Makave Rebbe visiting the hole-y man Chaim Halpern

Grynhaus’ freedom bid fails

A SUSPECTED British paedophile who fled to Israel to avoid his UK trial for sex offences was close to being set free in Africa, his lawyers have revealed.

Todros Grynhaus is accused in the UK of seven counts of sexual assault against a boy and multiple girls. He escaped to Israel on a false passport in February 2013 but was arrested and remains in prison in Israel, fighting a legal battle to avoid return to the UK.

Israeli lawyers for Mr Grynhaus disclosed that they were close to securing his freedom by applying for a visa to enter the west African state of Gambia.

At a deportation hearing last week his legal team told Israel’s Central Region District Court that they had applied to the African state, but had not informed Gambian officials of the sexual charges against Mr Grynhaus or his use of a false passport to enter Israel.

Lawyers told the court that Mr Grynhaus’ case “touched the heart” of the Gambians but Israeli authorities scuppered the plan by informing Gambian officials that Interpol were seeking Mr Grynhaus for sexual crimes

 
Youth in the Gambia

Bye Rabbi: ‘Sex pest’ Israeli cleric deported

From: www.chronicle.co.zw

Thandeka Moyo Court Reporter

A 77-YEAR-OLD fugitive rabbi who allegedly fled sex abuse charges in Israel has been deported after overstaying his visa in Zimbabwe.

Rabbi Eliezer Berland was yesterday fined $200 by Bulawayo magistrate Sibongile Msipa and ordered to leave the country after admitting he was an illegal immigrant.

Prosecutors said the mega rich cleric – whose lawyer claimed could fuel all government cars to escort him to the airport in a bid to avoid jail – had been living in a top Bulawayo hotel since December last year.

Caroline Matanga, for the State, said the cleric was given a three-month visa for “religious tourism” which expired on March 24.

Magistrate Msipa told Berland: “This court finds you guilty as charged and you must pay a fine of $200 or three months imprisonment.

“The court took into consideration that you’re aged 77 and you’re a first offender who pleaded guilty. Imprisonment is not suitable for a first offender so you should pay a fine of $200.”

Rabbi Berland was arrested on Monday at Holiday Inn in Ascot after his cover was blown by our sister paper, Sunday News.

He is believed to have flown into Zimbabwe by a private jet owned by one of his followers.

Dozens of his most loyal supporters had booked into several Bulawayo hotels and lodges to be close to their leader.

Berland, who heads one of the largest Jewish educational institutions in Jerusalem, allegedly escaped to Zimbabwe following accusations of abusing underage girls and sleeping with numerous married women.

Several Israeli women told investigators that the rabbi sexually harassed or raped them.

The allegations came to light in 2012 when the newspaper, Israel Hayom, reported an incident in which one of Berland’s students encountered him at home standing beside a naked woman.

His supporters expressed anger over the report and the individual who leaked the story to the media was later violently attacked.

After police opened an investigation, Berland fled Israel and spent time in the United States, Italy and Switzerland.  He then left for Morocco, settling in Marrakesh.

In November 2013, Berland and his students were ordered to leave Morocco after King Mohammed VI personally ordered their expulsion from the country after a Moroccan newspaper published an article profiling the rabbi and mentioning the circumstances under which he fled Israel.

Berland is thought to have left Morocco for Cairo, Egypt.

He reportedly bought tickets for various destinations to confuse pursuers leaving them unsure whether he was staying in Zimbabwe, Venezuela or South Africa.

Fugitive ‘sex pest’ rabbi arrested

From: www.chronicle.co.zw

Thandeka Moyo Chronicle Reporter—
A FUGITIVE rabbi from Jerusalem who allegedly fled Israel where he is said to be facing numerous sexual abuse charges was on Monday arrested at his Bulawayo hideout and appeared in court yesterday facing charges of contravening a section of the Immigration Act. Rabbi Eliezer Berland, 77, was caught hibernating with a handful of faithfuls from Israel at the Holiday Inn on Monday evening after detectives from the Joshua Mqabuko Border Control got a tip-off that his visa had expired.
Berland, who heads one of the largest Jewish educational institutions in Jerusalem, allegedly escaped to Zimbabwe under disguise following accusations of abusing underage girls and sleeping with numerous married women.

He pleaded guilty to a charge of remaining in Zimbabwe after the expiry of his visitor’s visa certificate before Bulawayo magistrate Sibongile Msipha and was remanded in custody to today.

