FailedMessiah.com

Will Chabad Tefillin Stands and Aish Seminars Now Be Illegal?

The JPost reports:

The familiar sight of Chabadniks inviting youths to put on tefillin may suffer a serious setback if a bill proposed by Labor MK Ophir Paz-Pines in the Knesset on Monday becomes law. The bill would prevent adults from placing pressure on anyone under the age of 18 to increase or decrease their religious involvement.

According to Paz-Pines, too much pressure is placed on youths to alter their religious traditions. Pressing youths to observe or discard religious practices can "cause the break-up of a family and cause damage to minors," he said.

Menachem Brod, a spokesman for Chabad in Israel, said Paz-Pines's bill was absurd, and was intended to undermine religious Jewish life.

"Are they telling me that if someone is lacking a 10th member for their minyan, and they go out on the street and find a 17-year-old boy, they can't invite that bar-mitzvaed boy in to complete the minyan? This is evil," he said. "Why do we insist on treating teenagers as though they don't have the ability to make decisions?"

Ephraim Shore, a director of Jerusalem's Aish Hatorah Yeshiva, disagreed with Paz-Pines's reasoning, saying: "There are so many reasons for schisms in the family... We have a heritage that has lasted over 3,000 years and we believe in teaching it to people. This heritage has not traditionally caused schism in the family."

Shore rejected the assertion that some teenagers might be brainwashed into adopting religious practices.

"If you teach a Jew the beauty of Shabbat and he lights candles on Friday night, that is his choice, not some brainwashing," he said. "It's a free country. We have a popular Web site that 2 million people visit a month. Should we change it to an 'adult only' Web site just so that teens won't be exposed to the dangerous material we post there about Jewish life and traditions?"…

So let me get this straight. The organization that promotes the Torah Codes and uses other deceptive recruitment tactics claims it does not put undue pressure on people – adults as well as teens – to adopt a haredi lifestyle? Please.

As for the bill, if the age were dropped to 16, I'd be more comfortable with it. As written, the bill protects haredim from those who oppose haredism and urge radical change – like me. That should give some solace to Rabbis Shore and Brod.

Shafran Must Resign

In a scathing post, DovBear calls for the resignation of Agudath Israel's top man, Rabbi David Zwiebel, and it's mouthpiece, Rabbi Avi Shafran. Here's why. When asked by email to comment on the arrest of rabbi-on-boy sex abuser Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, Avi Shafran wrote:

Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual? Because he was an employee, more than 30 years ago, of one of the camps we run (that have had thousands of employees over the years)? I don’t think that requires comment on our part. We are not even a party anymore to any lawsuit filed against the accused, as I understand it. The suit of the accuser who included Camp Agudah in his action (John Doe #1) has been dismissed (without prejudice, I believe, so it can still be refiled, but hasn’t been)."

DoveBear responds:

Let's help Avi out. He asks: "Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual?"

ANSWERS
1 - Because he was an employee, more than 30 years ago, of one of the camps you run! (Credit Avi Shafran himself for that one)

2 - Because men closely associated with your organization have been running interference for him for 25 years.…

DovBear goes on to note that Agudah comments on many issues, from Conservative Judaism's grappling with halakha to the latest in Intelligent Design. Why shouldn't they comment on 40 years of rabbi-on-boy sex abuse within their own community?

The answer is obvious. Many leading Agudah rabbis covered for Kolko. Some of them may be sued. Others may be open for criminal prosecution.

But DovBear raises a good point. Zwiebel and Shafran should both be forced to resign, Shafran for his smug dismissals of abuse and Zwiebel for working against mandatory reporting laws and against a centralized system within haredi schools to track abusers.

If you agree with DovBear's call, please post it on your blogs and shout it from your rooftops. I have.

Kolko Victims' Attorney In NYC Meeting With More Victims

UOJ reports:

If anyone has relevant information and would like to set up a confidential meeting with Mr. Herman, please contact him immediately, he is in town briefly. Your anonymity is guaranteed.

Jeff can be reached at 305-931-2200 or via e-mail: [email protected].

Kolko Case On CNN Tonight?

The case of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko and his near 40 year career of rabbi-on-boy sex abuse will may be featured on CNN tonight, apparently on the Nancy Grace Show. [This is tentative.]

The Rabbinic Law Of Unintended Consequences

Rabbis are – and always were – human beings. They have no special powers and had none. Some are honest, some self-serving, some are criminals and some are saints – as it always has been. Haaretz documents this in a profound way. 25% of all infertility cases may be caused by halakhic infertility, in other words, infertility caused by rabbis. What's this? Harry Maryles explains:

Briefly stated, according to biblical law a woman is permitted to immerse herslf after only seven days from the onset of her menstrual cycle (Dam Niddah). But in cases of a flow of non menstrual blood (Dam Ziva) that is contiguous for three consecutive days she is biblically mandated to wait seven days after the flow of blood stops. Because of the complexities in our day of determining which type of blood flow a woman is actually experincing and the severity of transgressing Hilchos Niddah, Chazal [the rabbis of the Mishna and Talmud] mandated that all blood flows be treated as Ziva blood requiring seven “clean” days, to be observed after the Niddah blood flow stops. This tacks on at least five extra days that a husband and wife must wait before having sexaul relations beyond what the Torah madates. And the vast majority of blood flows in women is Dam Niddah, not, Dam Ziva.

What happens in a great number of infertitlity cases is that ovulation, the fetility period, takes place during these “extra” days and by the time of immersion, the fertility peiod has passed. Quoting Dr. Rosenak from the article:

“Through my work as a gynecologist, especially in the ultra-Orthodox and national religious communities, it transpires that more than one quarter of the infertility cases result from what is called 'halakhic infertility.' That means that tens of thousands of women go to the mikveh when their period of ovulation is past.”

Dr. Rosenak's article was published in HaTzofe, a large National Religious journal. He argues for a reconsideration of the laws of niddah. As might be expected, a leading rabbi immediately objected, arguing that perscribed hormones would deal with this problem. Dr. Rosenak responds forcefully:

Rosenak related to this in his follow-up article last week, writing that shifting the solution from the sphere of halakha to the sphere of medicine is "an interesting argument." "Halakhic infertility is not a medical problem ... It is a purely halakhic problem, and its solution has to be halakhic, not medical." Criticizing the Laus' contention that "it is hard to assume that hormones will seriously harm the woman's body," Rosenak calls it "an irresponsible statement that requires scientific proof" and "grave."

"These are matters of life and death!" he wrote. "I tremble every time I am forced to prescribe hormones for a woman who has no genuine medical problem. Perhaps the woman sitting opposite me has an undiscovered genetic predisposition to breast cancer? Perhaps, heaven forbid, she could have a stroke?"

This is today's Orthodoxy. Rabbinic laws, even those based on questionable custom and whose outcome is not what was intended by the original drafters, even if it endangers life (metziztza b'peh) or otherwise damages Jews, must stand because, if not, the entire frail halakhic system wil come crashing down on the swollen heads of the men who run it.

