On Sunday evening 14th of December Rebbetzin Miriam Rosenberg from Bnei Brak addressed a group of women from the Chareidi community in London to highlight child custody issues. She used the tragic case of the Schlesinger twins in Vienna to illustrate her points.
Many of the women who attended, have friends and family in Vienna, and proceeded to make contact their Austrian connections soon afterwards. The general feedback has been that the Chareidi community in Austria are also convinced that it was corruption in the judiciary which led to the injustice of the children being removed from their mother’s care (there can be no other rational explanation for the judge's behavior).
Furthermore, the community in Vienna, from independent sources, informed them that the weekly visitation has been put on hold due to the person doing the handover being unavailable. As such, the mother’s visitation has effectively been reduced to every alternate Sunday until further notice. The father, Dr. Schlesinger, can still allow the weekly visits to continue, if he wishes, under the handover supervision of Chief Rabbi Eisenberg (which has been kindly offered repeatedly), but every such request has been declined by Dr. Schlesinger.
Furthermore, the community in Vienna, from independent sources, informed them that the weekly visitation has been put on hold due to the person doing the handover being unavailable. As such, the mother’s visitation has effectively been reduced to every alternate Sunday until further notice. The father, Dr. Schlesinger, can still allow the weekly visits to continue, if he wishes, under the handover supervision of Chief Rabbi Eisenberg (which has been kindly offered repeatedly), but every such request has been declined by Dr. Schlesinger.
Why the focus on the Chareidi community in London and the Chareidi community in Austria when neither of the Schlesingers are Chareidi?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read, the only thing I can conclude is that it is impossible for anyone to speculate where the corruption is being driven from. Just because Schlesinger isn't Chareidi doesn't mean he doesn't have shared interests with them in ensuring he has full custody. Schlesinger is not Chabad yet we have seen Chabad are more than happy to sacrifice their global reputation to allow Biderman to involve himself in the corruption. The only thing we do know for sure, is that Judge Susanne Göttlicher is not acting alone. I would fully endorse all action that involves all sects within the Jewish community worldwide even if it doesn't seem obvious that they should be involved.
ReplyDeleteWe have already seen the Chareidi community involved in spreading "Motsei Shem Ra" about this case so they are very much involved: http://daattorah.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/schlesinger-twins-beths-friend.html
ReplyDeleteUh, did you read the post before commenting?
ReplyDelete"Furthermore, the community in Vienna, from independent sources, informed them that the weekly visitation has been put on hold due to the person doing the handover being unavailable."
That seems like a statement of fact. Presumably the court set up the visitation schedule. Does this apparent failure to follow the court concern you?
Shame on you Judy as a woman...no matter what the situation a kids NEEDS THEIR MOTHER...and a mother will take whatever measures needed to protect her kids. Would you sit back quietly and follow the court of law if you felt your kids were being neglected while you sat quietly. I believe you'd use any method possible to fight for them. What else in this situation is doing" immense damage to the future of these children"....maybe not falling asleep in their mothers arms every night as would be recommended by any paediatrician and normal feeling human. I think you need to get out of your intellect and into your heart. Not everything in life s black and white. Noone cares about vilifying the father, we all just care about the kids welfare NOW and them being able to be in the arms of their mother
ReplyDelete@judyk113 Please acquaint yourself with facts before you talk about what
ReplyDeleteyou don’t know. The only sensible thing
you say is that these children are innocent.
What improper evidence are you
talking about? That these children are
5 years old and unable to talk properly, missing teeth and are traumatised? Do you know why this is? Fact:
Michael Schlesinger has been invited to put his side forward on these
pages many times. He has not done so but
has commented derisorily many times under various pseudonyms. Fact:
whenever Beth Alexander has written an article she has used her own name
proudly and honestly. Fact: there are allegations of violence
against Schlesinger – ignored by family court Vienna. Fact: Schlesinger
and Beth’s ‘friend’ Janet tricked Beth into attending a psychiatrist in
Vienna. Not only did Schlesinger lie to the Jewish
Community in Vienna that Beth was ‘mentally ill’ but Janet did as well. Janet has admitted this. Fact: Schlesinger together with his psychiatrist
friend Foldes attempted to have his then wife admitted to a mental hospital. This was upon her return from a woman’s
shelter to which she fled when he was violent.
Schlesinger then lied to the police that he was a psychiatrist – on
record. Fact: Schlesinger forged Beth’s
signature in order for her benefits to be paid into his account admitted in
court and ignored by court. In Britain
we call that theft and benefits cheating.
