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Video: Jewish Week Editor Gary Rosenblatt Talks About The Rabbi Baruch Lanner Scandal

Holding a "mirror" to the Jewish community.

This Week's Crime And Misdemeanors Blotter

So many acting badly, so little space to cover it all…

Rabbi Arrested For Allegedly Molesting, Sodomizing Minors

The rabbi is suspected of sodomizing a fourteen-year-old girl three years ago, as well as molesting additional minors, both male and female, over the course of this past year.

Should The President's Plaques Come Down?

During his presidency, convicted rapist Moshe Katsav left trail of commemorative plaques in synagogues, cemeteries and Jewish centers around the world. Should they remain now that the former Israeli president has been convicted of rape and sexual assault that took place during his presidency?

A Violated Will

Avi Cohen, who in life set an example of good deeds, was not allowed to set an example in death; Orthodox rabbis stole this right from him at the last minute.

Haredi Health Minister Approves More Paid Beds For Mental Hospitals – But Only If Total Gender Segregation Is Implemented

Health Ministry approves more beds for mental wards, but only if gender based separation is implemented. Experts see both positive and negative sides to decision while ministry believes "professional sources support gender based separation.'"

The Appeal Of Haredi Orthodoxy To Young Secular-Born Jews

A growing number of young Canadian Jews are finding meaning, community and a sense of peace in the rigorous practice of their faith.

In Remembrance Of A Gentle Giant

Former US Senator and Ambassador Rudy Boschwitz, a vice president of the World Jewish Congress, and a fellow at a Washington, D.C. think-tank remember Baruch Tegegne.

Rabbis' Meddling Brings Awful Results

Can you imagine the agony and suffering that patients, anxiously waiting on the transplant list, and their families went through when they were first told that suitable organs were available, only to be told later that the family had rescinded their agreement to the donation? The secular donor was a proud carrier of an organ donor card. He had even tried to get all the footballers in Israel to sign one. His family had also automatically agreed to the donation the moment they were informed that their loved one was brain dead. But then came the rabbinical steamroller. The donor is now dead and buried, and those whose lives could have been saved must go on waiting for another potential donor and hoping the rabbis don't get to the family first.

China: Selling the Talmud as a Business Guide

In China, notions of Jewish business acumen lead to a publishing boom—and stereotyping.

Impact Of The Ban?

Israel's former president Moshe Katsav is convicted of rape and other crimes. But Vos Iz Neias does not report it. Could this be because of the ban issued against VIN by haredi rabbis?

Israel's Former President Found Guilty Of Rape

Moshe Katsav, Israel's first kippa-wearing president, was  found guilty today of two counts of rape and other abuses, after four-year trial held mostly behind closed doors; Judge: Katsav's story was riddled with lies.

What Do You Say To Rabbis Who Interfere With Organ Donations?

The death yesterday of former soccer star Avi Cohen has renewed public awareness of the lack of transplant organs in Israel. The deceased had given his own permission and carried an ADI donor card from the National Transplant Center. But in the end, under pressure from rabbis, the family refused and Cohen's organs were not made available to save the lives of others.

Rubashkin Fundraiser Nets $160,000

Exhaling deeply after each breath, Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe, blasted the federal judge that sentenced Sholom Rubashkin for what he called, “corrupt thinking” and a “corrupt way of acting." "What’s happening here?” Rabbi Perlow asked the over 1,000 men and women who gathered in The White Shul for a rally on Dec. 22 for the imprisoned former executive vice president of Agriprocessors. “This is not the European governments who persecute us. Who would’ve thought in this community of freedom and justice this could happen?”

The Man Who Saved His People

Early one morning in the late 1940s, an elderly Ethiopian Jew stood with his young grandson at the top of a small mountain, waiting for sunrise. As the sun broke over the horizon, the old man, pointing toward the sun, said, “Remember, this is the way to Jerusalem.”

Israel's Diamond Exchange Expels Longtime Member Over Blood Diamond Smuggling

Israel's Diamond Exchange said Tuesday it has expelled a longtime member for attempting to smuggle illegal Zimbabwe "blood diamonds" into the country. Zimbabwe is banned from exporting diamonds under the Kimberley Process, the 75-nation regulatory group that seeks to end the trade of so-called blood diamonds, which fund violence in Africa.

Idiocy In The Name Of Torah

Don't snitch on carjackers and serial killers, a Tablet Magazine writer says, because gangsta rappers, Kant and Moses wouldn't want you to.

Rabbi's Wife: Arabs Are The Enemy, Not Us

"Separatism is what sustained the Jewish people throughout time. It's our distinction. We are not out to cause uproar, we are here to raise a very painful issue. And yes, very painful matters need to be discussed openly. Who better to talk to the girls than the rabbis' wives?"   

