Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter: Should they name their mamzer son after her father?

After universal condemnation and rejection of the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt "heter" - the couple is still living together. Neither R Greenblatt nor the Kaminetsky's seem to feel it necessary for the couple to separate despite clear consensus that they are committing adultery. 

This raises in interesting question of kibud av. Given that her father was niftar - it seems reasonable that when they have a son that she would name him after her father. The question is whether honoring her father by naming a mamzer after him is truly honoring her father's memory? On the other hand if she doesn't name her son after her father that shows that she acknowledges  that her marriage is not valid according to halacha and she is disgracing his memory by merely remaining in the phony marriage.

A related question is whether Rav Shmuel or Sholem Kaminetsky  or Rav Greenblatt would be the sandek for their son? Is it considered an honor to be a sandek for a mamzer? On the other hand if they refused the "honor" that would mean that they acknowledge that the child is a mamzer that they were responsible for creating. 

For those close to these gedolim, I would appreciate if you asked them these questions. I will publish their answers. If you can get them to explain why they haven't told the couple to separate - even after the Kaminetsky's accepted Rav Dovid Feinstein's psak that the heter is garbage - it would also be appreciated.

Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter: Rav Tzadok "defends" their perversions of the Torah

update: I just modified the title of the post because some people were mistakenly taking it literally.
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As noted many times, the Kaminetsky-Greenblatt Heter is a blatant perversion of halacha. In addition it is based on lies. I have also asked many times for someone to defend not only the creation of this phony heter but also the refusal to tell the couple to separate from an adulterous relationship.

However much to my astonishment this Shabbos I was shown a clear justification for their action. Rav Tzadok is talking about a tzadik or gadol and clearly had the Kaminetsky's and Rav Greenblatt in mind when he wrote the following words. [As a side point - this Rav Tzadok was used to justify R Berland's purported sexual perversions by his son-in-law. Rav Tzadok seems to think that a real tzadik can violate any halacha and it is not considered a sin]..

Rav Tzakok HaCohen (Tzedkas HaTzadik #198 page 76): ... David violated the halacha without any justification - but just because he wanted to. And he relied simply on the fact that because he wanted to violate the halacha that this was truly G-d's Will and thus no sin was done in the violation. And this was even though there was absolutely no reason to justify it because Will is not dependent on reasons... 

שהוא עשה שלא כהלכה בלא שום טעם רק מפני שרצה בכך וסמך על מה שהוא רוצה כך הוא אמיתות רצון השם יתברך ואין בו עבירה. ואף על פי שאין בו שום טעם כי אין טעם לרצון

I am not aware of any non-Chassidic writings that state such a thing - so it might be a problem for Litvaks such as the Kaminetsky's and R Greenblatt to rely on this heter. But maybe one of their defenders can send me a non-Chassidic source that gedolim can violate the Torah anytime they want - because it is G-d's Will.

Korach; Does Every Individual Own A Particle In A Karbon Tzibur? by Rabbi Shlomo Pollak

Rav Elchonan Wasermann Hy"d surmised from the Medrash Tanchumah that Rashi brings in Parshas Korach (17;15), that every single person owns his own specific particle in a Karbon Tzibur, and in anything owned by a group...

The Rashi says as follows... והמדרש אומר יודע אני שיש להם חלק בתמידי צבור אף חלקם לא יקובל לפניך לרצון תניחנו האש ולא תאכלנו

We discuss the question of public ownership, and other questions regarding this Medrash...