Berland was represented by Sindiso Mazibisa of Cheda and Partners who told the court that his client was an internationally recognised religious leader of ill-health, on medication, as well as a married father of six children who had not committed any crime during his stay in Zimbabwe.

“My client is a respected rabbi in the Jewish community whose leadership is recognised even internationally. If it were not for media interests, he would not have been here today Your Worship.

“He is taking a cocktail of up to 10 medicines and survives on fish and vegetables. Further detention or a custodial sentence will embarrass him.”
The State case led by Caroline Matanga is that on April 7 at around 7PM at Holiday Inn, detectives stationed at the Joshua Mqabuko border control approached him.

He was asked to produce his passport and permit which indicated he had overstayed in Zimbabwe as his visitor’s entry certificate permitting him to be in Zimbabwe had expired on March 24, 2014.

He was then arrested and detained at Bulawayo Central Police Station.

Rabbi Berland has for a number of weeks been living in various upmarket lodges in Bulawayo’s Kumalo suburb and leading worship in a synagogue in the same suburb. He arrived in the country in December last year under the guise of religious tourism.

Assistant Regional Immigration Officer Francis Mabika declined to comment on the issue but a senior official from the Department of Immigration revealed that Berland was under investigation.

The leader of the Jewish community in Bulawayo, Hylton Solomon, declined to comment when Rabbi Berland was exposed on Saturday.
Back in his homeland, several Israeli women reported that the rabbi sexually harassed or raped them. The allegations came to light in 2012 when the newspaper Israel Hayom reported an incident in which one of Berland’s students encountered him at home standing beside a naked woman. His supporters expressed anger over the report and the person who leaked the story to the media was later violently attacked.

After the police opened an investigation, Berland immediately fled Israel and spent time in the United States, Italy and Switzerland. He then left for Morocco, settling in Marrakesh.

In November 2013, Berland and his students were ordered to leave Morocco after King Mohammed VI personally ordered their expulsion from the country. According to news reports, a Moroccan newspaper had published an article profiling the rabbi and mentioning the circumstances in which he fled Israel, and the king ordered Berland’s expulsion after reading the article.

Berland is thought to have left Morocco for Cairo, Egypt. He reportedly bought tickets for various destinations to confuse pursuers. This left many confused as to whether he was staying in Zimbabwe, Venezuela or Johannesburg, South Africa, where he was reported to have been taken in by a relative.

According to media reports, Berland’s son and grandson who are under indictment in Israel for money laundering, tax evasion and related criminal charges and several young women are willing to testify against him.

Among those that have been travelling with Berland is a man believed to be a wealthy businessman whose private jet they have been using. The businessman is also believed to have business interests in Zimbabwe and has partnered locals who reportedly include former Zimbabwe Football Association boss Henrietta Rushwaya.

Lemon Juice Squeezes Twitter for Information

BROOKLYN (CN) - A man named Lemon Juice wants to force Twitter and Blackberry to reveal a user's identity after he was falsely accused of posting a picture of a molestation victim testifying against her convicted attacker, who was a high-ranking official in a conservative Orthodox Jewish community.

     Juice was charged with contempt in November 2012 after a photo of the teen witness was allegedly taken after the judge had ordered audience members to not take pictures during the criminal case against Nechemya Weberman, a religious leader in the orthodox Jewish community who was later convicted on 59 counts of sex-related crimes.

     According to his complaint in Kings County Supreme Court, Juice, Yoana Weissman and Joseph Fried were arrested and jointly hit with misdemeanor charges alleging that an informant saw Weissman with a camera and Fried was spotted nudging him when the informant approached.
     "To stress, Mr. Juice was charged for allegedly posting a photograph on his Twitter account," the lawsuit states.

     The image was then posted on a Twitter count "in the name of Lemon Juice."

     Prosecutors alleged that "a continuing scheme throughout the course of the prosecution was that members of the community who supported Weberman, ostracized the victim and her family because she cooperated with the prosecution."

     Charges against Juice were dropped - after he appeared in court at least 14 times.

     "Nevertheless, a Twitter account in the name of Lemon Juice - and with Mr. Juice's actual photograph - was created by an imposter and this Lemon Juice account posted the photograph of the victim that resulted in Mr. Juice's arrest and subsequent prosecution," according to Juice's lawsuit.

