No Crime, but an Arrest and Two Strip-Searches

NYTimes

Albert W. Florence believes that black men who drive nice cars in New Jersey run a risk of being questioned by the police. For that reason, he kept handy a 2003 document showing he had paid a court-imposed fine stemming from a traffic offense, just in case.

It did not seem to help.

In March 2005, Mr. Florence was in the passenger seat of his BMW when a state trooper pulled it over for speeding. His wife, April, was driving. His 4-year-old son, Shamar, was in the back.

The trooper ran a records search, and he found an outstanding warrant based on the supposedly unpaid fine. Mr. Florence showed the trooper the document, but he was arrested anyway. [...]

Jewish student sues UC Berkeley for not protecting her

JPost

A student has brought a federal civil rights lawsuit against the University of California, Berkeley, saying the university did not protect her from being attacked because she is Jewish.

Lawyers for Jessica Felber, 20, say the case, filed in US District Court in Oakland, Calif., on March 4 against the university, the regents of the University of California and their ranking officials, is the first of its kind.

Her suit alleges that Husam Zakharia, a fellow student and the head of Students for Justice in Palestine, rammed into her with a metal cart because of the pro-Israel sign she was holding during a pro-Israel demonstration on the Berkeley campus on March 5, 2010. [...]

Jewish Week's reply to Ohel's response

Jewish Week

The Jewish Week finds itself, unfortunately, in a war of words with Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services.

To be clear: we have no animus toward the Brooklyn-based social service agency or any other Jewish organization; our mission and goal is to report the truth and inform and strengthen the Jewish community. Sometimes that makes for hard feelings.

Over the years we have reported allegations that Ohel’s policies in dealing with sex abuse has put the community’s children at risk. As a result, the agency appears to have concluded that we are biased against them, and worse. [...]

Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz’s Campaign – And Why We Ought To Support It

Cross Currents - Rabbi Adlerstein

Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz announced a new weapon in the struggle against abuse. For most people, the obvious reason to support him will be sufficient. It might be worthwhile to consider some of the other reasons as well.

Rabbi Horowitz is a trusted name in the world of chinuch. He has earned a justified reputation for speaking his mind, particularly about topics that generate lockjaw (in the closed position) for others. He has demonstrated enormous concern and sensitivity for the victims of abuse, and holds it responsible for producing a great part of the off-the-derech population. In a high-profile case now in progress, he anticipates a large showing in court from members of a closed community – on behalf of the accused. Understanding the impact that this will have on the victims (and victims in unrelated cases!), he urges at least a parallel show of support and concern for them. Whatever one believes regarding offering assistance to accused (but untried and unconvicted) felons, such assistance should not give the impression that accused criminals are more important to us than real victims. (At a conference for rabbanim in LA last week, Dr. David Pelcowitz shared a chilling finding. He related that child welfare personnel in community after community all ask him the same question: "Why is your community more concerned with protecting its image than protecting children?) [....]

Rosh(55:9): Jewish vs Secular thought

James Gleick's "The Information"

NYTimes

"The Information” is so ambitious, illuminating and sexily theoretical that it will amount to aspirational reading for many of those who have the mettle to tackle it. Don’t make the mistake of reading it quickly. Imagine luxuriating on a Wi-Fi-equipped desert island with Mr. Gleick’s book, a search engine and no distractions. “The Information” is to the nature, history and significance of data what the beach is to sand.

In this relaxed setting, take the time to differentiate among the Brownian (motion), Bodleian (library) and Boolean (logic) while following Mr. Gleick’s version of what Einstein called “spukhafte Fernwirkung,” or “spooky action at a distance.” Einstein wasn’t precise about what this meant, and Mr. Gleick isn’t always precise either. His ambitions for this book are diffuse and far flung, to the point where providing a thumbnail description of “The Information” is impossible. [...]

Ohel's response to The Jewish Week regarding mandated reporting

OHEL

The Jewish Week Has It Wrong, Again.

A Heinous Crime and A History of Proactive Prevention

Child sexual abuse is a heinous crime. While unashamedly denied or ignored by many in the community for too long, OHEL has for decades tirelessly treated victims and raised community-wide awareness - long before child sexual abuse became media headlines. OHEL initiated hundreds of prevention workshops, provided local and national consultations with schools and communities, distributed a multitude of videos, books and other supporting materials, while providing on-going treatment and support to victims and their families. The media has a very important role to play in boldly tackling issues such as child sexual abuse and all other social ills. However, The Jewish Week’s inflammatory coverage of OHEL, most recently in the article “Abuse Case Tests OHEL’s Adherence To Reporting Laws” once again demonstrates a complete disregard for facts driven by a very misguided agenda, and, at worst, a reckless disregard for a patients right to privacy.

Fundamental Misrepresentations in Jewish Week Article [...]