For questions and comments please email us at salmahshleima@gmail.com 

https://youtu.be/V1ZCLtTtYCI

Chukat- Balak 76 Self-control and Self-discipline by Allan Katz

Guest Post by Allan Katz

In our parasha, the children of Israel, defeat Sichon and capture the capital city of Cheshbon. Sichon had captured the city Cheshbon from Moav with the help of the curses of 2 famous sorcerers Bil'am and his father Be'or. The Torah relates this with the words –Numbers 21:27 Regarding this the poets- those who speak in parables - would say Come to Cheshbon ….עַל כֵּן יֹאמְרוּ הַמֹּשְׁלִים בֹּאוּ חֶשְׁבּוֹן The Talmud Baba Batra 78b translates ' moshel ' as ruler and ' cheshbon ' as an account or calculation . The righteous people who have attained mastery over and rule their evil inclinations proclaim – make an account and a calculation. They live their lives with thought and circumspection. They calculate the loss or cost involved in doing a mitzvah against its profit and the gain of a transgression against its loss and calculate the impact of their actions on the world. על כן יאמרו המושלים וגו' המושלים אלו המושלים ביצרם בואו חשבון בואו ונחשב חשבונו של עולם הפסד מצוה כנגד שכרה ושכר עבירה כנגד הפסדה

The Talmud talks about the value and virtue of self –regulation, having self- discipline and self-control. Self-discipline is about marshalling one's willpower to accomplish things that are generally desirable and worthwhile, while self-control is using the same willpower to stop oneself from sinning, doing something undesirable or to delay gratification. In educational circles, the famous Marshmallow test by Walter Mischel and its conclusion echo the same message. Children were left alone in a room after having been told that they could get a small treat – one marshmallow, by ringing a bell at any time to summon the experimenter or if they held out after his return they would get a bigger treat – 2 marshmallows. Children who had better self –control and could delay gratification, scored better on measures of cognitive and social skills about a decade later and also had higher SAT scores. Mischel says that home environment and not the ability to delay gratification might have been responsible for the children's achievement found 10 years later. Also, it was the ability to distract themselves and focus on something else and not grim determination, self-control and will-power that helped children to wait longer. One cannot engage the evil inclination head on, but we have to use תחבולות, tricks and other strategies. The Talmud Baba Batra 78b says that those people who can control their evil inclinations do so, by engaging their thinking, their prefrontal cortex, rather than their emotional and animal brains. They focus on values and do a cost-benefit analysis of their actions or plans and make an account or calculation, not only for themselves but for the world as a whole. In delaying gratification and not sinning, the reward may be in the distant future in the world to come, but when we do good God supports us in this world so that we can do more mitzvoth and good - מצווה גוררת מצווה. What's more important than a future reward is the intrinsic reward of doing the mitzvah itself– שכר מצווה מצווה. The Talmud goes further and takes us out of the realm of the ' self 'and self -interest , even if the focus is on spiritual self- interest. The Talmud says; make a calculation, an account for the world. As an individual you can tip the scales of the whole world by doing a mitzvah. Our actions can impact on others, the community and society in either a positive or negative way. A concern for the community and a spirit of altruism should be guiding our behavior , and help us overcome any temptation.

In schools, there is a new focus to help children acquire ' grit' – the power of passion and perseverance. It is quite understandable that we should want kids to be able to persevere and persist at worthwhile tasks, but is grit a character trait that should be promoted by teachers without qualification - as a character trait that can stand alone? Grit is problematic in its own right in that not everything is worth doing, let alone for extended periods. Persistence can be counterproductive and unhealthy when a problem resists solution or persisting in a task no longer provides satisfaction and also one can end up with missing out on new opportunities. In schools the focus is on test-scores and compliance so ' grit' teaching promotes these limited goals and the focus on the process of learning, discovery, curiosity and collaboration, experimenting and being more interdisciplinary etc is pushed aside . When goal is persistence and it does not matter if the student's learning is driven by interest and passion, by a competitive spirit where others kids are seen as obstacles in your way to success or a desperate need to prove competence. The problem is that schools are focused just on fostering persistence and perseverance and ignore passion. Not all kids have the resources to find their passion, or teaching, coaching and mentoring to inspire them to keep digging in. The solution is not just in the individual kid, being able to persist and persevere but providing the ' structure' and resources that support passion and perseverance. And even when kids do display grit and do well in school, it does not guarantee a future if grit does not come with privilege. Kids need ' agency', the ability to leverage opportunities to change their circumstances, to acquire social capital and connections that will open doors for them. While children might believe that education works on the whole, he or she might not think that it works for him or her and that depends a lot on parent's level of education and whether peers are dropping out or graduating from school and furthering their studies. The Talmud Nedarim 81A says that educators should be zealous in teaching the poor and providing them with the resources and opportunities to succeed. This is learned from the verse in parashat Balak, Numbers 24:7 - Water = (the Torah) will drip from its well = mi'dalyo. We read this like mi'dalim, from poor people. הזהרו בבני עניים שמהן תצא תורה שנאמר יזל מים מדליו – מדלים ,שמהן תצא תורה .

