FailedMessiah.com

Religious Decline Does Not Equal Moral Decline, New Research Finds

Morality is not rooted in religion and religion matters less for moral values now than it did thirty years ago new research has found.

Let Wounded Terrorists Die, Top Haredi Rabbi Rules

The #2 non-hasidic Ashkenazi haredi rabbinic leader in Israel (and arguably worldwide, as well) Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky told the heads of Israel’s haredi United Hatzolah volunteer ambulance and paramedic organization today that they their organizations should refuse to treat wounded Palestinian terrorists until all non-terrorists have been treated, even if the terrorist is the most seriously injured of all the wounded. And, Kanievsky continued, if that terrorist is in danger of dying from his wounds, United Hatzolah should refuse to treat him and allow him to die rather than save his life.

The Science Of Evolution Explains The Origins Of The "Yetzer Tov" And "Yetzer HaRa"

What science has to say about the origins of good and evil is much more profound than anything ever posited by religions, even by Judaism. And besides being more profound, it is also appears to be stunningly accurate.

All Captured Arab Terrorists Should Be Killed, Leading Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Says

Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu wants cops or the IDF to kill every captured Palestinian terrorist, and he says any cop or soldier who fails to do so should be put on trial.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe's Esrog

Chabad's paradigm for moshiach never asked the US Government to save Jews from the Holocaust. He used money he raised to rescue Jews and instead used it to start his Brooklyn yeshiva while thousands of Jews were being incinerated in Hitler's ovens every day. But there was something special the Lubavitcher Rebbe wanted the US to do for him just before Sukkot 1944.

Poll Asked Americans: Would You Have Hidden Jews During The Holocaust?

1,000 Americans were asked the following question: "Think back to World War II when Jews in Europe were forced into concentration camps and many were killed by the Nazis. If you were living in this time period, would you have risked the possible imprisonment and death of yourself and your family to hide Jews?" But what's surprising about the results isn't the answers – it's how a haredi news website reported them.

Child Sex Abuse And Related Coverups Were Justified In Order To Allow The Modern Orthodox And Haredi Communities To Grow, Rabbi Says

"…When we are in cultural survival mode, the focus must be on the attractive nature of our lifestyle. Our communal body was sick, wracked with disease, and our only chance for survival was to allow our wounds to heal in the background while we showcased our healthy limbs to the admiring public. It would have been too dangerous to be self-critical. We would have risked losing it all.…"

Prominent UK Non-Orthodox Rabbis Call For End To Rape And Slaughter In The Congo, Orthodox Rabbis Don't Sign

“As rabbis, many of whom have relatives who perished in the Holocaust, we can neither stand idly by nor close our hearts to the pleas of the Congolese people.” However, no Orthodox, Chabad or haredi rabbis signed on to that statement. And haredi-Chabad billionaire Dan Gertler, the man pictured at right, may be the reason why.

Blame The Victims: Murdered French Cartoonists “Sinned” Against Society, Chabad Rabbi Says

Talk about blaming the victims. A prominent Chabad rabbi in England triggered outrage after he wrote that that the cartoonists at the French magazine Charlie Hebdo who were slaughtered by Islamist fundamentalist terrorists sinned against society.

Is The Latest US-Israel Fight Real? And, If It is, What Does It Mean For Israel?

By now, you've probably seen reports on the latest alleged disagreement between the Obama Administration and the Israeli government. If you haven't, the claim is that Israel went behind the back of the White House and State Department to get weapons from the Pentagon during the war. But what is really behind this very odd and unlikely claim and why does it matter?

Should Chabad Take Money From And Honor An Alleged Scam Artist?

“He is the most generous person I know,” Yaffe added. “If he wants to start giving money to the poor families should I not take money from him? How could I not?”

Video: On CNN, Hamas Spokesman Cites Orthodox Five Towns Jewish Times Journalist's Call For Genocide Against Palestinians

Speaking to Wolf Blitzer on CNN, Hamas spokesperson Osama Hamdan cited Five Towns Jewish Times journalist Yochanan Gordon's call for genocide against all Gaza Palestinians as support for his own blood libel of the Jewish people. Hamdan's logic is insane and very dishonest, but his citation of Gordon's call for genocide (and his citation of a somewhat similar, although more craftily stated, idea allegedly floated by Zionist Orthodox Deputy Knesset Speaker Moshe Feiglin of the Likud Party) is noteable.

Hasidic Shul Warns Congregants Not To Give Charity To Many "Russian" And Other Beggars Who Are "Fakes"

A sign posted by the synagogue with the rabbi's explicit permission argues that giving beggars money does not fulfill the mitzvah of tzedaka (giving charity) and claims that helping them is perpetuating their frauds. It says some of these beggars are on "government programs" and don't buy kosher food with the money given them, anyway.

