FailedMessiah.com

How’s This For A Wedding Gift? In Israel, If You’re Jewish And Marry Outside The Auspices Of The Haredi-Controlled Chief Rabbinate, You Could Serve 2-Years In Prison

Israeli couples who marry in Israel without first registering their marriage with the haredi-controlled Chief Rabbinate can be sentenced to uo two years in prison, and the rabbis who perform those illegal marriage ceremonies also face the same potential two-year prison sentence. A propasal to stop this was shot down today by a near-unanimous vote of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet.

Tel Aviv Orthodox Synagogue Hit With Apparent Hate Crime

A Tel Aviv synagogue headed by a liberal Zionist Orthodox rabbi was hit with what appears to be an anti-Orthodox hate crime directly linked to the proposed Jewish State Bill that many legal experts, including Israel’s own attorney general, believe to be undemocratic and dangerous.

Rabbi Eliezer Berland Hospitalized One Day Before Likely Extradition

Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the accused sexual abuser who heads the Beslov hasidic Shuvu Banim movement and yeshiva, was hospitalized today in Amsterdam, one day before  a Dutch court will likely rule the 77-year-old alleged sexual predator must be returned to Israel to face justice.

Haredi Mayor’s Charity Defrauded Man In Land Deal, Court Rules

A judge in the Jerusalem District Court has just ruled that the Yad Sarah charity founded and originally run by former Jerusalem Mayor Rabbi Uri Lupolianski will have to pay Mordecai Peretz Hirshenboim 33,577,512 NIS (more than $8.6 million) after Lupoliansky when head of Yad Sarah and Yad Sarah itself defrauded him in a land sale by failing to disclose secret restrictions on the use of the land.

Hasidim Flock To Amsterdam To Spend Shabbat With Alleged Rapist Rabbi

Hundreds of Breslov hasidim from New York, Miami and Belgium reportedly spent Shabbat with Rabbi Eliezer Berland in Amsterdam – the last Shababt Berland may have as a free man for quite some time.

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky: Media "Liars;" I Never Called For Collective Punishment Of Arabs

In a bizarre radio interview, Rabbi Steven Pruzansky claims the media are "liars," that "the Geneva Convention doesn't apply anymore," that his call for collective punishment against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians was not collective punishment but instead prevention of terrorism, and similar statements that are equally dishonest. Pruzansky attacked the OU's and Rabbinical Council of America's condemnations of the call for collective punishment and made it very clear that he is completely unrepentant and believes he has done nothing wrong.

Blanket Indemnification Of Haredi East Ramapo School Board Members Illegal, State Rules

While the results of an appeal to New York State Education Commissioner John B. King are mixed, with many decisions having to be put on hold until after federal and state criminal and civil investigations are completed, blanket indemnification of haredi school board members given by the scandal-plagued haredi-controlled East Ramapo, New York school board under the the direction of then-school-board-president, attorney Daniel Schwartz, is in violation of state law and has no legal force.

She's Baaaack

Haredi female 'kabbalist' and "evil eye remover" Rebetzin Aidel Miller is touring again, looking for naive Jews to pay her lots of money for her hocus pocus.

"There's No Coexisting With Cancer,” “Kahane Was Right”

A fire police believe to a likely arson damaged the playground of the leading Hebrew-Arab bilingual school in Jerusalem Saturday night. "Kahane was right," "There's no coexisting with cancer," and other anti-Arab slogans were spray-painted on the building, as well.

Synagogue Mandates Rabbi Steven Pruzansky Submit Writings To Editorial Board After Controversial Rabbi Called For Collective Punishment, Live Fire, Against Israeli Arabs

“I probably have suffered sporadically over the years from lack of a resource that all other writers have — a good editor. As such, I have agreed (upon recommendation of the shul leadership) to form a panel of people that I trust that will review my writings — not to censor the ideas, but to make certain, when necessary, that they are conveyed in slightly-less colorful ways.”

