Abuse - reporting exempts from responsiblity?

R' Pinchos Yehoshua HaKohain wrote:

Dear Rabbi Eidensohn,

I would like to follow up on some Shakla v'Tarya from 13 July. (It is copied below). I would like to present 3 points:

1) Shomer SheMosar L'Shomer is not applicable here.

2) It is a case of Hashovas Aveida

3) What are the parameters of Hashovas Aveida and how they would apply in our context.

1) Shomer SheMosar LeShomer would not seem to be applicable here.

Either according to Abaye, that the reasoning is because "Ain Reztoni SheYehe Pikdoni b'Yad Acher" or whether according to Rovo that it is because of "At M'Hemnis Li b'Shevuoh, v'Haich Lo M'Hemnis Li", b oth reasons see that the underlying principle is a contractual agreement (a shibud) that binds the shomer, because of the contract undertaken, with the owner of the property. In our situation there has occurred no contractual arrangement between the victim and his erstwhile rescuer/interventionist.

Whether there is an Isur aspect of "Osur L'Shomer Limsor l'Shomer" is discussed in the Acharonim - please see Aruch haShulchon 291:45,46 and Pischei Choshen vol 2, 4:1:1). B ut even if there is an Isur aspect, it flows from being "Maavir Al Daas Baalim" - a Gezel/Gneiva parameter which would not be applicable in our scenario in a strictly Halocho legal sense. (Musar/ethical/moral considerations need to be considered separately)

The following sources and analysis, I believe,support this position: Click on this link for the rest of the posting

EJF - universally accepted conversions?

Anonymous comment on your post "EJF's Enhanced Web site":

I am converting through EFJ (monsey, NY) and I would like to know whether those beit dins are kosher and my conversion will be kosher. Thanks

Fair use vs copyright infringement

[[Friday update]] Matzav.com has so far refused to comply with my request to remove my translation. They have simply taken it off the main page and placed in the "Torah World" section. They insist that since they have credited me with the translation they can publish it on their site. This is clearly a copyright infringment. I responded that they can keep it on only if they remove half of the answer in the teshuva and publish a link to this blog.

=========================
Just noticed that one of my posts was published in full on another blog without even a link to the original. However I was given credit for the post. As far as I can ascertain - one should not publish a complete article without permission. How much of an article constitutes fair use is a matter of debate. I did request that the posting be removed.

This problem is discussed in a cogent article on JTA entitle "Steal this post!" by Daniel Sieradski

[...] One phenomenon that appears to be accelerating the decline of at least some Jewish news organizations is the rise of a group of Jewish news aggregation Web sites, predominantly serving the ultra-Orthodox community, which copy and republish in-full, without permission or payment, content from more prominent Jewish news sources, robbing them of both desperately needed licensing fees and revenue-generating Web site traffic. [...]

EJF's Enhanced Web site

Everything except written teshuvos justifying their approach

To accomplish their mission of education, the Eternal Jewish Family (EJF) has significantly updated the web site at www.eternaljewishfamily.org. This includes adding the Eternal Jewish Family e-News with regular updates on developments within the organization and geirus (conversion to Judaism). It is part of the first phase of a new comprehensive Web site that will be a comprehensive guide to universally accepted conversions in intermarriage. [...]

Obamacare & the great 'prevention" myth

Washington Post - Charles Krauthammer

In the 48 hours of June 15-16, President Obama lost the health-care debate. First, a letter from the Congressional Budget Office to Sen. Edward Kennedy reported that his health committee's reform bill would add $1 trillion in debt over the next decade. Then the CBO reported that the other Senate bill, being written by the Finance Committee, would add $1.6 trillion. The central contradiction of Obamacare was fatally exposed: From his first address to Congress, Obama insisted on the dire need for restructuring the health-care system because out-of-control costs were bankrupting the Treasury and wrecking the U.S. economy -- yet the Democrats' plans would make the problem worse.

Accordingly, Democrats have trotted out various tax proposals to close the gap. Obama's idea of limits on charitable and mortgage-interest deductions went nowhere. As did the House's income tax surcharge on millionaires. And Obama dare not tax employer-provided health insurance because of his campaign pledge of no middle-class tax hikes.

Desperation time. What do you do? Sprinkle fairy dust on every health-care plan, and present your deus ex machina: prevention. [...]

Jewish Law & copyright

JLaw R' Israel Schneider

In our highly advanced technological age, the duplication of original works of authorship has become almost effortless. While at one time, manuscripts or books had to be copied laboriously by hand, it is now possible within several minutes to produce high quality reproductions of entire works. Similarly, audio tapes, videos, and computer programs can all be reproduced quickly, effectively, and cheaply. The purpose of this essay is to explore the halachic implications of making or using unauthorized duplications and to inquire if there are precedents which could serve as grounds for the protection of an author's or creator's proprietary rights.

Halachic literature is rich in detailing the rights - and limitations - of an author to his original work. Not surprisingly, the People of the Book were constantly involved in determining what type of protection could be granted to an author or publisher. [...]

EJF proselytizes in Europe

Five Towns Jewish Times

[...] In a dramatic development that Rabbi Shlomo Baksht calls "nothing short of a miracle," a growing number of intermarried couples are seeking to complete a process that will lead to a universally accepted conversion. With the strong infrastructure of shuls, yeshivos, mikvaos, and kosher restaurants, these couples will be able to function as fully committed Torah Jews. More than 20 such couples, which includes a Jewish spouse who is "on the way to becoming a ba'al teshuvah," will participate in a seminar sponsored by EJF on September 6–8.

The Odessa seminar is modeled after the many successful similar seminars in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. A large percentage of participants eventually proceed to a halachic conversion, according to Rabbi Tropper. Like participants in other countries, many of these couples have at some point undergone a problematic conversion and eventually recognize that their conversion is not recognized by halachic authorities.

