Rabbi Riskin and Female Halachic Adjudicators: It Does Not Compute

Cross-Currents   By Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer

Rabbi Shlomo Riskin’s ambitious program to fill Israeli society with female halachic adjudicators just experienced a significant advance, as R. Riskin appointed a woman, Dr. Jennie Rosenfeld, to the position of Mahniga Ruhanit (Spiritual Leader) in his city of Efrat. R. Riskin explained that Dr. Rosenfeld will render halachic rulings on questions posed to her, and that there is no bar to women serving as rabbinic judges: [...]

As such, R. Riskin has founded the Susi Bradfield Women’s Institute for Halakhic Leadership, which aims to create a cohort of female halachic leaders, trained and certified as follows:

Morot Hora’ah: Five-year program training women in the classic rabbinic curriculum of Kashrut, Shabbat, Family Purity, Mourning, and Marriage. This training is complemented by an extensive curriculum of philosophical, social, and psychological training for communal leadership.

Completion of the course and success in written tests leads to Heter Hora’ah – the centuries-old traditional license to issue halakhic rulings.

Dayanut: Ten-year advanced training program launched in 2013 for women who have completed the heter hora’ah program, equipping them with the knowledge base to serve as judges for conversion and divorce. For the first time since Devorah served as a judge, Jewish history will once again see women trained for the task, and their very presence will restore – and ensure the preservation of – women’s rights in areas of personal status.

The first-ever book of halakhic responsa penned by women who were ordained by the WIHL to serve as halakhic decisors was presented to the public on Monday, 23 June, 2014, at a unique symposium promoting female halakhic leadership in Israeli society.

Now, aside from the fact that rabbinic ordination cannot be conferred upon women, as explained in detail here (please click here for the statement of the Rabbinical Council of America, the RCA, that reflects this axiom), R. Riskin introduces a new calculus and arrives at an equation that simply does not compute. R. Riskin affirms that, “The only reason why women cannot be judges is if they are not accepted by the people. When it is clear they are accepted and have halachic knowledge, they can render halachic decisions.” Well, yes, the Gemara in Sanhedrin of course states that litigants may voluntarily accept upon themselves the testimony and rulings of those who do not qualify as witnesses or dayanim (judges), such as women and relatives, for a form of binding arbitration (Sanhedrin 24a, Rambam Hil. Sanhedrin 7:2, and Shulchan Aruch Choshen Mishpat 22:1). However, this does not confer upon the women or relatives whose ruling has been voluntarily accepted the legal status of a beis din. An actual, legal beis din, rather than those unqualified as dayanim but accepted voluntarily as arbitrators to render a decision, is required for geirus (conversion – v. Yevamos 46b, Rambam Hil. Issurei Bi’ah 13:6 and Shulchan Aruch Yoreh Deah 268:3-4) and may be necessary for certain aspects of geirushin (divorce). This is why geirus must occur by day, as a beis din, unlike arbitrators, may not convene at night. R. Riskin’s program that provides women with rabbinic training and ordination, granting “the centuries-old traditional license to issue halakhic rulings” and “equipping them with the knowledge base to serve as judges for conversion and divorce”, is illegitimately predicated on an assertion that has no bearing on the matter. Those who do not qualify to form an halachic beis din do not attain the status of an halachic beis din for conversion, divorce and other proceedings, regardless of voluntary acceptance by the parties. Arbitration and beis din status are apples and oranges; R. Riskin’s calculation does not compute. [...]

The Hanging Judge of Sedom and his Kangaroo Court

I posted an article (Dorothy Rabinowtiz) about false convictions for child abuse yesterday. The question is why convictions on absurd claims, unsupported by the evidence are obtained and why the charges are made in the first place?  Dorothy Rabinowitz - Wall Street Journal Reporter and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for writing about this topic notes the following

[She] lays some of the blame, in passing, on “advanced political opinion,” which has created an aura of piety around claims of violation made by women and children. On this view, as Rabinowitz writes, to side with the falsely accused would have been “to undermine the battle against child abuse; it was to betray children and all other victims of sexual predators.” Even to raise questions about these cases would have been tantamount, in the opinion of one of the Amiraults’ tormentors, to victimizing the children all over again.

This explanation readily applies to the defense of false rape charges - such as those reported in Rolling Stone Magazine - where the reporter chose not to even ask the accused about the charges. It was enough if a coed charged a fellow student of rape to make the charges true. Questioning whether a claim of rape is true is betraying all rape victims. This seems to be basis of Federal Title IX regulations.

It also explains the bizarre spectacle of certain blogs - that defend accusations and rumors and even suspicions of sexual abuse - refusing to let the absence of supporting evidence about the veracity of these claims to discredit them.Of course all those who merely questioned the validity of the allegation were simply discredited for doing so.

We have seen how they will take the side of the accuser - even when the authorities that they initially praised and relied upon to validate these accusations have reversed themselves and retracted their defense. To deal with the dissonance of continuing to support the charges when the basis for the support has been removed - they conclude that these distinguished authorities are corrupt or lack the moral strength to say what they believe and obviously must have been pressured to retract their support. The possibility that the accusations were mistaken or misunderstood doesn't seem an option. The possibility that the retraction is a sign of moral integrity is not a consideration.