Fact: Schlesinger admitted in court that Konstanza Thau Family Court
Judge was advising him. Fact: Rabbi Biderman Chabad Vienna voluntarily
supplied untruthful information to the court and forwarded Beth’s private
e-mails to him on to Konstanza Thau. Why
is she involved in something that is nothing to do with her? Fact: Rabbi Biderman also sees Beth’s children
on a regular basis and knows the state they are in. No conspiracy theory here just the
truth. You talk about one-sided partisan
supporters but do you really think normal thinking people jump in blindly without
ascertaining details first? People who
support Beth are just honest decent people horrified at what has taken place
and what she and her children are going through. Perhaps you think people should turn their
back on someone in need and who is telling the truth. You talk about the Torah way – well if you
know about our beautiful and beloved Torah you will understand that the Torah
way is the word of HaShem and is truth not to be broken. That article you reference in the Daily Mail –
read it and you will see both parents had access to their children and the
Judge himself stated the father in question was an abuser. Correct: children should not be used as a
weapon to hurt either parent but unfortunately that is exactly what Schlesinger
is doing – it’s called abuse. Beth
Alexander has no access to her children because of Schlesinger’s abuse. Can you explain why someone was deemed so
dangerous that he was supervised with his children and then handed full custody
while their devoted mother was denied them? Don’t you agree it’s very suspicious? So now just what would you suggest that Beth
does? Do you think she should go hide in
a corner? Do you think she should stand
by and let her children be ruined? Are
you a mother? I await your comments.
‘I swore never to be silent whenever
and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take
sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the
tormentor, never the tormented.’ Elie
Wiesel
What
ReplyDeleteshould concern people even more is the blatant disregard Michael Schlesinger,
his family, the court and judiciary in Austria all seem to have for the law of the
country. Why bother in the first place when people like Michael
appear to be able to break the law with impunity and there are judges like
Gottlicher and Thau? What should
concern Jewish people in Vienna and world wide are the communal leaders Deutsch
and Musicant and Rabonnim such as Eisenberg and Pardes who turn their backs on
peoples’ suffering and the obvious corruption by a member of their community
and congregation and Biderman with who knows what he has done to help Michael
in his maneuverings.
judyk113, it's clear from your comments that this is the first time you've posted on a Schlesinger twins' thread, so you appear to be unaware of the background to their tragic, year-in, year-out story. There are no rules being adhered to by the Vienna Family Court, thus one sees the necessity - however incorrect it may be - for Beth Alexander to play the same game as her children's father if she's to have any chance of getting her children either back or for more visits.
ReplyDeleteBut there's one major difference: she (and many of us know her personally) never lies. Most if not all of the key players fighting to keep her children unhappy and maladjusted (we know them) do. Devorah has indicated that there is considerable documentation for this. But what happens to much of this documentation? It either "vanishes" or is ignored by the judge. She who has photos outside her office of female victims of DV, chooses to neglect the large body of evidence that Beth Alexander, too, is one of these many women.
judyk113 - the big question is WHY. There appears to be no other possible explanation than that some invisible forces (rabbis? Judges who intervene without authority? Psychologists? Community leaders?) have conspired to prevent the judge in the Family Court from doing an honest job.
judyk113: I'm sure you're familiar with Edmund Burke's famous quote:
ReplyDelete"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
Today, the "good men" include "good women" and there are many of both genders who have been following this horrifyingly tragic story for several years and do not wish to sit on the fence watching these little boys deteriorate and nobody in the echelons of power giving a damn about their welfare. We see how easily evil is currently triumphing within a Jewish community where values such as honesty and love do not prevail. Lies, one hand feeding the other, possibly bribery, concealment of facts - all these are aspects of evil that good men and women cannot and will not tolerate.
Judyk123 It is hard to imagine that a European Court is corrupt, but by going by all the factual information written on Daas Torah over many months, what else could it be?
ReplyDeleteBeth has been given a few hours unsupervised contact with her children for over three years.
Why is the father allowed to get away with playing with court ordered visits. Why isn't the Court making proper arrangements for handovers, which until last week took place outside a supermarket, where Beth had to pay 44 euros?
Why isn't Dr Schlesinger being punished for
breaking Court Orders?
Now the wealthy lady has given up, what new arrangement has the judge put in place?
Why has the judge and the father deprived the two little boys their mother for the few
hours they have got used to having?
Why can't the contact between the children
and their mother be increased?
