FailedMessiah.com

Risking Life In Order To Fast On Yom Kippur

“…There are [haredi rabbinic] opinions that state that a choleh [ill person], who is not currently in  danger and is eating only to prevent potential danger, should begin receiving nutrition via an IV from before the onset of Yom Kippur.…”

Chabad Leader Calls Animal Welfare Activists "Anti-Jewish…Forces"

"Certain anti-Jewish and anti-tradition forces have come to try and stop the Minhag [custom] of Kaporos with live chickens from taking place. [Chabad's] NCFJE, who sponsored the community kaporos for decades, is going out of its way to make special efforts in order to ensure that the opposing forces will not affect the kaporos operation.…"

DNA Science Now So Sophisticated, It Can Be Used To Recover "Lost Bits" Of History, Researchers Say

If you go back far enough, all people share a common ancestry. But some populations are more closely related than others based on events in the past that brought them together. Now researchers have shown that it's possible to use DNA evidence as a means to reconstruct and date those significant past events. The findings suggest that evidence in our genomes can help to recover lost bits of history.

National Council For The Child Asks Government To Bar Dangerous Child Molestors From Immigrating To Israel

Israel’s National Council for the Child asked Interior Minister Silvan Shalom to act to prevent dangerous convicted sex offenders from immigrating to Israel,  something the government was supposed be doing anyway but frequently wasn't – especially when the molesters in question are haredim.

Does Herpes Cause Late-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease?

A new review of more than 200 studies appears to show that herpes may be a cause of late-onset Alzheimer's Disease. And that would mean the dangerous haredi circumcision practice metzitzah b'peh (MBP), in which haredi mohels use direct oral-to-bleeding-penis suction on babies after cutting off the foreskin, may  therefore doom haredi babies who survive initial herpes infections transmitted to them through MBP to suffering from Alzheimer's Disease in later life. Studies done last year already showed that having herpes doubles the risk of getting Alzheimer's. Despite these and many other dangers caused by MBP, including the deaths of babies, haredi rabbis refuse to stop the practice.

Haredi Yeshiva Student Arrested And Jailed For Draft Evasion

A 19-year-old haredi yeshiva student who hails from the West Bank Jewish haredi town of Modi’in Illit was arrested by the IDF on Wednesday and jailed for draft evasion.

Undercover Video Shows Unsanitary And Cruel Brooklyn Kapparot Center Being Reported To Police

In hidden camera footage you can see and hear police make statements about the Brooklyn kapparot center's operation that are false. They don't appear to be lying, they just appear to be badly informed by their superiors. There's also video of an unsanitary kapparot center and the public sidewalk and street that abuts it and another video of chickens being mistreated.

Video: Hasidic Kapparot In Action

Watch Brooklyn hasidim curse at anti-chicken-kapparot (also spelled; "kaparos") activists in front of children and try to get a chicken to defecate on a female activist's head.

Study Shows How Men And Women Differ In Choosing Long-Term Sexual And Marriage Partners

The study revealed that men and women differed in the percentage indicating: it was ‘desirable/essential’ that their potential partner was good-looking (M 92 percent vs. W 84 percent); had a slender body (M 80 percent vs. W 58 percent); had a steady income (M 74 percent vs. W 97 percent); and made/will make a lot of money (M 47 percent vs. W 69 percent).

Picture of the Day: Hasidic Kapparot In Action

"…Feces and feathers were everywhere on a public sidewalk and the stench was overpowering.[…] Behind a curtain blowing in the wind, we could see chickens being dismembered. A man wearing a bloody white apron intentionally stomped on an unlucky bird who fell to the ground while trying to get away…" And a hasid used a well-known non-verbal sign to tell an anti-chicken kapparot activist to f-off.

Hasidic Schools Ensure Ignorance And Poverty

"…The case for government intervention [in hasidic schools] isn’t complicated. Lack of [secular] education directly correlates to greater poverty, and so it is no coincidence that some 63 percent of chasidic Jewish families in New York City are poor — and this estimate does not include communities like Kiryas Joel, in Orange County, among the poorest towns in the country.…"

Haredi Girls School Caught With Apparently Illegal Modesty And Conduct Code For Parents And Students

"Denim or other clothing made from similarly 'trendy' fabrics e.g. leather and lyrca are related to the casual, free, way of life of non-Jews and as such are not permitted."