Israeli Bus Company Ad Warns Haredim That Stealing Rides Is Wrong

The Egged public bus company ran an ad last week in haredi newspapers with a challah depicted as a bus. It says that riding the bus is like taking a challah from the corner grocery store. Just like you pay for the challah, you must pay for the bus ride. In other words, in Egged's perception, so many haredim are stealing rides that it needed to spend money to publish this ad in haredi papers to explain to haredim that stealing rides is wrong.

Modern Orthodox Lies

Rabbi Shlomo Brody, a Harvard grad who is the online editor of the Modern Orthodox journal Tradition and a teacher at Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem, lies about Jewish law's position on breaking Shabbat law in order to save the life of a gentile.

Send African Refugees Back To A Near Certain Death, Rabbi Says

“The people of Israel brought the concept of compassion into the world. We are noted for our compassion even by our enemies; Hitler specifically pointed out that we introduced such concepts, and they hated us for it. But excessive compassion can also have negative consequences. We have many of our own vulnerable people who we need to help and absorbing these illegal immigrants entails huge financial obligations. From a demographic, economic and security perspective we just can’t absorb these numbers of people coming in – and we have to return them either to where they came from or to another country.”

Goldman Sachs Whistleblower Jewish

Greg Smith, the mid-level Goldman Sachs executive who wrote a scathing resignation essay for the New York Times that decried Goldman Sachs' culture as "toxic and destructive," is a Jew with a (left wing in terms of religion) Modern Orthodox day school education.

Israel Fails To Adequately Care For Its Elderly

An old-age home in Bnei Brak had gone up in flames. The fire, which started due to what turned out to be criminal negligence, was the fault of the institution's directors, who were operating it without a license and with a forged safety certificate. Some people still believe that society's "weak" members are those who did not try hard enough, or were not born smart enough, or are just losers who at most have to be given an occasional hot meal as a "contribution to the community." But these people don't understand that they are living in a country that has abandoned the most basic principle that makes a society out of a chaotic jungle: the right to live a dignified life. Life expectancy in Israel is constantly on the rise, but the bad news, released this week by the Bank of Israel, is that government outlays on caring for the elderly are among the lowest in the western world.

Porn, Art Or Journalism?

Is a photographer’s photo of a naked Ethiopian woman immersing in a mikva kosher? And was the photographer within his rights to post that naked picture online?

Conservative Movement's Ethics 'Hechsher' Officially Opens For Business

Magen Tzedek, the Conservative Movement's ethics seal is now open for business and kosher food products can now carry the Magen Tzedek seal.

The "Messiah" Of Mea Shearim

The attorney who defends violent extremist haredim who beat, extort, steal and bully Jews they oppose is a hero in Mea Shearim. "Their word is their word," the attorney says about these criminals. "I know too that in most cases if they did something wrong, even if it was severe, they did it not out of evil but in fact the opposite.…What do [the courts] gain by putting someone [like this] in prison with criminals?"

Rabbi: IDF Soldiers Should Shoot Terrorists "In Their Beds"

The Israel Defense Forces' former chief Rabbi criticized a prisoner swap deal that is due to set abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit free, saying on Monday that Israeli soldiers should from now on "kill terrorists in their beds." "When you arrive to arrest terrorists like the murderers of the Fogel family, they should just be shot, exterminated. They were terrorists that murdered people and should be killed in their beds," the former chief IDF rabbi said.

Video: Fundamentalist Illogic

Is a person by definition compassionate if he opposes equal rights for homosexuals on religious grounds rather than out of simple prejudice? If so, would that mean that an evangelical who opposes funding of faith-based organizations that are Catholic, Jewish, Buddhist or Muslim on religious grounds be classified as doing so with compassion because he cares about the souls of sinners? Now what if that fundamentalist is Dov Hikind, and what he opposes is gay marriage?

Another State, Another Republican Bill To Outlaw Whistleblowing Videos Of Slaughterhouses, Corporate Farms, And Food Processing Facilities

"This bill criminalizes whistle blowing on any animal facility and that could be whistle blowing for animal cruelty, which of course is what our principal concern is, but it's so broadly written it would include food safety practices, environmental pollution and labor issues," Humane Society says. Similar bills have been introduced by Republicans in Iowa and Florida.

Parshat Zachor as a Model Response to Ancient and Contemporary Trauma

There is something jarring here, that I have missed in years past. Does not the positive commandment to blot out the memory of Amalek (if we read this literally) directly contradict the negative act of not forgetting? Strangely, we are being told to forget and to remember simultaneously.

Fundamental Flaws

Where are the more tolerant others among us? The day seems to be carried by increasingly anti-modern, xenophobic fundamentalists. Those who increase bans reject modern technologies and attempt to hide the realities of abuse as they deny the needs of the abused and support the abuser.

Meditating On Madoff

For Madoff, business was like a war. We know he thought this way because he stated this openly and explicitly. Listening to Bernie Madoff, given everything we now know about him, can we agree to jettison the business as war metaphor, once and for all? Can we agree that “taking the human being out of the equation” is literally a form of madness?

Are Unions Kosher?

