FailedMessiah.com

Can An Ethiopian Jew Marry A Kohen?

In other words, can a female Ethiopian Jew who converted with a giur l'humra, a pro forma conversion required by some rabbis to eliminate possible status issues, marry a kohen?

Here's an answer…

Haredi City Has Highest Rate Of Sex Offenses – Bnei Brak "Tens of Percentage Points" Above Other Israeli Cities

"The number of sex offenses in the Bnei Brak area is higher than any other city by tens of percentage points, and it is clear to us that we do not know about many cases that are not even reported because of the well-known fact that in the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, there is great reluctance about reporting such incidents."

Who said this? Find out after the jump in the extended post…

More On The Isaac Hersh Rescue

Two members of the team that rescued Isaac Hersh tell slightly different stories about what happened.

Tzvi Gluck said that "someone" "happened" to tell them that Isaac would be interviewed by the US Embassy.  No mention of the reason for this interview or what prompted it.

Yet, Rabbi Arye Wolbe…

The Isaac Hersh Kidnapping and its Coverup, Continued – Rabbi Tzvi Gluck Interview

Rabbi Tzvi Gluck was interviewed on Zev Brenner's radio show last night. I just posted an mp3 of Rabbi Gluck's appearance.

As I mentioned earlier, Rabbi Gluck spent considerable effort covering for Isaac's parents and for Rabbi Ahron Schechter.

You'll hear that on the mp3.

Comments are closed on this post. Comment here, instead.

Google Publishes Fraudulent Chabad Ad

Google – which has an ad policy many would consider to be draconian – is running an ad for ChabadWorld.net. The ad claims to be for "The homepage for worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch movement" and its headline is reads "Chabad-Lubavitch."

Clicking on the ad directs you to a website that is not under the control of Chabad's central organizations:

Israel Wants To Start Combination Religious - Secular Schools –– Haredim Oppose

Right now, Israel has either religious school or secular schools. The secular schools do not teach religion and many of the religious schools do not teach democratic values and civics (even though by law they must).

MK Rabbi Michael Melchior…

Israel Lost Lebanon War Because of Women, Sanhedrin Says

That's right. You favorite rabbinic nut jobs, the self-appointed so-called Sanhedrin, has issued another 'halakhic' ruling.

And it all makes perfect sense, just like…

Covering Up: The Isaac Hersh Saga Continues

Tzvi Gluck, one of the men involved in the rescue of Isaac Hersh, is on Zev Brenner's Talkline show. An mp3 of the interview is posted after the jump.

A lot of what he is doing is covering for Michael Hersh, his wife, and especially for Rabbi Ahron Schechter:

The Rescue of Isaac Hersh, continued

I spoke Friday with someone very close to Isaac Hersh who was also involved in the rescue. I'm not going to post the details now.

But I will say this: If what took place is what I was told, this story will not end anytime soon.

I'll have only sporadic email and Internet access for the next couple of days, so I'll update when I can.

Thanks. for reading.

BREAKING: Isaac Hersh Rescued – Teen Returns From Jamaica

Isaac Hersh, the 16 year old boy kidnapped on orders from his father and sent to a reform school boot camp in Jamaica has been taken from Tranquility Bay and returned to the US.

How?

Details follow after the jump in the extended post:

Department of Orthodox Doublespeak

KAJ’s termination of its kashrut certification of Agriprocessors / Rubashkin / Aaron's Best, etc., happened because of KAJ's:

Aussie Haredi Lesbian Principle Revealed

Okay, boys. She allegedly seduced and molested female students and young female teachers. She is said to have fled Australia with more than $120,000 AUD, including more than $20,000 AUD that her students raised for a free loan fund they operated. (Details.)

So, what does Malka Leifer, the seductress-molester, look like?

Hold on to your yarmulkes, gentlemen. Malka Leifer's visage is fully revealed after the jump in the extended post:

BREAKING: Jamacia Arrests Experts Sent To Evaluate Isaac Hersh – Hersh Tells US Embassy He Was Physically Abused By His Father, Michael Hersh, And Tortured At Tranquility Bay

I'll try to confirm these details later tonight. For now, here is what has been made public so far:

Did The Price of Kosher Meat Rise In The Past Months?

If it did, along with inflation, higher energy and feed costs, if you eat Rubashkin meat the reason prices rose could be because of this $1.4 million dollar judgement against Aaron Rubashkin and his companies, including Agriprocessors:

Haredim and Organ Donation, part 3 – Rabbi Elyashiv and the Angel of Death

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv already permits a situation where haredim do not donate organs but the do take them.

