FailedMessiah.com

Throw Women Of The Wall To The Dogs, Israel’s Haredi Deputy Education Minister Tells The Knesset

Israel’s haredi Deputy Education Minister Meir Porush told the Knesset plenum today that Women of the Wall should be “thrown to the dogs."

Is It Time For The Australian Government And The Jewish Community To Overthrow Chabad Leadership?

"…I believe the time has come where serious consideration needs to be given by the broader Jewish community and government as to whether it is appropriate for [Chabad] Yeshivah to continue under its current administration and in its current form. It is easy to forget amid all this chaos that victims are still hurting and seeking justice by way of holding to account those trustees who remain in power, and that the safety of children within the school is paramount. I concur with another [Chabad] Yeshivah victim who recently said publicly that he does not believe that safety can be guaranteed in the environment that currently exists. I would urge the community to give serious consideration to forcing the trustees to hand the [Chabad] Yeshivah Centre over to capable and independent trustees who can administer the Centre professionally until such time as the community has developed the appropriate structures to have it back. Ultimately it’s the safety and wellbeing of our children – past and present – that we are dealing with. And this must always come first."

Chabad's International Leadership Tells Local Chabad Leaders In Melbourne That Democracy And True Power Sharing Are Forbidden

Did you believe Chabad's frequent claims to the press that each official Chabad center is a truly independent franchise? A new letter written to Chabad trustees in Melbourne, Australia by Chabad's organizational head Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky and the 1973 memo from his predecessor included with it should dispel that notion. But perhaps more importantly, the new Krinsky letter refers to the ongoing Chabad child sex abuse scandal in Melbourne this way: "We also acknowledge the severe difficulties you [Chabad trustees] have been going through for over a year and the aggravation and turmoil that have engulfed the entire Chabad community of Melbourne." There is not one word of consolation for the victims of the child sex abuse and not one word or regret for how the original complaints of child sex abuse were handled.

 

Rabbis, Rebbes, Kabbalists And Wonder-Workers Will Now Have To Pay Taxes

“It’s a pity it took so long for the legal authorities to recognize that blessings, holy water or charms are a product like any other product or service, and the money that’s gotten for them – even if it’s given officially as a ‘contribution’ – should be liable for tax, like any other income.”

Video: Satmar Rebbe's Private Motorcade Speeds, Uses Flashing Red Lights And Sirens, As Cops Do Nothing To Stop It

When the Williamsburg Satmar Rebbe Zalman Leib Teitelbaum left Brooklyn to visit Israel whose statehood he does not acknowledge, he was escorted by a large motorcade with flashing emergency lights and sirens. These cars drove erratically and unsafely and broke the speed limit as they tried to keep up with the rebbe's car. All of this is illegal. But in New York City, legality is a very porous thing.

We Will Never Recognize Non-Orthodox Judaism, Israel’s Interior Minister Says

"So long as we are in the position of power and influence, we can never give recognition to the Reform [a catch-all phrase that in haredi parlance means all of the non-Orthodox Jewish movements]. Although they are Jews, they will not get any recognition. In Judaism there is only one stream – the religious path of Moses and Israel."

Compromise Of Lies And Shame Creates 2 Kotels For 2 Peoples

"Any possibility that women and men will be able to pray at the Kotel in a manner that does not suit the haredi interpretation has been erased. What will happen for example when an Orthodox woman wants to recite the Mourner’s Kaddish for her dear ones in the women’s section? According to a large number of halakhic authorities (on religious law) this is permitted, but the Chief Rabbinate, which by government decision will be the determining body, rejects it.…"

Supreme Court Extends Prison Sentences For 2 Haredi Hate Crime Arsonists

The two unrepentant brothers proudly pleaded guilty to the hate crime. But the plea deal did not have a specified prison sentence and the Jerusalem District Court originally sentenced the brothers to two relatively lenient sentences, one to 24 months in prison and the other to 30.