A similar seminar for couples is being planned for Munich in November. At each of the seminars, EJF's world-class lecturers present different aspects of Judaism. In addition to Rabbi Tropper, some of the lecturers include Rabbi Mordechai Neugroschel, Rabbi Doron Kornbluth, Rabbi Yonoson Rosenblum, Rabbi Shimon Grilius, and Rabbi Noach Hertz.[...]

Rav Sternbuch - Appreciating small mitzvos

51(2)

Priority 1 - Upcoming Events

Priority 1

Converts of San Nicandro Italy

Time Sep 15, 1947

All over the world next week, the ram's horns of Rosh Hashanah (beginning of the New Year) will call faithful Jews to the Ten Days of Penitence that end with Yom Kippur. No prayers will be more fervent than those from the 80-odd ex-Catholics of San Nicandro, Italy.

The conversion of San Nicandro began almost 20 years ago with dark-eyed, sallow Donato Manduzio. Invalided by shrapnel in World War I, Donato had lain for years on a miserable straw mattress in an attic room. At first he wept bitterly that he could not join in the daily life of his native San Nicandro Garganico (pop. 20,000). But gradually, the sounds of women singing as they carried water in copper vessels on their heads, the cries of the black-hatted mule-drivers, the hammering of cobblers in the tiny, dark shops (Donate had been a cobbler himself) lost their attraction for Donato. He heard them no more, because he was too busy reading the Bible.

Along with the sounds of workaday life, Donato also closed his ears to church bells. Bible study had led him to question the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church.

On the day that Manduzio was able to leave his bed, a Protestant preacher happened to be addressing a meeting in San Nicandro's square. As the preacher attacked the dogmas of Catholicism, Donato suddenly lifted one of the two sticks on which he was leaning, and shouted: "You have demolished the Catholic Church for me. I am a Catholic no longer."[...]

Self-Converted Ugandan "Jews"

History of Ugandan "Jews" (click this link)

Obamacare - Myth & Facts /CBS News

Watch CBS Videos Online

Mary Robinson's Medal of Freedom

Wall Street Journal

Barack Obama's decision to award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Mary Robinson has generated unexpected but emotionally charged opposition. Appointed by then-U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan as high commissioner for human rights in 1997-2002, Ms. Robinson had a controversial but ineffective tenure. (Previously, she was president of Ireland, a ceremonial position.)

Criticism of Mr. Obama's award, to be officially bestowed tomorrow, has centered on Ms. Robinson's central organizing role as secretary general of the 2001 "World Conference Against Racism" in Durban, South Africa. Instead of concentrating on its purported objectives, Durban was virulently anti-Semitic, anti-Israel, and at least implicitly anti-American.

So vile was the conference's draft declaration that Secretary of State Colin Powell correctly called it "a throwback to the days of 'Zionism equals racism,'" referring to the infamous 1975 U.N. General Assembly resolution to that effect. President George W. Bush (whose father led the 1991 campaign that repealed the U.N.'s "Zionism is a form of racism" resolution) unhesitatingly agreed when Mr. Powell recommended the U.S. delegation leave the Durban conference rather than legitimize the outcome.

Ms. Robinson didn't see it that way then, and she has shown no remorse since. In late 2002, she described Durban's outcome as "remarkably good, including on the issues of the Middle East." [...]

Chasidic cop's undercover drug sting

Forward

A few months ago, Israeli police planning a sting were hard-pressed to find a convincing small-time dealer who could buy large quantities of drugs without arousing suspicion. In the end, they settled on a novel solution: a Hasidic man who would claim he was buying for students at his yeshiva.

The case ended up netting the arrests of 15 men in the Israeli town of Lod. The arrested will face trial next month on charges of possession and supply of illegal substances. The operation was given the name Ketoret Samim, a double entendre referring both to drugs in modern Hebrew and to a talmudic mixing of incense in ancient Hebrew. The operation's success was thanks to footage recorded from cameras secreted in the long black coat of Shlomo Treitel, a 34-year-old Hasid from Netanya who is a community police officer.

"My wife didn't know what I was doing, but when I told her, she said that she knows I'm guided by our rebbe, so I won't come to any harm," he told the Forward.

On some 30 occasions, and spending $14,000 altogether, Treitel went to dealers in Lod, notorious for its Arab-controlled drug trading. He bought hard and soft drugs. His story was that the students in his yeshiva were ba'alei teshuvah (secular Jews who have turned to more observant lives), and he had come to the conclusion that he could well cash in on their habits by becoming a small-scale dealer. [...]

Rav Wozner - informing on tax cheats

Rav Wozner(Shevet HaLevi 2:58):Concerning someone who works for the tax department and he discovers someone cheating the government and is required by law to report it to the justice department. He wants to know whether he is considered an informer (moser) according to halacha or do we say that “the law of the land is the law” and thus he would not be an informer? Answer: Concerning the issues of taxes – there is no halachic authority who denies that this is included in the principle “the law of the land is the law.” This is true even for those who disagree with the Rema (C.M. 369:8) as to the nature of “the law of the land is the law.” See the Shach and Levush and the responsa Hashiv Moshe… Concerning the issue of reporting the tax cheat to the government see Bava Metzia (83b) concerning R’ Eliezer the son of Rav Shimon bar Yochai. The gemora reports that he reported thieves to the government. This is proof that where the government has authorized a Jew to report thieves that it is permitted. Even though he was criticized “how long are you handing the people of our G‑d to be killed” – because the punishment for thieves in those days was death. This is relevant also for a similar criticism from Eliyahu Hanavi to R’ Yishmael which is reported in that gemora. However the actual halacha seems that even when it results in the death penalty it is considered “the law of the land is the law.” See the Ritva on that gemora which is found in the Shita Mekubetzes. The Be’er HaGola (C.M. 388) writes that it has already become accepted practice that the leaders of the community supervise that there should not be any fraud or deception against the secular government. The community leaders have announced that it was permitted to publicize and reveal those men who were cheating the government. A person who wishes to escape paying taxes owed to the government and another Jew reveals this – this is not considered the crime of informing. Even though the Rema states that revealing this information is bad because it is like returning a lost object to a non‑Jew – but that is only concerning an individual non‑Jew. But that which is applicable to the government and the tax auditor was appointed to discover fraud – there is no prohibition in revealing the fraud. However it is best if a person should not work as a tax auditor which requires revealing this type of information. Even though revealing the information is permitted – it is not a pious thing to do as we see from the Yerushalmi. Also look at the Responsa of the Alshech who states that a person is not considered an informant for those things required by the law of the land….

