FailedMessiah.com

One Car Accident Points To Lack Of Seat Belt Use And Car Seats

Police are investigating an early morning accident on I-87 between exits 22 and 23 that sent a woman and her 7-year-old son to the hospital. Officials say the SUV was carrying a family of six from Kiryas Joel when it rolled over several times.

Quid Pro Kabbalist?

A real estate developer who also is a senior associate of "kabbalist" Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto tells investors they will get a fixed rate of return on their money invested in his company and they will also get a percentage of ownership. But unlike the rate of return, which is fixed, the percentage of ownership is determined, in ways not specified, by "kabbalist" Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto. Worse yet, the developer apparently has check signing power for the rabbi's charity and investors were brought to him through Rabbi Pinto, and the implication is that as long as these wealthy investors do the rabbi's bidding and donate large amounts of money to him, they'll be rewarded by the read estate investor's company – but only at Pinto's discretion.

Chief Rabbi Of Argentina v "Kabbalist" Son-In-Law

The court settlement of the case of the real estate developer v. Rabbi Ben Hamo v. Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto and his wife Rabbanit Devorah Rivka Pinto in which Ben Hamo allegedly says he feared for his life from Pinto.

Har Nof Pedophile Alert

A pedophile has allegedly been preying on children in Har Nof Jerusalem.

Haredi Schools Threaten Israel's High Tech Future

Most haredi boys receive little or no education in secular subjects, which makes them nearly unemployable as adults. "There are two States of Israel in one," said economist Dan Ben-David, head of the Taub Center for Social Policy Research. "One is a state of high-tech, universities and medicine at the forefront of human knowledge. And then there are all the rest, who make up a huge and increasing part of Israel and who do not receive the skills or conditions to work in a modern economy."

Haredim Riot, Allegedly Burn Priceless Antiquities

"Every time that we confront the haredim in one site, they go damage another site…if we don't do exactly as they please, they harm archeological digs." Among the artifacts that were burned in the arson was pottery that was used between the Israelite and Persian periods, 1,000 to 500 BCE. "The damage erased several lines from our history books.Beyond the financial damage, which is estimated at tens of thousands of shekels, the incident has caused irreversible damage… that will prevent us from completing the puzzle of the settlement sequence in the region."

Video: Levi Aron's Attorney Explains Inbreeding Remark

Levi Aron's newest attorney explains what he meant when he told the press that the confessed killer of 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky mas mentally ill in part because of inbreeding common in the hasidic community.

Where Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto Spent His Charity's Money

The receipts for an extended luxury hotel stay, vacation homes in the Hamptons, expensive diamond jewelry, and expensive clothing purchased by Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto for his family's personal use and paid for by Mosdot Shuva Israel, Pinto's charity meant to aid the poor.

New Jerusalem Pashkvils

Men to the front of the bus; women to the rear and other important messages from haredi Torah sages in Israel.

Big Haredi News: 2 Men Give Up Bus Seat For Elderly Woman

A haredi news site posts a video of an elderly woman who was given a man's seat on a illegally gender segregated Israeli bus and writes, "Let’s see Haaretz, Ynet, or some other anti-charedi news outlet report this story,” as if the law being followed by one haredi somehow cancels out the dozens of reported times when the law was broken.

A Warning To Parents And Children In Toronto

"It has come to our attention that there is a man who was raised in the Toronto Torah community and who may look like a current member of our community who has recently tried to lure teenagers from our neighborhoods and our schools into inappropriate relationships and situations."

Women, Move To The Other Side Of The Street

A sign posted on public property near a synagogue in Beit Shemesh tells women to cross the street to the opposite sidewalk due to the "sensitive" nature of the area, and the city refuses to remove it.

Happy Hanukkah From The Haredi City Of Beitar Illit

Residents of Betar Illit received a bulletin in their mailboxes with a  picture of a bus, the city's logo, and a picture of a lit Hanukkah menorah. Its text reads: "Men are sitting in the front, women sit in the back."

