This is the testimony of a woman in the Vienna community from 3 years ago. She requested that her name be removed because she is afraid - as the result of seeing that those who have attempted to help Beth have been harrassed and threatened. The original German is included.
October 11th
2011
I write as a
woman, mother and friend of Ms. Beth Schlesinger, because it hurts that she is
completely alone as a result of lies being spread about her. However, I post
anonymously because I do not want the same thing to happen to me that happened
to two other women in the Jewish community .
The two ladies
were contacted by a third party on behalf of the Schlesinger family, with the
request that they should stop "helping" Ms. S.
One of these
women is actually friends with Ms. S. The other knows Ms. Schlesinger only as
an acquaintance. This person was accused of giving Ms. Schlesinger financial
support and claimed that only through this help did Ms. Schlesinger succeed in
getting the court to agree to longer visits with her children at home in
September 2011. A member of the Schlesinger family even (falsely) accused this
lady of paying for lawyers who will ensure that "Beth gets the kids
now."
The current
situation that Ms. Schlesinger doesn't have her children and even the visits
with her children have not taken place as specified, is in itself alone deeply
sad and shocking. Adding 'salt to the wounds' is not only cruel but purely
malicious.
There are
rumors going around that have completely isolated Ms. Schlesinger from the
Jewish community – portraying her as some kind of terrible mother or even a
monster. For example, it would be dangerous to leave the children in her care,
she must see the children only under constant supervision and should she be
granted unsupervised access, the children would be in danger.
Another
example: she took her children to a psychiatric hospital and implored them to
take the children from her because she could no longer cope with them. Even
though I do not know the details of this dispute, I find it laughable to spread
such stories. Ms. Schlesinger is fighting to her last breath for custody of the
children, so why would she do such a thing (if these malicious rumors were
true)? Unfortunately, however, most of the members of the community believe
these lies and think Ms. Schlesinger is evil.
If the
children's father's family really wished to "protect" the children,
then such it would not be necessary to spread such malicious lies and rumors.
Obviously, this is not about the welfare of the children but purely a way of
punishing the mother.
October 11th 2011
Ich schreibe als
Frau, Mutter und Bekannte von Frau Beth Schlesinger, weil es schmerzt daß sie
durch Lügen komplett alleine dasteht. Ich schreibe jedoch Anonym da ich nicht
möchte daß mit mir das gleiche passiert wie zwei andere Damen der jüdischen
Gemeinde.
Die zwei Damen
wurden von Familie Schlesinger über dritte kontaktiert, mit der Bitte, sie
sollten aufhören Frau S. zu „helfen“.
Einer dieser
Frauen ist tatsächlich mit Frau S. befreundet. Die andere Dame kennt Frau
Schlesinger nur flüchtig. Diese wurde aber unterstellt sie hätte Frau
Schlesinger finanziell unterstützt und nur durch ihre Hilfe schaffte Frau
Schlesinger es in September 2011 im Gericht durchzusetzen die Kinder für
mehrere Stunden mit nach hause nehmen zu dürfen. Sogar wurde von einem Mitglied
der Schlesinger Familie erzählt, diese Dame hätte Rechtsanwälte bezahlt welche
durchsetzten daß „Beth die Kinder jetzt bekommt.“
Die Situation daß
Frau Schlesinger ihre Kinder nicht bei sich hat und sogar die
Besuchtermine nicht wie festgelegt
stattgefunden haben, ist in sich alleine bereits zutiefst traurig und
erschütternd, daß dazu noch „Salz auf den Wunden“ gegossen wird, finde ich
nicht nur grausam sondern rein bösartig.
Es kursieren
Gerüchte herum welche Frau Schlesinger von der jüdischen Gemeinde komplett
isolieren – man könnte meinen man hätte es hier mit einer regelrechten
Rabenmutter oder sogar Monster zu tun. Es wäre gefährlich die Kinder in ihrer
Obhut zu lassen, sie dürfe nur unter ständiger Aufsicht die Kinder sehen.
Sollte sie unbeaufsichtigtes Besuchrecht bekommen wäre es für die Kinder eine
richtige Gefahr.
Sie habe zum
Beispiel ihre Kinder in einer Psychiatrie gebracht und dort das Personal
angefleht man soll ihr die Kinder abnehmen, sie könne nicht mehr mit denen
umgehen. Auch wenn ich nicht die Einzelheiten dieses Disputs kenne, fände ich
es lachhaft so eine Geschichte herum zu erzählen. Frau Schlesinger kämpft ja
bis zum letzen Atem um das sorgerecht der Kinder, warum würde sie so etwas tun? Leider glauben es aber die meisten Mitglieder
der Gemeinde und machen Frau Schlesinger somit zur Bösen.