Instead of acknowledging that careful evaluation of the evidence has shown that the accusations had no basis - these individuals invent negative explanations about their formerly highly regarded authorities such as institutional bias. In other words men of community authority will eventually do what they have to defend community institutions such as schools.  They claim without evidence that the facts must have been suppressed to save jobs. In fact any explanation will do - as long as the accusations of sexual violence are kept alive.

As Rabinowitz noted, it seems that these hanging judges feel that to question the accusations is tantamount to questioning the whole enterprise of protecting the abused and a betrayal of all victims of sexual violence. Thus they view that their denial of the conflicting evidence and their continued support of the false accusations is the correct moral stance required of all moral individuals. Slandering the falsely accused and anyone who supports them - in spite of the lack of evidence - is viewed as courageous and just. In fact anyone who fails to support their vision of things is accused of moral cowardice or hypocrisy or selling out. The hanging judge is convinced that he is the only one with moral backbone.

Clarity Won: Fallout from Israel's 2015 Elections

Guest post by RaP

Anyone remotely familiar with Shidduchim and dating in general knows that the suitor and the one being pursued have different roles. Each must act CLEARLY in order to connect and succeed with their chosen objective. One cannot be all things to all men and to all women. Therefore it is important that a Yeshiva Bochur, as an example, be very clear about who he is and what he wishes any potential spouse to know about him in order that he be chosen over anyone else (aside from the common basic human attractions). Thus, the prospective Choson ("groom") cannot portray himself SIMULTANEOUSLY as all of a potential full-time Kollel learner, plus college student, plus working professional all at once. You are either committed to full-time learning or not. Or you are seriously taking college course to get a profession no matter what, or your heart and mind are set on working full time for a living and nothing will deter you because that is who you are and what you sincerely want to do. Just make up you mind, and be clear about who you are and what you want people to know about you! To ignore this means that few will know who you are and what you stand for and so you will lose. This is so true for politics as well, as any politician must decide what his main message is, and who his target audience and potential supporters are and how that can be conveyed with absolute CLARITY to get the vote and be elected and win!

Based on that preamble, the results of the latest Israeli election make perfect sense. Here are the winners and losers, in no particular order:

Winners:

Netanyahu, who long ago figured out that he must run against the most unpopular man among most Israeli Jews...no not any rabbis silly, it's Obama! By concentrating his SPOKEN and UNSPOKEN message on the dangers posed by Obama's pro-leftist preferences, and BHO's tolerance of Islamic shenanigans, capped by a masterful speech to the US Congress a few days before the elections, Netanyahu was able to attract that right-wing Israeli JEWISH majority that fears Obama more than Netanyahu's failings.

Israeli Arabs, who with the help of foreign politically savvy operatives and money, were able to unite in a big way even though they are split among themselves ranging from secular Communists to Islamic Fundamentalist, they showed that one thing unites them more than anything else: Fear and loathing of their Jewish Israeli compatriots. Count on them being major obstructionists in the next Knesset.

Israeli Sefardim, supported the Charedi SHAS and the new secular Kulanu party to become important players in determining the new governing coalition, after being locked out for two years.

Charedim, both the Ashkenazi-dominated UTJ and the Sefardi dominated SHAS proved yet again that "Toirah Iz Di Beste Sechoirah"! That sticking to a clear pure message of commitment to Gedolim, Rebbes and Roshei Yeshiva, no matter who they are, is the safest and smartest policy for Charedi Jews. Notch up great victories for the three Moatzos, the Councils of Torah Sages, that guide Agudas Yisroel, Degel HaTorah, and SHAS whose position is now very strong and their voices will be heard in the new government. The Israeli Charedi world in general will now breath a collective sigh of relief as anti-Semitic and anti-Torah laws designed to hurt them will now be rolled back and struck off the books. They will also gain access to political and economic rewards, long overdue, since they make invaluable contributions to the Jewish people in Israel in many spheres, obviously in being the Bnai Torah valued most by HKB"H for their Torah Umitzvos!

Aryeh Deri, for one of the biggest political comebacks in modern Israeli history. But he will have to produce big-time for all the faith that was placed in his now proven political abilities. He needs to realize, like all politicians, that this is not about him, he represents and leads the Sefardi Charedi Tzibbur in the Knesset and must tread with great caution to avoid the pitfalls of the political mistakes of the past. Now he must produce and prove himself.

Israel's neighboring Arab countries, who won a stable partner and strong ally to oppose Iranian hegemony and out of control Islamic terrorists. They should make the most of this to do their own house-cleaning, if they can in between all the civil wars and vendettas they are engaged in right now.

US Republicans whose gamble to invite and support Netanyahu has paid off and who now have a good chance of capturing the big prize of the White House in 2016. Seems Israel's March 2015 elections is the "real first 'primary' election" in the race for the US Presidency to be decided in November 2106.

Losers:

This list is longer, partly because of the new Israeli law that raised the threshold for entry into the Knesset.

Labor and its all-around rogue's gallery of Socialists, Bolsheviks, Reformers, and Anarchists. They can now keep the new oversized Arab super-party company on the official opposition side and show their true colors as they find common cause with the goals of the Israeli Arabs whom they love more than their fellow right-wing and any Jews of a religious nature. They are a political basket case and no one will miss them.

Yair Lapid, like most "protest parties" of the past are headed for political oblivion. Lapid should go back to the world of Israeli television and carry on being a celebrity there because he has proven he knows nothing about governing, government and how to make himself useful to Israeli society beyond cursing Charedim as the source of all his problems. He needs to get a life soon.

