Religious parties want inspection of secular institutions

JPost

 

Deputy Finance Minister Itzhak Cohen (Shas) is demanding that the Finance Ministry conduct inspections to secular cultural and educational institutions that receive state funding, in the same manner as is done to yeshivot.

Speaking with The Jerusalem Post on Sunday, Cohen's call came in the wake of a recent inspection at the Beit Shmaya yeshiva in Bnei Brak, where two men walked in on the head of the yeshiva in the middle of his weekly lesson to the entire student body, in what was perceived as a highly insensitive and disrespectful move. Following the incident, heads of yeshivot and haredi Knesset members convened on Saturday night and issued a call to the Finance Ministry, under which the inspections take place, to freeze the inspections for a week and draw up clear and respectful procedures for the inspections.[...]

Michael Specter: The danger of science denial

Briskman case: Reasons to refuse to give Get

Washington Post

Yisrael Briskman’s wife in Israel wanted a divorce, and a rabbinical court decided she should be granted one. But Briskman refused and fled to the United States, where the FBI says an Orthodox Jewish rabbi and his wife lured him to their New Jersey home, kidnapped him and said they’d bury him alive in the Pocono Mountains if he didn’t relent.

Briskman said he was kicked repeatedly in the ribs at the home in Lakewood, robbed and shown the dark body bag he’d soon inhabit if he didn’t free his wife from their marital bonds.

“For you to get used to the size,” Rabbi David Wax is quoted as saying in the criminal complaint leading to his surrender to the FBI this month.

If this Sopranos-style plot is true — which the Waxes deny — it is an anomaly. But it’s not uncommon for religious communities to use coercive tactics to pressure recalcitrant husbands into granting their wives a “get,” or religious divorce. Tactics run the gamut from denying social and religious privileges to using financial and legal leverage. [...]

Should sperm & egg donors remain anonymous?

Time   link fixed

Traditionally, the identities of egg and sperm donors have been tightly guarded secrets, numbers with no names attached, making it difficult for their biological offspring to ever make contact. Today, that changes as Washington becomes the first state to chip away at that anonymity, with a controversial new law that guarantees children conceived with gametes from Washington sperm banks and egg donation agencies access -- when they're 18 -- to their donors' medical histories and their full names— unless the donors specifically opt out of being identified.


Although Washington doesn't go as far as Sweden, Austria or the United Kingdom, which abolished anonymous donations, it's still a significant step for many parents of donor-conceived children who yearn to answer that question most kids ask at one time or another: where did I come from?

“It's a good step in the right direction,” says Jennifer McCarty, a Seattle mom of a donor-conceived 3-year-old daughter and an adopted 4-year-old son. “As a parent, I want to be able to provide a way for them to find out who they are and dig into their origins."[...]

Aguda attempts to clarify views on reporting child abuse to police

 There are couple of unclarified issues 1) what does the rabbi do that necessitates asking permission. Is this a question of psak or of objectivity. If it a question of rodef there is no need for a psak and if it objectivity then why is a rabbi considered more objective than non rabbis. 2) what happens when there is mandated reporting and the rabbi says not to report it 3) where does rodef enter here - it was declared to be an unnecessary concept at the Aguda Conference. 4) What do you do when the  rabbi you consulted says not to report to the police but you feel otherwise?

 ------------------------------

Cross-Currents--by Rabbi Avi Shafran

Agudath Israel of America has received several inquiries in the wake of misleading claims that have recently been made about our stance on reporting suspected child abusers to law enforcement authorities. We take the opportunity to clarify our position.

As Torah Jews we live our live our lives in accordance with halacha. The question of whether and under what circumstances one is halachically permitted or required to report to the authorities suspicions of child abuse (including sexual molestation) has attracted the attention of a number of our generation’s most prominent rabbinic authorities. Many of their responsa have been collected in the respected Torah journal Yeshurun, Volumes 15 and 22.

As elaborated at a recent Halacha Conference sponsored by Agudath Israel of America, these responsa make clear that when certain standards have been met it is not only permitted but in fact obligatory to report suspicions of abuse or molestation. The general principles that emerge from these responsa are as follows:

1. Where there is “raglayim la’davar” (roughly, reason to believe) that a child has been abused or molested, the matter should be reported to the authorities. In such situations, considerations of “tikun ha’olam” (the halachic authority to take steps necessary to “repair the world”), as well as other halachic concepts, override all other considerations.[...]

IDF general causes storm after calling to curtail religiosity in army

YNet

The former Israel Defense Forces Human Resources head called on the army to halt its tendency to religious extremism and renegotiate the relationship between secular and religious soldiers. 

