Secular arguments for abolishing Chareidi exemption from military service

Haaretz by Nechemiah Strasler

If we had real leaders, they would stop trying to pull the wool over our eyes and tell us the truth to our faces - that everyone has to serve in the army. With no exceptions. It is no longer possible to continue with the Haredi cowardice and evasion. It is not possible to continue with a situation in which only Haredi mothers are able to sleep well at night. Or, as Supreme Court Justice Elyakim Rubinstein said this week: "From a civilian and moral point of view, I am deeply and profoundly perplexed why all of the public does not have to participate in being exposed to sacrifice. This echoes the words of Moses: 'Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?'"

The answer to Rubinstein (and to Netanyahu, Barak, Livni and Lapid ) is clear. The ultra-Orthodox activists know it well. The Haredi public also understands. They know that Haredi activists deliver the most important goods to them - their lives. They know that military funerals never leave from Bnei Brak, that there are no Haredi wounded in Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer, and no shell-shocked men in Ramat Beit Shemesh. From their point of view, let the secular donkey and the religious fool continue to sacrifice their lives in order to protect those who are better than others, the yeshiva students.

Netanya Principal suspected of rape denies allegations

YNET

The Kfar Saba Magistrate's Court on Thursday extended the remand of the principal of a haredi school for girls in Netanya who is suspected of sexually assaulting students. The suspect denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, the family of a 20-year-old teacher at the school complained that the principal had abused his power to have sexual relations with her, Ynet learned.

The suspect, 47, is a prominent figure in Netanya. He was arrested earlier this week after two former students at the establishment filed complaints against him saying he sexually assaulted them. Police suspect him of indecent acts, sodomy, sexual misconduct, nonconsensual sex and rape. The acts involved both minor and adult victims.[...]

Rabbi Ronnie Greenwald: Children at Risk /Aguda Convention

Stolen Valor Act: Freedom of speech vs Lying about being a hero

NYTimes

Over the course of an hourlong argument on Wednesday, the Supreme Court seemed gradually to accept that it might be able to uphold a federal law that makes it a crime to lie about military honors, notwithstanding the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees. The justices were aided by suggestions from the government about how to limit the scope of a possible ruling in its favor and by significant concessions from a lawyer for the defendant.

The case arose from a lie told in 2007 at a public meeting by Xavier Alvarez, an elected member of the board of directors of a water district in Southern California. 

“I’m a retired Marine of 25 years,” he said. “I retired in the year 2001. Back in 1987, I was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. I got wounded many times by the same guy.” 

That was all false, and Mr. Alvarez was prosecuted under a 2005 law, the Stolen Valor Act, which makes it a crime to say falsely that one has “been awarded any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States.” Mr. Alvarez argued that his remarks were protected by the First Amendment.
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In a related issue of a person falsely claiming to be a hero on 9/11

CBS news

Israeli Court Invalidates a Military Exemption

NYTimes

The Israeli Supreme Court has invalidated a law that exempted from military service ultra-Orthodox Jews engaged in religious studies, adding a new urgency to the government’s negotiations with religious parties over a more equitable distribution of the burdens of citizenship. 

The 6-to-3 decision, handed down late Tuesday, declared the so-called Tal Law unconstitutional at a time of growing tension in Israel over the place of the ultra-Orthodox. The law, in effect since 2002, granted exemptions to tens of thousands of religious academy students. It was widely viewed as a failure, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already said it would not be renewed when it expired this summer.  

Still, the ruling will now force the government’s hand to come up with a new way forward, one that will be strongly resisted by religious party coalition members. 

Departing Chief Justice Dorit Beinisch, writing for the court majority, said the law had failed to live up to its aim of increasing the number of ultra-Orthodox in the army. Using data presented by the army, the decision noted that last year fewer than 1,300 ultra-Orthodox youths enlisted out of a pool of 8,500, a rate of 15 percent. Among the rest of the Jewish population, the enlistment rate is 75 percent.

The terrorism of Off the Derech children in Bnei Brak

 In response to RaP's comment:

There are organization dealing with this. In fact when I was in Boro Park this past year - at least once a week an appeal was made for such organizations in the shul of Rav Menashe Klein where I davened every day. They were specifically for chassidic youth.

Workers in these programs in American told me that 70-80 per cent of the members of these programs have been abused.

