Muslim Employee of Kosher Market in Paris Praised for Hiding Customers From Gunman

NY Times  As the authorities in France worked on Saturday to piece together the sequence of events at a kosher supermarket in Paris where a gunman and four hostages were killed on Friday, there was an outpouring of praise online for a young employee credited with saving the lives of some customers by hiding them in a cold-storage room.

The employee, Lassana Bathily, 24, was identified in the French news as a Muslim from Mali who worked at the supermarket, Hyper Cacher, near the Porte de Vincennes in eastern Paris.

In an interview with the French channel BFMTV, Mr. Bathily said he ushered about 15 people into the basement room after the gunman burst into the shop. He then turned off the power and the lights.

Личная война Бесс Александер - Schlesinger Twins

Relevant Info  (posted with permission of the author - Google Translate does a good job)

В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению. 

Жила-была в Манчестере девушка по имени Бесс Александер, религиозная еврейка, окончившая Кэмбриджский университет.  И однажды она познакомилась в Париже с доктором из Австрии, Михаэлем Шлезингером, тоже ортодоксальным евреем, принадлежащим к одной из наиболее влиятельных и богатых семей в Австрии. Бесс поспешила выйти за него замуж. Вскоре она поняла, что совыршила ужасную ошибку. Муж издевался над ней, угрожал и бил, даже после рождения детей – близнецов Самуэля и Бенжамина. В 2010 году Шлезингер попытался добиться госпитализации жены в психиатрической лечебнице закрытого типа, но вместо этого полиция удалила из дома его, посчитав, что его поведение представляет угрозу для жены и детей. Доктор бил не только жену, но также и своего тестя, и даже собственного отца.

Шлезингер позвонил судье Верховного суда Австрии, своему близкому другу Констанзе Тау, и поросил ее поговорить с судьей, которая вела его дело о насилии в семье и разводе, Сюзанне Готтлихер. После встречи друх судей, Готтлихер изменила своё мнение и постановила, что отныне Бесс не будет иметь полной опёки над детьми, как было решено раньше. Половину времени они будут проводить с отцом. Бесс был перекрыт выезд за границу. Слушания в суде не было – судья приняла это решение за кулисами. В 2011 году Шлезингер потребовал психиатрической экспертизы для своей бывшей жены. Экспертизы была проведена на немецком языке, которым Бесс почти не владеет. Психиатр ( состоящий в штате судьи Констанзы Тау) пришел к выводу о её неадекватности, основываясь на том, что она отвечала медленно и неуверенно… Вам это ничего не напоминает, уважаемые читатели?

Неоднократно проведенные независимые экспертизы показали, что Бесс вполне адекватна и способна заботиться о детях. Несмотря на это, судья Готтлихер вынесла постановление о передаче детей под полную опеку Шлезингера. Дети были букально вырваны из её рук полицией. Несчастная женщина подавала одну апелляцию за другой, включая Верховный Суд Австрии , но ни одна из них не была рассмотрена, без объяснения причин.

Дети находятся под надзором няньки-филипиннки, не говорящей ни на одном из европейских языков. Отец детей отменяет все посещения матери – за последние несколько лет он отменил 50 визитов (!)- за которые она должна платить центру посещений – 40 евро за визит, вне зависимости от того, состоялась ли встреча в детьми.

В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению.

Доктор Шлезингер отказался комментировать состояние, в которм находятся его дети. (История его семьи может пролить свет на его поведение. При разводе его родителей его мать получила все права на детей и не давала отцу видеться с ними. До сегодняшнего дня он не поддерживает отношений с отцом и ненавидит его – в сущности, совершенно незнакомого человека).

Как известно, Британские официальные лица, и уж тем более правительство, крайне неохотно вмешиваются в то, что происходит с их гражданами за границей. Но в этом случае злоключения гражданки Великобритании заслужили внимание членов Парламента и обсуждение в Палате Общин. Грахам Стрингер, депутат Парламента назвал случай Бесс Шлезингер «Кафкианским» и «недоступным пониманию». В докладе в Палате Общин Стрингер рассказал депутатам о сотоянии детей, о том, что у одного из мальчиков отсутствуют 4 передних зуба, а у второго – два, без всяких на то медицинских оснований. Судья Готтлихер отклонила раппорт из ясель малышей, в котором говорилось о том, что они плачут и прячутся при виде отца. Дети серьёзно отстают в развитии – чего не наблюдалось, когда они жили с матерью – и черезвычайно травмированы.

Бесс рассказала в интервью HuffPost UK, что её семья готовит иск в Европейский Суд по правам человека, при помощи Британского правительства. (Что само по себе очень необычно и доказывает неординарность этого случая).

