FailedMessiah.com

Jewish Press Gets Threats Over Gay Article

Last week, the Jewish Press ran an op-ed from a homosexual who was born and raised in a hasidic household. The article did not endorse or encourage homsexuality. Instead, it talked about the damage done to individuals by what can only be called homophobic Orthodox and haredi Jews, some of them rabbis. That article was written as a response to an attack in the Jewish Press by a hasidic rabbi who objected to an anti-suicide video made by the author. Now supposedly Orthodox, haredi or hasidic Jews are threatening the Jewish Press and its advertisers for daring to print the gay Jew's response. "People can do Tshuva (repent) for many acts against Halacha, but what forgiveness can there be after pushing someone so far they would commit suicide?"

Appoint A Non-Orthodox Jerusalem Rabbi

The Israel Religious Action Center (IRAC) petitioned the High Court of Justice on Sunday, demanding that it instruct the government to appoint a non-Orthodox rabbi in Jerusalem in a bid to end the alleged discrimination in religious services given to the capital's residents. The petition, submitted by Reform and Conservative rabbis and communities, claimed that there were hundreds of neighborhood rabbis in Israel – all of them Orthodox men whose salaries are paid from taxpayers' money.

Victim Of Haredi Attack Asks: Why Were My Attackers Released?

Natalie Mashiah, the woman who was assaulted by haredi extremists in Beit Shemesh last week, is demanding some answers. Meeting with Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch and Jerusalem District Police chief Nisso Shaham, Mashiah demanded to know why her assailants had been released from custody. "When I called the police two terrified officers came. I pointed to my assailants and the officers told me not to worry and that by midnight all 15 attackers would be arrested. If we had enough officers who weren't so terrified maybe things would look differently."

Video: Romney Nixed Kosher Food For Seniors, Gingrich Says

Newt Gingrich (right) says fellow Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blocked kosher food for Jewish seniors when he was governor of Massachusetts.

New Orthodox Rabbis Group Includes Women

A new Zionist Orthodox rabbinical group that will include women in its leadership as equals to men is scheduled to be launched on Wednesday. Beit Hillel already has 110 rabbis signed up, along with 30 women who are considered Torah scholars. It was founded by congregational rabbis in the central region of Israel who say they represent the silent majority of the Zionist Orthodox population that is frustrated and alarmed by creeping extremism and the deterioration of the status of women in Orthodoxy.

Haredi MK Says Media Used Nazi Tactics To Turn Public Against Haredim

Haredi MK Yisrael Eichler (United Torah Judaism), who was tossed out of Knesset last week for calling Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni "our enemy," accused the media today of turning the Israeli public against the haredim by publishing "anti-Semitic talkbacks and incitement." Speaking before the Knesset plenum, Eichler likened the media's conduct to that of the Weimar Republic, referring to the early years of Nazism in Germany.

The Satmar Rebbe And The Holocaust, Continued

The Satmar Rebbe takes pre-Holocaust action against Zionism.

Ethiopian Jews Have Post Traumatic Issues Similar To Holocaust Survivors, But Israel's Government Does Not Help

Ethiopian Jews who suffered to reach Israel have more in common with Holocaust survivors than veteran Israelis can imagine. Although many of the former immigrants suffer from psychological trauma reminiscent of concentration camp “veterans,” only one non-profit organization is systematically relieving their anguish with help from professionals of the same background. And the Government of Israel has done nothing.

Government To Support Return Of Women

At least two women will be on a 10-member committee to appoint rabbinical judges – if the Knesset passes a bill the coalition plans to support. The bill requires at least one of the committee's two Knesset representatives and one of the Israel Bar Association representatives to be female. Earlier this month, the High Court of Justice ruled that it was unacceptable for a committee that appoints judges for the rabbinical courts to be made up solely of men. The committee had at least one female member for 12 years, but that changed in November through a back room deal and the issue ended up in the High Court.

City To Shutter Illegally Built Yeshiva

New Hempstead will shut down the Ohr Torah yeshiva because the yeshiva's building was built illegally without any permits or approvals by Rabbi Mates Cantor about 10 tears ago. Cantor, and Australian, sold the property to Ohr Torah. Firefighters strenuously objected to the city's refusal to crack down on what they consider to be a major public safety hazard, and demanded the school be closed immediately and remain closed until a full and detailed inspection of the property is done. The city does not have copies of or access to the blueprints or plans for the building. The building does not have a certificate of occupancy.

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef And Sefardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar Ban Internet

Senior Sephardic religious leaders, including Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Shas spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef, have published a harsh letter against the Internet, stating that every person must save his relatives and others from the "spiritual dangers" of the Web.

