Chareidim unite in abuse case with media experts

JPost

Out of a deep feeling that the secular public is out to vilify and persecute them, the entire haredi public - from the most extreme and insular hassidic sects to the most mainstream elements - formed a united front over the weekend to support the Jerusalem mother who allegedly starved her three-year-old boy.

Although many mainstream haredim may still believe police, doctors and social workers that there is reason to suspect that the mother severely harmed her child, they believe the secular news media were too ready to blame and that authorities were insensitive to haredi cultural norms.

"When a secular newscaster on Army Radio starts calling our demographic growth 'haredi cancer,' it becomes clear to anyone with a little sense that the secular media have blown things totally out of proportion in an attempt to disparage the entire haredi public," a senior editor of a large haredi daily, who preferred to remain anonymous, said Sunday.

The senior editor said that in a meeting with President Shimon Peres last week, he had warned that the mother had to be released from prison to house arrest.

"Otherwise thousands of haredim would file complaints with the United Nations and the International Court in The Hague against the State of Israel for persecuting the haredi population. Peres understood what we were saying," he said.

Last week reactions among haredi representatives were subdued when police, doctors and social workers publicized the horrific, incriminatory details of how a mother - a member of the Toldot Aharon hassidic sect, perhaps the most tightly knit, socially cohesive and parochial of the groups that make up haredi society - had, according to the charges, systematically starved her little boy.

At first most haredi media outlets ignored the story, uncertain how to react. Even haredi reporters had difficulty obtaining information from the closed sect. A few reported on the angry, violent demonstrations staged by Toldot Aharon and the Eda Haredit, which were criticized by haredi rabbinic figures such as Rabbi Natan Tzvi Finkel, head of the Mir Yeshiva.[...]

Latin American conversion issues

Moshe commented to "RaP: Proselytization in Latin America":

I read this blog and was in shock by the tenore of the entire story. Without a doubt there is a sense in RaP that the Askenazic community are more "blue blood" than the Sephardic community. I will admit,that they have been more prone to deal with conversions in an overwhelming level in the Askenazic community. In Latin America, many Rabbi have prohibited conversions there for various reasons, but have always been open to recieve great sums of money for would be converts. One such family who came out of colombia, had to pay $20,000 and still was not properly converted until they arrived in the US without being converted, and financially weighing less than their non-hispanic counter part. After some direction, they did achieve their conversion in the US under a Beit Din that is recognized by Israel.

The attitude of those wanting to convert to Judaism from hispanic or Latin American Countries has always been skewed with suspicion from the certain groups inside the halls of Jewry (as so beautifully demonstrated in this blog by RaP). Had I known Mr Torres before he changed his last name to one that would be more acceptable to the Ashkenazic community, I would have told him to not even waste your time. You will alway be looked at as the "spic" that you are.Be proud of your surname, which may have more Yichus than some in the ashkenazic community. But one thing is cleare having a Sephardic Surname, as an Askenazic Surname does not make one a Jew. This who have been force to live in a culture which underminded the legacy of the Jews of Spanish is a part of history which has been purposely slighted in the history of a post holocaust world. Unlike the holocaust where millions of Jews died (Kiddush Hashem), hundreds of thousands of Jews took upon themselves to live outwardly as Christians and inside had to live as secretive Jews. And to their children on a word, a customs and practise remain as a string to remind them where they came from. Why this "fad", as you put it, is sweeping the Hispanic World? Simply because it was always there. But the information was not at there reach to connect the dotts. And know the Jewish world is about to experience of Hispanics who are lining up for convesion when in fact they should be directed to check their geneological tree, so if they can show 3-4 generations of unbroken linage back to the Jews, there may not even be a need to under go conversion. A conversion which throughout Jewish History was always possible, except in countries where our fellow tribesmen decided to market the female elements for business purposes. And in those country, such conversion where prohibited because, we could not have Jews marrying into lo zenut nashim, and in fact that is what began to happen. Horrified, many Rabbis placed takkanots to prohibit such actions with threats of cherem. This all swept under the rug. I do applaude Rabbi Goldenstein (Torres) effort. If he is in fact of Jewish descendants, and went through the conversion process,then your argument about a ger is not authorized to be involved in conversion is a mute issue. And what remains is raw discrimination and fear that those you may call hispanic goy have in fact a Sephardic Yiddishe Neshama which have been surpressed all these years. Sephardic Rabbis of the Spanish Portugese traditions should read this blog which sends an alarm, it is the Sephardic community responsability to deal with this issue, not a Beit Din who by and large is Askenazic and poskim accordingly. A Sephardic renewal is on it ways, and it is sending a wave of concern in the Jewish Community. Let them practice Judaism, and follow Judaism and be recognized as Jews, as long as it is done by halakhah. And alway keep in mind, that among the blue blood Syrian lavi community, even the Askenazic community is considered from the khazar, or descendants of converts.

