After 7 years on the run, get-refuser finally gives wife divorce

 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/319893

Representing the conclusion to one of the most emotionally challenging and dramatic cases handled by the rabbinical courts in recent memory, a Beit Shemesh resident was granted freedom from her husband this week.

She received her get (writ of divorce) after nearly fourteen years of efforts, including several months the husband spent in prison after being captured in Tel Aviv in a targeted manhunt.

Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections - dedicated to Garnel

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections

The Russian government interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election with the goals of harming the campaign of Hillary Clinton, boosting the candidacy of Donald Trump, and increasing political and social discord in the United States. According to the U.S. intelligence community, the operation—code named Project Lakhta[1][2]—was ordered directly by Russian President Vladimir Putin.[3][4] The Special Counsel's report, made public in April 2019, examined numerous contacts between the Trump campaign and Russian officials but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to bring any conspiracy or coordination charges against Trump or his associates.

At least 25 social media pages drawing 1.4 million followers were created by Russian agents to target the American political right and promote the Trump candidacy.[48] An example of the targeting was the adding of Blue Lives Matter material to social media platforms by Russian operatives after the Black Lives Matter movement moved to the center of public attention in the America and sparked a pro-police reaction.[48]

Israeli study shows 4th vaccine boosts antibodies fivefold as infections soar

 https://www.jpost.com/breaking-news/article-691491

The fourth dose of the COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies fivefold a week after the shot is administered, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Tuesday, citing preliminary findings of an Israeli study.

Dr. Gili Regev-Yochay, who is leading the study at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, told Bennett the fivefold increase in antibodies indicates that the vaccine works and provides protection against serious complications. In addition, the new booster appears to have a safety profile similar to the previous ones, she said.

Jewish BBC broadcaster resigns over antisemitism

 https://www.thejc.com/news/news/jewish-bbc-broadcaster-resigns-over-antisemitism-1TsyKrqWXsvfDVSh4JLmjn

The BBC has attracted widespread criticism for a report in the aftermath of the Oxford Street incident in which it was alleged by the broadcaster that anti-muslim slurs could be heard from inside the bus of threatened teenagers.

Jewish community leaders and campaign groups have called on the BBC to retract and apologise for the report with the Board of Deputies commissioning an independent investigation into the video which found no evidence of Anti-Muslim slurs.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism also held a rally outside the BBC’s headquarters in Central London to demand the BBC ‘Stop blaming Jews.’

BBC Broadcaster Rabbi YY Rubinstein Resigns After 30 Years Over 'Inexcusable' Antisemitism

 https://www.newsweek.com/bbc-broadcaster-rabbi-yy-rubinstein-resigns-after-30-years-over-inexcusable-antisemitism-1665376

BBC Broadcaster Rabbi YY Rubinstein announced he would resign from the broadcasting corporation due to "inexcusable" antisemitism on Monday.

Rubinstein posted his resignation letter on Facebook, writing it is "a very sad moment" for him. He wrote that his resignation was sparked by the broadcaster's coverage of a group of Jewish teenagers being attacked on a bus in London.

Many have accused the BBC of falsely reporting the group of teenagers used anti-Muslim slurs during the attack.

Case Against Andrew Cuomo Weakens as Nursing Home, Forcible Touching Probes Collapse

 https://www.newsweek.com/case-against-andrew-cuomo-weakens-nursing-home-forcible-touching-probes-collapse-1665329

The cases made against former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in his final months in office are crumbling as separate investigations into the conduct of his administration have been and are expected to be dropped by two district attorneys in the state.

An Expert Explains the BITE Model with Steven Hassan, PhD

KA says any beis din can do anything they think they must do to accomplish their goal- just like Mendel Epstein?

Week into trial, Bennett claims 4th vaccine shot provides major immunity boost

https://www.timesofisrael.com/week-into-trial-bennett-claims-4th-vaccine-shot-provides-immunity-boost/ 

The fourth Pfizer vaccine shot causes a significant boost in antibodies within a week after taking it, according to interim data from Israel’s landmark study on the matter made public Tuesday by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett.

