each position. Then, despite being in time pressure, I have no difficulty in finding the best continuation. Incidentally, it is an odd fact that more often than not it is my opponent who gets the jitters when I am compelled to make these hurried moves."

His self-description, "I am essentially a positional player, although I can conduct an assault with precision and vigor, when the opportunity arises. My strength consists of a fighting spirit, a great desire to win, and a stubborn defense whenever in trouble. I rarely become discouraged in an inferior situation, and I fear no one." ----

*

I played Chess with Samuel Reshevsky when I was a teenager, five times. I played him to a draw twice and lost three times (badly) after he figured out my weakness. That weakness is extreme impatience. But I learned a great deal from him and used his strategy as a guide in navigating life.

Ever since I can remember I loved a challenge and a good fight. I would not necessarily go looking for it, it always found me. But fight I did, and rarely lost. Bruised, absolutely, sometimes badly, but rarely lost!

So here we are, after being bruised and battered by evil and corrupt rabbis for decades, after permitting these same rabbis to permit all kinds of malfeasance in the name of daas Torah and Halacha, including their own, we dare include a "rabbi" like Shmuel Kaminetzky back into the fray of rabbi-permitted sexual abuse, by having him OK a script for a sexual abuse video for our children.

Here's the point; I'm going to attempt to remain calm, no promises.

FACTS:

Shmuel Kaminetzky knew that Moshe Eiseman was a pedophile some 35 years ago when numerous boys came forward in the Yeshiva Of Philadelphia. So did Elya Svei. I spoke to and communicated with many of those boys who are now in their sixties. There is irrefutable evidence that Eiseman was sent to Ner Israel in Baltimore because Kaminetzky and Svei were afraid their business, aka yeshiva, would be tarnished.

Kaminetzky sat smiling on the Agudah dais Fress Convention nodding approvingly of Mattisyahu Salomon's "under the rug-dignity-daas Torah-beat the [@#$%EDITED] out of the Bloggers" speech!

So now Eiseman is in Baltimore doing his thing, Kaminetzky's son in-law Tzvi Berkowitz, a rebbe in Ner Israel is told by more than a few boys some 20 years ago that Eiseman molested them. His response; "don't tell anyone, the yeshiva could get hurt." Any rational person would safely assume that Berkowitz discussed this with Kaminetzky. Nothing! Eiseman remains, and is promoted to a mashgiach ruchni of sorts, now he has access to the ENTIRE high school.

I called Shmuel Kaminetzky about a year ago under a pseudonym of the son of one of his benefactors. I asked him squarely; my son is in Torah Temimah, should I be concerned that Kolko has interaction with my son.

His response and I paraphrase; "The Jews have the ability to do teshuva even in cases of this nature; unless there were very recent credible accusations against Kolko, WE MUST ASSUME HE DID TESHUVA!"

I then asked him would he permit his grandchild to be in the privacy of Kolko's office; he asked for my phone number and would not answer the question. I hung up!

Debbie Fox in L.A. has Shmuel Kaminetzky reviewing the video presentation for viewing by children. What are Kaminetzky's qualifications?

DID HE DO TESHUVA? DID HE APOLOGIZE TO ALL OF THE VICTIMS OF MOSHE EISEMAN THAT HE WAS AWARE OF? DID HE TELL HIS SON IN-LAW TZVI BERKOWITZ TO APOLOGIZE TO THE VICTIMS OF MOSHE EISEMAN?

Nothing much has really changed, other than spinning it differently!

RABBIS THAT ARE NOT PROFESSIONALLY TRAINED IN SEXUAL ABUSE ISSUES HAVE NO RIGHT TO GO ANYWHERE NEAR THIS ISSUE!

Mandel and Horowitz from Ohel are still of the opinion that rabbis have a voice in this conversation, and under certain circumstances should be consulted.

I SAY NEVER! GO TO THE POLICE AND LET THEM SORT IT OUT!

Dovid and Reuvain Feinstein were aware 20 years ago that a young child in their family was molested by Kolko. Their excuse, they did not want to go up against Margulies. These two are the "best" of what we have as rabbis today. Do they know what they're doing on sexual abuse? Can they really be human?

They should be locked up!

We still don't get it!

The best of the rabbis I'm communicating with on the issue of child molestation still refer to the yetzer tov and yetzer ra as evil inclinations that can be overcome with teshuva!!!!!!

Rabbis are tripping over themselves asking for mechila for bad-mouthing me.

I SAY NO ON BEHALF OF ALL THE VICTIMS' LIVES THAT YOU PARTICIPATED IN DESTROYING BY YOUR ACTION OR INACTION!

Suggestion:

ALL YESHIVAS SHOULD HIRE A MEDICAL DOCTOR-THERAPIST THAT IS NOT OF THE JEWISH FAITH THAT IS ON STAFF! ALL CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS SHOULD HAVE FREE ACCESS TO THIS DOCTOR! HE/SHE REPORTS ONLY TO THE PARENT BODY, NOT TO THE RABBIS OF THE SCHOOL! THE DOCTOR WOULD BE A MANDATED REPORTER THAT IS NOT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF BOGUS "HALACHA" AND WOULD BE REQUIRED BY LAW TO GO STRAIGHT TO THE POLICE WHEN CREDIBLE ACCUSATIONS ARE MADE!

GET RID OF THE RABBIS....ALL OF THEM! GET THE POLICE INVOLVED! GET CHILD SERVICES INVOLVED! RAISE HELL LIKE YOUR LIVES AND YOUR KIDS' LIVES DEPEND ON IT, BECAUSE IT DOES!

The Violence of Silence!

http://thejewishreporter.com/2011/08/02/leibys-lesson-the-violence-of-silence/

By RABBI GARY MOSKOWITZ

Still in shock we must focus our attention to how such a horrific tragedy could occur and what went wrong in the rescue efforts of precious innocent Leiby. There are those who don’t want to point fingers as they must realize by now are pointing in their direction and threaten the very fabric of the way they do business in the community and with government. Ignorance and arrogance permeates the air in Boro Park and in much of the orthodox Jewish community.

Egregious errors in judgment leading to serious ethics violations at best to sinister crimes will be exposed which I pray compel the city or state to hold hearings how the community and police conspire to protect their images at the cost of great suffering of the weak and most frail in our community. Yes, I believe the Leiby murder could have been prevented if proper caution and care were taken prior to the kidnapping and certainly if the rescue effort was more professional. I am detailing this with other cases in my book “Chasing Justice – I am my Brother’s Keeper.”

The insular orthodox community which breeds insular crime feels that a collective appearance which influences both public and private funding is more important than the individual no matter what the misery. Pedophiles and domestic batterers have a good life knowing that there is little chance their victim will come forward out fear of the community’s religious psychological terror campaign against anyone who threatens the ban of approaching the secular courts or press. Many in the religious leadership indoctrinate their congregants and followers that they would be in violation of Jewish law if they would turn in any Jew to an outside jurisdiction namely our secular courts regardless of their crimes against their community. They fail to realize they are not living in ancient sovereign Israel as they have no jurisdiction in criminal matters as they openly violate the law of our land which by itself is a violation of Jewish law and this is accomplished and facilitated under the protection of many politicians kowtowing to their strong influence from block voting.

Beyond the public congratulations between the volunteer’s community’s security patrol known as the Shomrim and the NYPD there are deep feelings of mistrust and resentment emanating from both sides. The NYPD knows that the Shomrim are not accountable to anyone, have little or no professional training, hinder serious criminal investigations and yet the community has more faith and trust in them as they often seem to show up the NYPD on many occasions. The Shomrim experiences regularly the often reported headline news of the NYPD’s incompetency, laziness and outright refusal to take and investigate complaints as the rest of us know. While disdain runs both ways their relationship is cemented by a larger common interest – keeping the statistics low anyway possible regardless of violations of law. This complicit relationship often means people like the murderer Levy Aron often stays out of harm’s way until there is a body count. The police keep crime down when they don’t report it and Boro Park keeps their image.