Ditto for Dov Lipman who did not even make it on his ultra-secular anti-Charedi Yesh Atid party's candidates. He too will now have to get a life and stop contriving excuses as to what he wants out of life now that he is a man without a party or a country.

Naftali Bennett, the real disappointment to the Orthodox world by the way two years ago he teamed up with Lapid and engineered the last anti-Charedi regime that came crashing done none too soon. Even his own prior supporters left him in droves to the left and to the right because he has tried to be all things to all men. His gambit to enlist a secular Israel soccer hero to make his so-called "Bayit Yehudi" party just showed him up as someone lacking in a true understanding and commitment to serious Torah Judaism. He is a smart and wealthy man who speaks English with American parents. He should seriously think about spending quality time in one of the major BT yeshivas in Israel that cater to people like him. A stint in Ohr Somayach or Machon Shlomo would do him wonders. Oh yes, and he should take his wife and children to some serious Torah seminars run by Arachim or Hidabroot that would improve their Hashkofa and their appreciation for REAL Yiddishkeit.

Eli Yishai made a huge mistake by teaming up with Kahanists on one flank and drop-outs from Bayit Yehudi on the other. A truly mixed up mixed message lacking any clarity whatsoever so that his Torah-true persona backed by Rav Meir Mazuz could not shine through. They were also political amateurs compared to those Machiavellians opposing them and they paid the price. Perhaps what Yishai should have done is just stick with his rabbi and sent out one clear message as to who they are. Instead what happened was that his Yachad party was portrayed as an extremist right-wing party when in fact Yishai is a relatively moderate and centrist politician. Better luck next time and stick to one main clear message in the future.

Obama, Kerry, Hillary Clinton, US Democrats, Iran, Europe, foreign NGOs, the PLO & Hamas & Hezbolla whose nefarious plans and hostility to Jews' and Israelis' real interests have now been dealt a serious set-back and hopefully in some ways overturned. This is in the spirit of Purim and the month of Adar we are still in when Jews celebrate the turnaround of Haman's & Achashveiros's ploys and deceits.

Liberman and his "Yisrael Beiteinu" that is now on the way to becoming an anachronism and political fossil because this party of former Russian émigrés has served its purpose. Now that Russian Israelis have integrated into the secular Israeli mainstream they no longer need a special interests party that has no real direction. The problem of the over 300,000 NON-Halachic Russian "Jews" in Israel is the REAL problem with this group that has still not been solved and is at the heart of the ongoing conversion wars and standards in Israel that may now result in stronger rulings and laws against these gentiles masquerading as "Jews" with Charedim back in positions of influence. Stay tuned.

May the Jewish People go from strength to strength, from the salvations of Adar to the even greater salvations of Nissan! Amen!

Elections: An open letter to Israeli voters from a concerned American citizen,

Guest Post:

As you go to the polls please understand friendship with the Obama administration is not on the ballot.

Israel, and all freedom loving democracies for that matter, will never  have a decent relationship with this bunch. The only friends Obama has on the world stage live in Iran, Turkey, and Cuba.  Those guys form a club that even your ardent leftists can't join, no matter how much they try.

Even here in America the only relationship Obama knows is "my way or the highway". Like a schoolyard  bully, either you just go along with his extreme discredited policies, or you don't exist. There is no discussion, and certainly no negotiations.

No speech or the lack thereof will change this Administration's posture, nor will the renovation of a couple of  apartments.

So if your a leftist and think redistribution of wealth is more important than national security, by all means vote for the left....

....but Obama’s love can't be a reason,

It simply ain't gonna happen!!

Grynhaus faces retrial as jury fail to reach verdict on sex abuse charges

The Jewish Chronicle     A Jewish teacher accused of sexual assaults on two schoolgirls is facing a retrial after a jury failed to reach a verdict.

The panel was discharged by a judge on Monday after admitting it was unable to agree on the case of father-of-ten Todros Grynhaus, 50, following almost three days of deliberation.

Mr Grynhaus is alleged to have molested the girls when they were between the ages of 13 and 15 then relied on the Orthodox Jewish community’s ‘resentment’ of reporting matters to the police to keep the allegations secret.

Israel's Fateful Elections: Charedim Rising by RaP

Guest post by RaP

This Tuesday, March 17th, Israel's citizen's go to the polls to vote for the parties that will then form the new government. For the Charedi Jews of Israel nothing could be worse politically and economically than the fate that befell them after the last Israeli elections two years ago. They lost all access to political power and influence. Two years spent in the political wilderness as Lapid and Bennett and Netanyahu united to undercut the growing political and economic power of religious Jew. Yes, Bennett and his "Jewish Home" party were the continuation of the old Religious Zionist Mizrachi party, but really were washouts and regarded as sell-outs by the rest of religious Jewry not just in Israel but all over the world.

Fast forward two years and Netanyahu fires Yair Lapid ending a facade of "unity" that was really a front to oppose the growing power of religious Jewry in Israel. It is no secret that with the phenomenal birth rate of the Jewish religious population, from all spectrums, in Israel they are destined to become the dominant political power in the land as well as its electoral majority sooner rather than later. Everyone knows this. The leftist secular powers-that-be are in a panic, they know their days are numbered. They are basically on life-support with no new original ideas since they have dumped classical Zionism as outmoded and now receive huge funding and politically savvy advisors from all sorts of outside supporters to stay relevant. This too is no secret. The old-time Israeli right is in disarray and is struggling to find its voice as it does not want to be appear to be "religious" (that is why they got rid of Moshe Feiglin) while it cannot act as the leftists "right-wing" double either, so they are adrift and counting on old-time loyalty from supporters who just cannot bare the thought of voting for the Socialist-Bolshevik block that now calls itself "United Zionists" while it fools no one in particular.