Economy - raising $12 Trillion debt cap

Mesira to preserve and protect a just society

R' Breitowitz has an excellent shiur concerning the natue of mesira and its relevance when a just government is involved (Aruch HaShulchan) or the laws are more severe than the Torah (Rav Moshe Feinstein) and its connection to dina demalchusa dina (Rav Wosner) and the need for laws for the well being of society.

Judge rules against rabbi's widow in Torahs case

LATimes April 9, 2009

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has thrown out a religious court's decision to award four disputed Torahs to an Orthodox rabbi's widow who claimed that the scrolls had been stolen by her late husband's assistant.

The religious court, known in Hebrew as a beis din, ruled in January that the four Torahs belonged to Rita Pauker of North Hollywood. The scrolls had been in the care of her late husband's assistant, Rabbi Samuel Ohana, for more than a decade.

Pauker argued that a handwritten agreement between her late husband, Norman, and Ohana proved that the scrolls were lent to Ohana for only two years. Ohana maintained that Rabbi Pauker gave the Torahs to Ohana's Sherman Oaks congregation in 1998 after Pauker's own synagogue closed.

After the religious court ruled, Ohana refused to turn over the Torahs to Pauker. Instead, he appealed to a higher court in Israel. Pauker, meanwhile, took the case to the civil court system in Los Angeles, seeking to enforce the local religious court's ruling.

On Monday, Superior Court Judge Zaven V. Sinanian ruled in Ohana's favor based on what he believed may have been a conflict for one of the three religious judges, Rabbi Nachum Sauer.[...]

The severe sin of going to a non-Jewish court II

Shulchan Aruch(C.M. 26:1): It is prohibited to have a non‑Jewish court make judgments in a dispute between Jews. This is so even if they make judgments based on Jewish law and even if the litigants agree to accept their judgment. Who ever used the non‑Jewish court is a rasha (wicked person). It is as if he has denigrated the Torah of Moshe. Rema: The Jewish court has the right to excommunicate and ostracize those who utilize the authority of non‑Jews. Similarly there can be various punishments enacted against someone who goes to a non‑Jewish court – until they retract….

Shulchan Aruch(C.M. 26:2): If the non‑Jews are the controlling power and the litigant is powerful in his own right and therefore the person can not recover what is his by the authority of the Jewish court – he should first summon his opponent to the Jewish court. If his opponent refuses to go – he should obtain permission from the Jewish court and then use the non‑Jewish court to recover what is his from his opponent. Rema: The Jewish court has the right to go to the non‑Jewish court and to testify that one person owes the other money. All this is only if one of the litigants refuses to obey the Jewish court. Otherwise it is prohibited for a Jewish court to give authorization for Jews to have their dispute presented to a non‑Jewish court

The severe sin of going to a non-Jewish court I

Rabbeinu Bachye (Shemos 21:1): Even though the sin of murder is serious, but the sins of stealing and profaning G‑d’s name (chilul Hashem) are even more severe than it. That is because a murderer is forgiven when he repents as we saw concerning Caine. However repentance doesn’t erase the sin of stealing because it is first necessary to return what was stolen. If it isn’t returned then the thief is never forgiven. Similarly with chilul HaShem – repentance doesn’t help because it is a more serious crime then kerisus or capital punishment. Our Sages (Yoma 86a) say that if a person does a sin punishable by kerisus or capital punishment and he repents that the combination of repentance and Yom Kippur initiates while suffering completes the process of atonement of the sin…However a person who has committed chilul Hashem, then repentance and Yom Kippur as well as suffering do nothing. His sin is only atoned through his death. Thus these two sins of theft and chilul Hashem are more serious than murder and both are included in the sin of going to a non‑Jewish court to adjudicate disputes. Chilul HaShem is included because it is unquestionably a profanation of G‑d’s name by giving honor to idolaters and glory to non‑Jews by using their services…. Theft is involved since by ignoring Torah laws and winning a judgment in a non-Jewish court it is complete theft. However the winner of the dispute doesn’t view himself as a thief and therefore he doesn’t return what he won. Consequently he is never forgiven.

Marranos: Split Identity and Modernity

Forward - Review of "The Other Within" by Yimiyahu Yovel

[...] Most Marranos initially took on Christianity as a superficial skin, but they could not keep up the pretense, year in, year out, of going to church and confession, venerating saints, without internalizing some of its beliefs. Similarly, they may have intended to stay loyal to Judaism, but it was impossible to practice a religion only partially, and in secret, without losing most of its essence.

The result, he says, was that most Marranos practiced a hybrid religion. "Judaizers" consciously tried to preserve elements of Judaism, often passed down through the women of the house who became quasi-rabbis, or gleaned, ironically, from lists of Jewish beliefs published by the Inquisition for informers. But while they may have lit Sabbath candles in secret, only pretended to eat the ubiquitous Iberian pork or mentally annulled their actions in church, theological confusion abounded. For example, Judaizers believed that Judaism was the true path "to salvation." The intent may have been Jewish, but the framing theology — salvation — was Catholic. Similarly, the Marranos had a patron saint: Queen Esther, herself a hidden Jew.