Every second is crucial in a missing child’s case. There is no time to guess during an emergency. The following information comes from multi-media reports, interviews with reporters, parents in Boro Park, the Shomrim, canvassing volunteers and with members of the NYPD on the abduction and murder of Leiby Kletsky. I am convinced more information will come out shedding light on the debacle of the case. This is a brief oversimplification of the problems of the Leiby kidnapping/murder case which collectively contributed to this human tragedy.

There is no parent training in Child Safety for most of the community and since most do not watch television or use on the internet for fear of being over exposed to the bad influences of the world they do not have access to much public information on the subject. There is no community preparation for the obvious, missing kids, awareness of sex offenders in area, terror attack etc. As a result ignorance overwhelms many people. Most people I spoke with still believe that a child has to be missing for 24 hours first before the Police get involved which is not true. The Jewish civilian patrol Shomrim like most civilian patrols have little or no professional training and often practice rescue searches during the emergency itself. Rabbinical pressure on the community to call a rabbi first or their designees in this case the Shomrim regarding crimes are a must with full knowledge of the NYPD. This includes missing child cases as the rabbinical leadership does not desire unwanted scrutiny in their community which is fodder for another article.

Leiby’s mother waited an hour before calling for help and then she first called the Shomrim. The Shomrim then waited another three hours to notify the police thereby loosing precious time where if the NYPD was brought in right away other resources could have been deployed. Additionally the Shomrim keeps records of suspected criminals/pedophiles which the police department has no access to opening legal consequences from the right and left and while they have access themselves they have no authority to do anything with it without involving civil and/or criminal activities. Finally thousands of dedicated volunteers showed up with no clear direction.

When police finally arrive it became a fanfare of high profile imaging where commanders flaunt their political friendships without the proper investigative tactics which ultimately could have saved the boy’s life. The hero here is a man name Yakov German who initially had the idea to check the video surveillance cameras from the stores surrounding the school/camp area where Leiby was walking from.

Why weren’t the police detectives and commanders many who are getting paid over $110,000 a year and many with only a high school diploma pouring through these videos like Yakov German did right away? Even when they first got Yakov’s video showing Leiby’s last whereabouts it took them hours longer to bring in another detective who specializes in identifying cars to identify the car of Levy Aron.

From reports in the media and from volunteers who were there validated my own assumption from my prior experiences as a police officer with these cases involving the NYPD. Complacency with no immediate sense of urgency resonated from some officers believing that little Leiby will turn up later as what happens in most cases they work on. The “Here we go again attitude” where the belief is that Leiby is probably at a friends house where he fell asleep. This is very similar to when officers answer commercial and residential burglar alarms. With so many being false the police often become lax in their response and investigation. They need to treat every case as real and think of the false alarms as practice for when the real thing happens.

Even more insidious is the belief by many in the community and by some of the officers working there that the Chassidic orthodox Jews have too much clout which negatively affects their police performance. One cop asked me, “Do you think the police brass with all their helicopters and squads of detectives would have come if there was a missing black kid? Two weeks after this diabolical murder the police in the 66 precinct in Boro Park still have not received any additional training about missing children or dealing with the local public as was reported to me by officers in the command. In short the police need much retraining in thinking and investigating.

After Leiby’s murder the Jewish community had a hug fest thanking the police and other groups for their sincerity in helping to find Leiby. Huge ads were taken in the Jewish press. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am sure everyone sincerely wanted to find Leiby alive and well. However their lack of training and lack of professionalism precluded this. I sincerely hope that there was an error in the media when it reported that members of the police department said that the time factor of receiving the videos depicting where Leiby was last seen wouldn’t have made a difference. According to the medical examiner Lieby wasn’t murdered until Tuesday.

Leiby could have and should have been found alive and there is plenty of blame and blood to go around!

In my recent meetings with NY State Senator Marty Golden, NYC Council Public Safety Chair Peter Vallone, Congressional candidate David Weprin and NYS Assembly Dov Hikind’s legislative staff member I detailed some practical and legislative recommendations to protect our children and community. These are recommendations I have made in the past regarding protecting us from child abductions, terrorism and crime.

High grade cameras installed around businesses near schools and Houses of Worship which are accessible in real time from the internet so there is no waiting hours to access fuzzy video footage.

Video footage needs to be monitored regularly so we can detail hostile surveillance from potential abductors. If a pedophile is hanging out at a school or camp it can be detected before a situation arises. Police reports mention that this was a chance encounter by a loner. We don’t know that and there is a real possibility that Levy Aron as with other abductors was tracking Leiby and that he could have been working with another accomplice.

Technology has come of age where we can outfit every child with a tracking device on their person like we put on our cars. Every kid seven and older can carry a cell phone programmed to call only their parents or 911. Alarms can be programmed and placed on children that go off when they separate at a certain distance.

We must train and deploy a citizen detective program training parents how they can assist and facilitate police investigations very much the auxiliary police do with patrol. Compel professional training to volunteer community patrols like the Shomrim who are dedicated to keeping their community safe or they should lose all funding.

Enforce mandated reporting of educators and specific community leaders including clergy with criminal and civil penalties for not reporting suspected crimes against children and with cases of domestic violence.

Schools, camps and youth programs should not release kids except to a parent or a responsible adult approved by the parents.

Make available the listing of all residential sexual offenders in the community.

Legislation needs to be passed that in the investigation of any child abduction or terror attack the police do not need the permission of any owner to access the video saving hours of time.

Mandating parochial schools and camps for all their staff to be fingerprinted and go through a similar background check as the NYC Department of Education puts their teachers through.

Creation of a NYS license called “Child Safety Specialist” where every public and private school and camp would be mandated to have a Child Safety Specialist training kids, parents and educators a few times annually before, during and after school starts.

Anyone who is aware that a child is missing within the first hour and doesn’t report it to their police department should face felony charges.

Offer tax credits for those who spend funds on safety for their children from martial arts classes, Safety Instructional DVDs, safety cameras to child safety classes. Creation of our Clergy 911 program where all clergy would be trained in crisis intervention and mandating reporting.

A government, religion and community are judged by how they protect the weakest in their society; the sick, the poor, the victim and the oppressed. The bible is replete with statements like “Justice, Justice You Should Pursue and “Don’t Stand Idly by the Blood of your Neighbor” and much more. Denying justice to the weakest for some warped sense of community/religious image is a threat to justice everywhere. Since most of the leadership is either complicit or missing in inaction we are appealing to mothers to rise up and protect your children, yourselves and Jewish and American law.

Our group the Child Safety Initiative made up of professionals in the health, medical, educational, police, legal and rabbinic fields are calling for a federal civil rights probe leading to hearings to determine which mandated organization, educational institution, community group and individuals working with the minority Jewish community were/are coercing individuals not to assert their rights in reporting crimes and testifying in court against their assailants. We implore victims and those who are aware of victims in the community to come forward to us. We can offer those coming forward protection by working with the Department of Justice. We are also calling for any rabbi or community leader who espouses their congregants and people to go to a rabbi first in the event of a suspected crime bypassing the police should face criminal and civil rights charges.

Lastly as I strenuously try to apply my grief and anger management techniques to myself my advice for my own Orthodox community is I pray you awaken from your coma soon. Don’t wait again for a body count. Take your energies, money and resources and invest it in practical preventive and therapeutic care. The community doesn’t need more dedications of Torahs and synagogues in memorials. We need more safety and security for our children in our communities.

We at the Child Safety Initiative have been offering child safety seminars and martial arts classes regularly. We are completing our first Child Safety DVD which will be available shortly and we are hosting a Child Safety and Health conference at the last week of August at the Kutcher’s Hotel. In September we are holding our first annual Child Safety and Health Legislative forum. Don’t be reactive be proactive.

As the Jewish New Year approaches and Jews around the world become more reflective of their lives I kneel before God scratching the floor weeping in agony looking towards the heavens with shouts from my heart – Why? I can almost hear whispers of, “Don’t ask God – ask Man!

Rabbi Gary Moskowitz is director of the Child Safety Initiative and can be contacted at gavriael@aol.com

UOJ Downgrades Standards & Poor Religion To D - *Outlook Negative*!

