Jewish Exponent reports Friedman assault

Jewish Exponent   The man who is at the center of a controversy for refusing to grant his ex-wife a get, or a Jewish divorce, was allegedly assaulted two weeks ago in Bala Cynwyd after dropping his 4-year-old daughter at her grandmother's house. 

At least one blogger has hinted that the alleged assailants may have been supporters of the victim's ex-wife, but a group that lobbies on behalf of agunot, or "chained women" who are denied divorces, says that's unlikely.

The alleged incident took place on a residential street at 6 p.m. on July 29, according to Tom Walsh, a spokesman for the Lower Merion Township. The police department does not release the names of victims, but Friedman told the Jewish Exponent that he was the one attacked. [...]

Rabbi David Eidensohn of Monsey, N.Y., who has spoken on behalf of Friedman, said the man has been shunned in the Orthodox establishment. His brother, Daniel Eidensohn, has blogged extensively about the alleged incident at daattorah.blogspot.com. 

"There were two or three people dressed in black who attacked me, at least one of whom was wearing a mask," Friedman said of the incident, which occurred on Tisha B'Av. "I had to go to the hospital afterwards. I was hit pretty hard. I was able to get away."

Walsh said there were "no weapons seen and the victim said there was no verbal communication." He added that no one has been arrested and an investigation remains ongoing.
 

Early Divorce for "trivialities" amongst Orthodox Jews

crosscurrents  Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein

Shaya Ostrov, an Orthodox marriage counselor, relates how he was told recently by someone he was counseling, “So what if I get divorced? Most of my friends already are, and they’re waiting for me to join them.” And this from a young kallah: “I’m not thrilled by his looks, and I don’t see why I should settle. Most of my friends have broken engagements and seem to be doing just fine. According to Rabbi Weinberger, a shocking percentage of the young divorces are over “trivialities,” not triggered by the serious issues that typically compromise marriages of middle-aged couples, such as familial trauma, unremitting financial pressure, or an affair. As an example of such “trivialities,” Shaya Ostrov cites a young kallah from a “heimish” background who decided her chosson was too boring because he did not fully appreciate her love of bungee jumping.

Rabbi Doniel Frank points out [that] for those couples who have not navigated the developmental stages leading to young adulthood, expanded pre-marital training will be neither welcome nor engaging, and is unlikely to have much impact. More and more of our young people have not passed those stages. In an era in which social scientists speak of a period of “emerging adulthood” (which resembles an extension of the teenage years) into the late twenties, it is hardly surprising that the Orthodox community should have been adversely affected, and with particularly tragic results due to the societal norm of comparatively early marriage.
As noted by Dr. Yitzchak Schechter and others, too many Orthodox young people enter marriage with unrealistic expectations of instantaneous bliss and without any commitment to the hard work necessary to build and sustain a marriage. They have never had to work hard for anything in their lives or been forced to deal with situations outside of their “comfort zone.”

Shmuli Margulies, the founder of MESILA, an organization that trains individuals and families in issues connected to money management, points out that even the basic principle of financial education – a person’s spending is determined by his income – is unfamiliar to many young couples. Spending decisions are dictated more often by what their friends and neighbors have than by what they can afford.
But the problem goes deeper than that many of our children are spoiled and overprotected, argues Rabbi Frank. Many Orthodox young people have never adequately developed a sense of their own individuality (Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky once described every yeshiva as, to a greater or lesser extent, a “S’dom bed,” in which students are cut to the needs of the institution). And this lack of self-knowledge is expressed in deficits in their ability to make decisions, set goals, establish priorities, and plan for the future – all of which are crucial to a successful marriage. When it comes to shidduchim, they have long lists of what they want but a much weaker sense of what they have to offer a spouse.

As summed up by Dina Schoonmaker’s title “Marriage Preparation Begins at Age Two,” children must learn early in life that their emotional state need not be determined by whether they attained some desired object or not, and taught techniques in controlling their emotional states.

Rabbinic Court allegedly ignored testimony on pedophile rapist

Haaretz  The Jerusalem Rabbinic Court allegedly ignored evidence of serious sex crimes perpetrated by a teacher in an ultra-Orthodox elementary school for boys, Haaretz has learned.

The police found out about the alleged crimes only 18 months after the religious court was first informed of them, and indicted the teacher last month.

The teacher, Gil Goren, 45, lived and taught in a settlement in the northern West Bank. In 2010 a soldier living in the community said that Goren had raped him when he was a teen, but initially refused to file a police complaint.  [....]

Nir Alfasa, the Public Defender's Office attorney representing Goren, said the evidence in the case was "old and very shaky by the time the rabbinic court was made aware of it and therefore the police were not involved, since the complaint was made anonymously."

Alfasa said his client would respond to the charges in court and that for the past two years "harmful behavior had not repeated itself."