Are unions kosher? Does a community have a responsibility to ensure public servants are decently paid? Does Orthodox Judaism have anything to say about these questions? About the crisis in Wisconsin? It does – but it is being said by a non-Orthodox rabbi.

Protect Organ Donation

In the last two decades, Orthodoxy has been increasingly hijacked by religious fundamentalism. A growing number of rabbis seem bent on adhering to the strictest interpretations of ancient talmudic dictates, even if doing so leads to an untenable moral position. Protecting the “life” of a Jew with irreversible brain-stem damage has become more important for these irresponsible figures than saving the life of another human being.

Video: Jewish Week Editor Gary Rosenblatt Talks About The Rabbi Baruch Lanner Scandal

Holding a "mirror" to the Jewish community.

Should The President's Plaques Come Down?

During his presidency, convicted rapist Moshe Katsav left trail of commemorative plaques in synagogues, cemeteries and Jewish centers around the world. Should they remain now that the former Israeli president has been convicted of rape and sexual assault that took place during his presidency?

Idiocy In The Name Of Torah

Don't snitch on carjackers and serial killers, a Tablet Magazine writer says, because gangsta rappers, Kant and Moses wouldn't want you to.

Where's The Outrage? The Surreal Mistreatment Of Women At The Western Wall

The group Women of the Wall have been called whores, lesbians, goyim, and much worse. Chairs have been thrown at them as they chant the morning prayers together. Soiled diapers are hurled over the mechitza in a strange display of contempt and disgust.  One can only wonder to oneself, “Do the fervently Orthodox bring the soiled diapers with them on the bus to the Kotel on Rosh Hodesh? Or, are the dirtied diapers manufactured on the spot?”

The Case for Speaking Openly About Jewish Ethics And Jewish Criminals: If Not Now, When?

Justifiable anger about sexual abuse, financial fraud, or political corruption should not disqualify one from taking part in conversations about Jewish ethics. It is the lack of anger, when anger is surely the only appropriate response, that should be called into question.

"I Don't Eat Arabs, Either"

Jonathan Safran Foer is not necessarily determined to turn you into a vegetarian. But he wants to convince you that your eating habits can ultimately make a difference.

Italian Hotels Shocked By Behavior Of Israeli Tourists

Israeli travel agents have been receiving a slew of complaints in recent weeks from hotel and villa managers in Italy about the behavior of Israeli tourists. 

Distribution Of Income By Religions In The US

How does Judaism rate?

Golda Meir Wanted To Bar Sick, Handicapped Holocaust Survivors From Immigrating To Israel

"A proposal was raised in the coordination committee to inform the Polish government that we want to institute selection in aliyah, because we cannot continue accepting sick and handicapped people."

Is It Kosher? Scientists Grow Meat In Lab

The lab-grown meat could be on sale within five years.

Healthcare and Jewish Law, Part 2

Is there a communal mandate for healthcare?

Is God Bad For Israel's Army?

Should military motivation come from rabbis, or from a belief in the state of Israel and keeping it safe?

The Shame Of Israel:Elderly Holocaust Survivor Homeless In The Holy Land

Yevgeny was 3 when he was taken to the killing fields at Babi Yar. His father was murdered. His mother was shot. Yevgeny survived, married, had a family, earned a living. Then he moved to Israel. Now the 71 year old is homeless in the Holy Land.

Israel to Expel Foreign Workers, Refugees to be “Like Every Other Nation,” Shas Head Says

Foreign workers and refugees will face a "massive expulsion," haredi rabbi Eli Yishai says.

Letter from Berkeley

Though it would be nice to believe that honesty is the default mode of humankind and that so-called religious people are inoculated against temptation, the evidence to the contrary is staggering.

Darwin, Evolution Cause Of Holocaust Museum Shooting, Beliefnet Blogger Claims

Former Forward columnist and current fellow at the fundamentalist anti-evolution Discovery Institute David Klinghoffer tries to lay the blame for the shooting on Charles Darwin.

These Kosher Inspectors Stay Out Of The Kitchen

Does Tav HaYosher really do anything?

RCA Starts Toothless Hechsher Tzedek

Nothing says it better than this sentence from the RCA's press release:

Orthodox Rabbi: What Has Not Been Said About Agriprocessors

Actually, we've said it here and I said it over on Jewcy.com, but no Orthodox rabbi has said it publicly or as well as Rabbi…

Orthodox Rabbis And Blatant Double Standards – How The RCA Ignored Its Own Policy And Covered For Agriprocessors

In 1999, the Rabbinical Council of America passed a policy resolution, Human Law and Dignity, in support of workers' rights.

That resolution, reprinted below, mandates the RCA and its constituents to "speak out vigorously" against unsafe working conditions.

Yet, despite Agriprocessors horrific safety record, the RCA…

Lubinsky, Star-K, OU, Hechsher Tzedek On NPR

The topic? Are rabbis responsible to make sure non-food related halakha is followed by companies they supervise?

Here is the example given by the Star-K's Rabbi Avraham Pollack: