FailedMessiah.com

The Forward – Intentionally? – Gets It Wrong Again

When the Forward’s Paul Berger, an outsider with no background with and no knowledge of the hasidic community and little real knowledge or grasp of the Kellner case, writes what reads like an opinion piece (but is posted by the Forward as news) equating Sam Kellner with accused serial molester Rabbi Baruch Lebovits, one should take it with a large grain of salt – especially because both Berger and the Forward been unethical before this.

Video: Hundreds Of Haredim Riot In Jerusalem In Support Of Arrested Rabbi

Hundreds of largely Sefardi haredim blocked a main road in Jerusalem tonight and rioted to protest the arrest of Rabbi Yoram Abergel, who allegedly conspired with a mobster to extort rabbinic opponents – and, perhaps, try to have them killed.

Fire Guts Part Of Agri Star Kosher Slaughterhouse

Just before 3 a.m. Saturday, Postville, Iowa firefighters rushed to Agri Star kosher slaughterhouse and found thick black smoke billowing out of the lower level of the plant, forcing them to call in neighboring fire departments for help.

Judge Rules NYPD Has To Allow Chabad Hasidic Officer To Have Untrimmed Beard, Despite Dangers It Poses To Citizens, Other Officers

Fishel Litzman, a Chabad hasid fired in 2012 by the NYPD for refusing to cut his beard, won his federal lawsuit against the city Friday.

Thompson Asks Hynes To Freeze Case Against Accused Haredi Pedophile Rabbi Baruch Lebovits

Incoming Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson has asked outgoing District Attorney Charles J. Hynes to seek the adjournment of the case against accused haredi pedophile Rabbi Baruch Lebovits until Thompson takes office in January.

Haredi Woman Who Stole More Than $218,000 From Social Security Gets No-Jail Sentence

A haredi woman who pleaded guilty to cashing her dead father’s Social Security checks for almost 20 years was sentenced yesterday by a federal judge who gave the distraught thief a no-prison sentence.

Anti-Abuse Activists Ask Lebovits Judge To Block Sweetheart Plea Deal

"A full year and half after DA Hynes publically stated that the KCDA was prepared to retry this case, it has not been brought to trial. Worse still, it seems possible that after this Court imposed the maximum sentence, the KCDA--whose mistake caused the reversal of the conviction--is now prepared to set Lebovits free. We would respectfully ask Your Honor to compel the KCDA to justify its decision to go from recommending the maximum sentence, to now offering little or no jail time to a dangerous repeat offender who has shown no remorse for his crimes and will likely continue harming children."

“X-Ray Rabbi” Dodges Customs, Causes Special Status For VIP Haredi Rabbis To Come Into Question

Two weeks ago, Rabbi Yaakov Ifergan – known throughout the Sefardi haredi world as the X-Ray Rabbi for his purported ability to “see” into the future – flew into Ben Gurion International Airport, dodged customs and went home to the southern Israel town of Netivot. And that exposed a special VIP system set up for haredi rabbis only that allows then to skip lines for boarding, customs and security.

City Of Munich, Germany Refuses To Allow Holocaust Memorials

The City of Munich has allegedly refused to allow Stolpersteines – individual Holocaust memorial plaques widely used across Europe – to be embedded in the sidewalks in front of Holocaust victims' homes.

Video: Haredi Man Allegedly Steals $50,000 From Immigrant In Housing Scam

Aryeh Stolzberg allegedly stole $50,000 from an immigrant in a housing scam. And Aryeh Stolzberg won't give the money back.

Video: Ex-Haredim Talk About Footsteps And Leaving Ultra-Orthodoxy

A new video, Footsteps: The Journey, for your viewing pleasure (or displeasure, depending on who you are).

Another Chabad Child Sex Abuse Arrest Made

A former youth worker at Chabad’s Yeshivah College in Melbourne, Australia, 28-year-old Aron Ezriel “Ezzy” Kestecher, has been charged with a string of child sex offenses against boys.

Police Drop Investigation Into Haredi Rabbi’s Alleged Abuse

After months of threats and coercion by haredi rabbis kept alleged victims from cooperating with police, the criminal investigation into alleged sex abuse of haredi women by Rabbi Chaim Halpern has been dropped.