Unlike the rich who can be very focused on what they have, the poor focus on who they are as people who love learning so they have the potential to become great Torah scholars.

In Parasha Balak, Bil'am says of the children of Israel –That God - He perceived no iniquity in Jacob, and saw no perversity in Israel Numbers 23:21 לֹלא הִבִּיט אָוֶן בְּיַעֲקֹב וְלֹא רָאָה עָמָל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל. The word a'mal = perversity has a second meaning – toil, work that is exhausting and laborious. Bil'am says that God sees no exhaustion, toil or drudgery in Israel's service of God and the learning and study of the Torah. Because they are whole-heartedly devoted and dedicated to doing the mitzvoth and learning Torah, and they do so with a passion, they are therefore tireless in its pursuit. Their passion fuels persistence and perseverance. And when there are challenges and obstacles in the way, self-discipline supports the intrinsic motivation and passion for what we do. Intrinsic motivation and passion is promoted when kids feel self-directed, autonomous, and competent and have a sense of belonging and support.

Self-discipline and self-control must be expressed in the context of a passion for values, of doing things that are worthwhile and making a contribution to others.

Germany rape law: 'No means No' law passed - even if victim did not fight back

BBC

Germany's parliament has passed a new law defining rape, clarifying that "No means No", even if a victim did not fight back.

Critics believe Germany has long lagged behind other developed nations when it comes to its rape laws.

The issue was again brought to the fore after a number of sex attacks on women in Cologne on New Year's Eve.The vote was passed by an overwhelming majority on Thursday in the Bundestag in the capital, Berlin. The new law classifies groping as a sex crime and makes it easier to prosecute assaults committed by large group. It also makes it easier to deport migrants who commit sex offences. [...]

"In the past there were cases where women were raped but the perpetrators couldn't be punished,'' Minister for Women Manuela Schwesig said.

"The change in the law will help increase the number of victims who choose to press charges, lower the number of criminal prosecutions that are shelved and ensure sexual assaults are properly punished."

What was under discussion?

Under the previous law, defined in Section 177 of the criminal code (in German), victims should have defended themselves for an act to constitute rape. Simply saying "No" was not sufficient to find the defendant guilty, and there was no attempt to define what constituted consent.

The inadequacy of the law meant many perpetrators got away with rape, according to a 2014 study of 107 cases by the German association of women's counselling centres and rape crisis centres (BFF).

The authors said that in every case, sexual assaults had been committed against the victim's unambiguous will, which had been communicated verbally to the perpetrator. However, they said, either charges were not filed or there was no court conviction.

The study went on to note that the law placed too much focus on whether the victim resisted and did not reflect real-life scenarios in which people were raped.

Only one in 10 rapes is reported in Germany currently, according to Germany's n-tv news website. And of those, the conviction rate is only 10%.[...]

Cologne sex attacks: MPs debate tougher laws

And, in a case that has sparked an outcry in Germany, two men were acquitted of drugging and raping German model Gina-Lisa Lohfink - despite having uploaded a video of what took place, in which she was reportedly heard saying, "Stop it, stop it" and "No".

Not only were the men cleared of wrongdoing, but Ms Lohfink was fined €24,000 (£21,000; $27,000) for falsely testifying.[...]

Campaigners say the new law is a good start, but does not go far enough.

They have expressed concern that the law will not give adequate protection to victims who cannot clearly convey their lack of consent - such as those who have been drugged.