Refugee To Rescuer

Seventy-five years ago this month, 5-year-old Rudy Boschwitz, tightly gripping his mother’s hand, gingerly stepped down the gangplank of the S.S. Majestic and onto the dock at New York City. It was the third night of Hanukkah. After two years of wandering from country to country, the future United States senator and his family had finally found a place they could call home.

Israeli Music Group The Idan Raichel Project Profiled By The BBC

"I wish Palestinian and Lebanese kids would learn about Hebrew culture, and that Israeli youngsters would learn about Palestinian art and Lebanese folklore. Generation after generation in the Middle East is being raised to believe that on the other side of the border, there is an enemy. The first level of creating peace - a real peace, not just signing contracts - is about people and the culture of the people."

Separate And Decidedly Unequal

After the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that he never could have imagined where the cycle of rabbinical incitement, combined with a sense of political endorsement and rabble-rousing, would lead. It would seem, however, that Netanyahu took from this a diametrically opposite lesson. The inciting rabbis continue to receive tens of thousands of shekels a month from the Israeli government. Netanyahu himself makes inflammatory remarks against "the foreigners." And a series of racist bills have been introduced whose apex is the "discrimination committee law," which threatens to turn a racist rabbinical edict into a state law that will promote "Jews-only" areas.

Make No Mistake – Israelis Have Always Been Racist

In its early days, when Israel's character was taking shape, it determined that the white race was superior. When the people who would eventually become "Mizrahim" arrived and were brought here from North Africa, it wasn't suggested or made possible for them to take part in the government, the land, the systems of power and the media. Very quickly they became citizens, but second-class citizens subject to humiliation and inferior conditions. They were excluded from public life and official cultural life, living with the knowledge and experience of inferiority. And separation: They were put in separate housing projects and separate neighborhoods.

Renegade Shas MK Bucks Party Again, Backs IDF Conversions

Knesset Member Amsellem strays from party line once again; calls on Chief Rabbinate to endorse IDF conversions. 'These are not revolving-door conversions. To stay indifferent is to be obtuse,' he says.

Haredim May Offer "Technical Solution" For Recognizing IDF Conversions

Claiming victory, a senior Shas figure said that "as far as we are concerned, Prime Minister Netanyahu has made clear that this is a virtual law whose appearance will be confined to headlines and the Internet," and Shas party chairman Rabbi Eli Yishai says he was promised by Netanyahu that the Likud will not allow the bill to move ahead, and that the coalition will bury it, and will instead accept a "technical solution" to the problem.

44 Percent Of Israeli Jews Support, 48 Percent Oppose Rabbis' Call Forbidding Rental Of Homes To Arabs

A new survey has revealed that a full 44% of Israeli Jews support a letter issued by leading Israeli rabbis published earlier this month forbidding the sale or rental of properties to non-Jews. The survey reported that 48% of Israeli Jews oppose the rabbis' religious edict.

27 Rabbis Wives Say Don't Work With Arabs, Don't Serve With Arabs In National Service, And Do Not Date Them

Among the signatories is the daughter-in-law of Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Many Israelis Question Haredi Welfare, Yeshiva Stipends

Chaim Amsellem was certainly not the first Israeli Parliament member to suggest that most ultra-Orthodox men should work rather than receive welfare subsidies for full-time Torah study. But when he did so last month, the nation took notice: He is a rabbi, ultra-Orthodox himself, whose outspokenness ignited a fresh, and fierce, debate about the rapid growth of the ultra-religious in Israel.

Hamas Torturing, Raping, Extorting, Stealing Organs From Eritrean Refugees In Egypt Who Are Desperately Trying To Reach Israel, Italian NGO Says

Eritreans traveling to Israel to seek asylum are being held captive by terrorist group in northern Sinai. "Extortion, organ trafficking fund Hamas and al-Qaeda."

Orthodox MK: Arrest All Bedouin, Put Them In "Pounds," And Shoot Those Who Bring Refugees To Israel

"We must arrest all Bedouins, put them in pounds and shoot a bullet to the head of those who head the convoys. Three or four Bedouins will be shot down, and the convoys will stop. Put all the Bedouins in a pound and the smuggling will stop as well."

Who Really Publishes Matzav.com?

The name of the haredi spin machine's apparent boss may suprise you.

What Is Matzav.com Doing?

Gloating in what it hopes will be its rival's downfall, the editors of the bizarre haredi spin machine triumphantly announced the name of an advertiser who had deserted its rival due to the haredi rabbis' ban. But then it pulled the story without correction or comment. Why?

Baruch Dayan HaEmet: Baruch Tegegne, Rescuer Of Ethiopian Jews

UPDATED The Ethiopian Jew who may have done more than anyone else to save his people has just passed away.