Breslov Hasid Indicted In Met Council Scandal, Total Lost To Anti-Poverty Charity Now $7 Million

Joseph “Yossi” Ross, the CEO of Century Coverage Corp. who allegedly conspired with former Metropolitan Council On Jewish Poverty CEO William E. Rapfogel to steal millions of dollars from the anti-poverty nonprofit, has been charged with multiple counts of money laundering, grand larceny and conspiracy.

Thousands Riot In Support Of Jailed Haredi Rabbi Who Allegedly Ordered Murder Of Rival

Rabbi Yoram Abergel allegedly conspired with a leading mobster, Shalom Domrani, to extort and coerce a rabbinic opponent, Rabbi Yaakov Ifegan – commonly known as the X-Ray Rabbi – to endorse and vote for Abergel’s and Domrani’s favored mayoral candidate. When Ifergan refused, Abergel allegedly discussed killing Ifergan or one of senior assistants.

Bnei Brak Shomrim Issue Public Letter Warning Of Multiple Cases Of Child Sex Abuse

“Bad people are hanging around our community, including some who refer to themselves as anash [anshei shlomeinu; members of the community],” and these people are targeting children.

Settlers Allegedly Torch Palestinian Home In “Price Tag” Attack To Avenge Soldier's Murder

In apparent revenge for the murder of an Israeli soldier by a Palestinian teen Wednesday morning, a group of four men allegedly set an Arab home on fire near Ramallah in the West Bank. The Arab occupants were inside at the time the fire was set and were treated at a nearby hospital for smoke inhalation.

Senior Haredi Rabbi Collapses, Rushed To Hospital

Rabbi Ephraim Padwa, the most senior Ashkenazi haredi rabbi in London, was reportedly rushed to a hospital there after collapsing at a wedding.

Sefardi Haredi Rabbi Who Allegedly Ordered Murder Of Rival Released To House Arrest

Rabbi Yoram Abergel – who was arrested Sunday as he was about to board a flight to China where he was planning on visiting a Chabad House – allegedly conspired with a well-known Israel mobster to extort another well-known Sefardi rabbi known as the “X-Ray,” Rabbi Yaakov Ifegan.

2 Israeli Singers Investigated For Allegedly Having Sex With Minors

Police in Tel Aviv are reportedly investigating an unnamed well-known Israeli singer who has allegedly had sexual relations with a 15-year-old girl several times recently at parties organized by a PR representative. Another singer also allegedly had sex with the girl, as well, and several other children may also be victims.

Haredi MK Suspended From Knesset Over Handcuff Stunt

The Knesset Ethics Committee has reportedly suspended MK Rabbi Meir Porush of the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party in response to an outburst by Porush disrupted the Knesset last summer.

Abuse Victims Allegedly Paid Hush Money By Jewish Community, Police Say

“We have information that people who may have been victimized may have entered into agreements for payment with other people not to disclose, report or come forward."

Secret Tape In Lebovits And Kellner Trials Allegedly “Goes Missing” From D.A.’s Office

A secretly recorded tape of alleged hasidic serial pedophile Rabbi Baruch Lebovits making incriminating statements to one of his victims appears to have “gone missing” from the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office just as Lebovits is allegedly about to get a sweetheart plea deal from Brooklyn's outgoing D.A. Charles J. Hynes.

Hasidic Rabbi On The Run From The Law Holes Up In Zimbabwe

Rabbi Eliezer Berland lived in Morocco for seven months and Zurich and Miami for several months before that after fleeing Israel pending arrest for allegedly sexually abusing female followers, some of who were allegedly minors at the time the abuse took place.

Israel’s Dysfunctional Chief Rabbinate Also Hurts Haredim, Zionist Orthodox

When the a group of rabbis took Israel's official state funded (and haredi-controlled) Chief Rabbinate’s exam on the Choshen Mishpat section of Shulkhan Arukh (the Code of Jewish Law) one year ago as part of the process of becoming certified as dayanim  (rabbinic court judges), they were reportedly promised that their tests would be graded and the results would be given to them within 120 days.But one year has passed and none of the tests have yet been graded.

Sharansky Says No Arrests If Women Of The Wall Brings Torah To Kotel

“I can promise you there will be no arrests” regarding the women praying and reading from a Sefer Torah at the Kotel.” But, Sharansky was quick to add, police might ask Women of the Wall to remove the Sefer Torah.