Rabbi Charged In Murder For Hire Found Mentally Incapacitated

Two of three psychologists who examined Victor Koltun, 42, found that he is incapacitated. The deciding opinion, received Wednesday in Orange County Court, determined that while Koltun has a factual understanding of the legal proceedings, uncontrolled manic symptoms have left him without the rational capacity to aid in his own defense.

Confessed Child Killer Levi Aron's Attorney Blames Kletzky Murder On Haredi Inbreeding

"Look, everybody knows when blood relations and have offspring, there can be genetic defects," Howard Greenberg said. "It's something that needs to be investigated down to the ground."

Deport Jewish Mosque Arsonists

"I am saddened by these actions," the settler rabbi said about attacks on mosques and on Arab civilians and property carried out by radical Jewish settlers, many of them allegedly yeshiva students from Yitzhar. These radicals "must be deported."

More Pinto "Extortion Scam" Posts

Did vicious PR flack Ronn Torossian help extort haredi kabbalist-to-the-stars Rabbi Y.Y. Pinto? Did his company sockpuppet on Wikipedia to smear Pinto? Did a former aide to Pinto lead the scheme against him and steal millions of dollars from Pinto's charities? Or is Pinto, whose finances have already been shown to be in disarray, and whose charity spent tens of thousands of dollars for posh vacation home rentals for Pinto, and tens of thousands of dollars in diamond jewelry for him, lying to cover his own embezzlement?

Haredim Want "Kosher" Bus Company

Israel's ultra-Orthodox community is trying to find a way to mandate gender separation on public transportation after the High Court of Justice repeatedly ruled that it is illegal, and after a series of incidents in which haredi men tried to force women to move to the rear of a public bus. Now five millionaires who arrived in Israel in the past few days are planning to operate a private transportation company in Jerusalem, Ashdod and Beit Shemesh starting next month after  aprominent haredi rabbi asked them to.

Brookyn DA's Coverup Begins To Unravel

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes continues to refuse to reveal the names of 85 Orthodox Jewish child molesters his office claims have been arrested and charged through the Kol Tzedek program, a confidential hotline it established in March 2009. Even though Hynes’ office has explained this refusal by citing the confidentiality rights of the victims, four press releases it issued as recently as 2010 naming convicted child molesters from the Brooklyn Orthodox community were issued by Hynes' office. Why?

Happy Hanukkah

Hanukkah – the 8 day commemoration of the Jewish civil war/war against the Hellenized Syrians who occupied Judea almost 2200 years ago – begins tonight at sundown. But why 8 days? Was there really a miracle of oil? And why are no rabbis involved in the Hanukkah story?

Kabbalist Under Fire For Missing Millions Blames Aide, Notorious PR Flack

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto's spokesmen are blaming Pinto's estranged fundraising assistant and 5WPR head Ronn Torossian for the disappearance of milllions of dollars of Pinto's charity's money, and Torossian's company is reportedly responsible for sockpuppeting false information about Pinto on Wikipedia. In 2008, 5WPR sockpuppeting for Agriprocessors and Sholom Rubashkin was exposed by FailedMessiah.com in a story that made headlines.

Haredi MK's Daughter Protests Haredi Discrimination Against Women

Haredi exclusion of women "is one of the reasons I left religion," Heidi Moses says.

Government Gives Haredim A Deal

Without any public discussion or notice, gender segregated public inter-city buses in Israel demanded by haredim have been charging lower fares than the public inter-city buses that are not gender segregated. This gives haredim cheaper public transportation than non-haredim, which means non-haredim are unwittingly subsidizing that discount and th government is subsidizing and encouraging gender segregation.

Haredim Attack New Burial Method As Not Jewish

Israel is running out of burial space and the government has responded by allowing multi-tier burials – a method used by Jews in ancient Israel and at other times and places throughout history. But haredim – led by a Chabad messianist rabbi – strongly oppose the move and call the burial method "non-Jewish." The burial mitzvah is the Torah's most important command, the Chabad messianist said, and therefore he was mandated to defend it.