Bill To Stop Imprisoned Get-Refusers From Serving Time In Yeshiva Prison Passes First Knesset Reading

The bill would deprive recalcitrant husbands sentenced by the religious courts to prison over get refusal of all special religious accommodations in prison. These men would no longer be allowed to serve their time in a prison’s yeshiva wing or receive special mehadrin (glatt kosher, as opposed to regular kosher) meals.

What Are Haredim Demanding To Form A New Government With PM Benjamin Netanyahu? This…

The haredi list of demands, which haredim insist must be sealed in written contract form and signed by Netanyhu, for Netanyahu to get haredi parties' support for forming a new government.

Study: Group Mindfulness Treatment As Effective As Individual Cognitive Behavioral Therapy For Depression, Anxiety

Group mindfulness treatment is as effective as individual cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) in patients with depression and anxiety, according to a new study from Lund University in Sweden and Region Skåne. This is the first randomized study to compare group mindfulness treatment and individual cognitive behavioral therapy in patients with depression and anxiety in primary health care.

Jerusalem 'Top Of The Line’ Kosher Slaughterhouse Closed By Government For Serious Health And Sanitation Violations

Oaf Glatt, located in the Atarot Industrial Zone, has the strictest kosher supervision available but was an immediate danger to public health, Ministry of Health and city officials found.

IDF Chief Rabbi Attacks Islam, Says Almost All Of Temple Mount Has No Holiness To Islam

IDF Chief Rabbi Brigadier General Rafi Peretz wants Zionist Orthodox IDF soldiers to know that the almost all of the Temple Mount is not holy to Islam, that Islam’s view of the Temple Mount is made up, and that “ninety percent of the Arabs don’t know a thing about the Koran. I tell you with full authority. We [Israelis] know better than many of them.”

Controversial Heavily Haredi Neighborhood Forum Denied Planning Rights

Some developers in the haredi community have at times “adopted an attitude to existing planning rules that have caused friction with their neighbours.…There are numerous examples of over-development including the complete in-fill of back gardens and the development of loft conversions without the necessary planning permission. Such developments, while clearly providing additional living space, often impinge on the amenity of neighbours and have adversely impacted on the quality of the townscape.”

Chabad-Lubavitch And Thanksgiving: Chabad Rabbis Allegedly Take Extreme Steps To Prevent Jews From Celebrating America's Holiday

How does Chabad honor or celebrate Thanksgiving? It doesn’t – a fact most American politicians and others who support the hasidic missionary group likely do not know. And what they also do not know is that senior Chabad-Lubavitch rabbis allegedly ordered Chrown Heights butcher shops not to stock freash turkeys this week in a bid to stop hasidim from celebrating America's holiday of freedom.

Should You Celebrate Thanksgiving? According To Haredi Rabbis, Probably Not

Many haredi rabbis forbid or discourage the celebration of Thanksgiving and some even prohibit eating turkey on Thanksgiving because eating it makes it look as if the eater is celebrating the holiday – even if he's only eating a turkey deli sandwhich as he works in his office. Here's why haredi rabbis oppose Thanksgiving.

Haredim Reportedly Agree To Back Netanyahu For PM After Next Election

Member of Knesset Rabbi Yaakov Litzman, the head of the Agudath Israel hasidic faction of the haredi United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ), said today that both haredi parties, UTJ and the Sefardi haredi Shas Party, will recommend that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu form the next government after new snap elections – but only if Netanyahu gives the haredim what they want.

State Orders Scandal-Plagued Haredi-Controlled School District And Board To Undergo Diversity Training, Training In State Open Meetings Law

New York State Education Commissioner John King has ordered the entire haredi-controlled scandal-plagued East Ramapo Board of Education and the district’s Superintendent Joel Klein to undergo diversity training and complete a course on the state Open Meetings Law after a fiscal monitor appointed by the governor found systematic intentional violations meant to hurt non-haredi non-Jewish parents, students and residents.