Child Sex Abuse Victim Who Fights Against Sex Abuse Coverups Speaks At National Rally Against Abuse

"On behalf of many victims and survivors of child sexual abuse within Jewish institutions, I would like to acknowledge and thank the Victorian Government for launching this Inquiry. With today’s publication of the Inquiry’s report, we can of course celebrate a milestone in a long journey but we should also reflect on the significant work that still lies ahead.…"

Breslov Hasidim Reportedly Steal Synagogue From Holocaust Survivors

Menachem Weinberg’s parents died in the Holocaust and were commemorated on a memorial plaque in the synagogue. He came to pray and found their memorial plaque had been shattered by the hasidim. “…Give me back this place," he reportedly cried in a voice choked with tears. “They have killed my soul."

Video: Wave Of Anti-Semitic Attacks Hits Crown Heights

A wave of anti-Semitic attacks and graffiti has hit the heavily Chabad hasidic Crown Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn over the past two months. But, police ask, are these attacks really hate crimes? Are they even connected? Or are they childhood pranks and very low level assaults?

Ban Women From Driving Cars, Leading Sefardi Haredi Says

Women drivers are “immodest” and therefore women should not be allowed to drive automobiles, a leading Sefardi haredi rabbi, Amnon Yitzhak, reportedly said.

Another Alleged Perp, 3 To 5 More Alleged Victims, At Camp Dora Golding

At least three separate campers made police complaints against one rabbi-staffer. I'm told the complaints did not result in a criminal prosecution due to an odd understanding of Pennsylvania law that essentially makes it the responsibility of the children and the prosecution to prove the abuser was getting sexual pleasure from the abuse.

Kellner Trial Postponed Again

After repeated postponements issued at the request of Brooklyn D.A. Charles J. Hynes' prosecutors due to lack of credible evidence against Samuel Kellner, last week, prosecutors told Kellner's attorneys that they would be dropping the case against Kellner. But then Friday, prosecutors called back to tell Kellner's attorneys that Hynes and Rackets Bureau chief Michael Vechhione – Hynes close friend and top assistant – had stepped in, demoted and transferred them and were continuing the case. In court this morning, a new prosecutor asked for and received another trial dealy – until…

All Mobbed Up, Sefardi Israeli And Haredi Rabbi Style

“Some of the rabbinical courts in the city are no different than the crime families, and I am referring to Rabbi Ifergan being among them. According to Forbes, he has 90 million NIS in the bank. All of his earnings are black money. He travels around in luxury vehicles as does his wife. Let him explain to tax authorities how he earned this all."

The Haredi Child-Rape Assembly Line

…On a visit to Jerusalem in 2005, Rabbi Rosenberg entered into a mikvah in one of the holiest neighborhoods in the city, Mea She’arim. “I opened a door that entered into a schvitz,” he told me. “Vapors everywhere, I can barely see. My eyes adjust, and I see an old man, my age, long white beard, a holy-looking man, sitting in the vapors. On his lap, facing away from him, is a boy, maybe seven years old. And the old man is having anal sex with this boy."…

Hasidic Classified Ad: "Are You Looking For A Young Woman To Sleep With You Every Night?"

From the Satmar-hasid-owned Der Blatt Yiddish newspaper: "Night companion. Are you looking for a young woman to sleep with you every night? Call [xxx-xxxx]."

48.5% Of Israeli Non-Orthodox Jewish Children, 67.7% Of Israeli Arab Children, Victims Of Abuse Or Neglect, Study Says

96,000 children and teens aged 12-17 were sexually abused and NCC estimates show that approximately 462,000 Jewish children (17.6% of all children) have been sexually abused.

Only One Chief Rabbi, Livni, Bennett, Ben-Dahan Say

Since the decades before the founding of the state, Israel has always had two chief rabbis – one Ashkenazi and the other Sefardi. But now Justice Minister Mk Tzipi Livni, Religious Affairs Minister MK Naftali Bennett and Deputy Religious Affairs Minister MK Rabbi Eli Ben-Dahan have proposed passing a bill that would see Israel having only one state-endorsed and funded Orthodox chief rabbi.

