FailedMessiah.com

Ethiopian Jews Say Jerusalem Government Discriminates Against Them

The tent camp activists say the municipality's demand to evict them contradicts its treatment of other movements that have protested there. They note that on this stretch of sidewalk, at the corner of Gaza Road and Balfour Street, the Shalit-family protest movement set up its tent about two years ago. And several other protest camps have called the intersection home without city interference – until now.

Haredi Rabbis Conspire With Unethical Psychiatrists To Drug Non-Compliant Followers

The Gur hasid trembled as he spoke about a family gathering. One daughter in the extended family, a married woman with children, attended after a long period in which she had remained secluded in her home. "We were shocked," the hasid said. "At the beginning, we could barely identify her. This is a woman who has always been blessed with a lively, expressive personality, but now it looks like pills have finished her off. We met an apathetic woman who has a solemn, stony face; a woman who has had the life sucked out of her."

Mohel Cuts Off 1/3 Of Baby's Penis In Horrible Brit Milah Accident

A circumcision in Northern Israel was botched by a mohel who cut off 1/3 of the baby's penis by mistake.

Shame

10,000 destitute survivors have discovered that the $400 quarterly stipend they receive from the Company for Location and Restitution of Holocaust Victims' Assets has been cut down to $320. The destitute survivors were not informed of the cut. Instead, they found out when their bank balances were lower than expected. About 25% of Israeli Holocaust survivors live in poverty, and Israel and the world Jewish community have been criticized for allowing this suffering to go on.

Conservative Movement In Israel Approves Gay Rabbis

Israel's Masorti Movement has decided to approve the ordination of homosexual rabbis. The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, affiliated with the movement, will admit gay and lesbian students for training as spiritual leaders this fall.

Deport African Refugees, Haredi Interior Minister Says

The government aims to deport tens of thousands of foreigners who crossed into Israel illegally, Interior Minister Eli Yishai declared at a conference organized by right-wing groups earlier this week.

Sefardim Not As Smart As Ashkenazim, Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Says

A high profile Zionist Orthodox rabbi says Jews from North Africa and the Middle East are "purer" than European Jews but are no match for them intellectually.

New Square Women Asked To Increase Modesty In The Merit Of Arsonist Shaul Spitzer

Signs reading, "In the merit of Shaul  Yehezkiel son of Sarah Maryam [Spitzer], [Women] Please Do Not Walk On Taft Lane Wearing Long Dusters [a form of a housecoat, I think]" were posted in New Square. Earlier this week, Spitzer was sentenced to 7 years in prison for an arson attack that almost killed New Square dissident Aron Rottenberg and the Rottenberg family.

Why Metzitzah B'Peh Should Be Banned, Part 3

"…Even if it was explicit in the Talmud [and it is not] that the suction is meant to be oral, nevertheless since this is not an integral part of the circumcision, but only adjoined because of a health measure, so if one circumcised and did not suction the blood, he has already performed the commandment, and the baby is permitted to eat terumah, and the father may make a Passover sacrifice.…"

Attempted Child Kidnapping In Brooklyn

A 7 year old Jewish girl playing outside in Kensington, Brooklyn was confronted by a middle aged man who grabbed her by the hand and asked her to get into a double parked car, the father of the girl confirmed. Borough Park Shomrim received a frantic call from neighbors. 911 was then called but it took the NYPD more than 1 hr and 10 minutes to arrive according to neighbors on the block. "At this time the police reportedly have no leads and everyone is keeping quiet about the story. The million dollar question is WHY? Doesn't the community deserve to know whats going on so parents can protect their children from predators?" The attempted child abduction took place in the same Brooklyn neighborhood where 8-year-old hasidic boy Leiby Kletzky was murdered and dismembered last year.

A Question Of Circumcision And Public Health

Babies have died from Herpes transmitted to them from metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct oral-to-genital sucking of babies' bleeding circumcision wounds done by haredi mohels. Other babies have been sickened and brain damaged. And all who survive carry the Herpes infection for life and will transmit it to others. Health departments oppose the practice as do pediatric infectious disease specialists and other physicians (with the exception of a haredi doctor who is a medical outlier and who is at any rate dishonest). Even so, New York State, New Jersey, New York City and Rockland County have not banned MBP. My question to you is…

Agriprocessors Fugitive Appeals Extradition To High Court

Hosam Amara, an Israel-born Arab who served as a senior manager at Agriprocessors kosher slaughterhouse in Postville, Iowa, fled to Israel with the help of Agriprocessors VP Sholom Rubashkin in 2008. Amara has now appealed his extradition to Iowa to Israel's High Court.

