FailedMessiah.com

Putin Suggests Chabad Books Could Be Housed In Moscow Jewish Museum

Putin suggested that the collection of Jewish books and documents be given a permanent home in Russia. But according to Putin, instead of being housed as they now are by a state library and a military archive, the collection could be housed in the Russian capital’s new Jewish Museum.

Rabbi Chaim Halpern Arrested For Sexual Assault And Obstruction Of Justice, 3 Others Including Halpern's Brother Arrested For Obstruction, Intimidating Witnesses

A 54-year-old man is now in custody at a north London police station on suspicion of sexual assault and perverting the course of justice (obstruction of justice, witness tampering, etc.). While none of the arrested men have been identified by police, according to sources in London's haredi community it appears the 54-year-old is Rabbi Chaim Halpern, the prominent haredi rabbi accused of using his unlicensed marriage counseling practice to seduce and sometimes sexually abuse married women. Halpern also alleged did the same to  single women and teenage girls.

Agudah Rabbis Call On Israeli Government To Block Military Draft of Haredim

"We are deeply dismayed by the efforts in Eretz Yisroel to draft B’nei Yeshiva [yeshiva students] and remove them from the Beis Medrash [yeshiva study halls], the wellspring of Torah to which they dedicate their days and nights…the perseverance and security of Hashem’s [God’s] people are rooted in its dedication to Torah study ..."

Chabad Rabbis Covered Up Child Sex Abuse, Alleged Pedophile Claims

A man under police investigation for allegedly sexually abusing boys at a Sydney, Australia Jewish school has said senior rabbis knew of his actions but failed to report them to authorities.

Haredi Schools Appear To Rip Off Federal E-Rate Program With The Help Of Haredi-Owned Telecom Companies

Part 2 of The Jewish Week's exposé on the federal E-rate program shows that haredi telecom businesses appear to be complicit in what seems to be an organized and widespread theft of government money by haredi schools – most of which are Satmar and almost all of which are hasidic.

Israel Interior Ministry Accused Of Racism As it Bars Hundreds Of Mixed-Race Peruvian Converts From Making Aliyah

Hundreds of mixed-race converts to Judaism from the Peruvian rainforest have been denied permission to make aliyah (immigrate to Israel) under the Law of Return even though they reportedly meet all legal requirements to do so.

20% Of Israelis Marry Overseas, Most To Escape Israel’s Haredi-Controled State Rabbis

A new survey released yesterday by Israel’s Central Bureau for Statistics shows that almost 20% of Israelis get married outside of Israel – many because they do not want to deal with israel’s haredi-controled state rabbis.

Haredi Educator Arrested For String Of Child Molestations

A 26-year-old haredi educator from the haredi city Beitar Illit was arrested today for a string of child molestations that stretch back years.

Haredi City Employed Modesty Police, Allegedly Sanctioned Harassment Of 'Deviants'

Just like Iran. The haredi city Modi'in Illit once paid its own modesty police to harass and spy on so-called dropout youth and now stands accused of knowing that another haredi modesty squad was harassing, beating and even kidnapping dropout youth but doing nothing to stop the reign of terror.

Chief Rabbi Of Sefat Again Issues Ruling Undermining Israeli Law

The Chief Rabbi of Sefat Shmuel Eliyahu is no stranger to controversy. In the past, Eliyahu – whose late father was once Israel’s Sefardi chief rabbi and who was arrested and jailed in his youth for plotting terror attacks and revolution against the State of Israel – has a long history of making racist remarks and issuing inflammatory halakhic rulings, including one that he issued and that was just reported today.

Melbourne Hatzolah Endorses New Child Sex Abuse Survivors Group, Notes Connection Between CSA And Suicides

"This is a major new development in the ongoing child sexual abuse scandal facing our community. The revelation by Hatzolah, the Jewish community’s emergency response service, that in their experience there is a direct link between child sexual abuse (CSA) and self-harm and attempted suicides within our community is an extraordinary development. These are the people who are at the front line in providing emergency services within the Jewish community and this revelation is based on their personal experience. To my knowledge this is the first direct and unequivocal link that we've seen between CSA and suicides within our community. Of course this is unsurprising as it has been widely reported in other communities for many years. This first public report about the link between CSA and suicides within the Jewish community demonstrates yet again just how far behind we really are."

Bobov 45 Cries Foul

One of the two warring Bobov hasidic groups is upset over a beit din decision last week that was decided in the favor of its opponent, known until then as Bobov 48, and now known by beit din order simply as Bobov. The 45s think they got screwed, and they think the remaining part of the beit din hearings, scheduled to be held this week, might very well go against them, as well. So what are the 45s doing now that they lost the name Bobov to the (formerly) 48s? Crying, crying foul – and pulling their judge out of the Beit Din.