Бесс борется за право быть матерью своим детям уже 3 года.

В статье, написанной самой Бесс, она расказывает о невыносимой боли разлуки с детми, о их дне рождения, праздниках и семейных торжествах, проходящих без них. О том, как она вернулась на Рош Га-Шана в Манчестер, чтобы не быть одной на праздники, и как рыдала в объятиях своей матери в синагоге, когда трубили в Шофар. О двойной боли ее матери – за дочь и за внуков.

Шлезингер утверждает, что Бесс отошла от религии (что не соответствует действительности,) и община Вены отвернуласть от неё, оклеветанной чужестранки, по указанию раввинов.

При чём тут мы и Израиль, скажут читатели.

Все евреи ответственны друг за друга, и когда где-то совершается зло, мы не имеем права просто стоять и смотреть. Евреи диаспоры и Израиля всегда связаны. И не только в таких случаях, как дело Полларда, когда человек пожертвовал всем ради Израиля, но и в таких, когда вроде бы Израилю нет до этого никакого дела.

Очень часто зло совершается совсем рядом с нами. Бесс – далеко не единственный человек, пострадавший от произвола чиновников, коррупции, лжи и поклёпа. Наверняка каждый из нас знает о случаях, когда это происходило в Израиле. Особенно страдают иностранцы и олим, не говорящие на иврите. Об одной из них я расскажу в следующей статье.

Бесс и её семья просят, чтобы о её истории узнали как можно больше людей. Никому не известно, где найдётся человек, который сможет ей помочь. Все материалы для этой статьи находятся в открытом доступе в Интернете, на сайте семьи Александер и в Британской прессе.

Setting a Personal Example - reasons why it doesn't always work by Allan Katz

 Guest post by Allan Katz 

Setting a personal example is said to be crucial in the parenting or educating children. However, there are many kids and students who are being raised and educated in an environment where parents and teachers are setting great personal examples and yet it has no impact on these kids or on students.  So what is the problem?

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Setting a personal example is said to be crucial in the parenting or educating children.  Albert Einstein   said  - “Setting an example is not the main means of influencing others, it is the only means.”

 For sure the ' Do as I say and not Do as I do '   attitude and approach of care givers just undermines the credibility and authenticity of a parent and teacher. However, there are many kids and students who are being raised and educated in an environment where parents and teachers are setting great personal examples and yet it has no impact on these kids or on students.  So what is the problem?

The problem is the behaviorist nature of ' setting a personal example'. Education is not about a passive student or child absorbing information but a child and student actively noticing what is happening around them and then making meaning of this. In order to learn from the personal example of a parent, teacher or Rabbi, the child needs to notice and to be sensitive to the nuances and the motives behind the behavior or personal example set by his parent, teacher etc. One can only benefit from ' Shimush Talmeidi Chachamim ', being an apprentice to great sages or being exposed to them if one keenly observes and is sensitive to the example they set.  Education is not only noticing the inconsistencies and incongruent passages or words in a text, but to notice them in situations and on peoples' faces. Kids and students don't learn from 'personal example ' because they are simply not sensitive enough to be aware of what is happening and certainly they are not in a position to reflect and learn from personal example.

The portion-parasha of Shemot has examples where actively noticing something peculiar in the environment actually changed history. Pharaoh's daughter noticed a basket hidden among the reeds. This led her to being a mother to Moses – the future savior and redeemer of the Israelites in Egypt. Moses himself while looking after Yitro- Jethro's flocks in the desert noticed a fire, a burning bush. This excited his curiosity. He went to investigate and he saw that the bush was burning but not being consumed .If he would not have noticed the bush, he would not have experienced God's revelation and accepting the leadership role to take the Israelites out of Egypt.  As they journey towards Mount Moriah, the place where the 'Akeidat Yitzchak' – the binding of Isaac would take place, Abraham and Isaac notice a cloud hovering over the mountain. Abraham says – do you notice what I see and Isaac says yes. Abraham asks the same question to his 2 attendants and they did not see anything unique. This ability to notice reflected on Isaac's spiritual insight which made him fit to be an offering, while the attendants who did not notice could not continue the journey.

Kids and people have a problem about being grateful and expressing gratitude. As a sign of gratitude, Moses does not execute the plague of blood that turned the Nile and other water resources into blood, and the plague of lice that infected the dust and ground, because he was saved by the Nile and he hid the dead Egyptian in the sand. In order to be grateful and express gratitude - ha'carat ha'tov  in  Hebrew, one has to be aware and recognize the good that was done. People simply are not aware and don't see the good done to them. This is reinforced by the fact that people don't like to feel indebted to others so we tend to subconsciously minimize or ignore the good done to us.