Bais Yaakov Issues Abuse Reporting Protocol

Baltimore's Bais Yaakov schools issued a new protocol on sexual, emotional and physical abuse that mandates reporting and compliance with Maryland law.

Deadbeat Hasidic Slumlords Cited For More Violations

The husband of Hamodia's US publisher and his brother are cited for more property violations after a fire in one of their derelict buildings killed 2 firefighters earlier this week. They also owe hundreds of thousands of dollars in back property taxes.

Can't A Hasidic Whore Change Her Ways?

A BROOKLYN man spent nearly a year behind bars on charges he raped an Orthodox Jewish woman — even though she recanted her accusation a day after making it. The woman told detectives she was a hooker for five years and made up the rape allegation, records show. “I once again asked [her] if she was raped,” a detective wrote in a police report after the interview. “She told me ‘no’ and stated to me, ‘Can’t a ho change her ways?’”

Haredi Soldiers Cost Too Much To Draft

All of the special benefits given to the few haredi soldiers who enlist in the Israel Defense Forces or who are drafted, but which are not given to any other soldiers, cost so much money per soldier over and above what it costs to draft a Modern Orthodox or non-Orthodox soldier that the IDF can't afford to draft haredim.

Something Has To Give

"Another problem is poverty in Israel, which is very serious. The prevalence of poverty in the non-Arab and non-haredi (ultra-orthodox) population is stable, but poverty among Arabs and haredim is rising. Dealing with this is one of most important challenges facing Israeli society. We cannot continue on this road - something will have to give."

Hamodia Publisher Married To Slumlord

Hamodia bills itself as the haredi world's daily paper. Its publisher, Ruth Lichtenstein, is the wife of one of the Gur hasid owners of a neglected warehouse that burned Monday, killing two Philadelphia firefighters – the first firefighter deaths in the city in years.

Haiti's Great White (Jewish, Kosher) Hope

Manischewitz Wine Company (not a part of the Manischewitz company that makes matzoh and other kosher foods), now a part of Constellation Brands but still OU Kosher supervised,  expands its syrupy sweet wine sales beyond the occasional octogenarian synagogue kiddush club and skid row liquor stores to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere – Haiti.

Parents Of Victims Lash Out At Molester During Sentencing

Yeshiva student Hillel Selznick admitted to Queens Supreme Court Justice Richard Buchter that he inappropriately touched two fourth graders over the course of a year during private religious lessons inside their Kew Garden Hills homes.

Spitzer Gets 7 Years

New Square arsonist Shaul Spitzer, who almost murdered Aron Rottenberg and Rottenberg's family in May 2011, was sentenced this morning to 7 years in state prison and 5 years of post-sentence supervised release. He was immediately taken into custody.

Leading Hasidic Proponent Of Metzitzah B'Peh Has Herpes, Infected Children

In response to the AIDS crisis, Rabbi Yonoson Binyomin Goldberger, a Bobov hasid and mohel living in Borough Park, Brooklyn, wrote a book in the late 1980s defending metzitzah b'peh (MBP), the direct oral-to-genital sucking done by the mohel to the baby's bleeding circumcision wound. The book drew on a proclamation by leading haredi rabbis instructing Jews to continue to do MBP despite medical claims that it was unsafe to do so. Failed Messiah has learned that Goldberger later was forced to stop doing MBP after he infected two infants with the Herpes virus.

New Square Arsonist Sentencing Today

Shaul Spitzer tried to burn down Aron Rottenberg's house at 4:15 am last May while Rottenberg's famiy slept inside. Rottenberg confronted Spitzer, fought with him and was seriously burned over more than half his body when Spitzer's firebomb ignited him. He later settled a civil suit against Spitzer – the Skvere Rebbe's hus bucher, butler – and the Skvere Rebbe out of court for at least $2 million dollars (and other considerations) and agreed to a plea bargain for Spitzer. Now Rottenberg – whose settlement may have been linked to it – is asking the judge to go easy on Spitzer.