At the other end of the spectrum, Marranos who accepted their new Christian faith were still influenced by their Jewish background. The Inquisition records show Marranos who preferred to baptize their children on a Saturday, because of their “affection” for the day, and New Christian monks who, because they had a clinging distrust of the polytheistic or idolatrous beliefs these practices implied, rejected the Trinity and disdained the sacrament, without intending to return to Judaism. [...]

Brain injury and identity

NYTimes

Adam Lepak looked over at his mother and said, "You're fake."

It was a Tuesday in July, late, and Cindy Lepak could see that her 19-year-old son was exhausted. Long days like this one, with hours of physical therapy and memory drills — I had a motorcycle accident, I hit my head and have trouble remembering new things, I had a motorcycle accident — often left him making these accusations.

"What do you mean 'fake,' Adam?" she said.

He hung his head. "You're not my real mom," he said. His voice changed. "I feel sorry for you, Cindy Lepak. You live in this world. You don't live in the real world."

Doctors have known for nearly 100 years that a small number of psychiatric patients become profoundly suspicious of their closest relationships, often cutting themselves off from those who love them and care for them. They may insist that their spouse is an impostor; that their grown children are body doubles; that a caregiver, a close friend, even their entire family is fake, a duplicate version.

Such delusions are often symptoms of schizophrenia. But in the last decade or so, researchers have documented similar delusions in hundreds of people who are not schizophrenic but have neurological problems including dementia, brain surgery and traumatic blows to the head.

A small group of brain scientists is now investigating misidentification syndromes, as the delusions are called, for clues to one of the most confounding problems in brain science: identity. How and where does the brain maintain the "self"? [...]

3rd group of Ethiopians request aliyah

YNET

While the story of the Falash Mura is known to most Israelis, the public is generally unaware of the difficulties another Ethiopian community that claims to have Jewish ancestry – the Tigray, is facing in immigrating to Israel

The Ethiopian community in Israel has recently launched a campaign to bring to Israel some 2,000 Tigray who have relatives in Israel.

The main difference between the Falash Mura and the Tigray lies in their geographical origin. The Falash Mura are Jews who converted to Christianity in the mid 19th century as a result of social and economic pressure. Most of them live in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. The Tigray live in northern Ethiopia in a region that borders Eritrea and Sudan, and their Jewish roots are unclear. [...]

Web attack against Twitter - aimed at one blogger

BBC

A "massively co-ordinated" attack on websites including Google, Facebook and Twitter was directed at one individual, it has been confirmed.

Facebook told BBC News that the strike was aimed at a pro-Georgian blogger known as Cyxymu.

The attack caused a blackout of Twitter for around two hours, while Facebook said its service had been "degraded".

Google said it had defended its sites and was now working with the other companies to investigate the attack.

"[The] attack appears to be directed at an individual who has a presence on a number of sites, rather than the sites themselves," a Facebook spokesman told BBC News.

"Specifically, the person is an activist blogger and a botnet was directed to request his pages at such a rate that it impacted service for other users."

Botnets are networks of computers under the control of hackers.

The machines were used to mount a so-called denial-of-service (DOS) attack on Thursday. [...]

Settlers sue State over Hebron evacuation

Haaretz

Hebron's Jewish settlement filed a lawsuit against the State of Israel on Friday over damages caused during the evacuation of disputed structures in the city's wholesale market.

In the suit, the settlers rely on a 2006 agreement reached with the IDF regional command, stating that Jewish residents of the disputed structures would vacate them, while leaving any stationary property.

That agreement was subsequently annulled, leading to the 2007 evacuation, in which police removed doorposts and knocked down plaster walls in order to prevent the settlers from returning to the structures. [...]The suit came as the most recent episode in a series of attempts to reclaim the structures, which were built on Jewish-owned land that was inhabited by Jews until 1929, when Arabs massacred many members of the local community and the survivors fled. [...]

Gay supporters attacked for putting posters up in Mea Shearim

JPost

A group of youngsters putting up posters in Jerusalem condemning the deadly shooting spree in a Tel Aviv gay community center last week was attacked overnight Thursday by haredim in Mea She'arim. After a short chase down the alleyways of the ultra-Orthodox neighborhood, the group and an Army Radio reporter who was with them managed to get away.

The head of the group that was putting up posters all around the capital said they had aimed to raise awareness for the attack in every section of Israeli society.

"The moment it comes to murder, this ceases to be just a haredi society, but part of an entire society that needs to understand that lines have been crossed," he told Army Radio. "Murder is something that needs to be shouted about." [...]

Secular vs. Religious Israel - documentary

Be aware that there are a few non tzinius pictures

Obama's healthcare critiqued

Muslims protest soccer club song

Arutz Sheva

Muslims are on the rampage against an old German soccer club song that includes the lyrics, "Mohammed was a prophet who knew nothing of football." The German soccer club 'Schalke 04' responded that Mohammed lived long before soccer was invented and that it sees no problem with the song.

The "White and Blue, How I Love You" song was written in 1924 and has been the official hymn of the club for decades, but the rising Muslim population in Europe has made it a more powerful force against anything that they consider offensive. They have staged dozens of protests, sometimes violent, concerning alleged offenses to the religion. Several people were killed two years ago in riots over a cartoon that depicted Mohammed with a bomb in his turban. [...]

Abuse:House arrest continues for mother accused of starving child

YNET

Court rules 'starving mother' to remain under house arrest

Jerusalem District Court rules that mother accused of starving her toddler son will remain under house arrest. Prosecution believes mother must be held in official detainment facility until end of legal proceedings, consider appealing to Supreme Court. Haredi community threatens to riot if mother returned to jail

The mother suspected of starving her three-year-old son will remain under house arrest until further notice. The Jerusalem District Court ruled Friday to keep the woman's remand conditions as is. The ultra-Orthodox community threatened to renew riots should the mother be returned to a detainment facility.[...]