After Ugly Campaign, Finding Little Grace in Brooklyn District Attorney’s Exit, Times Columnist Writes

"Then there’s Mr. Hynes, 78, who ran an ugly and cantankerous howl of a final campaign and lost convincingly twice in two months, first in the Democratic primary and then, as the candidate of the Republican and Conservative Parties, in the general election. Hurling accusations, stirring communal fears, he ended a once proud career in a manner akin to crashing a car into a brick wall. No grace attended."

Get-Refuser's Father Resigns From Artscroll

Avrohom Meir Weiss's father Rabbi Yosaif Asher Weiss has resigned from Artscroll Publications under a cloud after backing his son's almost three years of refusing to give his wife Gital Dodelson a get (religious divorce).

Haredi Yeshiva Teacher Busted For Alleged Child Rape

A Bnei Brak yeshiva teacher suspected of sodomizing boys – some as young as 8-years-old – was arrested yesterday and brought to the Tel Aviv Magistrate’s Court today, where he was remanded for for four more days.

Despite years Of Evidence To The Contrary, Israel’s Haredi Chief Rabbis Claim No White List Kept Of Approved Diaspora Rabbis

Israel's state chief rabbinate says it does not keep a list "either hidden or public” of approved Orthodox rabbis in the Diaspora and can't understand why anyone would think differently – despite extensive evidence stretching over a decade showing the chief rabbinate has indeed has maintained such a list for many years.

Rabbi Norman Lamm's Son May Have Bribed Tiny Town's Mayor To Greenlight New Satmar Village

The New York State Attorney General's office, which is investigating Lamm's project, reportedly said it “wouldn't dispute” the claim that the agreement between Lamm and Bloomingburg, New York Mayor Mark Berentsen was “improper.”

Rabbinate To Revoke Kosher Certificate Of Café Owned By Evangelical Christian Over Missionary Allegations Brought By Extremist Group

The complaint originated not with the Rabbinate itself but with the extremist Chabad-influenced Yad L'Achim organization, which fights Christian missionary activity, cults and intermarriage – often through racist and bigoted propaganda of its own. It claims the café hosted proselytizing events and gave customers Christian missionary propaganda.

Haredi Rabbi Finds $98,000 In Cash – Returns It

Rabbi Noah Muroff and his wife bought a desk for $200 on Craigslist. But the had to take it apart to get it into his office and, when they did they found a plastic bag filled with $98,000 in cash – which they returned to the desk's former owner, who allegedly claimed it was her inheritance and that she had forgotten where she put it.

Reality Show May Help Bring Down Brooklyn D.A.

In response to that contradictory and problematic court filing by the Brooklyn D.A.’s office, defense attorneys plans to file a motion tomorrow to introduce tapes of the CBS “Brooklyn DA” reality show into evidence – tapes that have the D.A.'s top prosecutors contradicting the D.A.'s own court filing.

Prosecutors Want To Drop Case Against Sam Kellner Due To Lack Of Credible Evidence, Hynes Overrules, Demotes Them

Brooklyn D.A. Rackets Bureau chief Michael Vecchione – previously excoriated by judges for withholding evidence and wrongful convictions – has just fired his two top prosecutors,after they refused to prosecute the case against alleged hasidic extortionist Samuel Kellner due to lack of any credible evidence against Kellner.

Busted Sefardi Haredi Rabbi Tried To Take Out Hit On Rival’s Gabbai With Orthodox Mobster

“In a conversation with Rabbi Ifergan’s sister Bruriya, I told her that there are rumors that we want to harm the rabbi. ‘God forbid that I would ever harm a rabbi,’ [I told her]. We believe in God. We would never do such a thing,” the kipa-wearing alleged mobster said.

Where In The World Is Rabbi Eliezer Breland?

Where in the world is Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the Shuvu Banim Breslov leader who abruptly fled Israel after young female followers – including some minors – accused him of sexually abusing them? He was booted out of Morocco late last week along with several dozen of his followers. Where is he now?

Can Children Be Better Protected At Chabad’s Yeshivah Centre?

Can children be better protected from child sex abuse at Chabd's Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne and its counterpart in Sydney? A social worker familiar with the situation argues that despite Chabad promises to do better, children in Chabad's care – and indeed in much of the Jewish community – are still poorly protected from abuse.

Son-In-Law Of Rabbi Amnon Yitzhak Busted For Attempted Shooting

Elhanan Mamo allegedly hit and kicked and then tried to shoot Mordechai Roth but missed him because bystanders intervened.