Rav Sternbuch's letter finally reported in the media

Arutz Sheva July 19, 209

Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, renowned authority on Jewish law and president of the hareidi-religious Eida Hareidit organization, condemned violent protests due to the arrest of a mother for suspected withholding nourishment from her child.

Rabbi Sternbuch wrote in a letter published Friday: "What we have to strongly protest here, in a peaceful manner, are the barbaric actions of the police force in arresting a woman who is allegedly sick according to their claims, and chaining her, putting her in a cell with dangerous criminals. If their allegations are true, then this woman deserves the appropriate medical treatment, but not to sit in a prison cell, with such subhuman treatment." The rabbinic leader additionally stated, "We condemn any types of violence, I have stressed this many times before. Anyone who commits acts of violence declares that he doesn't belong to our community. Any talk of boycotting the hospital is against the Halacha [Jewish law] and 'very self-damaging.' We have nothing against the Hadassah hospital, and many in our community receive their services in the Hadassah hospital with great care."

Death threats against Hadassah deputy in abuse case

JPost

Dr. Yair Birnbaum, deputy director-general of the Hadassah Medical Organization, has received telephone death threats over the case of the haredi mother suspected of starving her three-year-old son.

Israel Radio reported Sunday night that police were taking the threats extremely seriously and that security guards were protecting the doctor. [...]

Hebrew discussion of Rav Sternbuch's letter

chadrei charedim has a discussion of the claims against Hadassa and Rav Sternbuch's letter

Another discussion is on L'daat forum

Police blamed for recent violence

YNet

[...]Welfare Ministry Director-General Nahum Itzkovitch is scheduled to meet later this week with Jerusalem District Police Commander Major General Aharon Franco amid claims that it was the police's conduct that caused the rift between the social workers and the haredi community.[...]

Abusive Beit Shemesh mother convicted

JPost

A Beit Shemesh woman was convicted on Sunday of severely abusing six of her 12 children. Her husband was convicted of taking part in the abuse and failing to prevent it.

The decision of the Jerusalem District Court was given behind closed doors in order to protect the identity of the children.

According to the indictment, the woman, dubbed "Taliban Mother" in the Israeli media due to her custom of wearing multiple layers of clothing cover her whole body and face, abused her young children "at least" 25 separate times.

According to the charge sheet, the woman repeatedly beat and otherwise physically abused her children, giving them electric shocks and hitting them with belts and sticks.

In one instance, the charge sheet said, the woman beat one of her daughters in the face with a rolling pin and slammed her face into the marble kitchen countertop.

She was also accused of forcing her children to sleep outside in a locked shed when she felt they had come home late, tying up her mentally impaired son for hours at a time and ignoring his cries for help, cutting her daughters' hair as punishment, and throwing water on her children to wake them up.

In addition, the physically and psychologically abused children committed incest when they were locked up in the shed, the indictment stated. [...]