So what should be done? I don't know. Increasingly, my personal option is to move away from Orthodoxy. Perhaps this should be your choice, as well.

[Hat Tips: Dr. R-F; Chakira.]

Lenny Bruce Is Spinning In His Grave

Here's why.

[Hat Tip: DK.]

Please Post

Please post this link on your blogs and leave it in comments to news groups and newpaper articles. The world needs to know what Rabbis Kolko, Margulies and Company did:

http://www.rabbichildabuse.com/

You can also copy and post the graphic on the upper left sidebar of this page, or the larger one found here.

This is not just about keeping Kolko away from children – it's about keeping his rabbinic enablers away from them, too.

Can The Haredi World Be Salvaged? Should It Be?

Can haredism be salvaged? I don't think it can be and I certainly do not think it should be. After almost 40 years of abuse by Rabbi Yehuda Kolko and nearly as many years of rabbinic coverups, fraud and foolishness surrounding it; years of sexual harassment and  physical violence – along with cult recruitment and retention practices – by Rabbi Yoram Aberjil and the resultant rabbinic coverups; the cases of Rabbis Bryks, Mondrowitz, Weinberg and a whole slew of other rabbis at Ner Israel in Baltimore and Toronto and their coverups; the Edah Charedis Jerusalem mikva abuse and its coverup; and more; I think the answer is a definite no – the haredi world should not be saved.

Why? Because over and over and over again, haredi rabbinic leaders make the wrong decisions: 1. Stay in Europe, do not go to America or Israel; 2. Coverup rather than deal with abuse; 3. Steal money from the government rather than encourage work; 4. Welfare fraud, Pell Grant fraud, school lunch program fraud; 5. Enabling extremists, kanaim, and thugs; 6. Honor known criminals; 7. Demonize and victimize the Other rather than learn to respect the stranger; 8. Etc., etc. etc.

Those decisions are largely self serving, meant to increase personal or communal wealth and retention in the short run. But their effects are corrosive, and the end result on the ground disastrous. A system with leadership this bad over so long a period of time cannot and should not be allowed to stand. As the old Yiddish proverb notes, The fish stinks from its head.

Haredim will do what they do. We have little control over that. But we do have impact on what our Federations do, what our communal agencies do, what our city, state and federal governments do, and what we ourselves do. Stop funding all haredi organizations, no matter how good they appear to be, no matter how many dancing rabbis or hallah bake offs they have. And make sure your Federation and your elected officials know you oppose funding for haredi controlled organizations. Starve the beast.

Also make sure to donate to Footsteps, a great organization that helps haredim who try to leave haredism. (This does not necessarily mean leave Orthodoxy, by the way, although it often does.)

In the end, the kindest thing one can do for future generations of haredim may be to help them leave.

Murder in the Name of God

Ha'aretz reports:

It was a normal evening in early November. In Netivot, the town of memorial celebrations for saintly rabbis, quiet is something tangible - actually rare. Perhaps this was the reason why there was something disturbing about the quiet that prevailed outside. The little ones were already lying in bed in their pajamas when suspicious shadows were seen in the garden outside S.'s kitchen. Looking through the window, she made out three figures, and she felt something bad was about to happen. She knew these were the thugs of Rabbi Yoram Aberjil. At that very moment, her husband, A., was at the police station, filing a complaint of attempted assault by people he identified as the rabbi's followers. She was alone with her small children. "I knew that the outer door of the kitchen was not locked. That's how it is in Netivot. My whole body trembled."

S. pushed the stove against the door and ran to the "safe" room (reinforced against rocket attacks). She frantically emptied the wall closet and put the children into it. Meanwhile, the thugs entered the building. They hammered wildly at the door and shouted over and over for her to open it. A neighbor yelled from above: "What do you want here?" They said: "We've come to kill her."

"I took a carving knife and held it ready. The children started crying. I told them: 'Quiet. If you cry, it will be the end of us.' I held my hand over the mouth of the youngest child. One of the children said: 'Mommy, it's like in the Holocaust.'" The intruders continued to bang on the door and shout. Someone called the police, and when they heard the sirens, they ran off. "That night we packed our bags and fled," she related.

Until a few months ago, Rabbi Aberjil was the rabbi of S. and her husband. The two are in their late 20s, and, like all the members of the community, are newly religious. Over the last year, they decided to move away from the crowded community. They found an apartment outside of the area in which the community is concentrated, and moved the children to schools not identified with Rabbi Aberjil.

In the second week of September, S. relates, the telephone rang, and it was Rabbi Aberjil on the line. "I want you to know that your children are precious to me," he said. "I won't let anyone pick the fruit I planted. The next conversation will be really painful. I will follow you. I have ways of making you disappear in a hit-and-run accident. I will curse your children. I'm telling you, I have powers. Your children will be orphans."…

Rabbi Aberjil has a long history of sexual harassment and thuggish violence, most of it well known to Israel's chief rabbis, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, and the head of the Shas party, Eli Yishai. Aberjil continues to prey on ba'alei teshuva and the rabbis continue to remain silent.

There is only one solution. Throw off the yoke of rabbinic leadership. Stop funding religion. Separate Synagogue and State. Run away from these evil men before they destroy you and your children.

[Hat Tip: JWB.]

For This He Brought Us Out Of Egypt?

Ha'aretz reports:

"There were days that I worked 22 or 23 hours without a break... I had to force-feed the geese every four hours and then watch them, so if they died, we'd immediately pluck their feathers and clean them so we could sell the liver." The above is part of a deposition sworn by one of nine Thai workers who were rescued two weeks ago from two geese farms in Moshav Ben Zakai.

The rescue was carried out by the Immigration Police and Trade and Industry Ministry inspectors. The farms are owned by two brothers. One is suspected of continuing to force-feed geese despite a High Court injunction against the practice. Both are suspected of mistreating the employees, who slept among the geese pens.

The police are examining whether the conditions of the workers meets the definition of a law passed a few months ago prohibiting commerce in human beings for the purposes of slavery and forced labor. These Thai workers will probably be the first test case of the law, which mandates sentences of up to 20 years.…

The Immigration Police found clear evidence of the illegal force-feeding of geese, yet the Agriculture Ministry denied that force-feeding was happening at these farms. It turns out that the Agriculture Ministry warns farmers before inspections. Kinda like our USDA, nu?

"Marina, I Love You So Much"

This is what Vladimir Putin really is. Read it, all of it, both pages. And remember, Chabad helped put that monster in power and helps keep him there.

More Kolko Charges To Come?