EJF story of conversion of intermarried couple

Five Towns Jewish Times - Rochel Weinstein Director of Communications for Eternal Jewish Family International.

Sitting in a church as a young girl, Linda felt distant to the environment and rituals. The other congregants had come to express faith in their religion; she was there to please her grandmother. Young Linda grew up without much spiritual satisfaction, yet deep within was an inherent belief in the existence of G-d. Linda never imagined that one day it would manifest itself within every corner of her life.

It all started with her Jewish fiancé, David. Based on similar interests in classical music, a mutual friend introduced them and the professional orchestra players formed an immediate bond. Religious barriers were non-existent: Linda considered herself on a spiritual quest that had nothing to do with her religion of origin; David's intrinsic disinterest in Judaism meant that they would date for months before Linda would casually discover that he was Jewish. While this detail shocked Linda, it simultaneously planted within her the desire to learn all she could about the mysterious religion of her future husband.

A visit to the library was the first step. But the only information available lacked the meaningful spiritual dimension she desperately sought. Intrigued by the family dynamics of Jewish intermarriage, Linda was startled to discover that many children raised with two religions eventually keep neither, since the choice of a religion is often equated with the choice of a parent. Based on her research, there was no question that she would want to raise their children with one consistent religion—Judaism. Now all she had to do was convince not only her future husband but also her Lutheran family that this was, indeed, the right thing to do.[...]

Rav Sternbuch - Searching for Hashem

44

Why is it o.k. to discriminate against Jews?

JPost Michael Freund

The Left, once again, is in an uproar. Along with its international comrades, it is bristling at the recent court-approved move by Jewish families into homes in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.

This is in addition to the fury it expressed previously over plans to build apartments for Jews at the site of the privately owned Shepherd Hotel in the eastern part of the capital.

Mustering all the righteous anger at its disposal, the Left has now launched into a heated round of pious pontification, hurling invective and frenzied rhetoric as if the world itself were coming to an end. The Ir Amim organization, for example, recently warned that if the Shepherd Hotel plan moves forward, it might "deal a fatal blow not only to [US President Barack] Obama's efforts but to the two-state solution."

No less hysterical was the reaction of Robert Serry, the UN's special envoy to the Middle East, who released a harshly worded statement saying: "I deplore the totally unacceptable actions by Israel in which Israeli security forces evicted Palestinian refugee families... to allow settlers to take possession of their properties." Calling the move "provocative," Serry asserted that it will "heighten tensions" and "undermine international efforts" to bring about peace.

Have these people fallen on their heads? The Left and its supporters repeatedly stress the need to end "settlement activity," as though it is Jewish housing construction rather than Arab intolerance which lies at the root of the Middle East conflict.

But even more perplexing is the fact that they are willing to embrace an openly discriminatory stance - prejudiced against Jews - to advance their political agenda. [...]

Homeless Holocaust survive wills $100k to Hebrew University

JPost

A homeless, anonymous Holocaust survivor from New York who passed away recently at the age of 92 left $100,000 to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, even though she had no known connection to the institution.

She left another $100,000 to her last employer.

According to a Hebrew University spokesman, the Jewish woman, who had been living out of a shopping cart in Manhattan, apparently had no surviving relatives. [..]

Modern Democracy:Halacha vs Islamic Law

JPost Daniel PIpes

Those of us who argue against Shari'a are sometimes asked why Islamic law poses a problem when modern Western societies long ago accommodated Halacha, Jewish law.

The answer is easy: Islam is a missionizing religion, Judaism is not. Islamists aspire to apply Islamic law to everyone, while observant Jews seek only to live by Jewish law themselves.

Two very recent examples from the United Kingdom demonstrate the innate imperialism of Islamic law. The first concerns Queens Care Centre, an old-age home in the coal town of Maltby, 40 miles east of Manchester. At present, according to the Daily Telegraph, not one of its 37 staff or 40 residents is Muslim. Although the home's management asserts a respect for its residents' "religious and cultural beliefs," QCC's owner since 1994, Zulfikar Ali Khan, on his own decided this year to switch the home's meat purchases to a halal butcher.

His stealthy decision meant pensioners at QCC could no longer eat bacon and eggs, bangers and mash, ham sandwiches, bacon sandwiches, pork pies, bacon butties or sausage rolls. The switch prompted widespread anger. The relative of one resident called it "a disgrace. The old people who are in the home and in their final years deserve better... it's shocking that they should be deprived of the food they like on the whim of this man."[...]

Deporting illegal immigrants

Arutz Sheva

(Israelnationalnews.com) Col. (res.) Yitzhak 'Tziki' Sela, Commander of the Interior Ministry's 'Oz' Unit which arrests illegal immigrants and deports them, gave an interview to Ma'ariv Wednesday in which he slammed the organizations that have been protesting against the government's intention to crack down on illegal foreign labor.

"These groups, those who protest against us, the ones that call me 'Goebbels' and a Nazi, are anarchists who want the destruction of the state of Israel, with three exclamation marks," Sela said. "They should be condemned. This is criminal behavior, pure and simple."[...]

46% of Israelis thinks gays are deviants

Haaretz

Almost half of the Israeli population believes that homosexuality is a perversion. A Haaretz-Dialog poll, conducted under Prof. Camil Fuchs finds that 46 percent of the people surveyed answered the question "Do you see homosexuality as a perversion?" in the affirmative, while 42 percent answered that it was not a perversion. Twelve percent said they did not know.

