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Wednesday, 30 October 2013

Bnei Brak - Man stealing 130 mezuzahs from apartments within 1 hour

From: privateinvesigations.blogspot.co.uk

   The suspect in action

Police are looking to arrest and charge a man with theft after he was caught on surveillance video stealing more than one hundred mezuzahs from door posts in just one hour, according to video uploaded to the Internet.

The security surveillance video shows how a man, dressed with a helmet and sunglasses, stole mezuzahs from two residential apartment building in Bnei Brak.

Within one hour about 130 mezuzahs worth about 20 thousand shekels, were taken. Police launched an investigation into the incident.

Local residents said that the neighborhood is suffering from this criminal for some time.

"This man was arrested in the past after being accused of stealing from currency changers, but was never jailed," a resident of the neighborhood, who had three mezuzahs stolen from his door posts, said.

The value of each mezuzah is estimated at 150 shekels. The total value of the 130 mezuzah is close to 20,000 shekels.

"He probably sold them to finance his criminal activity," another resident said.

While police officers continue to search for the suspect some fear that his family sent him to the United States, in order to avoid prosecution.

BBC - The Talmud: Why has a Jewish law book become so popular?

From: www.bbc.co.uk

The Talmud: Why has a Jewish law book become so popular?
By William Kremer

BBC World Service

The digital ascendance of a holy tract
The Talmud, the book of Jewish law, is one of the most challenging religious texts in the world. But it is being read in ever larger numbers, partly thanks to digital tools that make it easier to grasp, and growing interest from women - who see no reason why men should have it to themselves.
Step into the last carriage of the 07:53 train from Inwood to Penn Station in New York and you may be in for a surprise. The commuters here are not looking at their phones or checking the value of their shares, but peering down at ancient Hebrew and Aramaic text and discussing fine points of Judaic law.
It's a study group on wheels, and the book absorbing their attention in between station announcements is the Talmud - one of the most challenging and perplexing religious texts in the world. The group started 22 years ago, to help Long Island's Jewish commuters find their way through the "book", which stretches to well over 10 million words across 38 volumes.

Thursday, 24 October 2013

Rabbi Shteinman's Attacker Transferred to Psychiatric Hospital



Judge Shmuel Melamed decided Thursday morning to extend the detention of the suspect accused of attacking Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman, he will also be transferred to a psychiatric hospital.

The attack on Rabbi Shteinman, the 99-year-old leader of Israel's Lithuanian hareidi community, took place Tuesday night when a man in his 20's broke into his home and reportedly proceeded to shake the rabbi vigorously. The assailant was restrained by the rabbi's followers who were nearby. Rabbi Shteinman is still reportedly recovering from the incident.

In addition to extending his detention for a further three days, Judge Melamed also ordered prison authorities to transfer the suspect to the Abarbanel Psychiatric Hospital, and indicated that he is "in a psychotic state."  

An indictment is expected to be served against the suspect on Friday.

Letter sent by suspects family

Meanwhile the suspect family has delivered a letter to the home of Rabbi Shteinman stating that he was mentally unwell and his behavior was not motivated by rational thinking. Despite this, police claim that the attack had a direct connection to a recent Jerusalem municipality elections dispute between the main Degel Hatorah party led by Rabbi Shteinman and a breakaway faction led by another senior community leader, Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach.

Rabbi Auerbach presented a separate list, the Bnei Torah (Sons of Torah) party, which won 1 seat on the council, while the Degel Hatorah list that follows the authority of Rabbi Shteinman picked up 8 seats.

During the elections Rabbi Shteinman had spoken out harshly against Rabbi Auerbach, who found a threatening note on his car a day ahead of Tuesday's election demanding he cancel the list set to compete with Degel Hatorah.

The argument between the supporters of Rabbi Shteinman and Rabbi Auerbach trails back to a dispute over who would succeed Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, when he passed away in 2011.

