FailedMessiah.com

'Jewish Jordan' Retires From Pro Basketball

Tamir Goodman, the first Orthodox Jewish player to play professionally in Israel and the United States will make the announcement Tuesday at [Chabad's] Jewish Children’s Museum in Brooklyn, N.Y.

The Rubashkin Trial: It's All Antisemitism Says Haredi Leader

"We run an ad in the Yated every week for the Pidyon Shvuyim Fund… as an undertaking to defend our right to practice our religion responsibly without people casting stones at us and depicting us as frauds, as has been the pattern throughout our history in exile."

Birthright Exec's Snarky Letter Attacking Critics Now Hidden

Birthright updates NY website to remove link to Rebecca Sugar's letter.

A Haredi View: What’s Really At Stake In The Rubashkin Trial?

In my opinion, the question in Rubashkin’s trial isn’t a question of whether he is guilty or innocent."

Haredi And Out Of The Closet: A Hasidic Lesbian's Unusual Journey

She keeps Shabbat and kosher, lives in Monsey and sends her kids to Orthodox schools. And she's an open lesbian.

NYC Sued Over Alleged Pro-Hasidic Bias

Plaintiffs claim controversial Williamsburg housing project is designed to favor Satmar hasidim and exclude non-Jews.

Blood Libel: Iranian Cable Network Says Jews Abducted Algerian Children To Harvest Their Organs

Algerian children "abducted," taken to Morocco. Kidneys harvested there and then later sold in US and Israel, Iranian smear says.

Chabad eBay Scammer Gets Jail, Supervised Release

Yochanan Levitansky also has to pay $237,257 restitution.

New Jewish Food Certification May Be Most Detailed In the Industry

Among the rules laid out in the draft is one stipulating that a company would have to pay its lowest paid employee at least 115% of the federal minimum wage (currently $7.25 an hour) and provide the same employee with health and other benefits that amount to at least 35% of his or her wages. 

As New Owners Take Over Agriprocessors, Postville Worries

Postville’s City Council initially voted to support the idea of a community benefits agreement, but later voted to withdraw support for such an agreement—a development first reported on the blog Failed Messiah.

Letter from Great Neck: Why Do Media Love Jewish Scandals?

When reading headlines like “12 Brooklyn Builders Indicted in Bribery Scheme,” do you find your heart skipping a beat as you hope they aren’t Jews?

Court Allows Haredi Mother Who Allegedly Starved Child To Visit Him

But visit must be made with a state social worker and psychologist present.

First Guilty Pleas Entered In Dwek Bribery Case

42 others still face charges ranging from money laundering to bribery and organ trafficking.

Interview With The Haredi Thug Who Leads The Jerusalem Riots

Yoilish Krauss explains why he thinks it is okay to call police "Nazis" and to attack female journalists.

To Escape Haredi Racism, Sefardim Change Their Names

Mussayev becomes Moskovitch, Aberjil becomes Abromovitch, Pinto becomes Pinsky.

Neturei Karta Endorses Swedish Israel Organ Trafficking Canard

Neturei Karta and Satmar to protest today at Hadassah headquarters in NYC and at the UN.

Conservative Movement Issues Revised Standards For Hechsher Tzedek

“For the first time a religious community will indeed certify that good corporate citizenship can be understood through religious teachings.”

Letter from Tel Aviv:Ethiopians, Don't Convert!

"Those primarily to blame for the growing power of the Orthodox establishment are not the religious or the ultra-Orthodox, but the secular."

Go You Forth To New Orleans

Big benefit concert for 4th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina features Neshama Carlebach, Ellis Marsalis, and other NOLA musicians.

Yeshiva Student Murdered By Fellow Students In Street Brawl

Moments before stabbing, students told victim, "What you did wasn't Jewish."

Jerusalem Hazzanut Festival To Feature Ethiopian Liturgical Music

"We will have among our performers - and naturally as a result among our audience, too - haredim, religious, secular and traditional. It is basically an opportunity to bring the fringes together."

Haredi Molester Sentencing Tomorrow

Bar Mitzvah tutor Yona Weinberg convicted of sexually molesting boys.

Whole Foods Markets To Carry New Line Of OU Kosher Poultry

Chicken and turkey produced by Kosher Valley™, a new kosher brand from Hain Celestial Group.

Birthright Exec's Unprofessional Response To Forward And FailedMessiah Exposés Raises More Questions About Cronyism And Pro-Haredi Bias

Rebecca Sugar's snarky response, her attacks on non-Orthodox "clergy," her refusal to say if she is Orthodox or haredi, and her organization's dismal success rate all raise a very important question: Why does she still have a job?