Convicted Felon Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany Lectures To Haredi Rabbinical Association On Jewish Law

Rabbi Milton Yehosua Balkany, former Agriprocessors VP Sholom Rubashkin's brother-in-law – was recently released from prison after serving time for attempting to extort hedge fund head Steven Cohen. Balkany joined fellow haredi rabbis at a convention of the Rabbinical Alliance of America, and Balkany was honored by the RAA with giving a lecture on the halakha (Orthodox Jewish law) or marit ayin.

Haredi Teacher Indicted For Serial Child Sex Abuse

A teacher in a haredi Talmud Torah school in Beitar Illit was charged today with a series of child sex abuse charges.

Knesset Bans Non-Orthodox Rabbis And Rabbinical Students From Praying In Knesset’s Synagogue, Which Is Reserved For Orthodox Use Only, Knesset Speaker Says

“A lot of the students were very upset and shocked. You’d think that the Knesset would be a place of ingathering of the Jewish people, but actually we learned that it has boundaries that don’t include liberal Jews. Paradoxically, this decision served as an appropriate end to our conversation about religion and state in Israel."

Hidden Crisis Of Violence Against Women And Girls Needs Immediate Actions. Studies Show

"Globally, one in three women will experience intimate partner and/or sexual violence by non-partners in their lifetime, which shows that more investment needs to be made in prevention.…No magic wand will eliminate violence against women and girls. But evidence tells us that changes in attitudes and behaviours are possible, and can be achieved within less than a generation."

OU Condemns Anti-Arab Racist Remarks, But Fails To Name Or Reprimand Prominent Modern Orthodox Rabbi Who Made Them

"…[W]e cannot countenance a response to terror that resorts to wholesale demonization, advocates for the collective punishment of Israeli Arabs, or calls for the destruction or dismantling of Muslim holy places. Such rhetoric is anathema to the Jewish religious tradition and has no place in civil society. Such rhetoric is wrong and must be repudiated, whether it is voiced by lay leaders, community leaders or rabbis. Such calls to action do not enhance the security of the State of Israel or enable Israel’s security forces to fulfill their difficult responsibilities.…"

Scandal-Plagued Allegedly Corrupt Haredi-Controlled School Board Sells Unnecessarily Vacant School To Haredi Yeshiva In Second Sweetheart Deal, Despite Alleged Bribes

The scandal-plagued haredi-controlled East Ramapo school district has completed the sale of Hillcrest Elementary School to a Skvere hasidic yeshiva, Avir Yakov. The sale price, $4.9 million, is significantly below what appears to be the fair market value for the building and the approximately 12 acres of land it sits on.

Chabad Pedophile Deported To US

Rabbi David Kramer, the twice-convicted Chabad pedophile who has served time in both US and Australian prisons for sexually abusing boys in a Chabad school and in an Orthodox synagogue, was deported in September from Australia to the US. His current whereabouts?

Only 300 ‘Haredim’ Joined Israel’s National Civilian Service Programs This Year

Saar Shalom Jerbi, the head of Israel’s national civilian service programs staffed primarily by Zionist Orthodox girls who join them in lieu of serving in the military, has finally released the official number of haredi males who joined national civilian service in lieu of the IDF. And the number shows, as FailedMessiah.com previously reported, that the government's claims of increased haredi participation were lies.

London Trial Of Accused Child Molester Halted, Remaining Charges May Be Dropped

The trial of a South Tottenham, London, UK "rebel" haredi man accused of molesting an “innocent and vulnerable” 14-year-old haredi girl in her own home has been halted on the first day of the hearing and one charge against him thrown out. “Despite the fact she was 14-and-three-quarters she knew very little about sexual matters, she was very much an innocent child; she didn’t know, for example, what the word ‘vagina’ meant. She was isolated and vulnerable in this closed community, and this defendant took sexual advantage of her in these circumstances.”

Israeli Mayor, Charged With Racism And Nazi-Like Behavior, Doubles Down

The mayor of the Israeli port city of Ashkelon, Itamar Shimoni, uses Jim Crow KKK-like tactic to continue to skirt Israel's anti-racism law.