The NY Daily News reports:

Prosecutors warned yesterday that a Brooklyn rabbi accused of sexually abusing two victims - including a young boy - may face more charges.…

"There may be other charges with other complainants, and there is an ongoing investigation regarding Kolko," Assistant Brooklyn District Attorney Marc Fliedner said in Brooklyn Criminal Court.…

Kolko Victims And Familes Were Threatened By Rabbi Lipa Margulies, Herman Alleges

The New York Post reports:

A Brooklyn yeshiva covered up a rabbi's long history of child molestation and threatened parents and children who tried to end the abuse, it was charged yesterday.

Officials of Yeshiva Mesivta Torah Temimah knew of Rabbi Joel Kolko's attacks on young boys but ignored them because he was cleared by a rabbinical court, said lawyer Jeffrey Herman, who represents some of the alleged victims.…

But Herman told The Post that when one boy considered making a public accusation against Kolko, his father got a threatening phone call from the yeshiva's leader.

The victim said Margulies "told his father that if your son doesn't keep his mouth shut, I can't guarantee the safety of your other children," Herman said.

"It's very scary stuff," he said. "All of a sudden, kids were afraid to come forward."…

[Hat tip: Dr. R-F.]

Marvin Schick, Haredi Schools and Abuse

Marvin Schick's son Joe writes about abuse he suffered at the hands of a hasidic teacher in grade school. Most interesting is Marvin Schick's knowledge of that abuse and his apparent public silence about it:

When I was in sixth grade [in Toras Emes], in 1984, we had a chasidic rebbe, probably in his mid-30's, for the 12-1 chumash session. One Friday toward the end of the school year, he demanded that a number of kids stay after school. I ignored him, and walked out the door, when, presumably infuriated by the affront to his honor, he grabbed me, slammed my head and body against the wall and punched me repeatedly. This went on for quite a while. When he was done, he warned me not to tell my parents, or he would have me thrown out of the yeshiva.

I did not tell my parents, however, on Saturday night, my mother noticed that my back was badly bruised. I reluctantly told her what happened.

The next morning, my parents went to the yeshiva principal, a man who was principal of the yeshiva for more than 40 years, to demand that the rebbi be fired. It is worth noting that my family had a fairly good relationship with the principal, and that my father was fairly well known in the community.

The principal finished his meeting with my parents, and asked me and the rebbi to come to his office. My parents quietly told me not to worry, to tell the principal exactly what happened and not be scared of the rebbi. I told the truth. The principal asked the rebbi to respond. The rebbi's response was that I was a liar, and had banged my own head against the wall when he demanded that I stayed late, and that he did not lay a hand on me except to restrain me from hurting myself further.

The principal's response was to berate me for making false accusations against a rebbi, and he actually forced me to apologize to the rebbi. The rebbi was not fired and I went back to his classroom.

On the last day of school, the rebbi asked me in front of the entire class to forgive him. I responded sarcastically that there was no reason for me to forgive him, since I had thrown myself against the wall, and he never touched me. He then asked me privately for forgiveness, and I ignored him.

On erev Yom Kippur, I was walking home from mincha in Boro Park when I met the rebbi. He stopped me, told me that he was no longer teaching at the yeshiva (I assume the principal conveniently decided to terminate him at the end of the school year, and berated me only for some stupid purpose of protecting the authority of the rebbis) and that he had been thinking about what he did all summer, that he was very wrong, and since it is erev Yom Kippur, G-d clearly decided to have me meet him for a reason, and he hoped I would grant him forgiveness. I muttered okay, I forgive you, and walked away. Given that I don't recall ever seeing him again (and I lived in Boro Park for 13 more years), perhaps there really was a divine reason for that chance meeting.

Ultimately, I think the principal's actions are as reprehensible as the rebbi's. The rebbi did a terrible thing, and then refused to accept responsibility instead blaming his victim, but at least in the end he seemed to have understood the wrongfulness of his conduct. The principal, a school educator, berated a kid who had been badly beaten by his own rebbi two days earlier for no reason other than some archaic notion of supporting authority figures.

This happened to Marvin "Mr. Day School - Yeshiva Expert" Schick. Imagine what happens to kids whose parents don't come from prominent families and don't have protectzia.

[Hat tip: Dr. R-F.]

KOLKO PLEADS INNOCENT; YESHIVA DENIES KNOWING OF ABUSE OR ALLEGATIONS; BAIL? 5K

That's right. Rabbi Yehuda Kolko claims he's innocent, Rabbi Yaakov Applegrad, the administrator of Yeshiva Torah Temimah, claims the yeshiva had no knowledge of abuse or allegations, and a judge has set a ridiculously low bail – $5000. Kolko had to surrender his passport, because he's considered a flight risk. That shouldn't stop him from fleeing, though. Haredim have interesting ways of beating that problem. Look for Kolko to turn up in Israel in the not too distant future.

Here's the big question: Who asked for the low bail? Let's hope it wasn't the Brooklyn DA.

Also, watch the brief CBS News video linked here. Pay careful attention to Rabbi Yaakov Applegrad's eyes and body language when he denies the yeshivia knew about Kolko's abuse. Then ask yourself a question: Do you want Yaakov Applegrad in any position of communal responibility? I don't think so.

Of Blessed Memory

Jeane Kirkpatrick, the blunt, hard hitting Hubert Humphrey Democrat who became Ronald Regan's UN Ambassador has passed away at eighty. A very good, accomplished and special person who will definately be missed.

Agudath Israel of America: Protecting Rabbis, Endangering Children

Why did Agudath Israel oppose a NY State bill that would have made rabbis mandatory reporters of abuse, just as doctors and teachers now are? Here are two reports, the first from the Jewish Week, the second and more damning from the Forward:

Mesirah [informing to a non-Jewish government or official] is also one of the reasons supplied by Agudath Israel for its opposition to a bill that has passed the state Senate and is currently working its way through the Assembly. The bill would add clergy to other categories of professionals, like educators and health care workers, who are required to report suspected child abuse. A similar bill was killed last year.

The law, if passed, would also require clergy and religious institutions to review records from the preceding 20 years and turn over old allegations to civil authorities.

This would be an “unconstitutional” law, said David Zwiebel, the Agudah’s executive vice president for government and public affairs. The group is working behind the scenes in Albany to defeat it.

“It is a sensitive issue now especially with some of the attention that’s been focused on allegations within our own community,” he said. “The last thing we want to be seen as is obstructing whatever legitimate inquiries may be made among our own rabbinate.

“At the same time,” said Zwiebel, ”it would be unfortunate if the stories that have made their way into the papers and TV programs were to cause the kind of overreaction that this represents by perpetuating the notion that clergy, of all people, are more suspect than any other profession or group in society.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rabbis Back Law To Report Child Abuse
By Rachel Donadio
The Forward (NY)
March 29,2002 p. 3

With the exception of a major ultra-Orthodox organization, rabbinical groups of all denominations say they support proposed legislation in New York State that would require clergy to report allegations of child abuse.

