The fact that such a strong letter has been published on behalf of the Dublin community, once again reinforces the international nature of this scandal and the backlash it is creating.
Why would the Jewish community in Austria want to demonstrate to the world how dreadful they are, at a time when they are shouting louder than anybody else about antisemitism. Maybe they should direct some of their efforts towards saving the twins.
They can't complain about being persecuted while they themselves are persecuting innocent members in their midst.
The rabbi is only asking that Beth be given proper "access" to the children rather than being awarded primary custody of them. Is there an explanation for that?
It's shame that the Rabbis in Vienna don't hold the principles Rabbi Lent in Dublin. It's a disgrace that they let this father abuse his children by keeping them from their mother! What Jewish principles do they hold in Vienna?
He feels unable to make this type of call without being acquainted with the details. What about you - do you feel you can mingle into this case without being fully acquainted with the details?
It appears that the Rabbis in Vienna have encouraged evil gossip that Beth was mentally ill, which has been proven untrue. Isn't this against Jewish law?
They have encouraged, or not tried to prevent the father from keeping court orders, which is against secular law?
The Rabbis and leaders of Vienna sit idly by and watch the suffering of two children, who are denied their mother for no good reason whilst the rest of the world is outraged!
What sort of Jewish Community are they in Vienna. What principles do they have?
Whilst we may not know all the facts, no one has yet managed to provide any explanation whatsoever as to why this innocent mother is being denied a meaningful relationship with her children. As Jewish people we have an obligation of "Lo Sa'amod Al Dam Re'echoh", so we shouldn't just stand idly by while we watch this injustice play out. We should be calling out to the Austrian Rabbis and demanding they resign from their positions if they remain silent (which is what has happened).
"Mingling" as you put it, is an essential part of confronting an injustice like this as far as Halachah is concerned.
There are far more Jewish fathers who are being denied access to their children by the children's mothers than vice versa. Yet can anyone point to one rabbinic letter anywhere denouncing parental alienation committed against fathers?
There are many injustices all over the world in both Jewish and non-Jewish communities. This blog does not (and cannot) set out to cover every single one of them.
However, if someone does launch a publicity campaign about a Jewish case that gets extensive coverage on social media and mainstream news sites, there is a good chance it will also be discussed on blogs like this one. Please show us which specific case you are referring to and its supporting online content.
Absolutely right, Monty. Oskar Deutsch, head of the community in Vienna has been making a fool of himself once more by equating criticism of a single Jewish uni prof by a highly respected Austrian former politician with antisemitism. This is perfectly ridiculous! One gets the impression Deutsch WANTS to get into the limelight by claiming antisemitism as often as he can. Austria is in fact very "quiet" on this front compared to other countries, eg France, but the leaders of the Vienna community are doing their utmost to stir things up.
Beth Alexander's discrimination by the community and its leaders is far worse than anything that Mr Deutsch has described as "antisemitic" since recent events in Paris. Non-Jewish Austrians are disgusted and shocked by the way the Jews in Vienna treat ONE ANOTHER!
Your statement that more fathers are being denied access to children than mothers is simply not true. While it is true that in about 85% of divorces mothers have custody of their children. This is because divorcing couple agree (outside of court influence) that the primary-caregiver (the mom in societies around the world for thousands of years), will continue to be the primary-caregiver. And, in reality 5 years after a divorce most fathers have 'opted-out' of the lives of their children, with mothers encouraging absent fathers to remain in the lives of their children. (It is not true that mothers are systematically alienating fathers after divorce -- the reverse is true.)
