Weiss Dodelson: A supporter of Gital responds to my postings

I recently had an exchange of a emails with Atara Levine - a staunch supporter of Gital - who doesn't think very much of my postings or me and stated that I was headed for a hot place in the next world. When I suggested that she write a guest post, "that explains Gital's strategy and perhaps give some inside information as to how the gedolim you cited support Gital's pronouncements and actions." she sent me the following. 

I agree with her that the basis of the present chilul hashem started when these major rabbinical figures signed this Kol Koreh which has no basis in Shulchan Aruch or poskim.

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sure thing my friend. please post this guest post. it includes e/th.

Regarding the matter of Avrohom Meir Weiss, son of Yosaif Asher Weiss: He went to court and refused to come to Bais Din. A Siruv has been issued against him by Bais Din Mechon L’hoyroa. And, for more than three years he has been withholding a Get from his wife.

The laws regarding Avrohom Meir are detailed in Shulchan Aruch (Jewish Code of Law). He is to be dealt with like someone who is in Niddui. No one may come within four amos of him; no one may eat or drink together with him; he cannot be part of a zimun nor may he count towards a minyan, etc.

We turn to the administration of the Yeshiva of Staten Island, where he studies, to protest against him and to remove him from the Kollel.

We also turn to Artscroll (where his father and uncle who support him work) to protest against his family and to remove them from their positions, for it is not fitting that Torah should be transmitted through them.

We have been asked by the family of the Agunah, and by those who wish to save her from the chains of her detention, what is permissible according to the Torah. Is it permissible to protest against him and to gather in public protest and is it permissible to make it known publicly and in the newspapers?

We state that, according to the Torah, it is permissible and it is a mitzvah to protest against him, to gather publicly in front of his house and in other places, and to make the matter known publicly and in the newspapers in order to save an oppressed woman from her oppressor and an Agunah from being chained.

There is an obligation upon anyone who is able to do so, to influence Avrohom Meir that he should listen to Bais Din and that he should give a Get.

We affix our signatures on the 22nd day of Shevat, 5773
Rabbi Yaakov Perlow
Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky
Rabbi Aharon Moshe Schechter (in great and deep pain due to the Chillul Hashem which has brought us
to take this step)
Rabbi Aharon Feldman
Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld
Rabbi Nota Tzvi Greenblatt
Rabbi Tzvi Schechter
Rabbi Moshe Heineman (I agree with all of the above until he comes to Bais Din)
Rabbi Elya Dov Wachtfogel
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer

Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski- fraud or martyr of FDA: Treating unoperable brain cancer

 Vos iz neias     A Houston family has launched a petition to the Obama administration in an effort to get the Food and Drug Administration to allow their six year old son access to a treatment that they hope will cure his aggressive brain cancer.

Elisha Cohen was diagnosed with anaplastic medulloblastoma in October of 2012 and since that time has undergone neurosurgery and high dose chemotherapy to treat his cancer.  While tests showed that the treatments had initially eradicated the tumor, it returned several months later and was deemed by doctors to be untreatable.

“The doctors told me to go home, to take my son to Disneyland,” Elisha’s mother, Devorah Cohen told VIN News.  “But Jewish people don’t give up.  It is not what we do.” [...]

But most importantly, please daven for Refael Elisha Meir ben Devora.  Hashem can hear my son right now and we know that Hashem can bring Elisha a yeshua.”

=========================HOWEVER===================== 

USA Today [...]    Burzynski — an internist with no board certification or formal training in oncology — has said publicly that he can cure half of the estimated 200 children a year diagnosed with brainstem tumors. The Cottos were told that treatment could cost over $100,000, mostly out of pocket, because insurance plans often refuse to cover Burzynski Clinic treatments.

Burzynski, 70, calls his drugs "antineoplastons" and says he has given them to more than 8,000 patients since 1977. [...]

Yet the National Cancer Institute says there is no evidence that Burzynski has cured a single patient, or even helped one live longer. He has not backed up his claims by publishing results from a randomized, controlled trial — considered the gold standard of medical evidence — in a respected, peer-reviewed journal.