We are told in the Ethics of our Fathers that a wise person learns from every person. The difficulty people have in learning from the example of others is that they t end to be very judgmental and only notice things that already fit in with their  world view and justify their  opinions about  people and events. This is very true if kids don't have a good relationship with parents and teachers and don't see them as their teachers and guides. Kids must have a good relationship with parents and teachers and seek relationship in order to   benefit from the example set by care givers and teachers.

Setting an example is not enough. We have to bring kids ' behind the scenes ' and share our thinking, our motives and values behind our decisions and actions. We can share our dilemmas, our concerns and perspectives and get a kid's input as well. Kids can also pick up our attitude, enthusiasm and why we feel joy and privilege in what we do. The best way to set an example is to get them involved with us, cooperating and collaborating when appropriate and solving problems in a collaborative way. In this way, we teach them the skills needed for their lives, adult life and marriage.

Is vaccination required/permitted? Rav Eliashiv's view

 update see Wikipedia - vaccine controversies
 Regarding the discussion about medical procedures such as genetic testing or vaccinations, I was sent this recording of Rabbi Tatz discussing the issue of vaccinations in a situation where is is accepted in the general population to vaccinate children. He asked Rav Eliashiv who paskened that if everyone does it then it is permitted without evaluating the risks.

The discussion of vaccinations starts at about 27 minutes

New Genetic Tests for Women Who Are Expecting

Wall Street Journal   Women expecting a baby or planning a pregnancy are being pitched a fast-growing array of tests to check if they are carriers for hundreds of mostly rare genetic diseases.<

Such genetic testing, called carrier screening, has long been targeted mainly at people of certain ethnic groups such as Ashkenazi Jews, who are at higher risk for some conditions such as Tay-Sachs disease. Now, companies that offer carrier screening are promoting the idea that testing everyone for many diseases is a more effective way to reduce the number of babies born with serious disorders, including cystic fibrosis, a life-limiting lung condition, and Canavan disease, a fatal neurological disorder.

“We have the technology and it’s affordable enough that we don’t need to put people into ethnic categories,” says Shivani Nazareth, director of women’s health for Counsyl Inc., in South San Francisco, Calif., one of the largest carrier-screening companies. “If we can offer the same panel to everyone, it’s so much more efficient.”

Scientists keep identifying new gene mutations, or variations, associated with specific diseases. Advances in DNA technology allow companies to quickly screen large numbers of people, using saliva or blood samples, to determine if parents could pass the genetic variations to their children.

Counsyl offers tests that aim to detect heightened genetic risk for at least 98 different diseases, for between $599 and $999. Another company, Gene by Gene Ltd., of Houston, plans in the next few months to introduce First Look, a test billed as the most comprehensive on the market that can screen for more than 300 diseases. The company expects the price could be close to $1,500.[...]

Ashkenazi Jews, those hailing from Eastern Europe, have long been tested for about 20 genetic disorders including Tay-Sachs disease, Canavan disease and familial dysautonomia, a neurological condition. New York’s Mount Sinai Medical Center recently expanded its screening for this group to include 38 possible diseases, after the hospital’s genetic testing laboratory found these patients are at increased risk of being a carrier for a wider range of genetic conditions than previously thought.

Mount Sinai also offers for as much as $1,000 broader carrier screening to all women, Jewish or not, for a total of 111 disorders. “If you want to know your carrier status for a larger number of diseases, do the all-inclusive testing,” says Lisa Edelmann, director of Mount Sinai’s genetic testing lab. “So many people don’t really know their full ancestry. I know on one side that I am a quarter Italian and at least a quarter Polish, but the other half is not as clear.” [...]

Prince Andrew sex claim: Alan Dershowitz threatens action : Destroying reputations with unsubtantiated allegations

BBC  A US lawyer says he is planning legal action against a woman who claims she was forced to have sex with him and Prince Andrew when she was a minor.

Alan Dershowitz told the BBC he wanted her claims to be made under oath.

He and the Duke of York were named in documents filed in a Florida court over how prosecutors handled a case against financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Buckingham Palace has denied the woman's claims that she was forced by Epstein to have sex with Prince Andrew.

On Saturday, the palace issued a further statement, in which it "emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship" with the woman.

The Mail on Sunday has identified the claimant as Virginia Roberts, but the BBC has not been able to verify her identity. 