Protests

Last night a rally was held in the hareidi city of Kiryat Sefer in protest of the attack against Rabbi Shteinman. During the event, the city's chief rabbi read out a letter from the suspect's family, which spoke of him as a disturbed individual and condemned what it said was the "shocking" attack.


Speak out against sexual abuse !!



Wednesday, 23 October 2013

Arie and Gil Gat are Israel's latest national sweethearts




 — For most Israelis, the common perception of the ultra-Orthodox Jewish minority is that of an insulated, segregated society devoted to studying ancient biblical texts and rejecting the ills of secular life.
But a pair of devout, soft-spoken brothers in skullcaps and sidecurls are now breaking down some stereotypes by emerging as the most unlikely of media darlings - reality rock stars.
Arie and Gil Gat are Israel's latest national sweethearts after dominating the audition stage of Israel's top-rated reality talent show, "Rising Star," drawing tens of thousands of votes and rave reviews from secular fans.
By day, the duo pray only with men in their synagogues. By night, women give them standing ovations for harmonic renditions of classic hits by The Eagles and Simon and Garfunkel.
"The power of music is above everything," said Arie Gat, 48, who lives in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem. "I'm not a man of lights, flashes and sparkles. I am ready to stand - I say that in the spiritual sense - with what I have, without external outfits. There is no need for that. And I believe that if it's good it will sell and if not then not."
So far, they've been a hit. Appearing in traditional ultra-Orthodox garb, including long beards and long black overcoats, with a guitar hanging gently across their chests, they've swept the votes of the show's four judges while raking in more than 80 percent of the interactive fan votes for performing "Hotel California" and "The Sound of Silence."
"Think about how many people in the world of entrainment, started with a weird look and became the biggest stars," said Tzvika Hadar, one of the show's judges. "These are not people with agents, and a story, and someone who pushed them, and photographed them for a photo-book, and you know what, even caused some provocation. You are taking people from the periphery, from their lives, their surroundings, their beliefs and they come and sing."
"Rising Star" claims to be the first program to feature real-time voting by viewers through a mobile app that is integrated into the show - familiar to anyone who has strummed away on video games like "Guitar Hero." The format, which is being adopted worldwide, has performers on a stage behind a screen that's lifted if 70 percent of viewers running the app vote for them. The studio audience of about 1,000 people wildly cheered as the screen rose during Tuesday night's performance.
Success on the show indicates wide support from an audience that includes few ultra-Orthodox Jews, who typically shun television. Neither brother owns a TV.
Ultra-Orthodox Jews, who make up about 10 percent of Israel's population of 8 million, have at times become aggressive in their efforts to impose their norms in public spaces. Most reject modern media and technology, and they are largely absent from the melting pots of the military and the secular workplace. Instead, they tend to stay in their cloistered communities and maintain a simple, pious way of life that has been adhered to over centuries.

Hashem Yerachem: An Avreich Assaults R’ Shteinman Shlita


sht


One might have thought that now, with the municipal elections behind us, calm would return to the chareidi communities. One might have also believed there are lines that are never crossed.

An avreich, a resident of Modi’in Illit traveled to Bnei Brak, to the home of the Rosh Yeshiva. It appears that the avreich who tried to assault the rosh yeshiva davened in his home this morning.

HaGaon HaRav Aaron Yehuda Leib Shteinman Shlita was in the midst of giving a shiur in his home. The avreich got up and began yelling at Rav Shteinman to “change your hashkafa and return to the correct derech.” 

There are conflicting reports if the assailant succeeded in slapping and/or punching the gadol hador before being subdued, but it is reported the rosh yeshiva stated he is not feeling well and his physician was summoned.

Needless to say those present were shocked and horrified. The rosh yeshiva’s bnei bayis quickly took hold of the avreich and restrained him while police were summoned. The man was placed under arrest. The rosh yeshiva’s grandson was apparently overwhelmed by the incident and collapsed, passing out.

