Crash and burn: Voters reject Trump’s ‘failed’ econ plan as tariffs sink markets

Trump loses 'gang case,' but defies ruling: Ari breaks down 'autocratic' showdown

Tamar Epstein's marriage "annulment", Rabbinical Council of Washington and the degradation of Orthodox values and authority

Guest Post  by Joe Orlow

See - Tamar Epstein claims she is free even without a Get

[update added questions from Friedman supporters]

================
The Aharon Friedman-Tamar Epstein divorce process is an issue that has led to a split in the Jewish community. I am directly aware of a number of people, including people who are learned, who were initially supporters of Tamar Epstein and subsequently have become strong supporters of Aharon Friedman after they discovered more about the case and studied in more depth the Halacha which has a bearing on this case.

The Rabbinical Council of Greater Washington (RCW) relying on a letter from the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (Agudath HaRabonim), made a bizarre statement that "Mr. Aharon Friedman has been adjudged in violation of an order of a Beis Din and accordingly is now considered halachically to have made his wife an agunah."

Subsequent to the Agudath HaRabonim letter being issued, one of the Rabbis who signed the letter was arrested by the FBI in a sting operation for allegedly offering to free a woman from her husband -- even though the "husband" in question did not exist, since the woman had lied to him as part of the sting. One of the staff members of the Agudath Harabonim was also arrested as part of the sting.

Another Rabbi who signed the letter has allegedly been involved in a similar case, in which an actual husband was beaten and apparently almost killed.

Another Rabbi who signed the letter has a longstanding and close connection with Tamar Epstein's family.

Another Rabbi who did not actually sign the letter but added his signature to a copy of the letter has apparently called for beating husbands who don't give a Get to their wives after the husband and wife have been separated for an extended period, apparently without regard to the circumstances of the separation.

In this context, the statement by the RCW that "We urge those who have contact with or influence over Mr. Aharon Friedman to persuade Mr. Friedman, through proper [emphasis added] means only, to promptly comply with the order of the Beis Din and to promptly give his wife the required Get." would seem to indicate that violence is in order. Indeed, after the RCW's letter was issued, Aharon was attacked in the driveway of his wife's residence as he dropped off his daughter.

Lately, Tamar Epstein denies she's married to Aharon Friedman.

I have three initial questions:

(1) Are we allowed to take under consideration the published reports about Rabbi Mordechai Wolmark and Rabbi Yisroel Belsky and their alleged involvement in beating husbands, and if yes, how does this impact the letter they wrote about Aharon Friedman?

(2) How should we treat the RCW which apparently has allied itself with these men?

(3) How should we treat the RCW in light of their silence in regard to Tamar Epstein's disregard of her marriage to Aharon Friedman and her making herself available for marriage to another man?

[added questions from Friedman's supporters:

Following the assault on Aharon, the DC Vaad, and the rabbis who are its members, have refused to answer the following two questions (sent to them by email and postal mail):

Do you and the Washington Vaad consider beating Aharon to be "proper means" of "persuading" Aharon to give a get as called for in the Vaad's letter?

Would you or the Washington Vaad recognize as valid a get that was obtained through beating Aharon?

Furthermore, the RCW has an affiliated Congregation whose Rabbi is a graduate of a Yeshiva with a Bais Medrash

(a) where the students discuss the New Testament with Catholic clergy,

(b) whose current president welcomes intermarried couples,

(c) whose Rosh Yeshiva is embarrassed by the Torah as it has been received (and who seems to be advocating for a way to end a marriage in general without a legitimate Get), while

(d) the coordinator of conversions for the Rabbinic organization associated with the Yeshiva denies that any Jews are descended from Abraham.

Is a Jew allowed to step into that RCW affiliated Shul? If yes, can one eat from the kitchen in that Shul (the kitchen is certified Kosher by the RCW)?

One of the Rabbis of the RCW co-authored a Sefer with a number of Rabbis closely connected to this Yeshiva. Can a Jew Daven in this RCW Rabbi's Shul and eat from the kitchen there?

If food from the kitchens at these Shuls are off-limits, may one still eat at and/or buy food from other RCW certified Kosher establishments such as butcher shops?

There is an Orthodox school here whose Rav ha-Kehilla is a Musmach of this Yeshiva. May a student attend this school?

Furthermore, there's an international Orthodox organization that has some member congregations that have Rabbis who are graduates of this Yeshiva. This organization has not categorically stated that these Rabbis cannot participate as members of the Kashrus branch of the organization. May a Jew eat food which has been certified as Kosher by this organization?