Case Against Rabbi Elimelech Meisels, Pnimim Seminary, Et Al Settled Out Of Court

The civil suit against Rabbi Elimelech Meisels, Pnimim Seminary, its American fundraising arm, several other haredi seminaries once controlled by Meisels, and others has been settled out of court. Meisels allegedly sexually abused and exploited young haredi women who were students at those Israeli seminaries. (This particular lawsuit is over deposits families gave these seminaries and which the families wanted to be returned to them after Meisels alleged abuse became public and these families chose not to send their children to Meisels' schools as a result.)

Chabad Child Sex Abuse Coverups New Target Of Royal Commission

Chabad’s Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne will become the focus of a royal commission hearing into its apparent coverups of child sexual abuse scandals. More victims are expected to come forward and Chabad community leaders who allegedly participated in or ran the coverups will be compelled to testify.

Report: Chabad Pedophile Deported By Australia Without Notice To Victims And Jewish Communities

"Now that [Rabbi David] Kramer has concluded his sentence and [has been] released into the broader community, it's critical that we’re informed of his whereabouts so that we can ensure the safety of our children. Kramer has a shocking track-record of sexually abusing many children in more than one country. While he has sat in jail in both the US and Australia for crimes committed there, I’m aware of allegations that he has also abused children in Israel.…"

Estate Of Eccentric Millionaire Guma Aguiar To Be Divided

The estate of Guma Aguiar, the eccentric philanthropist connected primarily to Zionist Orthodox and Chabad causes, has been divided among his heirs by a Florida court in  a compromise reportedly agreed to by all sides.

Modern Orthodox Day School, Kollel Invites Haredi "Protector Of Pedophiles" To Speak

The Hillel Modern Orthodox day school in Passaic, New Jersey and its affiliated kollel (advanced yeshiva for married students, in this case, more of a community education and outreach organization rather than a traditional stand alone kollel) the Passaic Clifton Community Kollel (PCCK) has invited Rabbi Yisroel Belsky to speak and won't rescind the invitation, even though some parents complained.

Senior RCA Rabbi Calls To Expel Arabs From Israel

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky – the senior rabbi of Teaneck, New Jersey’s largest Modern Orthodox synagogue, Congregation Bnai Yeshurun, and senior member of the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) – has called for Israel to use collective punishment against Israeli Arabs and West Bank Palestinians until these non-Jews realize “they have no future in the land of Israel” and called to end freedom of the press in Israel in order to make this illegal and immoral behavior possible.

Controversial Haredi Rabbi Allegedly Says That Jerusalem Terror Attack Happened Because Of Corrupt Bobov Beit Din Rabbis

In an act of appalling theodicy, Rabbi Avraham Schorr, a controversial Flatbush haredi rabbi associated with several bans, allegedly blamed last week's gruesome terror attack on a haredi synagogue in Har Nof, Jerusalem on the behavior of an allegedly corrupt American beit din.

More Alleged Dishonesty, Voter Fraud, From Modern Orthodox Developer Shalom Lamm And Satmar Hasidim

The commissioners’ examined the questionnaires mailed to people whose votes were challenged in referendum to dissolve the village.  194 votes were challenged in all. Of them, 68 returned questionnaires. Board of Elections commissioners found that many of those 68 completed questionnaires were returned to the post office by an employee of Modern Orthodox developer Shalom Lamm, who is building a Satmar hasidic "shtetl" in the tiny village in what appears to be a violation of US Fair Housing Law.

Racist Attacks Continue Across Israel

Racist and nationalist attacks against both Arabs and Jews continue to take place across Israel as the country spirals further into violence.