And Burzynski's drugs pose a risk of serious harm, including coma, swelling near the brain and death, according to the NCI and informed consent documents that patients sign before beginning treatment. While Burzynski has touted his treatments as an alternative to chemotherapy, a 1999 NCI study found that antineoplastons can cause many of the same side effects as conventional chemo: nausea, vomiting, headaches, muscle pain, confusion and seizures. [...]

"He's a snake oil salesman," says pediatric oncologist Peter Adamson, a professor of pediatrics and pharmacology at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "This has gone on for so many years, it's really unbelievable."

For 36 years, critics say, Burzynski has been selling false hope to desperate families at the most vulnerable time of their lives.

"When you want so hard to believe something, you end up listening to your heart and not your head," says Lisa Merritt of Armuchee, Ga., whose husband, Wayne, was treated briefly by Burzynski in 2009. The couple say that Burzynski misled them about the type of treatment that would be offered, as well as the cost. Burzynski, she says, is "the worst kind of predator."[...]

Weiss Dodelson: Gital supporter criticizes Gital's wholesale lynch of the Weiss/Feinstein families

Vos iz neias [...]   I sympathize with Dodelson – and here I completely accept her version of the truth. Every agunah situation is a tragedy, more so when children are involved (the couple has a son). Dodelson’s supporters have organized a Web site, setgitalfree.com, and an associated Facebook page.

But their methods reflect poorly on the entire urgent movement to help agunot. Instead of the traditional focus on the recalcitrant husband, this bandwagon mostly targets Weiss’s relatives.

First, Internet warriors boycotted Orthodox publisher ArtScroll until it fired Weiss’s father and uncle. A Facebook commenter claimed victory, saying ArtScroll “heard us loud and clear, and they did exactly what we asked.”

Next, agunah activists turned against Yeshiva of Staten Island (YSI), where Weiss learns and which is run by his grandfather, Rabbi Reuven Feinstein. They demanded that the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) remove YSI’s accreditation and reject rabbis ordained by the yeshiva’s sister school. They also convinced at least one synagogue to cancel an appearance by Rabbi Feinstein.

“Set Gital Free” even bullied Weiss’s elderly grandmother by publishing her telephone number and urging people to “politely and respectfully” inundate her with calls until a Get is granted.

The pro-Dodelson site calls these family members “enablers” who “support” Weiss’s actions. But the relatives are pretty much chained themselves – caught in the no-win position of wishing to succor a humiliated loved one while wanting an ugly divorce resolved. Besides, who knows what they’ve said to Weiss privately?

Those who punish relatives of Get refusers remind me of opponents of Israel’s policies on the West Bank who randomly say “I know – let’s boycott Israeli universities and scholars!” Only this improvisation is worse.

No act, however spiteful, justifies a posse deciding to assault the livelihoods and reputations of relatives and colleagues. It doesn’t seem very Jewish to me: Did a horde attack Jacob because of Esau’s misdeeds, or Jonathan because of Saul’s?

So I contacted RCA Executive Vice President Rabbi Mark Dratch, the rabbi “Set Gital Free” recommended to explain the Torah basis for their strategy. To my surprise, he said absolutely nothing in halachic literature endorses communal pressure on family members of Get refusers, and he never prescribed that approach. Thus, the activists are disregarding the counsel of the man they claim is their rabbi. Orthodox Jews just don’t do that.

I later consulted Rabbi Jeremy Stern from the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA), who also could think of no text in a Jewish source describing anything like the “Free Gital” tactics – and he would know. ORA’s extensive Web site promotes many ways to pressure husbands but none to pressure relatives.

Rabbi Stern referenced the impressive “Kol Koreh” (proclamation) signed by ten leading American rabbis, including five from the renowned Council of Torah Sages and ORA’s halachic expert, Yeshiva University Rosh Yeshiva Rabbi Herschel Schachter.

The Kol Koreh imposes more than a dozen harsh penalties on Weiss, but only one regarding his family: that ArtScroll must terminate the father and uncle. That directive clearly relates to the laws of a Jewish court (beit din), not those of agunot, since any man who flouts a beit din’s rulings risks retribution. But the rabbis didn’t call for a boycott. (The Facebook site’s supposed triumph over ArtScroll is absurd – as if it had more sway than our generation’s most respected rabbis.) The proclamation also says nothing about canceled speeches, disaccreditations, rejected ordinations, or harassment of old ladies.[...]

