Sheikh Jarrah Jews are restoring Jewish character to neighborhood

JPost

As condemnations over the eviction of two Arab families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah continued to pour in from around the world this week, renovations at a second disputed home on the other side of the east Jerusalem neighborhood were humming along unabated.

The home, which was the scene of multiple protests last week, is another tender nerve in east Jerusalem, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's statements that Jews may build anywhere in the capital have increasingly rubbed up against statements to the contrary from the United Nations, the United States and others in the international community.

While Palestinians view the increasing Jewish presence in east Jerusalem as a process of "Judaization" intended to jeopardize Palestinian claims, Jewish activists said that they see their work as a "re-Judaization" of an area that was once home to a vibrant Jewish community and has extensive Jewish roots.

"This used to be a Jewish neighborhood and this house belonged to Jews," right-wing activist Aryeh King said, as he sat outside the work site. King heads the Israel Land Fund (ILF), an organization that purchases land for Jews in east Jerusalem and is overseeing the renovations at the property.

"Before 1948, there was a Jewish community living in this section of Sheikh Jarrah, and we want to restore that," King said. "The Arabs that live here know the truth."

But Sheikh Jarrah residents last week told The Jerusalem Post that the home in question had belonged to an elderly woman, Mrs. Hijazi, who had recently passed away, and that the Jewish claimants had falsified ownership papers for the house.[...]

France asks clemency for Palestinian who plotted assassination of Rav O Yosef

Haaretz

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner appealed to Israel for clemency for a French-Palestinian who was jailed for his role in plotting the assassination of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Sarkozy's letter was delivered to the prime minister's bureau in Jerusalem on July 30 by way of the Israeli embassy in Paris just a few days after a similar letter was sent by Kouchner to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The unusual request was made after pro-Palestinian groups in France lobbied for the release of the Palestinian, whose imprisonment has been likened there to the captivity of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. [...]

See Middle East Post a Palestinian blog that explains their position

Abuse: Questions to ask your rabbi 2

Rav Pinchos Yehoshua HaCohain wrote in answer to: Questions to ask your Rabbi

1. In a case where a father finds out that his son is being molested by a teacher and this is corroborated by several of his classmates. The abuse has been going on for a number of months. Thus there is absolutely no question that the abuser is active and the danger is present for the foreseeable future. Since in my opinion I have clear and unequivocal evidence that the molesting is taking place - can I go directly to the police. Or do I need rabbinic approval first?

In item #1 of my first teshuva to the Moetzes, which you posted on your Blog, I addressed this. The Maharam m'Rizburk is quoted as the definitive Halacha that it is a Mitzva to Go directly to "Arkuos" eg the police. Please refer there for the sources-

--- Is there a difference whether the likelihood of another incident is clearcut and urgent or whether there is clearly time to consult rav?

The only time that one needs to consult a Rav first, is if it is absolutely clear that it will not occur again. Also mentioned in the above source material.

2. A person reported Reuben as an abuser or attacked Reuven because he reasonable thought Reuven was a rodef and needed to save Reuven's apparent victim from harm and he hurt Reuven in the process. It was discovered that the Reuven not in fact an abuser or rodef – is the person liable for damages? For example I see a man and woman fighting and the woman is screaming. I go over and warn to guy to stop but he tells me to mind my own business. the women seems to be in danger and the ownly way I can stop the attacker is by taking a baseball bat and knocking him out. It turns out they are married and the wife sues me for hurting her husband.

According to all poskim, he is definitely Potur. because he reasonable thought Reuven was a rodef") There is no dispute. see CM 380:3 from BK 117B and Sanhedrin 74a. It is Gemoros Mefuroshos. A Takonas Chazal that suspends Odom Muod L'Olam!

3. In a case where a rav said not to report a case of abuse and as a result the child suffered severe physical and psychological damage – is there any liability for either the rav or the person who listened to the rav?