UOJ Keywords - Religious Jew, Length of Beard, Sexual Abuse of a Minor, Holy Man, Archbishop, Child Endangerment, Sexual Abuse, Transferring of Predatory Priests, Conspiracy & Dementia:

Behold the Mighty Beard, a Badge of Piety and Religious Belonging

by Mark Oppenheimer - THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: August 6, 2011

Go ahead, picture a religious Jew.

Now picture a Muslim cleric.

Now an Amish farmer.

What do they have in common? Beards. And not neatly trimmed beards, but, in the popular stereotype, long, unruly beards, which connote piety, spiritual intensity and a life so hard at study that there is no time for a shave. The scholar, the mystic, the terrorist, the holy man — they all have beards.

Last month, the connection between hirsuteness and religiosity appeared in federal court, not for the first time. In this latest case, a federal court refused to consider the appeal of a Jewish prisoner in New Hampshire who had bristled against regulations limiting his beard to a quarter-inch.

In upholding a 2010 summary judgment against the prisoner, Albert Kuperman, convicted in 2002 of sexually molesting a minor, the First Circuit panel did not disagree that Mr. Kuperman had a religious obligation to refrain from shaving. But it concluded, in a decision issued July 14, that “alternative means remained open for Kuperman to exercise the constitutionally protected right at issue.” The prison, in other words, had to allow Mr. Kuperman, who has since been released, some avenue for religious observance, but not every avenue.

Being bearded is just one of many obligations that some strictly religious Jewish men uphold. Only one of the Torah’s 613 commandments applies to facial hair, and scholars disagree on the commandment’s interpretation.

But the beard is integral to many men’s religious identities, not just religious Jews’. The beard, especially the really big beard, constitutes a look, one that dictates how they are perceived by the world.

“Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard,” according to Leviticus 19:27. That commandment has produced reams of rabbinic commentary. Some traditional Jews believe only the chin must remain unshaven. Others argue the unshaven area is larger, and some teachings hold that the prohibition against shaving extends to the neck. Rabbis draw distinctions between shaving (forbidden) and practices like cutting the hair with scissors, plucking it with tweezers and removing it with depilatories (depending on whom you ask, possibly permitted).

But to focus on the legalisms misses the point. In many religious communities, the beard is the man’s ID badge, his sign of membership. Like the Hasid’s black hat or the Muslim’s kufi, it’s what he acquires when he joins the community, and it’s what he gets rid of when he leaves. It is a form of religious garb, with different versions in different religious tribes......"

CLICK ON LINKS FOR THE ENTIRE ARTICLE:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/us/06beliefs.html?emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/06/us/06brfs-CARDINALISSU_BRF.html?_r=1&emc=tnt&tntemail1=y

Pennsylvania: Cardinal Is Summoned to Court

by THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: August 6, 2011

A judge on Friday summoned the former Philadelphia archbishop to court on Sept. 12 to see if he should be deposed in a sexual abuse case. Prosecutors want to preserve the testimony of Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, 88, for next year’s trial because he has cancer and dementia. Monsignor William Lynn, 60, secretary for clergy under Cardinal Bevilacqua, is accused of transferring predatory priests to new parishes and is charged with child endangerment and conspiracy. Three priests and a former teacher are charged with rape.

Another Blathering Criminal Idiot ....

http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jul/30/jeffs-rambling-provides-courtroom-theater/
Click Top Link & Bottom!
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2011/0730/Has-Warren-Jeffs-turned-his-trial-into-a-sermon-on-polygamy



...."Jeffs is charged with sexually assaulting two underage girls. If convicted, he could receive life in prison. He has claimed that, as the head of his church, he has the constitutional right to practice his own religion, which includes polygamy. The mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church, repudiated polygamy more than a century ago.

Until 10:25 a.m. Friday, Mr. Jeffs had been spectator at his own trial. Before the trial had begun, he had fired his team of attorneys, saying they could not present "a pure defense."

Then, in opening statements, he said nothing as prosecutors vowed to provide evidence that he raped a 12-year-old girl and impregnated a 15 year old.

His silence had extended to the point that District Judge Barbara Walther eventually implored: "You've sat here now for an hour and not said a word," suggesting that further silence could yield "a very bad result."

Jeffs broke that silence Friday when prosecutors introduced as evidence a list of his wives and children they said lived at Jeffs's Yearning for Zion Ranch in 2004.

But Friday, he was enflamed.

"You are now touching that which is sacred," Jeffs said in objecting to the prosecution's list.

"This must cease," he said.

"If we do not live these laws we are damned here and hereafter," Jeffs said, reading from a written statement. "We believe in a marriage system of eternity called celestial marriage, wherein celestial means heavenly authorized, not to be intervened by government intervention."

"I, the Lord God of heaven, call upon the court to cease this prosecution against my pure, holy way," he continued, saying God would strike the prosecutors with sickness and death.

When the statement was finished, he concluded, "Amen."

Miserable Opportunists!

https://www.misaskim.org/sefertorah.php?aff=yw

CLICK ABOVE LINK:

An Open Letter to a Concealed G-d

THE BOY KNEW THE BUTCHER?




by Simon Jacobson --- The UOJ Archives:

Dear G-d,

It’s been a while. How are You?

Though You didn’t ask, let me share with You how we are. Bluntly put: We’re not doing so well down here.

Last Friday night – as You surely know – a beautiful family was butchered in cold blood. A father, mother and their three children. Just to confirm that You get their names and ages right, to assure them their box seats in heaven, here is the exact spelling of their names: Udi Fogel, 36. Ruth Fogel, 35. Yoav Fogel, 11. Elad Fogel, 4. Hadas Fogel, 3 months.

Yes, You read that right, 3 months old… Throats slashed – all of them. What did they do wrong? They were sleeping in their home in the Promised Land, on a Friday night, after praying Shabbat services and eating the Shabbat meal, reciting blessings and singing Your praises.

Yes, indeed: This happened on Shabbat. On Your Shabbat. And in Your Holy Land. The land that Your eyes “watch from the beginning of the year till the end of the year.”

In Japan, one of Your “natural disasters” – in the guise of an earthquake and tsunami – devastated an entire region, leaving over 25,000 dead, and millions displaced. (Our insurance policies call these “natural disasters” “acts of G-d”– so don’t think You’re off the hook and have been forgotten; all joking aside, when it comes to saving money our insurance companies blame stuff on You, though they don’t necessarily give You the credit when things work out alright).

These two brazen tragedies were publicized, leaving us all reeling, shaken to the core. But surely there were many more tragedies – which You, if anyone, know about more of than all of us – that did not make headlines. How many people are suffering as we speak? Only You know.

Bottom line, things are not very pretty on Earth.

Before anyone tries waxing philosophical, let me acknowledge that I am quite aware that the holiday of Purim is quickly approaching. And we know that Purim is all about Your concealed presence and Your hidden plans. Your name is therefore never mentioned in the entire Megillah, indicating Your behind the scenes orchestration.

We also know that the name of our Purim heroine, Esther, is rooted in the Biblical verse “And I will surely hide (haster astir) My face from you” (Chulin 139b).

We know all this and more.

But pray tell: Did You really have to hide Your face to the extent of allowing, for G-d’s sake, an infant’s throat to be slit??!!

Your hidden face doesn’t get more hidden than when that inhuman butcher dug his knife into the chests and slit the throats of these innocent victims…

You asked us to remember - Zachor - what Amalek did to us. To remember and never to forget. We remember all to well. This Shabbos we will remember yet again. But now, with the latest blood-drenched bodies in Itamar, we don't need a reminder to remember; their blood cries out to us. It's hard to forget what you see with your own eyes.

Our question to You is whether You remember? You also obligated Yourself to fulfill every command You gave us. Do You remember even as your face is shrouded and concealed? Do you remember us?...

My colleague Dennis Prager wrote a heart-wrenching piece, The Other Tsunami, on what type of monster it takes to brutally slaughter children. How unnatural it is for a human being to kill an innocent child, and how much “training” and “education” is necessary to lose any semblance of compassion toward pure children. His chilling words capture the brutal reality of this and other attacks on Jews, and there is no need for me to reiterate it here.