There are programs here in Israel also. I remember once - several years ago - a rav who runs one of these organizations made an appeal in Rav Sternbuch's shul and noted that the Chazon Ish said that it is not necessarily the nebach but in fact it was the brightest and best adjusted who went off the Derech.

I also once was visiting Rav Shlomo Zalman Auerbach with a friend of mine whose father was a very prominent rosh yeshiva in America - but he had become a Breslavor chasid. When Rav Shlomo Zalman heard the name of his father he literally jumped out of his seat. I later asked my friend why he had reacted that way. He said, of the yeshiva class of Rav Shlomo Zalman at Eitz Chaim - most of his classmates when off the derech.  It upset him to see that I had not followed in my father's path - not that he had a problem with Breslov itsef. 

Finally Rav Menachem Porush's son - who is involved in politics and social action - once mentioned at a conference on the subject the following.

"It is not that we have more drop outs than in previous years. The issue is that in previous years the drop out left the community - 'he went to visit his aunt in California.' However today the drop outs are kept in the yeshivos and beis yaakov's and where they are a corrosive element to the others students."

A friend of mine noted that Meah Sharim has retained basically the same number of apartments for a hundred years - despite the fact that they have always had large families. He said this was primarily due to the children going off the derech in large numbers and leaving the community.

So yes there are families who kick out there children when they go off the derech- but there are also many who try to keep them in - sending them to special yeshivos to try to help them. Har Nof itself has a number of seminaries and yeshivos which deal specifically with this problem.

BTW Rabbi Greenwald - as well as his sons are recognized experts in dealing with this problem in the Chareidi world and their services are definitely being used.

High Court rules 'Tal Law' for yeshiva student deferrals - can't be extended

JPost

n a majority ruling of six justices against three, the High Court determined that the law, whose full title is the 'Deferral of Service for Yeshiva Students for whom Torah is their Profession Law' is not constitutional, and therefore the Knesset cannot extend it in its present form when it expires on August 1st. The law was originally passed as a temporary law requiring renewal every five years.

Principal suspected of sexually assaulting students

YNet

Former student in haredi establishment accuses principal of indecent acts, says others assaulted too. Police suspect senior haredi leaders tried to keep affair under wraps

Placebo works as well as anti-depressants for mild depression

Ben Gurion U Conference on Children: "There is not a day in which there is not a report of sexual abuse in the chareidi community"

 YNET

מנהל השירות הפסיכולוגי־חינוכי במודיעין עילית, ישי שליף, אמר כי למד עם השנים שיש צורך להתמודד עם הבעיה של פגיעה מינית במגזר החרדי. לדבריו, בגיבויו של הרב יוסף שלום אלישיב התקבלה פסיקה לגבי הצורך בדיווח בנושא, בעקבותיה "אין יום שעובר ללא דיווח".

מנהלת מרכז "בלבנו" לטיפול בילדים ונוער שנפגעו מינית, בת שבע שיינין, הוסיפה כי החברה החרדית נבדלת מרצון, מה שמייצר סיכון גדול יותר לילד החרדי. "הילד החרדי לומד מגיל אפס לציית, בלי לשאול למה. ילדים לא ייספרו על דברים רעים מחשש ללשון הרע".

שיינין הוסיפה ואמרה כי קיים הבדל בין ילדים בעלי תשובה לילדים חרדים, בכמות הדיווחים, לטובת בעלי התשובה, להם קל יותר לדווח.

מנהלת מרכז הסיוע לנשים דתיות, דבי גרוס, חשפה כי בשנה שעברה הופעלו כ־2,000 סדנאות לילדים חרדים בגילאי שלוש עד 18 בנושא מניעת פגיעות מיניות.

Rav Zilberstein - cautions & restrictions of psychotherapy involving male therapists & female clients

Jnd 
Translation posted here

פסק הלכה עליו חתם הגאון רבי יצחק זילברשטיין שליט"א, ואליו הצטרפו מרנן גדולי ישראל וחשובי הרבנים והדיינים שליט"א, קובע לראשונה, סייגים ברורים ומחייבים בכל הנוגע לטיפולים פסיכולוגיים, וכי "מוטלת חובה על המנהל להשגיח על הפרדה" בין מטפל ומטופל מהמין השני, "ואם אי אפשר צריך להיוועץ עם רב בית החולים מה לעשות בכל מקרה ומקרה".