Much to my chagrin, in the eyes of Halocho there would seem to be no fiscal culpability. I guess Hashem wants to deal with this Himself. The Rav is in violation of at least 2 Mitzvos Aseh and at least 2 Lo Saaseh. He may also incur upon himself an "Orur" - a Klolo. The Rav was guilty of a Hora'ah b'To'os. From the Shach CM #9 it would appear that this is a To'oh b'Dvar Mishna. His proof from Sanhedrin 32a concerning Rabi Tarfon would seem to be an even closer fit to our present discussion - after all Rabi Tarfon also was just unaware of some medical information. Even so it is of little consequence in regards to financial liability. The operative Psak, whether it be To'oh b'Dvar Mishna or To'oh b'Shikul HaDaas is that a 1) "Mumche" that 2) has Kobilu Olayhu or has Reshus, is not Chayov to pay any damages. The operative Halocho, in spite of many dissenting opinions is that he is NOT considered even a Garmi because he did not intend to be Mazik. Most Rabonim who pasken on these Shaalos today, fall under the rubric of Mumchoim (see Oruch Hashulchon CM 25 # 1) and Kobilu Olayhu (see Oruch Hashulchon CM 25 # 7) and therefore would escape financial liability. (Even if you could bring proof against the Aruch HaShulchon, the rav could patur himself with "Kim Li")Even though the Chazon Ish (Igros #31) and the Gro (Mishlei 6,4 & 22,12) are very critical of Dayonim/Poskim who are not well-informed in regards to the "Metzius" and are not up to date on the current scientific/ medical info, and as a result hand down erroneous Piskei Din; we would, nevertheless, be very hard-pressed to thereby demote the status of contemporary Rabonium to that of non-Mumche. Even if we could muster a cogent case to do so, they, nevertheless would, in all likelyhood, still be Potur, since in it is very unlikely that he will actually have personally handed the child directly to the molestor - ie only Noso v'Nosan b'Yad is Chayuv in this case (as per Aruch HaShulchon CM 25 # 9).he party who listened to the Rav likewise has no financial liability. He is an "Oness" having been misled by someone whom he thought was knowledgeable However, The Rav is in violation of at least 2 Mitzvos Aseh and at least 2 Lo Saaseh. (Hashovas Aveida and b'Tzedek Tishpot; Lo Saamod Al Dam Re'acho and Lo Saasu Ovel BaMishpot.) He may also incur upon himself an "Orur" - a Klolo. If he is opposed to becoming educated and informed (his attitude is contrary to the Gro and Chazon Ish above), then the reasoning in the Pesicha to Chofetz Chaim concerning the Arur's on Loshon Horo would equally apply here to "Oror Mateh Mishpot Ger Yosom v'Almono"

4. In a case where a person reasonable concluded that a child is being molested and a rav told him not to report it – should the person report it anyway?

Of course, he should ignore the rav and report it! The Rav's directive is a To'oh b'Dvar Mishna which is Chozar Dino-a non-hora'ah.

Israeli government skeptical about Bnei Anusim

Haaretz

The authorities would probably call the 30 U.S. citizens who scoured the Negev last week Christian tourists. But the members of the group think of themselves as American Marranos, and they are determined to return to the faith they say their ancestors were forced to renounce and strike root in Israel. Like Del and Helen Sanchez, who headed the group, most of the tourists grew up going to church on Sunday. Only recently did most of them discover what they call their "Jewish roots."And the trip to the Negev was the first step in a quest to realize the prophecy in Obadiah 1:20, stating that "the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad [Spain], will possess the cities of the Negev." The group was looking at places to settle as Jews in Israel. Like all the other members of the group, the Sanchezes believe that their ancestors were in fact Spanish and Portuguese Jews who escaped the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century to flee the Spanish Inquisition. Soon after arriving, some of these Jews found themselves once again under the rule of the Spanish conquistadors, who set up colonies in the Americas. [...]

Michael Freund encouraging descendants of anusim

Michael Freund helping descendants of Anusim

Converts: Racism & Judaism

Jewish Journal Aliza Hausman

Did you hear the one about the black Harvard professor who got arrested breaking into his own home? No, this is not a joke. It was the beginning of a Shabbos lunch that left me traumatized.

It's always the same. I feel safe, comfortable and carefree, and suddenly, punched in the gut, violated, uncomfortable, and all the cares of the world weigh on me. When I feel safe, I feel part of the Jewish community, but when I do not, I feel like an outsider on the outskirts, not fitting in.