Police decided to keep a patrol car near the rosh yeshiva’s home fearing the election spillover may prompt other deranged individuals to act in a similar fashion. 

Members of the local Shomrim arrived as well and they report that they managed to subdue the man before he could actually strike the gadol hador.
Rav Shteinman’s personal physician, Professor Weinberger was summoned to the rav’s home to check him out after the incident, for the rosh yeshiva stated he does not feel well.

UPDATE: According to Ichud Hatzalah EMT Uzi Barak a call was received for “screams coming from the rav’s home”. He was among the first responders on the scene. According to the information received from people present, it appears the 28-year-old assailant did indeed strike the gadol hador and shouted “I’ll kill you” at him R”L.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)



Monday, 21 October 2013

Rabbi-Bye-Bye




The Rabbinical Council Of America "Lauds" Kolko Abuse Victim



Oct 18, 2013 -- The RCA expresses its pride and respect for the courage of the now 16-year-old victim of Yosef Kolko, the confessed perpetrator of sexual abuse who was sentenced yesterday to almost thirteen years imprisonment.

The victim’s reporting of the abuse to the civil authorities, despite organized and overwhelming pressures and ostracism, sets an important example for the entire community. He raised the level of understanding of the impact of abuse when he said in court, “My message to those monsters out there who are abusing: You will be exposed, you will be put behind bars, and you will go through hell on earth. Molesting may seem harmless to you, but the reality is that it kills people with every touch.”

Rabbi Leonard Matanky, President of the RCA, reiterated the longstanding policy of the organization by reminding its members, “There is an unequivocal halakhic and moral obligation for everyone, victim and community member alike, to report all reasonable suspicions of child abuse to the civil authorities.

These are cases of piku’ach nefesh, the protection of the physical safety and the spiritual integrity of our community.” Rabbi Shalom Baum, First Vice President of the RCA, stated, “The moral and religious integrity of our community is shattered when communal leaders discourage and prevent others from responding to the cries of the victims of abuse."




Sunday, 20 October 2013

Where is our Charlie Boy?



More Behadrei Haredim Madness

From: http://www.bhol.co.il 





בסאטמר מתלהבים: הרבי בירך - התובעת השתתקה

במהלך דיון ב'פרשת הלפרין', נתקפה התובעת אלם - והשופט דחה את בקשתה • בסאטמר תולים הכל בברכת האדמו"ר

שלמה גרינברג, בחדרי חרדים 10:00 20/10/2013
 7  | 
שתף
הרב חיים הלפרין. צילום: ארכיון
ביום שישי התקיים בבית המשפט בלונדון דיון בעניינו של הרב חיים הלפרין, ראש קהילת 'דברי חיים' בשכונת גולדרס-גרין, המעורב בפרשה המסעירה את הקהילה היהודית באנגליה מזה יותר משנה, לאחר שנחשד בפגיעה בנשים שהגיעו אליו לייעוץ בענייני שלום-בית. החקירה המשטרתית בפרשה מתנהלת מזה שבעה חודשים,

על מה שאירע במהלך הדיון מספרים חסידי סאטמר בהתלהבות, ותולים זאת בברכתו של האדמו"ר: התובעת ביקשה מהשופט לחייב את הרב הלפרין להתייצב שלוש פעמים בשבוע בתחנת המשטרה, כדי להוכיח שלא עזב את שטח השיפוט של העיר.

"השופט ניסה להבין מה הנימוק העומד מאחורי הבקשה ולאיזה צורך היא נועדה - אולם התובעת נתקפה לפתע באלם וסכרה פיה", מספרים החסידים. "שקט מתוח השתרר בחלל. התובעת איננה פוצה פיה. השופט שב וחזר על שאלתו כמה פעמים, אבל זו ממשיכה להתבצר תחת חומת השתיקה.