The woman behind the allegations says she was forced to sleep with the prince when she was under age, and on three occasions - in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein - between 1999 and 2002.

Mr Dershowitz, a former Harvard Law professor, said he intended to legally challenge the woman's allegations. 

"My goal is to bring charges against the client and require her to speak in court. If she believes she has been hurt by me and Prince Andrew, she should be suing us for damages.[...]

Dor Yeshorim's work to save children from genetic diseases

Update: see Rav Moshe Feinstein - Medical tests and bitachon

Tablet Magazine     An office sits on a humble corner on Wythe Avenue in Williamsburg, a Brooklyn stronghold for hipsters and Hasidim alike. Above a locked and graffitied metal security gate is a weathered sign, its gold letters scratched and peeling. “Dor Yeshorim: Committee for Prevention of Jewish Genetic Diseases,” it reads. It’s unclear if anyone works there and whether or not the office is now just an idle space below closed-curtained apartment windows. The organization operates quietly, some would even say secretively: Phone numbers linked to Dor Yeshorim are automated, its website outdated and often unclickable, and its services little-known to those outside the Orthodox world.

The Brooklyn-based organization, which now offers Jewish genetic testing across the United States, Canada, Israel, and Europe, works to eliminate any chance that two carriers of the same genetic disease will even date, avoiding the heartache of having to abandon a progressing relationship, or worse, having a child with a fatal or debilitating genetic disorder. After conducting genetic screening, Dor Yeshorim assigns identification numbers that correspond to its clients’ genetic data. Before or soon after meeting, potential partners exchange ID numbers and dial an automated hotline to check genetic compatibility—a phone call that almost always determines if a relationship will move forward or end.

Described as both a matchmaking service and a preventative health organization, Dor Yeshorim provides an anonymous medium for clients to check compatibility. “You have reached Dor Yeshorim, the internationally recognized program for the prevention of Jewish genetic diseases,” answers the hotline’s automated male voice. “To submit a request for compatibility, press 1. To check compatibility, you will need to submit both the male and female’s nine-digit Dor Yeshorim identification number and both their dates and months of birth, not the year of birth,” the robotic voice instructs.

Since Dor Yeshorim’s founding in 1983, numerous Jewish genetic testing services have emerged worldwide. Secular Jews might choose to get screened through their physician’s office or at a hospital-based program. New York City’s Mount Sinai, NYU, Columbia, and Beth Israel hospitals all have medical genetics departments that offer testing. There are also community and nonprofit screening programs, as well as commercial labs. As genetic science advances, screening and access to genetic data have become easier and more affordable for the general population. But Dor Yeshorim differs, in one important way: Those tested never find out their results.

The only information provided is whether a pair is compatible—meaning that the two individuals are not carriers of a mutation for the same disease. If a boy and girl are incompatible, Dor Yeshorim indicates that continuing the relationship is “not advisable” and offers genetic counseling. Meanwhile, everyone’s test results remain locked in a confidential database. [...]

Bat Melech shelter for religious battered women in Israel to double its capacity

Times of Israel   An organization that runs two shelters for religious battered women will double its capacity and wipe out its current waiting list. 

Bat Melech currently serves over 1,000 women and children each year who require a kosher and Shabbat-observant atmosphere. [...]

“Many of Bat Melech’s residents are English-speakers from the United States, Canada, England and South Africa, so I see ourselves as the ‘international Jewish women’s shelter’ as we provide service to everyone, “ said Bat Melech’s overseas director Amy Oppenheimer.

An Oasis of Care for People With Intellectual Disabilities

NY Times   LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A mother needs to get her son out the door. Thick white socks cover his contorted feet, a coat drapes his twisted shoulders, a water bottle with a straw nestles in the concave of his chest, and black straps on his wheelchair secure his wrists. He is 33 years old, and she has to get him to an appointment.

“I always forget something,” the mother, Mimi Kramer, says, looking about her small, immaculate house. “Oh. A change of pants, just in case.”

Her son, Trey, has intellectual disability, autism and cerebral palsy. He was a joy as a child, she says, but with puberty came violent acts of frustration: biting himself until he bleeds, raging against sounds as faint as a fork scrape on a plate, lashing out with his muscular right arm. He nearly bit her finger off one Kentucky Derby Day when she tried to swipe away foam that he had gnawed from his wheelchair’s armrest.

“But he’ll also definitely make you smile when he’s happy,” says Ms. Kramer, 52, a slight, divorced woman who has raised her son mostly alone. “His smile will light up the room.”