My husband and I started speaking out about racism in the Jewish community when a friend asked us to speak at a synagogue in Washington Heights, in my hometown of New York City. As an interracial Jewish couple (my husband is white, I am Dominican), our friend was sure we'd have plenty to say. I wasn't. But as I started to write about my experiences in Washington Heights (from both white Jews, who thought I was dark and foreign, to Dominicans, who thought I was too light and American), I filled four single-spaced typed pages. I knew from the stories of other Jews of color that this meant I was lucky. I learned still others had been even luckier.[...]

Fatah conference - boosting its radical credentials

Time

President Obama's Middle East peace plan faces a key hurdle on Tuesday, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas convenes the first conference in two decades of his Fatah movement. The conference, to be held in the West Bank city of Bethlehem under heavy Palestinian Authority security, is seen as critical to the prospects of restoring Abbas' waning political legitimacy and authority. But early signs suggest that the conference will, if anything, weaken the Palestinian leader's ability to follow Washington's script.

Since the death of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, U.S. peace efforts have relied on the moderate and relatively pliable Abbas to negotiate a two-state agreement with Israel. But the prevailing view within Fatah is that Abbas has achieved precious little for his negotiation efforts, and that this has been a prime factor in weakening Fatah in the face of the challenge by its more militant rival, Hamas. The Islamists trounced Fatah in the last democratic elections for the Palestinian parliament in 2006, and many fear that a candidate backed by Hamas would likely beat Abbas in presidential elections currently scheduled for early next year. Much of the Fatah rank-and-file, and even many in the leadership, believe that the only way the movement can be saved is to break with American tutelage, and seek to reclaim the mantle of "resistance" from Hamas. The result is that the political statement adopted by the conference is unlikely to please the U.S. and Israel.

Indications from within Fatah suggest that the conference political document will reaffirm the Palestinians right to "resistance," specifying non-violent challenges to the occupation, but remaining silent on the question of armed resistance and the future of the Fatah-affiliated militants of the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade. It will flatly reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state," on the grounds that this undermines the rights of Palestinian refugees and of those with Israeli citizenship. It will also insist on a complete freeze on Jewish settlements in occupied territory as a precondition for any talks with Israel, which it will stress must be based on U.N. resolutions — which will include recognition of the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees expelled from Israel in 1948, a demand that Israel deems a deal-breaker.[...]

Woman accused of starving child - indicted

JPost

An indictment was served Tuesday in the Jerusalem District Court against a haredi woman suspected of starving her three-year-old child over a period of two years. The woman's internment sparked riots in Jerusalem which lasted nearly a week.

The mother is being accused of abusing a helpless infant. The ultra-Orthodox Toldot Aharon sect to which the woman belongs threatened to renew riots if she is remanded again or if the conditions of her house arrest are worsened.

The woman underwent a psychiatric evaluation last week and was found to be fit for trial.

Since her arrest, the mother has consistently refused to cooperate with investigators, and has been erratic in appearing for both court hearings and psychiatric evaluations.

Her son, who weighed just seven kilograms when he was admitted to Hadassha Ein Kerem Hospital at the end of June, was discharged last Friday to the care of relatives. He gained at least three kilograms while he was hospitalized.

At the end of June, Toldot Aharon members rioted throughout religious neighborhoods in the capital in protest of the arrest of the mother. Only after police released the woman to house arrest did the violence subside.

Throughout the saga, the mother has maintained her innocence, and has insisted that her child suffers from multiple illnesses which have caused him to eat improperly. [...]

Israel - Tom Friedman's advise to Obama

NYTimes

Israel and America are having one of those periodic marital spats they have had over the years, replete with "I-am-not-taking-any-more-of-your-guff" outbursts by Obama officials at American Jewish leaders, and, yes — it wouldn't be a real Israel-U.S. dust-up without it — Israeli accusations that Jewish Obama aides are "self-hating Jews," working out their identity crises by working over Israel. Having been to this play before, and knowing both families, I'd like to offer some free marriage counseling.

Here's what Israelis need to understand: President Obama is not some outlier when it comes to Israel. His call for a settlements freeze reflects attitudes that have been building in America for a long time. For the last 40 years, a succession of Israeli governments has misled, manipulated or persuaded naïve U.S. presidents that since Israel was negotiating to give up significant territory, there was no need to fight over "insignificant" settlements on some territory. Behind this charade, Israeli settlers bit off more and more of the West Bank, creating a huge moral, security and economic burden for Israel and its friends.

