Sunday, November 27, 2011
Birth coaches (doulas) halachic differential between Chassidic & Litvishe poskim
Hatzola & Chassidic women concerned for tznius
Loving a suicidal, psychotic spouse
For Some, Psychiatric Trouble May Start in Thyroid
Friday, November 25, 2011
Sikrikim member Yosef Hazan arrested in Jerusalem
According to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, Hazan was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of causing public disturbances, damaging property and assaulting a police officer attempting to arrest him
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Rabbi Berel Wein: The widening disconnect between masses & rabbinic leaders
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Value of Gratitude is finally discovered by Psychology
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Six Day War - Miraculous or Natural? Video History
Supreme Court upholds conviction of Shmuel Veisfish - a member of Sikrikim gang - for extortion, assault and grievous bodily harm.
Veisfish was convicted for his participation in the harassment and assault of the owner of the “Space” electronics store in the haredi neighborhood of Geula in Jerusalem 2008, but lodged an appeal with the Supreme Court over the severity of his sentence.
Veisfish, and other Sikrikim militants, had objected to the sale of portable video players in the store, which they claimed corrupted haredi youth. They arranged dozens of protests demanding that “Space” stop stocking such items and would drive customers out of the store and block the entrance. The group’s members also threatened to kill the employees and burn the store unless they stopped working there.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Dr. Salamon (psychologist), R Frankfurter (editor of Ami magazine) & Pinny Taub (survivor and advocate) - discuss dealing with abuse while avoiding vilifying Orthodox community
Complete Show mp3 Sunday, November 20, 2011 3:00 AM Dr. Michael J. Salamon, Woodmere Psychologist Tackling Abuse in Orthodox Jewish Community, Pini Taub abused around 1990 abused by Rebbe in Yeshiva
I really have a lot of respect for you. I did not include you in my letter and I did not include most activists. I specifically wrote hate-filled. I agree that whatever has changed for the better came because of the constructive criticism and you deserve a great deal of credit for that. Regarding your book I have no regret that I added my story. If my story helped only one person become more aware, then I thank you for giving me this opportunity.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Author of Hush - speaking at Y.I. of Long Beach
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Is a parent who had incestual relations - decades ago - still a danger to family?
Dear Rabbi Eidensohn,I am writing because of the work you have done into the problem of pedophilia, etc. My question is as follows.
A (female) student/friend of mine was incested as a child by her father, a rabbi from a prominent Chassidic family. She knows of cousins who were also abused by him, many years earlier, when he was still a bochur. (These cousins include two women and a man). She (my student) has reason to believe that her brother and another sister were also incested. My student is now over forty and the abuse occurred between age 2 and 12.; Her father admitted to it. Until last night she had not spoken with anyone in the family about it (except her mother).
My friend has distanced herself from her family (gently but firmly with no explanation) starting about 10 years ago, but in the course of her own healing process she realized that her nieces and nephews are likely in danger for the scientific research suggests that a pedophile rarely ceases his predatory behavior at his own initiative, even in elder years (her father is probably in his late sixties). So yesterday she spoke with her brother, and told him her story, and charged him with informing their other siblings to be cautious with their children and to not leave them alone on any regular basis, with their grandfather.
The brother took it in, and then said that there is this therapist who gives people a test that is supposed to distinguish between pedophiles who are likely to be still dangerous and those who are probably not. He wants to ask his father to take this test to see if it is really necessary to inform his siblings. (Also if his father is really a danger than maybe he must inform the next generation his own children, nieces and nephews to watch their children).
My question is,: Do you know anything about this test. Do you think it is reliable. What if the perpetrator lies about the extent of his previous offences, can it detect that. Do you know about this therapist. Is there someone you can refer me to who might help me sort this out. My friend/student does not want to be involved any more. She feels like she did her bit by telling her brother, and feels that further involvement would be harmful to her, so she has dropped the ball in my court.