"אם לא תדברי, אין תביעה ואין תיק, הזהיר אותה השופט וקטע את הדיון, מסרב לאשר את הבקשה הבלתי מנומקת. בצאתה, שאל אותה השופט מה ארע פה. 'מדוע לא המשכת לנמק את בקשתך ויצרת לעצמך בושות?' תהה השופט.

"כאן פרצה הפרקליטה בבכי", מעידים החסידים. "היא אמרה: 'מעולם לא חוויתי חוויה כזו ולא הייתי נוכחת בסיטואציה דומה. חשתי כמו מנוונת. פשוט לא הצלחתי לדבר. אין לי שום הסבר לתופעה הזו. ניסיתי להציג את הנימוקים כפי שביקשת, אבל הרגשתי כמו שיתוק שתקף אותי בחלל הפה'".

החסידים אומרים כי לא הופתעו. לדבריהם, כאשר הרב הלפרין ביקר ביום שני שעבר באכסניית האדמו"ר מסאטמר, בעת ששהה בלונדון, "האדמו"ר בירך את הרב הלפרין ש'כל המקטרגים עליך ינחלו מפלה גדולה ויסתמו פיהם' - אז הנה נסתם פיה".


Saturday, 19 October 2013

Yosef Kolko sentenced to 13 years for sexual assault



NEW YORK (JTA) — Yosef Kolko, a former Jewish educator from New Jersey, was sentenced to 13 years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.

Kolko, who was sentenced late Thursday in Ocean County Superior Court in New Jersey, pleaded guilty in May to multiple sexual crimes. A former counselor at an Orthodox summer camp, Kolko admitted to performing oral sex and attempting anal intercourse with a 12-year old boy.

Kolko repeatedly tried to withdraw his guilty plea, claiming that members of the Lakewood, N.J., Jewish community had pressured him into pleading guilty in order to avoid the spectacle of a trial.

Testimony from the victim, now 16, was crucial in the outcome of the case, the Associated Press reported. According to prosecutors, the victim’s family was ostracized by the Lakewood community for bringing the case to state authorities because they feared religious authorities were not handling the issue appropriately.

‘My message to those monsters out there who are abusing: You will be exposed, you will be put behind bars, and you will go through hell on earth,” the unnamed victim told the court. “Molesting may seem harmless to you, but the reality is that it kills people with every touch.’’

Nassau County Rabbi Gary Lieberman accused of sex abuse



WEST HEMPSTEAD - Police say sex abuse charges have been filed against a rabbi from the Hebrew Academy of Nassau County.

Police say Gary Lieberman, of Far Rockaway, sexually abused a 10-year-old over a period of six months. According to police, the abuse allegedly happened at the HANC West Hempstead location between November 2009 and May of 2010.

Police say Lieberman told his victim that no one would believe the claims because he's a rabbi.

During the Friday morning arraignment, the prosecution said it has two supporting depositions against Lieberman.

News 12 Long Island has been told Lieberman was fired from the academy in August of 2010, but it's not clear why.

Police believe Lieberman may have worked in other schools.

Lieberman was released on $100,000 bail.

Investigators are asking any other possible victims to call them at 516-573-4022.


Friday, 18 October 2013

Bnei Brak - Haredi men suspected of raping young boys in haredi town of Modi'in Ilit

From: www.jpost.com



Modi’in Illit Police have arrested a 20-year-old resident of Bnei Brak suspected of involvement in attacks on several victims, including a sexual assault on a nine-year-old boy.

Police noted that the victim’s father went to his rabbi and asked whether or not he should notify authorities of the alleged abuse. The rabbi told the man to go to police immediately, and he filed the complaint on Tuesday.

The child told police that he was on his way back home from school when he asked a young man to help him cross the street. The boy said the man then asked him to come with him to a nearby building, underneath a synagogue, where he sexually assaulted him.

Police then sent an officer who specializes in dealing with crimes against children to take the child to point out where the incident took place. When they arrived, the child saw the suspect, and pointed him out to police, who arrested him on the spot.