For years, parents like Ms. Kramer have struggled to find compassionate health care for their adult children with profound disability, among the most medically underserved populations in the country. They are told their children are not welcome: too disruptive in the waiting room, too long in the examining room — beyond the abilities of doctors who have no experience with intellectual disability.

“It’s been really hard to find anyone to even take him,” Ms. Kramer says. “Much less the experience when you go into a waiting room with someone as challenging as Trey.”

Now, though, Ms. Kramer has a place to go. A motorized lift raises her son into her customized Ford Econoline van, where a home care aide named David Stodghill keeps some fudge cookies nearby as positive reinforcement for Mr. Kramer. [...]

Off they go into the wintry Kentucky rain, bound for refuge on the other side of Louisville: the Lee Specialty Clinic, one of the very few free-standing facilities designed exclusively to provide medical and dental treatment — and a sense of welcome — to people with intellectual disability.

The 17,000-square-foot clinic, which opened in June, offers certain amenities. A reception area with natural light and easy-to-clean cushions. Extra-wide halls. Scales designed to weigh people in wheelchairs. An overhead tram to lift patients into dental chairs.

Just as important, say the clinic’s co-directors, Dr. Henry Hood and Dr. Matthew Holder, is its staff, trained to understand what their patients and families have been through. For example, Dr. Hood says, parents will often recall being told at the last medical clinic “to get your son or daughter out of here, and don’t ever bring them back.”

Science Increasingly Makes the Case for God

Wall Street Journal    In 1966 Time magazine ran a cover story asking: Is God Dead? Many have accepted the cultural narrative that he’s obsolete—that as science progresses, there is less need for a “God” to explain the universe. Yet it turns out that the rumors of God’s death were premature. More amazing is that the relatively recent case for his existence comes from a surprising place—science itself. 

Here’s the story: The same year Time featured the now-famous headline, the astronomer Carl Sagan announced that there were two important criteria for a planet to support life: The right kind of star, and a planet the right distance from that star. Given the roughly octillion—1 followed by 24 zeros—planets in the universe, there should have been about septillion—1 followed by 21 zeros—planets capable of supporting life.

With such spectacular odds, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, a large, expensive collection of private and publicly funded projects launched in the 1960s, was sure to turn up something soon. Scientists listened with a vast radio telescopic network for signals that resembled coded intelligence and were not merely random. But as years passed, the silence from the rest of the universe was deafening. Congress defunded SETI in 1993, but the search continues with private funds. As of 2014, researches have discovered precisely bubkis—0 followed by nothing. 

What happened? As our knowledge of the universe increased, it became clear that there were far more factors necessary for life than Sagan supposed. His two parameters grew to 10 and then 20 and then 50, and so the number of potentially life-supporting planets decreased accordingly. The number dropped to a few thousand planets and kept on plummeting.

Even SETI proponents acknowledged the problem. Peter Schenkel wrote in a 2006 piece for Skeptical Inquirer magazine: “In light of new findings and insights, it seems appropriate to put excessive euphoria to rest . . . . We should quietly admit that the early estimates . . . may no longer be tenable.”

As factors continued to be discovered, the number of possible planets hit zero, and kept going. In other words, the odds turned against any planet in the universe supporting life, including this one. Probability said that even we shouldn’t be here. [...]

One in five women in college sexually assaulted: an update on this statistic

Washington Post     “We know the numbers: one in five of every one of those young women who is dropped off for that first day of school, before they finish school, will be assaulted, will be assaulted in her college years.”

–Vice President Biden, remarks on the release of a White House report on sexual assault, April 29, 2014

“It is estimated that 1 in 5 women on college campuses has been sexually assaulted during their time there — 1 in 5.” 

–President Obama, remarks at White House, Jan. 22, 2014

This is an update of an article that originally appeared on May 1, 2014. It now has a Pinocchio rating.

Reports of sexual assault on college campuses spurred the White House early in 2014 to launch a task force to examine the issue. The group’s report was issued on April 29, and the first sentence of the report echoes what both the president and vice president have asserted in public: “One in five women is sexually assaulted in college.”

Where does this oft-repeated statistic come from? We dug into the data so you don’t have to.

The Facts

This statistic is derived from a 2007 study, The Campus Sexual Assault Study, which was conducted for the Justice Department’s National Institute of Justice. The researchers, led by Christopher Krebs of RTI International, also surveyed men, but the statistic cited by the administration focuses on women so we will look carefully at that part of the study.

In the winter of 2006, researchers used a Web-based survey to interview undergraduates at two large public universities, one in the Midwest and one in the South. A total of 5,446 undergraduate women, between the ages of 18-25, participated as part of a random sample. The survey was anonymous and took about 15 minutes to complete. (Participants received a $10 Amazon.com certificate for participating.)