There are also plans to tighten the law governing sexual harassment and group assaults. [...]

Chareidi man arrested for sexually assaulting chareidi minors on #418 Beit Shemesh-Jerusalem bus

update: Kikar HaShabbat is the source of this report

Arutz 7   A man in his 30s has been arrested on the suspicion of sexual assault of children on buses.

Police reported this morning (Thursday) that an arrest has been made in connection with an investigation into allegations of sexual assault of minors on a bus route operating between Beit Shemesh and Jerusalem.

According to the police report, the suspect has been frequenting the bus route, which caters to many young students traveling to schools and Yeshivas. He would sit next to a young boy, put his Teffilin bag on his lap, and touch his own genitals while touching the boy next to him.

The investigation was opened following an official complaint filed by one victim. Intelligence resources were brought to bear, and with the cooperation of influential community leaders in Beit Shemesh the police's efforts culminated in the suspect's arrest yesterday.

The police has called on other victims to come forward and file reports to help prosecutors build a case against the suspect.

The Deputy Commander of Beit Shemesh police said: "This is a severe matter. According to our findings we are dealing with a large number of victims. We were able to make the arrest thanks to the fruitful cooperation between the police and residents and community leaders in the city, this in addition to the professionalism of the investigators. The police will use all of it's resources to bring the man to justice."

According to reports by Kikar Hashabbat, the bus route is the 418, a "Mehadrin" route, meaning men and women sit in separate sections of the bus. The suspect was always dressed in haredi garb, according to the reports.

Crisis of Character:The Secret Service Officer Out to Get Hillary Clinton

Daily Beast  The battle is joined between a former uniformed Secret Service officer and Hillary Clinton’s presidential juggernaut.

Gary J. Byrne’s book-length hit job on the presumptive Democratic nominee, Crisis of Character, won’t be released until Tuesday, yet it is already a massive best-seller on Amazon, vying for the No. 1 spot day by day against J.K. Rowling’s latest Harry Potter adventure.

In a 2016 campaign that has repeatedly defied conventional wisdom and exploded historical norms, political operatives of the former first lady, senator and secretary of state find themselves going toe to toe in the media with a heretofore unknown retired government employee who—along with his publisher, Hachette’s Center Street division—hopes to sway the U.S. electorate on who should become the next leader of the free world… and make a bundle in the bargain.

Byrne’s sensational, gossipy and widely disputed allegations include claims that:

• He walked in on Bill Clinton making out with television personality Eleanor Mondale (the daughter of the former vice president who staunchly denied a romantic relationship with Clinton before she died of brain cancer in 2011).

• Byrne disposed of lipstick- and semen-stained towels from the president’s extra-marital trysts, and not just with Monica Lewinsky (a claim contradicted by his own testimony in sworn depositions, as BuzzFeed reported this week). 

• Hillary gave her husband a black eye during a rowdy argument in the White House residence and also hurled an antique vase at him; that the first lady was regularly foul-mouthed and abusive to her protective detail, throwing a Bible at one agent and driving many others to alcohol and hookers.

These and other spicy anecdotes in the book figure to become Republican talking points over the next five months.

Clinton’s all-but-certain opponent, Donald Trump, has been mentioning the book repeatedly on television, and even quoted the former Secret Service employee in his slash-and-burn “Crooked Hillary” speech on Wednesday, having started tweeting about Byrne’s book on June 6, right after the New York Post, the Daily Mail and the Drudge Report began dropping salacious tidbits.

Yet Team Clinton has been toiling assiduously—and in many cases, successfully—to limit the potential damage, issuing denunciations, fact sheets and, in the case of rightwing hit man-turned-Clinton acolyte David Brock, a meticulous 7,000-plus-word debunking, “Eight Things You Should Know about Crisis of Character,” from Brock’s pro-Hillary super-PAC Correct the Record.