Hassidic couple on cruise- documentary

YNet  Bedroom. An ultra-Orthodox couple belonging to the Hassidic Gur dynasty is packing for a two-week cruise in the Mediterranean. She complains he is squishing her wig; he chides her for taking too many hangers. The shtreimel fur hat, still carefully wrapped ahead of a romantic stroll in Venice, is proudly displayed on its new owner's head. All this takes place in front of a filmmaker who is, in any way, an "ultimate stranger."

That is the opening scene of the fascinating British documentary "Kosher Cruise," which aired on Israel's Yes Doco channel for the first time last week. As the film unfolds, that intimate scene will signify the beginning of an in-depth look into the relationship of an ultra-Orthodox couple – Gaby and Tikwah Lock, who have been married for 40 years.

תקדים: ראב"ד העדה החרדית תוקף בחריפות את 'אתרא קדישא

KikarShabbat

ראב"ד 'העדה החרדית' הגאון רבי משה שטרנבוך תוקף בחריפות את ארגון "אתרא קדישא", שמארגן הפגנות סתמיות ומיותרות נגד חילולי קברים כביכול, ואף רומז כי אנשי הארגון שיקרו את מרן הגר"ש וואזנר וגרמו להוצאת נפטרים יהודים ממנוחתם. המכתב המלא (חדשות, חרדים)

Is the paiche fish kosher?

Time Magazine   The paiche, also known as pirarucu or by its scientific name, arapaima gigas, can grow up to 10 feet and weigh up to 500 pounds.  It is sought out for its tasty white meat. Barely changed from the Miocene era (which ended more than 5 million years ago), the living fossil is easy to catch with a harpoon or net because it has to come to the surface to breath. Other fish breathe underwater, taking oxygen from water through their gills.

The combination of taste and the ease with which it is landed nearly led to the demise of the paiche, which is included on a list of controlled species by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Antipsychotic Prescriptions in Children Have Skyrocketed

Time Magazine  There is much evidence that the vast increases in atypical antipsychotic prescribing in recent decades were fueled by the aggressive marketing tactics of drug companies. In recent years, every major manufacturer of atypical antipsychotics has been involved in the illegal marketing of the drugs (while doctors can prescribe drugs off label, it is against the law for drug makers to market them for off-label uses), each ultimately paying hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in fines for their sales and marketing tactics. The settlements with the U.S. government were among the largest in history.

The new study, published in the Archives of General Psychiatry, found that in 2005-09 nearly two thirds of all antipsychotic prescriptions for youth were written for ADHD and other disruptive behavior disorders; these conditions accounted for 34% of all antipsychotic prescriptions for teens. Yet there is little data supporting the safety or efficacy of the drugs for those conditions. The drugs’ effect on children’s brain development is also not known, but their side effect profile is clear: aytpical antipsychotics are known to cause weight gain and diabetes, side effects to which children seem particularly prone.

“As the actual evidence base that would support [such off-label prescriptions of antipsychotics] is scant to non-existent, and the evidence of permeating undue influence of pharma on prescribing practices in psychiatry is abundant, one is led to the conclusion that this is another example of irrational prescribing that can be traced to both the overt and tacit influence of [drug companies] on practitioners,” says Dr. Bruce Perry, a senior fellow at the ChildTrauma Academy. [Full disclosure: Perry and I have co-authored two books.]

Perry testified for the state of Texas in a case that resulted in a $158 million settlement with Johnson and Johnson in January to resolve claims that it fraudulently marketed Risperdal and swindled the state’s Medicaid program. One aspect of the case involved misleading claims about the drug’s effectiveness for behavior disorders in children.

First indictment in police pedophile sting operation

 YNet  Last month, police arrested more than 30 suspects as part of an extensive undercover investigation, headed by the National Fraud Unit, and described as the first and largest of its kind to ever take place in the country. 

The majority of the suspects have no criminal record; and include students, civil servants, a defense establishment official, a former police officer and an agronomist – to name a few.

According to the police, they range in age from 20-57 and reside all over Israel. "We can't put our finger on anything specific and say 'this is the profile,''" a source privy to the investigation said.  

A first indictment was filed in the pedophile affair which was exposed through a police sting. A 57-year-old Jerusalem resident was accused of speaking to a police agent masquerading as a 12-year-old boy and setting up a meeting with the intention of having sexual intercourse.

Aharon Friedman beaten when returning child to wife

Washington Jewish Week by Suzanne Pollak  Aharon Friedman, the target of much criticism and ostracism for not giving his former wife a get, a Jewish religious divorce, was allegedly beaten up last Sunday as he returned their daughter to her mother's Pennsylvania home, according to several sources. 