Avi Zamir, who finished his tenure a month ago, sent Chief of Staff Benny Gantz and his General Staff colleagues a letter concluding his tenure at Human Resources. In the document, which spans nearly 30 pages, he details the struggle between the Education Corps and the Military Rabbinate, and says rabbinic demands for modesty undermine the standing of female officers and soldiers.[...]

Couple Sues a Vermont Inn for Rejecting Gay Wedding

NYTimes

A lesbian couple is suing a Vermont inn, claiming it refused to host their fall wedding reception because of their sexual orientation. 

Kate Baker and Ming Linsley filed the suit on Tuesday in Vermont Superior Court, accusing the Wildflower Inn of Lyndonville of abruptly turning them away after learning they are lesbians.

They claim the inn violated Vermont’s Fair Housing and Public Accommodations Act, which prohibits inns, hotels, motels and other establishments with five or more rooms from turning away patrons based on sexual orientation. The law makes an exemption for religious organizations.[...]

Tragedy In Borough Park Puts Shomrim Under Scrutiny

Jewish Week

As the Borough Park community struggles with the brutal murder of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky, and as more information surfaces about the history and emotional state of his accused killer, the tragedy is shining a light on the neighborhood watch groups that operate within the strictly Orthodox communities — and the largely under-the-surface tensions between these groups and the NYPD.

Those tensions became more apparent in recent days as sources in the community and the NYPD expressed frustration with how the Shomrim (Hebrew for “guardians”) operate – however well intentioned – with little accountability, sometimes hindering the work of the police.

The heartbreaking outcome in the Leiby case is seen by some in these circles as a dramatic case in point.

The Shomrim, who respond to calls about everything from vandalism to missing persons, domestic violence and sexual abuse, are highly respected in their communities. While they don’t have the power to make arrests, they tend to be trusted more than police in these tight-knit communities, as they have a reputation for responding quickly to calls and taking care of their own.

They have also been criticized at times for overzealousness bordering on vigilantism. [...]

Molestation investigation shuts private school

Sacramento Bee

For some observers, the case evoked memories of the notorious McMartin preschool trial of the 1980s. The McMartin family operated a preschool in Southern California, and seven people initially were charged with numerous acts of sexual abuse of children in their care. 

Years of criminal trials produced no convictions, and all charges were dropped in 1990. 

The case was spawned by a mother who told police that her son had been sodomized at the school, and the allegations grew from there. Police sent a letter to about 200 parents of students at the McMartin school, asking them to question their children about abuse. Critics have said that children were asked leading questions, some of which produced bizarre accusations including travels in hot air balloons and trips through secret tunnels.

Segula for husband to be boss - and why not to use it

Briefly the following is taken from Minhag Yisroel Torah. There is a segula for the husband to be the boss of the family mentioned in Chesed L'Avraham. The chasan should step with his right foot on his wife's left foot. If he fails to do so she will be the boss.

However the Chemdas Shaul says that in fact experience shows that the family functions best -both spiritually and psychologically - when the wife runs the household. In fact Avraham was told to listen to his wife and they had a very successful househould

מנהג ישראל תורה (חלק ד' עמוד קצא): כתב בספר חסד לאברהם מעין ריביעי נהר מ"ח (הו"ד במדרש תלפיטות ענפ חתן וכלה) שאם החתן נזהר לשים רגלו הימינית על רגל הכלה השמאלית בשעת ז' ברכות מסוגל שישלוט עלי' כל ימיו ונשמעת לכל דבריו ולהיפך היא תשלוט עליו כל ימיה והביא שם ענין לבטל הסגולה עי"ש, ובס' זכירה כתב דיש אומרים דאחר החופה כשישב אצל הכלה יעשה כן, אולם בשו"ת חמדת שאול (מהג' מו"ה שואל ראזענבערגער אבד"ק ראצפערטא) סימן מ"ג אחר שדן בעינן סגולה זו דאין היתר לעשות כן אם היא נדה הוא מסיים וז"ל, ובגוף הסגולה לא ראיתי נוהגין כן וישראל קדושים הן מקיימין תמים תהי' עם ה' אלקיך ואין עושין שום סגולות רק מה שירצה הקב"ה יעשה, והגם שאין לי עסק בנסתרות מ"מ מצינו בביתו של אאע"ה שהי' מתנהג עפ"י אשתו שרה שא"ל כל אשר תאמר אליך שרה שמע בקולה, ואעפ"כ ביתו הי' מלא חסדים גמורים, והנסיון מלמדנו שברוב הבתים של המון עם הבית מתנהג בכשרות ויראת ה' רק ע"י האשה והיא שולטת בבעלה להדריכו ג"כ בדרך ישרה ואשה יראת ה' היא תתהלל ע"כ אין מוכרח שיותר טוב להתנהג הבית ע"י האיש, והרבה פעמים האשה מונעת הבעל מלבוא לידי עבירה, ואותם הגדולים והצדיקים שכתבו לעשות סגולה כדי שיתנהג הבית ע"י האיש בשכמותם דברו ואין מביאין מהם ראי' ע"כ.