Weiss-Dodelson: A relative of the Weiss family protests against Dodelson's chilul Hashem

Guest post by a concerned relative of the Weiss family. update concerning get me'usa

I will not say who I am, because I assume then I will be listed on the enablers page on the free Gital website, and I too will loose my livelihood.

I would like to state that in no way am I voicing my support for AM not giving a get. However, I am wondering why we as a society are allowing the Dodelson's to trample out Torah laws, make a huge Chilul Hashem, and embarrass our Torah leaders. One wrong does not permit one thousand wrongs. I realize perhaps for the more modern crowd, who are perhaps, less in tune with halacha, they jump on the bandwagon when they hear "Agunah" and believe that all means are permissible to 'unchain' said Agunah. I would like to postulate at we, as a Halacha abiding community, are obligated to act differently. I believe we are obligated by the actions of the Maacabim, who stood strong to their Torah values no matter the price.

To what price do I refer? You noticed I do not sign my name. I notice that thousands of people visit this blog weekly.  It can be reasonably be assumed that many are in support of the Weisses, yet there is no way to know who the supporters are. I assume this means that the fear is widespread. The fear is of being thrown to the Facebook Agunah Defamation League, losing your jobs, getting phone calls and angry emails from strangers. Perhaps you, like some of AM's friends have been told that if you show any support you will not receive your Kollel check. Perhaps you have been subjected, like I have, to the verbal vomit that spews from the mouths of those who know nothing but feel entitled for their opinion. Or perhaps you see that the Dodelsohn's and their publicist Shira Dicker care nothing for Halacha and will destroy everything and anything in their path in order to get what they want. (Do you still agree with those who tell AM to give the get and trust the Dodelsohn's to negotiate custody in good faith?) 

A few examples of their disrespect for Halacha:

-The Dodelson's cause a huge Chillul Hashem when they take a sob story to the secular press, ignoring the venue of going through Rabbi Ronnie Greenwald

-Gital was quoted in the [Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-face-of-agunot-promises-to-keep-fighting-for-all-chained-women/] saying she wanted to live with a man before marriage

-Shira Dicker was quoted in newsweek saying she cannot wait to use facebook as a means to overturn a centuries old law (read: what she thinks of our Torah)

- The Dodelson's have AM's Father and Uncle fired from Artscroll, where they worked spreading Torah knowledge, that we all benefit from every day, for over two decades. Keep in mind that most Poskim hold that once you embarrass the Father of a Meagen (if you consider him one) the get given is a forced get and is invalid. Apparently, having children who are mamzerim is of no concern to Gital.

[Majority opinion regarding forcing the husband's father, please see:

Ram"a's comment to Even HaEzer 134:4 with Pischei Teshuva there # 12

שולחן ערוך אבן העזר הלכות גיטין סימן קלד

 י"א דלא מקרי אונס אלא מה שאונסין לאדם עצמו, אבל אם אונסין לאחר עד שיגרש חבירו, אפילו אב על בנו או להיפך, לא מקרי אונס (תשובת הרשב"ץ). ויש מחמירין באב על בנו (ב"י). ועיין לקמן סימן קנ"ד מדינים אלו

פתחי תשובה אבן העזר סימן קלד ס"ק יב

(יב) ויש מחמירים באב על בנו - ע' בת' משכנות יעקב שם שדעתו להחמיר כיש מחמירין אלו דאונס אב לגבי בן חשיב אונס(גם בס' ב"מ לעיל ס"א כתב דכן עיקר) והביא שם מדברי הרשב"א בתשו' המיוחסות לרמב"ן סי' רע"ג והר"ר בצלאל סי' ט"ז והגמ"ר פ"ו דגיטין ותשו' הרשב"ש סי' של"ט שכולם החמירו בדבר זה ובפרט בנ"ד לפי טענת המערער שהכהו אביו מכה רבה כו' ע"ש עוד בתשובה שניה שם אות ט"ו:

(Regarding that "all Poskim" regard monetary coercion as "forcing", please see

Pischei Teshuva there #10)