Bennett heard the partial results during a tour of Sheba Medical Center near Tel Aviv, telling reporters that a week after receiving the fourth dose, recipients had almost five times more COVID-19 antibodies in their blood.

However, since the trial began just a week earlier, there is no data on whether the number of antibodies maintains itself over time after the first week, or whether the antibodies provide better protection against catching — or developing serious illness from — the Omicron variant, which has shown an ability to break through other vaccine defenses.

Manhattan DA won’t charge Cuomo in nursing home probe, lawyer says

 https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/whiteboard/2022/01/03/manhattan-da-wont-charge-cuomo-in-nursing-home-probe-lawyer-says-1403639

Prosecutors in Manhattan have concluded former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo did not break the law when his administration misled the public about the number of Covid-19 deaths tied to nursing homes, the Democrat’s former attorney said on Monday.

Witnesses in abuse cases Sho’el U’Meishiv (1:185): is not to determine guilt but only the possibility of guilt

 From my book Child and Domestic Abuse Volume II. this is accepted as halacha l'maaseh

Sho’el U’Meishiv (1:185): Rumors spread about a certain teacher who had lived in that city for 8 years. Children that he had taught while they were young and now were 13 years or more older testified that he had sodomized them when they were younger. The previous summer a certain G d fearing man found out about this and was outraged and informed the rav of the community. However the rav did not want to accept this testimony… However the Maharik and the Terumas HaDeshen wrote and the Rema rules in Shulchan Aruch that in a situation where kosher witness are not necessary - then even a woman or child is believed. If so, in this matter it is definitely impossible for there to be adult males and it is impossible for there to be testimony in the matter. That is because without a doubt this man – even if he is wicked and dissolute – keeps his deeds secret and he only amuses himself with small children and claims he is only playing with them. Therefore it is obvious that they should be believed. However we are not trying to disqualify him from being a witness or making an oath but we only want to be able to say whether he perhaps did this. Our Sages said in Nida (61) that while it is prohibited to believe lashon harah, the concern aroused by it is required. And in Mo’ed Koton (18) they said that regarding bad talk – at least some of it is true. Therefore woe is to us that in our days such a thing happened that a man like this should be a teacher of children who are pure creatures and there is concern that he violated them. Therefore in my opinion it is appropriate to remove the crown of teacher from his head. They need to be concerned for their souls until he completely repents with appropriate afflictions and only then can he considered a full member of the community and it will be an atonement for his sins. Furthermore as long as he hasn’t confessed his sins then repentance is not possible as the Tevu’os Shor wrote in siman 2…. But in this case where there is testimony – even though it is not from kosher witnesses it is worth more than rumors and it is obvious he should be prevented from getting students to teach.

Sex offenders II - Treatment in Chareidi Society

Haaretz reports: This is the English version of a Hebrew article posted before

Around five years ago, Rabbi Yehuda Silman, a dayan (rabbinical court judge) in Bnei Brak court, approached Doron Agasi, a religious social worker, and asked for assistance in dealing with sex offenders. The request seemed like a call for help and Agasi, the principal of a boarding school for children-at-risk in Bnei Brak was acquainted with the problem first-hand. He proposed treating the offenders. He recalled the youth probation office's success with group therapy, which was offered as an alternative to imprisonment to youths who were sex offenders.

The proposal fell on open ears. The principle behind this method - that offenders are not removed from the community, that is, sent to jail, and no police file on them is opened - seemed like a solution that the ultra-Orthodox leadership could live with in peace.

That is how, with the full backing of rabbis, Agasi founded the Shlom Banayich (welfare of your sons) association for children-at-risk. Behind the somewhat vague name stood the first clear-cut social program to expose the dimensions of sex offenses in the ultra-Orthodox sector and treat it. Violence against a sexual backdrop raises unbearable questions in a society that prides itself on its moral superiority. It seems that a professional like Agasi, who belongs to the Hardal (abbreviation for Haredi-Leumi, or ultra-Orthodox nationalist) stream and is well-acquainted with the ultra-Orthodox and secular worlds, was needed in order to achieve a breakthrough. With his yeshiva-student like appearance - without the sneakers and the large crochet skullcap - he might have looked like an average ultra-Orthodox man, and his sensitivity generated a lot of trust. He basically worked as an intermediary between the ultra-Orthodox community and Dr. Talia Etgar, an expert in treating sex offenders at the Elem Association for at-risk youth.