Würde es der
Familie des Kindesvaters nur darum gehen die Kinder zu „beschützen“ dann würden
solche Gerüchten und Lügen nicht notwendig sein. Anscheinend geht es hier
jedoch nicht um das Wohl der Kinder sondern um einen Rachezug.
These are brave ladies. It has mentioned that there are other cases in Vienna like Beth's. Ladies of Vienna are you sure you can trust your
ReplyDeleteHusband? . Are you in a happy
marriage? . What has happened to
Beth could easily happen to any of us. Wouldn't you like to be helped?
We all must help Beth and the boys!
What a can of worms Vienna is.
ReplyDeletePeople living in fear afraid to apeak out.
Just how are these people being held to ransom.
What will happen to them if they did
Who is ruling the roost there, and what with, power and money?
Still don't understand, its not like the same few people employ the whole of the jewish community. Don't get it at all.
Could somebody in Vienna be brave and come on Dass Torah anonymously, and tell us why people live in fear of speaking out, for the sake of two little boys who woud be so happy if they were with their mummy, also for the sake of people who are afraid there too.
Esther
ReplyDeleteThey may also like to comtact the brilliant Rabbi Eidensohn, who runs this blog and who is also a
psychologist and has helped many
people
He is helping Beth, because he believed Beth from the start, but now he has read the evidence, he can see
even how more so how unfair and corrupt this whole case is.
Here is your chance ladies to be given unwavering support by a person who cares about helping others
Not only will you br helping yourself if you contact Rabbi Eidensohn, but you will be also be doing the biggest
mitzvah.
The two little boys can't speak, even though they will be five next month.
You fortunately have a voice!
Don't be afraid to use it!
You don't have to remain silent and
will be given every assistance!
Where is flower now? Is this the fair court process she holds in the highest esteem?
ReplyDeleteHer words have now been shown to be baseless and offensive in the extreme.
I live in Vienna. Frankly it's hard for me to believe these accounts when they are anonymous. If I knew who Nora is I'd call her to verify the truth. Until I have names it's hard to believe anonymous letters.
ReplyDeleteIts interesting how Flower has gone quiet. Maybe he/she is pesach cleaning. It is more than the home that needs cleaning!
ReplyDelete@Tulip
ReplyDeleteI am still around, just have nothing to add to what I have already said so many times.
I will not force you to be enlightened.
I understand flower that it is against the law to publish the courts decision. If this is so why is Beth being asked to do so?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the father can asked the court
s permission to clear this ambiguity up!
Surely the court will want to be seen in a good light and the father also!
@Tulip
DeleteYou seem to forget that the father doesnt participate in any dialogue with the outside world. He had a custody dispute, won in court, and regards the matter as a personal issue.
I have to say that if I would be in his position, I am not sure if I would have been able to endure such a campaign with saying as much as a word.
correction: "...WITHOUT saying as much as a word."
DeleteTo flower, interesting flower, you seem to know that Michael Schlesinger has not commented on here. So how do you know this?
DeleteEsther,
DeleteMicheal doesn't do well when he comments on here (as he's done and shown in the past). However, he can simply hire Sarah/flower and so many other names (mostly the same person) to comment here that he's not commenting. LOL
Flower but what about the boys?. What does the father tell them? What reason does he give them that they are only allowed to see their mama a few hours
ReplyDeleteeach week. Surely he doesn't just tell them he won them!
Beth is never allowed to know
anything about her sons. She is not
told the basic things like what their
favourite food is, even their teachers name.
For some unexplained reason
the boys cannot speak, although they can understand.
Don't you think it would be beneficial for the boys if their mother to have a
bigger involvement in their lives.
Afterall, they have had lots of therapies that haven't worked, but their mother is an oobvious therapy that has not been
tried.
Surely it should be for the sake of the boys. Don't you think?
It's a shame Flower that you have been so abusive to Rabbi Eidensohn who runs the site that he has refused to post
Deleteany more of your comments!
Why are you so angry Flower?
You talk on the fathers behalf
so you must be close to him, or even Michael himself!
I would like an answer to my last question please Michael
You can't keep denying Sammy and Benji their mother in spite of the decision the
court made.
You know as well as me that
Beth is a perfectly capable loving mother, which you can
't deny!
It's time now to put the boys first. We have all seen how happy the boys are when they are with Beth.
Time to put your anger aside and find an amicable solution with Beth for the sake of your sons and everyone concerned.
Let's find peace!
Tova,
ReplyDeleteyou are true, there are even more cases like Beth´s. But the situation about Samuel and Benjamin is one of the worst ones.
I have never expected what could be possible here.
I also came to Vienna because of my husband and got similar experience like Beth. I can see my children for 2 days a week and I am waiting for a new psychological report to decide the custody. I hope to get my little girls back.