So, first of all, it’s important to remember that this is a single survey, based on the experiences of students at two universities. As the researchers acknowledged, these results clearly can be generalized to those two large four-year universities, but not necessarily elsewhere. Moreover, the response rate was relatively low:

“Another limitation of the CSA study, inherent with Web-based survey, is that the response rates were relatively low. Although the response rates were not lower than what most Web-based surveys achieve, they are lower than what we typically achieve using a different mode of data collection (e.g. face-to-face interviewing).”

The survey found that 1,073 women, or 19 percent, said that they experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college. The actual breakdown was that 12.6 percent experienced attempted sexual assault and 13.7 percent experienced actual sexual assault. (There was some overlap.) [...]

Why I’m now a former Conservative Jew - because Interdating is now permitted

Times of Israel    My name is Jesse Arm. I am a grandson of a former Conservative rabbi, a former student of a Conservative Jewish day school, a former president of the Detroit chapter of USY, and a former Conservative Jew.

The last of those characteristics is the newest one attached to my identity. In fact, I made the decision to no longer classify myself in this fashion less than 24 hours ago, upon reading of the recent change in standards decided upon at USY’s international convention. Formerly, to take on a leadership position in the USY youth movement, it was considered a requirement that board members commit themselves to refrain from, “relationships which can be construed as interdating.” The language was changed to, “The Officers will strive to model healthy Jewish dating choices. These include recognizing the importance of dating within the Jewish community and treating each person with the recognition that they were created Betzelem Elohim (in the image of God).” The change was made in an attempt to become a more inclusive youth group within a more inclusive movement

Perhaps the crux of why this change so fundamentally irks me is in its lack of forthcoming language. If my former youth group, and in essence my former movement, is willing to compromise its commitment to the preservation of Jewish nationhood in the name of inclusivity, then why doesn’t it just say so? It is clear that this movement is on a path of setting its commitment to its original, cardinal principles aside in an effort to salvage some of its continually dwindling membership and “changing with the times.” The addition of Hebrew words in the language which adopts the permissibility of interdating is truly laughable. Saying that recognition of all humans being created betzelem elohim serves as a justification for interdating and eventually intermarriage, makes about as much sense as me arguing I should be eating delicious bacon in my Sukkah because the Torah says v’samachta b’chageicha, v’hayita ach sameach (we should rejoice in our holiday and we should feel nothing but total happiness). [...]

Wife who used child porn to frame husband gets jail time

Fox News   A Pennsylvania woman convicted of downloading child pornography to frame her estranged husband must spend six months to two years in county jail.

The Indiana Gazette reports 43-year-old Meri Jane Woods was sentenced Monday by an Indiana County judge who rejected her attorney's request for leniency and flexibility to start serving the sentence after the holidays.

A jury previously found Woods downloaded 40 images to the family computer, took it to police in August 2013 and blamed Matthew Woods for the material.[...]

Nachlaot Case: Questions raised regarding conviction of Zalman Cohen

Guest Post

Was the Honorable Judge Amnon Cohen biased in the judgment of Zalman Cohen?

Recently, Zalman Cohen was convicted and sentenced to 9 years as one of the Nachlaot Pedophiles from the alleged "Nachlaot Pedophile Ring".

All of the material in this article is taken from either the Court Document of Zalman Cohen's verdict, or as a comparison, from the Court Document of Ben Tzion P. who was acquitted of all charges against him.

The verdict for Zalman Cohen was based entirely on the testimony of four minors who testified against him, along with their parents, the child investigators, and psychologists. There was no physical evidence of molestation (such as the presence of DNA or doctors' findings of physical damage to the bodies of the children). The type of evidence presented against him was quite similar in nature to what was presented against Ben Tzion. The children spoke in a way that seemed believable; that is, they did not appear to be intentionally lying. However, there were contradictions and impossibilities in the children's testimonies. The judges in Ben Tzion's case felt that this presented a doubt as to whether Ben Tzion ought to be convicted, and therefore acquitted him.

In the case of Zalman, the Honorable Judge Amnon Cohen explained away any problems with the children's testimonies as being due to their confusion since they must have been traumatized by experiencing the sexual molestation that had allegedly occurred.

The defense did not bring any personal eye witnesses in Zalman's favor. Zalman claimed that no one wanted to endanger themselves by testifying, but the judge dismissed that. (However, it is understandable that people would not want to get involved out of fear that they would also be accused of being members of the "Nachlaot Pedophile Ring".) The defense also brought two expert witnesses, who stated that children under pressure are likely to generate false memories that are indistinguishable from memories of actual events which transpired. The judge also dismissed the expert witnesses' statements about false memories.