The reality of THE COURTS is that they award custody to fathers in 94% of cases, dropping to about 75% in cases of documented sexual and physical abuse (INCREDIBLE & SOCIO-PATHIC THAT THE RATE DOES NOT DROP TO 0%). Your 'parental alienation' rhetoric and propaganda is exactly that propaganda that extremist male-supremacist groups have been propagating for the past 30 yrs. And, this is why we are seeing over 200,000 NEW cases likes Beth's each year (in Europe, Australia, & N. America alone). And, as we see in the Schlesinger case, the absolute chaos, craziness, AND RAMPANT ILLEGAL ACTS in the court are having a devastating effects on the development of young victims -- creating psychological problems that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
SO IMAGINE, MULTIPLY THIS SITUATION BY 2 MILLION (200,000 children x avg. of 10 yrs. of 'court-sanctioned, custodial torture'). THEN, PERHAPS PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS SITUATION. IF NOT UNDER HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS, THEN OUT OF THE ECONOMICS -- BCSE. WELFARE SYSTEMS ARE GOING TO LATER HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE MESS THE COURTS ARE CREATING!!! INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH & FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS GOVTS. AND THE COURTS ARE ADDING TO THEM.
FOR THIS REASON IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO DENOUNCE THIS SITUATION.
Yes, there is an explanation. As the rabbi stated in his letter, he is not familiar with all the details of the case. It would be irresponsible of him as a 'leader' in his community to make such a statement. His statement of 'access' is appropriate to the situation, rather than a point blank statement about primary custody.
You're living in fantasy land. TSJ is correct on this point. Father's do not typically voluntarily sign away custody of their children. And when they contest for custody in court, the courts typically away custody by default to the mother. In the vast vast majority of contested custody cases. And rarely do either the father or the mother "opt-out" of parenting. You're invented "5 year" comment is laughable.
Bitter divorce cases are often a result of the ex-wife seeking to cut out the children from their father's life.
GlobalExpat, I'm awed by the brilliance of your feminist non-linear, anti-misogynist "mathematics".
First you state "in about 85% of divorces mothers have custody of their children". Then you state "The reality of THE COURTS is that they award custody to fathers in 94% of cases" (this second claim is a blatant falsehood as far as the USA is concerned).
In feminist mathematics does 85% + 94% equal 100%?
Is Beth Alexander dangerous? Is she a harmful influence? Rabbi Lent may not know the details of this dire situation but he has certainly been informed of the dangerous, harmful influence of the father of the two small boys. Beth herself is known to the community in Vienna as an extremely caring, loving mother, whereas the father's belligerence and stubbornness, one suspects,is only being tolerated because his family has been around for a long time. Beth is doing as much as she can - when the father deigns to allow her access - to bring the twins up as Jews who are conscious of and proud of their heritage. Dr Schlesinger's attempts to hinder this are despicable, as are the efforts of Rabbi Biderman and Judge Konstanze Thau to separate a Jewish mother of extraordinary calibre from the children she loves.
David do you know the father? Can you explain if the father's " fight" is about him, or the children?
Doesn't he realise that the children are not possessions to be fought over and that he cannot make them love him and want to be with him?
Whatever he does he cannot break the mother/child bond, which will only grow stronger the more he fights and shows his cruelty!
He will lose them altogether, not because of the Courts, or the Jewish Vienna Community, but because of his attitude!
Children are people with sense, feelings and mouths. He won't be able to gag them like he did their mother. They will make their choices as soon as they are able.
They are six now, so it won't be long! It is about time the father started to grow and up realise and starts to be civil to the mother of his children, or he is going the right way in losing his children altogether!
What are you trying to say, David? Are you implying that Beth is "seeking to cut the children from their father's life as much as she can get away with"? It sounds to me like you're an accomplice of Dr Schlesinger's who, like him (interesting), is practicing "gaslighting" in order to make the mother appear to be what the father actually is.
In case you're not familiar with this expression (but I suspect you are), a person who "gaslights" accuses another of doing exactly what that person him-/herself has done. Dr Schlesinger always has absurd excuses for not allowing the children to see their mother. So it seems he is the one seeking to cut the boys out of their mother's life - not vice-versa.
They'll be 18 in 12 years. If it takes that long, till when they become legal adults, for Beth to gain longer time with them, they'll be completely brainwashed by all those years against the mother. There's also a father/child bond at play. The only solution is for the mother and father to come to a compromise. Otherwise all is lost.