Alleged kidnappers of Meir Briskman surrender to FBI

Haaretz SEE PREVIOUS POSTS Meir Briskman refuses to divorce wife  Meir Briskman assaulted in Lakewood

A New Jersey couple surrendered themselves to the FBI on Monday, and were subsequently charged with abducting an Israeli man last year.

The FBI says the couple abducted the man, beat him and threatened to bury him alive if he didn't grant his wife a religious divorce.

Federal authorities say the victim had refused to give his wife a ‘get,’ or a divorce sanctioned by the Rabbinical Court, preventing her from remarrying. The man also fought for custody of the children, and moved from Israel to New York.[...]

Sexual abuse by internet hacker

YNet

A central Israel resident in his 20s was detained on suspicion of hacking the computers of US girls and threatening to circulate their intimate photos, unless they perform indecent acts on their webcam.

The story was cleared for publication Thursday. 

Almost 100 girls aged 12 to 17 were allegedly victimized by the suspect. He is believed to have hacked their computers, seeking embarrassing photographs and later approaching them on online social networks and threatening them.

Yadeinu Shafchu Es Hadam Hazeh

Cross Currents - Rabbi Adlerstein

After the horror, the disbelief, the shock, the emptiness, I next thought what many others must have. He had to have been a pedophile. I messaged a colleague, a respected rov, and asked what he thought. I will post it anonymously; I haven’t gotten to him yet to ask to use his name: I am sure he was, and I am sure he molested many others, and i am sure that there were people that knew and hushed it. It is time to forever bury the myth that reports of pedophilia can be managed and dealt with by committees of rabbonim, even for a short time. It is time to bury the myth that there is a serious halachic barrier to going to authorities to deal with credible reports of such behavior. Enough baalei halacha have told us that there is no barrier. Choshen Mishpat 358:12 tells us that those who vex the public can be handed over. Any pedophile does at least that, and poses a danger of doing much more. Moreover, mesirah of a molester exposes him to a safek of danger; pedophiles pose a much greater danger level to many more victims.[...]

Haredi entertainer convicted of indecent acts

YNET

The Jerusalem Magistrates Court on Tuesday convicted haredi entertainer David Bruckner of indecent acts against a 12-year-old boy. 

Bruckner was arrested in January 2010 over suspicions that he committed indecent acts against a 12-year-old. At the end of the investigation into the case he was indicted for four counts of indecent acts.

Hundreds riot in Mea Shearim after police raid

YNet

Tax Authority operation sees prominent Eda Haredit figures arrested for tax evasion suspicions. Six officers hurt during subsequent riots  

Six police officers were hurt Wednesday during haredi riots in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood. A joint Tax Authority-Jerusalem Municipality operation saw inspectors raiding local business whose owners were suspected of tax evasion. Police provided security.

Three business owners were arrested and their assets confiscated. Ultra-Orthodox elements accused the police of unnecessary provocation and claimed their deployment was disproportionate. Dozens of haredim rioted following the arrest and set trash cans on fire.[...] 

Every parent's nightmare: A child z"l abducted & killed by a stranger

NYTimes

| The search for a missing 8-year-old Brooklyn boy ended early on Wednesday when investigators discovered what they believed to be his dismembered remains in a third-floor attic refrigerator of a Brooklyn man and in a trash bin on a street, the police said. The man, who made incriminating statements, was in custody and being questioned, the police said.

The grim discovery capped two days of intense searching for the boy, Leibby Kletzky, who had disappeared along a short walk between a Borough Park school and a meeting place with his parents on Monday. Police detectives searched around his neighborhood and used helicopters to find the boy, who was part of the Hasidic Jewish community. They recovered video clearly showing the boy alive.[...]

Crown Heights Beis Din says to report abusers to police

Hasidic Sleuth’s Beat: Mean Streets of Brooklyn

NYTimes

JOE LEVIN, a private investigator in Brooklyn, was waiting to meet a new client in the parking lot of a kosher supermarket in Borough Park one recent morning. Glancing in the side-view mirror of his chauffeured sport utility vehicle, Mr. Levin said he liked this particular spot because he knew the manager, the delivery man and the security guard, who lets him borrow footage from the lot's surveillance equipment.