The man reportedly confessed to the allegations, and was taken to a hearing at the Jerusalem Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, where his remand was extended by eight days.

Police in Modi’in Illit are now calling on residents to come forward if they know of additional children the suspect assaulted.


Thursday, 17 October 2013

Bail Set For Rabbis Accused Of Torturing Men Into Religious Divorces



MONSEY - A federal judge today set a $1 million bail for two prominent rabbis accused of torturing Orthodox Jewish men into giving their wives a religious divorce.

Sources say Rabbi Martin Wolmark, of Monsey, and Rabbi Mendel Epstein, of Brooklyn, could be released from a federal detention center in Philadelphia as early as Thursday morning if they meet all the conditions of their bail.

Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Monsey, where Wolmark is dean, was the site of a massive FBI raid last week. Agents arrested Wolmark, Epstein and eight others on felony charges of torture, kidnapping and extortion.

According to prosecutors, the rabbis charged women up to $70,000 to use cattle prods, handcuffs and martial arts to force unrelenting husbands into giving their wives a divorce.

Students at the school told News 12 off camera that they expect their dean to return Thursday.


Tuesday, 15 October 2013

Epstein tortured me, says Abraham Rubin



On the evening of Oct. 23, 1996, as Rabbi Abraham Rubin walked home from synagogue toward his Borough Park home, two cars collided up the block at the intersection of 56th Street and 14th Avenue.

Rubin, 31, ran toward the scene of the accident, an apparent diversion. A man standing on the sidewalk in front of him suddenly turned and started punching him and grabbed his glasses. He was dragged into a waiting van, he says, where several assailants began beating him.

He did not have to ask why.

For five years, Rubin, an Orthodox Jew, had been involved in a bitter dispute with his estranged wife.

Rubin says he has refused to this day to grant his wife a religious divorce, known as a get, until she lets him see his two children, who live with her in Montreal.

In an interview that elaborated on charges in a lawsuit he has filed against his alleged captors, Rubin described his abduction and torture.

"I was expecting it, sooner or later," he said.

Inside the van, he said, paid assailants wrapped a black laundry bag around his head. As he was handcuffed and choked, a voice said in sarcastic Yiddish, "Ess vet zein gut It will be good . . .
Mir vilen nor die zalst a yid We only want you to be a Jew ."

As the van sped through Brooklyn, Rubin said, he was asked if he knew  Kol D'Alim G'var, a Talmudic commentary on the theory that might makes right.

The van stopped, and all the attackers left, except one, he said. "The rabbi is coming," he said he heard one of his assailants say. The door opened and new passengers entered.

"Do you understand English?" Rubin said he was asked. "Repeat my words."

Rubin said that when he refused to repeat the 12-line oath that grants a Jewish wife a divorce, punches and electric shocks rained down on him, first just a few and then a torrent - so many that he began reciting the "Viduy," the traditional Jewish deathbed prayer of repentance.

According to the lawsuit Rubin filed against his alleged captors, they zapped him with an electronic stun gun - in all, more than 30 times - including shocks to his genitals.

After passing out for about an hour, Rubin said, he was shaken awake. "Rabbi, wake up," a voice said. "The get is done."

He was transferred from the van to a car. "Don't be a moser," an informer, he said he was told. "If you know what's good for you, don't be a moser."

He said he was thrown from the car, still handcuffed and shrouded, and dumped outside a Brooklyn cemetery. A cab driver found the bloody rabbi and took him to the 66th Precinct. No arrests have been made in the attack.

Rubin, represented by Manhattan attorney Thomas Stickel, charges in a civil racketeering lawsuit filed in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn that Mendel Epstein, a well-known divorce mediator, took part in his "abduction and torture." Rubin said he learned the details of the plot during an investigation he and his friends conducted over several months.