Pay To Beg: Chabad's Main Synagogue Charges Beggars Admission Fee

Down-on-their luck panhandlers at the Chabad-Lubavitch world headquarters in Crown Heights have to follow the 11th Commandment: Fork over $5 for the right to beg inside.

Audio: Nathan Lewin On Problems With The Beit Din System

The "dean" of American Orthodox Jewish attorneys speaks about problems with beit dins, religious courts, and a suggestion he has to make them better.

Former Bush Solicitor General Now Rubashkin Lead Attorney

Paul D. Clement, the US Solicitor General who served under Georger W. Bush from June 2005 to June 2008, has replaced Nathan Lewin as Sholom Rubashkin's lead attorney. Rubashkin's request for a US Supreme Court review of his conviction, sentence and lost appeal is due to be filed by April 2.

Nathan Lewin To Talk About Beit Din Corruption Tonight

Rubashkin attorney Nathan Lewin will be on Zev Brenner's radio show at Midnight Eastern Time to talk about beit din corruption.

Students To Boycott Classes To Protest Haredi Draft Deferments

Hundreds of high-school students across the country are expected to boycott classes on Sunday in protest at the Tal Law, legislation that allows full-time haredi yeshiva students to defer their military service. In addition, 4,000 high-school students from around the country have signed a protest letter against the Tal Law. 

When It Comes To Haredim, It's Time To Forget The Future

The state's subsidizing of the ultra-Orthodox exacts a huge cost from us, an issue that has been widely discussed. It is a loss that grows with the ever-increasing haredi population, and pushes Israel closer to the abyss. What is less known, but no less important, is that the Haredi population also pays a heavy price for the reverse discrimination it receives from the authorities.

Former Chief Pinto Aide Helped Congressman Violate Campaign Finance Law, Times Says

Pinto's now former chief aide allegedly raised more than $500,000 for the Reepublican in return for the promise of a Green Card.

Report: Chabad Rabbi Aquitted On Drug Trafficking Charges

Two Chabad blogs are reporting that Rabbi Eli Hecht, a charity collector from Tzefat, Israel, was aquitted of drug trafficking charges by a Spanish court today. Hecht claimed that a another person gave him a suitcase and asked him to take it, but did not tell Hecht that the suitcase contained what turned out to be a large amount of illegal drugs.

Video: Tel Aviv – A Day In The Life Of A Sudanese Refugee

He sleeps in a park with other refugees. He has no job, no food and no shoes. He is hungry and afraid. The government demands huge fines from employers who hire these people. The High Court stayed that law but employers are still afraid the government will punish them if they hire African refugees. The government wants to keep African refugees in a detention center but hasn't managed to finish preparing it, even though it has been working on it for months and it won't be much more than a tent city once it is finished. On the day the world commemorates as Holocaust Remembrance Day, here's a video portrait of a day in the life of a Sudanese refugee asylum-seeker who thought Jews or all people would help him.

The Story Behind Knesset Row Over Censored Report On Ethiopian Jews Wife Murders

"The successes are fabulous," she says. "We have a lot of Ethiopian students at the university level, and they are coming out working in free professions, particularly law and now teaching." She also points to Ethiopians in the Knesset, singers, actors, cinematographers and producers, as well as "A Star is Born 9" winner Hagit Yaso and soccer player Baruch Dego. She says statistics can be confusing because it is unclear which groups people are talking about - new immigrants [i.e., Falash Mura] or veterans.

Hasidic Groups Issue Wedding Restrictions

Large Hasidic movements – such as Ger, Vizhnitz, Satmar, Sanz and Belz – recently issued special rules aimed at cutting wedding costs. The Sanz movement, for example, released a book of rules presenting the maximum prices the bride and groom's families should pay for each wedding clause in order to save tens of thousands of shekels. Here are a few examples…

Exclusive: Alleged Chabad Pedophile Now Faces 51 Counts Against Him

David Cyprys, a long time employee of Chabad's Yeshiva Centre in Melbourne, Australia, had 22 more counts added against him in a court appearance today (Friday in Australia). Cyprys asked the court for a media blackout of the trial. The judge is expected to make her decision regarding that next week. Cyprys was allegedly protected for years by Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, the late head of Chabad in Australia. Police have had contact with almost 20 men who say they were victims of Cyprys when they were  students in Chabad's yeshiva. Many of them are part of the court case against Cyprys.

Video: Woman Attacked By Haredim In Beit Shemesh

Three haredi men were arrested for their participation in a haredi mobs attack on a woman in Beit Shemesh this week. Here's video of the woman and her damaged car.

