As those who have been following the tragic saga of Dr. Schlesinger's battle to control and impose his will on Beth and the twin - his life is seriously unraveling.
While initially enjoying a series of inexplicable successes 1) convincing the court to take full custody away from Beth - despite the fact that the police had thwarted his illegal attempt to have Beth committed to a mental hospital. He did this despite the clear record of his abusing Beth physically and mentally which had resulted in him being kicked out of the apartment by the police and given only supervised visits. The court's bizarre rational for ignoring the clear documentation of Beth's competence and his incompetence was that he was interested in providing the twins with therapy for their apparent developmental delays - while Beth (on the advice of the pediatrician and other experts) felt it best to wait a little longer since it was possible that this was a normal and not unusual delay. Thus full control of the twins was given to him when they were two years old. 2) Michael has had amazing success in denying his wife overnight visits or weekend visits with her children - as well as arbitrarily and illegally cancelling scheduled visits with them. 3) He has succeeded in avoiding court mandated psychiatric tests which would clearly show that there is something seriously wrong. 4) He has succeeded in fighting off Beth's appeals - all the way to the Supreme Court of Austria. 5) He has enjoyed the support not only of the community but also of a number of prominent rabbis - despite protests from rabbis around the world that a terrible injustice was occurring. 6) This support exists despite a variety of newspaper exposes that have consistently described him in very negative terms - without having his offering one word in his defense. 7) He has done this despite the fact that he has no money and is using a government supplied lawyer - while he has forced Beth to spend a fortune to lawyers and for fees to a government agent every time she sees her kids. 8) He has succeeded in pulling all this off despite not being highly regarded either in his community, in his profession or personally. 9) He has succeeded in convincing the court that he should have full custody - despite the fact that he has little time for his children and they are being raised by two Filipinos- instead of their loving mother. 10) He has full custody despite the fact that he obviously has significant personal problems such as anger control and has difficulty in relating properly to his children. 11) He has succeeded in maintaining full custody for 3 years despite that the fact that the 5 year old twins are not able to speak full sentences and have other developmental delays. In addition they have apparently not received a proper psychological evaluation for these problem - especially in determine the degree that his relationship to them has caused these problems. 12) Against the law he has succeeded in convincing the twins' school not to tell Beth anything about her children - even when they had a birthday party!
So why isn't Michael smiling?
The answer is that his run of "luck" is reversing. 1) Beth was recently given overnight visits every second week - after three years of only daytime visits. 2) The judge in the case seems to be finally acknowledging that the present arrangement is not optimal for the children and is now giving Beth a chance to show that she deserves to have a greater part in her children's life. 3) The children - while clearly developmentally delayed and showing signs of having a very traumatic existence - are nevertheless still having a very close and loving relationship with their mother 4) The children still seem to have the potential for growth and recovery from the poor parenting they have had - as long as Beth receives full custody in the near future. 5) Beth - despite all the pressures she has been under including attempts to get her to abandon her children and move back to England - is still optimistic and determined to fight for her children's well being. 6) While Michael clearly has had the problematic Austrian judiciary on his side, it is clear that Beth now has a momentum of world wide support. It now seems an obtainable goal that in the near future she will - G-d willing - be getting full custody and the ability to return with the twins to England. It also is clear that Michael's obsession with control is in fact destroying his life and that the only pleasure he gets from life is having power over the lives of the twins and Beth. It is urgent for him to relinquish control before all is lost 7) Relative to his potential his career is in shambles. He left the Wilhelminenl Hospital without being awarded a specialization and he's now working for a few hours a day in a mental hospital. Rather disappointing for him since he had aspired to be a cardiologist. Of course it is not surprising that his career has not advanced when he spends all his energy trying to control and making the lives of Beth and the Twins unpleasant. His victory over Beth has become a tar-baby that is destroying him more than he is destroying others. Michael's victory is truly a Pyrrhic victory.
My advice to Michael is to stop fighting Beth while you still have something to save.
Please say Tehilim #130 everyday for the twins to be freed into Beth's full custody
ספר תהילים פרק קל
א) שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ יְדֹוָד:
ב) אֲדֹנָי שִׁמְעָה בְקוֹלִי תִּהְיֶינָה אָזְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁבוֹת לְקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי:
ג) אִם עֲוֹנוֹת תִּשְׁמָר יָהּ אֲדֹנָי מִי יַעֲמֹד:
ד) כִּי עִמְּךָ הַסְּלִיחָה לְמַעַן תִּוָּרֵא:
ה) קִוִּיתִי יְדֹוָד קִוְּתָה נַפְשִׁי וְלִדְבָרוֹ הוֹחָלְתִּי:
ו) נַפְשִׁי לַאדֹנָי מִשֹּׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר שֹׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר:
ז) יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְדֹוָד כִּי עִם יְדֹוָד הַחֶסֶד וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת:
ח) וְהוּא יִפְדֶּה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכֹּל עֲוֹנֹתָיו:
My advice to Michael is to stop fighting Beth while you still have something to save.