The really fascinating developments are among the religious and Charedi Jews of Israel who having been forced out of government the last two years have had to reach deep within themselves to do house-cleaning and to come up with winning strategies to regain political influence and power in the next government coalition.

Among the Sefardim the most glaring change has come in the open split within the old-time SHAS party following so closely upon the passing of its mentor Rav Ovadia Yosef ZT"L. SHAS has split in two with Eli Yishai running under his own steam as the "Yachad Ha'am Itanu" party that is predicted to gain more than just the minimal four seats required for Knesset entry perhaps even outshining its old political home of SHAS. A new rabbinical name has suddenly appeared on the horizon as Eli Yishai party's mentor, Rav Meir Mazuz a very interesting Rov and Rosh Yeshiva from Bnai Brak of Djerba, North African, origins with more open-minded views coming to the fore and creating a broader coalition that SHAS was able to do in the past but is now not capable of doing. In SHAS the veteran politician Aryeh Deri has returned to take the reins with the support of the SHAS Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah. There was bad blood that spilled into the open as not-so-old videos of Rav Yosef discussing Aryeh Deri negatively were released, while Eli Yishai was publicly attacked by SHAS followers, with all parties claiming they are speaking for the true voice of MARAN Ovadia Yosef. Expect to see surprises from both these parties on Tuesday and they will probably bury the hatchet and cooperate closely to get into the next coalition. One thing is for sure, the face of Sefardic political unity is now gone forever.

Among Ashkenazi Charedim United Torah Judaism is the united parties of the Israeli Agudas Yisroel and the Degel HaTorah that are working solidly together with everyone giving great attention to the guidance they are getting from their united spiritual mentor Rav Shteinman in Bnai Brak.

One of the most fascinating and encouraging developments of the UTJ lists is that they have for the first time nominated a professional seasoned full time Israeli KIRUV leader, the head of the Lev LeAchim organization, Rav Eliezer Sorotzkin, as the potential "eighth man" representing UTJ in the next Knesset. This will be a most welcome change because until now none of the Charedi politicians elected to the Knesset were adept at the art of winning over the hearts and minds of fellow-secular Israelis. The picture one saw was often bifurcated and surreal that while in the Knesset religious MKs join in the melees of hurling insults at fellow Jews in the Knesset, at the same time on the outside the same Charedi PR organs that support UTJ wax lyrical about the need to MEKAREV the "Nefashos" of secular Israeli Jews.

So someone needed to make up their mind if they were going to use attack tactics or Kiruv tactics to get their way, and now, finally and long overdue, evidently Rav Shteinman has strongly supported the selection of Rav Eliezer Sorotzkin to lead the way. This is also a move to reach into secular circles for Charedi votes and altogether radical break with past tactics. If this move is successful as it will probably be, count on having more "user friendly" Charedi MKs join him in the not too distant future. As the old saying goes, you can "catch the bees" with "honey" a lot easier than with "vinegar"!

Rav Shteinman, as the RASHKEBEHAG, has been very clear and it has been reliably reported that he holds that Israeli Charedim have ONLY two choices, either to vote which he says is a Kiddush HaShem, or not to vote which he bluntly has stated is a Chillul HaShem! A very clear and stark choice that reflects the sense of urgency and the critical nature of the upcoming election.

It would seem that Yair Lapid has lost steam and popularity so that a big chunk of his past vote has now swung behind the Herzog-Livni block who are gloating and seem to be counting their chickens before they have hatched. Some Charedi politicians have said they will go with Herzog but it is VERY hard to see how Charedim will be welcomed by the same folks in the Herzog-Livni camp who have all the same issues with Charedim as Lapid and Yesh Atid people.

The Israeli left of today is not like the old-time Israeli Socialists of yester-decade. Those old timers were Bolsheviks but they spoke Yiddish and had a certain connection with Eastern Europe from where they came. Their parents and grandparents were usually frum. But today's Israeli left has LOST that connection entirely. They are more in tune with trends in Sweden, Germany and the USA with all the trimmings and bells and whistles of Modernity, such as gay rights, civil marriages, acceptance of Reform Judaism and all the sacred cows of ultra-liberals and ultra-leftists and left-wing agitators. So it is basically impossible to see how any Charedi politicians or rabbis will find a home with such types.

The natural allies of the Charedi and religious parties have always been the right-wing parties. This started in a big way when Rav Shach allowed the Charedi factions to bring Menachem Begin into power and continued with the Lubavitch and Chasidic support that helped Netanyahu come to power. A strong possible scenario is if as it seems the Charedi parties will win an increased number of seats in the next Knesset, then they will put Netanyahu back into power and demand that he adhere to their religious and social agendas. If for some reason the leftists win, CH"V, then expect the Charedi parties to spend even more time in the Israeli political wilderness. That in turn has resulted in a huge strengthening of bonds between Israeli and American Charedim who have marshaled their own limited financial forces to support Israeli Kollelim, Yeshivos and Kiruv schools and programs, not to mention directly supporting their sons and daughters who come to learn and live in Israel and the many family members who continue to move to and settle in Eretz Yisroel.