Only someone whose job is protected by nepotism or cronyism could write a letter like this:

An Official Response To The Editors of The Forward:

Dear Forward Editors:

I have only a few moments to write this. I have to get back to memorizing page 32b of Tractate Sanhedrin, as I was instructed to do daily by my partners at the Jewish Enrichment Center.  Thankfully, those anti-feminist Orthodox people don't require me to wrap teffilin every day as they apparently did to that poor, unsuspecting Birthright Israel alumnus in Gal Beckerman's article, "Birthright Alumni Center Tied to Haredi Outreach". Then I would certainly have no time to put pen to paper. Fortunately, I have a moment off to respond to Mr. Beckerman's very astute observations about my Birthright Israel NEXT office and its relationship with the Jewish Enrichment Center which he classifies as an "outreach arm of a yeshiva".

Thanks to Gal's terrific journalistic skills and his ability to see through the facts and to interpret them so the rest of us can understand them, I have seen the light. It must be true that an Orthodox person would be incapable of human interaction that didn't include the forcing of his views on others, because "Orthodox" so clearly equals "stealth agenda" and "dangerous". How could I not have seen that? Thanks Gal, I would have gone the rest of my life believing otherwise. Pink slips are being issued in my office to everyone with a yarmulke and a penchant for kosher food as we speak.

And thanks to all those other rabbis of various other denominations quoted in Gal's article. While it's true that they have never attended any of our events or called me to talk about working together, their status as "non-Orthodox clergy" clearly enables them to assess the agenda of our staff members better than I can. After all, I am just a run of the mill Jewish woman, and as I am so often reminded by my Orthodox rabbinic friends, women don't count anyway.

Gal's articles have not only served as a religious and professional awakening for me, but a personal one as well. Thanks again Gal! If you hadn't pointed it out, I would have never realized that I hold such sway over philanthropist Michael Steinhardt. It was your keen 

observation that I know his son David since childhood that drew the line for me between Michael's generosity toward the NEXT/JEC partnership and my ability to convince him how best to spend millions of his dollars. Given this new revelation (and I use that word in the least Orthodox sense, I assure you) I can now use my powers for good. In an upcoming Letter to the Editor to the Forward I plan to post my home phone number so that all those seeking funding for their projects might call me. I've got the direct line to Michael -- why shouldn't I use it? Whatever you need - $10,000, $100,000 - I am the girl to get it for you. Good thing Michael is such a push over and that I am so convincing.

Good journalism apparently isn't just about writing a good article. According to The Forward it is about writing two articles, without the benefit of any firsthand experience to accurately describe the subject the author has chosen to write about. Not everyone can do that, but Mr. Beckerman has. Bravo. I so very much appreciate the effort and am grateful for the insights he brings. And I understand completely why he chose not to quote a single person who had positive things to say about the JEC - clearly they have been brainwashed. Glad he caught that before he exposed their rhetoric to the world.

As for me, I will go now to the other side of the mechitza in our office and think deeply about what Mr. Beckerman has said and what it really means. Before I do, I will share a little secret with Mr. Beckerman: I am the Director of Birthright Israel NEXT, NY, not Matt Mindell or Lawrence Hajioff, not Rabbis Yoffie, Brenner or Bachman. What I wont tell him is whether or not I am Orthodox, because frankly, it just doesn't matter. And more importantly, that leaves room for the next article.

Rebecca Sugar Director Birthright Israel NEXT, NY

Birthright Exposés: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6.

Here's a screenshot of Sugar's letter as posted on Birthright-Next's official website. (http://www.birthrightisrael.com/site/PageServer?pagename=next_local_ny_announce) You can click to enlarge it or you can right click to download it and then view it in your PDF reader:

The same thing, except grabbed wider and including the browser address bar:

Here is a PDF of the Birthright-Next page with Sugar's letter:

Download Birthright - Rebecca Sugar's Response

UPDATE 5:10 pm – Birthright has pulled the letter from its website.  (Hat Tip: Dood.)

View with entire url:

Close up view:

UPDATE 11 pm CDT – The letter is back up on Birthright's website, but in a different location. (http://www.birthrightisrael.com/site/PageServer?pagename=LetterToTheEditorsOfTheForward) [Hat Tip: Prasnis Warszawa.]

The previous location was Birthright-NEXT's homepage with the full text of the letter displayed.

The new location requires clicking on a link to read, and that link in placed under Rebecca Sugar's mini-bio on the right sidebar. While readily visible, it lacks the prominence it had earlier today, and there is no notice or link in the announcements section of the homepage to explain the move.

The following screenshots can be enlarged by clicking on them or you can right click and download the image(s) and then open it in your pdf viewer. There is a wide shot of each page with the full url in the browser window and then a closer shot without the url: 

Here is the letter as it now appears, tucked away on its own page:

UPDATE 9-10-09 11:05 am CDT – Birthright-NEXT has removed the link to Sugar's letter that was on its homepage, under Sugar's picture. Here are 2 screenshots of that page:

Clicking the link under Sugar's picture brings up this page. No mention of the letter there, either:

And as a PDF:

Download Birthright Israel NEXT_ New York Programs

The Birthright website does not have a search function, but it does have a sitemap:

As you can see, this sitemap, accessed from the Birthright NY  homepage, is for the national site, not for its local NY subsection. So there is no way to find the letter that way, either.