Police Close Modi'in Illit Child Rape Investigation

Police closed an investigation into the alleged rape of a 5-year-old-girl in the haredi city of Modi’in Illit after reaching the conclusion Sunday that the original complainant, the supervisor of kindergartens in the haredi city, made up the story of the rape.

Haredi Child Sex Abuse Victim Lashes Out At Channel 4

A haredi victim of child sexual abuse has lashed out at the UK's Channel 4, claiming its documentary on haredi child sexual abuse was unfair to moderate haredim. But was it?

Haredi Modesty Squad Leaders Busted For Kidnapping, Assault, Other Crimes

During the undercover investigation leading uo to the arrests, police discovered that the two modesty squad leaders were known to haredim in the city but haredim preferred to ignore what the modesty squad was doing rather than speak out against it or call police.

Video: Rio's Orthodox And Haredi Jews Flee City

Rio de Janeiro's Orthodox and haredi Jews reportedly "flee" Rio to avoid the "danger" and "immodesty" of – Carnival, the Brazilian version of Mardi Gras.

Haredim Threaten To Support Settlement Freeze, Peace Negotiations With Palestinians – Unless Non-Haredi Right Wing Parties Find A Way To Exclude Haredim From The Draft

The Ashkenazi haredi UTJ political party is reportedly considering supporting a settlement freeze, the evacuation of unauthorized settlement outposts, and reopening peace negotiations with the Palestinians. This would allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new coalition government with left leaning and centrist parties, including Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua Party and even a party as far to the left as Meretz while keeping the Zionist Orthodox HaBayit HaYehudi party out of the new government.

Attorney Suing Hebrew National Says He Will Appeal Lawsuit's Dismissal

The class action lawsuit against Hebrew National thrown out of court January 31 because it required a judge to rule of issues of Jewish law will be appealed, the suit's lead attorney claims.

Newly Elected MK’s Speech Citing The Talmud Angers Haredim

“MK Calderon stood on the speakers’ platform…and then the realization suddenly hit us; we are seeing in a live broadcast the new Haskalah, the new forces that have arisen and want to annihilate haredi society in its current form. Haredi society finds itself facing a much more complex threat [than the Haskalah of the 18th and 19th centuries], against the demand from us to integrate into the secular Jewish society.”

Egged Fails Again: Woman Threatened And Harassed By Haredim, Bus Company Does Nothing To Protect Her

"In Safed someone asked me to move to the back of the bus, but I refused. In Hazor many haredim got on and then the yelling started. Everyone who got on the bus told me to move to the back, they said I was impure and yelled that everyone should say the Traveler's Prayer very loudly because there's an impurity in the bus.…Everyone who got on told me to sit in the back; I refused. They yelled that they must pray really hard because there's an impurity in the bus.…As a religious person, I know that bus seating arrangements are not written in the Torah; they invented themselves a halacha."

Survivors Outraged Over Holocaust Remarks Made By Chabad's Rabbi Manis Friedman

“Who in fact died and who remained alive had nothing to do with the Nazis,” Rabbi Manis Friedman stated in a speech delivered in Melbourne in the 1980s. “Not a single Jewish child died because of the Nazis … they died in their relationship with God.…Bad things did not happen to our grandparents … No evil befell them."

Chabad Pedophile In Court

David Kramer, a former teacher at Chabad’s Yeshivah College in Melbourne, Australia, was in Melbourne Magistrates’ Court Friday.

Likud Plan Is To Draft Only Haredim Who Don't Really Study In Yeshiva

MK Yael German ‏(Yesh Atid‏) rejected Kandel’s proposal Saturday, saying that it did not include a solution to the issue of equalizing the burden. “The inequality still exists,” she said, going on to say that the only change since the establishment of the state is that the number of Haredim who do not share the burden equally has grown from 400 to more than 60,000.

Haredim Order Woman To Move To Back Of Bus, Scream At And Insult Her When She Refuses; Bus Driver Does Not Intercede

Two haredi men ordered a 22-year-old woman to move to the back of a public bus yesterday. When she refused, the men allegedly shouted that she was “impure” and began loudly reciting prayers and screaming insults at her.

Federal Judge Allows Rare Accusation Against Brooklyn DA To Stand, Putting Hynes In A Federal Hotseat He Might Not Escape

A federal judge has put Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes in the unusual position of having to defend himself before a jury — against claims he is “deliberately indifferent” to misconduct by prosecutors in his office. The case that the judge ruled on is a wrongful conviction of a black man in the killing of a haredi rabbi.

Brooklyn Rabbi Busted For Attempted Rape Of A Minor Allegedly Ran Dangerous Jewish Heritage Tours Of Europe

"The tour director, Rabbi Dr. Nosson Dovid Rabinowich, showed a complete disregard for the well-being and welfare of those on the tour. Food and water were insufficient and he made no effort to ensure that our group of 32 travelers was present and accounted for. Indeed, he had no qualms about abandoning members of the group."