פתחי תשובה אבן העזר סימן קלד ס"ק י

דמה שהבין הרמ"א ז"ל דיש מחלוקת בין הרשב"א והרשב"ץ ומתוך כך פסק דבדיעבד יש להקל הנה לפי המבואר בס' מכתב מאלי' בדיני הביטול סימן כ' ובמהרח"ש בדיני מודע' ואונס אין כאן מחלוקת כלל והעיקר תלוי באם שאנחנו יודעים ומכירים שאין מגרש אלא מצד הקנס ומגלה דעתו בכך הוי גט מעושה ולא התירו הרשב"ץ והר"ר מיימון רק בנדון דידהו שקבל מתחלה הקנס מצד עצמו ורצונו הפשוט ולא זז מדעתו מתחלה ועד סוף דאז אין לתלות שעשה זה מחמת אונס (וכ"כ בס' בית מאיר לחלק בכך ומסיים דצ"ע אם יש להקל נגד הרשב"א כמו בנדון דידי' אף בדיעבד כו' ע"ש)

-the Dodelson's publicly attack and embarrass Rabbi Reuven Feinstein, attempt to have him discredited from the RCA, and petition to have him removed as a speaker by community events.

-and what I consider a last and final blow, the Dodelson's list Rebbitzen Sheila Feinstein, who offers no support to her grandson as an enabler. She is literally an innocent bystander in this whole situation, and we as a public have a responsibility not to let her be destroyed by the baseless actions of base people.

Please keep in mind that Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetzky has declared that the Dodelson's need to stop their "smear campaign" against the Weisses. The facebook page is still up. The website is still up. The Dodelson's are making public that they used Reb Shmuel's Halachic knowledge to support their cause, and discarded and disregarded it when they had no further use for it.

We need to stand against the Dodelson's not for the Weisses sake, but for the sake of our Torah and the Halacha that they are trampling.

Please call the Dodelson's at the following numbers and ask them to follow Reb Shmuel's psak and take down the website and facebook page. If you are brave (or foolhardy?) post your name, your actual name on this webpage. Let us band together and show each other that those who follow Halacha can succeed.

Gital cell: 1-732-267-1649

Dodelson home: 1-732-886-5121

Schlesinger Twins: Jewish leaders at Austrian embassy for Beth custody battle

Jewish News     December 10, 2013

British Jewish leaders have spoken of a “serious miscarriage of justice” after meeting Austrian diplomats to discuss a legal ruling that forbid a London mother of custody of her two young sons.

A senior delegation told HE Dr Emil Brix of their “extreme concerns” about a recent decision of Vienna court’s ruling on the custody dispute between Beth Alexander, who comes from Manchester, and her ex-husband Michael Schlesinger, who is Austrian.

Board of Deputies vice-president Jonathan Arkush said: ”Having studied the court’s judgment carefully, I am extremely concerned about its lack of reasoning to support the unusual decision to deprive a mother of the custody, or even shared custody, of her two very young children. I fear that a serious miscarriage of justice has occurred.”

Schlesinger won full custody of Beth’s two twin boys, aged 4, and a series of appeals have failed, with the most recent judge upholding the decision of a lower court to limit her access rights to 3 visits every 2 weeks.

New rabbinical court aims to empower agunot

Jewish Week     In what appears to be a major breakthrough in the long, tortuous effort to solve the problem of agunot (or, chained wives), an international bet din (religious court) is in formation, headed by a highly respected Orthodox rabbi, with the goal of freeing women trapped in broken marriages.

Blu Greenberg, a longtime activist on this issue and founder of JOFA (Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance), announced at the group’s international conference this week that Rabbi Simcha Krauss, former rabbi of the Young Israel of Hillcrest and now living in Israel, has agreed to serve as the head of an independent rabbinic court in formation seeking “systemic halachic solutions” to the problem.

A major figure in centrist Orthodoxy who was president of the Religious Zionist of America, Rabbi Krauss made aliyah in 2005 and is affiliated with Yeshivat Eretz HaTzvi in Jerusalem. He is well respected for his Torah knowledge and integrity by a wide swath of the Orthodox community.