However, what I would like to know, dear G-d, is how You see it? I understand that Your beautiful face is concealed. But how concealed can You get? How much will You tolerate and how concealed will You allow Yourself to become?

Was the Holocaust not enough concealment?

And we would like to know what it’s like to see all this pain from behind Your hidden face?

I also know that in the Purim Megillah You have already planted a tailored response to this and any other tragedy: Life is filled with surprising twists and turns. Just as our lives can turn, in a blink, from normalcy to disaster, one moment the Jews were living in peace, and a moment later, a decree was issued to annihilate the entire Jewish nation, they can also turn as quickly the other way around, from catastrophe to joy.

Purim’s essential message is one of total reversal of fortune – v’nahafoch hu (Esther 9:1), ha'chodesh asher ne'hepach lo'hem (9:22) – the month had been transformed for them from grief to joy, from mourning to a festive day.

Purim is a story of surprises. What you see is not what you get. Everything is turned inside out and outside in, upside down and down side up. We therefore understand that despite the recent calamities, we surely will be redeemed, and our grief and mourning – for the Fogel family – will turn into joy.

We know all this too well. As Jews we have seen the abyss many times, and… survived.

But did we really need yet another slaughter of a pure family?!…

How much grief and mourning will it take to show us that things can be transformed to celebration?

We surely also appreciate all Your blessings, all the gifts that You bestow upon us daily. We are deeply grateful. But that does not compensate for the suffering some of us endure. And indeed, You instructed us to cry out and do whatever we can for those in pain. You created us in a way that our hearts break when we suffer and see others suffer.

We stand in awe and shudder before Your seemingly infinite capacity at concealment…

But with all the profound mystery of Your concealment (sod ha’tzimtzum they call it), and all the secrets behind Your greater plan – will we ever get some respite?!

How does a concealed face look at a baby bleeding to death???

How does it feel from behind the veil? From behind the “hastir astir” (Esther) of your face?

It must be very lonely behind the mask…

What does it look like from “behind the curtain” and the “doors of perception”?

I know You can see it from our perspective as well. And I know that You shed tears when we do. But at the end of the day, You also have the advantage of seeing it from Your vantage point. And we don’t.

That makes all the difference.

Help us out here a bit. We sorely need it.

We have lived in the dark long enough. It’s high time to take off Your mask and cloak, and show us Your face. As You Yourself promised: “No longer shall your Teacher hide Himself behind robe and garment, but your eyes will behold Your Teacher” (Isaiah 30:20), “for they shall see eye to eye” (Isaiah 52:8).

El' Malei Rachamim:

Victory For Geert Wilders and all Advocates of Freedom of Speech!

http://www.rechtspraak.nl/SiteCollectionDocuments/Translation%20verdict%20Wilders%20230611.doc

CLICK ABOVE LINK TO VIEW THE COURT'S RULING

Geert Wilders From Wikipedia, the free Parliamentary leader [Abbreviated]

Geert Wilders (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈɣeːrt ˈwɪldərs]; born 6 September 1963) is a Dutch[1] politician and leader of the Party for Freedom (Partij voor de Vrijheid – PVV), the third-largest political party in the Netherlands.[2][3] He is the Parliamentary group leader of his party in the Dutch House of Representatives. In the formation in 2010 of the current Rutte cabinet, a minority cabinet of VVD and CDA, he actively participated in the negotiations, resulting in a "toleration agreement" (gedoogakkoord) between the PVV and these parties. Wilders is best known for his criticism of Islam, summing up his views by saying, "I don't hate Muslims, I hate Islam".[4]

Born in Venlo, he was raised a Roman Catholic. Wilders left the church at his coming of age. His travels to Israel as a young adult, as well as to neighbouring Arab countries, helped form his political views. He worked as a speechwriter for the conservative-liberal People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie – VVD), and later served as parliamentary assistant to party leader Frits Bolkestein from 1990 to 1998. He was elected to the Utrecht city council in 1996, and later to the House of Representatives. Citing irreconcilable differences over the party's position on the accession of Turkey to the European Union, he left the VVD in 2004 to form his own party, the Party for Freedom.

Wilders has campaigned to stop what he views as the "Islamisation of the Netherlands". He compares the Quran with Mein Kampf and has campaigned to have the book banned in the Netherlands.[5][6][7] He advocates ending immigration from Muslim countries,[5][8] and supports banning the construction of new mosques.[9] He was a speaker at the Facing Jihad Conference held in Jerusalem in 2008, which discussed the dangers of jihad, and has called for a hard line against what he called the "street terror" exerted by minorities in Dutch cities.[10] His controversial 2008 film about his views on Islam, Fitna, received international attention. He has been described as populist,[11][12][13] labelled far right,[14][15] and defended by one British newspaper opinion columnist as a mainstream politician with legitimate concerns.[11] Wilders views himself as a right-wing liberal, and has refused to align himself with other European far-right leaders such as Jean-Marie Le Pen and Jörg Haider.[16]

Wilders' goal after he graduated from secondary school was to see the world. Because he did not have enough money to travel to Australia, his preferred destination, he went to Israel instead.[26] For several years he volunteered in a moshav and worked for several firms, becoming in his own words "a true friend of Israel".[27] With the money he saved, he travelled to the neighbouring Arab countries, and was moved by the lack of democracy in the region. When he returned to the Netherlands, he retained Israeli ideas about counter-terrorism and a "special feeling of solidarity" for the country.[28]

On 11 September 2010, 2,000 people gathered close by the site of a planned Muslim community center near the site of the World Trade Center attacks, on 11 September 2001, where they were addressed by Wilders who flew from The Netherlands to urge the crowd: "This is where we have draw the line. We must never give a free hand to those who want to subjugate us," Wilders added. "Draw this line so that New York... will never become New Mecca."[68]

Wilders strongly opposes the Dutch political system in general. He believes that there is a ruling elite of parliamentarians who only care about their own personal careers and disregard the will of the people. He also blames the Dutch system of multi-party coalition governments for a lack of clear and effective policies.[30] In his view, Dutch society advocates rule by consensus and cultural relativism, while he believes that this should change so as to "not tolerate the intolerant".[83]

On foreign relations, Wilders has largely supported Israel and has criticized countries he perceives as enemies of Israel.[28] Furthermore, he has made some proposals in the Dutch Parliament inspired by Israeli policies. For example, he supports implementing Israel's administrative detention in the Netherlands, a practice heavily criticized by human rights groups, which he calls "common sense".[83]

Wilders published the version of his political manifesto called Klare Wijn ("Clear Wine") in March 2006. The program proposed ten key points to be implemented:

Considerable reduction of taxes and state regulations.

Replacement of the present Article 1 of the Dutch constitution, guaranteeing equality under the law, by a clause stating the cultural dominance of the Christian, Jewish and humanist traditions.

Reduction of the influence of the European Union, which may no longer be expanded with new member states, especially Turkey; the European Parliament will be abolished. Dutch financial contributions to the European Union should be reduced by billions of euros.

A five year moratorium on the immigration of non-Western foreigners who intend to stay in the Netherlands. Foreign residents will no longer have the right to vote in municipal elections.

A five-year moratorium on the founding of new mosques and Islamic schools; a permanent ban on preaching in any language other than Dutch. Foreign imams will not be allowed to preach. Radical mosques will be closed and radical Muslims will be expelled.

Restoration of educational standards, with an emphasis on the educational value of the family.

Introduction of minimum penalties, and higher maximum penalties; introduction of administrative detention for terrorist suspects. Street terrorism will be punished by boot camps and denaturalisation and deportation of immigrant offenders.
Restoration of respect and better rewards for teachers, policemen, health care workers and military personnel.