Preliminary Royal Commission Findings Savage Chabad Child Sex Abuse, Coverups, Shunning And Harassment Of Victims, Rabbis' Lies

"…As late as July 2014, Rabbi Yosef Feldman did not accept there was a halachic obligation for any allegation of child sexual abuse, whenever committed, to be reported to the authorities.… The views articulated by Rabbi Yosef Feldman in his supplementary statement to the Royal Commission dated 6 February 2015 are not a true representation of his views on the issue of child sexual abuse but an attempt to rehabilitate his public reputation.…"

Did The Haredi-Controlled Scandal-Plagued East Ramapo School District Break NY State Freedom Of Information Law?

Did the scandal-plagued haredi-controlled East Ramapo Central School District break New York State Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) in an attempt to cover up the educational background of the school district's treasurer, Israel Bier?

Feds Seek To End Haredi Control Over Lakewood Section 8 Housing Program After Haredi Program Refuses To Submit To A Requested Audit

If HUD does end LTRAP’s contract, Section 8 Housing and other Hud programs LTRAP administered would be given to the Lakewood Housing Authority – meaning they would be out of direct haredi control.

Audio: Pols Likely Won't Deal With Inadequate Haredi Education Due To Hasidic Bloc Vote

Although New York City education officials are investigating claims that students at dozens of hasidic yeshivas receive inadequate instruction in English and math, advocates are skeptical much will change because the haredi community is so powerful politically due to its bloc votes.

Convicted Child Molester Sues Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz For Defamation

Jason "Yona" Weinberg is suing Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz after Horowitz told Weinberg's Jerusalem neighbors about Weinberg's conviction in the US for molestation, and an Israeli court is allowing the suit to go forward.

The Entire Kapparot Court Decision

Plaintiffs repeatedly asked New York City to enforce the law and stop the unsanitary and often cruel chicken slaughter-cum-haredi-ritual known as kapparot (kaporos) from being held on public streets and sidewalks. The city refused, despite more than ample evidence of animal cruelty and dangers to public health. But a Manhattan judge known in the legal community for her bizarre decisions ruled the city doesn't have to enforce the law. Now you can read her reasons for saying so.

Fight Over Chabad Hasid Haysha Deitsch's Unlicensed Nursing Home Continues

He allegedly cut heat and air conditioning to frail elderly residents, fed them spoiled food, and cut staffing to dangerous levels to try to force residents of his unlicensed nursing home to move so he could sell the building and make tens of millions of dollars in profit. And now the attorney representing many residents says he will continue to file $5 million orders of attachment against Haysha Deitsch for each every one of those individual residents so Deitsch cannot profit from his evil.

Rockland County Haredi Boys Get Little Secular Education Despite State Law, School Officials And Local Politicans Close Their Eyes

“There is a shocking lack of content necessary for understanding of the world,” he said. “Students have never heard of the Civil War, the Revolutionary War, how many states are in the country. They’ve never heard of Martin Luther King.”

Another Alleged Victim Files Lawsuit Against Haredi School

A second female has filed suit against the Adass Israel haredi girl’s school in Melbourne, Australia over Malka Leifer's alleged sexual abuse.

Analysis Of New Government Budget Shows Huge Increase In Allocations For Haredim

An analysis by the freedom of religion nonprofit Hiddush shows the state budget for haredi yeshivas is expected to grow by 419 million shekels, an increase of three-quarters. The Ministry of Religious Services will receive a budget increase of almost 30%. The budget for ultra-Orthodox 'cultural' organizations – i.e., haredi organizations that proselytize to non-haredi Jews – will be increased by more than 2.5 times its current size, while the operating budget for the Religious Services Ministry will be increased by nearly 4 times.

Israel’s Haredi Chief Rabbis Lash Out At Pro-Israel Christian Group, Apparently Based On Lies Told Them By Racist Haredi And Orthodox Groups

“It is regrettable that the Chief Rabbinate acted solely on the misrepresentations of those bearing false witness against us. Over the past 35 years, the ICEJ has established a strong, proven track record of sincere friendship and support for Israel as a Jewish state. This track record has put us in good stead with numerous official institutions in Israel, including our partnerships and cooperative efforts with the Knesset, the Foreign Ministry, the Tourism Ministry, the Jewish Agency and Yad Vashem, among others. We have held countless rallies in capital cities worldwide to stand with Israel and to combat against anti-Semitism. We have addressed parliaments around the world, challenging initiatives directed against Israel in scores of countries. In addition, the ICEJ has sponsored the aliya of nearly 120,000 Jewish immigrants to Israel, and assisted with the successful absorption of tens of thousands more…"

The Rabbis Were Wrong: Birds Reveal The Evolutionary Importance Of Love

Many rabbis tell their followers that love as a prerequisite for marriage is a non-Jewish concept that has no actual benefit in real life and, in fact, too often is a detriment to happiness. But now a new study shows what the evolutionary basis for romantic love likely is, and it shows that the search for a true love is likely a deeply human need with a strong evolutionary basis.