Epstein's attorney has denied the charges. The suit also charges several other rabbis with planning or participating in the attack, including Martin Wolmark, a rabbi from the upstate Orthodox enclave of  Monsey, and Israel Belsky, a rabbi from the Ditmas Park section of Brooklyn.

In a telephone interview, Belsky denied taking part in the attack. "I have no connection to any of this," he said. "The guy is a crackpot. The whole thing is a frivolous action."

Robert Rimberg, an attorney for Wolmark, also denied the charges listed in the lawsuit. "As far as I know, and based on my investigation, there is no basis for it," he said. [...]

While no one has ever been prosecuted for a get-related attack in New York City, that may soon  change. Det. Robert Roddenberg of the 66th Precinct said Rubin's case might be the first of its kind to make it into a courtroom.

"Rubin is entitled to his day in court and the best investigation we can do," Roddenberg said. "Rubin is one of the few who have stood up. He was abducted. They beat the - - - out of him.


"They investigators spent an awful lot of time doing this case and it was really nitpicked to do it right," Roddenberg said. "It was done as well as any homicide case could be done. Just like not every homicide case gets solved, will this case get solved? That's up to the DA's office."

Thursday, 10 October 2013

NEW YORK: Rabbi Mendel Epstein Arrested by the FBI

From: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/



NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) – Two rabbis and two other men allegedly used kidnapping and cattle prods, among other methods, to force Orthodox Jewish men into divorcing their wives, authorities said.

Rabbis Mendel Epstein and Martin Wolmark as well as Ariel Potash and a fourth individual known as “Yaakov” were arrested after the FBI raided several locations overnight, including Yeshiva Shaarei Torah in Suffern, a home in Brooklyn and at least one other location in New Jersey.
  
Potash and Yaakov are accused of being “tough guys” who kidnapped and beat up the recalcitrant husbands of distraught wives seeking a divorce, authorities said.

Epstein and Wolmark allegedly charged the wives and their families thousands of dollars to obtain the religious divorce and arranged the beatings, according to the criminal complaint.

According to Jewish law, in order to get a religious divorce a husband must provide his wife with a document known as a “get,” the complaint said.

Only a husband can initiate divorce by issuing the “get,” but a wife has the right to sue for divorce in rabbinical court, court papers said.
  
According to the criminal complaint, an undercover FBI agent posed as an Orthodox Jewish wife who was seeking a divorce from her unwilling husband. A second undercover agent posed as her brother.

In August, the undercover agents called Wolmark saying they were “desperate for a religious divorce and were willing to pay a large sum of money to obtain a divorce,” the complaint said.

“There are a couple of ways to do that,” Wolmark allegedly said in a recorded phone conversation. “You have to, we have to, convene a special beth din and see if there are grounds to, to, to coerce him on the ‘get.’”

Wolmark said the process “could be very costly” and requires “special rabbis who are going to take this thing and see it through the end,” the complaint said.

“In other words, you need to get him to New York where someone either can harass him or nail him. Plain and simple,” he said, according to the complaint.

Wolmark then linked up the undercovers with Epstein, who met him at his house in New Jersey about a week later — a meeting that was recorded, the papers said.

During the meeting, Epstein talked about “kidnapping, beating and torturing husbands in order to force a divorce,” court papers said.

“Basically what we are going to be doing is kidnapping a guy for a couple of hours and beating him up and torturing him and then getting him to give the ‘get,’” Epstein allegedly said.

He said they would use “tough guys” who utilize “electric cattle prods, karate, handcuffs and place plastic bags over the heads of husbands,” the complaint said.

According to the complaint, Epstein said if a cattle prod “can get a bull that weighs five tons to move, you put in certain parts of his body and in one minute the guy will know.”

Epstein said he commits a kidnapping every year to year and half, authorities said.

He said it would cost $10,000 to pay for the rabbis on the rabbinical court to approve the kidnapping and an additional $50,000 to $60,000 to pay for the “tough guys,” authorities said.

