Commenting has been restored. Due to the threatened legal action I have removed certain postings. I would appreciate it if any one notices any mention of "he who is not to be mentioned" left on the blog to notify me.
All I want to say is that the threats you received did not come from a "naive young man" but a savvy and experienced business man and his lawyer(who almost by definition would not fit the description of "naive"). The fact that he chose YOU - a poor blogger who hasn't really said anything nasty, rather than a person who is actually trying to wreck his reputation , but who is also rich, savvy and assertive, speaks volumes.
I will break my silence briefly to say that I am 100% behind Jersey Girl on this issue and I would whole-heartedly reconsider my "resignation" on condition that she does what she says by taking the action that's needed.
Jersey Girl, let me know what you want and what's needed and I will be there for you on this one. This is big! And there is no reason fake legal threats should sut down all our hard work that is based on public sources about an increasingly promiment up and coming power couple about whom news items are now being published regularly in the Jerusalme Post and others sources and who now practice the megalomaniacal doctrine of "my way or the highway"! This guy has shut down his own uncle Tom and Tropper and now he wants to sjut down the Blogger network, something even Rosh Yeshivas and Rebbes do not do even tho they fight it and denounce it bitterly, but as Rav Shternbuch said it is not the way of Jews to run to secular lawyers to threaten law cases and shut people up who are not saying much either.
My rights as a blogger are being trampled into the dust and I don't like it.
I would suggest a name that is not cynical but is rather factual because this is a serious matter. And since this matter has a history and is part of an ongoing web of developments and a part of an active cluster of activities and related points effecting Jews and Orthodox Judaism that need to be included whether one likes it or not.
May I suggest something that somehow or other uses ALL of these four elements: EJF/Tropper/Kaplan/Aguiar.
You can surely think of something using your creative, journalistic and writing skills.
By the way, funny you should mention the Le Marais restaurant in NYC because not many are aware that it is a pure business venture owned by Germans as an investment to make money off of the kosher food market's desire to fress kosher gourmet. I know first hand someone who worked there as a mashgiach for about one year who said that the German investors chose the name "Le Marais" as a hidden insult to the very Jews who come there:
The name "Le Marais" is meant to cause people to think that it means "the sea" or "the lake" or "the water" in French but according to the person who worked there it does not mean any of those. It actually means "the SWAMP" which was supposedly an area near Paris that was a swamp that was designated as a ghetto for the Jews to live in because it was the worst part of town where Jews were confined to live and it was considered an insult to refer to that place. That is what my source told me.
Isaac Bitton was the Mashgiach who was sued by Le Marais for $10 mill in damages for libel because he went public with his serious kashrus concerns.
Bill Sanderson of the NY Post covered the story.
As Rabbi Bitton states on his blog: "Thank G-d, as of April 24, 2007 this motion to restrain my free speech was overturned by the Supreme Court of New York."
I know one of the attorneys who filed a "Friend of the Court" on behalf of Rabbi Bitton who could not afford an attorney.
The attorney for Le Marais who filed the 10 mill suit against the 10 dollar an hour mashgiach was investigated by the NY Bar for filing a SLAPP. Since there was no possibility of collecting damages, even if they could be proven, it was clear that the suit was only filed in order to deprive Rabbi Bitton of his right to free speech.
All I want to say is that the threats you received did not come from a "naive young man" but a savvy and experienced business man and his lawyer(who almost by definition would not fit the description of "naive"). The fact that he chose YOU - a poor blogger who hasn't really said anything nasty, rather than a person who is actually trying to wreck his reputation , but who is also rich, savvy and assertive, speaks volumes.
ReplyDeleteI will break my silence briefly to say that I am 100% behind Jersey Girl on this issue and I would whole-heartedly reconsider my "resignation" on condition that she does what she says by taking the action that's needed.
ReplyDeleteJersey Girl, let me know what you want and what's needed and I will be there for you on this one. This is big! And there is no reason fake legal threats should sut down all our hard work that is based on public sources about an increasingly promiment up and coming power couple about whom news items are now being published regularly in the Jerusalme Post and others sources and who now practice the megalomaniacal doctrine of "my way or the highway"! This guy has shut down his own uncle Tom and Tropper and now he wants to sjut down the Blogger network, something even Rosh Yeshivas and Rebbes do not do even tho they fight it and denounce it bitterly, but as Rav Shternbuch said it is not the way of Jews to run to secular lawyers to threaten law cases and shut people up who are not saying much either.
My rights as a blogger are being trampled into the dust and I don't like it.
Please let me know what happens next, thanks!
I would suggest a name that is not cynical but is rather factual because this is a serious matter. And since this matter has a history and is part of an ongoing web of developments and a part of an active cluster of activities and related points effecting Jews and Orthodox Judaism that need to be included whether one likes it or not.
ReplyDeleteMay I suggest something that somehow or other uses ALL of these four elements: EJF/Tropper/Kaplan/Aguiar.
You can surely think of something using your creative, journalistic and writing skills.
By the way, funny you should mention the Le Marais restaurant in NYC because not many are aware that it is a pure business venture owned by Germans as an investment to make money off of the kosher food market's desire to fress kosher gourmet. I know first hand someone who worked there as a mashgiach for about one year who said that the German investors chose the name "Le Marais" as a hidden insult to the very Jews who come there:
The name "Le Marais" is meant to cause people to think that it means "the sea" or "the lake" or "the water" in French but according to the person who worked there it does not mean any of those. It actually means "the SWAMP" which was supposedly an area near Paris that was a swamp that was designated as a ghetto for the Jews to live in because it was the worst part of town where Jews were confined to live and it was considered an insult to refer to that place. That is what my source told me.
RaP - here is a case in point:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.amashgiachspeaksout.com/
Isaac Bitton was the Mashgiach who was sued by Le Marais for $10 mill in damages for libel because he went public with his serious kashrus concerns.
Bill Sanderson of the NY Post covered the story.
As Rabbi Bitton states on his blog:
"Thank G-d, as of April 24, 2007 this motion to restrain my free speech was overturned by the Supreme Court of New York."
I know one of the attorneys who filed a "Friend of the Court" on behalf of Rabbi Bitton who could not afford an attorney.
The attorney for Le Marais who filed the 10 mill suit against the 10 dollar an hour mashgiach was investigated by the NY Bar for filing a SLAPP. Since there was no possibility of collecting damages, even if they could be proven, it was clear that the suit was only filed in order to deprive Rabbi Bitton of his right to free speech.