Reform Movement Loses Almost Everything In New Kotel Deal But Declares "Historic" Victory

"Today history was made. The Israeli government has agreed to give unprecedented recognition to Reform and Conservative Judaism at one of Judaism’s holiest places, the Western Wall. For decades, Israel has given full religious authority at the Kotel to Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Judaism. That is about to change. The Reform Movement, the Conservative Movement, Women of the Wall, and the Jewish Federations negotiated a deal that was just publicly announced and approved.…"

Haredim Block Government Funding For Egalitarian Prayer Area Near Western Wall

Israel’s Sefardi haredi Shas Party-controlled Ministry of Religious Services will not give any funding or support for the new proposed egalitarian prayer area to be located south the traditional Kotel (Western Wall) near Robinson’s Arch no matter what the government decides about the egalitarian prayer area’s future.

PBS: Hasidic Yeshivas And Secular Education

The hasidic yeshivas lack of secular education controversy reaches PBS. Watch here now.

Breslov Hasidim Issue Death Threat Against South Africa’s Chief Rabbi

“The police were sent in an attempt to arrest Rabbi Berland on Shabbat [sabbath] night. This is a very serious crime. [Jewish law] speaks extensively on the rodef, a person who goes and tries to imprison his fellow in the hands of non-Jews. There is a commandment to stop him at all costs. And the law refers to a simple Jew…whereas we are dealing with a great Rabbi, a great Torah Sage [Berland].”

To Stave Off Drought, African Dictator Allegedly Sends Delegation To Apologize To Hasidic Rabbi Wanted For Alleged Sex Crimes

Zimbabwe's dictator Robert Muagbe has allegedly sent a delegation to South Africa to apologize to Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the Breslov Shuvu Banim hasidic sect leader wanted by police in Israel for allegedly sexually assaulting young female followers, including one minor.

NY Man Arrested On Child Sex Abuse Charges

The New York State Police in Haverstraw arrested Yehoshua Nachison, age 32, of Pomona for subjecting a female child to sexual contact.

Government Scrutiny Of Kosher Slaughter, Circumcision And Religious Schools May Force Jews To Leave Britain, Prominent Orthodox Jewish Community Member Says

British Jews might have to reevaluate their presence in the UK because the British government is putting circumcision, religious schools and kosher slaughter under increasing scrutiny, a prominent Orthodox Jewish community member told the media.

Haredim Use Secular City’s Public Library Computers To Surf Porn Sites, Patrons Complain

Because the men are “out of [Bnei Brak] they lose all shame and take advantage of a situation in which librarians hardly come into this [public computer] room."

Who Is Getting Screwed In The New Kotel Deal? Allegedly, Every Non-Haredi Jew In The World

This deal, if it goes through, affects the status of the central national holy place of the Jewish people and will make it officially, for the first time – and, God forbid, perhaps irrevocably – the sole preserve of haredim who will be able to banish anyone or any Jewish group which does not follow haredi understanding of halakha (Orthodox Jewish law) and custom. What has until now been a de facto usurpation by haredim, done without any national deliberation at all and without consent, would become official government policy. This is what is at stake here for all of us.

Powerful Haredi MK To Block Official Government Funding For New Egalitarian Prayer Area At Western Wall

The haredi head of the Knesset Finance Committee will block funding for the egalitarian prayer area to located at Robinson’s Arch not far from the traditional Kotel (Western Wall) area.

Don't Report Child Sex Abuse To Police, Leading Haredi Rabbi Says

Rabbi Nochum Eisenstein, who was the late supreme haredi leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's point man on conversion to Judaism, says Elyashiv did not want most cases of child sex abuse to be reported to police – even though Elyashiv ruled in writing that credible suspicions of child sex abuse ("raglayim l'davar") must in fact be reported to police.

Chabad And Haredi Rabbis Ban Rabbi Meir Rabi's Ben Pakuah Meats

What the Geonim permitted the far lesser rabbis of Chabad and Australia's version of Edah Haredit have banned. But don't worry. Even though ben pakuah meat would have dropped the price of kosher meat dramatically, these rabbis have your best interests at heart. And you can be assured of that because they they say so.

London Haredim Warn Wedding Photographers Not To Photograph Women Dancing

UOHC warns that it is against halakha for photographers to photograph women dancing or women acting in a women's play or show.

Israel Set To Allow Haredi Boys Schools To Teach No Secular Subjects At All

Succumbing to pressure from the Ashkenazi haredi United Torah Judaism Party, Israel’s Zionist Orthodox Education Minister Naftali Bennett has apparently agreed to write – and, allegedly, champion – a bill that would abolish the legal requirement for haredi boys schools to teach secular subjects.