A spokeswoman for the Lower Merion police department said the matter "was under investigation. There is a report out there, but we are unable to release it."

According to two people who telephoned Washington Jewish Week as well as a posting on the blog Daas Torah, Friedman went to the home of Cheryl Epstein, where his former wife, Tamar, and their child currently live. As he was leaving the property, Friedman was assaulted by two or three people, one of whom was wearing a mask.

Friedman, who lives in Silver Spring, is said to have been hit on the head and knocked to the ground, causing his glasses to be smashed.

Following the incident, Friedman went to the police department and to the hospital where he underwent a CT scan.

Rabbi David Eidensohn of Monsey, N.Y., who has written about Epstein's quest for a get, called WJW after learning of the incident. He stressed that a forced get is invalid. He called on those involved in the incident, in which he included anyone who egged people on to violence, to refrain.

He specifically pointed to Rabbi Hershel Schachter, one of the leading rabbis of the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) at Yeshiva University in New York. Rabbi Schachter has come out strongly against men who refuse to give a get in letters, videos and audio tapes posted on the Internet.[...]

Livni to CNN: Netanyahu sold Israel to haredim

YNet  In the interview , Livni attacked the Likud party for "surrendering to the haredim" and granting them a monopoly on the Jewishness of the State of Israel.

"Politically speaking, Israel is being sold to the ultra-Orthodox," Livni told Amanpour, adding that "the ultra-Orthodox represent a small portion of the Israeli society. They represent part of our history and tradition, but unfortunately they now have more power than they should."

“Netanyahu said himself, that for him politically, the ultra-Orthodox are his natural partners. And I believe that the raison d’etre of the State of Israel is to be the homeland of the Jewish People," she said adding that "for me being a Jewish state means something from a national perspective, not a religious one.”

Addressing the issue of the haredi military draft, Livni said that "each and every Israeli citizen needs to contribute to the society in which we live in. Unfortunately, because of political reasons, the State gives them (haredim) the monopoly, and this must be changed."

Hareidi radio fires talk show host who called Religious Zionism - "cancer"

YNet  Haredi radio station Kol Barama has decided to fire a radio talk show host after he offended leaders of the religious Zionist movement.

In his radio show, focusing on Jewish faith and national issues," anchor Avraham Tamir said that religious Zionism is "'a cancer at the body of the Jewish faith," and that "its rabbis are criminals, trying to bring down Jewish faith."

Tamir's radio program was part of a series of conversations about the "national rift" and the issue of the universal draft. Referring to Rabbi David Stav, who called upon haredim to enlist in the IDF, Tamir said he was "either a heretic or a fool, and most likely both." And to Rabbi Eliezer Melamed, who also encouraged haredim to join the army, Tamir referred as a "brat" and a "fool."

Chasidic hats - made in Spain

NYTimes  But despite the Spanish economic crisis, the hat company is thriving, thanks to an unlikely revenue base: the sales of thousands of black hats each year to Satmar Hasidic Jews in Jerusalem and Brooklyn.

“They are saving us in the crisis,” said Miguel García Gutiérrez, 35, the managing director of the Roche factory, officially known as Industrias Sombrereras Españolas, which operates in an industrial park in Salteras, about nine miles outside Seville. “We have an important market in Spain for traditional hats, but with the crisis those sales have fallen for the last three years, between 20 and 30 percent. But our exports are rising for hats for Orthodox Jews.”

Child prostitution ring & Islamophobia

BBC with background by  Skylar Curtis

The men, from Rochdale and Oldham, "groomed" girls, one as young as 13. 

Liverpool Crown Court heard the men plied their victims with drink and drugs so they could "pass them around" and use them for sex.

The case, involving Asian defendants and white victims, sparked protests by far-right groups but police insist the grooming was not "racially motivated".

The offences which centred on Heywood included rape, trafficking girls for sex and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child.

A failed police investigation in 2008 allowed the abuse to go undetected for another two years. 

Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of of the Ramadhan Foundation, accused Pakistani community elders of "burying their heads in the sand" on the issue of on-street grooming.

"There is a significant problem for the British Pakistani community," he said.

"There should be no silence in addressing the issue of race as this is central to the actions of these criminals.

"They think that white teenage girls are worthless and can be abused without a second thought; it is this sort of behaviour that is bringing shame on our community."

Jerusalem Police commander & sexual harassment

YNet  Jerusalem District Police Commander Niso Shaham, who is suspected of sexual offences against seven female subordinates, was interrogated for hours by the Police Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the decision not to press criminal charges against Jerusalem Periphery Police Commander Nissim Edri, who failed to report the alleged sexual misconduct of Shaham, stirred controversy among top police officials.

"It's very difficult to understand this decision, especially since this is an officer who is supposed to be the leading authority of everything that has to do with ethics," a senior police officer told Ynet.