So in some ways, the frum world will have a "win-win" result: If the right wins, then the Charedi parties will presumably return to positions of influence, and if the Charedim are yet again locked out of the next government, they will not stop and they will continue to strengthen ALL the Torah bastions and Kehillos in Israel with increased FINANCIAL support from American Charedi sources more determined than ever to build for that inevitable time in the not so distant future when BY SHEER DINT OF NUMBERS Charedim and all types of Religious Jews will come to dominate Israel without any hindrance from secular harassment.

May HKB"H protect and bless the Jewish people everywhere! Amen!

Jury considering verdict in Grynhaus sex abuse case

JC.Com    The jury in the trial of a Jewish teacher accused of sexual assaults on two schoolgirls have retired to consider their verdict.

Father-of-10 Todros Grynhaus, 50, is alleged to have molested the girls when they were between the ages of 13 and 15 then relied on the Orthodox Jewish community’s "resentment" of reporting matters to the police to keep the allegations secret.

The son of a rabbi, Mr Grynhaus breached his bail conditions and flew to Israel when the allegations first surfaced – only returning when he was re-arrested and deported after almost two years, Manchester Crown Court has heard. [...]

The judge told the jury that Mr Grynhaus had said the allegations were made against him out of "revenge" and to obtain money from him.

Mr Grynhaus had tried to explain to the jury why he fled to Israel. Summing up his evidence, Mr Justice Turner added: “He wanted to avoid shame and disgrace being brought on his family.

Satanic child abuse is believed by anti-Semites to be a world wide Jewish plot

One of the disturbing issues - in the wild conjecture over Satanic abuse rings which requires believing incredible claims and the  paranoia required to digest all of this - is the fact that two can play the same game. If you take Rabbi Berkowitz words about the widespread Satanic (or Christian missionary plot) in Jerusalem - and do some brief searching with Google or Youtube for similar reports - you find a very disturbing thing. It is not hard to find such reports - but there is a twist.

The exact same "facts" and "logic" are used to prove that there is a Jewish pedophile plot involving horrible abuse of children,  mind control, government figures blocking investigation, destroying the present world order and wanting to take over the world. If that sounds ridiculous - then why not when Rav Berkowitz says it is a Satanic plot or a Christian plot - with possible police involvement to coverup the facts? And if you acknowledge that it is in truth just as reasonable that it is a Jewish or Satanic plot as a Christian plot or even a Muslem plot or Russian plot or  [fill in the blank] - then you need to ask - on what basis do you decide? If standing at the edge of an incredible deep chasm - makes you dizzy when you realize that you are falling into a world of paranoid psychosis  - you need to consider the obvious alternative.

The alternative is to climb down from the tree - and to step back from the precipice - before it is too late .

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

Let me give a few examples of allegations that Jews are involved in major Satanic abuse rings. (The term "illumanti" found in many of these sites is referring to Jews or  people who pretend to be Jews Smololko - who are concerned with dominating the world This is Zionism)

Vicki Pollin- founder of the Awareness Center that focuses on Jewish sexual abuse

Proof that Jews are involved in rituatistic torture of babies comes from Vicki Polins confession on the Oprah show.. See Henry Makow Blog discussing what this says about Jews .  

Nachlaot

The Realistic Report uses Tablet Magazine's   debunking of the allegations of Satanic child abuse ring at Nachlaot to prove that Jew are in fact involved in Satanic abuse and the Jewish publications help cover it up.

Former FBI agent Gunderson reveals Illuminati (Jews), Satanism, pedophile rings. 

If you want to become paranoid - please listen to this recording by the former head of the L.A. FBI office describing a conspiracy of coverup of widespread child abuse, satanism, corruption of the government including the FBI in dealing with these cases - and he includes the White House. For good measure he was allegedly killed by arsenic poisoning because he exposed the "truth".

Jews killed investigators who expose their crimes

The Blog the Common Sense Show   says that it is a Zionist plot to killing pedophile investigators

Jews are prominent pedophiles

The blog Jewish Paedophili   argues that Jimmy Savile was a Jew and Jews are prominent pedophiles

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PLEASE MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE!

Epstein Torture Trial: Testimony of David Wax (Another perspective by an Epstein sympathizer)

 Guest Post by Epstein sympathizer  - who is attending the trial - and has agreed to make comments for this blog. It cogently presents information not contained in the newspaper account.

Newspaper report about testimony of David Wax

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

Dear Rabbi Eidensohn,

How fortuitous, as my second day in court was that same Wednesday of which you write!

Let me preface what I will say here with this:

You know that I hope, and now believe, that R. Epstein is found innocent of the charges that were brought. I hope that we can agree to disagree that in some RARE and non-typical cases the use of force could be expected... but here, below, my comments are strictly about the case that is in court.

And we both know that the smart people involved 'know' that he will end up doing time. So if you can read what I write with that in mind, I hope that you will understand my take.

Here is the quote from your article that I would like to comment on:

Wax, the founder of a charitable organization that funneled millions of dollars to Israel, directly linked Epstein and two of the three other men on trial with him to the 2010 attack on Yisrael Bryskman, an Israeli national who was living in Brooklyn to avoid giving his wife a divorce according to Orthodox Jewish custom.