How many times have we read people commenting on here that this case must go through the courts and there is nothing else the Jewish community can do?
The Jewish community must continue to persecute this innocent mother and they must continue to make every effort to ensure the father has full custody whilst keeping the mother out of the children's lives as much as possible! After all, this is what the court wants from the Jewish community.
Like the SS officers before them, they are simply following orders. In Austria, this is a valid defence!
What sort of compromise do you have in mind? Will your compromise also factor in the best interests of the children as well as the need for the father to be controlling and abusive?
Herbert, Are the Jewish Community in Vienna humane?
How can they justify their actions or inactions towards an innocent young woman who only wants to be a mother to her children?
We hear that mothers were separated from their children in the Holocaust and we cry for them! What about Beth, Sammy and Benji?
A tragedy is happening now, but is falling on deaf ears!
Deutsch and Muzicant Leaders in Vienna have double standards, as do some of the Rabbis!
Why have the Community of Vienna spoken lochen hora about Beth and ostracised her!
What does Chief Rabbi Eisenberg have to say about allowing loshen hora to be spoken in his community. What does Rabbi Dovid Eisenberg Manchester have to say?
Can an Austrian give their their reasons? Perhaps Towa Lemberger, an Austrian who tried to befriend Beth's brother on FB could give us some reasons for her fellow Austrians' disgraceful behaviour?
David. If the father was a mench, he would have comprimised by now instead of using his children as weapons!
This is not about Michael or Beth. This is about the children and their happiness. There is no good reason for them to have been taken away from their mother in the first place.
The father will not be able to brainwash the children. He may keep them behind in school, but he will not be able to keep them from reading and hearing the truth from people who actually care about them! It is a shame the father doesn't!.
I think the SS officers were actually giving the orders Herbert. The lower ranks below them were (mostly) forced to carry them out (have you seen Stefan Ruwovitsky's film on this - "Radical Evil")? In the case of Beth Alexander and her sons the orders have been given by the Jewish community.
A simole example: only the rabbi in charge of the Chabad kindergarten could have givI think the SS officers were actually giving the orders Herbert. The lower ranks below them were (mostly) forced to carry them out (have you seen Stefan Ruzovitsky's film on this?) In the case of Beth Alexander and her sons the orders have been given by the Jewish community. en the order desired by the father, ie that the mother not be permitted to ask the staff any questions. And I think we have guessed correctly who commanded the family court judge to sanction this abominable, inhumane order.
Sammy and Benji Schlesinger love their mother to bits! They'e in heaven whenever they are allowed to be with her! Judge Göttlicher - do you not realize the damage to these little boys' brains that the trauma of separation is causing? For ever. You could be the person who saves them! And your own reputation!
Perhaps Judge Gottlicher should see the film "The Woman in Gold".
The Austrian Government were sued from America because they stole art from Jews in the war. The Austrians must have a habbit of stealing. This time it's children! How can they justify the treatment they are dishing out to an innocent mother and two vulnerable children. Even Ronald Lauder appeared in the film and now has the paintings in his art gallery in New York.
Ronald Lauder is has promised to help Beth and the children. Quite rightly so, as this awful situation cannot continue. It's humane!
The fact that such a strong letter has been published on behalf of the Dublin community, once again reinforces the international nature of this scandal and the backlash it is creating.
ReplyDeleteWhy would the Jewish community in Austria want to demonstrate to the world how dreadful they are, at a time when they are shouting louder than anybody else about antisemitism. Maybe they should direct some of their efforts towards saving the twins.
They can't complain about being persecuted while they themselves are persecuting innocent members in their midst.
The rabbi is only asking that Beth be given proper "access" to the children rather than being awarded primary custody of them. Is there an explanation for that?
ReplyDeleteIt's shame that the Rabbis in Vienna don't hold the principles Rabbi Lent in Dublin. It's a disgrace that they let this father abuse his children by keeping them from their mother! What Jewish principles do they hold in Vienna?