Wilders is best known for his criticism of Islam, summing up his views by saying, "I don't hate Muslims, I hate Islam".[4] Although identifying Islamic extremists as 5–15% of Muslims,[83] he argues that "there is no such thing as 'moderate Islam'" and that the "Koran also states that Muslims who believe in only part of the Koran are in fact apostates".[62] He suggests that Muslims should "tear out half of the Koran if they wished to stay in the Netherlands" because it contains "terrible things" and that Muhammad would "... in these days be hunted down as a terrorist".[87]

On 8 August 2007, Wilders opined in an open letter[88] to the Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant that the Koran, which he called a "fascist book", should be outlawed in the Netherlands, like Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf.[89] He has stated that "The book incites hatred and killing and therefore has no place in our legal order".[90] He has also referred to Mohammed as "the devil".[27] In Sept 2009 Wilders proposed to put a tax on Hijab wearing by Muslim women. He suggested women could purchase a license at a cost of €1000 and that the money raised could be used in projects beneficial to women's emancipation.[91][92]

He believes that all Muslim immigration to the Netherlands should be halted and all settled immigrants should be paid to leave.[4] Referring to the increased population of Muslims in the Netherlands, he has said:

Take a walk down the street and see where this is going. You no longer feel like you are living in your own country. There is a battle going on and we have to defend ourselves. Before you know it there will be more mosques than churches![93]

In a speech before the Dutch Parliament, he stated:

Islam is the Trojan Horse in Europe. If we do not stop Islamification now, Eurabia and Netherabia will just be a matter of time. One century ago, there were approximately 50 Muslims in the Netherlands. Today, there are about 1 million Muslims in this country. Where will it end? We are heading for the end of European and Dutch civilisation as we know it. Where is our Prime Minister in all this?

In reply to my questions in the House he said, without batting an eyelid, that there is no question of our country being Islamified. Now, this reply constituted a historical error as soon as it was uttered. Very many Dutch citizens, Madam Speaker, experience the presence of Islam around them. And I can report that they have had enough of burkas, headscarves, the ritual slaughter of animals, so‑called honour revenge, blaring minarets, female circumcision, hymen restoration operations, abuse of homosexuals, Turkish and Arabic on the buses and trains as well as on town hall leaflets, halal meat at grocery shops and department stores, Sharia exams, the Finance Minister's Sharia mortgages, and the enormous overrepresentation of Muslims in the area of crime, including Moroccan street terrorists.[62]

Nonetheless, Wilders has traveled widely in the Arab world and Der Spiegel has stated that Wilders will "wax poetic" over those "magnificent countries". Wilders has also said that "It's a real shame that these places are so chaotic."[26]

Wilders argues that Islam is not a religion, but rather a totalitarian political ideology such as communism and fascism.[94]

Wilders and Israel

Wilders lived in Israel for two years during his youth and has visited the country 40 times in the last 25 years.[95]

Wilders stated about Israel: "I have visited many interesting countries in the Middle East – from Syria to Egypt, from Tunisia to Turkey, from Cyprus to Iran – but nowhere did I have the special feeling of solidarity that I always get when I land at Ben Gurion International Airport."[28] Dutch public TV channel Nederland 2's daily news programme Netwerk reported that numerous American supporters of Israel financially supported Wilders' Party for Freedom (PVV) and openly approved of his message towards Islam and Islamic terrorism.[96] Wilders told an audience during the report that "We [in the West] are all Israel".[96] He has also said "Israel is the West's first line of defence" against what he perceives to be a threat posed by Islam.[97]

Following the Dutch general election, 2010, in which the PVV were the third biggest party, Wilders said Jordan should be renamed Palestine.[98] The Jordanian government responded saying Wilders' speech was reminiscent of the Israeli right wing. His speech said "Jordan is Palestine. Changing its name to Palestine will end the conflict in the Middle East and provide the Palestinians with an alternate homeland." He also said Israel deserves a special status in the Dutch government because it was fighting for "Jerusalem" in its name.

"If Jerusalem falls into the hands of the Muslims, Athens and Rome will be next. Thus, Jerusalem is the main front protecting the West. It is not a conflict over territory but rather an ideological battle, between the mentality of the liberated West and the ideology of Islamic barbarism. There has been an independent Palestinian state since 1946, and it is the kingdom of Jordan."

He called on the Dutch government to refer to Jordan as Palestine and move its embassy to Jerusalem.[99]

Fitna is a 2008 short film written and commissioned by Wilders that explores Koranic-inspired motivations for terrorism, Islamic universalism, and Islam in the Netherlands. Its title comes from the Arabic word fitna, which describes "disagreement and division among people" or a "test of faith in times of trial".[100]

It is the subject of an international controversy and debate on free speech.[101] Despite the legal troubles surrounding the film, Wilders insists that before he released it, he consulted numerous lawyers in the field, who found nothing worth prosecution. Jordan has summoned Wilders to court, with the film deemed to "incite hatred".[102] Militant Sunni Islamist group Al-Qaeda issued a call to murder Wilders after its release.[15]

In January 2010, Wilders was invited again to show his anti-Quran movie Fitna in the British House of Lords by Lord Pearson UK Independence Party (UKIP), and Baroness Cox cross-bencher. Wilders accepted the invitation and was present for a presentation of the movie in the House of Lords on 5 March. In his speech he quoted ominous words from Winston Churchill's book The River War from 1899:

"Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. No stronger retrograde force exists in the World. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step ... the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome."[125][126][127][128]

At the ensuing press conferences, he called the prophet Muhammad a "barbarian, a mass murderer, and a pedophile" and referring to Islam as a "fascist ideology" which was "violent, dangerous, and retarded". Wilders also reportedly called Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan a "total freak".[129] Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende called these comments "irresponsible",[130] and Maxime Verhagen, Dutch caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, publicly condemned Wilders's remarks and behaviour:

"He incites discord among people in a distasteful manner. And in the meantime he damages the interests of the Dutch population and the reputation of the Netherlands in the world."[131][132][133]

On 21 January 2009, a three-judge court ordered prosecutors to try him.[161][162]

The Middle East Forum has established a Legal Defence Fund for Wilders's defence.[163][164] The New York Times ran an op-ed criticizing his views and arguing that "for a man who calls for a ban on the Koran to act as the champion of free speech is a bit rich", concluding, however that the lawsuit against Wilders might not be "a good thing for democracy", because it made him "look more important than he should be."[60]

A survey by Angus Reid Global Monitor has found that public opinion is deeply split on the prosecution, with 50% supporting Wilders and 43% opposed.[160] However, public support for the Party for Freedom has greatly increased since Wilders' legal troubles began, with the Party for Freedom virtually tied with the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy to be the third most popular party.[47][165] According to Radio Netherlands, "Dutch politicians themselves seem to be keeping quiet on the issue; they are probably worried that media attention will only serve to make the controversial politician more popular".[43]

In late October 2010, the Dutch court approved a request from Geert Wilders to have new judges appointed forcing the court to retry the case.[166] On 7 February 2011, Wilders returned to the court room in order that his legal team can present evidence from Islamic experts which the court rejected in 2010, including Mohammed Bouyeri, who murdered film-maker Theo van Gogh, and Dutch academic Hans Jansen.[167]

On 23 June 2011, Wilders was acquitted of all charges. A Dutch court noted that his speech was legitimate political debate, but on the edge.[168] Because both the public prosecutor and the defense requested complete acquittal, the verdict will most likely not be appealed.[169][170]

UOJ's MOST WANTED - RABBI GERSHON KRANCZER!

http://newyorkcriminallawyersblog.com/2010/12/rabbi-gershon-kranczer-and-his-sons-accused-of-sexual-abuse.html



Rabbi Kranczer is believed to still be hiding-out in Israel, he may have changed his identity and shaved his beard. Anybody with information on the whereabouts of Kranczer, please contact me at:a_unorthodoxjew@yahoo.com. Your anonymity is guaranteed. A generous monetary reward will be sent to you for information leading to his capture!

UOJ

Rabbi Gershon Kranczer And His Sons Accused Of Sexual Abuse!

Brooklyn rabbi Gershon Kranczer, the former head of Yeshiva Tehila L'Dovid, and his three sons were recently accused of sexually abusing four female relatives, according to the New York Daily News. The incidents may have started 15 years ago, and detectives suspected the 58-year-old rabbi of attacking two underage relatives while his sons abused the other girls.