But the key to the new court’s success may well rest on one of the two leading Israeli rabbis associated with the haredi community who have given their imprimatur to Rabbi Krauss. Most significant is Zalman Nechemia Goldberg, a rosh yeshiva, posek (religious decisor) and chief justice of the rabbinical high court in Jerusalem.

The other is She’ar Yashuv Cohen, former chief rabbi of Haifa and president of its rabbinic courts. A third prominent Israeli rosh yeshiva has also signaled his support for Rabbi Krauss but prefers to remain anonymous at this time.

Highly respected by all segments of the Orthodox community, Rabbi Goldberg was the first to sign on to the Rabbinical Council of America’s pre-nuptial agreement program, to prevent agunah cases, and helped give it credibility.

“As long as Rav Zalman Nechemiah is on board with Rabbi Krauss,” the new venture is “untouchable,” noted an expert on the issue. But he added that haredi elements opposed to the new bet din could put strong pressure on Rabbi Goldberg to retract his support.

“Most of all,” the source said, “it must be truly independent.”

Rabbi Krauss, in an exclusive interview, said on Monday that while he is somewhat concerned about the criticism sure to be leveled at the new court from those on the right, he is prepared to go forward and hopes the court, which at least initially is slated to be based in the U.S., will begin its work in 2014.

“I am not a revolutionary, and I understand that halacha [Jewish law] moves slowly,” he said, “but it’s been too slow. It’s time.”

He noted that in his extensive experience as a pulpit rabbi in America he saw too many cases where small bet din courts, particularly in Brooklyn, were subject to “corruption, bribery and utter falsification” in championing the husband and unwilling to free the wife from broken marriages.
“The numbers [of agunot] are real, and big, and they are tragic,” he said. (While precise numbers are hard to come by, Jeremy Stern of ORA, Organization for the Resolution of Agunot, says his New York-based group receives about 150 calls a year from women seeking help, and is working on about 50 cases at any given time.) [...]

Rav Shach's condemnation of "Shaarei Talmud Torah"

מכתבים ומאמרים ממרן הגאון רבי אלעזר מנחם מן שך זצוק"ל

חלק א' עמוד ק"ז

חינוך וישיבות

נב

אזהרה לגנוז ספר אחד שמביע דעת נגד מסורת הישיבות

בס"ד יום א' י"ז לחדש הרחמים והסליחות תשמ"ב

אזהרה להסיר מכשול

הביאו לפני ספר בשם "שערי תלמוד תורה" מאיזה רב ד"ר אשר  מפיצים אותו ברבים בעיקר לבני הישיבות שיחי' : ראיתי ונזדעזעתי, אשר  כל כולו הוא ספר הסתה לבני תורה על החובה שיתנו מזמנם גם ללימודי  אומנות וגם ללימודים משארי חכמות כמו רפואה ועוד ועוד מהדברים הנצרכים לחיים, ותמך יסודו ממה שאסף מכמה מאמרי חז"ל המדברים  בשבח המלאכה, וגם מהרבה ספרים המדברים במעלת הנהנה מיגיע כפיו,  והצורך בידיעת מדע הטבע.

והנה אין כאן המקום לנהל ויכוחים עם הנ"ל, ונזכיר רק מאמרם ז"ל  כמנחות צ"ט, שאל בן דמה וכו' כגון אני שלמדתי כל התורה כולה מהו  שאלמד חכמה יונית, קרא עליו לא ימוש ספר התורה הזה מפיך והגית בו יומם ולילה, צא ובדוק שעה שאינה לא יום ולא לילה וכו', ועון ביטול תורה הוא נורא ואיום מאד, ואמרו חז"ל בירושלמי הובא בשע"ת לרבינו יונה ז"ל ויתר הקב"ה על ע"ז וכו' ולא ויתר על עון ביטול תורה, וכל ענין  מלאכה שהזכירו חז"ל הוא על מי שא"א לו להסתדר בפרנסה בלא זה אבל  כל זמן שיכול ללמוד ודאי ח"ו להפסיק מתורה"ק ושקידתה בשכיל העתיד  דדי' לצרה בשעתה, ועון פלילי הוא לנתק בן תורה מהתורה תורתו של  הקב"ה.