     "Mr. Juice had no knowledge of the identity of the owner or operator" of the account, he says. Not until prosecutors served Juice's attorney, Leopold Gross, with discovery documents containing an email address linked to the account, and the IP address of a computer that logged into it. Prosecutors then learned that the owner of the site was a man they said was Moses Klein.

     Juice wants to know for certain if that's who he thinks it is, but the complete identity of potential witnesses were redacted by the court's rules, so he wants Twitter to identify him for certain so he can file a lawsuit.

     "The only way to obtain the true address and phone number of 'Moses Klein,' and to obtain the identity of the Twitter account's operator, is by and through this special proceeding" to compel Twitter to disclose the identity of the account, Juice claims.

     "One wonders, why would Moses Klein open a Twitter account in Mr. Juice's name and post the photographs of on Twitter?" the complaint asks. "This is because, upon information and belief, Moses Klein is an aide, driver and right-hand man to Rabbi Zalmen Leib Teitelman, who is one of the Satmar grand rabbis," and who is the head of the school where the girl attended and where Weberman worked, according to the lawsuit.

     Juice says he was a supporter of the victim, had attended her wedding and was at the trial to support her.

     "Now, Moses Klein wanted to cause humiliation and torment a supporter of the victim, as Moses Klein was a supporter of Weberman," the complaint states.

     Juice says his false arrest and prosecution caused him emotional distress, ridicule and embarrassment from the media attention.

When will we see the same letter from our beloved Rov

From: frumfollies.wordpress.com/

Weinberger Conceded His Guilt and Promised to Quit the Rabbinate in December

Posted on 03/30/2014by Yerachmiel Lopin

Rabbi Dovid Weinberger

In September of 2013, Rabbi Dovid Weinberger announced a one year sabbatical leave from his position as Rabbi of Shaaray Tefila in Lawrence, New York. He attributed it to health problems:

My physicians have strongly advised that I take a one year sabbatical in keeping with the torah mandate of “ushmartem es nafshoseichem” (“you should guard your health”). I am confident that this much-needed break will be beneficial in being able to give me the capacity, with Hashem’s help, to serve the klal (public) for many more years in good health.

The letter is ambiguous about which public he would serve. In fact, his understanding with the board was that he was going to get a paid year of sabbatical and that he would not be coming back to Shaaray Tefila. But they did allow him to face save face and they expected him to relocate.

Some would praise them for ridding the shul of a predator while others, myself included are critical because they were allowing him to relocate and prey on girls and women in other communities.

As word of his misdeeds spread, he began to minimize his misconduct and blame his accusers. This led to a confrontation between him and group of local rabbis on December 18, 2013 where they threatened to expose his misconduct unless he agreed to permanently give up any role as a rabbi or educator. He was confronted with the evidence, including an incriminating recording of very serious sexual misconduct. Rather than face more evidence, he stopped protesting and signed the following statement:

To whom it may concern, I Rabbi Dovid Weinberger, formerly the Rabbi of Cong. Shaarei Tefilla of Lawrence, NY, do hereby acknowledge that I will retire from the Rabbinate effective immediately, and will never again serve in the capacity of Rov or Rabbi of any congregation or community, nor will I ever again be involved as amechanech [teacher] in any venue of Chinuch [education].

Witnesses to this declaration included: Rabbis Yaakov Bender, Moshe Brown, Aaron Brafman, Eitan Feiner, Binyomin Forst, Naftali Jaeger, and Yechiel Perr.

Some readers will quibble and say he did not admit anything. Let’s get real! Nobody agrees to give up his lifelong career at the height of his success unless he has really been caught and would rather give it up than be exposed.

Even at this late date, Weinberger could have kept his misdeeds from the public but he then attempted to back out of his signed promise and get back into the rabbinate. This forced the hand of local rabbis. They then issued a statement around early February 2014.

Recently, RDW [Rabbi Dovid Weinberger], a rabbi, resigned from his position as a rabbi of a congregation [Shaaray Tefila, Lawrence, NY], educator of young women in our community, and counselor to many who sought his advice. Following that, we learned from professionals of a number of documented cases of his unfortunate and unacceptable behavior. It is the collective judgment of these professionals that this behavior may continue. We therefore feel obligated to inform our community of this concern and advise that there be no interaction with this rabbi in any rabbinic, educational, counseling or private setting.