State Tells Scandal-Ridden Haredi-Controlled School District To Stop Sending Kids To Yeshivas For Special Ed – Or Else

In a February 6 letter, New York State’s Department of Education’s the Assistant Commissioner James DeLorenzo reportedly stands by the state’s findings that the haredi-controled East Ramapo school district repeatedly violated the law by placing hasidic students with disabilities in private yeshiva schools at district expense.

Haredi Schools Allegedly Looted Millions Of Dollars From Government Technology Program

Haredi schools have allegedly received millions of dollars to fund purchases of computers and installation of T-1 lines and Internet hookups. But these schools are mostly devoid of the technology they received the money to pay for. Some schools have received hundreds of thousands of dollars over more than a decade, but have little to nothing in place to show for it.

Alleged Mossad Spy Jailed For Treason Had Chabad Connection

Ben Zygier, the alleged Mossad spy who was imprisoned in Israel under intense secrecy – allegedly because he acted as a double agent for another country – had a Chabad connection. The 34-year-old native Australian known to the world as "Prisoner X" is said to have committed suicide in his supposedly suicide-proof cell in a suicide-proof Israeli prison in December 2010.

City Sues Satmar Hasid-Owned Stores Over "Modesty" Signs

“These stores are public accommodations, and they are prohibited from posting any kind of advertisement specifying a preference for one type of customer or another, or expressing discrimination against one type or another.…It seems pretty clear that it’s geared toward women dressing modestly if they choose to come into the store, and that would be discrimination.”

Rabbi Busted For Attempted Rape Of A Minor Plagiarized Talmudic Book, Tricked Leading Rabbis Into Endorsing It

Rabbi Dr. Nathan David (Nosson Dovid) Rabinowich stole the work of a 19th Century Jewish scholar. Here's what he did and how he got out of it.

Brooklyn Rabbi Busted For Online Sexual Solicitation And Attempted Rape Of A Child

Rabbi Nathan David (Nosson Dovid) Rabinowich – who runs a synagogue, the Ahavath Torah Institute, and tour company called Jewish Heritage Tours from his Midwood home – sent explicit electronic messages and also allegedly arranged to meet the “14-year-old girl” for sex in Queens.

Sefardi Haredi Rabbi Threatened To Harm Yair Lapid

“If [Lapid] continues what he is doing, God forbid, he has to know his career in the Jewish world is simply over. He will no longer be a part of the Jewish people. There will be no difference between him and an animal. If someone touches someone’s eye, they respond immediately and protect themselves.”

Chabad-Dominated Australian Rabbinical Council Says If Abuse Happened, Call Police Immediately

Being conscious of the fact that there are members of our community who claim to have been subjected to inappropriate sexual behaviour by trusted officials within the community, the RCV wishes to reaffirm its strong position in relation to the matter of sexual abuse.…RCV President, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant said “It is essential that when abuse has occurred the police must be informed without delay.”

Transcript Of Sholom Rubashkin's Son-In-Law's Plea Deal

"And were you present in the vicinity -- this is a separate matter, separate incident. Were you also present in the vicinity of 340 Whitehall Road, in the City and County of Albany, New York, on and between the dates of November 1 and December 31, 2007, and, while naked, knowingly have inappropriate physical contact with a child under the age of 17, whose date of birth you now know to be MM DD, 1994, who was also naked at that time, knowing that your inappropriate physical contact with that child was likely to be injurious to the physical, mental, or moral welfare of that child? THE DEFENDANT: Yes. THE COURT: And, that is an accurate statement, correct? THE DEFENDANT: Yes, it is."

The Rabbi Who Hated Lies

When he was a yeshiva boy growing up in a poor Hasidic family in the Orthodox enclave of Brownsville, Brooklyn, David Hartman’s consuming spiritual objective was to limit, to the greatest extent possible, the amount of time he spent on anything other than Torah study. His singular dream was to someday join the company of the rabbis he so revered as one of his generation’s leading interpreters of the sacred Jewish canon. But fate…[got in the way]. Ultimately, he would go on to smash the idols of his youth while remaining both deeply affectionate — and perpetually enraged — toward ultra-Orthodoxy. “I was a good yeshiva boy,” he often said, “until I started to read.”…

UK’s Chief Rabbi Heaps Praise On Disgraced Media Tycoon Rupert Murdoch

While on his last official visit to Israel this week as the UK’s Chief Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks praised disgraced media tycoon Rupert Murdoch. Israel, Sacks reportedly claimed that Israel doesn't have “a better or more significant friend in the world” than the man behind some of the worst media scandals and ethical lapses in media history. Murdoch also publishes several newspapers that feature large nearly naked photos of young women models and risque printed content.