Last week saw the end of the first course of its kind - for ultra-Orthodox therapists - in group therapy for offenders. The course was the initiative of Shlom Banayich in collaboration with Elem. The association with Elem came about after five years of fruitless contacts with the Probation Service and endless entanglements in the bureaucracy of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Half of the funding for the course was finally obtained from a contribution (from the high-tech company, Check Point); the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs agreed to fill in the rest.

Thirteen therapists took the six-month course. Soon they will begin their practical work: every pair of therapists will spend a year and a half working with a group of five boys. The treatment is based on having the offender confront his responsibility and educating him about sexual behavior that is appropriate to the codes of ultra-Orthodox society. The group framework is meant to provide support and teach the participants to have mutual respect for others.

The potential participants in the group are ultra-Orthodox boys who are being monitored by the Youth Probation Service or those who are not obligated to check in with a probation officer (cases that are not included for various reasons in Amendment 26 of the criminal code). Working with them is dependent on the cooperation of the welfare officer and the rabbis. Every case is first reviewed by Elem's Center for Sexual Violence and then undergoes a risk evaluation, after which the boys are divided into groups.

The deterrent factor, according to Agasi, is the alternative: the boys know that if they don't take part in the group, a police file on them will be opened and they will be sent to jail. [...]

Child abuse R' Silman - force payment for therapy

This is from the current issue of Yeschurun

Child Abuse: R' Silman - force abuser to pay for therapy (translation)

This is my translation of part of the recent Yeschurun article.

R’ Yehuda Silman (Yeschurun page 589-590): Is there an obligation for the molester to pay for psychotherapy? One major talmid chachom questioned whether psychotherapy is included in the payment for ripoi (cure). That is because he claims that we know from experience that those who are molested as children or as teenagers are rarely cured. He says that in the majority of cases the treatment that takes place over many years only helps to deal with the associated problems [and isn’t a cure]. I disagree with this position. The fact is that in a large percentage of cases there is fact full recovery and in almost all cases there is at least benefit from the therapy and thus it is obvious in my opinion that psychotherapy is included in the category of ripoi (cure). Consider the case of someone who was physically assaulted but there is no cure to his wounds and consequently he is required to have treatment for the rest of his life – would anyone seriously think that this treatment is not called ripoi (cure) – of course not!

This answer would seem to be relevant only for those e.g., Sephardim who follow the view of Rav Yosef Karo. He states in the Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 1:2) that the contemporary beis din judges and exacts payment for unemployment (sheves) and cure (ripoi). However this apparently is not applicable for those who follow the view of the Rema who rules that we don’t judge and exact payment today in these matters. In fact there is no practical difference between the two positions. The Rema continues by saying, ”We force the assailant to placate the victim and we fine him according to what is deemed appropriate by beis din as is explained in sif 5.” There the Shulchan Aruch states, “Even though judges who don’t have semicha in Israel do not collect fines nevertheless we ostracize (nidoi) the assailant until they placate the victim and when they give the appropriate amount then we free them.” Today when we don’t ostracize (nidoi) the advisable approach is to put pressure on the assailant that he is to be ostracized in various ways as a substitute for nidoi. In the case where the assailant has signed an agreement which includes the right of the judge to decide what is best then it is also possible to obligate him to pay money.

Also a good suggestion is that where there is communication between the sides such as in the case of teachers (the majority of cases of abuse are these types) – one should insert an explicit clause in the agreement between the two sides which states that the abuser is obligated to pay according to the decision of the judge. It is also a good idea to specify that the plaintiff is the parent of the child and where that is not possible or if they don’t want to - then the principal should be listed.