86% Of Jewish Israelis Support Freedom Of Religion And Conscience, New Polling Data Shows

But 59% of Israeli haredim continue to support denying Christians the right to pray in the Room of the Last Supper on Mount Zion, compared to only 11% among the general public, and 24% of Israeli haredim believe that we do not have to prosecute extremists (most of whom are haredi yeshiva students) who spit at Christian clergymen in Jerusalem's Old City and on Mount Zion which abuts it because “this is not a crime and not a problem.” On top of that, 80% of Israelis are dissatisfied with the government's involvement in religion-state issues.

Picture Of The Day: The Chabad House Of Uman

Never a group to miss out on an opportunity, Chabad opened a Chabad House in the Breslov hasidic stronghold of Uman, Ukraine, where Rabbi Nachman of Breslov is buried. Chabad has always strongly opposed Breslov – the animosity between the two groups goes back to their founders, Chabad's Schneur Zalman of Liadi and Breslov's Rabbi Nachman. But apparently the only two hasidic groups who follow dead rebbes now have so much in common because of it that some of that old animosity against Breslov from Chabad has begun to fade, at least in Chabad open messianist circles. And this is what that fade looks like.

Kapparot Lawsuit Judge Viewed As Dense, Out Of League, By Attorneys

Judge Debra James, who issued a confused ruling Monday that essentially said citizens can't sue to force governments to enforce health, safety and other public codes, has a long history of befuddling rulings that make little – and sometimes no – legal sense.

Ramapo Residents File Suit Over Allegedly Tainted Election That Favored Haredim

The suit alleges Ramapo officials allowed unregistered voters to cast ballots at certain polling places but failed to tell other polling places to do the same. This allegedly allowed haredi and other voters aligned with town officials who opposed shifting to a ward-based election system to have greater and therefore unequal access to voting while proponents of the ward system who were unregistered were often turned away from the polls by election officials.

Adass School In Melbourne Ordered To Pay Abuse Victim Just Over $1 Million In Damages

Malka Leifer allegedly sexually abused and raped a string of young teen girls when she was the principal at the Adass haredi girls school in Melboune, Australia. One of those girls sued and has, a Melbourne source told FailedMessiah.com, just been awarded more than $1 million in damages by the court.

Judge Rules New York City Does Not Have To Enforce Health And Safety Codes Against Haredi Street Pop Up Chicken Slaughter, City Residents Have No Choice In The Matter

Slaughter chickens on the streets of New York City to your heart’s content no matter who it offends or potentially sickens. An elected New York State judge, Debra James, ruled Monday that there was insufficient evidence to ban the kapparot chicken slaughter atonement ritual. Why? Essentially, because she says so.

L'Shana Tova U'Metuka

Rosh Hashana begins tonight and lasts until Tuesday night about an hour after sundown, so there won't be any new posts until Tuesday night. Have a healthy, happy new year.

Gender Segregated Tashlich

Cast your sins on the water where your women can't see them. Hasidim in London have set up gender-segregated tashlich that includes gender-segregated walking routes to the water sources being used.

Is This A Safer Shabbat Hotplate?

BenTzion Davis says it is, and shows you why he's making that claim in a short video that compares the new plata he designed with the standard versions now commercially available.

Video: School Daze In Ramapo – How Many Non-Jews And Non-Orthodox Jews View Haredim

A video recap of just some of the bad behavior of haredi political and religious leaders in Rockland County and Orange County, New York, and of a Modern Orthodox developer and his hasidic allies in nearby Sullivan County helps explain why so many non-Jews and non-Orthodox Jews in the suburbs north of New York City are so opposed to haredim and other Orthodox Jews.

Elderly ‘Ba’al Teshuva’ Con Man Gets Reduced Sentence From Brooklyn Judge

Dickman was facing a maximum prison term of six years for stealing inactive attorney Stephen Dickerman’s identity and then using it to trick more than 50 people into hiring him. He faced as much as six years in prison but, despite the irate victims, Dickman – who in court was wearing a yarmulke and using a cane to walk – was sentenced to only 33 months in prison after pleading for mercy and insisting he had rediscovered the Judaism of his youth while in jail awaiting trial.

10,000 Haredi Kids Study In Unsafe, Illegal Schools In Jerusalem Alone, Government Allegedly Afraid To Enforce The Law Against Haredim

"Nobody messes with the haredim. In this respect, not all of Israel's laws apply to Mea Shearim."