There's another international Kashrus organization whose Rabbinic leader has given a letter of support to the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot (ORA). ORA is the group that broke the news that Tamar Epstein, a married woman, is "free" and which took credit for facilitating this married woman's being granted the freedom to marry another man. May a Jew eat food certified Kosher by this Kashrus organization?

Lastly, it is my understanding that the entire Jewish Nation accepted upon itself to follow the Shulchan Aruch, and that when a Rav decides not to follow the Shulchan Aruch in a given case that it is not improper to request of him that he explain why we do not follow the Shulchan in that case.

Yet, reportedly, there's a Rav of the RCW that said that when a great scholar says to go against the Shulchan Aruch that the great scholar must be followed unquestioningly. Is one allowed to Daven in this Rav's shul, or to ask Halachic questions of him?

Trump’s pushback on judges challenges U.S. system of checks and balances

 https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/trumps-pushback-on-judges-challenges-u-s-system-of-checks-and-balances

In one filing last night, an ICE official said that the government — quote — "carefully vetted" the migrants to ensure that they were in fact members of the Tren de Aragua gang, the Venezuelan gang, but the ICE official also said that many of these Venezuelan nationals deported do not have criminal records and that the government lacks — quote — "specific information' about a number of these cases.

I spoke to the ACLU's Lee Gelernt, who is a lead attorney in this case. And he said that, on the merits, they're making two arguments, which is that the president cannot use a wartime authority in peacetime against a gang and also that they have to give due process to these migrants, so they can dispute the allegations that they are gang members.

White House Rips Judge As 'Democrat Activist.' Except He's Ruled For Trump Lots Of Times

 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/white-house-attacks-judge-who-ruled-for-trump_n_67d98e79e4b0f28acf22746b

Beyond his past decisions that have benefited Trump, Boasberg has enjoyed strong support from Republicans for virtually his entire career. President George W. Bush first nominated him to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in 2002, a judgeship he held for nine years.

And while it’s true that Obama elevated Boasberg to be a U.S. district court judge in 2011, he was confirmed 96-0 by the Senate.

Venezuela’s Maduro calls US deportation of migrants to El Salvador a ‘kidnapping,’ backs calls for their return

 https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/20/americas/venezuela-el-salvador-us-migrant-deportations-intl-hnk/index.html

Venezuela’s leader has described the deportation of more than 200 mostly Venezuelan migrants sent by the United States to a notorious mega-prison in El Salvador as a “kidnapping,” and denied they are criminals while backing calls for their return.

“They were not brought to trial, they were not given the right to a defense, the right to due process, they were deceived, handcuffed, put on a plane, kidnapped, and sent to a concentration camp in El Salvador,” Maduro added.

Jackie Robinson’s Army story restored after Defense Department DEI purge

 https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2025/03/19/jackie-robinson-defense-department-dei-purge/

An article on the Department of Defense website telling the story of Jackie Robinson, which was apparently removed in a purge of articles related to diversity, equity and inclusion as of Wednesday morning, reappeared later that afternoon. The article, part of the department’s series on athletes who served, highlighted the Hall of Fame hero’s life and service before he broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

The disappearance appeared to be another part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. Articles about a Pima Indian who was one of the six Marines photographed hoisting a U.S. flag on Iwo Jima in 1945 as well as multiple stories about the Navajo Code Talkers and Japanese American veterans had been deleted. A Defense Department webpage about Maj. Gen. Charles Calvin Rogers, a Medal of Honor recipient who was Black, was briefly removed, then restored after an outcry.

A U.S. Retreat in the War of Ideas

 https://www.wsj.com/opinion/radio-free-asia-radio-liberty-donald-trump-elon-musk-ronald-reagan-902c8c37?mod=hp_opin_pos_6#cxrecs_s

On Saturday Mr. Trump ordered the termination of grants for Radio Free Asia and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Voice of America, the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (Radio and Television Marti), the Open Technology Fund and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks are also being dismantled. This is a retreat in the global war of ideas.

The news agencies were created to counter communism and spread the truth in countries where media are controlled by governments that lie about the world. As Natan Sharansky and other former prisoners of communism attest, Radio Free Europe was a source of inspiration as it broadcast throughout countries like Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Soviet Union. It’s the same in China, Cuba and other dictatorships today.

Rabbi’s explosive letter exposes suicide crisis in U.S. Haredi community

 https://www.jfeed.com/news-israel/std3g8

A prominent figure in New York’s Haredi community has unleashed a blistering critique of what he calls a hidden "epidemic of suicides," rocking the ultra-Orthodox world in the United States with a call for urgent action. Rabbi Yitzchak Mordechai Brach, a senior leader of the "Chesed Shel Emet" Chevra Kadisha and director of the Yereim Funeral Home in Brooklyn, issued a scathing open letter this week, accusing rabbinic authorities of covering up a growing wave of suicides and failing to address a mental health crisis that he claims is claiming lives weekly.