Please say Tehilim #130 everyday for the twins to be freed into Beth's full custody
ספר תהילים פרק קל
א) שִׁיר הַמַּעֲלוֹת מִמַּעֲמַקִּים קְרָאתִיךָ יְדֹוָד:
ב) אֲדֹנָי שִׁמְעָה בְקוֹלִי תִּהְיֶינָה אָזְנֶיךָ קַשֻּׁבוֹת לְקוֹל תַּחֲנוּנָי:
ג) אִם עֲוֹנוֹת תִּשְׁמָר יָהּ אֲדֹנָי מִי יַעֲמֹד:
ד) כִּי עִמְּךָ הַסְּלִיחָה לְמַעַן תִּוָּרֵא:
ה) קִוִּיתִי יְדֹוָד קִוְּתָה נַפְשִׁי וְלִדְבָרוֹ הוֹחָלְתִּי:
ו) נַפְשִׁי לַאדֹנָי מִשֹּׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר שֹׁמְרִים לַבֹּקֶר:
ז) יַחֵל יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל יְדֹוָד כִּי עִם יְדֹוָד הַחֶסֶד וְהַרְבֵּה עִמּוֹ פְדוּת:
ח) וְהוּא יִפְדֶּה אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל מִכֹּל עֲוֹנֹתָיו:
Yet despite the community in Vienna knowing Mr Schlesinger's own personal history and deep psychological problems, Chabad Rabbi Biderman was more than happy to voluntarily involve himself in the court proceedings in favor of Mr Schlesinger on multiple occasions, not to mention his communication with corrupt "Jewish" judge Konstanze Thau.
ReplyDeleteWhy has no Chabad Rabbi acknowledged Rabbi Biderman's devastating actions affecting the lives of these innocent children? In this modern age of communication, does Chabad really believe that the "sweeping under the carpet" policy is still the best approach???
It certainly makes no sense why the children were taken away from their loving and capable mother in the first place!
ReplyDeleteIs the father a sociapath? Is there bribery and a major cover up, or could it be both?
Sociopath: someone who behaves in a dangerous or violent way towards other people and does not feel guilty about such behavior
ReplyDeleteThis fits the profile of Schlesinger perfectly
While i agree that there is undoubtedly corrupt type behavior by the Austrian court system, the allegation of physical abuse in point 1 above is something new.
ReplyDelete(Not that there's nothing wrong with corruption. That's how the game is played in some jurisdictions. Beth, and many others, are naive n thinking that's not how the game is .)
@MiMedinat HaYam - the claim of physical abuse is not new. I have written about it numerous times. It is one of the reason that the police kicked Michael out of the apartment when he tried to get Beth committed to a mental hospital and the police realized there was something wrong with him - not her.
ReplyDeleteThe self-destructive patterns and nature which Beth describes is typical of the abusive personality. The spend all of their energy and time in trying to destroy their victims, but in the end they destroy themselves. -- It is the story of the fox and the scorpion crossing the river, who both end up drowning bcse. it is in the 'nature' of the scorpion to sting his victim.
ReplyDeleteBut, unlike this children's story, abusers are not abusive bcse. it is in their 'nature'. They are abusive bcse. it is what they have been taught from early on in life. Then, in turn (as we have seen in this case) their behavior and actions are supported and encouraged by the abuser's family and the community (and courts); validating the abuse.
While Beth's case is tragic, of greater concern for communities and govts (who are failing to address these issues), is how her case typifies the response of the courts and all too many people in the community. For thousands of years communities across the globe have repeated (and are repeating) the same story and drama that we have seen in Beth's case.
Thank you Beth for having the courage and fortitude to speak up and speak out. If more people had this courage then maybe the dynamics of this situation would change.
I am extremely worried about these helpless little boys in the city of Vienna - RIGHT NOW. As ex-priest Adolf Höll commented today, "When a highly intelligent man actually implements the ideas he's conjured up, something terrible is the result ...."
ReplyDeleteWhen a grown man of violent tendencies and prone to intermittent rage attacks is left alone (with irresponsible court approval) with sensitive children whose mother and 3 grandparents he despises, this is a recipe for ... DANGER.
Who is now going to rescue these innocents? NOW, I mean. The Social Services (Jugendamt)? NO, they support the father and threaten staff members with dismissal if the latter believe the mother to be honest and caring. The Vienna police? NO, they do not always take reports of danger to little children seriously. The IKG (Jewish Community) in Vienna? NO, the secular leaders have long since abandoned any ideas they might have had of attempting to intervene to save the lives of these small Jewish boys. The Lauder Chabad Kindergarten and its heads, Rabbi Joseph Biderman and Ms Chani Eidelman?