ABC’s syndicated morning show, The View, devoted two Hot Topics segments to Crisis of Character on Wednesday, with Hillary supporters Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar on one side, and Paula Farris and Sunny Hostin on the other, debating the credibility of Byrne’s narrative.

Yet despite significant print media attention and an expectation of huge sales, the author has been consigned to hawking his book on Fox News and right-wing radio, while the non-Fox cable and broadcast networks have either passed or not responded to pitches from Byrne’s publicists.[...]

Byrne, who was unavailable for comment but joined Twitter this month to promote his book, spent three years of Bill Clinton’s presidency stationed outside the Oval Office—a low-level post that is not part of the elite protective detail.

Former agents insist it would not have put him in regular contact with the Clintons, but Byrne claims that it gave him intimate access to the first couple and their sometimes alarming personal quirks.

As Byrne prepares to launch his nationwide publicity tour—appearing Monday on Sean Hannity’s syndicated radio show and Fox News nighttime program, Tuesday on Megyn Kelly’s Fox News prime-time show, and Wednesday morning on Fox & Friends—Clinton campaign spokesman Nick Merrill is dismissing Crisis of Character as essentially a pack of lies, a sentiment echoed by a retired Secret Service supervisor who runs an association of former and current agents.

Former presidential protective division supervisor Jan Gilhooly, president of the Association of Former Agents of the U.S. Secret Service, theorized to Politico that Byrne is simply repeating the most outrageous Clinton White House rumors as fact and then fictionalizing his role in them.

“Did Gary Byrne hear an anecdotal story being told by a couple of agents? Maybe. But did Gary Byrne see it the way he’s purporting to have seen it? No way,” said Gilhooly, whose nominally non-partisan organization issued a lengthy statement this week casting doubt on Byrne’s motives, questioning his “veracity,” and accusing him of trying “to place a divide within the ranks of the Agency and attempt to erode the confidence of those protected by the Secret Service.” [...]

F.B.I. Chief to Explain Recommendation on Hillary Clinton Before Congress

NY Times

The F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, will testify before Congress on Thursday to explain his decision to recommend no criminal charges against Hillary Clinton, but the appearance will be only the beginning of the tests Republicans plan as they maneuver to capitalize on Mr. Comey’s rebuke of the presumptive Democratic nominee and her handling of classified emails.

Next week, Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch will be called before the House Judiciary Committee. A Senate panel is demanding F.B.I. answers to pointed questions on the former secretary of state’s private email server. House Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin even suggested that Mrs. Clinton be barred from classified briefings for the remainder of the presidential campaign.

Those moves could stretch out Mrs. Clinton’s email travails for weeks, if not months, alleviating some of the anguish among many Republicans, who believe their party’s presumptive nominee, Donald J. Trump, has failed to seize the remarkable opportunity presented by Mr. Comey’s reproach.

Instead of drawing sharp attention to what Mr. Comey called Mrs. Clinton’s “extremely careless” handling of 110 classified emails, and contrasting the F.B.I.’s findings with Mrs. Clinton’s shifting explanations of her use of a private email server, Mr. Trump responded tepidly on Twitter.

“The system is rigged,” he wrote. Referring to a case involving David H. Petraeus, the retired general and C.I.A. director, he added: “General Petraeus got in trouble for far less. Very very unfair! As usual, bad judgment.”

Veteran Republican campaign operatives said they were stunned that Mr. Comey’s announcement was not met with a battalion of well-credentialed Republican law enforcement and national security officials flooding televisions to raise questions about the inquiry and hammer Mrs. Clinton.

Nor were any talking points sent to leading Republican members of Congress offering guidance on the best lines of attack against Mrs. Clinton after what was a remarkably harsh assessment of her conduct. [...]

These efforts come with substantial risks for Republicans. Mr. Comey is a veteran law enforcement official who served as deputy attorney general in the George W. Bush administration and is highly regarded in both parties for his integrity and independence.

If he makes a convincing case for his decision on Thursday before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, it could make Republicans look foolish and bolster efforts by Democrats to put the email issue to rest.