The survey also finds that 71 percent of the ultra-Orthodox population believe homosexuality is a perversion. So do 67 percent of the religious (Orthodox), 64 percent of the Arabs, 57 percent of the Russian-speaking immigrants, 44 percent of the observant (traditional) Jews and 24 percent of the secular population. [...]

American Psychological Assoc. rejects Gay Therapy

NYTimes Wall Street Journal

The American Psychological Association declared Wednesday that mental health professionals should not tell gay clients they can become straight through therapy or other treatments.

In a resolution adopted by the association’s governing council, and in an accompanying report, the association issued its most comprehensive repudiation of so-called reparative therapy, a concept espoused by a small but persistent group of therapists, often allied with religious conservatives, who maintain that gay men and lesbians can change.

No solid evidence exists that such change is likely, says the resolution, adopted by a 125-to-4 vote. The association said some research suggested that efforts to produce change could be harmful, inducing depression and suicidal tendencies.

Instead of seeking such change, the association urged therapists to consider multiple options, which could include celibacy and switching churches, for helping clients live spiritually rewarding lives in instances where their sexual orientation and religious faith conflict. [...]

Sheikh Jarrah Jews are restoring Jewish character to neighborhood

JPost

As condemnations over the eviction of two Arab families from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah continued to pour in from around the world this week, renovations at a second disputed home on the other side of the east Jerusalem neighborhood were humming along unabated.

The home, which was the scene of multiple protests last week, is another tender nerve in east Jerusalem, as Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's statements that Jews may build anywhere in the capital have increasingly rubbed up against statements to the contrary from the United Nations, the United States and others in the international community.

While Palestinians view the increasing Jewish presence in east Jerusalem as a process of "Judaization" intended to jeopardize Palestinian claims, Jewish activists said that they see their work as a "re-Judaization" of an area that was once home to a vibrant Jewish community and has extensive Jewish roots.

"This used to be a Jewish neighborhood and this house belonged to Jews," right-wing activist Aryeh King said, as he sat outside the work site. King heads the Israel Land Fund (ILF), an organization that purchases land for Jews in east Jerusalem and is overseeing the renovations at the property.

"Before 1948, there was a Jewish community living in this section of Sheikh Jarrah, and we want to restore that," King said. "The Arabs that live here know the truth."

But Sheikh Jarrah residents last week told The Jerusalem Post that the home in question had belonged to an elderly woman, Mrs. Hijazi, who had recently passed away, and that the Jewish claimants had falsified ownership papers for the house.[...]

France asks clemency for Palestinian who plotted assassination of Rav O Yosef

Haaretz

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner appealed to Israel for clemency for a French-Palestinian who was jailed for his role in plotting the assassination of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Sarkozy's letter was delivered to the prime minister's bureau in Jerusalem on July 30 by way of the Israeli embassy in Paris just a few days after a similar letter was sent by Kouchner to Defense Minister Ehud Barak.

The unusual request was made after pro-Palestinian groups in France lobbied for the release of the Palestinian, whose imprisonment has been likened there to the captivity of Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. [...]

See Middle East Post a Palestinian blog that explains their position

Abuse: Questions to ask your rabbi 2

Rav Pinchos Yehoshua HaCohain wrote in answer to: Questions to ask your Rabbi

1. In a case where a father finds out that his son is being molested by a teacher and this is corroborated by several of his classmates. The abuse has been going on for a number of months. Thus there is absolutely no question that the abuser is active and the danger is present for the foreseeable future. Since in my opinion I have clear and unequivocal evidence that the molesting is taking place - can I go directly to the police. Or do I need rabbinic approval first?

In item #1 of my first teshuva to the Moetzes, which you posted on your Blog, I addressed this. The Maharam m'Rizburk is quoted as the definitive Halacha that it is a Mitzva to Go directly to "Arkuos" eg the police. Please refer there for the sources-

--- Is there a difference whether the likelihood of another incident is clearcut and urgent or whether there is clearly time to consult rav?

The only time that one needs to consult a Rav first, is if it is absolutely clear that it will not occur again. Also mentioned in the above source material.

2. A person reported Reuben as an abuser or attacked Reuven because he reasonable thought Reuven was a rodef and needed to save Reuven's apparent victim from harm and he hurt Reuven in the process. It was discovered that the Reuven not in fact an abuser or rodef – is the person liable for damages? For example I see a man and woman fighting and the woman is screaming. I go over and warn to guy to stop but he tells me to mind my own business. the women seems to be in danger and the ownly way I can stop the attacker is by taking a baseball bat and knocking him out. It turns out they are married and the wife sues me for hurting her husband.

According to all poskim, he is definitely Potur. because he reasonable thought Reuven was a rodef") There is no dispute. see CM 380:3 from BK 117B and Sanhedrin 74a. It is Gemoros Mefuroshos. A Takonas Chazal that suspends Odom Muod L'Olam!

3. In a case where a rav said not to report a case of abuse and as a result the child suffered severe physical and psychological damage – is there any liability for either the rav or the person who listened to the rav?