Authorities investigated the rabbi's home in Midwood after the oldest victim, a 20-year-old woman, told a coworker about having been sexually assaulted by Gershon Kranczer. The 20-year-old revealed that she had been repeatedly molested by the rabbi during the last 15 years. The coworker reported what she had learned to the police and said that the other three victims, who were ages 8, 17, and 19, had also been allegedly abused in Kranczer's home.

Police sources said Gershon Kranczer's wife may have dropped him off at the Kennedy Airport without having any knowledge of the alleged sexual abuse incidents. The rabbi's 21-year-old son, Asher Kranczer, has also escaped to Israel and has not yet been found. However, 24-year-old Yechezkel Kranczer and his 15-year-old brother turned themselves in to the NYPD last week.

Yechezkel Kranczer was charged with 70 counts for sexually abusing relatives who were ages 17 and 20, while the 15-year-old brother was charged for sexually abusing an 8-year-old relative. It is not clear whether the suspects have found an NY criminal defense attorney to counsel them through this case.

Detectives are still uncertain if other female relatives may have also been abused by the rabbi or his sons. A cultural silence in the Orthodox community may keep other victims fearful from disclosing additional information.

The Slippery-Slope Has Just Gotten Slippier!

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2011/06/22/single-sex-dorms-spark-legal-controversy-in-d-c/?mod=djemlawblog_t

Single-Sex Dorms Spark Legal Controversy in D.C

By Patrick G. Lee

Will the sexes stand (and sleep) united or divided in the dorm rooms of the Catholic University of America?

A judge may be called upon to decide that question.

The D.C. university plans to eliminate coed housing for its incoming freshman class, in the hopes that it will help reduce binge drinking and discourage casual hook-ups, university president John Garvey announced in this WSJ opinion piece.

Garvey wrote that he plans to convert the entire campus to single-sex housing over the next few years.

But a legal squabble may be brewing. John Banzhaf, a professor at George Washington University Law School, says he intends to sue Catholic University over the same-sex plan, Inside Higher Ed reports.

Banzhaf told the Law Blog that his argument rests on the District of Columbia’s Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination in public accommodations, commercial spaces, housing and employment based on any number of factors, including sex, race, religion and marital status. Reinstating single-sex dorms would constitute gender discrimination, Banzhaf maintains.

The only exception allowed under the act is for “business necessities,” which means the Catholic University must demonstrate that it can operate the school and remain in business only by instituting a single-sex dorm policy, Banzhaf said. Given that the university has been offering coed housing for decades, it is unlikely the exception will apply in this case, he said.

The university issued a prepared statement in response to a Law Blog request for comment, saying it had not yet received or reviewed any legal documents regarding Banzhaf’s intent to sue and that it was “confident that the law does not require men and women be housed together in residence halls.”

If the university insists on upholding the new policy, Banzhaf told the Law Blog, he will pursue legal action against both the University and Garvey as an individual.

A Recent Read - Out of Character

"...The process of correcting mistakes can be more liberating than the mistakes themselves are crushing, even though at the time we often feel the reverse is true.

The ability to adapt to the reality requires a sense of security with one self, an inner confidence that the cost of failure is a cost we are able to bear. It takes real people, real courage, no self-delusion --- without it - we fail again."

And I say, again, (y)our leaders are spineless, gutless, deluded and despicable charlatans, that have destroyed the very essence of the meaning of who and what is a Jew!

UOJ

Rottenberg.verified Complaint against Skver Rebbe and Shaul Spitzer

Rabbinic Judaism Inc. - A Portable God for the World’s First Multinational Business!

http://unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2005/12/rabbinic-judaism-inc.html

Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2005 - The UOJ Archives - Click On Above Link to View The Comments Posted in 2005

Are You Better Off Today Than You Were 6 Years Ago?

Sources:

Paul Johnson, A History of the Jews (Phoenix Grant, 1987)
Israel Shahak, Jewish History, Jewish Religion (Pluto Press, 1994)
Dan Cohn-Sherbok, The Crucified Jew (Harper Collins,1992)
Henry Hart Milman, The History of the Jews (Everyman, 1939)
Josephus, The Jewish War (Penguin, 1959)
Leslie Houlden (Ed.), Judaism & Christianity (Routledge, 1988)
Karen Armstrong, A History of Jerusalem (Harper Collins, 1999))
Jonathan N. Tubb, Canaanites (British Museum Press, 1998)
Norman Cantor, The Sacred Chain - A History of the Jews (Harper Collins, 1994)

The Way of The Rabbi

Whatever daughter religions might spin off from old Judaism, the parent religion itself had inevitably to refashion itself for the new era. After the disaster of 135 AD, a number of Jews retreated into asceticism, banning meat and wine altogether, since sacrifice in the temple was no longer possible. Others lost themselves in mysticism, attempting to reach the ‘celestial throne’ via their imagination, the forerunners of the later ‘Kabala’.

But for all their suffering, most Jews were not ready to bastardise their traditional creed by infusing it with the dying godman mythology. The vacuum was filled by ‘Rabbinic Judaism’, the inheritor of the Pharisee tradition.

"The rabbis, a smallish group (perhaps a hundred or so in the whole Roman empire) of religious specialists descended from the Pharisees, gradually enhanced their status and developed a specifically Jewish way of arguing, which marked them off quite dramatically from both Christians and Romans." (Keith Hopkins, A World Full of Gods, p234)

In Palestine itself, where the Jews were now a minority, what remained of traditional Judaism turned inward. No longer could its priests use the ‘temple magic’ once used to summon divine favour, no longer could Judaism be proselytised.

The Rabbis became ‘clericalised’ – obsessed with cultic ‘rules’ as a practical substitute for the lost temple. They peopled the air itself with beneficent and malign spirits. A Jewish ‘code to live by’ - the Mitzvoth (the forerunner of ‘monastic rules’) detailed no fewer than 613 rules, governing every pious moment from waking to sleeping, to keep the Jew on the right side of an all-seeing God.

‘His rising from his bed, his manner of putting on the different articles of dress, the disposition of his fringed tallith, his phylacteries on his head and arms, his ablutions, his meals, even the calls of nature were subjected to scrupulous rules – both reminding him that he was of a peculiar race, and perpetually reducing him to ask the advice of the Wise Men, which alone could set at rest the trembling and scrupulous conscience.’ (Milman, History of the Jews, p165)

Within a few generations Judaism would be codified anew, into a portable (albeit confining) religion which could accompany and – fatally – identify this pseudo-race in their wanderings in the centuries ahead. By the close of the fifth century, the total population of Jews would be half of what it was at the beginning of the ‘Christian era’.(See, Cantor, ibid)

The Jewish people – dispersed but bonded by an exclusive faith, uniquely among ‘peoples’ – established enclaves in every major city from India to Spain, from Arabia to Britain. Capitalising upon this network of ‘safe havens’, and with a filial presence in every major resource, from African ivory to Germanic slaves, the Jews threw themselves into the commerce of the ancient world.

Jewish merchants traversed with impunity the hostile frontiers between Rome and Persia, sailed the sea lanes from the chilly rivers of Germany to the balmy seas off the Horn of Africa. The Jews became dealers in amber and fur, gold and silver, slave-traders and money-lenders.

But they were also dealers in superstition as well as produce:

‘The empire swarmed with Jewish wonder-workers, mathematicians, astrologers, or whatever other name or office they assumed or received from their trembling hearers.’ (Millman, History of the Jews, p158)

Levies on their new wealth paid for a programme of synagogue building, and in turn, the synagogues strengthened the bonds of the Jewish communities. Rarely assimilating into their host cultures, convinced they were especially favoured by the deity (and thus strengthened in their faith), the heady mix of piety and mercantilism rewarded the Jews with an unparalleled financial success – and an unequalled and universal opprobrium.

The Agudath Israel Defense - The Child Rapists Are Us - Innocent by Association!

*אנחנו זונות - היינו למכור את האמהות שלנו בשקל*

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/31/opinion/31iht-edcohen31.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=globaleua212

......."The response has been a gathering French outrage. I interviewed Strauss-Kahn long ago. He struck me as charming and very smart. Most impressive to me was that he seemed determined to modernize French socialism, a process too long delayed with the result that the French Socialist Party is a European dinosaur.