Attention Mister Comrade Haredi! Don’t Like Following Education Law In Britain Or The US? You’re Invited To Immigrate To The Jewish Autonomous Oblast Of Russia

Using as his pretext the British government’s closure of a noncompliant illegal haredi school in London, Talmud Torah Tashbar, Rabbi Eli Riss, the chief rabbi of the Jewish Autonomous Oblast of Russia – better known to many Jews as "Birobidzhan” – which is located due north of North Korea, issued a public statement Tuesday calling on Diaspora haredim to leave their home countries and move to his community.

Video: 7 Arrests In Haredi Anti-Draft Protest

A small group of haredim staged a protest in Jerusalem's Shabbat Square yesterday afternoon to protest the arrest of two haredi yeshiva students who dodged the draft. The protesting haredim blocked the street and caused buses to have to disembark their passengers as police tried to clear the intersection. Seven arrests were made.

Government Targets For Haredi Employment Not Being Met, Less Than Half Of Israeli Haredi Men Employed

Government targets for increasing male haredi employment have not been met, a senior official at the Economy Ministry said yesterday.

Today, You Are Not Quite A Man: Haredi Rabbi Arrested And Charged With Bar Mitzvah-Based Child Sexual Abuse

The alleged victims are three boys aged 13 to 14. The sexual abuse took place repeatedly over an extended period of time, and was based on misleading them about their halakhic (Jewish legal) status immediately after their bar mitzvahs.

Women Of The Wall, Non-Orthodox Movements, Set To Fold In Kotel Prayer Area Negotiations

The coalition government of Israel will tentatively vote Sunday on a plan to open an egalitarian prayer area at the Kotel (Western Wall). But the proposed egalitarian prayer space is dramatically scaled back from what the non-Orthodox groups and Women of the Wall (WoW) originally wanted.

Belz Issues Women's Driving Ban – Again

The Belz hasidic movement has a relatively new community near Lakewood, New Jersey and it has banned all women in it from driving. It also mandates that men cannot walk in public outside their homes without wearing a frock coat and a hat, and has all sorts of rules people who live in the community must follow. Is this legal? If it is in any way linked to housing sales or rental, it likely isn't. When Belz tried a similar women's driving ban last year in London, England linked to its schools there, the British government almost closed the schools, and the Belz driving ban made international headlines.

The Haredi "Arab Spring" Is Reportedly Upon Us

According to a new report in Israel's Channel 10 News website, the haredi version of the Arab Spring is already in bloom as children of BTs leave the haredi community in large numbers while born and bred haredim, finally able to get uncensored news on the Internet from places like News 10 (and Behadrei Haredim,  FailedMessiah.com, etc.), move closer and closer to open rebellion against rabbinic leaders.

Agri Star Refused Temple Grandin's Request For Transparency Because Rabbis Didn't Want It

In a 2010 letter to PETA, Agri Star's owner, Hershey Friedman, says it can't install 24/6 video monitoring of the animal handling areas of the plant and its grounds or of the slaughter floor area because the Postville plant's rabbis thought having cameras looking over their shoulders would hinder their jobs.

Profile Of A Haredi Cult

Lev Tahor fled Canada for Guatemala in 2014 as a Canadian provincial government moved to take children out of the cult's care due to alleged child abuse and neglect. Now America's premier foreign affairs publication has a long profile of the cult that details the widespread allegations against it.

Haredi Lobby Group Fighting Against Rockland Fire Safety Code Enforcement Has Office In Building Apparently Owned By Hasidim Whose Negligence Killed Firefighters

OJPAC, a haredi lobby group closely associated with haredi PR flack Yossi Gestetner, is fighting against demands made by Rockland County, New York firefighters to shut down many haredi yeshivas in the county which are operating illegally and are often so code and permit noncompliant they are demonstrably unsafe. But OJPAC has a bit of a secret. It's official office is located in a property that appears to be owned and by Hamodia publisher Ruth Lichtenstein's and husband and son, Nahman (Nachman) and Yechiel Lichtenstein, who are notorious landlords and property owners. Their large Philadelphia warehouse property burned four years ago due to their neglect and their failure to comply with the city's code and its enforcement orders. That fire killed two firemen.