Most of the time, though, Mr. Levin does his own snooping. On his iPad, he scrolled through photographs of people he was being paid about $100 an hour to follow, including a rebellious Hasidic girl in a white miniskirt and a long-bearded rabbi lighting a cigarette on the sidewalk.

"He's a bad guy," Mr. Levin said, enlarging the rabbi's image. "A very bad guy." [...]

Court orders mother to have child's hand amputated to save her life

YNet

A court ruled that a 13-year-old girl suffering from cancer must have her hand amputated – otherwise she will die. The ruling came after the girl's mother refused to authorize the operation, claiming the only treatment her daughter requires is fasting and prayer.

Three months ago, the Ministry of Social Affairs' legal adviser filed an urgent request with the Family Court, requesting permission to perform the urgent surgery.

Majorcan Descendants of Spanish Jews Who Converted Are Recognized as Jews

NYTimes

Centuries after the Spanish Inquisition led to the forced conversion of Jews to Catholicism, an ultra-orthodox rabbinical court in Israel has issued a religious ruling that recognizes descendants from the insular island of Majorca as Jews.

The opinion focused narrowly on the Majorcan community of about 20,000 people known as chuetas and did not apply to descendants of Sephardic Jewish converts in mainland Spain or the broader diaspora of thousands of others who scattered to the Ottoman Empire and the Spanish colonies in South and North America. [...]

Camp Agudah & Ohel: Advice to campers' parents regarding abuse

Jewish community leader tells of sex abuse

Australia The Age

MANNY Waks's behaviour started to change part-way through his schooling at Yeshivah College.

''I wasn't listening to the teachers and was getting into trouble,'' Mr Waks says.

Now, more than 20 years later, he believes his disruptive behaviour, his rebellion against his strict Hasidic upbringing, even the fact he is no longer an observant Jew, can potentially be linked to sexual abuse he says he was subjected to at the Orthodox Jewish school in St Kilda East.

Mr Waks claims he was repeatedly molested by a trusted figure of authority at the school who had unfettered access to the young boys.

"This was a man who was in a position of power and authority, who was trusted by the school and who repeatedly took advantage of his position in preying on young boys who looked up to him." The 35-year-old Canberra public servant says he was also abused by another member of the Chabad community. One of the alleged incidents is said to have occurred inside a synagogue.

''No wonder I feel so uncomfortable being in a synagogue, because it evokes in my subconscious some of these memories,'' Mr Waks says.[...]

Kiruv: Collecting neshamos on Facebook

bchol

"אהיה באינטרנט עד שאחרון הנשמות יעזוב" • 'הרב'ה של הפייסבוק' מדבר

יש לו אלפי 'חברים' בפייסבוק, המוני תלמידים במציאות - ולהט גדול: למגר את הנשירה • הכירו את הרב מוטה פראנק, ממשפיעי ברסלב, המלקט נשמות נושרות בפייסבוק • רגע לפני המראתו השנתית לאומן עם ליפא שמעלצר, מגיש 'בחדרי חרדים' ראיון מרתק עם הדמות שמושכת אלפים • לייק!

Rockland lawmakers debate calling FBI in New Square arson case

cgpage

Arson attack and burn victim Aron Rottenberg stood before the Rockland County Legislature on Tuesday to publicly speak in support of an individual’s right to pray where he or she chooses.

“I’m greatly honored to be here tonight and to bring you a message of peace and good will,” Rottenberg said. “I believe a person should be able to engage in prayer in the privacy of his or her home or in a synagogue, church or mosque of his or her choice.”

Rottenberg was severely burned May 22, when an incendiary device exploded as he wrestled with 18-year-old Shaul Spitzer outside Rottenberg’s New Square home. Bandages were still visible on his arms as he spoke Tuesday.

The 43-year-old plumber and father of four offered the invocation at the start of the Legislature’s meeting after being invited by Legislator Joseph Meyers, D-Airmont. [...]

The Latest in the Anisakis Infested Fish Controversy

5tjt

There has been a new development in the controversy surrounding the consumption of kosher fish this week.  A new letter has been issued by Rav Elyashiv concerning his opinion about the consumption of fish with anisakis worm in the flesh.   The letter states Rav Elyashiv’s  unequivocal position that consuming the fish is a violation of a biblical prohibition.