וכן החמישה שערים הראשונים שכותכ דרך הלימוד וצורת קיום מצות לימוד התורה יש בהם דברים שאינם נכונים שהוא כותכ נגד המקובל לנו, שלמדו לעצמן וגם עם התלמידים לעיין בהם בעומק ובהבנה ישרה ובפלפולה של תורה כמובן שלא ע"מ לקנטר, וזהו מצות לשמה שביאר  בספר הקדוש נפש החיים שלשמה הוא הפירוש לדעת התורה, ובכלל מצות  ושננתם הוא שיהי' דברי תורה מחודדים בפיך אף על ידי פלפולה כדאיתא  בנדרים דל"ח ע"ש בפירוש הרא"ש, ומה שכותב על מה שכתב גאון הדור  שלפני פנינו הוא הגר"י סלנטר זצקללה"ה ב"התבונה" בענין למוד בפלפול,  שלא מצא לו חבר לזה וחולק על דבריו, אין זה אלא רמות רוחא.

ומאד מאד אני מצטער על אחד שיעיז להביע דעה נגד המסורה לנו  והמקובל לנו מגאונינו רבותינו שעל פיהם נתיסדו הישיבות שמאז ומתמיד כולם החזיקו ישיבות, ואנן תלמידי תלמידיהם של גאון הגאונים רבן של כל  ישראל רבי חיים וולאזינר זצקללה"ה שיסד הישיבה בוולאזין ע"פ הסכמת  הגר"א זצקללה"ה הנחשב כאחד מן הראשונים המשמשים לפניו במרום,  וכך נמשכו הדורות עד היום, ובטח הם כולם ידעו את כל המאמרים בחז"ל,  וכל מעשיהם אינם צריכים חיזוק מאיתנו שרוח הקודש שרתה על כל מה  שעשו. ובפרט בתקופתינו שכל כך רבה העזובה בכל מה שנוגע ללימוד  התורה, שאחוז קטן מכל הצעירים המתחנכים בבתי החינוך נשארים בהישיבות וח"ו אם גם הם לא יתמסרו כל כולם ללימוד ולעלי' בתורה ח"ו  תשתכח תורה מישראל, ובמה גדול כוחו שיבוא להורות דרך לרבים ולסכן  את כל קיום התורה ועם ישראל .
אלעזר מנחם מן שך
יעקב ישראל קניבסקי

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Rav Nosson Kaminetsky told me that Rav Shach had called to tell him that he had to write a condemnation for the sefer - but he wanted to make sure he did not saying anything that would insult his father. He asked him to check the letter before he published it

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Rav Chaim Kanievsky prohibits artificial insemination - Rav Eliashiv permitted it

Kikar haShabat   Update -  text below and original letter and translation

ספר חדש מפרסם את דעתו של הגר"ח קנייבסקי בנושא טיפולי פוריות. במכתב המתפרסם לראשונה הוא כותב כי "טיפולי פוריות - תועבה. הבנים שיצאו עלולים להיות פושעים גמורים" ● בניגוד לדעת הגר"ח, חמיו הגרי"ש אלישיב סבור כי בנים הנולדים על-ידי הטיפולים הללו כשרים לבוא בקהל ה'...ו

"טיפולי פוריות הם תועבה, הבנים שיצאו מזה עלולים להיות רשעים ופושעים גמורים", כך פוסק מרן הגר"ח קנייבסקי, בספר חדש העוסק בטיפולי פוריות והפריות מלאכותיות.

דעת הגר"ח קנייבסקי, כפי שעולה מן הספר, היא שכל טיפולי הפוריות לסוגיהם השונים - אסורים על-פי ההלכה בתכלית האיסור. הגר"ח מתבטא במכתביו השונים כי הטיפולים הללו הם "תועבה", וקובע נחרצות כי "בודאי הבנים שיצאו מזה עלולים להיות רשעים ופושעים וגרועים".

בשנים האחרונות חלה התקדמות משמעותית במגזר החרדי בכל הקשור לטיפולים הללו. כך קמו ארגונים אשר שמו להם למטרה להקל על הזוגות חשוכי הילדים ולפתור את מצוקתם במציאת פתרונות הלכתיים.

[...]