What is the alternative to their mother? Two unrelated, foreign, non Jewish ladies. What qualifications do they have that the children's mother doesn't?
A word about publicity.
ReplyDeleteIf Michael Schlesinger was a mench there would be no need for publicity!
Why is he really denying his children their good, kind, loving and extremely capable mother?
This publicity is for the children that they will know the truth!
Chabad’s mantra is that all Jewish souls are precious
ReplyDeletewhatever they are. Schlesinger is not
Chabad yet he has no problems using Chabad to abuse his children and the mother
of his children and it’s obvious that Rabbi Biderman and the rest of Chabad
Vienna have no problem with this. So
while Rabbi Biderman and Chabad Vienna continue to ruin the good name of Chabad
all round the Jewish world does Chabad still profess that all Jews are precious
and does this include the two little boys locked away in the Chabad
Kindergarten in Vienna?
Well it’s obvious to us all now Michael thinks he has gagged
ReplyDeleteBeth and he’s up to his old tricks. He
thinks because he has shut Beth up in Vienna he can stop her seeing her
children by cancelling visits again and continue his abuse unchecked. Watch out Michael the real Judge in Heaven
is watching you!
I was at the talk with the Rebbitzen. There were so many ladies there, who were appalled and distressed at the what we were told!
ReplyDeleteAre the people of Vienna, especially mothers and grandmothers so uncaring?
Didn't they try to help a young mother, who was far away from home, with her young children. It's hard enough being a new mother with one child, but twins?
Many of the ladies at the talk would like to go to Vienna to speak with the community to find out from them first hand why they just gossiped and did nothing to help Beth and her children. This is not the normal behaviour of Jewish mothers and grandmothers, so perhaps they can explain to us!
We hope that we will be welcomed!
It would be helpful if those commentating such as judyk113 would read some of the information already out there before making idiots of themselves:
ReplyDeletehttp://helpbeth.blogspot.co.il/p/blog-page_26.html
Rabbi Jacob Biederman and the leader of the Vienna community made a joint public appearance during Channuka, lighting candles downtown. Maybe they would be willing to do a repeat gathering within the community, Leah, lighting candles for the Schlesinger boys and discussing what have become matters of global concern with you and your group from London.
ReplyDeleteAn optimistic thought for Beth in 2015:
ReplyDeleteEvery time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.
~Charles Kettering
First they came for the Communists,
ReplyDeleteand I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn't a Catholic.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn’t speak up, because I wasn’t a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
I have been told that there are at least 27 'rabbis in Vienna'. I assume that there are 27 Rabbis' wives (Rebbitzen) also. I assume that they all have large families. The only noise they have made so far is contributing to the evil gossip which has been circulating round the community. Do they not realize it could be their daughter, or do they think they are immune?? I am not wishing any harm on anyone else C"V but I do wonder what takes to make these people wake up!
I have heard it said that a community is only as good as its leadership. We now can see a perfect example of what happens when there is a corrupt and amoral leadership such as in Vienna. This filters all the way down to the kehilla which sadly are lacking in any sort of morality or humanity as a result of very poor leadership. There is nobody to set an example of correct behaviour or prepared to speak out against unfair play.
ReplyDeleteThe converse also applies in that a kehilla merit the leadership they deserve. The Vienna Jewish community is doing a fine job of isolating themselves from world Jewry. Before long, their children will be outcasts on the world Shidduch market, their Rabbis will be pariahs outside Austria and their leaders will not be invited for their input on matters pertaining to wider Jewish issues.
It really is a case of goodnight Vienna!
Right, Torah Borah! The Jewish leaders in Vienna are only interested in
ReplyDeletecombating antisemitism. But isn't it far worse to have a male member of
the community there who was witnessed committing violent acts towards
his wife and children's mother, behaves abusively towards his (now
ex-)wife and children, is given the honor of davening in his shul and
allowed (who by?) to break the law with impunity? Why are the Vienna
leaders failing to show their disgust of such un-Jewish behavior?
We can easily believe that the official group from the Vienna community
that was formed to act against family violence actually does the
OPPOSITE, ie condones it!
The world has been repelled by the revelations of sexual abuse of young
Jews in communities in other parts of the world. And now, as you imply,
Torah Borah, the Vienna community, aided and abetted by the courts, who
have gagged the mother and to a great extent the media in Austria, is
doing its utmost to show the world its weakness and inability to lead
according to Jewish precepts. Yes - goodnight and... good bye.