The proposal, which would broaden the state's Social Services Law to make clergy of all religions criminally liable if they do not report instances of child abuse, was advanced last week by Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau in the wake of growing allegations of molestation within the Catholic Church. This week, the Democrat-controlled State Assembly proposed similar legislation, and a version passed in the Republican-controlled State Senate.

Most rabbinical groups said they were not concerned that the legislation would violate confidentiality between clergy and congregants.

"I think that full disclosure to the authorities would be not only acceptable, I think it's imperative," said Rabbi Paul Menitoff, executive vice president of the Reform movement's Central Council of American Rabbis. "Ethical violations, whether they're violations of the criminal code or not, need to be dealt with very openly, fairly and directly by each denomination. Anything short of that is not keeping faith with our people."

The ultra-Orthodox group Agudath Israel of America, however, said it was wary of the legislation, which would require clergy to "report to
authorities whenever they have reasonable cause to believe a child has been abused," according to a March 19 statement by Morgenthau.

David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Aguda, said he feared that the proposal could infringe on "religious freedom."

"There ought to be some exemption for situations involving confidentiality," Zwiebel said. "To protect the Catholic confessional-type situation, and more specifically in our community, to protect those situations where a member of the community does want to confide in his rabbi and get guidance and counseling without fear of having the whole fury of the secular legal system descend on him."

Last summer, Aguda and the Catholic Archdiocese of New York joined forces to oppose a proposed bill in the City Council that would have required all schools, including parochial schools, to file a police report about any criminal act committed by students or staff.

Zwiebel said he was concerned that secular law would "not necessarily" respect religious concerns, such as the concept of mesira, a category of rabbinic canon law concerning when a Jew may inform on another to the secular government. He said that rabbis should evaluate issues "on a case-by-case" basis.

However, Zwiebel said, "if a person is perceived as an imminent danger to children or others, rabbis would say, `let's not handle this internally, let's bring it to outside authorities.'"…

Agudath Israel of America: Protecting rabbis, endangering children.

RabbiChildAbuse.com

Link.

Feel free to use this image on your own blog or website or print it out if you'd like and post it in your synagogue or elsewhere.

KOLKO IN CUSTODY

Rabbi Yehuda Kolko on his way to jail after his arrest for child abuse and endangerment.

The New York Times adds:

A Brooklyn rabbi was arrested yesterday and charged with multiple counts of child sexual abuse, the police said. Rabbi Joel Kolko, 60, of Yeshiva-Mesivta Torah Temimah, a private school in Brooklyn, is accused of molesting a 9-year-old boy who was a student of his in the 2002-03 school year, the police said. The boy’s parents reported the incident last month, the police said. The police said a 31-year-old man also claimed to have been abused by the rabbi, once as a child, and once earlier this year when the man confronted the rabbi. Rabbi Kolko was charged with four counts of sexual abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a child, the police said. Phone calls to the rabbi’s home were not returned.

A Meeting of the Minds

Courtesy of Mazeartist.

RABBI YEHUDAH KOLKO ARRESTED

Alleged serial child molestor Rabbi Yehuda Kolko has been arrested. No more detais available at this time. Will post as soon as I have more information.

[Hat Tip; UOJ.]

Rabbis Call For Israeli "Democratic Uprising"

A group of rabbis made up of National Religious hardliners and Chabad has called for a "democratic uprising" in Israel. The Israel Insider reports:

A group of prominent rabbinic leaders in Israel and abroad yesterday issued a call for Israeli citizens to launch a democratic uprising to bring down the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert…

"Out of love for each and every Jew, we call on the people of Israel and its leaders to begin a democratic uprising to immediately replace this government, which constitutes an ominous threat to the nation of Israel," the Rabbinical Congress for Peace, a coalition of over 1,200 rabbinic leaders and pulpit rabbis, said in a statement.

Former chief rabbis Mordechai Eliyahu and Abraham Shapira were among the signatories, as well as Rabbi Meir Mazuz, head of Israel's Tunisian Jewish community and one of the country's most well-respected rabbis.

The rabbinical conference was responding to a national address by PM Ehud Olmert last week commemorating the death of Israel's first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, in which Olmert stated that he was willing to give up most of Judea and Samaria (the "West Bank") in exchange for "real peace" and promised that he would release "many, many" Palestinian prisoners as part of a deal.

The Rabbinical Congress for Peace called Olmert's address a "crime."

"In his deplorable speech, Olmert in essence announced a 'liquidation sale' and collective suicide of the people in Israel including the release of thousands of the most dangerous terrorists from Israeli jails. Israeli citizens must launch a democratic uprising and protest to bring down the government immediately," the rabbis said.

Their statement continued: "Olmert adheres to the advice of false left-wing 'prophets' instead of adhering to the true prophets as expressed in the Jewish Code of Law that any territorial concession to the enemy will only lead to bloodshed. It will not contribute to calm nor will it promote peace."  

1. Olmert's address is not a crime – it is an expression of democracy.

2. The rabbis who signed this deplorable letter oppose democracy unless democracy can be used to further their theocratic aims.

3. The Code of Jewish Law, the Shulkhan Arukh, is written by rabbis, not prophets.

4. Nowhere in the Shulkhan Arukh does it say, "any territorial concession to the enemy will only lead to bloodshed. It will not contribute to calm nor will it promote peace."

Regardless of your position on Olmert or his suggested concessions, you should be adamantly opposed to the lies and misrepresentation of these pathetic men who seek only to subvert democracy and usher in theocracy under their control. A strong, tall and broad wall must be immediately erected to separate Synagogue and State. Let the building begin.

[Hat tip: Brooklyn Cowboy.]

Haredi Men Beat Religious Jewish Woman on Jerusalem Bus – She Would Not Give Up Her Seat For A Haredi Man

DovBear posts a shocking letter from a friend in Israel who was beaten by haredi men when she refused to move to the back of a public, non-mehadrin (non-sex-segregated) bus in Jerusalem. You simply must read this letter – written by a religious woman. That's right people, this is a religious woman beaten by haredi men. Oh, and the destination of the bus? The Kotel (Western Wall).

Their rabbis are thugs and abusers. They are thugs and abusers. They are violent, anti-democratic criminals. They want theocracy.

What's the solution? Wipe Fiddler on the Roof out of your mind. Close your checkbooks. Withdraw you children from their schools. Have your schools remove any haredi teachers, no matter how good, no matter how kind they appear to be. Stop learning their "toirahs." Divorce yourselves from any contact with haredim or haredism. Starve the beast.

By the way, the tunnel she mentions does have an exit to the Moslem Quarter, but it's locked and can only be opened by the police and soldiers that guard the Kotel area. It may also be that the rabbi of the Kotel has a key, as was the case years ago. I other words, the police and/or the rabbis had to help this thug escape.

Child Rape as Genocide

David Rubenstein writes:

On Sunday December 10th, as part of UN World Human Rights Day, activists in cities around the world will hold demonstrations in front of the Sudan's embassies to "Raise the Alarm" on Darfur. We have called on communities of faith to participate through the "Weekend of Prayer and Action," December 8th-10th.