Parlimentary Investigation Into Child Sex Abuse In Religious Institutions Launched

Scandals in Chabad and in the Catholic Church have pushed the Victorian (Melbourne, Australia) Parliament to launch a one year inquiry into child sex abuse coverups in religious institutions in the provence.

More Trouble For Oorah And Kars-4-Kids?

At first blush, Jefferson Township's attempt to block tax free status for Oorah's kids camp seems unjust and doomed to failure. But that may only be at first blush. A deeper look may favor Jefferson Township's claim that Oorah is not a true charity.

Nurse Fired For Reporting Abuse Can Sue School, Court Says

A nurse working at the RAMAZ Modern Orthodox day school in Manhattan treated a boy with a "prominent injury" on his cheek he said was inflicted by his father. Joyce Villarin communicated with the father who admitted causing the injury and who showed no remorse. She wanted to report the physical abuse to secular authorities in compliance with the law, but the RAMAZ told her not to. She did it anyway and was fired for not being a "team player."

End Run Around Justice

The Likud-led coalition wants to pass a law that will allow the Knesset to pass laws already ruled unconstitutional by the High Court.

Chabad's Own Eucharist

Jews should eat the matzoh and drink the wine of Moshiach's Seudah (the closing meal of the Passover holiday allegedly initiated by the Ba'al Shem Tov but for the most part only kept by Chabad) with perfect faith that he will come, and the messiah will become part of their very flesh and blood, and their faith.

Baba Sali's Grandson Up On Tax Charges – Again

The government claims that Rabbi Yekutiel Abuhatzeira, a descendent of a distinguished rabbinic dynasty and a son of the Baba Sali, owes NIS 9.5 million in back taxes.

More Racism From West Bank Settler's Leading Rabbi

"The entry of immigrants from African states is a sophisticated move to get terrorists into Israel under the guise of family reunification and all sorts of these types of pronouncements. These are things which could hurt the security of the state of Israel."

Fleeing To Freedom: Escaping Haredi Arranged Marriages

When I was 19, my family arranged for me to marry a man who turned out to be violent. With no education and no job, and a family that refused to help me, I was stuck. By age 20, I was a trapped, abused, stay-at-home mother. Ten years later, still trapped and unhappy, I finally took what became one of my first steps away from Orthodox Judaism: I stopped wearing a head covering. The consequences were swift and severe. My family cut off contact with me; one of my five siblings kept in touch long enough to inform me the others were contemplating sitting shiva for me, or mourning as if I had died.

Passover Food Reviews

Matzoh and macaroons ranked and reviewed.

Updated: Haredi Rabbi Lies About The Holocaust – Again

"According to some experts, between 50%-70% of those murdered by the Nazis, were "traditionally religious Jews." There is no reason to assume the percentage of survivors who were religious was any less."

More Non-Jewish Couples Have Jewish-Style Weddings

More non-Jewish couples have embraced Jewish marriage rituals over the last decade. Some stomp a glass, or a light bulb as a popular substitute. Others recite vows under a canopy called a chuppah.

The Big Business Of Haredi Weddings

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) there are 135,000 households that identify as haredi, and with an average of six members in each haredi family, roughly one million people are self-identified haredim. This means that nearly every haredi family has a family member undergoing the matchmaking process at any given time.

Deadbeat Haredi Landlords' Negligence Kills 2 Firefighters

Michael, Yechiel and Nahman Lichtenstein, are New York brothers who habitually collect and neglect real-estate properties in Philadelphia, including the enormous Thomas W. Buck Hosiery building, destroyed in a blaze Monday that took the lives of two firefighters.

NY State Finally Clarifies Law On Rabbis Reporting Child Sex Abuse

Haredi rabbis who teach in yeshivas can no longer falsely claim they are exempt from reporting child sex abuse to police or ACS. The state has clarified the law, and all teachers – even rabbis – guidance counselors, social workers, school nurses, administrators or any other staff member who is required to hold a teaching or administrative license or certificate – even if they do not have that license or certificate – is mandated to report suspected abuse and must do so directly to police or ACS. It is illegal to call a rabbi first to get permission to report. And that means Rabbi David Zwiebel and his Agudah cronies should prosecuted for interfering in this process and for endangering the welfare of children. But Brooklyn's DA Charles Hynes doesn't have the balls to do it.