Democrats were quick to accuse the Republicans of refusing to accept the F.B.I.’s recommendation, despite past praise for Mr. Comey. [...]

A spokesman for Mrs. Clinton, Brian Fallon, accused Republicans of flip-flopping. “For weeks, Republicans have said they trusted F.B.I. Director Comey to lead an independent review in Secretary Clinton’s emails,” Mr. Fallon said, “but now they are second-guessing his judgment because his findings do not align with their conspiracy theories.” [...]

Meir Pogrow: Rav Yizchok Berkovitz and Rav Reuven Leuchter discuss how to deal with the scandal

update: I was extremely disappointed by the words of both rabbis. They basically ignored what happened or perhaps never knew what really happened. They just used it as a spring board to talk about what we or teachers or kiruv workers need to do to avoid having temptation or charisma. There was no mention or awareness of the institutional setting of this scandal. There was no mention or awareness that Pogrow operated in an environment which failed to protect students from being harmed by him. There is no awareness or mention of the issue of abuse and seduction. In short there is absolutely no mention of anything which prevent another teacher destroying the lives of their students.

Does Ner Le'Elef actually talk about sexual abuse or is that viewed as a dirty topic which shouldn't be discussed in public.
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Ner Le'Elef    Less than two weeks ago, the Orthodox community learned of a terrible scandal, a lowlight for rabbis around the world, as the promiscuous and abusive escapades of a popular teacher/scholar were called out.  The whistleblowing was led by six geographically diverse senior rabbis, with broad-based affiliations in the Orthodox community.  The important news sent shockwaves through a community of students and teachers, many of whom were acquainted with, or even students of, the abuser.

The healing has just begun for the victims and their families, and even many rabbis previously unfamiliar with the case — and still modestly unaware of the tawdry details — were terribly unnerved by the vulgar news.  Many sought counsel to better understand the pathology of what had transpired, so that they might continue in their own noble work and the spiritual development of their communities without, G-d forbid, cultivating future potential scandals.

Olami, a movement dedicated to helping rabbis inspire growth in Jews of all backgrounds, arranged reflective lectures by two leading educational lights.  Rabbi Reuven Leuchter, the spritual guide of Ner Le’Elef and other educational institutions, spoke to rabbis and educators around the world on “Charisma and Control”, discussing the pathology and dynamics that nurture unhealthy rabbi-student relationships.  Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, rosh kollel of The Jerusalem Kollel,and a leading authority on Jewish Law and rabbinic training, spoke on “Moving on After Scandal and Tragedy”, instructing rabbis and educators on the “cheshbon hanefesh” (self-assessment) necessary to inspire growth in others by cultivating honest growth in oneself. [....]

Download Rabbi Reuven Leuchter, “Charisma and Control” by clicking here.

Download Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits, “Moving Forward After Scandal” by clicking here.

F.B.I. Findings Damage Many of Hillary Clinton’s Claims

NY Times   Is this proof that the leftist media ignores Clinton's problems?

================================

Even as he declined to recommend a criminal case against Hillary Clinton, the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, undercut many of the arguments she has used to play down her use of a private email server while secretary of state, describing a series of questionable, even reckless, decisions made by her and her aides.

At least 110 emails sent through her server contained information that was classified at the time it was sent, he said, meaning it should never have been sent or received on an unclassified computer network — not hers, not even the State Department’s official state.gov system.

That fact refutes the core argument she and others have made: that the entire controversy turned on the overzealous, after-the-fact classification of emails as they were being made public under the Freedom of Information Act, rather than the mishandling of the nation’s secrets.

Mr. Comey’s announcement was, arguably, the worst possible good news Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign could have hoped for: no criminal charges, but a pointed refutation of statements like one she flatly made last August. “I did not send classified material,” she said then.

“Even if information is not marked classified in an email, participants who know, or should know, that the subject matter is classified are still obligated to protect it,” Mr. Comey said, suggesting that Mrs. Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless in their handling of very sensitive, highly classified information.”