The letter, published by Kikar HaShabbat, comes on the heels of several recent tragedies within the Haredi sector. Rabbi Brach, whose role in the Chevra Kadisha gives him firsthand insight into the community’s deaths, pulls no punches. "They tell the public stories about accidents, but we – the members of the Chevra Kadisha – know the truth," he writes. "We witness unfortunate cases every week of people ending their lives in ways that defy comprehension."

"אנשים מסיימים את חייהם בדרכים שלא נתפסים בדעת" | המכתב שמטלטל את ארה"ב

 https://www.kikar.co.il/haredim-news/haredi-rabbi-suicide-crisis

הרב יצחק מרדכי בראך, מראשי החברא קדישא בניו יורק, יוצא במכתב חריף נגד התופעה המחרידה של אובדנות בקרב הציבור החרדי בארה"ב, וקורא להקמת מרכזי סיוע דחופים | לדבריו, הרבנים מתכחשים ומסתירים את הסיפורים | המכתב המלא (חרדים)

Bondi says judge has ‘no right’ to ask flight deportation questions - Trump's lawyer has new way to justify dictatorship

 https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5204161-bondi-judge-flight-deportation/?tbref=hp

Attorney General Pam Bondi said the district judge who ordered the Trump administration to return deportation flights over the weekend has “no right” to be asking questions about the specifics.

“Our lawyers are working on this, we will answer appropriately,” Bondi said Wednesday on Fox News. “But what I will tell you is, this judge has no right to ask those questions.”

On Wednesday, with the deadline nearing, Bondi said Boasberg had no “business, no power” to order the administration to return the flights. She argued that it has been a “pattern” from liberal judges to order things they have no jurisdiction to do.

Captured Gaza records show that Iran, Hezbollah plotted with Hamas to destroy Israel

 https://www.timesofisrael.com/captured-gaza-records-show-that-iran-hezbollah-plotted-with-hamas-to-destroy-israel/

New study, based on classified documents, reveals terror group’s shift from defense to a multifront assault plan, culminating in October 7 invasion; warns Hamas will try again if it recovers

In the years leading up to its invasion of Israel on October 7, 2023, Hamas developed a concrete plan to destroy the Jewish state, in full coordination with Hezbollah and Iran, according to classified documents published by the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center.

The Hamas documents reveal that in the lead-up to October 7, Iran was a critical player in funding Hamas’s plan to destroy Israel, that the Gaza-based terror group pushed for a coordinated attack from multiple fronts, and that its leader Yahya Sinwar believed that his military force could push Israel toward collapse.

Hamas’s devastating large-scale attack, which caught the nation off guard, involved coordinated land, sea, and air assaults, marking a significant escalation in its long-standing goal to destroy Israel. Despite years of military buildup in Gaza and strategic shifts, Israeli intelligence had not anticipated the scale or suddenness of the attack, leaving security forces badly unprepared.

Republicans quiet out of fear ‘they’re going to be taken down’ - Terrorized by Trump-Musk

 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5203747-lisa-murkowski-senate-republicans-trump-musk/

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) says that few Senate Republicans are willing to speak out against actions by the Trump administration and Elon Musk because most fear for their political lives.

Murkowski, one of the foremost centrists in the GOP conference, told reporters Tuesday that many of her colleagues are scared of the attacks she and others who have been willing to buck Trump and the party have faced. That is why they are unwilling to take steps that put them out of line and in the crosshairs of Trump supporters and conservatives. 

“I get criticized for what I say, and everybody else is like, ‘How come nobody else is saying anything?’ Well, figure it out, because they’re looking at how many things are being thrown at me, and it’s like, ‘Maybe I should just duck and cover,’” Murkowski said during an appearance at the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. 

“That’s why you’ve got everybody just zip-lipped, not saying a word because they’re afraid they’re going to be taken down — they’re going to be primaried, they’re going to be given names in the media,” she continued. “We cannot be cowed into not speaking up.”

GOP lawmakers conflicted over Trump’s clash with judiciary

 https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5201879-trump-federal-judiciary-battle/?tbref=hp

Republican lawmakers are conflicted over how to respond to President Trump’s confrontational standoff with the federal judiciary, which drew a rare public rebuke Tuesday from Chief Justice John Roberts.

Trump and his allies are directing their attacks more frequently against judges who threaten to slow or block the president’s ambitious agenda, putting GOP lawmakers in an uncomfortable spot.

Republican officeholders are leery of criticizing Trump for fear of becoming the target of his wrath or a primary challenge, yet privately they worry about the president’s efforts to expand his executive power, which could reverberate far into the future.