I would like to invite you to participate in this weekend's important activities by asking your house of worship to add its name to an urgent sign-on letter to President Bush.…

We hope to use this weekend to bring diverse communities of faith together in calling on the president to take immediate action to stop the genocide in Darfur.

In particular, we hope to raise awareness of the horrific situation women and girls face every day in Darfur.

Women and girls as young as 8 years old are being raped and sexually assaulted by the Janjaweed on a daily basis as part of a calculated strategy of genocide.

They live in constant fear of attack. Even routine tasks such as searching for firewood have become perilous for them.

Please ask your house of worship to sign on to the letter urging President Bush to act immediately to end these atrocities. Click here to let us know if you plan to ask the leaders of your house of worship to add its name to the letter.

You will be joining hundreds of thousands of concerned people around the world who will be calling on their respective leaders to act for the people of Darfur.

Please forward this message to your friends and family and invite them to join you in participating in this effort.

Thank you again for your dedication.

Best regards,

David Rubenstein
Save Darfur Coalition

P.S. Are you looking for a meaningful holiday gift? If so, click here to visit the Save Darfur Coalition's online store to browse our selection of t-shirts, wristbands, and much more. Our merchandise is the perfect way to give a gift to someone you love and help people in need at the same time.

Rabbi Kolko Alleged To Have Abused In 2003 – Case Filed Against Yeshiva Torah Temimah Today

UOJ reports that a case has been filed in the Supreme Court of New York, King County, against Yeshiva Torah Temimah for abuse perpetrated by Rabbi Yehuda Kolko in 2003.

Again, let us be clear. Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, head of Agudath Israel's rabbinic leadership and dozens of other "gedolim" knew about Kolko's abuse. Many knew 20 years ago, some 30, some even further back. And none of them did anything to stop him. This is rabbinic malpractice and it should be criminal. Please God find a way to make it so, and to rid our communities of these rabbinic fools.

A good chronology of Kolko's abuse – and of our dear rabbis' coverups – can be read here.

Oh, and a special note to Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon. You are protecting those who shielded abusers. You are protecting those who destroyed children. Do the right, good and decent thing – publicly apologize to the victims and then retire from teaching, administration and public life.

Conservative Rabbis Vote To Ordain Homosexuals

The Conservative Movement has voted to ordain gays. The Union of Traditional Judaism, the more traditional offshoot of the Conservative Movement, responds (via email, so no link):

"The Conservative Movement's decision to issue contradictory opinions on homosexual behavior should confuse no one.  The only opinion that really matters is the one that endorses gay commitment ceremonies and the ordination of professing homosexuals as rabbis.

“In keeping with a decades-old pattern on a host of issues, the Conservative view which breaks ranks with Jewish law and tradition is the one which ultimately sweeps the movement.  Given this reality, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards would have been more forthright had it acknowledged a blanket reversal of the biblical prohibition on homosexuality.  Its endorsement of same-sex commitment ceremonies and the ordination of homosexuals while ostensibly maintaining the traditional ban on anal sex is not only disingenuous. It is ludicrous.

“Our hearts go out to the dwindling corps of traditionalists who until now have remained within the Conservative Movement.  Any fig leaf of commitment to Jewish law within their institutions has now been utterly stripped away.

“The issue of homosexual behavior in Jewish life is complex not because there is any doubt whether it is clearly prohibited by the Torah, but because Judaism also teaches compassion for human beings struggling with their contending impulses.  The Union for Traditional Judaism has addressed that complexity with an approach which is honest, caring, and faithful to Jewish law.  In contrast, the Conservative Movement has once again finessed the tradition to give its abandonment of Jewish law a patina of Jewish authenticity.  Let no one be fooled."

Rabbi Bruce Ginsburg, President; Rabbi Ronald Price, Executive VP; Union for Traditional Judaism

I haven't read the Conservative teshuvot on this yet. But I will say this – maintaining the biblical ban on male-male anal sex while approving of other forms of homosexuality is neither "diseingenuous" or "ludicrous." Gays are born, not made, and they need companionship, closeness and sex just like the rest of us do. Judaism needs to come to grips with that.

 

Unchosen

Hella Winston's wonderful book, Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels, is now out in paperback. Here is 16 minute interview (scroll down the page a bit) Leonard Lopate did with Hella last year when the hardcover edition was released. Note how she is very respectful of the hasidic way of life and of haredim. (Here's a longer interview from Michael Krasny at KQED, as well.) The point is Hella is more than fair to haredim. Now look at Marvin Schick's attack on Hella Winston. Note the deception and the complete lack of mentchlekeit Schick displays. Winston is secular. Schick is a haredi mouthpiece. Even 10 years ago, at the height of my haredism, I would much rather my children act like Hella Winston than act like Marvin Schick.

NCSY Shout Out

NCSY, the flagship Modern Orthodox outreach group, a division of the OU,  whose target audience is 14 to 18 year olds, has developed a cozy relationship – both above board and in a more stealth-like fashion –with haredi outreach organizations including Aish HaTorah (of Torah Codes infamy) and Ohr Somayach.

So what's the problem? This. Parents do not send their children to NCSY to get involved with groups that preach a message of anti-modernity, or a message of no secular education, or a message of putting off Harvard indefinitely to attend yeshiva (a case NCSY actually brags about). In other words, this appears to be a classic bait-and-switch.

NCSY owes all of us, especially those of us who are parents of teenaged children, an explanation and clarification of their policy regarding haredi recruiters and organizations.

How about it, NCSY? What is NCSY's policy here? Are you up front with parents about this before their children become involved with NCSY? Or is this just another version of the Torah Codes?

Casual Sex and Haredim

Haredi casual sex on CraigsList is again documented, this time by Ken Mondschein on Jewcy. Even one Chabad mention this time.

[Hat tip: Leah.]

An Open Letter To Rabbi Matisyahu Salomon

An anonymous blogger has published a detailed chronology of the Rabbi Kolko rabbi-on-boy sex abuse case as an open letter to Agudath Israel's hit man, Rabbi Matistyahu Salomon. The chronology starts in 1976. Here are three excerpts:

…· 1984 – As instructed by Rabbi Avigdor Miller, an Askan calls for a meeting which takes place at the home of Rabbi Yakov Perlow (the Novominsker) and is attended by Rabbi Avrohom Pam, Rabbi Elya Svei, Rabbi Chaim Dov Keller, Rabbi Aharon Schechter, Rabbi Moshe Scheinerman, Rabbi Shia Fishman and Rabbi Yankel Bender. At this meeting, chaired by Rabbi Perlow, the Askan discusses what is transpiring to innocent boys at the hands of Rabbi pedophiles and requests that Torah Umesorah and the Rabbonim issue a statement calling for their removal from Chinuch. Rabbi Svei informs this Askan that Torah Umesorah has consulted their attorneys who advised that for Torah Umesorah to admit knowledge of such abuse would subject Torah Umesorah, its staff, all its member schools and their staff to liability for not having reported their knowledge to the authorities earlier. Accordingly, Rabbi Elya Svei informs the Askan, neither he nor Torah Umesorah will do anything about this problem.