Epstein told the undercovers that Wolmark officiates during the kidnapping and that his son was one of the so-called “tough guys” who “uses his karate skills” on the victims, court papers said.

They allegedly arranged to meet in Rockland County in October to begin the process of authorizing the use of violence to obtain a forced “get.”

In subsequent phone conversations, the undercover agent posing as the brother suggested he could lure the female undercover’s husband to New Jersey, the complaint said.

Epstein eventually proposed that the husband be brought to a warehouse in Middlesex County, where Yaakov and Epstein were later seen by FBI surveillance teams scoping out the location, prosecutors said.

On Oct. 2, the undercover female agent met with Wolmark, Epstein, Potash and Yaakov to get approval for the use of force, authorities said.

Potash said that he “does whatever the rabbis tell him” while Yaakov wrote everything down, court papers said.

After the meeting, Epstein confirmed the plan and authorized the use of force to obtain the “get” and $20,000 was wire transferred by one of the undercover agents to Epstein, authorities said.

Law enforcement sources said Epstein’s scheme has been going on for as long as 20 years, WCBS 880′s Alex Silverman reported.

Ten more people have also been taken into custody in connection with case, 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg reported.

The investigation is ongoing.

EXTRA: Read The Full Complaint





cattle prod, also called a stock prod, is a handheld device commonly used to make cattle or other livestock move by striking or poking them, or in the case of a Hot-Shot-type prod, through a relatively high-voltage, low-current electric shock.



Tuesday, 8 October 2013

Expelled Yeshiva Bochurim are rioting in Kiryas Yoel

Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum 3
The Satmar United Talmudical Academy yeshiva in Kiryas Joel expelled about 150 boys, apparently without reason, prompting rioting in the village and a rebellion against the Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe Rabbi Aharon Teitelbaum.
The expelled boys ransacked cars, broke car and home windows and scattered leaflets attacking the Kiryas Joel Satmar Rebbe, calling him a "fraud" and "corrupt," around the village. Among the cars and homes vandalized were those belonging to Rebbe's Gabbai, personal assistant.
An email was sent to all Satmar households that recounts the run-up to the violence and that complains that the Rebbe has been "hijacked" by a handful of rich people and is unable to function.

 






Wednesday, 2 October 2013

Religious scribe arrested after sexually assaulting children in his Jerusalem apartment building

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish ritual scribe was arrested and will be charged with child sexual assault related charges after he allegedly sexually assaulted children in his apartment building, according to police reports in Israel.

Jerusalem Police said that a 50-year-old man and his 14-year-old son were arrested on Wednesday for brutally abusing children in their building.

Police said that the incidents began a year ago after a five-year-old girl complained to her father that her neighbor attacked her in the stairwell of the building in which they live. 

The parents did not believe their daughter because the neighbor was a respected ritual scribe and brushed it off, but the incident happened again two months ago.

Also, a boy, 11, who had been visiting the son of his uncle, was brutally attacked by the same man.

The worried parents began asking the neighbors about the scribe and shockingly, numerous parents revealed that their little children were also brutally attacked by the scribe.

According to police, the suspect used to lure little children to his basement by offering them sweets. Once the children reached the basement, the children were severely exploited.

Police also said that the scribe’s 14-year-old son participated in the attacks.

Police said that a total of seven children came forward with abuse allegation against the scribe.

Abuse Survivors; Please Do Not Suffer Alone

By: Dr. Benzion Twerski and Rabbi Yakov Horowitz

In recent days, reports have circulated in the media and on the Internet about the tragic early passing of yet another young man in our community. Those reports indicate that the trauma of childhood abuse followed him and complicated his adult life to the point that it impinged on the quality of his personal relationships.

It is not the intent of these lines to substantiate these reports nor is it to dismiss them. Rather, we wish to use the opportunity presented by this horrible calamity and the dialogue it has created on the internet and in the street to once again loudly and forcefully reiterate the message we have been projecting for many years to victims of abuse –

 “Please reach out for help and do not suffer alone.”