There is something else in the letter, however, which is completely new.  The letter states that there is an obligation upon each Rabbiand Roshei Yeshiva  to promulgate and disseminate this information to their respective congregants.  The letter also contains a post-script penned by Rav Feivel Cohen that he was present and verifies the accuracy and veracity of the letter.

The letter was obtained by Rav Feivel Cohen Shlita last week when he visited Rav Elyashiv after his operation.  Rav Feivel suggested to Rav Elyashiv of the necessity of including the paragraph concerning the obligation to disseminate the information contained in the letter in order to counter the fact that numerous individuals were discounting the seriousness of the situation.

The letter is sharply worded against those authorities that permit the consumption of Anisakis infested fish. [...]

Audio- visual educational approach has Divine approval

This is an introductory essay written by Rav Shmuel Vosner's son that was added to a sefer using the latest modern educational techniques including pictures and exercises to make the gemora easier to learn. The sefer has the haskoma of Rav Shmuel Vosner.

There were three matters that were difficult for Moshe to understand until G-d showed him with His finger (Menachos 29 and Shemos Rabbah). G-d illuminated for us that the good way to bring about the understanding of difficult matters is using pictures and images. Even though the words of Chazal contain deep esoteric secrets, nevertheless the gemora is also to be understood literally as is obvious from the words of Tosfos on this gemora as well as in Chullin 42.  Therefore since Chazal as well as Rishonim and Achronim have utilized images and diagrams to explain difficult halachos as can readily be seen in mishnayos as well as the poskim one should not reject the use of images and diagrams to explain mishna and gemora with the claim that these are new progressive approaches based on modern attitudes and techniques. It is a major error to dismiss this approach as being an innovation which the truly religious reject and distance themselves from. In fact  these techniques  are consistent with the words of Chazal and the commentaries of the great Rishonim and Achronim that the technique of using images in fact was used by G-d to teach Torah to His people Israel.

הקדמת רב חיים מאיר הלוי וואזנער [בן של רב שמואל הלוי ואזנר] לספר אלו מציאות המפורש של בנו רב שלום שיש הסכמה מהסבה

שלשה דברים היו קשין לו למשה עד שהראה לו הקב"ה באצבעו (מנחות כ"ט ובש"מ) הקב"ה האיר לנו בזה שהדרך הנאה להביא לידי הבנת הדבר הקשה הוא ע"י הוראת ההלכה בתמונתו וצורתו ואף שבדברי חז"ל צפונים בהם צפונות ונבסתרות מ"מ אין מאמר זה יוצא מפשטותו כמו שנראה לכל מעיין בתוס' (שם ד"ה שלשה וחולין מ"ב ד"ה זאת) ואף חז"ל ורבותינו הראשוינים והאחרונים ליוו הרבה הלכות קשיי הבנה עם ציורין כמו שבאו בהרבה מקומות במשניות ש"ס ופוסקים ראשונים ואחרונים ועל כן אין להזניח את מציירי הציורין המלוין דברי המשניות והגמ', בטענה וקיטרוג של שיטות חדשות ומתקדמות לפי רוח הזמן. כי שגגה להכתים שיטה זה בכתם של התחדשות שהחרדים לדבר ה' סולידם ומתרחקים ממנה. כל זמן שהם תואמים עם דברי חז"ל ועם פירושי גדולי הראשונים והאחרונים כי המקור לשיטת הציורין מפי הגבורה יתברך ויתעלה המלמד תורה לעמו ישראל.

Malka Leifer - formerly principal in Australia - investigated as alleged abuser

Australian Age

A FORMER principal of a Jewish girls' school in Elsternwick is being investigated over claims she molested students, as the Victoria Police probe into alleged sexual abuse widens to take in a second school.

Malka Leifer, a former principal of the Adass Israel Girls' School, fled to Israel in 2008 after the school board sacked her following complaints of inappropriate conduct with students. At the time, parents told The Age that Ms Leifer, a mother of eight, had molested students at school, at her home and probably at school camps. They said one victim had attempted suicide.

Parents were critical of the Adass Israel School, claiming it allowed Ms Leifer to flee before notifying police. The school has denied this.
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Ms Leifer, who is still living in Israel, is now being investigated by police after people came forward with information when police began investigating a separate sex scandal at Yeshivah College in St Kilda East.

In Orthodox word the fact that news is reported is important news

Forbes

In the insular world of ultra-Orthodox Jews in Israel, the fact that the news is being reported is itself important news.

A decade ago, brawling between two ultra-Orthodox factions over real estate in Jerusalem would almost certainly not have been reported in the community's media. Neither would a bitter debate over ethnic segregation in a girls' school, or an incident in which a member of a Hasidic sect in New York attacked and badly burned a community dissident.