Their father also spreads rumours about me and the fact that my children have been taken away from me helps this. It happened to me several times when I had a job apply interview that I was asked why I don´t have my kids: don´t you want them? Do you have an alcohol problem? Are you a prostitute?
No, no and once again no.
IMHO this story is not just about a miscarriage of justice in Beth´s case. There must be something wrong in the whole justice: reports are done withing a very short time, they are valued as a fact, they are the most important base for the court decision. And even if you proof that a report was wrong the expert has practically no respensibility for his or her scamped job. The same the judges: it is practically impossible to punish them when they repeatedly make severe mistakes.
"There are rumors going around that have completely isolated Ms. Schlesinger from the Jewish community......she took her children to a psychiatric hospital and implored them to take the children from her because she could no longer cope with them."
ReplyDeleteThis must be one of the most absurd rumors of all circulated round the Jewish community in Vienna. If Beth took the boys to the first-rate child psychiatry department at the Rosenhügel hospital, as we've read here before, she will have done so because another professional in Vienna who saw the boys in his/her facility recommended it. You cannot take your children to a hospital to... leave them there! If they need to stay for a short period and are very young, then it will be with a parent, not on their own.
Now who spread this ridiculous rumor? Rumors have to start somewhere. As the various blog posters (Bubbe, flower and gang) lacking respect for those better than themselves have mentioned this same rumor, it could reasonably be assumed that they were the ones who started it. And who are these monstrous individuals? Surely Dr Schlesinger's evil sister or he himself. And who spread the nonsense? Those weaklings in the community who lacked the courage to stand up for the welfare of two little children.
This may have happened 3 years ago or but it is still very relevant NOW. If the situation had changed, ie if the heads of the community had had the courage to stand up in front of the members and stated publicly that they supported the mother - the stranger in their midst who was doing all she could for the welfare of her kids against disgraceful resistance - the situation today would probably be very different. The mother might have continued to have custody (why was this suddenly changed to the father for obscure reasons which noone seems to want to say out loud?) and the father, depending on the results of a psychiatric report from a neutral expert, would again have been given visiting rights .... or not.
Thats so sad that this has happened to you as well.. Are you jewish and which country do you originate from?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous thank you for sharing and telling us your story.
ReplyDeleteIn Beth's case the court has chosen
which reports they want to accept.
It is as if they chose the outcome and made the pieces fit!
There was one corrupt report saying that Beth had some sort of mental
illness. Another court commissioned
report stating the opposite was deniefd by the court.
Although repeatedly requested by Beth, even in her appeal to the High Court no professional assessments
have been done on the children, except a statement by Rabbi Biderman, who
said they were doing well
psychologically even though one of the boys was self harming. Rabbi Biderman has no qualifications to make such a statement. No professional report has
ever been submitted to the court.
As we have seen at least one example with Beth's au pair, witnesses for Beth
were refused and some interviewed
behind closed doors by the judge
The father and Rabbi Biderman had direct contact by phone and email
with the judge.
Overnight and suddenly without any reason given, the father went from having supervised visits for eighteen
months, to being given immediate
cusody.
This is when the boys were, suddenly and without warning, taken from
Beth's warm loving and excellent care,
by armed police!
No wonder the boys remain so
tramatised. It is as if they have not
moved on from that traumatic day.
They still are unable to speak in
complete sentences as they couldn't
then when they were two. At the time Beth was even blamed for this
They have grown taller, but they
remain like babies, because they werer ripped from their caring mother and cannot get over it.
There is only one sensible solution to
this and that is to give the boys to
Beth, their mother.
They will be five next month. The
father may have tried to help them but
he now needs to face reality that Sammy and Benji need their mother.
It will be a shame if a new case has to be brought as so many people will suffer in the process, but most of all
Sammy and Benji who need their
mother now!
There is no good reason for this not to happen!
Michael needs to see sense and do what is right for his sons.
It is the court nee the outcome at the beginning of the case and wanted to find the pieces to fit!
Tova, everything you say is so true. Anonymous, your experience so far has been like what hundreds of thousands of mothers in the western world have gone or are going through. How I hope you'll get your little girls back! The pattern everywhere is for family court judges - who have no training in child development or psychology at all - to order children to be handed back to abusers. I do hope for you that your judge will be more enlightened. We are thinking of you and Beth and the many other mothers who have been misunderstood by the courts at this special time of year and pray you'll get your children back, as we do for Beth.
ReplyDeleteThoughful As we are thinking of Anonymous and Beth at this special time,. Pesach, when our ancestors (mothers and fathers) were given their
ReplyDeletefreedom, we hope that, as Beth has
requested of Michael, he concedes for
the sake and future of THEIR children!
What is the point of celebrating our festivals, if we don't believe, or learn from them?
Did anyone in Vienna see the children over Pesach? How are they doing?
ReplyDelete