· 1984 thru 1985 – At directed by Rabbi Avrohom Pam an Askan approaches Rabbi Moshe Scheinerman and the two meet with Rabbi Shia (Joshua) Fishman in the office of Torah Umesorah. Both Scheinerman and Fishman neglect to inform this Askan that Fishman had been instructed by Torah Umesorah’s lawyer to do nothing about this issue. Rabbi Fishman requests the names of Kolko’s victims and promises absolute confidentiality. Names are provided to Rabbi Fishman who begins his own investigation of the allegations. He meets with and speaks with several victims who pour their hearts out to him after he guarantees them confidentiality. Rabbi Shia Fishman promptly discloses all he has learned to Rabbi Lipa Margulies who in turn publicly disparages and discredits each and every one of those boys who were brave enough to step forward.…

· 1985 – Upon the dissolution of the above Bais Din, Rabbi Lipa Margulies retains Rabbi Pinchus Scheinberg to convene a second Bais Din for the purpose of clearing Rabbi Yehuda Kolko’s name. Rabbi Lipa Margulies then drafts Rabbi Friedman (the Tenka Rav) and Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Brown to serve on Rabbi Scheinberg’s Bais Din. Prior to convening the Bais Din, Rabbi Pinchus Scheinberg speaks with several of Kolko’s victims and asks them to describe what Kolko has done to them. Upon hearing the allegations Rabbi Scheinberg informs the boys that in the eyes of Halacha they had not been molested. [I.e., No penetration, no halakhic abuse.] Rabbi Scheinberg also calls the Askanim and tells them to cease and desist in their attempts to remove Kolko from Chinuch. Rabbi Avigdor Miller disagrees and instructs the Askanim in no uncertain terms to do whatever must be done to protect children from Kolko. Rabbi Pinchus Scheinberg convenes the Bais Din and takes the position that Rabbi Kolko has a Chezkas Kashrus absent any testimony by two adult witnesses to any single event. Rabbi Friedman takes the position that in light of the persistent rumors Rabbi Kolko must be kept away from children. Rabbi Brown ultimately concedes that there is no Halachic evidence against Kolko and the Din Torah is concluded. Rabbi Lipa Margulies insists that he has a Psak from this Bais Din but to this day has refused to produce it. Regardless, it is of note that no victims testified before this Bais Din.…

The rabbis mentioned – Scheinberg, Pam, Svei, Keller, Schechter – were or still are "gedolim," senior haredi rabbis with leadership duties, active in Agudath Israel. The current head of Agudah's rabbinic leadership, the Novominsker Rebbe, is described this way:

…· February 2006 – An Askan meets with Rabbi Yaakov Perlow and pleads with him to get involved in this matter. Rabbi Perlow refuses on the basis of his being a Yuchid [individual] and this being a Tzibur [community] matter. After being pressed further Rabbi Perlow takes his final stand that this is a Flatbush matter and as he is a Boro Park Rabbi it would be unseemly for him to get involved in this matter.…

And the Rosh Yeshiva of Torah Vodaas (and one of Rubashkin's rabbis) Yisroel Belsky is seen intimidating parents that try to get Rabbi Kolko away from children:

…· February 2006 – Eli Greenwald, a graduate of Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Temimah, son of one of the founders of the Yeshiva and a parent in the Yeshiva receives the letter and spends a few days investigating the matter. He calls Rabbi Yaakov Applegrad, the Yeshiva’s Administrator, and requests a meeting of the Vaad HaHorim in order to address this serious issue. Rabbi Applegrad informs him that there will be no meeting as the allegations are false and that he and Rabbi Margulies have the matter under control. Mr. Greenwald called Rabbi Lipa Margulies and makes the same request of him. Rabbi Margulies responds by shouting at him.

· February 17, 2006 – Eli Greenwald is served with a Hazmana [summons to religious court] issued by Rabbi Yisroel Belsky calling him to a Din Torah to answer the charge of Hotzoas Shem Rah [slander] allegedly committed against Rabbi Yehuda Kolko. Mr. Greenwald responds on February 21, 2006, that he will appear for a Din Torah before the Bais Din of America. To this day there has been no reply to Mr. Greenwald’s response by either Kolko or Rabbi Yisroel Belsky.…

I have much more to say on this. For now, let's be clear – haredim cannot police themselves, and should not be allowed to try to. The letter lists Kolko abuse cases as recent as 2001, and shows that Kolko is still around children in haredi camps and schools, with the help of Rabbi Lipa Margulies (and perhaps Rabbi Belsky, as well). I'll leave it to the prosecutors among you to determine whether these rabbis and the others mentioned broke any laws. It seems to me they have done so.

What Will The Conservative Rabbis Do?

The Conservative rabbis met this weekend in NYC. Topic? Rubashkin. What will be? Perhaps we've waited a long time for nothing? We'll see.

Should You Tell Police About An Orthodox Abuser?

Rabbi Hershal Schachter's Sunday night talk, Should I Call the Police?, and Rabbi Benjamin Yudin's talk, Talking to Our Kids About the Birds and the Bees are both online for free listening or for free download.

No comments from me yet. I just began listening now.

UPDATE: RHS's basic position is there is no mesira when dealing with a criminal, especially a violent criminal or abuser. There are a few caveats but, for the most part, call the cops. For details, listen to lecture and the Q & A that follows it.

RHS also mentions the special Agudath Israel "beit din" that was supposed to be formed years ago to deal with abusers. That beit din was never formed. MO day schools do not have a registry of abusers either. RHS notes that an abuser can go from abusing in Brooklyn to abusing in Canada to abusing in Israel to abusing in South Africa because neith the haredi or MO communities have a sex abuser registry. He also notes that many rabbis are unfamiliar with the halakhot surrounding these issues and they rule incorrectly out of ignorance.

I would add two things. First, I don't think most of the rabbis RHS mentioned ruled out of ignorance; I think they ruled to protect rabbinic abusers. Second, in response to a question, RHS expresses worry at what will happen to criminals in state prisons (as opposed to federal prisons) where much abuse takes place. He says mesira would then become part of the equation. Pretty much every abuser will end up in a state prison. So what should a Jew do? Allow an abuser to run free to abuse more children? A rapist to rape more women? Of course not. RHS sees a valid problem. Its solution is to work for better, cleaner and safer state prisons.

Sex and the Modern Orthodox College Student

The NY Daily News reports:

…Late on the night of Nov. 13, a Daily News reporter sat in Room 303 of Hamilton Hall, a venerable classroom building where Columbia students have studied Poe, Plato and Plutarch for nearly 100 years.