All of these stories have appeared in the past year, part of a flowering of journalism that is both driving and being driven by a gradual opening in this stringently conservative world.

The ultra-Orthodox are experiencing an unprecedented proliferation of Internet sites, radio stations, call-in news lines and newspapers increasingly independent of rabbinic control and willing to touch topics that might seem entirely mundane to an outsider but which, in the confines of this religious community, have long been taboo.

"It used to be that people were happy to live in their little caves, but now we all need to know what's going on everywhere. It's like air," said Nachman Tubul, a lanky, bearded 27-year-old who runs a wire service called News 24 out of a tiny storefront in Jerusalem. [...]

Advice from Misaskim regarding your children: Is a Stranger a Danger?

Woodmere Shul's Treasurer Charged With $600G Theft

Jewish Week

When officers of Congregation Aish Kodesh, a popular Modern Orthodox shul in Woodmere, noticed that the the shul’s checks were bouncing, an investigation led to startling news.

After a brief meeting, the board members discovered that more than $500,00 had been wired from the shul’s bank account to the account belonging to the law firm of the shul’s treasurer, Isaac Zucker, a securities lawyer with a nearby practice.

“He was an upstanding member of the community,” said Azriel Ganz, the chairman of the shul’s board. “There wasn’t a scintilla of doubt on his trustworthiness.” [....]

Can a girl wound her legs to be able to dress modestly?

YNet

What should a girl do if she wishes to dress modestly but her parents won't let her? According to Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein she can injure herself in order to use it as an excuse for dressing modestly.
 
Last week Rabbi Zilberstein, the the son-in-law of prominent Rabbi Yosef Elyashiv, received an inquiry from a women's college coordinator about a student who is growing increasingly religious. The student said she wanted to dress modestly but her parents were preventing her from doing so, because they were not religious. [...]

Arrest of Rabbi Lior -shows right to free speech is only for professors not rabbis with Torah views

YNet

As for the claim that no man is above the law, especially at a time when so many senior public figures have been brought before the courts, Ganot said:

"There is no one above the law, but who can investigate the Torah?

 "Is there one judge in this generation capable of investigating the Torah? Why are they so afraid of opening up this issue to public debate? Why come out in this fashion and arrest the rabbi? There is no justification."

Yair Shreider, 29, who was injured during Operation Cast Lead while serving in a paratrooper regiment; he was also scornful of the claim. According to Shreider:

"The president was arrested and tried for rape, prime ministers were investigated for theft and criminal issues; Rabbi Lior was investigated not for theft, rape or murder. He was investigated over his opinion.

 
'What about Beersheba professor?'

"I have yet to see an arrest warrant or investigation of a professor with a certain opinion. We are a democratic country and every person has a right to express their opinion, as long as they don't break the law." [....]

When Rabbis Blunder: - Attacking Bris Milah?

5tjt

This morning upon perusing the Jewish news sites, I actually rubbed my eyes in amazement.  Could it really be that an Orthodox Rabbi had really written these words?  Surely this is some kind of bizarre, cruel, prank – a modern orthodox Rabbi attacking Bris Milah, giving the anti-circumcision movement fodder to attack and gloat –in the pages of the Jewish Week?

The Rabbi writes:  “Circumcision is unsettling. As the actor Russell Crowe wrote on Twitter: “I love my Jewish friends, I love the apples and the honey and the funny little hats but stop cutting yr babies.” Despite the politically incorrect tone, Crowe reminds us why the anti-circumcision movement is here to stay: circumcisions are bloody and make babies cry. Even the committed among us are uncomfortable, and we look down nervously when the mohel begins the ceremony. It’s painful to enter the Covenant of Abraham.”

WHAT?  Circumcision is unsettling?  In a generation of tongue piercings, triple and quadruple earrings, branding, and tattooing, a Rabbi calls circumcision unsettling when its health benefits are undisputed in three recent AIDS transmission studies? [....]

Treasurer of Aish Kodesh in Woodmere Accused of Pilfering $600K From Temple Coffers

NBC News

A treasurer for a Long Island Hasidic congregation is accused of stealing more than $600,000 from its bank accounts.    

Nassau County police say Isaac Zucker of Woodmere, was arrested around 2 a.m. Wednesday and charged with grand larceny. He is to be arraigned later Wednesday.    

It's not immediately known if he has a lawyer.    

The 47-year-old Zucker served as a treasurer for the Congregation Aish Kodesh in Woodmere.  [...]