What actually happened Wednesday was the prosecutor's attempt at doing such, but he did no such thing.

And let me again segue, and I will agree that Wax was probably using Epstein as a guide as to how to DO this thing... (grabbing the guy, doing a 'get'),

And even he testified that R. Epstein refused to get personally involved once he understood that Wax was planning on doing this whole thing in his own bedroom.

(another important point is that at some point last week the FBI admitted to the knowledge of many different Batei Dinim who would resort to violence in cases of intractable husbands...) Like R. Epstein, at worst, was one of many.

But, back to the facts that were brought out on Wednesday:

First, records of phone calls. Wax testified that he called Ari close to Shabbos in order to have him come over to collect $15,000. (of the $50K that he claims that R. Epstein wanted for his guidance...) But the phone records that were put up showed that Ari never answered those calls. There was no communication between the two on that afternoon! (when that became clear, the prosecution took the phone records down very quickly, and then the judge called for a break, it was loony!)
 

And again, last week sometime, during the testimony of Bryskman he already testified that the only person who he remembers kicking and punching him was Wax, because Wax kept taking off the blindfold to tease and taunt him. (Wax agrees that he did this, after claiming in his plea agreement that he did not do this....because Bryskman testified to these facts!)

And Rabbi Eidensohn, there are so many examples that even the PROSECUTION highlighted of clear lies that Wax told in his plea agreement, and then again, in his agreement to 'substantially aid' the prosecution of other individuals (the crux of the Epstein sting...), and even in his testimony on DIRECT EXAMINATION! There was a point where I had to ask Epstein family members what was going on, because Wax was clearly contradicting the line of questioning of the PROSECUTOR, and I couldn't figure out what was going on.... like who is on what side, lol?

And the other really shocking piece of evidence that the FBI brought were the bank records of Wax during the time of his negotiation with the Agunah's family (as I remember 'Schachter', could be wrong.) And R. Eidensohn, these were the bank records that the FBI admitted as evidence. There were donations of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the 'Taryag Foundation' (which seems to have been R. Wax's family's personal piggy bank.... even the prosecution admitted as such when the jury was not present,) that were then taken out at the bank teller, deposited into the Wax family account, and then sent as a wire transfer to a money changer in B'nei Brak.

ON THE STAND Wax claimed that he had no idea of the provenance of $325,000.00, who took it out, that it was transferred to Israel, that his WIFE TRAVELED with him. It was like pulling teeth:

'No, he traveled alone.'

Oh, here are your flight records for you and your wife.

'Oh perhaps she was with me.'

On and on and on. He was so evasive, unbelievable evasive, there was no way to understand whose side he was on!

OK, bottom line, it seems clear to me (not a professional in these matters), that the jury and the judge are becoming aware of the fact that this Wax guy is not only a sadistic pervert (how he tortured Bryskman, and then, taking him in a taxi, tried to have him take out cash to pay for the bloodied carpet that HE had done by kicking him while sadistically torturing him with words, while wearing a white cowboy hat....and then threatening to bury him alive if HIS father didn't pay ransom... all admitted to on Wednesday...), but besides that, is constantly contradicting himself.... and just if all this insanity is not already making your head spin.... to make things really clear:

The FBI was sold a 'bill of goods' by this Wax fellow, thought that they were onto some insider secret info, and launched this million dollar 'sting' all orchestrated by a man who can NOT keep his story straight, can't follow a line of logic, and was laundering millions of dollars through his institute, and that the FBI, even with the bank records as THEIR evidence, seem to never have really examined.

Insane.

Epstein Torture Trial: David Wax(2nd day) admits threatening to kill to Bryskman for $100k

Asbury Park Press     Wax testified for a second day in the trial of Rabbi Mendel Epstein, his son and two other rabbis, who are accused of kidnapping men so they would grant their wives “gets” — divorces that would be recognized by Orthodox courts.

Wax – who is serving as the government’s primary witness – gave a gory detailing of what he said he and Epstein conspired to do in order to convince the husbands to comply, all while charging the wives tens of thousands of dollars for the service.

As Bryskman lay on the carpet, Wax said he dropped a large bag next to him and threatened to stuff him inside and bury him alive in the Poconos, unless he gave up his bank account information. [...]

“You decided to put on this hat,” Mazrek said to Wax, waving in his hand a white cowboy hat with a dark lace. Wax told investigators that he donned the hat as he beat Bryskman. [...]

When the taxi driver questioned what had happened to the bruised and bloody Bryskman, Wax made a drinking motion with his hand and said that Bryskman had tried to hit on his wife, so he’d had to “knock him the ---- out,” according to previous testimony that Mazrek read in court.

As they rode through the streets of Lakewood, Bryskman had already agreed to grant the get, Wax said. But rather than let him go, Wax tried to get $100,000 out of him, he testified.

Before dropping off Bryskman at a home in Brooklyn, the two men stopped at a bagel shop, Wax said.

“We wanted to buy him breakfast,” Wax said. “We offered him a muffin.”

When will the Rabbis learn that exiling a pedophile to another neighborhood doesn't help?