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks
Penn Scandal: Aish HaTorah did not publish my criticism of their article
Positive feedback from a reader regarding my books on abuse
Hi,
As a survivor of child sexual abuse, as well as someone who runs an online support group and an educator of young children, I want to commend you for the sensitivity you displayed in your book. I borrowed volume one from a friend (also a survivor and educator) and have just ordered volumes two and three.
You may not get this response often, therefore I feel compelled to send it to you. After staying up all night last night reading your book, I ultimately realized that I had enough information about a certain member of my support site indicating that she and a sibling are in imminent danger and was able to contact people to help her get started on the process of reporting her abuse. Unfortunately, she is still at a stage of extreme fear (rightly so-the last attack she experienced was on Yom Kippur, after she refused to forgive the perpetrator for a previous attack), and says she will not talk to the authorities if they speak to her. Therefore, two therapists and a rav are now working with her to get her into counseling and hopefully help her leave the house and report the abuse.
Thank you so much for all the work you do for k'lal yisroel!
Catholic bishop who violated mandated reporting - gets a deal
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Crown Heights Beis Din: Must report abuse claims to secular authorities.
Other rabbinical authorities have also encouraged their members to go the police, but what was unique here is the fact that the Crown Heights Beit Din made the matter public and not only allowed its members to report directly to the police, but required it.[...]
Penn State scandal: Learning Torah from the Goyim:
When Paterno realized that the Penn State administration was not dealing with the situation (or perhaps covering it up), what should he have done? Was he under any further obligation? Even if he was under no legal obligation, is there a difference between the “letter of the law” and the “spirit of the law”?
The Torah states: “Do not stand idly on your brother’s blood” (Leviticus 19:16). This is an imperative to get involved when a situation goes awry. The Almighty created the world as a workshop for self-perfection. No matter what our station in life, no matter what our innate abilities, the Almighty puts us in a particular situation in order that we make the right choice – no matter how uncomfortable or how politically inexpedient.[...]
The Torah says that if you have a chance to fix something in the world – whether stopping your colleague from an illegal act, or helping to feed starving children – and you do not act, then you ultimately bear responsibility. Perhaps, for that reason alone, the firing of Joe Paterno was justified.
New York mandated reporting laws - limitations for yeshiva teachers
Monday, November 14, 2011
Reinstating a physically abusive teacher
Pedophiles infiltrate respected institutions to find victims
Bedatz denounces Jewish Taliban ladies
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Early sexual abuse increases heart risks
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Study Finds Signs of Awareness in 3 ‘Vegetative’ Patients
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Gilad Shalit and the Rising Price of an Israeli Life
Monday, November 7, 2011
Widespread Sexual Harassment of Students in Grades 7 to 12
“It’s pervasive, and almost a normal part of the school day,” said Catherine Hill, the director of research at the association and one of the authors of the report.
Over all, 48 percent of students surveyed said they were harassed during the 2010-11 school year. Forty-four percent of students said they were harassed “in person” — being subjected to unwelcome comments or jokes, inappropriate touching or sexual intimidation — and 30 percent reported online harassment, like receiving unwelcome comments, jokes or pictures through texts, e-mail, Facebook and other tools, or having sexual rumors, information or pictures spread about them.
Preaching Virtue of Spanking, Even as Deaths Fuel Debate
Debate over the Pearls’ teachings, first seen on Christian Web sites, gained new intensity after the death of a third child, all allegedly at the hands of parents who kept the Pearls’ book, “To Train Up a Child,” in their homes. On Sept. 29, the parents were charged with homicide by abuse.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Former Penn State coach accused of abuse/Others with coverup
Friday, November 4, 2011
Ultra-Orthodox spitting attacks on Old City clergymen becoming daily
Johannes Martarsian was walking in the Old City in May 2008 when an young ultra-Orthodox Jew spat at him. Maratersian punched the spitter in the face, making him bleed, and was charged for assault. But Judge Dov Pollock, who unexpectedly annulled the indictment, wrote in his verdict that "putting the defendant on trial for a single blow at a man who spat at his face, after suffering the degradation of being spat on for years while walking around in his church robes is a fundamental contravention of the principles of justice and decency." [...]