DA: Bethpage Pediatrician sexually abused patients

newday

A grand jury has indicted a Bethpage pediatrician on charges that he sexually abused girls as young as 11 under the guise of medical examinations, and also secretly videotaped and photographed them, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Dr. Rakesh Punn, 53, of Bethpage, has been in jail since he was arrested on pornography charges last July. [....]

Divorce recalcitrant gets unlimited jail term

YNet

In an unprecedented ruling, the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court has sentenced a divorce recalcitrant to an unlimited prison term – until he agrees to give his wife a "get".

The man had already served a 10-year prison sentence, and yet was adamant not to grant his wife a divorce. [...]

Netanyahu responds to Rabbi Dov Lior's arrest: Israeli law applies to all citizens

Haaretz

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the arrest of Rabbi Dov Lior on Tuesday, saying that “Israel is a law-abiding state”. He added that “the law includes everyone and I call on all Israel’s citizens to uphold it.”

Lior was arrested, questioned, and released on Monday after refusing to appear for an inquiry for his endorsement of the controversial book, “Torat Hamelech”, which justifies killing non-Jews.

Netanyahu refrained from commenting on several contentious issues in his statement, including the fact that Lior evaded arrest for two months before he was brought in by police for questioning. Also notably missing from his statement was an endorsement of Deputy State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan, who has come under harsh criticism from Israel’s right for steps taken against Lior.  [....]

Skverer Rebbe disputes lawsuit filed against him in fiery NY attack

wall street journal

 The chief rabbi in a Hasidic village north of New York City says a lawsuit filed against him after a resident was burned in a fiery attack is without merit.

A resident of New Square who was badly burned in May had alleged Grand Rebbe David Twersky directed the attack. Plaintiff Aron Rottenberg claimed Twersky targeted him because he had begun praying at a synagogue other than the principal one in the insular village of 7,000 residents. [...]

LoHud

Brooklyn chasid surrenders in abuse case

NYPost

A Brooklyn teen, accompanied by his rabbi and a lawyer, surrendered today in the molestation of a youngster in the basement of a Borough Park synagogue. Menachem Deutsch, 19, was charged with unlawful imprisonment and child endangerment in the June 22 attack, authorities said. [...]

Police keep J'lem street open despite Haredi protest

JPost

Haredi riots aimed at preventing civilian traffic on Rehov Hanevi’im reached a new height on Saturday afternoon, when over a hundred men of various sects tried to scare secular residents into steering clear of the Jerusalem thoroughfare, shouting “Shabbes,” pelting cars with stones and spitting on passersby.

At least one secular man was arrested after being accused by police of “provocation.” [...]

In Medicine, New Isn’t Always Improved

nytimes

IT is an American impulse to covet the new and improved — whether it's a faster computer, a smarter cellphone or a more fuel-efficient car. And in medicine, too, new drugs, devices and procedures have advanced patient care.

But the promise of innovation can also prove a trap, a situation now playing out with dire consequences for possibly tens of thousands of people who received artificial hips intended to let them remain active.

The implants, known as metal-on-metal hips, were regarded by device makers and surgeons as a major advance over previous designs that used both metal and plastic. Now federal regulators and medical researchers are scrambling to determine how many implant recipients have been injured by the devices, which can shed dangerous metallic debris through wear.  [....]

Australian school's sex abuse secret probed

Australian    Age

POLICE are trying to breach a wall of secrecy at a private boys school in St Kilda East over allegations of sex crimes by a former teacher who is now in jail in the United States.

David Kramer fled Australia in the early 1990s after accusations from parents that he had sexually abused boys at Yeshivah College, an Orthodox Jewish school. The school did not report the complaints to police.

Former students, who have spoken to The Age on condition of anonymity, said the allegations were covered up by the school. ''Parents were threatened they would be thrown out of the school if they told police,'' one said.

However, several alleged victims have come forward after Kramer, 50, was jailed for seven years in the US for molesting a 12-year-old boy while conducting a youth program at a synagogue in St Louis in 2007 [...]

"walking quadriplegic’’ completes Ironman triathalon

nytimes


Finishing an Ironman triathlon, which consists of a a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon, is a remarkable feat for any athlete. But 30-year-old John Carson, who will retire from the sport after this weekend's Ironman in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, is no ordinary athlete.

Two years ago, Mr. Carson was training on his bicycle near his home on Long Island, N.Y., when a sport utility vehicle smashed into him from behind. He remembers fading in and out of consciousness and waking up in the intensive care unit as a quadriplegic.

"When I was a younger guy, to me the thought of being paralyzed, I was the first person to say I'd rather be dead,'' Mr. Carson said. "I remember waking up in the I.C..U., my wife being there, my mom and my family, and being so thankful for being alive.''