Change in Israeli child custody laws to correct bias against fathers

YNET   The changes in regulations for divorced parents are set to be implemented, despite them not including the absolute cancelation of the Infancy Custody Clause.

A change in the clause, however, will allow fathers to take custody over children who have reached the age of two years, compared to the previous clause of six years.


Professor Dan Shanit, who headed the committee on changes regarding divorced parents, said the Infancy Custody Clause needed to be canceled completely, which says that children up to the age of six can only be under the custody of the mother.

Former justice minister Yaakov Ne'eman had already sent out the memo last year on the Parents and Children Law, which was based on Shanit's conference. The clause that stood out in the memo was the change in the custody law. It received a lot of criticism, mainly from women's organizations.

According to the law, when parents divorce and can't reach an agreement on who will be considered the children's guardian, the courts can establish that children under the age of six will remain with their mother, under the Infancy Custody Clause. As a result, the other, older siblings also remain under the custody of the mother so as not to separate them. Divorced fathers have been condemning the clause for many years, claiming it is automatically discriminatory. [...]

Why is Rav Kook neglected by Chareidim?

Guest post by Chaim Bornstein

Brief background on the author:

Chaim Bornstein is in his mid-twenties. He is learning in a prestigious Kollel in the Tri-State area. He is currently pursuing a rabbinic ordination and a Master’s Degree in School Administration. 

Chaim is against being categorized. However, if you must know, he wears a black hat and went to the Internet Asifah. He did so because his Rosh Kollel told him to do so, and he believes it’s a mitzvah to listen to the words of chachomim. He did not believe there was anything for him to gain from the asifah and continues to feel uninspired by the event.  (Chaim has had Spector Pro and E-Blaster on every PC he has ever owned and had the Internet on his Blackberry blocked since he purchased it in 2010...)

Chaim was born in the U.S. to a chashuv Kollel couple hailing from one of the prestigious American Yeshivos. In 1992 his parents made Aliyah and have lived in several Chareidi communities in Israel since...

He went to a well known cheder in Jerusalem and attended Yeshiva Ketana in Eretz Yisrael as well.  Chaim returned to the U.S. in 2003 and obtained a high school diploma.  He received his Undergraduate Degree in 2011. He currently resides in the N.Y. Metro area, where he is B"H happily married with three children.

   Rav Kook by Chaim Bornstein

Tznius Squad now (sometimes) turns sexual predators over to police

Kikar haShabat

לפני כשבוע, הוגש כתב אישום קשה נגד בן למשפחת אדמו"רים שהתחזה לבודק מסיכות אב"כ ותקף אישה חרדית. פעילי הוועד לטוהר המחנה שלכדו אותו, החליטו להעביר את האיש לטיפול במשטרה. בשיחה ל'כיכר השבת', מציג פעיל בארגון את משנתו, ואומר כי פעיליו דווקא מעודדים תלונות במשטרה

זה שנים רבות ש'הוועד לטוהר המחנה', או בכינויו הפנים חרדי "משמרת הצניעות", פועל למיגור תופעת הפגיעה בילדים ונשים בתוך המגזר החרדי. לטענתם, הם פועלים בשליחותם של גדולי ישראל ובראשם בית הדין של העדה החרדית בירושלים.

בשבוע שעבר, הופיעו בתקשורת דיווחים על דבר מעצרו של תושב חרדי מבית שמש, בן למשפחת אדמורי"ם, שהתחזה ל"בודק מסכות אב"כ" ותקף באכזריות אשה חרדית בתוך ביתה. לא כולם יודעים, אבל דווקא הוועד לטוהר המחנה - הוא שהביא למעצרו.

תלונה שהתקבלה בוועד לטוהר המחנה הביאה את פעיליו להגיע אל "בודק מסכות האב"כ", אלו פנו יחד עם האישה המותקפת למשטרה וזאת עצרה את החשוד והגישה נגדו כתב אישום. 

בעקבות המעצר, "כיכר השבת" פנה בשבוע האחרון לפעילים בוועד לטוהר המחנה בניסיון לשמוע מהם פרטים על שיתוף הפעולה הלא צפוי עם המשטרה, לאחר פניות רבות שנענו בסירוב, נאות פעיל מרכזי בארגון לדבר

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