Let Haredim Guard Their Own West Bank Cities, Leading Rabbi Says

Last Passover, some Zionist Orthodox soldiers even had to make abbreviated Passover seders because they were assigned to stand guard over the haredi cities full of haredim celebrating Passover with long, leisurely seders.

Video: Hasidic All-Woman Rock Band Bulletproof Stockings Gets National Exposure

The Chabad hasidic all-woman rock band bulletproof stockings was featured on AOL earlier this week. Unfortunately, to meet the modesty requirements they follow, you don't really get to hear any music.

Why Getting Married In Israel Often Means Hiring A Private Eye

  To set matters straight, Israel's rabbinate created a new procedure, vaguely called "clarification of Judaism." Every immigrant applying for a marriage license would have to prove Jewish lineage going back at least two generations, and sometimes many more. The government rabbis never established clear rules for conducting these checks. They decided, though, that beyond documentation classifying a person as Jewish, he or she should know Jewish language and traditions, and possess a typical Jewish name.

Why A Haredi Draft Might Bankrupt The State

In contrast, the IDF incurs much higher costs for Haredim serving in the Shahar program, which is targeted at ultra-Orthodox men between the ages of 22 and 26. Participants of the Shahar program have shorter military service terms, study academic subjects and receive vocational training. These soldiers cost the IDF an average of NIS 9,500 per month – NIS 5,500 a month more than the average IDF conscript.

Chabad's Sydney Branch Issues Statement On Child Sex Abuse After Police Reportedly Open Investigation

"Yeshiva unequivocally condemns any form of abuse, including child sexual abuse. We welcome any police investigation to uncover any improprieties, especially regarding alleged crimes against children. As a large organisation with hundreds of staff and many thousands of people associating with us for more than half a century, we acknowledge the unfortunate possibility that things may have occurred in the past and we encourage victims to go to the Police."

Rubashkin Son-In-Law Tries To Suppress Proof Of Child Sexual Abuse

"I do not know when you obtained it or from whom but because it is sealed its contents should not be disclosed. Kindly remove any reference in your online story to the contents of the Weiss deposition in order not to violate the court's order and the terms of the settlement agreement."

Reform And Conservative Rabbis Petition High Court After State Deceptively Restricts Their Pay

The state demanded that non-Orthodox rabbis work in their congregations full-time, while Orthodox rabbis were not required to work a minimum number of hours, the petitioners said. The state also required a minimum number of participants at prayer services and activities held by Reform congregations, while no such demand was made of Orthodox congregations. The state also placed limitations on the salaries of non-Orthodox rabbis that did not apply to Orthodox rabbis.

Chabad Child Sex Abuse Scandal Spreads To Sydney

Complaints have been now been filed with police against two perpetrators, both associated with Chabad's Yeshiva Centre at Bondi. One of the alleged pedophiles has more than one alleged victim. Meanwhile, another new case – from the non-Chabad Litvish Kollel Beth Hatalmud – has been reported in Melbourne.

Women’s Legs Too Much For Israel’s Postage Stamp Service

Ayalon had pictures. So did the kibbutz. Ayalon and Shaul Goldberg, director of the kibbutz's archives, gathered the pictures and sent them to the Philatelic Service. They were pictures of young women - including herself - working in the factory making bullets, and pictures of young women working in a laundry built above the bullet factory to help camouflage it. But the response of the Philatelic Service shocked Ayalon. "Could you possibly find photos that feature fewer women with bare legs?"

Haredi MKs Face Existential Dilemma Involving Fundamental Principles Of Their Religion

Haredi Members of Knesset, Israel's parliament, have come face-to-face with an issue that calls into play the fundamental principles of their religion, and they can't decide what to do about it. But make no mistake – the crisis is looming, and any day now they will be forced to decide.

Attempted Child Abductions In Borough Park

There was at least one attempted child abduction in Borough Park yesterday of a 10-year-old-girl and possibly another attempted abduction today of a 9-year-old-girl.

Leaving Haredism For The Israeli Army

Volunteers man the [ex-haredi help organization] Hillel hotline, where they receive their fair share of hang-ups and whispering voices, callers likely ringing from home and terrified of being found out. Questions range from “Can you get me a girl?” to “If I stop keeping Shabbat, will I die?” “It’s important that we don’t create another rabbi figure for them, what we do is to make sure they’re mature enough to make this choice,. It’s not our role to tell them if there’s a God or not. It’s our role to ask them if they have food to eat the next day, since many are finding themselves on the street.”

After 8 Years, Warring Bobov Hasidic Factions Settle Half Of Dispute

In a special zabloh-style beit din, the two warring Bobov hasidic factions settled their fight over who can – and who cannot – use the Bobov name. But what about their fight over money and property?