Texting on Saturdays seen as increasingly common ‘addiction.’

jewish week

At a recent campgrounds Shabbaton sponsored by a local Modern Orthodox high school, the teenage participants broke into small groups after the meals, as is usual, to talk with their friends.

On their cell phones.

Of the 17 students who attended the weekend program, said 17-year-old Julia, a junior at the day school, most sent text messages on Shabbat – a violation of the halachic ban on using electricity in non-emergency situations.

"Only three [of the 17 students] didn't text on Shabbos," Julia says. Most did it "out in the open," sitting at picnic tables. "They weren't hiding it."

The students at the Shabbaton were not the exception for their age group. According to interviews with several students and administrators at Modern Orthodox day schools, the practice of texting on Shabbat is becoming increasingly prevalent, especially, but not exclusively, among Modern Orthodox teens.

It's a literally hot-button issue that teachers and principals at yeshiva day schools, whose academic year ends this week, acknowledge and deal with it in both tacit and oblique ways. For the most part, they extol the virtues of keeping Shabbat rather than chastising those who violate it. [....]

Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz - Speaking to your children about personal safety

Speaking To Your Kids About Personal Safety from Yakov Horowitz on Vimeo.

The Silver Segulah ring advertised in Mishpacha - is not validated by Rav Sternbuch

The following notice appeared in this week's Mishpacha magazine
regarding a two page ad that was printed in the previous edition. The ad
asserted that the ring helps many serious problems and that it was
endorsed by Rav Moshe Sternbuch and other rabbis. This is the response
provided by Rav Sternbuch.

Dueling ad on fish worms - Please explain this contradictory two part Yated ad

On June 7, 2011 the Hamodia published two ads concerning fish worms - one by those who prohibit fish because of the worms and  one by those who don't. Yated published only the ad that prohibited. However a closer look at the ad which appeared on page 41 - from those who prohibit fish with worms - seems to indicate that it is not one ad but rather it reflects two  disparate views . Furthermore the  two parts of the same ad in fact contradict each other.

I would appreciate feedback as to how these ads are to be understood The statement at the top of the page, with Rav Eliashiv shlita's, signature, seems to saying that the fish are forbidden. But the bottom part says only that some fish are only of concern. Furthermore I have also been told by experts in the field that the list in the second part is based on very haphazard and subjective data and that in fact no systematic scientific study has been done. (For example they didn't examine 100 cans of salmon and determine the frequency with which worms appeared.) I would greatly appreciate clarification of exactly what means were used to determined whether a particular type of fish is infected or is clean. I would also like to know how the two parts of the ad can be reconciled. Are they saying the fish are definitely prohibited (part 1) or is the prohibition because of a sofek (part 2)?

The Doctor Who Performed on Rav Elyashiv

5tjt

He is one of America’s top doctors and was voted so in 2007 by a group of peers.  Dr. Daniel Clair is Chairman of the Department of Vascular Surgery and a Vascular Surgeon practicing at Cleveland Clinic's main campus.  He is also the surgeon who successfully operated on the Gadol HaDor Rav Sholom Moshe Elyashiv this past Sunday.

Dr. Clair specializes in carotid artery surgery and thoraco-abdominal aortic repair and reconstruction. This was a surgery that he had performed on Rav Elyashiv seven years ago, and one that he required once again.  Both times Dr. Clair flew to Eretz Yisroel, himself, his team and his equipment.  Prior to this surgery which took place at Hadassa Hospital in Jerusalem (at 1:30 PM New York City time), Dr. Clair had asked for a blessing from Rav Elyashiv for a successful surgery.  Rav Ekyashiv gave a bracha that he should be a successful shliach. [....]

Simcha Safety: Olomeinu's summer safety points for kids regarding protecting their bodies

Bracha Goetz provides safety advice against molesters for kids in a
mainstream Chareidi publication

Stoning a dog: False slow-news libel reaches ends of the earth

Rotter.net

  תמונות: עלילת הדם של בחדרי חרדים עושה גלים בכל העולם 
 
    הסיפור השקרי לחלוטין על בית דין שהורה לסקול כלב שהתחיל באתר בחדרי חרדים ועבר ל-Ynet באנגלית - עושה גלים בעולם הערבי, בעולם המערבי ואפילו בהודו. הסיפור הופץ מ-Ynet לניוזויירים הגדולים בעולם - AP ו-AFP ומשם ל-BBC ולשבועון TIME הנחשב. התגובות רובן ככולן אנטישמיות מובהקות.