Mr. Comey said the emails included eight chains of emails and replies, some written by her, that contained information classified as “top secret: special access programs.” That classification is the highest level, reserved for the nation’s most highly guarded intelligence operations or sources.

Another 36 chains were “secret,” which is defined as including information that “could be expected to cause serious damage to the national security”; eight others had information classified at the lowest level, “confidential.” [...]

Trump and the star that winked at anti-Semitism::A letter published in his son-in-law's paper

Observer

An Open Letter to Jared Kushner, From One of Your Jewish Employees

Dear Mr. Kushner,

My name is Dana Schwartz and I’m an entertainment writer at the Observer, the paper owned by your publishing company. On July 2, as I’m sure you’re aware (and have probably been wringing your hands about for the last three days), your father-in-law Donald Trump tweeted out an image of Hillary Clinton in front of raining money with a six-sided star declaring she’s the “Most Corrupt Candidate Ever!”[...]

I responded to the meme, calling out its blatant anti-Semitic imagery because people can play ignorant, blame the corrupt liberal media for trying to “get” Trump, but it takes only a basic knowledge of world history or an understanding of how symbols work to see a wall of cash, a Star of David, and the accusation of corruption and not see the subtext.

But deny or play dumb as you might, when I tweeted out my response, my worst fears were realized: his message, whether purposeful or inadvertent, was met with cheers by those to whom that star’s message was certainly clear. Mr. Trump’s tweet was seen as a winking promise to this nation’s worst and most hateful individuals.

Here are just a tiny sample size of the responses I received: [...]

A few hours later, Trump deleted the original image and re-tweeted it out, this time with the star crudely covered by a circle (the tips of the star still visible), and a new hashtag: #AmericaFirst. Forgive me if I condescend in any way or explain what you already know, but I’m sure you’ve been busy lately so just a quick refresher: America First was a movement led primarily by White supremacist Charles Lindbergh advocating against American intervention during World War II. The Anti-Defamation League has previously asked that Trump refrain from the slogan due to its overt anti-Semitic implications.[...]

He and his campaign deny that the image—which had been found, previous to Trump’s tweet, on a white supremacist internet forum—has any Jewish implications at all. Instead of acknowledging the obvious, he and his campaign used it as an opportunity to undermine the free media in the style of the most dangerous regimes in history, and mock those like me, who had been getting strangers on the Internet telling her to put her head in the oven for the past day and a half.

Here are some of the excuses I’ve seen, both from Trump’s camp and Trump supporters:

“It’s available on Microsoft shapes.” There are a lot of symbols you can make on Microsoft Word, and sometimes symbols SYMBOLIZE ideas, concepts, or groups. A cross for instance. I feel silly explaining this to you. This explanation is so inane that I feel so condescending refuting it to you, ostensibly my boss, that it feels insubordinate. 

“It’s a sheriff star.” Because users on the white supremacist forums where this image was found were no doubt implying Hillary is in the pocket of the sheriffs. You know, sheriffs. The group stereotypically associated with greed and money. 

“He didn’t make it; he’s too busy to pay attention to everything he tweets out.” This is not an excuse for racism. Trump’s twitter account is seen by millions of people, and he is responsible for the message he’s sending to his supporters. Besides, Trump is running for president. Making mistakes because he wasn’t “paying attention” isn’t an excuse that qualifies him for the highest office in the land in any way. 

“It was an accident.” Then where is the apology?

These explanations are so facile, infantile in their blatant disregard for context or logic that I can only imagine them being delivered by someone doing so while grinning and winking. [...]

And then there’s the final explanation, the one most frequently cited by Trump’s most “reasonable” supporters on the Internet:

“Trump has a Jewish son-in-law, and granddaughter: he can’t be anti-Semitic.”

Mr. Kushner, I invite you to look through all of those images in the slideshow above, the vast majority sent in your father-in-law’s name. Right now, this hate is directed to one of your employees, but the message applies equally to your wife and daughter.