None of this, however, has anything to do with whether he attempted rape and forcibly imprisoned a 32-year-old chambermaid. Nor, of course, does his distinguished stewardship of the International Monetary Fund. The talent of Strauss-Kahn, 62, is not the issue.

Yet his French cohorts — men just as charming and smart as Strauss-Kahn — have made it their business to say, in essence, that he could not have done what he is accused of doing because he is one of us. He is, in effect, innocent by association"......

Oh, s’il vous please!

....."Perhaps Lévy’s defense was the most extraordinary, for its cavalier dismissal of the African woman at the heart of the drama when African victims have been a focus of his various campaigns, but even more so for its language on Strauss-Kahn: “Charming, seductive, yes, certainly; a friend to women and, first of all, to his own woman, naturally; but this brutal and violent individual, this wild animal, this primate, obviously no, it’s absurd.”

And here we are. There are plenty of facts, incidents and complaints — never fully investigated by the French press — to suggest that the serious charges against Strauss-Kahn are not “absurd” and that a young African woman’s voice raised against violent abuse by the powerful should have its day in court.

Bin Laden is dead. The Jews went to work. Suite 2806 is just a number".

Facts count!

[Blogger] Conspiracy theories are the refuge of the disempowered!

....And So It Will Be!

Sex Scandals in Religion & Their Coverups!

***THE WALL OF SILENCE***

http://www.earthbook.tv/religion/channelhome/channelvideos/149/

CLICK ABOVE LINK:

RABBI DANIEL EIDENSOHN SPEAKS:

I listened in dismay to R' Shlomo Gottesman's presentation of halachic issues of child abuse. He picked a very narrow perspective in answering the question of whether halacha allows going to the police to report abuse. The presentation involved snippets from the collection of teshuvos found in volume 15 of Yeshurun. He concluded that it was in fact permitted to go to the police but only if a rabbi had established that there was some - deliberately vague - level of evidence called raglayim ledavar and that this was for tikun olam (improvement to society). It was asserted that both these conditions could only be determined by a rabbi. In other words one risked being guilty of mesira (informing) and thus lose olam habah if reporting was done directly without first consulting a rabbi. Thus the focus of his presentation was on preserving rabbinic authority in abuse cases when the rabbi is not capable of dealing with it and the police need to be involved.

He also claimed that requiring a rabbi to decide whether abuse could be reported did not violate mandated reporting laws. . He did not say how this is possible but just asked the audience to trust him that it was possible to reconcile the mandated reporting requirement to report abuse and the requirement to allow a rabbi to decide whether abuse is to be reported. It is astounding that he so glibly stated this since he is a very competent lawyer and presumably knows that this is very problematic and that he is unlikely to find any judge or secular social agency to agree with him. He also claimed that there was no need to utilize the concept of rodef (self-protection) since a rabbi could decide on calling the police by tikun olam alone. That is strange since the concept of rodef is a significant factor even in the teshuvos of the gedolim that he was citing. Why would the gedolim utilize this concept if it wasn't necessary?

So what was really wrong with what he said? The fact is that by entirely focusing on the assertion that permission must first be gotten from a rabbi before contacting the police - he avoided dealing with the complexity of the issue of abuse as it happens in the Orthodox community. He obviously felt this was not of general interest but as he put it, this is what an individual needs to speak privately with a rabbi because each case is different.

Unfortunately he squandered an important opportunity. What he should have done was to ask a different question. Not under what conditions is calling the police mesira - but the real question is what does the Orthodox community need to do to protect the children? He failed to note that there are clearly times when a rabbi does not need to be consulted and that furthermore there are clearly times when a rabbi who says not to report should be ignored. He failed to address the more important issue of whether going to the police without community involvement and with pressure on parents not to file a complaint is really protecting the children. He failed to address the fear of reporting because of shidduchim and the danger that a child will be kicked out of school if he/she is found to have been abused. He failed to note that the Aguda has insisted that the financial well being of its institutions are more important than the welfare of the children. That cover ups to protect reputations of rabbis come before the sanity and safety of our children.

But perhaps his biggest failure was to address the betrayal of the abuse victims by the rabbis and community and the severe psychological and religious damage this betrayal causes. It is commonly observed by those who work with off the derech children that most of these children have been abused.

So yes - there is a legitimate halachic problem of how to deal with mesira - but in reality the issue of abuse is not primarily about how to preserve rabbinic authority - but how to protect our children.

Rabbi Hershel Schechter's Orthodox Jew!

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1388060/Ivanka-Trump-pregnant-pin-poses-bunny-outfit.html

Hershel Schechter/RCA - What Religion Did You Convert Trump To? - Mushchasim That You Are - הסוטים של היהדות!

Ivanka Trump lights up Baltimore, Submitted by peek on Tue, 11/23/2010 - 10:38am.

http://www.citypeek.com/baltimore/blog-entry/ivanka-trump-lights-baltimore-call-duty-teen-gift-idea-centro-gem



(Ivanka Trump and Maggie Cordish at Tatu Asian Grill, Baltimore’s newest hot spot adjacent to Power Plant Live!)

Ivanka Trump was recently a guest at TATU ASIAN RESTAURANT in Baltimore's POWER PLANT LIVE. Restaurant. TATU has quickly become one of Baltimore's newest hot spots to see and be seen. Whether for a cocktail pre or post dinner or a concert or a 3 hour meal, TATU is a great choice. Wonderful location, valet parking (just next to Ruth's Chris on Water Street. CITYPEEK calls TATU- "a hot, sexy, sushi bordello!"

And you NEVER KNOW WHO you will see.

TATU Baltimore,
614 Water Street
Power Plant Live
Baltimore, MD 21202
Phone: (410) 244-7385
Types: Asian Fusion, Bar Scene, Dancing-Nightclub, Neighborhood favorite, Notable Wine List, Romantic
Hours: 5PM - 12AM
Days Closed: Monday

TATU Baltimore, an explosive celebration of Asian cuisine featuring three of the most popular styles of cooking from the Orient and bringing them together on a powerful stage set. The menu is separated into three distinct categories: Chinois Pan Asian, the artful combination of Asian ingredients with French technique; Hunan and Szechwan Chinese, traditional Chinese classics and Japanese Sushi. TATU showcases a plush sake lounge, private tatami rooms and a full sushi bar, all captured in an intoxicating 1930’s Deco Shanghai setting in Baltimore's Power Plant Live.

Agudath Israel to UOJ: Welcome Back! *Five Years Later*

http://www.evtv1.com/player.aspx?itemnum=2387
CLICK ABOVE LINK:

Wednesday, December 06, 2006 - The UOJ Classics!
Agudah to UOJ: Welcome Back

It appears that the Agudah, with their pathetic grasping at straws of controversy to appear relevant, has resurrected UOJ -- the Patron Saint of Children Who are Sexually Abused by Religious Figures and Those Who Harbor Them. UOJ, after being 'outed' this spring by some self-appointed thugs who believe themselves to be defenders of Torah and Gedolim, slipped into the background with a farewell post just before Rosh Hashanah. Sadly, it appeared as though UOJ would relegated to asterisk status in Jewish history, despite his valiant and timely attacks on a viciously apathetic status quo that preferred the spiritual murder of Jewish children over decisive action.

And all was quiet as Rosh Yeshivas, executive directors, and some yeshivishe egomaniacs in the sleepy slum of Waterbury, CT. rejoiced at the miraculous bullet dodging they had just witnessed. Evidently, the 'humiliation' weapon -- a thin reference to ruined shidduchim and tainted yichus -- had succeeded in preserving the perversity of ultra-orthodox apathy.

But something was afoot. Deep within the bowels of 42 Broadway, across some shiny overpriced conference table, the Wizards of Was realized that their destiny lay in murdering the mandate bearer: blogs. Ironically, if they would actually read the blogs instead of dismissing them as the tools of Satan, they would have been able to resurrect themselves and actively contribute to the betterment and solidification of American Orthodoxy. Instead, they took the short way out.