For even in the event that the facts as reported in this particular tragedy are not accurate, they are most certainly consistent with the pattern we have unfortunately seen over and over again, where victims of childhood abuse go through unspeakable agony as they attempt to singlehandedly deal with the toxic aftereffects of the trauma they suffered in their formative years. We have each encountered numerous instances where untreated childhood abuse follows victims into adulthood, shredding their marriages and rendering them often incapable of entering into a loving and intimate relationship with their spouses until a trained mental health professional helps them sort things out. We have each been involved with more than a few childhood abuse victims who became addicted to heroin and/or cocaine, in an unsuccessful attempt to wash away the searing pain of their trauma. We have each paid more than a few shiva calls to families of abuse victims, who years and even decades later took their own lives.

There are a number of reasons why abuse victims would not avail themselves of intervention and assistance. Some are understandably reluctant or frightened to share the facts of their abuse with others. Others, who did have the courage to confide in adults in their lives were encouraged or intimidated into remaining silent – especially if the perpetrator is a respected individual or a close family member. This sends a horrible message to the victim – that he or she has done something that cannot see the light of day. The result is a that a never-ending video loop now plays in the mind of the victim, as societal pressure abuses them again and again, by forcing them to remain silent and unsupported.

There are many events that simultaneously involve more than one “system.” For example, when one gets arrested for driving under the influence which caused injuries or death, there are criminal penalties for drunk driving and financial reparations due for the damages caused. However, neither of these tracks deals with the fact that the perpetrator has a drinking problem. Courts realize they cannot treat alcoholism, as revoking licenses, impounding cars, and even jail terms will not prevent recidivism – especially if treatment is warranted but not followed.

Various efforts have been undertaken in recent years – all of which are necessary – in the arenas of prevention, education, training, and the need for reporting. And we both have proudly participated in many of them. However, despite the fact that these initiatives and the awareness they generate are often soothing to past abuse victims, none of these help them regain their footing. Only therapy by a licensed and trained professional can accomplish that.

We are therefore reaching out to anyone who was ever abused or molested in their childhood years and begging you to please do yourself the ultimate favor and get help.
Therapy may not solve all issues in your life, but it will do much to make your future brighter and filled with greater promise. In fact, many survivors thrive and build beautiful lives for themselves and their families following successful treatment.

It may be true that some people are resilient and survive with little apparent damage (apparent is the operative word). However, this is not the norm, and with the dangers involved, we would not recommend that you even risk this small chance. So; for your sake, and for the sake of your spouse and children, please, please get help.
This may mean several things:

1.     Contact a mental health professional who is experienced in counseling trauma victims. (I strongly feel that well-intentioned individuals like me, who do not have professional training in abuse treatment, are not equipped to deal with these issues and should limit our involvement to supporting the efforts of the professionals, and steering those who seek our guidance in these matters directly to them. Y.H.)

2.    Get information about trauma and its effects.

3.    Connect with other victims/survivors. The camaraderie and support are invaluable.
We strongly suggest that you ignore those who inform you, that getting married and starting a family will help you, “Get over it.” Experience has taught us that it will often complicate things rather than heal them.

Please, please do not suffer alone. Reach out for help today.

In closing, we offer you our sincere and heartfelt bracha that Hashem grant you menuchas hanefesh and simchas hachayim (tranquility and joy) in your lives.

© 2009 Dr. Benzion Twerski and Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, all rights reserved

Rabbi Yakov Horowitz is a regular columnist in The Jewish Press. Dr. Benzion Twerski is a renowned and much sought-after mental health professional who holds a Ph.D. in psychology from University of Pittsburgh. Dr. Twerski has been one of the leading voices in our community on the issue of child abuse for more than a decade. He lives and practices in Brooklyn, N.Y. and can be reached at btwerski@gmail.com