But the letter is still posted on the Birthright site, on the same page it was moved to after I first published the letter on September 6. There just is no way to find that letter using the tools native to the Birthright website.

Here's a PDF of the Birthright NY homepage made a few minutes ago:

Download Birthright Israel NEXT_ New York

Halal Food Cart "Mafia" Threatens Kosher Competitor

"We don't want you here. We want you to have a hard time so that you…sell your cart to us."

Judge: Surveillance Video Clearly Shows Haredi Mother Removing Son's Feeding Tube

Judge: Boy looked like he just left Auschwitz

High Court Puts Off Decision On Law That Allows Haredim To Escape Draft But Leave Yeshiva

Court gives state another 15 months to prove law integrates haredim into Israeli society.

Chabad Rabbis Rule Lubavitch Can't Take Money From Christians

Without proof, International Fellowship of Christians and Jews ruled treife due to potential, not actual, missionary activity.

Luke Ford Blogger Gets Invited To A Chabad Messianist Wedding

The invitation says the Rebbe, who passed away in 1994, is alive and the messiah.

Rabbi Leib Tropper Says Billionaire Former Acolyte Assaulted Him In A Jerusalem Hotel

Tropper, who has tried to control conversions worldwide, says his former follower, Guma Aguiar, attacked him in the David Citadel Hotel.

Haredi Town To Be Built On Land Where Arab Construction Banned

"It's inconceivable that Jewish and Arab villages were denied expansion permits to protect these green spaces, but now they are approving a haredi town on those same lands." 

Haredi Leaders Make Peace With "X-Ray" Rabbi

Leading ultra-Orthodox rabbis, who less than a year ago accused kabbalist Rabbi Yaakov Israel Ifergan of paganism and called him a "fiend," have decided to make peace with him. 

Letter from Ramapo:Haredi Bloc Votes On The Hudson

Haredim, bloc votes and corruption.

Due To Haredi Pressure, Passengers Trapped In Planes While Corpses Brought To Israel For Burial Are Unloaded

Haredim worried about "impurity" force hundreds of passengers to wait on plane without air conditioning.

As Hand Sanitizer Sales Soar, Haredim Slowly Begin To Come To Grips With Flu Pandemic

But despite the large number of infections in yeshivas, there are no plans to cut back on mass learning, public prayers or communal holiday meals. 

Rabbi: Alcohol Abuse In Orthodox Community "Alarming"

Problem started with hasidim, spread to Religious Zionist and MO communities.

Haredim: Pray For Mother Who Allegedly Starved Child

Prayer meant to fight against government's "miscarriage of justice" and  "persecution."

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky Accused Of Smearing Divorced Mom, Claiming 'Wild Sex Life', "Descent Into Abyss Of Immorality"

As ex-husband became haredi, haredi rabbis led by OU's Belsky used dirty tricks to smear his ex-wife and wrest custody from her.

Haredim Send Judge In Child Abuse Case "Blood Libel" Booklet

Booklet–viewed as a threat–claims courts, police, social welfare and Hadassah conspired against haredim.

Convicted Of Bribery And Violating Public Trust, A Shas Leader Learns Torah – In Jail

Shlomo Benizri placed in a religious cellblock with 80 other inmates, who are all allowed to spend most of the day studying Torah.

Illegal Haredi Yeshiva Continues Operating Despite Court Decision

"You're surrounded by people at the end of their lives being blighted by this situation."

Pork? Is The Funding For New Square's New Glatt Kosher Slaughterhouse Treife?

How did a haredi project opposed by local zoning boards, residents and politicians get state funding while better supported and better justified secular projects did not?

Haredim Protest, Violence Down

First largely peaceful haredi protest in months.

Judge Keeps Haredi Rioter In Jail

Court afraid haredi might flee Israel using his American passport.

Letter from Tel Aviv:Blaming It On Racism Is Too Easy

The real problem with private religious schools is not racism.

FailedMessiah – The Interview

Shmarya Rosenberg talks about Chabad, haredim, and why he left Orthodoxy.

NY State Gives Hasidim $1.6 Million For New Slaughterhouse

New Square gets $1.6 million for construction of a massive poultry processing plant.

In NYC, Satmar Protests Israel's "Acts Of Brutality" With Its Own Illiteracy

"Mass Murderers sare [sic] much better than pious Jews in Israeli courts."

Birthright Israel Wants To Make You Haredi

Your free trip to Israel comes with twisted strings you never imagined.

New Computer Algorithm Deciphers Ancient Manuscripts

Will allow scholars to read ancient manuscripts with faded, damaged or missing letters or words.