As Bradley Burston, a columnist for Israel's Haaretz newspaper, put it last week: "The settlement movement has cost Israel some $100 billion. ... The double standard which for decades has favored settlers with inexpensive housing, heavily subsidized social services, and blind-eye building permits has long been accompanied by a kid-gloves approach regarding settler violence against Palestinians and their property. ... Settlers and settlement planners have covertly bent and distorted zoning procedures, military directives, and government decrees in order to boost settlement, block Palestinian construction, agriculture, and access to employment, and effectively neutralize measures intended to foster Israeli-Palestinian peace progress."

For years, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the pro-Israel lobby, rather than urging Israel to halt this corrosive process, used their influence to mindlessly protect Israel from U.S. pressure on this issue and to dissuade American officials and diplomats from speaking out against settlements. Everyone in Washington knows this, and a lot of people — people who care about Israel — are sick of it.

The Times's Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, captured the we-are-untouchable arrogance of the settlers last week when he quoted Rabbi Yigael Shandorfi, leader of a religious academy at the settlement of Nahliel, calling Mr. Obama in a speech "that Arab they call a president."[...]

8 dead from false rumor of Koran desecration

Times on line

Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burnt to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.

Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, set alight dozens of Christian homes in Gojra town at the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.

The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. "They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses," Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. "We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action," Mr Masih said.

Police and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead could be in the dozens as many bodies were still buried under the rubble.Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities, said that 40 Christian homes were torched in rioting. He said there was no truth to allegations that a Koran had been defiled, and accused the police of ignoring his appeal to provide protection to Christians. [...]

Blaming marriage problems as excuse for failure

NYTimes

LET'S say you have what you believe to be a healthy marriage. You're still friends and lovers after spending more than half of your lives together. The dreams you set out to achieve in your 20s — gazing into each other's eyes in candlelit city bistros when you were single and skinny — have for the most part come true.

Two decades later you have the 20 acres of land, the farmhouse, the children, the dogs and horses. You're the parents you said you would be, full of love and guidance. You've done it all: Disneyland, camping, Hawaii, Mexico, city living, stargazing.

Sure, you have your marital issues, but on the whole you feel so self-satisfied about how things have worked out that you would never, in your wildest nightmares, think you would hear these words from your husband one fine summer day: "I don't love you anymore. I'm not sure I ever did. I'm moving out. The kids will understand. They'll want me to be happy."

But wait. This isn't the divorce story you think it is. Neither is it a begging-him-to-stay story. It's a story about hearing your husband say "I don't love you anymore" and deciding not to believe him. And what can happen as a result.[...]

Tax fraud schemes steal millions

Haaretz JPost YNet NYTimes

The police arrested a number of Israelis and Americans who allegedly defrauded U.S. tax authorities, Army Radio reported on Monday.

The suspects are alleged to have masterminded a scheme whereby they fraudulently obtained tax refunds totaling tens of millions of dollars which were then transferred to various bank accounts in Israel.

A hearing is scheduled for Monday afternoon in the Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court, where the suspects will be arraigned.

The affair follows a similar case last month in which 11 Israelis were arrested for allegedly swindling elderly Americans out of more than $25 million in a telemarketing sting.

Prosecutors sought court approval to extradite the 11 people who are wanted in the United States.

Criminal indictments unsealed in a district court in Manhattan last month accuse 12 people of phoning victims in the United States and falsely telling them they had won an international lottery.[...]

Burial Societies - consequences of their demise

NYTimes

Someone was buried in Florence Marmor's grave, and it was not Florence Marmor.

When Mrs. Marmor visited her deceased husband's cemetery plot in Flushing, Queens, one afternoon, she found that someone had been freshly buried in the spot next to his, where she had planned to rest someday. No one could tell her why.

Strange and wrenching discoveries like that have sprung up repeatedly in Jewish communities over the past few decades as families have discovered that the cemetery properties where they expected to be buried among spouses, children and parents are caught in a legal knot that no one can untangle.

The reason: the Jewish burial societies that sold the gravesites no longer have administrators. Founded by the immigrant ancestors of the people caught in this bind, the societies, in effect, have died. [...]