In the mind of Rabbi Elyashiv, taking organs from a brain stem dead person is committing murder. Still, he allows his followers to benefit from those harvested organs.

Now Rabbi Elyashiv has gone…

Who Is The Rabbi Behind The "Kidnapping" Of Isaac Hersh?

Rabbi Aron Schechter, the rosh yeshiva of Chaim Berlin in Brooklyn, that's who. He's the guy that didn't like the wig store posters and organized a boycott of the store. He's signed various bans, including the one against Lipa Schmeltzer.

And one more thing.

He is also…

Australian Rabbis Warn of Another Predatory Religious Figure, Urge Jews to Speak Out – But Only to Rabbis

The Rabbinical Council of Victoria (Australia) warns of another religious predator, a rabbi, abusing his way through Melbourne.

The rabbis…

KAJ Dropped Rubashkin For Kashrut Problems, Letter Says

This whole affair calls into question what kosher supervision truly is.

If a letter can be written from KAJ to Rubashkin on October 16, 2007 informing Rubashkin that KAJ has…

Rubashkin Failed 3 USDA Salmonella Testings – Among the Worst 15% of Slaughterhouses in America

According to a report released by Food and Water Watch, Agriprocessors, Inc. the Postville, Iowa, producers of Aaron's Best, Rubashkin, and other kosher meat, chicken and turkey brands, failed 3 separate USDA testings for salmonella, the virulent bacteria that is the leading cause of food-borne illness in the US.

This puts Agriprocessors in the worst 15% of slaughterhouses in the United States.

Details after the jump in the extended post below…

MONDROWITZ UPDATE

The Supreme Court appeal of Avrohom Mondrowitz has been moved up to May 29, 2008.

Mondrowitz, the Gerrer hasid who allegedly raped  boys sent to him for counseling and then fled Brooklyn to Israel to escape arrest and indictment, is appealing a lower court ruling in favor of his extradition back from Israel to Brooklyn to stand trial.

I'll post more details as they become available.

Haredim and Organ Donation, part 2

Just when you thought the debate between the rabbis who support organ donation (including Rabbis Ovadia Yosef and Shlomo Amar) and those who oppose it (Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv) couldn't get stranger, this happens:

A Spot of Good News from Israel

Finally, a good news from Israel. Better yet, rabbis are behind it – haredi rabbis.…

UPDATE: Burka Woman Child Abuser Said To Be Head Of Burka Women Cult, Rabbanit Keren

Ha'aretz (still only in Hebrew) is reporting the woman arrested yesterday for physically abusing many of her 12 children and for not reporting rampant incest among them, is the leader of the Ramat Beit Shemesh-based burka women cult.

And then…

Jewish Burka Fanatic Arrested On Multiple Counts Of Child Abuse

Remember those 'holy' Jewish women who adopted the veils, burkas and hijabs of their Arab neighbors in order to be "holy" as God "demands"?

One of them was arrested today on many counts of child abuse – all with…

Should This Man Be CEO of Hatzalah?

The better question is, shouldn't he and his wife be in jail?

"What is Yours is Mine, and What is Mine is Mine"--He is a Wicked Man: Haredim and Organ Donation

Israel finally, after many years of trying passed an organ donation law late yesterday. This is no small achievement. Why?

Haredim.

Al Qaida Leader Calls For Attacks On Jews "Everywhere"

In 'response' to Israel's attempts to stop missiles launched from Gaza into Israel, Al Qaida's #2 has called for Muslims to "strike" Jews and Americans everywhere.

Money Does Buy Happiness, Scientists Say

A new study done jointly by researchers at the University of British Columbia and the Harvard Business School has found that money does actually buy happiness.

But there is one catch.

What Did Rubashkin Do Wrong?

This:

Jewish Agency, Strapped for Cash, Turns To Big Kiruv For Help

That's right.

Strapped for cash (probably because it…

A Moshe Rubashkin Purim

Chanina Sperlin, left; Moshe Rubashkin, center.

Shrurem.net has posted a video of twice-convicted felon and current Crown Heights Jewish Community Council President Moshe Rubashkin having a drunken confrontation with an adversary, Rabbi Chanina Sperlin, on Purim in Crown Heights.

Moshe is due to be sentenced soon for his part in the Allentown mill fires and coverup. He'll have plenty of time, one would think, to dry out inside.