Woman Forced From Circus Stage By Haredi Complaint

A female audience member who was invited to participate in a circus performance held in a largely secular town was forced to leave the stage after a haredi woman in the audience complained.

The Haredi Media Mafia

How did all this happen without anyone in the system, which is full of young, inquisitive people, blowing the cover? And why didn't any of these people, who allegedly knew what was going on, say anything? Moreover, what leads esteemed journalists with the highest code of ethics to keep silent when the boss decides to turn the system where they operate into a Godfather-style protection dumpster?

Haredim, City Illegally Gender Segregate Zoo And Ban "Immodestly" Dressed Israelis From Entry

Israelis trying to visit the Beersheba Zoo today found the gates closed to all non-haredim unless they passed a modest clothing test, and all zoo activities were gender segregated – despite the fact that this violates the law.

Is The New American Haggadah Worth Buying?

Is Jonathan Safran Foer's years-in-the-making project featuring a translation by Nathan Englander and commentary by modern writers like Jeffrey Goldberg, Rebbeca Goldstein and Lemmony Snicket worth the money? And if it not, why not?

An Alleged Coverup Of Child Sex Abuse And Physical Abuse At Chabad's Flagship Crown Heights Yeshiva

Oholei Torah in Crown Heights, founded and run at the direction of the late Chabad-Lubavitch rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson, and known as the "Rebbe's school," does not teach its students legally mandated secular subjects. It also allegedly covered up child sex abuse and the physical abuse of students.

New York Times, NPR Blow Matzo Story

The Times and NPR think the barrier to entry in the matzoh baking business is set high through legal means, and they 'prove' this by omitting all facts that prove them wrong.

Haredi Website's Attorneys Say Arrests Are Police Retaliation

Lawyers representing the CEO of the website Behadrei Haredim accused the police of starting an investigation and filing charges of extortion and blackmail against the CEO and four other website employees in response to the website’s attacks, now illegal, against Jerusalem district police commander, Nisso Shaham, and his predecessor, Aryeh Amit, especially posting photoshopped pictures of Shaham wearing an SS uniform. Police – who claim to have extensive evidence of extortion committed by the websites executives against haredi public figures, rabbis and politicians – rejected the attorneys' claims.

New Witnesses Come Forward In Elon Sex Abuse Case

Prosecutors are seeking to introduce new new alleged victim-witnesses in the trial of Rabbi Moti Elon, who has been charged with two counts of sexual offenses against two underage students.

Experts Find High Court Ruling On DA's Mondrowitz Extradition Censorship Troubling

“The element that I find troublesome involves the ability of a law enforcement agency to engage in what is characterized as the generic denial of access  . . . The government has the burden of proof [under FOIL] and that’s what I dislike about the generic exception…[it] is inconsistent with the language of the law.”

Is Top Haredi Girls School Cursed?

Girls in a prestigious girls' seminary in Bnei Brak are worried about a "wedding drought" they believe is caused by a hex put on them by a fellow student they insulted. While dozens of girls from other classes are already successfully matched, none of the girls in this class has gotten engaged since the beginning of the year, prompting them to turn to haredi leader Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman to get the curse removed.

Kabbalah Centre Honcho Allegedly Scams Demented Woman Out Of Millions

John E. Larkin's intense involvement in the Kabbalah Centre began in the early 2000s, a period in which Madonna's devotion piqued the interest of many in Hollywood. Raised Roman Catholic, Larkin became close to founders Philip and Karen Berg. He converted to Judaism and took a top center official, Orly "Esther" Sibilia, as his fourth wife in a 2006 ceremony performed by the Bergs' son Yehuda. The couple bought a $2-million home on the Beverly Hills block where the Bergs and their sons live in side-by-side homes.

Anti-Aging Genes Discovered In Haredi Women

Researchers at Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Karem, found that at least four genes unique to women who conceive naturally after 45 generate an anti-aging effect on those women. The findings were the result of a genetic study of ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi women from Mea She'arim who have at least six children.

Israel Workforce Participation Seen To Be Dangerously Dropping

In 20 years, the proportion working age population will fall to 59%, partly due to the increase in segments of the population which have a lower level of participation than other segments – haredim and Arabs.