The Online 'Voice Of The Gedolim' Pouts About Reaction To The Vos Iz Neias Ban

"[VIN's supporters] ignore the incessant reporting by VIN of every frum Jew accused of doing something wrong. The Jewish world never had such reporting. Yes, people found out information from the non-Jewish world, but that is the way it should be. Mainstream Jewish reporting was designed to be free of gossip, rumors and allegations" – Matzav.com.

US Attorney Talks About Rubashkin

“The goal of this case was to prevent future crimes like this, as well as to punish Rubashkin,” Rose said. “This case was important for those that are taking advantage of and employing illegal immigrants but all of that got lost with this other stuff. We are hoping the appeal process will correct some of that.”

Jew Or Not, A Crook's A Crook

'How can a religious person justify being a slumlord?" asked the cover of the Dec. 8 issue of The Village Voice. This piece, which featured interviews with me and other Jewish leaders, considered the presence of religious Jews among the worst slumlords in New York.

Jerusalem Gay Pride Parade Bomber Sentenced To 6 Months Community Sevice

The Jerusalem District Court sentenced 35-year-old Michael Naky, who was accused of trying to stop the 2007 gay pride parade in the city by setting off a makeshift explosive device, to six months community service.

NY State To Terminate Kosher Food Inspectors Next Year

The new year won't be happy for New York State's kosher food inspectors, as Gov. David Paterson decided this month to terminate them as of Jan. 1, 2011, as part of an effort to trim a budget deficit that will probably exceed $10 billion next fiscal year.

Doctors "Kill The Living," Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Says

In his weekly sermon Saturday night, Shas' spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef addressed the abortion issue, saying that "there are reckless doctors....Who see that a child will be blind or without arms or legs...They do not understand that today there is equipment that brings the dead back to life, but they kill the living."

Slum-Touring Millionaires Put Off The Ritz In Israel

'Hands On Tzedakah' takes would-be Western donors off the beaten track to see the underbelly of Israeli society.

Senior Aide To Finance Minister Under Attack For Questioning Motivation, Pedigree Of Russian Immigrants

Several Knesset members called yesterday for the dismissal of a high-ranking adviser to Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz for saying that hundreds of thousands of Russian-speaking immigrants who received citizenship because of their Jewish heritage are not actually Jewish and "came here for financial reasons."

Jim Crow In Israel?

In 1951, a black man was charged and convicted of assault with intent to rape, although he was 75 feet away from his alleged victim at the time of the "assault." This was only one of many instances in the Jim Crow era of the American South where accusations of "reckless eyeballing" of a white woman led to criminal charges or even the lynching of black men. Is the same now happening in israel?

Report: 10 Percent of Tel Aviv Residents Non-Jewish Foreigners

Municipality report depicts fast-growing foreign population living mainly in southern neighborhoods, says migrant workers mainly 'normative', with 'strong work ethic' but asylum-seekers have 'many problems' including domestic violence.

A Phone Call From Rubashkin's Daughter

Sholom Rubashkin's daughter robo-called Far Rockaway and the Five Towns last week before the big Free Rubashkin fundraising event held there. Here is a recording of that robo-call.

Thousands Of Israelis Protest Goverment Decision To Build "Detention Camps" For African Refugees

"This isn't a refugee camp because a refugee camp is intended for humanitarian purposes. Israel isn't even constructing a holding facility. What it's constructing is a ghetto – a concentration camp. The only kind of people to be imprisoned there are people of African origin."

Artscroll To Go Digital – Sort Of

A major publisher of Jewish books is digitizing many of its 1,500 titles, but Shabbat and High Holidays prayer books will remain print only.

Haredi Housing Minister Calls For Mortgage Subsidies That Would Primarily Benefit…Haredim

Opponents argued that the haredi parties were advancing the initiative while they knew that the Housing Ministry was planning more than 60,000 homes for haredim in the periphery. Tens of thousands of homes would be built in the near future. As a result, the ultra-Orthodox would be the main beneficiaries of the subsidy.

Demons On The Streets Of Israel

This is not a predominantly racist country, but we are guilty of failing to recognize victimhood in others.

African Refugees Trying To Reach Israel Are Trapped And Tortured In Egypt

Physicians for Human Rights carried out interviews with over 150 refugees who did manage to enter Israel and whose accounts paint a picture of severe violence endured over the course of their journey.

African Refugees To Israelis: Please Do Not Hate Us

"We assure the Israeli public that we are not a threat to Israel or to its Jewish character. We have been labeled with so many names so far, such as economic migrants, infiltrators and so on, expressing in a contradictory way our true reasons for being here."

Israeli Poverty Deepens As Rich Get Richer

Poverty report reveals that more than half of Israel's poor are children, who resort to stealing and picking up food off of ground. "In any other country, it would have caused rebellion."