The judge acknowledged that there had been some contamination of the children's testimonies in the Nachlaot Pedophile Case, and that there had been panic and gossip in the neighborhood, but decided that this did not invalidate the testimony of the four children who testified against Zalman in the case. The four minors who testified against Zalman were:

1. "Dalet", who also testified against Ben Tzion. She was the child who testified that the children undressed outside Ben Tzion's house. The judge decided that since she did not live in the neighborhood, but only came to visit her cousin, she would not have been exposed to the gossip. That is simply not true. She definitely heard the gossip from her cousins and relatives, regarding Zalman and others. Here is a quote regarding her testimony with regards to Zalman which appeared in the decision made by the judges in Ben Tzion's trial:

בתשובה לשאלות נוספות התבקשה לתת תיאור של זלמן שהיה בחדר ואמרה שהוא נראה חרדי מחופש. כאשר נשאלה מנין היא יודעת שהוא מחופש, אמרה: "אבא של בת דודה שלי אמר" (עמ' 18, שורה 29).

[Translation: In answer to additional questions, she was asked to give a description of Zalman who was in the room, and said that he looked like he was disguising himself as a Chareidi. When she was asked from where she knows that he

In contrast, in his statement regarding the conviction of Zalman, the Honorable Judge Amnon Cohen did not even mention the above statement.

"Dalet" also contradicted herself on the two occasions in which she was interrogated regarding Zalman. The first time she said he didn't do anything but just watched. The second time, she said he did participate to some extent. The judge, in point 37, dismissed the contradiction and stated that the fact that she contradicted herself increased her reliability as an witness.

The judge did mention the fact that "Dalet" was discussing the events with others in between the interrogation sessions by the child investigators (in point 46). Also, he mentioned how the mother of "Dalet" pressured her to say something about the possibility of being molested (in point 47). But in the end, in his point 48, he decided that the contamination of "Dalet's" testimony by these outside factors was not of any significance.

2. "Yud" was the second child who testified. He stated that he was forced to touch a girl's genitalia during an event when boys and girls were paired up. When asked what the girl's genitals were like, he said they were just like a boy's genitals. The expert child investigator expressed his opinion that at least this part of the boy's testimony represented an event which had not occurred. However, the judge decided to disagree with the expert child investigator's opinion in this instance, and stated that he believed the event must have really occurred but that since the child was so traumatized he didn't remember that a girl's parts are different from a boy's parts.

3. "Shin" was the third child who testified.  The mother of Shin admitted to trying to force her child to say something for several hours, with such force that "Shin" ultimately had her eyes roll back and fainted. Subsequently, the mother took "Shin" to repeated therapy sessions in order to get her to talk about being molested. Although initially "Shin" denied being molested and said she didn't remember anything ever occurring, after the extreme pressure from her mother, and the repeated pressure from the therapist, "Shin" finally said that she "remembers". Rather than recognize that the mother was putting a strong amount of pressure on her child, which in and of itself was a traumatic experience which would be a strong inducement to generate a false memory, the judge felt that the child's fainting must be evidence that she had undergone sexual molestation by Zalman Cohen and others.


The judge's reasoning was that the mother and therapist didn't tell her what to say specifically, but just asked her to tell about being molested. Also the judge decided that because of the numerous details that "Shin" gave when she "remembered" the alleged molestation, it was unlikely that she had made it up. However, the research on false memory generation indicates that it is not necessary to ask specific questions in order to generate richly detailed false memories of events which did not occur in young children, and that the children actually believe the richly detailed stories that they tell. For example, some research was done in which it was suggested to children that they had experienced a number of events, some true and some false. One of the false events was the experience of having a finger caught in a mouse trap and having to go to the hospital to be treated for that. A number of children generated richly detailed storied about having their finger caught in a mouse trap even though the event had never occurred. (See the scientific research article: http://www.shoreline.edu/dchri s/psych209/Documents/Ceci% 20and%20Loftus.pdf)

"Shin" described in detail how she went from one apartment (Ben Tzion's) to another apartment (Binyamin's) and then a third apartment (Zalman's). The judge felt that the detail of how she went from one house to the next was quite impressive. But almost every child in the neighborhood would have been able to describe how to go to each of those houses (regardless of whether they had been molested or not), even if their parents had not taken them on a tour to see where they were. And the parents did take the neighborhood children on tours to ask them if they had been in those houses (as the judge mentioned at several places in his statement). The neighborhood is quite small, and gossips a lot. It would be amazing if there would be any resident of the neighborhood, child or adult, who didn't know exactly where those three individuals lived.