Kikar HaShabbat

פרשיה איומה חדשה שהולכת ומתפרשת לעינינו לאחרונה מעידה שוב, בפעם המי יודע כמה, את תוצאותיה האיומות של ההשתקה וההסתרה. בקריית ספר התרבו תלונות על אדם מסויים, תושב העיר, אשר תקף ילדות קטנות, שוב ושוב. במקום לערב את המשטרה, החליטו הרבנים "להגלות" את אותו אדם לבני ברק. הוא הוחתם על חוזה שבו התחייב לקחת כדורים שימנעו ממנו לתקוף ילדים, ולא לחזור לקריית ספר

אף אחד לא הודיע לתושבי השכונה בבני ברק על הסכנה האיומה שעומדת לפתחם. וכמובן, כמו בכרוניקה ידועה מראש, אותו תוקף ידוע המשיך בתקיפות גם בעיר בני ברק, עד שלאחרונה, אחרי מקרים רבים של תקיפות, סוף סוף התלונן אחד מהאבות של הילדות המותקפות למשטרה, והתוקף נעצר

.

כל הורה שקורא את הדברים הללו מתחלחל ומזדעזע. זהו אחד הפחדים האיומים ביותר. הילדים הקטנים והטהורים שלנו. איך נוכל לשמור עליהם שלא יפגעו בהם?

ובכל זאת, למרות הזעזוע, ולמרות התיעוב והפחד, אנחנו עדיין לא מסגירים את התוקפים הללו למשטרה. שוב ושוב אנחנו כקהילה נופלים בפח הזה של - "הוא ישתנה" ו"מה יהיה עם המשפחה שלו?", "איך אפשר לשתף פעולה עם המשטרה" ו"זה מוסר".

 [...]

אל תגידו "הוא ישתנה", אל תאמינו להבטחות, אל תאמינו לסיפורי "נפלתי, וזה לא יקרה שוב". מדובר באנשים בעלי הפרעה נפשית ובעיות קשות מאד של שליטה עצמית בנושא. האם הייתם מאמינים לאלכוהוליסט שמבטיח וחותם לכם שהוא "לא ישתה אלכוהול יותר"?

לכו למשטרה. לכו להתלונן. כל תוקף שנעצר הוא פחות ילדים שנתקפים. זוהי משוואה פשוטה.

הפיצו את הדברים הללו לכל מכריכם. שידע כל אדם שמכיר תוקף כזה ומתלבט אם ללכת למשטרה, התקיפה הבאה תהיה על המצפון שלך. אל תגיד "ידינו לא שפכו את הדם הזה".

Epstein Torture Trial - David Wax links Epstein to the torture of Bryskman to give a Get

NJ.Com    In the ongoing federal conspiracy trial of Rabbi Mendel Epstein, David Wax detailed the roles of three of the four men accused of resorting to violence in exchange for large sums of cash to extract divorces from unwilling husbands.

Wax, the founder of a charitable organization that funneled millions of dollars to Israel, directly linked Epstein and two of the three other men on trial with him to the 2010 attack on Yisrael Bryskman, an Israeli national who was living in Brooklyn to avoid giving his wife a divorce according to Orthodox Jewish custom.

On the witness stand for the entire day on Wednesday, Wax said he and Epstein had phone discussions about forcing Bryskman to agree to the divorce -known as a get - at Wax's Lakewood home.

He said Epstein wanted $50,000 from the family of Bryskman's wife "to pay the people who were going to come." [...]

Bryskman testified on Tuesday before U.S. District Judge Freda Wolfson in Trenton that his attackers blindfolded him, cuffed his hands behind his back and bound his legs before repeatedly beating and kicking him. The attack occurred late Oct. 16, 2010, and continued into the early morning hours of the following day.

Bryskman couldn't identify anyone other than Wax as his attackers, but Wax on Wednesday said Ari Epstein and his unknown friend threw the first punches before he joined in.

At one point, Wax donned a white cowboy hat and pulled Bryskman's head up by his hair to ask him how he liked the hat, Wax admitted.

He said Goldstein was present to write the official get document before everyone left.

Wax also testified that after the attack was over, he got into a cab with Bryskman and took him to an automated teller machine to withdraw the money. The cash - which Bryskman eventually did not retrieve - was to pay for the rug in Wax's bedroom that Bryskman had bloodied during the attack, Wax said.

Wax said he attempted to have Bryskman's father pay $100,000 in ransom but insisted the money was intended as child support for Bryskman's wife.

In the four weeks that federal prosecutors have been calling witnesses, Wax, who has admitted to the kidnaping and brutal beating of one of those husbands, has provided the most potentially damaging testimony so far. [...]

The Bedatz strongly protest against the insults made against Rav Sternbuch and others

רבותינו הבד"צ בראשות מרן הגאב"ד שליט"א יוצאים במחאה נמרצת על כבוד התורה, כאשר בזמן האחרון התרבו המקרים בהם נערים ידועים מאתרא קדישא שמו להם למטרה לבזות את רבינו מרן שר התורה הגר"מ שטרנבוך שליט"א ראב"ד ירושלים וגדולי התורה מנהיגי העדה, ובעזות פנים וחוצפה נוראה העיזו לבזות בחוצפה נוראה את רבינו מרן שר התורה הגר"מ שטרנבוך שליט"א, וכמו כן ההינו אותם נערים מאתרא קדישא לשלוח יד ולפגוע בגדולי התורה ומאורי החסידות, ופגיעתם רעה לתקוף את הגאון הגדול רבי נתן הכהן קופשיץ שליט"א גאב"ד בית שמש וחבר הבד"ץ, ואת מנהיגי קהילות הקודש כ"ק מרן אדמו"ר מתולדות אהרן שליט"א כ"ק מרן אדמו"ר מדושינסקיא שליט"א וכ"ק מרן אדמו"ר מרחמסטריווקא שליט"א.