ReplyDeleteIs there an explanation for that?
ReplyDeleteYes:
I am not acquainted fully with the details
He feels unable to make this type of call without being acquainted with the details. What about you - do you feel you can mingle into this case without being fully acquainted with the details?
It appears that the Rabbis in Vienna have encouraged evil gossip that Beth was mentally ill, which has been proven untrue. Isn't this against Jewish law?
ReplyDeleteThey have encouraged, or not tried to prevent the father from keeping court orders, which is against secular law?
The Rabbis and leaders of Vienna sit idly by and watch the suffering of two children, who are denied their mother for no good reason whilst the rest of the world is outraged!
What sort of Jewish Community are they in Vienna. What principles do
they have?
Whilst we may not know all the facts, no one has yet managed to provide any explanation whatsoever as to why this innocent mother is being denied a meaningful relationship with her children. As Jewish people we have an obligation of "Lo Sa'amod Al Dam Re'echoh", so we shouldn't just stand idly by while we watch this injustice play out. We should be calling out to the Austrian Rabbis and demanding they resign from their positions if they remain silent (which is what has happened).
ReplyDelete"Mingling" as you put it, is an essential part of confronting an injustice like this as far as Halachah is concerned.
There are far more Jewish fathers who are being denied access to their children by the children's mothers than vice versa. Yet can anyone point to one rabbinic letter anywhere denouncing parental alienation committed against fathers?
ReplyDeleteThere are many injustices all over the world in both Jewish and non-Jewish communities. This blog does not (and cannot) set out to cover every single one of them.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if someone does launch a publicity campaign about a Jewish case that gets extensive coverage on social media and mainstream news sites, there is a good chance it will also be discussed on blogs like this one. Please show us which specific case you are referring to and its supporting online content.
Totally irrelevant, TSJ. Why compare the situation referred to here with ANY other one? Your comment is just a red herring.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely right, Monty. Oskar Deutsch, head of the community in Vienna has been making a fool of himself once more by equating criticism of a single Jewish uni prof by a highly respected Austrian former politician with antisemitism. This is perfectly ridiculous! One gets the impression Deutsch WANTS to get into the limelight by claiming antisemitism as often as he can. Austria is in fact very "quiet" on this front compared to other countries, eg France, but the leaders of the Vienna community are doing their utmost to stir things up.
ReplyDeleteBeth Alexander's discrimination by the community and its leaders is far worse than anything that Mr Deutsch has described as "antisemitic" since recent events in Paris. Non-Jewish Austrians are disgusted and shocked by the way the Jews in Vienna treat ONE ANOTHER!
To Truth SeekerJew,
ReplyDeleteYour statement that more fathers are being denied access to children than mothers is simply not true. While it is true that in about 85% of divorces mothers have custody of their children. This is because divorcing couple agree (outside of court influence) that the primary-caregiver (the mom in societies around the world for thousands of years), will continue to be the primary-caregiver. And, in reality 5 years after a divorce most fathers have 'opted-out' of the lives of their children, with mothers encouraging absent fathers to remain in the lives of their children. (It is not true that mothers are systematically alienating fathers after divorce -- the reverse is true.)
The reality of THE COURTS is that they award custody to fathers in 94% of cases, dropping to about 75% in cases of documented sexual and physical abuse (INCREDIBLE & SOCIO-PATHIC THAT THE RATE DOES NOT DROP TO 0%). Your 'parental alienation' rhetoric and propaganda is exactly that propaganda that extremist male-supremacist groups have been propagating for the past 30 yrs. And, this is why we are seeing over 200,000 NEW cases likes Beth's each year (in Europe, Australia, & N. America alone). And, as we see in the Schlesinger case, the absolute chaos, craziness, AND RAMPANT ILLEGAL ACTS in the court are having a devastating effects on the development of young victims -- creating psychological problems that will follow them for the rest of their lives.