How Sick Is Israel? Very Sick

Why? The advertising agency that handles all of the advertising for Egged buses in Jerusalem has refused to take ads from the Yerushalmim movement which is fighting to protect women's rights in the face of haredi violence and extremism. Why turn down the ads? because the agency wants a large security deposit from Yerushalmim to cover the cost of haredi vandalism to the buses and the ads the agency is sure will come. In other words, the agency wants the victim to pay the cost of the attacks against her. In 2008, Yerushalmim had to go to court to force the agency to take its ads showing the face of it's city council candidate – who is a woman.

Sefardi Kabbalist Rabbi To The Stars Buys Thousands Of Dollars Of Diamond Jewelry, Takes Posh Vacations, On Charity's Money

Among the posh crowd who summer in the Hamptons, on Long Island, is one of Israel's most prominent rabbis, Yoshiyahu Pinto. Pinto heads up Shuva Israel, an international network of charities, yeshivas and other religious institutions. In August 2008 and in April 2009 he stayed at rented accommodations at 29 Lily Pond Lane, for which his nonprofit organization paid $70,000 and $40,000, respectively. The second stay was just one week.

Neturei Karta Asks Israeli Cops For Help

Neturei Karta leaders in Jerusalem asked Israeli police for help this week, one of the few times – or perhaps the first time – the vehemently anti-Zionist haredi group that does not recognize the state of Israel has ever done so.

Video: What's In A Name – Especially When Hundreds Of Your Friends, Family And Neighbors Have That Name, Too?

When the late rebbe of Chabad's wife Chaya Moussia Schneerson passed away in 1988, the rebbe asked his followers to name female children after her. Now There are thousands of Chabad girls named Chaya Moussia and its variants and nicknames, and many of them are first cousins, neighbors and classmates, making things a bit more complicated than was perhaps foreseen.

Move To The Back Of The Bus

Four years have passed since ultra-Orthodox men forced novelist Naomi Ragen to move to the back seat of a bus. A High Court petition and a revolutionary ruling were apparently not enough to change the treatment of women. High Court rulings are ignored by Israeli bus companies, and bus drivers and police favor males.

Despite Laws, There Are Few Penalties For Failing To Report Child Sex Abuse

Across the US, laws meant to punish doctors, teachers and other adults for keeping silent when they suspect a child has been abused have gone largely unenforced over the past decade.

Haredim Protest, Riot In Jerusalem

Thousands of haredim took part in a demonstration in Jerusalem's Shabbat Square Sunday night to protest a decision to establish a state authority which will be responsible for the tomb of Simeon bar Yochai in Mount Meron. Some of the haredi protesters also rioted, attacking public buses and police.

A Note To Haredi Leaders (And Their Proxies) About Child Sex Abuse

Will you ever stop preening? Will you ever allow yourselves to understand and to care?

Recent Case Highlights Need To Expand Statute Of Limitations

The impact of childhood sexual abuse has no statute of limitations. Why is the statute of limitations for prosecuting abusers in New York State so very, very short?

Interior Ministry Still Allowing Haredim To Decide Who Is A Jew

Israel's Interior Ministry is continuing to condition the granting of citizenship to those who underwent Orthodox conversions abroad on the approval of those conversions by Israel's haredi chief rabbis – despite agreements to the contrary.

Israeli Health Insurer Publishes Booklet On Breast Cancer That Does Not Mention The Word Breast

The cancer may be in "the organ under discussion" which is never named, and the booklet has no pictures showing women how to check their breasts for lumps. And that's because many of the insured are haredim.

"Kosher" Electricity Bill Pulled

National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau decided Sunday to pull the "kosher electricity bill", which would have forced the Israel Electric Corporation (IEC) to operate power stations "according to halachic demands" and allowed the Rabbinate to cut off power when it chose to.

Israel Isn't Haredi-land, Chief Rabbi Says

Both of Israel's chief rabbis condemned haredi attempts to gender segregate public buses. "We can't be the world's landlords. This isn't the haredi public's country. We have no authority to impose our opinion on others. This is a public place."