How A Rabbinic Ban On Bugs May Have Led To The Creation Of Christianity

“From a Torah perspective, eating a Big Mac or eating a salad with insects in it, the salad is worse,” Rabbi Eliezer Eidlitz, who runs the nonprofit Kosher Information Bureau said. The cost of kosher-grown lettuce is markedly higher than regular lettuce. In late January, Glatt Mart, an RCC-certified supermarket on Pico Boulevard in LA, was selling an ordinary head of romaine lettuce (1 pound, 6 ounces) for $1.19, while a much smaller head of "kosher" romaine (10.3 ounces) was priced at $3.59, seven times as much per ounce.

Israeli Jews Becoming More Religious, Poll Finds

Israeli Jews are becoming more religious, according to a study published Thursday by the Israel Democracy Institute (IDI) in conjunction with AVI CHAI Foundation. The survey, entitled "A Portrait of Israeli Jews: Beliefs, Observance, and Values of Israeli Jews," examined levels of religiosity of Israeli Jews in comparison with levels of the past twenty years.

Hasids Verses Hipsters

There's a clash of cultures Crown Heights, the Chabad-Lubavitch stronghold in Brooklyn.

Video: Haredi MK Expelled From Knesset Session

MK Yisrael Eichler of the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism party was tossed out of the Knesset session after he called the leader of the opposition, MK Tzipi Livni, "our enemy."

"העלפן מיר!" Israeli Rescue Dog Speaks Yiddish, Works With Haredim

The Israel Fire and Rescue Services' ultra-Orthodox unit in the Judea and Samaria District received unusual reinforcement recently – a dog who can take orders in Yiddish.

Immigration Fraud Rabbi Extradited From Canada

Earl Seth David, an Orthodox Jew who billed himself as Rabbi Avraham David and wrote articles and a book on supposed codes in the Torah and on Kabbalah, was extradited yesterday from Canada to New York City where he was arraigned on massive immigration fraud charges.

Israeli Builder Allegedly Refuses To Sell Apartment To Ethiopian IDF Commander

Avi Tesera, 35, a university student and a company commander in the Paratroopers Corps, told the lawmakers he tried to buy an apartment in a new housing project some five months ago. "The contractor said, 'You can't afford the price, leave it alone,' even before quoting any price or knowing what I had," Tesera said. "When I insisted, he said NIS 980,000. I spoke to neighbors who had already bought an apartment and are not from Ethiopia and they said they paid NIS 740,000 for the same apartment. I realized he simply didn't want to sell me an apartment."

Gay, Orthodox, And Fed Up With Frum Homophobia And The "Torah Declaration"

"It confuses me that this Torah Declaration contains flawed arguments that would pass muster in the beis medrash. Saying that Hashem would never make a gay person unable to change is simplistic, inconsistent and flat-out wrong. If someone gets into an accident we would never say that we know he can be “cured” simply because his affliction is not genetic and he wasn’t born this way. We would never tell a deaf person (born deaf or not) that his nisayon is to find a way to hear again, so that he can be mekayem the mitzvah of shofar? Yet the Torah Declaration uses all of these arguments to make gay people feel that their nisayon in life is to change their sexuality, simply because it may not be genetic and Hashem would never make it unchangeable. This is the worst kind of rationalized homophobia."

Leading Rabbi Says Not Publishing The Face Of A Woman Is An "Act Of Respect" For Her – Even When She Is Dead

Rabbi Shlomo Aviner, one of the most prominent Zionist Orthodox leaders, justified the decision to blur a picture of Ruti Fogel, who was brutally murdered in the settlement of Itamar along with her husband and three of their children. The censored family portrait was published in a weekly bulletin published by the Machon Meir yeshiva. "It's an act of respect," he said. "Although she has died, it doesn't mean she shouldn’t be respected."

Exclusive: Rabbi Yehuda Levin Demonstrates With Neturei Karta

Rabbi Yehuda Levin, the spokesman for the supposedly mainstream haredi Rabbinic Alliance of America/Iggud HaRabbonim demonstrates side by side with the head of the virulently anti-Zionist Neturei Karta, Rabbi Yisroel Dovid Weiss. NK supports Iran and its nuclear program and wants the State of israel to be dissolved.

MO Yeshiva Head Emotionally Abuses Students, Staff, Report Claims

“Rav Bina would single out specific kids in class and say things like, ‘You look at porn and you will for the rest of your life. You told me that; I know what you do. Get out, pack your bags." Such students were told by the rabbi they were being sent to cherem (a form of censure or excommunication) and had to transfer to a yeshiva in the south of the country, in the isolated community of Mitzpeh Ramon, often without their parents being notified. One former Netiv Aryeh teacher described the environment of the yeshiva as one of “constant emotional abuse” during the four years he was there. He said he was one of a number of teachers forced by Rav Bina to go to one of the school therapists, and that the sessions were not kept confidential.