Disgraced Doctor Who Allegedly Sexually Abused Female Patient Allowed To Buy Major Torah Honor At Chabad In Melbourne

"…What sort of behavior is sufficiently inappropriate to disqualify a person from getting or buying maftir or some other synagogue honor at [Chabad’s] Yeshivah Centre? Is there some financial threshold barring these honors that $200 that overcomes?…"

Rabbi Accused Of Child Molestation Allowed To Remove Tracking Device For Rosh Hashana

A Miami judge has allowed Sefardi Orthodox Rabbi Steve Karro to remove a court-ordered GPS tracking device he has been ordered to wear as part of his bail package. Karro's attorney argued it was necessary to remove the electronic device for Rosh Hashana. Karro alleged molested an 11-year-old girl and then tried to bribe the girl's mother.

The Chabad 'Gift' To The Elderly That Won't Stop Giving

Haysha Deitsch, the prominent Chabad hasid real estate developer best known for allegedly abusing elderly residents of the prospect Park Residence, an unlicensed nursing home facility he bought in Brooklyn, now wants to build a high-end 11-story building at 243 Fourth Ave. near President Street – despite claiming he didn't have enough money to keep his unlicensed nursing home open. So he forced out most of the elderly residents and then allegedly denied the rest heat, air conditioning and other services.

Are You A College Student Who Would Like To Prevent Women From Becoming Agunot?

Are you an undergraduate student at Barnard College, Cooper Union, Columbia University, New York University, University of Maryland, or University of Pennsylvania? If so, ORA, the Organization for the Resolution of Agunot has openings in its campus fellowship program.

Exotic Shofars? Yes There Are!

"We know that the best way to fulfill the mitzvah of shofar is with the horn of a ram. This is because one of the reasons for the shofar is to remind us of Avraham's binding of Yitzchak, and the ram that he offered in its place. But has anyone ever stopped to think about what kind of ram it was?…"

Haredi MKs Want All Orthodox Jews To Get Car Insurance Discounts

Member of Knesset Rabbi Uri Maklev of the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party (UTJ) wants haredim and other Orthodox Jews to have automatic discounts on…car insurance premiums.

Picture Of The Day: Breslov Hasid On Way To Uman Covers Eyes With Blindfold To Avoid Seeing "Immodest" Women

On the way to Uman, Ukraine to spend Rosh Hashana at the grave of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, hasidim use a blindfold and a tallit to cover their eyes to avoid seeing "immodestly" dressed women.

Video: New Species Of Human Ancestors Found

Buried deep underground in a cave whose opening is so narrow special small stature archaeologists had to be recruited to excavate it are thousands of ancient bones from two previously unknown ancestors of modern humans. With small chimp-like heads and very small brains, they resemble apes. But one of two newly-discovered species, Homo naledi, has human-like feet, long legs (for the size of its body), walked upright – and apparently buried its dead, all things similar to humans. Watch the full PBS Nova / National Geographic report, Dawn of Humanity, here now.

Haredi IDF Soldier And PI Do What Cops Failed To Do: Identify And Gather Damaging Evidence Against The Haredi Men Who Have Been Harassing And Threatening Haredi IDF Soldiers

In what is clearly another failure for Israel’s woebegone police department and its disinterested government, a haredi IDF officer hired a private investigator and was able to find out who heads the anti-haredi-IDF-soldiers campaign of harassment and intimidation. And then, the haredi IDF officer outed the criminals, while all the while the IDF, Shin Bet and Israel’s woebegone police force failed to identify the harassers or act against them.

New Species Of Human Ancestor Found In South African Cave

The discovery of a new species of human relative that buried its dead and had other rituals despite having a brain about the size of a chimp's was announced today, 10 September 2015, by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University), the National Geographic Society and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF).

Another Year, Another Haredi Eyeglasses Ban

It's almost a new year, and what would the run-up to a new year be without another haredi eyeglasses ban? So here were go, courtesy of Talmud Torah Toldos Raphael Kahshooi:

Israel Knows Who Burned Palestinian Family Alive, Defense Minister Says, But Won’t Indict Them, At Least For Now

Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon told a closed meeting of about 20 young Likud activists last night in Tel Aviv that Israel’s defense and security establishment knows who committed the Douma arson attack in late July that killed three members of a Palestinian family. But Ya’alon also said the defense and security establishment has decided not to allow the state prosecution to indict and charge the suspects. Why?

YU’s President To Step Down After Almost A Decade Of Major Financial Losses

In an email sent to YU staff, students and alumni today, YU’s president, Richard Joel, announced that he will leave his position at the Diaspora’s flagship Orthodox-but-not-haredi Jewish university by the end of his current term.

Is It A Matter Of Money? Will More Government Money Really Help Haredi Schools To Teach Secular Subjects?

The Jewish Week and WNYC Radio look into that question and the answer is…