[Hat Tip: The Daily Yid.]

Purim Fest, 1946 – A Tale of Kiruv

Many of you are familiar with the Purim story told as part of Aish Hatorah's Discovery Seminars.

But I bet you didn't know…

The Problems With Esther's History, part 3

In Part 1 we covered the chronological issues.

In Part 2, we covered Mordechai's and Esther's age, the names used in Megillat Esther, and other related issues.

Now we move on to…

The Problems With Esther's History, part 2

Part one dealt with the chronological problems of the Purim story.

Now we move on to other…

The Problem With Jewish Journalism

"People don't read Jewish newspapers for the reason they read regular newspapers. People read regular newspapers to get information, whether they agree with the paper or not. People read Jewish newspapers…

Problems With Esther's History, part 1

Some of you asked me (well, challenged me, really) to show the problems with the historical claims made by the Book of Esther.

I waited until Purim was almost over, in order not to spoil your fun.

Here goes:

Rabbis Ban Marriage, report claims

What will these crazed men do next?

Read it all, in the extended post below:

BREAKING: RUBASHKIN CITED WITH 39 SAFETY VIOLATIONS

Is there more to this story than meets the eye? I think…

The Real Story of Purim

Did Purim really happen?

There are many very strong arguments against the historicity of Purim. Many of them you already know. One of them, you may not.

Father Beats Son With Hammer, Beats Wife and Daughter, Violates Restraining Order, Threatens Murder – Rabbis Give Him Sole Custody of the Children

You can't get much better proof that rabbis are out of touch than this.

A man who beat his wife and children, used a hammer, other heavy objects, and whatever else was at hand to hurt them, who threatened his own children with death, and threatened to kill his wife has been given custody of those same children by Tel Aviv's beit din (religious court).

The chief rabbi of Tel Aviv is…

Dollar's Fall May Cripple Israeli Charities

This is really frightening.

The recent collapse of the US dollar due to the collapse of the US housing market, which itself collapsed do to mortgage fraud and bad loan policies may leave Israel's poorest…

He Didn't Write It – Shakespeare's Plays Written By Jewish Woman, Scholar Claims

Even I'm upset about this.

A scholar has done extensive literary analysis and some major historical digging. What he's found may rock the very foundations of…

MK: Religious Schools Treatment of Ethiopian Jewish Students "Blatant, Ugly Racism"

As part of the conversion negotiations taking place between the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee and the chief rabbis, the issue of Ethiopian Jews was raised by Sefardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar.

Amar wants to convert…

Chief Rabbi of Kiryat Bialik Arrested on Sexual Assault Charges – Signed 'Pesak Din' in 1997 Declaring the Late Lubavitcher Rebbe the Messiah

Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin, who is married to a granddaughter of the Baba Sali, was arrested late yesterday on multiple charges of sexual assault.

Rabbi Krispin has a close connection to Chabad, as you can see, after the jump in the extended post. And, as you can also see, the man is no…

What, If Anything, Is Wrong With This Statement?

“I’m not happy when any living creature dies—a Jew, a fly, a donkey.”

Is there anything morally wrong with this statement?

Little Frum Girls Lean About "Service"

Little frum girls in Spring Valley, New York learn about "service." How? By making Purim packages for Jewish US soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

It's cute. It's nice.

But what about…

Chief Rabbi Testifies About Criminals Before Knesset Committee

Israel's Sefardic Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar testified before a Knesset committee about…

Just In Case You Missed It

The attorneys representing victims of Rabbi Yehuda Kolko have sent a letter to Yeshiva Torah Temimah parents asking for evidence against him. The attoneys also offered to represent victims that have not yet come forward.

Attorneys' Letter to YTT Parents.  Jewish Week report.

Shin Bet: No Plot By Mercaz HaRav Students to Kill Islamic Leader

The Shin Bet now says there is no evidence of a plot by Mercaz HaRav students to kill an Islamic leader. But…

The Secret Agreement Behind The RCA-Rabbinate Conversion Deal – Rabbis Whose Synagogues Have Womens Prayer Groups May Not Sit As Conversion Judges

I wrote early Friday morning that the new conversion agreement between the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) and Israel's haredi-controlled chief rabbinate has much more to do about power struggles within the RCA, and the power struggle between haredim and Modern Orthodoxy, than it does about conversions.

It turns out my analysis was, unfortunately…