Much to my chagrin, in the eyes of Halocho there would seem to be no fiscal culpability. I guess Hashem wants to deal with this Himself. The Rav is in violation of at least 2 Mitzvos Aseh and at least 2 Lo Saaseh. He may also incur upon himself an "Orur" - a Klolo. The Rav was guilty of a Hora'ah b'To'os. From the Shach CM #9 it would appear that this is a To'oh b'Dvar Mishna. His proof from Sanhedrin 32a concerning Rabi Tarfon would seem to be an even closer fit to our present discussion - after all Rabi Tarfon also was just unaware of some medical information. Even so it is of little consequence in regards to financial liability. The operative Psak, whether it be To'oh b'Dvar Mishna or To'oh b'Shikul HaDaas is that a 1) "Mumche" that 2) has Kobilu Olayhu or has Reshus, is not Chayov to pay any damages. The operative Halocho, in spite of many dissenting opinions is that he is NOT considered even a Garmi because he did not intend to be Mazik. Most Rabonim who pasken on these Shaalos today, fall under the rubric of Mumchoim (see Oruch Hashulchon CM 25 # 1) and Kobilu Olayhu (see Oruch Hashulchon CM 25 # 7) and therefore would escape financial liability. (Even if you could bring proof against the Aruch HaShulchon, the rav could patur himself with "Kim Li")Even though the Chazon Ish (Igros #31) and the Gro (Mishlei 6,4 & 22,12) are very critical of Dayonim/Poskim who are not well-informed in regards to the "Metzius" and are not up to date on the current scientific/ medical info, and as a result hand down erroneous Piskei Din; we would, nevertheless, be very hard-pressed to thereby demote the status of contemporary Rabonium to that of non-Mumche. Even if we could muster a cogent case to do so, they, nevertheless would, in all likelyhood, still be Potur, since in it is very unlikely that he will actually have personally handed the child directly to the molestor - ie only Noso v'Nosan b'Yad is Chayuv in this case (as per Aruch HaShulchon CM 25 # 9).he party who listened to the Rav likewise has no financial liability. He is an "Oness" having been misled by someone whom he thought was knowledgeable However, The Rav is in violation of at least 2 Mitzvos Aseh and at least 2 Lo Saaseh. (Hashovas Aveida and b'Tzedek Tishpot; Lo Saamod Al Dam Re'acho and Lo Saasu Ovel BaMishpot.) He may also incur upon himself an "Orur" - a Klolo. If he is opposed to becoming educated and informed (his attitude is contrary to the Gro and Chazon Ish above), then the reasoning in the Pesicha to Chofetz Chaim concerning the Arur's on Loshon Horo would equally apply here to "Oror Mateh Mishpot Ger Yosom v'Almono"

4. In a case where a person reasonable concluded that a child is being molested and a rav told him not to report it – should the person report it anyway?

Of course, he should ignore the rav and report it! The Rav's directive is a To'oh b'Dvar Mishna which is Chozar Dino-a non-hora'ah.

Israeli government skeptical about Bnei Anusim

Haaretz

The authorities would probably call the 30 U.S. citizens who scoured the Negev last week Christian tourists. But the members of the group think of themselves as American Marranos, and they are determined to return to the faith they say their ancestors were forced to renounce and strike root in Israel. Like Del and Helen Sanchez, who headed the group, most of the tourists grew up going to church on Sunday. Only recently did most of them discover what they call their "Jewish roots."And the trip to the Negev was the first step in a quest to realize the prophecy in Obadiah 1:20, stating that "the captives of Jerusalem, who are in Sepharad [Spain], will possess the cities of the Negev." The group was looking at places to settle as Jews in Israel. Like all the other members of the group, the Sanchezes believe that their ancestors were in fact Spanish and Portuguese Jews who escaped the Iberian Peninsula in the 15th century to flee the Spanish Inquisition. Soon after arriving, some of these Jews found themselves once again under the rule of the Spanish conquistadors, who set up colonies in the Americas. [...]

Michael Freund encouraging descendants of anusim

Michael Freund helping descendants of Anusim

Converts: Racism & Judaism

Jewish Journal Aliza Hausman

Did you hear the one about the black Harvard professor who got arrested breaking into his own home? No, this is not a joke. It was the beginning of a Shabbos lunch that left me traumatized.

It's always the same. I feel safe, comfortable and carefree, and suddenly, punched in the gut, violated, uncomfortable, and all the cares of the world weigh on me. When I feel safe, I feel part of the Jewish community, but when I do not, I feel like an outsider on the outskirts, not fitting in.

My husband and I started speaking out about racism in the Jewish community when a friend asked us to speak at a synagogue in Washington Heights, in my hometown of New York City. As an interracial Jewish couple (my husband is white, I am Dominican), our friend was sure we'd have plenty to say. I wasn't. But as I started to write about my experiences in Washington Heights (from both white Jews, who thought I was dark and foreign, to Dominicans, who thought I was too light and American), I filled four single-spaced typed pages. I knew from the stories of other Jews of color that this meant I was lucky. I learned still others had been even luckier.[...]

Fatah conference - boosting its radical credentials

Time

President Obama's Middle East peace plan faces a key hurdle on Tuesday, when Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas convenes the first conference in two decades of his Fatah movement. The conference, to be held in the West Bank city of Bethlehem under heavy Palestinian Authority security, is seen as critical to the prospects of restoring Abbas' waning political legitimacy and authority. But early signs suggest that the conference will, if anything, weaken the Palestinian leader's ability to follow Washington's script.

Since the death of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, U.S. peace efforts have relied on the moderate and relatively pliable Abbas to negotiate a two-state agreement with Israel. But the prevailing view within Fatah is that Abbas has achieved precious little for his negotiation efforts, and that this has been a prime factor in weakening Fatah in the face of the challenge by its more militant rival, Hamas. The Islamists trounced Fatah in the last democratic elections for the Palestinian parliament in 2006, and many fear that a candidate backed by Hamas would likely beat Abbas in presidential elections currently scheduled for early next year. Much of the Fatah rank-and-file, and even many in the leadership, believe that the only way the movement can be saved is to break with American tutelage, and seek to reclaim the mantle of "resistance" from Hamas. The result is that the political statement adopted by the conference is unlikely to please the U.S. and Israel.

Indications from within Fatah suggest that the conference political document will reaffirm the Palestinians right to "resistance," specifying non-violent challenges to the occupation, but remaining silent on the question of armed resistance and the future of the Fatah-affiliated militants of the Al-Aqsa Martyr's Brigade. It will flatly reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a "Jewish state," on the grounds that this undermines the rights of Palestinian refugees and of those with Israeli citizenship. It will also insist on a complete freeze on Jewish settlements in occupied territory as a precondition for any talks with Israel, which it will stress must be based on U.N. resolutions — which will include recognition of the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees expelled from Israel in 1948, a demand that Israel deems a deal-breaker.[...]