In addition "Shin" described in detail similar though not identical events that allegedly occurred in all three apartments. In all three apartments, there were similar details about watching a soccer movie, being in a bathtub, and the presence of a stick of some kind. (See point 112 in the judge's statement.) The events seem absurd and pointless. The judge stated that the reason for the similarity was that the three individuals, Ben Tzion, Binyamin, and Zalman acted together in most circumstances and that is why the events described are similar. However, nowhere did "Shin" say that all three men were present together at the time of watching the soccer movies, sitting in the bathtub, or during any of the alleged events. So I don't know how the judge arrived at that conclusion. Also, the judge made much of the fact that "Shin" did not say that Ben Tzion tried to sit on the stick "Eastern style", but instead used the stick to hit her, while the other two men sat on the stick. Therefore since the events she described were similar but not identical, they must be true, according to the judge.

4. "Mem" was the fourth child who testified. "Mem" stated that he was in Binyamin's house and that many of the other alleged pedophiles who were on the "list" were there, including Zalman. A movie was watched in which there was "Pritzut" (in English: "Immodesty"). One has to be knowledgeable about the Chareidi outlook to understand what "Immodesty" means to them. A movie with "Immodesty" would not necessarily mean a pornographic movie, but could simply be a movie in which girls were wearing short sleeved shirts and pants. Also, perhaps this is not common knowledge, but most Chareidim forbid the watching of any movies whatsoever, which makes it much more tempting for a child to want to go to someone else who has a computer where he can watch a movie for entertainment. I have no doubt that many Chareidi children whose parents forbid the watching of movies, probably do go to the houses of other people to watch movies.

"Mem" also acknowledged that there was extensive discussion of all the alleged pedophiles in the neighborhood, between himself and others.

The judge discounted the possibility that the panic and discussions in the neighborhood could have caused "Mem" to have a false memory. However, he didn't discuss at all the possibility that there could have been a real memory that was distorted. Perhaps at some time "Mem" did go to Binyamin's house, and watched a movie. But were all those other people (including Zalman) present? Did they undress?

The judge found support for "Mem's" testimony, from his mother's testimony. His mother said that "Mem" used to wet his bed up until the age of 12 years, and that after he gave his testimony, he was able to get over that problem. Therefore, the judge concluded that this proves he must have been molested and that giving his testimony made him feel better. However, there could be other explanations for why "Mem" got over his bed-wetting problem. Perhaps he simply matured and grew out of it.

In contrast, the judge also found support from the fact that after "Mem's" siblings testified, their mother stated that they seemed to get worse and develop more emotional problems than they had before. According to the judge, if a child's behavior and emotional state improved after giving testimony, that meant the child must have been molested. But if a child's behavior and emotional state got worse after giving testimony, that also meant the child must have been molested.

Although the Honorable Judge Amnon Cohen does not mention Ritual Abuse, he does mention the strange nature of the abuse as seen in the testimony of "Shin" but this does not seem to bother him. What is not seen in the Court Document of Zalman Cohen is what the parents claim occurred.

In order to understand the underlying point of view of the parents making the accusations against Zalman Cohen and the other alleged "Nachlaot Pedophile Ring" members, I think it is important to look at the lengthy documents which have been published by someone on the "rotter.net" website, under the pseudonym "Sheleg". In particular, the claim is made that the purpose of the "Nachlaot Pedophile Ring" was to perform ritual child abuse in order to convert the children to Christianity. The reason to understand the underlying point of view of the parents is to truly understand that either: 1) everything they say is true (including the claims of tunnels and secret rooms) and the Nachlaot Pedophile Ring really exists and the diabolical purpose of it all is to try to convert their children to Christianity, or 2) nothing they say is true at all and they are totally insane in their beliefs and outlooks, or 3) some of what they say is true, but their beliefs are mixed with a lot of crazy thoughts and one must be very careful before condemning anyone based on the testimony of these parents and their children.

What also needs to be looked at is not only the evidence presented regarding these four children who testified in the case against Zalman, but also the testimonies given by the other children which were not presented. These four children were among approximately 80 children that testified, and only these four were accepted by the child investigators. (In Ben Tzion's trial the judges requested to look at the testimony of the other children which the child investigators had rejected, in order to get a better overall picture of what actually happened.) The parents claim that all of these children were also molested, as well as others that did not testify. This supposedly went on for years. Nachlaot was one busy place and yet no one noticed.

Makes me wonder.