In Bobov Succession Fight, Israeli Rabbis Who Lack Jurisdiction Try To Assert Authority In Support Of Losing Faction

Bobov 48 won a decade-long beit and secular court battle for control of the Bobov hasidic movement over its rival, Bobov 45. Both groups are based in Borough Park, Brooklyn. But now the losing faction has turned to an Israeli beit din to get a ruling voiding the New York beit din's ruling, and that beit din is now threatening one of the New York rabbinic judges with excommunication unless he appears before them and capitualtes to the Israeli rabbis' will – even though halakha does not give the Israeli rabbis jurisdiction over the case.

Bobov Succession Beit Din Rabbi: I Was Not Bribed

In a new letter, Rabbi Yechiel Babad defends himself against claims that he accepted a bribe from the Bobov 48 faction. Babad sat on the beit din (religious court) that ruled in Bobov 48's favor and against its rival faction in the decade-long Bobov hasidic succession battle, Bobov 45. Babad also says he knew from the beginning that  Bobov 45 would reject the beit din't ruling against it.

Arabs Are Subhuman, Hasidic Rebbe Says

The rebbe suddenly announced that “Ishmaelites are not bnei adam [literally, children of Adam, the first human being; i.e., Arabs are subhuman] because they are cruel by nature.”

Students’ Religiosity More Influential than Education in Views on Evolution

The study also looked at whether students’ acceptance of evolution increased following exposure to the topic in college classrooms. “The only group of students who improved in their acceptance of evolution was the group of students who were the least religious.”

Jewish State Bill Passes Cabinet, Despite Language That Is Likely Illegal

"The bill submitted today to the government puts a Jewish state before democracy. Ben-Gurion would not approve this bill. Begin and Jabotinsky would not approve it. It is an anti-democratic bill."

Arab House Set On Fire In Alleged Jewish Settler Hate Crime

According to Palestinians from the village of Khirbat Abu Falah, Jewish settlers pounded on the doors of a house in the village overnight. When no one answered, they painted “Death to Arabs,” ”Vengance" and other anti-Arab slogans on the house, allegedly poured an as yet undetermined flammable liquid on it, and set the house on fire.

London Hasidic School Accused Of Hitting Students, Part 2

“The advantage of hitting over other forms of punishment is that it results in full submission. The modernisers’ arguments against hitting because it is dangerous are sheer nonsense. For the teachers are righteous and skilful, and injuries of pupils do not represent the smallest fraction of daily sports injuries every day.”

London Hasidic School Accused Of Hitting Students

Two hasidic schools — Talmud Torah Chaim Meirim Wiznitz [Vizhnitz] School and Talmud Torah Yetev Lev [Satmar] school, both in Stamford Hill, north London — have been threatened with closure after inspectors from Ofsted, the schools watchdog, found systematic failings in teaching and measures to protect children’s safety. One of the schools was found to be disciplining pupils by threatening them with corporal punishment or actually slapping them.

"iSof" – The Biblical Villain Esav –Equals The iPhone, Haredi Paskvil Says

"iSof" – i.e., Esav or (Esau), the biblical villain who, according to rabbinic texts hated his brother Yitzhak (Isaac) – is equivalent to the (evil) iPhone, haredi poster says.

Haredi Synagogue Hit By Terror Attack Had Cellphone-Blocking Device, Slowing Down Police Response

A reason it took police so long to respond to the attack – 11 minutes, by some accounts – and likely a reason the death toll was as high as it was is because haredi rabbis had installed a device in the synagogue to block cellphone transmissions. And the synagogue did not have an easily accessible public phone.

 

Ex-Hasid Organizes Lawsuit Against NYC Over Inadequate Secular Education In Hasidic Yeshivas

"…So now Mr. Moster is taking legal action. A handful of modern Orthodox supporters have agreed to cover the legal fees and, with Mr. Moster, are interviewing lawyers. The plaintiffs in a lawsuit, however, must be either students who are currently enrolled in Hasidic schools or their parents. Mr. Moster said many families in New York’s Hasidic enclaves were sympathetic to his cause. So far, a small number of parents have agreed to take part in a lawsuit if they can remain anonymous. They worry that the yeshivas will expel their children and that the community will ostracize them if their names are revealed.…"