As a female student volunteer stood facing the blackboard, and 24 Columbians watched, a lecturer who identified himself only as Dov flogged her with whips, rubber hoses and a cat-o'-nine-tails.

It was consensual, but the squeals of delight mingled with occasional yelps of pain.

Columbia would make no specific comment on the club or the flogging incident. Ivy Leaguers were unaware that the reporter was in attendance. Dov is not employed by the school, which does not police or censor club activities.

Referring only to student organizations generally, spokesman Robert Hornsby said the "university has a limited role in regulating student speech or private conduct."

New York's smartest still dream of winning a Nobel Prize. And bookworms still pull all-nighters in the Butler Library. But the 2 million-volume monument to the mind, which stays open 24 hours a day, doubles as a temple of earthier desires.

"Having sex in the stacks of Butler Library is one of the ultimate Columbia experiences," said Miriam Datskovsky, sex columnist for the Spectator, the student newspaper.

"There's very little dating. It's predominately a hookup scene," said the 21-year-old, a senior from an Orthodox Jewish background who writes the Sexplorations column.

"Everything is so much easier and so much quicker: you go to dinner and then have sex," she added.…

Please discuss.

[Hat Tip: Leah.]

More Listening Options for the PETA/Lewin Debate

More listening options are now available for the PETA/Lewin debate, the debate that saw Nat Lewin play the nazi card, misquote 50 year old scientific eveidence, object repeatedly about procedure as he himself violated that procedure, and be, over all, a jerk. Lewin handily lost this debate, and did so in front of a largely supportive crowd at the Orthodox West Side Institutional Synagogue.

The debate was summarized by Nigritude Ultramarine, a FM reader this way:

PETA Guy makes a point.

Lewin: That's not fair. That's against the rules of the debate (moderator overrules him)

PETA Guy makes a point.

Lewin: uh, uh, Nazis!

PETA Guy makes a point.

Lewin: The Holocaust!

Here, thanks to Neo-ConservaGuy, is the debate in a low bit rate format with some reduced quality. If you use a DIAL UP connection, download these. Part 1 is 8.2 megs. Part 2 is 4.4 megs:

Download D-Mono-PH-PETA_Lewin_Pt_1.mp3

Download D-Mono-PH-PETA_Lewin_Debate_Pt_2_1.mp3

What Rubashkin May Bring

DailyIndia.com reports:

Muslim law demands that an animal must be drained of blood before it is halal-fit for consumption. As such, most slaughterers do not stun the animal first before slitting its throat, in the belief that drainage will be complete only if the animal is awake.

But now a study by researchers at the University of Bristol, has shown that the amount of blood drained from the animal slaughtered and the rate of blood loss, is the same regardless of whether or not the animal is stunned first.

For their study, Dr. Haluk Anil and his team measured the bleed-out in 13 cattle killed by the tradition Muslim method, and 13 killed in the same way, but having first been stunned by a captive-bolt-pistol blow to the head.

The team had earlier found that stunning did not affect "bleed-out" in sheep and the same was true for cattle as well.

"Stunning does not impede blood loss, therefore this objection cannot be used any more," New Scientist quoted Dr. Anil as saying.

Dr. Anil is now coordinating a European Union project to examine legislation and welfare issues related to religious slaughter, the Jewish shechita and Muslim halal practices.

Now that Rubashkin and his rabbis, along with Rubashkin's attorney and flack Nathan Lewin (who himself is also a flack for Agudath Israel), have shown that ripping the throats out of live, fully-concious animals is "kosher slaughter at its best," why should the US Government continue to view kosher slaughter as humane? Answer: It will not continue to do so. Sometime in the not to distant future, based on Rubashkin's cruelty and his rabbis lies, the government will push for stunning before the ritual cut, and it will do so using scientific evidence like that quoted above.

Rather than rallying around Rubashkin, Agudath Israel – which drove the haredi reaction to the scandal – would have been wise to throw him overboard. They did not and instead fought to defend Rubashkin's cruelty as kosher slaughter as it should be done. The government now must find a way to allow that cruelty under existing humane slaughter law. Stunning is the obvious solution.

But haredim are opposed to stunning, as is the OU! Tough luck. You can't have it both ways. If what Rubashkin did was "kosher slaughter at its best," kosher slaughter is by definition cruel and inhumane. Either some form of stunning must be used or kosher slaughter must be banned.

Of course, there is a third way – doing kosher slaughter in a standing ASPCA pen with well-trained schochtim and strong government oversight. The Jewish community will now be lucky if, in the end, this is what it gets.

Say A Quick Kapitel

I want to thank all of you have been davening for my sister Chaya Estherbas Rochma, who has been in a coma for the last five months. Tomorrow, at 10AM London time, the doctors will try to revive my sister by means of a new technique. Please daven for her at that time.

Thanks and may we all share besorot tovot b'karov!

Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair

For all you BTs, this note is from Ohr Somayach's Rabbi Yaakov Asher Sinclair. For all you musicians, this note is from John Sinclair, Foreigner's producer (Cold As Ice). His sister who he asks you to pray for is the founder of Stiff Records, the famous London-based punk and new wave label.

Chabad Rabbi: Jews Intermarry To Escape Hitler, Antisemitism

Chabad's Rabbi Levi Brackman writes:

…Recently I had a conversation with a secular Israeli academic, who said to me that being Jewish is a genetic state and our common connection is the fact that Hitler would have gassed both of us. I find the notion that my identity is defined by Hitler rather offensive.

In fact, it arouses defiance in me. For the first time I realized why so many secular Jews in America choose not to marry Jewish. The more one dilutes the Jewish gene through intermarriage the less one is able to be defined by an evil man such as Hitler.…

Separating Traditional Judaism from the state of Israel would in essence transform Israel from a Jewish state into a secular state defined by Hitler and run by Jews. Is this what Jewish leaders in the Diaspora really want to see happen?

This is the dumbest thing I have ever read.

PETA Debates Rubashkin Flack Nathan Lewin – Lewin Plays Nazi Card

Bruce Friedrich of PETA debated Nathan Lewin, Rubashkin's attorney, a couple of weeks ago at the West Side Institutional Synagogue in NYC. Lewin is a contemptible man. Don't believe me? Listen. (You may have both parts playing at once. Simply stop part two and listen to part one. Then switch.)

The worst part of this is Lewin quotes "scientific evidence" that is 50 years old and that does not apply to the slaughter done at Rubashkin. Does Lewin know this? If he doesn't, he's a fool; if he does, he's a liar. He also accuses the OU of cowardice and insists the animals getting up after shechita and trying to run away are unconscious and these are only reflex movements, something no scientist or veterinarian agrees with. What you see on this PETA videotape is kosher slaughter at its finest, Lewin says. He also tries to play the Nazi card. What a sick man.

Listen here or download below:

Download PETA_Lewin_Pt_1.mp3.