Israeli Study Claims To Prove That Stunning Prior To Slaughter Is Inhumane

But the study appears to be highly suspect, and the authors – both Orthodox Jews – have undisclosed conflicts of interests that include deep connections to the OU and Sholom Rubashkin's attorneys.

"I Thought I Was Going To Die"

"I didn't even have time to pull down the hand brake, and they already surrounded me. They shattered all the windshields and threw stones at me. I begged them to stop, I promised to leave, but they wouldn't let me go. Meanwhile, some 50 people stood by and did nothing – men, women and children. No one said anything or did anything, I saw death right in front of me. I thought I was going to die. I saw dozens of haredim appearing from all corners with rocks and bottles and I didn't know what was in them."

Video: Paper's Publisher Cries, Emotionally Apologizes For Obama Hit Column

Andrew Adler of the Atlanta Jewish Times apologizes for his column that considered an assassination of President Obama as a legitimate Israel option and explains why he wrote what he wrote and what he now doing to make amends for it.

Arrest Made In NJ Synagogue Bombing

The suspect allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail and a rigged aerosol can through a window of Congregation Beth El in Rutherford on Jan. 11. That part of the Orthodox synagogue housed the residence of Rabbi Nosson Schuman and his family, who were sleeping at the time of the attack. The rabbi's bedding caught fire but he and his falily were able to escape unharmed.

Haredi Mother Pleads Guilty To Welfare Fraud, Gets No Prison Time Because She Has 16 Children

A 45-year-old Monsey woman was sentenced to a conditional discharge Monday on a guilty plea to grand larceny involving the theft of $72,572 in welfare payments.

Haredim Attack Woman In Beit Shemesh

Several haredi men surrounded her car, punctured the vehicle's tires, stole her car keys and hurled stones at the vehicle. One of the stones hit the woman's head.

Paper's Owner-Publisher Resigns Over Kill Obama Column

Andrew Adler, the owner-publisher-editor of the Atlanta Jewish Times has resigned and is seeking a buy for his newspaper. Adler resignation came soon after Atlanta's Jewish Federation suspended its relationship with the paper. The Federation reortedly told Adler that it would not resume its relationship with the paper until Adler stopped running the paper. Adlers responded by writing that he was seeking a buyer and had "relinquishing all day-to-day activities effective immediately."

Orthodox Soldier Refuses To Parachute Jump Because Instructor Is Female

Col. Amir Baram, commander of the Israel Defense Forces paratroopers brigade, has no doubts. "A soldier who says he doesn't feel like jumping because his parachuting instructor is a woman cannot be a combatant. The issue isn't open to discussion," an officer Baram's command said this week.

Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's Condition Deteriorates

The 101-year-old leader of Ashkenazi haredim has fluid in his lungs and according to one report, a cardiac ejection fraction of 20%.

"Take Back" Crown Heights

"Friends, we pay a premium to live in this neighborhood, and we strive to create an atmosphere of holiness and kedusha for our children and teens. These yuppies bring pritzus to our neighborhood. They come out at night to our restaurants and act inappropriately while waiting on line etc.We would hope that landlords, especially the Crown Heights landlords, would put a priority on our values, but sadly the need to make money is taking precedence for them. Some young agents and landlords will specifically rent to these goyim instead of a fellow Jewish family. Sadly, some homeowners have gone as far as bringing these yuppies as tenants in their home in prime locations."

Crown Heights Modesty Sign

A modest modesty sign from Crown Heights, Brooklyn telling women that a long skirt brings long life. The sign also declares that the late rebbe of Chabad, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, is the messiah.

Playing Fast And Loose With Haredi Pedophilia

Is Brooklyn's D.A. Charles Hynes illegally and unethically hiding the details of sweetheart plea deals with haredi pedophiles from the public? More evidence points to the answer to this question being yes.

A Case Of Suspected Child Sex Abuse And Its Coverup At A Chabad Heder

A school employee appears to be sexually abusing young boys. And the school's principal allegedly will not take action to stop him.

Exclusive: In Chabad's Central Synagogue, Charity Collectors Have To Pay To Play

Administrators known as gabbais are charging charity collectors and beggars $5 to beg inside Chabad's main synagogue at 770 Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. Those who do not pay are ejected, sometimes by police who are called in by the gabbais.

Exclusive: Is There A Backroom Deal In The New Square Arson/Attempted Murder Case?

Did Skvere hasidic leaders offer Aron Rottenberg, the New Square dissident grievously burned in an arson attack allegedly carried out by the Skvere Rebbe's butler, close to $2 million dollars to drop the criminal charges against that butler?