Netanyahu Raps Haredi Gender Segregation

A woman's refusal to sit at the back of a Jerusalem-bound bus as demanded by ultra-religious Jews moved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday to warn about the dangers of gender segregation in Israel.

Critics Furious At DA

Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes’ refusal to name Orthodox Jewish child molesters prosecuted by his office has fueled a firestorm of community outrage.

After Racist Attacks, A Lone Act Of Kindness

Amidst a series of audacious attacks carried out apparently by young Israeli settlers this week, one of the extremists’ targets stood out. It was a site right in the center of Jerusalem: The Nebi Akasha mosque, built more than 800 years ago.

Cops Tells Israeli Woman To Move To The Back Of The Bus

A woman passenger on a public bus from Ashdod to Jerusalem Friday was told by a haredi male passenger to move to the back of the bus. The man held the door of the bus open and would not allow it to move for approximately 30 minutes. Police came and asked the woman to move to the back of the bus, even though the law says she does not have to. She refused.

Woman Slated To Be Deported From Israel Because She Is Too Orthodox

Prague-born Martina Ragachova moved to Israel a decade ago, and in 2004 converted to Judaism in the Bnei Brak rabbinic court of Nissim Karelitz, one of the world’s best-respected and most stringent haredi rabbis. Karelitz was so moved by the genuineness of her commitment to Judaism that he knelt before her by way of congratulation. But Israel doesn't recognize conversions done by non-state-funded religious courts, haredi or Modern Orthodox, and it recently moved to deport Ragachova. Non-Jewish non-citizens who have lived in Israel on a long term basis are barred by law from converting. These residents are barred from conversion unless they obtain special permission from a government “exceptions committee” that meets rarely and gives no public account of its activities.

Ex-Hasid And Christopher Hitchens Meet

An ex-hasid meets his hero Christopher Hitchens the night before Hitchens is hospitalized. And now the ex-hasid remembers his hero.

Memorial Service For Ethiopian Jew Who Saved His People

Baruch Tegegne saved dozens of Ethiopian Jews with his own hands, and his escape routes and his lobbying saved thousands more. The first anniversary of his passing is coming up, and the Ethiopian Jewish community in Israel is holding a memorial gathering to remember a man who spent almost his entire life helping others.

Christopher Hitchens Dead At 62

British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62. Hitchens discovered as an adult that his mother was Jewish.

Half Of All Americans Are Poor Or Low Income

MIddle class erodes as more and more Americans fall into poverty.

Haredi Org To Donate Winter Coats In Newark, NJ

Kars4Kids, the haredi car donation program that is controlled by the leadership of and funds Oorah, announced yesterday that they will be hosting their 2nd annual coat giveaway in Newark, New Jersey next week. The event was planned in conjunction with Mayor Cory Booker’s office, and the mayor is expected to attend the event.

ADL Lashes Out At Chief Rabbis Over Haredi Christian Priest Spitting

The Anti-Defamation League has refused to accept the explanation by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate about its efforts to combat the phenomenon of Ultra-Orthodox Jews spitting at Christian clergymen in Jerusalem's Old City. While the Rabbinate asserts the ADL is "misguided' in publicly lashing out at the government institution for not doing enough to fight the phenomenon, the ADL is sticking to its assertions.

Orthodox Rabbi Hosts Female Musicians To Protest Religious Attacks On Women

Rabbi Menachem Froman of the West Bank settlement of Tekoa hosted two musicians - a man and a woman - at his class at the settlement's synagogue on Sunday, to protest the trend of excluding women from the public square. The guests played music together before a mixed audience. Froman, who heads an Israeli-Palestinian peace organization, said this was the opening shot in his campaign to introduce the religious public to Western, secular culture.

Is The DA Letting Politics Trump Law?

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes' claim that 89 haredi pedophiles had been dealt with or are in the process of being dealt with by his office since fall 2009, combined with his refusal to name any of those pedophiles, even those already convicted or pleaded out, or to show us their sentences has activists and legal experts crying foul. Is Hynes letting politics trump the law?