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Well known psychologist found to have falsified research - major concern for field of psychology
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Dismal Tale of Arrest for Tiniest of Crimes
She was handcuffed. For the next 36 hours, she was moved from a cell in the 26th Precinct station house on West 126th Street to central booking in Lower Manhattan and then — because one of the officers was ending his shift before Ms. Zucker could be photographed for her court appearance, and you didn’t think he was going to take the subway uptown while his partner stayed with her at booking, did you? — she was brought back to Harlem. [...]
Rabbi Moti Elon indicted for indecent assault
According to the indictment, which was filed in the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court, Elon is alleged to have carried out the offenses by exploiting two minors. [...]
‘Bank-fraud’ case jolts Satmar schools
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Up to 50 free copies of Child & Domestic Abuse vol I - available to rabbis & organization heads
Hatzola & protecting women from embarrassment - guest post by Ruchi Freier esq.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Case against convicted molester Leibovits crumbles
One of the most high-profile convictions of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi for sexual abuse in recent times may be in danger of reversal, according to new disclosures in court records obtained by the Forward.
When Baruch Lebovits was sentenced last year to up to 32 years in jail, victims’ rights advocates hailed it as a turning point in the battle against sexual abuse in the insular Orthodox community. [...]
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Was Steve Jobs Smart? Nature of genius
So was Mr. Jobs smart? Not conventionally. Instead, he was a genius. That may seem like a silly word game, but in fact his success dramatizes an interesting distinction between intelligence and genius. His imaginative leaps were instinctive, unexpected, and at times magical. They were sparked by intuition, not analytic rigor. Trained in Zen Buddhism, Mr. Jobs came to value experiential wisdom over empirical analysis. He didn’t study data or crunch numbers but like a pathfinder, he could sniff the winds and sense what lay ahead.
He told me he began to appreciate the power of intuition, in contrast to what he called “Western rational thought,” when he wandered around India after dropping out of college. “The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do,” he said. “They use their intuition instead ... Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work.”
Mr. Jobs’s intuition was based not on conventional learning but on experiential wisdom. He also had a lot of imagination and knew how to apply it. As Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Abuse: Incredible institutional coverup by the Boy Scouts of America
Rick Turley was 18 when he learned that Scouting offered a unique opportunity to meet boys.
He would show up in a uniform with a sash full of merit badges, charm parents with claims of being a "top" leader and offer to take their preteen boys out for a swim or drive. Then, often after plying them with alcohol, he would fondle or rape them — once going so far as to kidnap a boy in a stolen plane.
Over nearly two decades, Turley molested at least 15 children in Southern California and British Columbia, most of whom he met through American and Canadian Scouting, a Los Angeles Times and Canadian Broadcasting Corp. investigation has found.
Scouting officials on both sides of the border not only failed to stop him, but sometimes helped cover his tracks, according to confidential Scouting records, court files and interviews with victims, families and Scout leaders.
At one point in 1979, Boy Scouts of America officials decided not to call police after Turley admitted molesting three Orange County boys, the organization's records show.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Violence between ultra-Orthodox sects rocks Jerusalem neighborhood
The Batei Warsaw quarter in Mea She'arim was built in the Ottoman period as a hostel for yeshiva students from Poland. Their families receive tiny apartments for key money or low rent. The Polish Gerrer dynasty, which always had people in the neighborhood committee, has gained almost complete control of it in recent years and is now planning to expand the quarter.
Although they do not recognize the state or its institutions, the Batei Warsaw tenants, most of whom belong to other ultra-Orthodox factions, have filed a court suit to stop the Gerrer Hasids' expansion. This move is believed to have sparked the recent hostilities.
Nobody was surprised by the attack this week. A week and a half ago vandals spread glue on Gerrer Rabbi David Alter's door, preventing him from going out to Hoshana Rabbah prayers. Everyone knew the Gerrer Hasids were out for revenge.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Hamodia: Erasing computers from pictures?
http://www.ladaat.net/forum/index.php?topic=60555
In Hamodia Sukkos edition. both pictures appear.
They just forgot to erase computer from second pic :)