כעת יוצאים רבותינו הבד"ץ בראשות כ"ק מרן הגאב"ד שליט"א במחאה גדולה על כבוד התורה, וכה הם כותבים בדברים חוצבים: "כאשר בזמן האחרון מתרבים המקרים שיחידים ידועים מבזים את כבוד התורה, וביותר את כבסוד הגאון האדיר שר התורה רבי משה שטרנבוך שליט"א הראב"ד דפעה"ק, וכן מבזים שאר ת"ח שליט"א, אנו מוחים על כך בכל חומר".

בכך מקוים כולם שתוסר החרפה הנוראה ממחנינו והשלום יחזור לשכון בקרבינו, אמן.

Now the pendulum has swung the other way: It is now the female accuser who is automatically believed.

Slate  The Hunting Ground opens like a horror movie: We meet a suite of innocents who have no idea they’re heading off to hell. This documentary about sexual assault on college campuses begins with YouTube videos of high school girls reacting with tearful joy to their acceptance letters. Lambs to the slaughter, we’re supposed to think. The film that follows portrays college as so dangerous for young women that the viewer is left with the sense that these students would have been better off posting college rejection videos and staying home.

The Hunting Ground arrives at an interesting moment in the national conversation on campus sexual assault. Press coverage and statements from government and university officials portray a problem of vast scope. The Obama administration has taken action: Schools are now under pressure from the federal government to show they take sexual assault charges seriously and mete out appropriate punishment. At the same time, a number of critics (and I’m one of them) suggest that a moral panic is clouding our ability to rationally assess the problem. A range of voices—among them journalists and law professors—has raised concerns that the systems being put in place at schools to adjudicate these cases are grossly unfair to the accused. What a perfect time for a film that addresses all this, and illuminates a way forward.

Unfortunately, The Hunting Ground is not that movie. It is a polemic that—as its title suggests—portrays young women as prey, frequently assaulted and frequently ignored by their universities and law enforcement when they try to bring charges. The movie, from director Kirby Dick and producer Amy Ziering, features numerous interviews with women who describe horrific experiences, and their testimony has raw, emotional power. But good policy about the lives of young people—female and male—needs to be based on prudent assessment. The film traffics in alarmist statistics and terrifying assertions, but fails to acknowledge both the recent changes in the way the government and universities approach sexual assault charges and the critiques that those changes go too far. By refusing to engage the current conversation about this issue, the film does its subjects—and us all—a disservice.

The Hunting Ground relentlessly makes the point, for example, that about 20 percent of female college students will be sexually assaulted by classmates. Diane Rosenfeld of Harvard Law School analogizes that if the parents of male students were told their sons had a “1 in 4 or 5 chance” of being a victim of a drive-by shooting at college, Mom and Dad would think twice about sending them. In a Slate piece in December on campus sexual assault, I examined some of the studies underlying this claim, which has long been cited by advocates on this issue. It turns out many of the studies rest on narrow samples or wildly extrapolated numbers. (Even New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a co-sponsor of proposed legislation on campus sexual assault who appears briefly in the film, quietly took the “1 in 5” statistic off her website in December.) Callie Marie Rennison, co-director of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Research Initiative at the University of Colorado Denver, writing in the New York Times, deplored the idea that students and parents are being bombarded with assertions of “an epidemic where one does not exist.”

Not only is sexual assault an expected part of the college experience, the filmmakers assert, once it happens victims generally discover that no officials at their schools will take action or even care. These callous, indifferent administrators coddle perpetrators and systematically cover up heinous crimes in an effort to maintain their school’s good—if false—reputation. Occidental College assistant professor of sociology and activist Danielle Dirks says, “Schools are actively and aggressively not wanting to tell the truth about what is going on on their campuses. Because the first campuses to do so will be known as the rape campuses.” (In my article I mention Dirks’ involvement in getting a male freshman expelled from Occidental after he hooked up with a female freshman while both were drunk.)

The Hunting Ground asserts that even when a victim pushes past the roadblocks and makes a formal report to administrators, it will do no good. Lawyer and activist Colby Bruno says, “The message is clear: It’s don’t proceed through these disciplinary hearings. No matter what you do, you’re not going to win.” The film follows this quote with a graphic showing a paltry number of expulsions of male students at six top schools. But let’s examine this assertion that colleges would rather leave perpetrators unpunished than acknowledge there are any. The higher education insurance group, United Educators, just released a study of 305 sexual assault claims they received from 104 member schools for the three years ending in 2013. I spoke to the organization’s director of risk research, Alyssa Keehan, who said, “The most common narrative you hear is that institutions don’t care about sexual assault. Our data suggests otherwise.” UE’s findings show that when a formal complaint is brought against a student, in 45 percent of the cases he is found responsible. When that happens, more than 80 percent of the time he is given the most severe penalty available—either expulsion or suspension. The study found in 25 percent of the cases the accused is found not responsible. In 23 percent of the cases the school did not adjudicate, not because of a cover-up, but because in the majority of these instances the accuser either asked the school not to investigate, became uncooperative, or could not identify the accused. In the remainder of cases, the accused withdrew from school. [...]