SO IMAGINE, MULTIPLY THIS SITUATION BY 2 MILLION (200,000 children x avg. of 10 yrs. of 'court-sanctioned, custodial torture'). THEN, PERHAPS PEOPLE CAN UNDERSTAND THE GRAVITY OF THIS SITUATION. IF NOT UNDER HUMANITARIAN INTERESTS, THEN OUT OF THE ECONOMICS -- BCSE. WELFARE SYSTEMS ARE GOING TO LATER HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE MESS THE COURTS ARE CREATING!!! INSTEAD OF DEALING WITH & FINDING SOLUTIONS FOR OUR SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS GOVTS. AND THE COURTS ARE ADDING TO THEM.
FOR THIS REASON IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PEOPLE EVERYWHERE TO DENOUNCE THIS SITUATION.
Yes, there is an explanation. As the rabbi stated in his letter, he is not familiar with all the details of the case. It would be irresponsible of him as a 'leader' in his community to make such a statement. His statement of 'access' is appropriate to the situation, rather than a point blank statement about primary custody.
ReplyDeleteHear, hear Monty!!!
ReplyDeletePlease provide sources for your numbers. Particularly the claim that "courts award custody to fathers in 94% of cases". Thank you.
ReplyDeleteWhat is the mother seeking - significantly more access and time with their children or is she seeking to actually take custody away from the father?
ReplyDelete(If she is seeking to take away custody from him it becomes clearer why he is fighting her so hard.)
You're living in fantasy land. TSJ is correct on this point. Father's do not typically voluntarily sign away custody of their children. And when they contest for custody in court, the courts typically away custody by default to the mother. In the vast vast majority of contested custody cases. And rarely do either the father or the mother "opt-out" of parenting. You're invented "5 year" comment is laughable.
ReplyDeleteBitter divorce cases are often a result of the ex-wife seeking to cut out the children from their father's life.
GlobalExpat, I'm awed by the brilliance of your feminist non-linear, anti-misogynist "mathematics".
ReplyDeleteFirst you state "in about 85% of divorces mothers have custody of their children". Then you state "The reality of THE COURTS is that they award custody to fathers in 94% of cases" (this second claim is a blatant falsehood as far as the USA is concerned).
In feminist mathematics does 85% + 94% equal 100%?
Is Beth Alexander dangerous? Is she a harmful influence? Rabbi Lent may not know the details of this dire situation but he has certainly been informed of the dangerous, harmful influence of the father of the two small boys. Beth herself is known to the community in Vienna as an extremely caring, loving mother, whereas the father's belligerence and stubbornness, one suspects,is only being tolerated because his family has been around for a long time. Beth is doing as much as she can - when the father deigns to allow her access - to bring the twins up as Jews who are conscious of and proud of their heritage. Dr Schlesinger's attempts to hinder this are despicable, as are the efforts of Rabbi Biderman and Judge Konstanze Thau to separate a Jewish mother of extraordinary calibre from the children she loves.
ReplyDeleteDavid do you know the father? Can you explain if the father's " fight" is about him, or the children?
ReplyDeleteDoesn't he realise that the children are not possessions to be fought over and that he cannot make them love him and want to be with him?
Whatever he does he cannot break the mother/child bond, which will only grow stronger the more he fights and shows his cruelty!
He will lose them altogether, not because of the Courts, or the Jewish Vienna Community, but because of his attitude!
Children are people with sense, feelings and mouths. He won't be able to gag them like he did their mother.
They will make their choices as soon as they are able.
They are six now, so it won't be long! It is about time the father started to grow and up realise and starts to be civil to the mother of his children, or he is going the right way in losing his children altogether!
What are you trying to say, David? Are you implying that Beth is "seeking to cut the children from their father's life as much as she can get away with"? It sounds to me like you're an accomplice of Dr Schlesinger's who, like him (interesting), is practicing "gaslighting" in order to make the mother appear to be what the father actually is.
