Thursday, July 16, 2009

Child abuse case leads to Chareidi protests


The accusations against the mother of child abuse been fully represented in the secular press along with a conjectured psychiatric diagnosis. In short she has been put on trial convicted and executed. However there is a second side of the story which alledges that the doctors have misdiagnosed and mistreated the child and that the insensitive manner of arresting her in public was disgusting.

Whichever version of events is true - there is no question that this is a public relations disaster for the Chareidi community. However the release of private and confidential information as well as rumors to the secular press - by the police, social workers and hospital - are not acceptable in a modern society even if the facts are in agreement with the hospital. This is not the first time that the secular forces have felt a need to violate confidentiality to have the chareidim vilified in the press and public opinion.

The obvious solution should be a joint committee - of Chareidi representatives and hospital official - to investigate the facts - not only of whether there was abuse - but how and why confidential information was given to the press. Even if the facts of abuse are correct - and they haven't been proven - this public campaign by the secular forces is not appropriate but neither are the disgusting riots which only serve to validate the campaign of villification against the chareidi population

JPost

[...] The woman's family claims the child has cancer and that his skeletal appearance is due to chemotherapy treatments, a claim vehemently denied by doctors, who have said that since the mother's arrest, the child's condition has improved and that he has begun to put on weight.

Dudu Zilbershlag, the family's media adviser, told Army Radio on Thursday morning that they had medical documents proving their claim and would reveal them in a matter of hours.

Dr. Yair Birnbaum, deputy director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization, said that the boy had gained 20 percent of his weight since nearly two weeks ago, when the mother was arrested. [...]

JPost

"Jerusalem's 'Eda Haredit' will boycott Hadassah Ein Karem Hospital, since its medical team fabricates libels against our community members and abuses them," declared Yoel 'Yoelish' Kraus, the 'operations officer' of the staunchly anti-Zionist haredi communal organization.

Speaking on Army Radio Wednesday morning, Kraus's statement came after a night of haredi riots in the capital, protesting the arrest of a Jerusalem woman apparently suffering from a psychiatric disorder, whose arrest for allegedly near-starving her three-year-old son to death was made public by police on Tuesday.

The mother of four, a member of the extreme Natorei Karta hassidic sect in Jerusalem who is five months pregnant, is suspected of severely abusing her child for two years, until he weighed a mere 7 kilograms, according to police investigators.

She was arrested last week during a meeting with a social worker.

In response, scores of haredi protesters took to the streets Tuesday night, setting garbage bins on fire on Rehov Bar-Ilan and in the Mea She'arim neighborhood, snarling traffic in the area, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. [...]

9 comments :

  1. Just imagine the Kiddush HaShem that would be if the Eida Chareidis would put out a statement against child abuse, promoting the welfare of the child and the psychological treatment of the mother, and push its adherents to "biarta hara mikirbecha." That would truly go a long way to having the whole world say "ashrecha ve'ashrei Hashem..."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dov said...

    Just imagine the Kiddush HaShem that would be if the Eida Chareidis would put out a statement against child abuse, promoting the welfare of the child and the psychological treatment of the mother, and push its adherents to "biarta hara mikirbecha." That would truly go a long way to having the whole world say "ashrecha ve'ashrei Hashem..."
    =================
    Agree 100%

    ReplyDelete

  3. Natorei Karta hassidic Sect


    Is that so ? Last time I have been in their shul they were using the Gra Nusach....

    ReplyDelete
  4. it's toldot ahron, not neturei karta...
    http://www.vosizneias.com/35046/2009/07/15/jerusalem-father-of-meah-shearim-mother-accused-of-abusing-child-imprisoned-speaks-others-continue-protest/

    ReplyDelete
  5. There are very few voices taking a stand against the senseless violence plagueing the charedi community today. Therefore, I salute your efforts, and hope more Torah-true Jews will be inspired to follow suit.

    There are plenty of other forms of protest available to religious Jews. How about a taanis debur? An all night learn-a-thon? Or a massive group tehillim? How about writing letters or raising money for psychiatric care? Where is the legitimate cry of outrage against this mother's suspected behaviours?

    I too am ashamed to be charedi when I see these headlines. I live in Ramat Beit Shemesh, and almost everytime my community makes the news, it is because of another scandal.

    These demonstarations are a massive chillul Hashem, and unless we protest, I believe we will all be chiiv, chas v'shalom, for our silent acquiesince.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rav Eidensohn you're close to Rav Shternbuch and have quoted him supporting your positions, but here he is supporting explicitly or implicitly) riots against arresting a child abuser! What gives? Is kvod haRav sgan hanasi afraid to say something, or is kvodo showing his true beliefs?

    ReplyDelete
  7. There are allegatiions that the doctors have misdiagnosed and mistreated the child and that the insensitive manner of arresting her in public was disgusting.

    Whichever version of events is true - there is no question that this is a public relations disaster for the Chareidi community. However the release of private and confidential information as well as rumors by the police, social workers and hospital are not acceptable in a modern society - even if the facts are in agreement with the hospital. This is not the first time that the secular forces have felt a need to violate confidentiality to have the chareidim vilified in the press and public opinion.

    The obvious solution should be a joint committee to investigate the facts - not only of whether there was abuse - but how and why confidential information was given to the press.

    ReplyDelete
  8. if the shoe were on the other foot (e.g. conversions in the following post) would the charedi community agree to a joint commission?
    She-nir'eh et nehamat Yerushalayim u-binyanah bi-mherah ve-yamenu
    KT
    joel rich

    ReplyDelete
  9. I see a recurrent pattern here. Was it not the same 3 years ago when a father had shaked his 3 month old son to death?

    Did not eminent Rabbonim sign a letter that he was innocent and that everything should be done to get him out of jail?

    What I do not understand: How did those eminent Rabbonim know he was innocent without prior consulting forensic proof?

    I always had a high opinion of the wisdom of our chachamim, but this is a serious blow to my confindence in them.

    ReplyDelete

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