"Let's bash blogs," the Daas Torahniks declared. "We must create a new enemy, now that the Nazis are gone, Jewish busdrivers can wear yarmulkes to work without fear, we've given up on "at-risk" kids (poorly trained mentors are the answer....right?), and we've selected our guest of honor for this year's dinner..." The obvious answer was blogs.

The dispensers of Daas Torah, concerned with the impact blogs were having on their destructive hegemony and possible ramifications that would have on future fundraising seconded the motion. "Blogs are bad," they bellowed. "We must rid our homes and neighborhoods of blogs." Then they returned to worrying about why the frummest girls schools produce graduates who ignore tznius, despite 14 years of subversive inculcation, and how to close the Pandora's box of frummer-than-though kashrus which has inexplicably led to America's most religious neighborhood to eat traif meat for half a decade.

Blogs are bad. Blogs are bad. Yeah, let's stick it to that UnOrthodox fellow. Who is he anyway to blame us for child molestation? We TOLD people that separate seating weddings would solve everything. And as long as they don't listen in the Five Towns, we can't be held responsible for what happens to little boys in Brooklyn."

So the convention program, with a half dozen cutsie teaser ads were drafted and everyone was happy. "Blogs are bad!," said the Agudah big shots. "When we're done with them, we'll be able to ridicule molestation victims with impunity in the Jewish Week." The Daas Torah dispensers cried, "Blogs are Bad. And now, we can get back to banning intangible objects, like books and sheitels, which we can burn, and actual people whom we can besmirch, excommunicate and threaten. It was so much easier in the old days."

But they didn't count on themselves making the same mistake as they have made time and time again: life moves fast. People forget. They are busy. If things go away, they are forgotten. It's the same reason why sexual molestation victims fade away. If people forget, their pain is buried, for they themselves to choke on, alone. But when old news gets dredged up. When books that appear objectionable are given attention, or banned, they take on a life of their own. When forgotten blogs are given main stage forums at major fundraising events....they return to life.

And so, UOJ, in all his glory has been vindicated and resurrected, unlike the Agudah, which is as pathetic and irrelevant as it has been for the past decade, UOJ has attracted a well written,logical counterpart:

http://rabbimatisyahusalomon.blogspot.com

which features a several thousand word letter detailing the vast and grievous gaps in communal leadership and compassion by our so-called gedolim.

The progeny of UOJ also provides an lucid timeline of events that led up to UOJ and more importantly the serious lack of judgment, compasison, and leadership of the dispensers of Daas Torah. And, incidentally, offers a nod to the one straight shooter of our generation, Rabbi Avigdor Miller, who told certain askanim, to, so to speak -- damn the torpedoes and blow this mother sky high. (I paraphrased a bit).

So, to the chagrin of every frummie on the dark hatted side of the color spectrum, UOJ is back. Ironically, the very intention of the Agudah, to declare their moral victory over bloggers and reclaim their relevance has instead tossed the moral imperative to bloggers such as UOJ. Blogs are more relevant and necessary than ever before.

As for UOJ, he sounds more mature, and as always -- is dead on correct about the travesty that has been perpetrated over 40 years of inaction, intimidation, and malicious ineptitude.

Welcome back UOJ. Klal Yisroel needs you!

posted by Still Wonderin'

Records Release to Be Considered in Decades-Old Sex Abuse Case

http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/index.jsp
Records Release to Be Considered in Decades-Old Sex Abuse Case
by Joel Stashenko

New York Law Journal
May 10, 2011

ALBANY - The state's highest court has agreed to consider the release of records in a decades-old sex abuse case that an attorney claims will disclose political favoritism by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes toward leaders of the Orthodox Jewish community.

Michael Lesher contends that the request for disclosure of records he has long sought will indicate that Mr. Hynes and others in his office were never serious about prosecuting molestation charges that emerged in the mid-1980s against Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz.

Mr. Lesher, who represents alleged victims of the rabbi, said yesterday that the Court of Appeal's determination could shed light on why Mr. Mondrowitz was not prosecuted more aggressively in Brooklyn before he fled to Israel in 1985.

"I am not sure what we would find to tell the truth," Mr. Lesher said. "But this case has been characterized by such a long history of cover-up by leaders of the Jewish Orthodox communities and political leaders connected with the case that it has required an extraordinary effort even up to this point to figure out what has actually happened."

Mr. Lesher represents a half-dozen clients who contend they were sexually abused by Mr. Mondrowitz. Mr. Mondrowitz was indicted in 1985 for sodomy, sexual abuse and other counts in New York.

Mr. Lesher's suit contends that the Brooklyn District Attorney's office declined to aggressively seek Mr. Mondrowitz's extradition to the United States.

Mr. Hynes announced in 2007 that he would seek extradition of Mr. Mondrowitz. But he later said that a new treaty signed that year between Israel and the United States seemed to preclude the release of the information being sought by Mr. Lesher.

According to Jewish Week, the Israeli court in January 2010 declined to confirm a lower court ruling to affirm Mr. Mondrowitz's extradition.

Jerry Schmetterer, director of public information for Mr. Hynes' office, told the newspaper, "We are disappointed by the decision. We are working with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Israel Ministry of Justice to see that remedies are available."

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice David B. Vaughn had originally granted Mr. Lesher access to the materials under the state's Freedom of Information law. But an Appellate Division, Second Department, panel ruled unanimously in Lesher v. Hynes, 80 AD3d 611 (2011), that it agreed with the district attorney that the release of the documents could interfere with an investigation that was still on-going.

This was sufficient to "exempt the documents from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Law," the unanimous panel held in an unsigned opinion by Justices Joseph Covello, Daniel D. Angiolillo, Thomas A. Dickerson and Ariel E. Belen (NYLJ, Jan. 19).

However, Mr. Lesher argued that the Israeli Supreme Court has essentially precluded the possibility that Mr. Mondrowitz could be prosecuted in the United States. Therefore, he suggested there would not be any ongoing investigation.

Nevertheless, Mr. Lesher said he wants to press the case in New York as a means of discovering if Brooklyn prosecutors properly pursued Mr. Mondrowitz as a pedophile.

The Court of Appeals' decision to hear the case was made without comment. The Court almost never hears appeals of unanimous decisions below.

The judges are likely to hear oral arguments in October or November, once the appeals and counter-appeals papers have been filed.

Mr. Lesher, an attorney in Passaic, N.J., said he considers himself a writer first who has disclosed child abuse cases in New York previously. But he filed the papers in the FOIL case and said he expects to argue it before the Court of Appeals.

Mr. Lesher is registered to practice in New York and New Jersey, he said.

Mr. Schmetterer declined yesterday to comment on the Court of Appeals' decision to hear the case, citing the pending nature of the action.

He said the office attempted through the U.S. State Department to extradite Mr. Mondrowitz and was blocked by Israel's high court, which ruled that the charges Mr. Mondrowitz faced in the United States were not extraditable offenses. After two years of incarceration as the case was being adjudicated, Mr. Mondrowitz has been released and is free in Israel, Mr. Schmetterer said yesterday.

Should Mr. Mondrowitz attempt to re-enter the United States, Mr. Schmetterer said he would be arrested and prosecuted.

"We are prepared to arrest him after he gets off an airplane," Mr. Schmetterer said. "He's under indictment here on five charges."

State Police charged Sullivan County man with sexually abusing boy!

http://strausnews.com/articles/2011/04/29/photo_news/news/8.txt


Monroe - State Police at Monroe have charged a 52-year-old Kiamesha Lake man with driving a 14-year-old boy to the America’s Best Value Inn located in the Town of Woodbury and having sexual contact with the child.

An investigator said the case began after the mother of the boy came to the State Police barracks in Monroe to report the incident. Police said the investigation showed that Joseph Gelbman, 52, of 191 Gibber Road in the Sullivan County community of Kiamesha Lake, had been at the motel on April 14 with the youngster.

Gelbman was arrested April 21 and charged with third-degree sexual abuse, forcible touching and endangering the welfare of a child, all misdemeanors.

He was arraigned before Town of Woodbury Justice David V. Hasin and released on $1,500 bail.