You went to Harvard, and hold two graduate degrees. Please do not condescend to me and pretend you don’t understand the imagery of a six-sided star when juxtaposed with money and accusations of financial dishonesty. I’m asking you, not as a “gotcha” journalist or as a liberal but as a human being: how do you allow this? Because, Mr. Kushner, you are allowing this. Your father-in-law’s repeated accidental winks to the white supremacist community is perhaps a savvy political strategy if the neo-Nazis are considered a sizable voting block—I confess, I haven’t done my research on that front. But when you stand silent and smiling in the background, his Jewish son-in-law, you’re giving his most hateful supporters tacit approval. Because maybe Donald Trump isn’t anti-Semitic. To be perfectly honest, I don’t think he is. But I know many of his supporters are, and they believe for whatever reason that Trump is the candidate for them. [...]

I can’t abide another defensive blame-shift to the media or to “politically correct culture gone amok.” David Duke, outspoken and explicit white supremacist, anti-Semite, and former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, saw the image your father-in-law tweeted out, and to him the message was quite clear to him. Those aren’t stereotypical “sheriff” hands in the corner.

The worst people in this country saw your father-in-law’s message and took it as they saw fit. And yet Donald Trump in his response chose not to condemn them, the anti-Semites who, by his argument were obviously misinterpreting the image, but the media. [...]

And now, Mr. Kushner, I ask you: What are you going to do about this? Look at those tweets I got again, the ones calling me out for my Jewish last name, insulting my nose, evoking the holocaust, and tell me I’m being too sensitive. Read about the origins of that image and see the type of people it attracted like a flies to human waste and tell me this whole story is just the work of the “dishonest media.” Look at that image and tell me, honestly, that you just saw a “Sheriff’s Star.” I didn’t see a sheriff star, Mr. Kushner, and I’m a smart person. After all, I work for your paper.

Edmund Burke once said, in times that are starting to seem more and more similar: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Well, here I am, and here we are. Both Jewish, both members of the media. And you might choose silence, but I’ve said my piece.

Respectfully,

Dana Schwartz

Knesset officials visit Ma'aneh - the haredi sexual assault victims center in Beit Shemesh

Arutz 7   The Knesset Special Committee for the Rights of the Child visited a Beit-Shemesh based organization dedicated to providing help and psychological treatment for haredi children and youth who've suffered sexual assault, the Haredim 10 website reported. The organization, named "Ma'aneh", is focused especially on dealing with the issue in the context of the complexities of haredi communities.

In today's (Tuesday) visit, Committee Chariman MK Yifat Shasha-Biton of Kulanu said: "In every place and in every sector of the population, it is our duty to confront this issue. We can't afford to sweep things under the carpet. Someone who's sexually assaulted a child once will do it again. Every community, secular, religious and haredi, has to find the best way to deal with these issues and confront them head on."

Beit Shemesh Mayor Moshe Abutbol approved of the committee's visit: "Sometimes we speak in different languages, but we all mean the same thing. We all want to eliminate this phenomenon, we just need to coordinate. The "Ma'aneh" center deals with all these kinds of matters, while cooperating with community Rabbis, so that they get to the root of the problem."

Ma'aneh CEO Aryeh Levi cited some statistics to convey the magnitude of the problem. "Since the institution opened in 2011, some 600 cases have been taken on, and some 400 of those were taken care of completely. The number of appeals for help we get is rising. We took on 182 cases in 2015 alone. It's very difficult for people from this community to ask for help in this matter."

Levi explained that Ma'aneh's activities were only made possible after an arduous process, in which the institution was made fit to operate in the local haredi community, and the consent of all community elements was obtained. Chief among these community elements are the rabbis. [...]

MK Shasha-Biton directed the Welfare Ministry to begin a dialogue with the Ma'aneh center. "There is no question that the treatment of sexual assault victims is a complex matter, especially within the haredi community. The Ma'aneh center has the ability to operate within the community and give the government authorities all the tools they need to deal with the issues. We all have to cooperate, everyone will benefit, especially the children."