Woman accused of starving child - indicted

JPost

An indictment was served Tuesday in the Jerusalem District Court against a haredi woman suspected of starving her three-year-old child over a period of two years. The woman's internment sparked riots in Jerusalem which lasted nearly a week.

The mother is being accused of abusing a helpless infant. The ultra-Orthodox Toldot Aharon sect to which the woman belongs threatened to renew riots if she is remanded again or if the conditions of her house arrest are worsened.

The woman underwent a psychiatric evaluation last week and was found to be fit for trial.

Since her arrest, the mother has consistently refused to cooperate with investigators, and has been erratic in appearing for both court hearings and psychiatric evaluations.

Her son, who weighed just seven kilograms when he was admitted to Hadassha Ein Kerem Hospital at the end of June, was discharged last Friday to the care of relatives. He gained at least three kilograms while he was hospitalized.

At the end of June, Toldot Aharon members rioted throughout religious neighborhoods in the capital in protest of the arrest of the mother. Only after police released the woman to house arrest did the violence subside.

Throughout the saga, the mother has maintained her innocence, and has insisted that her child suffers from multiple illnesses which have caused him to eat improperly. [...]

Israel - Tom Friedman's advise to Obama

NYTimes

Israel and America are having one of those periodic marital spats they have had over the years, replete with "I-am-not-taking-any-more-of-your-guff" outbursts by Obama officials at American Jewish leaders, and, yes — it wouldn't be a real Israel-U.S. dust-up without it — Israeli accusations that Jewish Obama aides are "self-hating Jews," working out their identity crises by working over Israel. Having been to this play before, and knowing both families, I'd like to offer some free marriage counseling.

Here's what Israelis need to understand: President Obama is not some outlier when it comes to Israel. His call for a settlements freeze reflects attitudes that have been building in America for a long time. For the last 40 years, a succession of Israeli governments has misled, manipulated or persuaded naïve U.S. presidents that since Israel was negotiating to give up significant territory, there was no need to fight over "insignificant" settlements on some territory. Behind this charade, Israeli settlers bit off more and more of the West Bank, creating a huge moral, security and economic burden for Israel and its friends.

As Bradley Burston, a columnist for Israel's Haaretz newspaper, put it last week: "The settlement movement has cost Israel some $100 billion. ... The double standard which for decades has favored settlers with inexpensive housing, heavily subsidized social services, and blind-eye building permits has long been accompanied by a kid-gloves approach regarding settler violence against Palestinians and their property. ... Settlers and settlement planners have covertly bent and distorted zoning procedures, military directives, and government decrees in order to boost settlement, block Palestinian construction, agriculture, and access to employment, and effectively neutralize measures intended to foster Israeli-Palestinian peace progress."

For years, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations and the pro-Israel lobby, rather than urging Israel to halt this corrosive process, used their influence to mindlessly protect Israel from U.S. pressure on this issue and to dissuade American officials and diplomats from speaking out against settlements. Everyone in Washington knows this, and a lot of people — people who care about Israel — are sick of it.

The Times's Jerusalem bureau chief, Ethan Bronner, captured the we-are-untouchable arrogance of the settlers last week when he quoted Rabbi Yigael Shandorfi, leader of a religious academy at the settlement of Nahliel, calling Mr. Obama in a speech "that Arab they call a president."[...]

8 dead from false rumor of Koran desecration

Times on line

Paramilitary troops patrolled the streets of a town in eastern Pakistan yesterday after Muslim radicals burnt to death eight members of a Christian family, raising fears of violence spreading to other areas.

Hundreds of armed supporters of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an outlawed Islamic militant group, set alight dozens of Christian homes in Gojra town at the weekend after allegations that a copy of the Koran had been defiled.

The mob opened fire indiscriminately, threw petrol bombs and looted houses as thousands of frightened Christians ran for safety. "They were shouting anti-Christian slogans and attacked our houses," Rafiq Masih, a resident of the predominantly Christian colony, said. Residents said that police stood aside while the mob went on the rampage. "We kept begging for protection, but police did not take action," Mr Masih said.

Police and local officials said that at least eight people, including four women and a child, were killed in the fires. Two others died of gunshot wounds. Residents said that the casualties were much higher; one claimed that the number of dead could be in the dozens as many bodies were still buried under the rubble.Shahbaz Bhatti, the Minister for Minorities, said that 40 Christian homes were torched in rioting. He said there was no truth to allegations that a Koran had been defiled, and accused the police of ignoring his appeal to provide protection to Christians. [...]

Blaming marriage problems as excuse for failure

NYTimes

LET'S say you have what you believe to be a healthy marriage. You're still friends and lovers after spending more than half of your lives together. The dreams you set out to achieve in your 20s — gazing into each other's eyes in candlelit city bistros when you were single and skinny — have for the most part come true.

Two decades later you have the 20 acres of land, the farmhouse, the children, the dogs and horses. You're the parents you said you would be, full of love and guidance. You've done it all: Disneyland, camping, Hawaii, Mexico, city living, stargazing.

Sure, you have your marital issues, but on the whole you feel so self-satisfied about how things have worked out that you would never, in your wildest nightmares, think you would hear these words from your husband one fine summer day: "I don't love you anymore. I'm not sure I ever did. I'm moving out. The kids will understand. They'll want me to be happy."

But wait. This isn't the divorce story you think it is. Neither is it a begging-him-to-stay story. It's a story about hearing your husband say "I don't love you anymore" and deciding not to believe him. And what can happen as a result.[...]