Download PETA_Lewin_Debate_Pt_2_1.mp3

UPDATE: If the above options are not working, try this link.

Gary Shteyngart Gets Special Mention From NY Times

Gary Shteyngart's book Absurdistan has been named one of the top ten books of the year by the New York Times.

Meretz Proposes A Bill For Patralineal Descent

That's right. After years of haredi stonewalling and subterfuge, hilonim are fighting back. If Yosi Beilin's bill passes a Jew will be defined this way:

…The proposal states that "for the purposes of the Population Registry Law and all registration or legal certificate," an individual will be considered Jewish if at least one of his or her parents is Jewish or he or she joined the Jewish religion in a religious process or has joined the Jewish people in a non-religious process and has linked his or her fate with the Jewish people, and is not a member of another religion."

Beilin says the amendment will mean that 300,000 Jews from the CIS who at present are not considered Jewish will be able to register as Jews is they so desire. "In a world of DNA, it is so old-fashioned to talk about a chain of motherhood," says Beilin. If people see themselves as Jewish, and certainly if one of the parents was Jewish, he adds, why should the state define them as not Jewish?"…

Israel needs to create a wall of separation between Synagogue and State. This bill, flawed and unworkable as it is, is a start toward creating a state free from religious coercion.

If Beilin can get this bill passed, he'll be viewed as a hero by much of Israeli society, even by parts of that society that would have opposed this bill a few years ago. If he can dismantle the Rabbinute, he'll be elected prime minister – and will be able to keep that job as long as he wants it.

Lakewood's Haredim Behaving Badly – Again

Lakewood's haredim, led by the powerful Va'ad and the haredi mayor, have ousted the township's chief law enforcement official. The mayor refuses to say why he forced him out and still publicly praises the top cop. Non-haredim are up in arms, as they should be. The Asbury Park Press reports:

There were repeated outbursts from frustrated residents who demanded a reason why the leader of Lakewood's police force was ousted from office.

There were calls for Al Peters to be reinstated as the township's public safety director, a position that he was voted out of two weeks earlier.

And, Township Committeeman Charles Cunliffe — a Peters supporter — called for action.

"Let Al Peters fulfill his contract or go back to a chief of police," Cunliffe said during Thursday's Township Committee meeting.

There was no resolution, though, as Township Committee members continue to debate what to do.

About 100 residents crammed into the clubhouse at A Country Place, an age-restricted community, where the controversial firing of Peters exposed feelings that often simmer below the surface in Lakewood. During the contentious meeting, those emotions boiled over.

With no clear answer for Peters' firing, there was rampant speculation among residents that his ouster was the result of Peters' unwillingness to grant special treatment to Lakewood's Orthodox Jewish community.

There were also repeated suggestions that the Vaad, an influential group of Orthodox leaders, are pulling the strings from behind the scene.

Mayor Meir Lichtenstein, pounded his fist on the dais Thursday night, rejecting those suggestions.

Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, a member of the Vaad, stood silently in the standing room audience, watching the scene.

"It's a fringe group of belly achers," Weisberg said of the angry crowd.

Away from the boisterous meeting hall, a silent majority wants change in the police department, he argued.

"There's a total lack of confidence that is felt by tens of thousands of people," Weisberg said.…

Those "thousands of people" are haredim, and the "total lack of confidence" is because of these incidents, all incidents where haredim acted badly, broke the law, got caught and then cried discrimination.

In a related story, "heimish" NYC emergeny medical technicians – i.e., Hatzoloh members – often complain about being stopped by police while out on calls with their lights falshing on their cars. Harassment, they cry! The NYPD claims abuses by private EMT services like Hatzoloh, with private EMTs using their lights and sirens to move through traffic to get to mincha on time or to the office for a meeting.

CBS-TV just caught one such person, this one a volunteer chaplain with the Port Authority, doing this:

You see it all over the city, an unmarked car with emergency lights flashing trying to make it through traffic. But have you ever wondered while you're sitting in gridlock what the emergency was?

A natural thought from drivers who on any given day deal with some of the worst traffic in the country -- average commute time 90 minutes -- is "this guy must be headed to a serious emergency."

Or is he?

CBS 2 caught up to one such unmarked car in a heck of a hurry.

Scott Weinberger: "Can you tell me what emergency your are responding to?

Man: "Excuse me?"

Scott Weinberger: "What emergency are you responding to?"

The man's name is Isaac Heschel. His official looking black Crown Victoria is his personal car. However, the lights and sirens he admits he paid someone to install.

Heschel is a rabbi who volunteers his time as a chaplain to the MTA and Port Authority Police, but both agencies said he has no right to have emergency lights, or drive like this.

Scott Weinberger: "Why do you have lights and sirens in your car?"

Heschel: "There are reasons for that sir."

We first learned of Rabbi Heschel's unusual driving habits from a home video sent to CBS 2 by a member of law enforcement who wants to remain anonymous. Sent with the tape was a note that claimed Heschel was putting pedestrians and other drivers in danger.

We had to see for ourselves. So, on the ground and in the air we followed Heschel for days, and what we found was stunning.

At crosswalks he used lights to move pedestrians along. And if traffic gets too bad he drives the wrong way up a street.

Remember, he is not a cop. He is not going to an emergency.

Heschel is actually a 47th Street diamond dealer with some multifaceted perks. Not only does he get to take the fast lane to work, a sweet free parking spot was always waiting for him. Heschel avoided tickets by using a special parking placards.

Scott Weinberger: "Why don't you use the same placard everyday?"

Heschel: "It's a matter, uh ... there's reasons for it."

Scott Weinberger: "Can you tell me what they are?"

Heschel: "It depends what I'm doing that day."

It was on the way to the Diamond District that day we saw Heschel’s official looking car use the HOV lane to avoid a major traffic jam on the Prospect Expressway.

When lights and sirens aren't enough, not even a tie up at the Lincoln Tunnel stops our reckless rabbi. The lights flash; he gets out and actually moves several traffic cones, and then drives past a Port Authority Police checkpoint without ever being challenged.

Scott Weinberger: "What was the necessity for you to use your lights, to remove cones, to go through a closed entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel?"

Heschel: "Sir, I don't think what I do I need to discuss with you."

While Heschel seemed unconcerned, others were.

"It goes to show us that that we have some vulnerabilities from people who pretend to be official emergency vehicles," former FBI agent William Daly said. "They could be used to transport explosive devices."

Once Heschel realized what our cameras had captured he changed his tune and said he was sorry.

"We all make mistakes and when I make a mistake I apologize, and that's basically what I'm saying to you," Heschel said.

Because of his use of lights and sirens, both the MTA and Port Authority Police told CBS 2 they have decided to part ways with Rabbi Heschel.

The God of haredim steals. The God of haredim lies. He cheats. He hates goyyim. He hates blacks and latinos. He hates gays. And He hates you. Stop feeding Him.

{Hat Tip for the CBS-TV piece: DovBear.]