Now here we have the very individuals who could save them if nobody else cares! The boys attend kindergarten on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Rabbi Biderman, Ms Eidelman and their staff, as well as the many parents and carers who take children to kindergarten and pick them up afterwards, are in a position to HELP the BOYS. Show them your love and care when you see them and if you have the feeling, like I do, that they are in danger, do everything you possibly can to assist!
Civil courage is needed in these troubled times!
What's happening here? Or rather .... not happening? Where are all the people who, months ago, would immediately appear on this blog like bees around a honeypot and declare that Michael Schlesinger is a dear, sweet man with no violent tendencies whatever?
ReplyDeleteWere these people in fact him and his lovely sister all along? We were informed about Michael's unacceptable domestic violence many moons ago but the judge was taken in, apparently by his 'charm'. Why otherwise would she have awarded him Benji and Sammy?
Methinks in the meantime Michael perhaps dumped his and Aunty Tina's laptops in the nearby Danube in a fit of rage. From all we've read about him, it seems more than likely :-((
Thank you daas torah for keeping this topic alive. As said before if anyone would like to post the best contact addresses,emails etc of the key people directly involved who could make a change , Im sure we would all be happy to write to them directly and try and get them to WAKE UP from their little denials. Any personal email addresses of the Chabad kindy main players, the judges contacts etc, Obviously the international communities support is helping Beths case. Beth keep the photos flowing and the stories of your kids online so that your supporters stay connected.
ReplyDeleteObstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.
ReplyDelete~Michael Jordan
Dear Beth, the lovely woman who is the caring mother of two dear little suffering boys, please heed this message from the famous basketball player Michael Jordan!
I think you should also know that there ARE members of the Vienna Jewish Community who love and respect you, in addition to being very concerned about the welfare of your sons.
'..raised by 2 Filipinos..' Much as we know the Filipino people love children, are Christian and forced to work abroad because their country is so poor, has Dr Schlesinger not made a horrible mistake engaging some to raise his sons? They may be delightful (??) women but how to they speak German and English?
ReplyDeleteOne must speak German to them and the other English, I guess. But it's unlikely that 2 Filipinos who are not employed by the UN or their embassy will speak either of these languages well enough to have taught it to 2 Austro-English kids whose mother is legally banned from seeing them most of the time and whose father is a young MD. Young docs almost always do lots of nite duties to make cash for their families so the dad will have employed the women to take most of the work load off him.
He must have a screw loose if he thinks that's how you do it! What's up with the nursery if the boys haven't learnt to speak their deutsh there? Doesn't the judge check these things? Does his or her responsibility stop when custody is awarded? Something is radicly wrong in Austria.
Where are all the people who were posting cruel words about Beth only a few months ago? Have they woken up to the fact, through reading the truth on this blog, that she is in fact the innocent party in this tragic case and the twins' father the evildoer?
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has met Beth and her sons and realized what a lovely young woman she is could not fail to believe everything she says about her relationship with the man who ruined his children's childhood and does not care an iota. A man of violence, lies and cruelty, who ran a terror regime in his own household.
Beth is very different. She exudes love. Her sons are so happy to be with her! We can only hope the judge sees fit to gradually increase the time Beth is permitted to spend with them. They come to life with her, sing and dance and do all they can to express with gestures the words they cannot say - because of all the trauma they've been forced by their father to endure in their short lives. G-d bless Samy and Benji and their mother!
Rabbi Eidensohn is a great guy who looks like he has loads of experience and wisdom to back up what he posts on this informative blog. He seems to follow what's going on in this horrible story much better than anyone else. Beth is lucky to have him offering a platform as he does, for Jews like herself who have suffered injustice. Ev, please go to your PMs from others on your FB page.
ReplyDeleteDad's a sociopath without a doubt Richard. Bribery? Cover-ups? Also very likely I'd say. Sociopaths are specialists at cover-ups. But bribery? Has this dr money? Doesn't look like it when he uses Legal Aid. But could be he owes someone favours and is keeping quiet about something in return for help. Yup. Quite likely. But all within the Jewish community and judiciary in Vienna.
ReplyDeleteChildren being looked after by nannies??????/ OH NO!!!!!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteNote the sarcasm there. THat's me being sarcastic.
@Tim - no it is you being very insensitive and/or ignorant of what children need. It also show a lack of awareness that children growing up in a traditional society where much of what needs to be learned is by observation and interaction with role models. They can not picked it up from nannies - no matter how caring - who are not Jewish and do not speak the language of the country fluently.
ReplyDelete