ReplyDeleteIn case you're not familiar with this expression (but I suspect you are), a person who "gaslights" accuses another of doing exactly what that person him-/herself has done. Dr Schlesinger always has absurd excuses for not allowing the children to see their mother. So it seems he is the one seeking to cut the boys out of their mother's life - not vice-versa.
They'll be 18 in 12 years. If it takes that long, till when they become legal adults, for Beth to gain longer time with them, they'll be completely brainwashed by all those years against the mother. There's also a father/child bond at play. The only solution is for the mother and father to come to a compromise. Otherwise all is lost.
ReplyDelete"Bitter divorce cases are often a result of the ex-wife seeking to cut
ReplyDeleteout the children from their father's life as much as she can get away
with."
Please provide your source for this wild accusation.
How many times have we read people commenting on here that this case must go through the courts and there is nothing else the Jewish community can do?
ReplyDeleteThe Jewish community must continue to persecute this innocent mother and they must continue to make every effort to ensure the father has full custody whilst keeping the mother out of the children's lives as much as possible! After all, this is what the court wants from the Jewish community.
Like the SS officers before them, they are simply following orders. In Austria, this is a valid defence!
What sort of compromise do you have in mind? Will your compromise also factor in the best interests of the children as well as the need for the father to be controlling and abusive?
ReplyDeleteHerbert, Are the Jewish Community in Vienna humane?
ReplyDeleteHow can they justify their actions or inactions towards an innocent young woman who only wants to be a mother to her children?
We hear that mothers were separated from their children in the Holocaust and we cry for them! What about Beth, Sammy and Benji?
A tragedy is happening now, but is falling on deaf ears!
Deutsch and Muzicant Leaders in Vienna have double standards, as do some of the Rabbis!
Why have the Community of Vienna spoken lochen hora about Beth and ostracised her!
What does Chief Rabbi Eisenberg have to say about allowing loshen hora to be spoken in his community. What does Rabbi Dovid Eisenberg Manchester have to say?
Can an Austrian give their their reasons? Perhaps Towa Lemberger, an Austrian who tried to befriend Beth's brother on FB could give us some reasons for her fellow Austrians' disgraceful behaviour?
David. If the father was a mench, he would have comprimised by now instead of using his children as weapons!
ReplyDeleteThis is not about Michael or Beth. This is about the children and their happiness. There is no good reason for them to have been taken away from their mother in the first place.
The father will not be able to brainwash the children. He may keep them behind in school, but he will not be able to keep them from reading and hearing the truth from people who actually care about them! It is a shame the father doesn't!.
I think the SS officers were actually giving the orders Herbert. The lower ranks below them were (mostly) forced to carry them out (have you seen Stefan Ruwovitsky's film on this - "Radical Evil")? In the case of Beth Alexander and her sons the orders have been given by the Jewish community.
ReplyDeleteA simole example: only the rabbi in charge of the Chabad kindergarten could have givI think the SS officers were actually giving the orders Herbert. The lower ranks below them were (mostly) forced to carry them out (have you seen Stefan Ruzovitsky's film on this?) In the case of Beth Alexander and her sons the orders have been given by the Jewish community. en the order desired by the father, ie that the mother not be permitted to ask the staff any questions. And I think we have guessed correctly who commanded the family court judge to sanction this abominable, inhumane order.
Sammy and Benji Schlesinger love their mother to bits! They'e in heaven whenever they are allowed to be with her! Judge Göttlicher - do you not realize the damage to these little boys' brains that the trauma of separation is causing? For ever. You could be the person who saves them! And your own reputation!
ReplyDeletePerhaps Judge Gottlicher should see the film "The Woman in Gold".
ReplyDeleteThe Austrian Government were sued from America because they stole art from Jews in the war. The Austrians must have a habbit of stealing. This time it's children! How can they justify the treatment they are dishing out to an innocent mother and two vulnerable children. Even Ronald Lauder appeared in the film and now has the paintings in his art gallery in New York.
Ronald Lauder is has promised to help Beth and the children. Quite rightly so, as this awful situation cannot continue. It's humane!