Is Agri Star Kosher Slaughter Really Humane?

A JTA interview with Hershey Friedman, the wealthy haredi businessman who bought Agriprocessors and turned it into Agri Star, makes it seem as if Agri Star's slaughter is now humane. But is it?

Watch: British Parliament Talks About Illegal Haredi Schools

Watch as a parliament committee discusses the closure of Talmud Torah Tashbar and the problem of illegal haredi schools.

South African Cops Try But Fail To Arrest “Sex-Pest” Hasidic Rabbi

The third time was not a charm for South African police, who reportedly tried – and failed – to arrest Breslov hasidic Rabbi Eliezer Berland on Shabbat. But what really upset Berland and his followers is that the police had the help of Hebrew-speaking Jews who violated Shabbat in a bid to arrest him.

Zionist Orthodox Education Minister Withholds Millions Of Dollars From Non-Orthodox NGOs, Gives The Money To Orthodox And Haredi Groups Instead

Israel’s Zionist Orthodox-controlled Education Ministry has withheld millions of dollars in funding for organizations promoting Jewish pluralism, despite the fact that funding was allocated and earmarked in the state budget. Instead, the ministry appears to have given the money to Zionist Orthodox and haredi groups.

For Israeli Ex-Haredim, A Brave New World

Tamar Rotem, Israel's top reporter on the haredi community, used to write regularly for Ha'aretz. But then she stopped. Now, after a long hiatus, Rotem returns with a long, detailed report on people who, often in the dead of night, flee the haredi community. 

US Jewish Federations And Foundations Form Consortium To Financially Support Breaking State-Enforced Haredi Monopoly Over Marriage In Israel

The Israel Religious Expression Platform (iRep), a consortium of US Jewish federations and private foundations, has awarded grants to Israeli nonprofits that are meant to encourage Israelis to marry outside the auspices of the haredi-controlled official state Chief Rabbinate.

Jerusalem Orders 5 Convenience Stores To Close On Shabbat, Despite Being Located In Secular Neighborhood Frequented By Tourists

The City of Jerusalem ordered the owners of five small grocery and 24-hour convenience stores located in the City Center neighborhood to close their businesses on Shabbat – even though the neighborhood has no Orthodox or haredi community.

Haredim Lash Out At British Prime Minister’s Assertion Children In Religious Schools Should Learn English To Counter Extremism

“We are deeply uncomfortable about the [professed] link between poor English language skills and extremism, which does not appear to have any evidence base. Conflating these two issues stigmatizes parts of society in a way that can only increase the feelings of unease and marginalization of the targeted groups.…Schools should not be used as a tool for social engineering,” Friedman of the haredi Interlink organization continued. “We do not accept that independent faith schools should be branded inadequate because children have a simple and conservative understanding of family life.…"

Spring Valley Building Inspector And Haredi Homeowner Arrested In Corruption And Grand Larceny Case

Walter Booker allegedly gave a haredi homeowner, Jacob Goldman, false certificates of occupancy so he could obtain tax exemptions and operate a daycare facility.

Shocking: Bronx Assisted Living Facility Serving Non-Jews Gave Millions Of Dollars To Haredi Yeshivas And Charities In Israel

A Bronx nursing home and assisted living facility serves an almost exclusively non-Jewish population. Even so, the nonprofit has sent more than $20 million dollars to hasidic and Orthodox charities, mostly yeshivas and other institutions owned by the Belz, Skvere and Sanz hasidic dynasties, many located in Israel. Some money even went to Aish HaTorah to convert non-Orthodox Jews to Orthodoxy. Sitting on the board of this Bronx nonprofit are some of the most powerful men in the haredi community, men who sit on the board of Agudath Israel of America and the Orthodox Union. One of them, Abraham Biderman, is the new head of the scandal-plagued Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, the Jewish community's NYC anti-poverty arm that was looted of millions of dollars by its former CEO William E. Rapfogel, who like Biderman is an Orthodox Jew.

An ATM For Blessings And Tzedaka

Outside the home of #2 Ashkenazi haredi non-hasidic rabbinic leader Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky is a new ATM-like device that allows users to deposit money for a charity Kanievsky supports and, through the use of computerized technology, give Kanievsky's aides the donor's name, Hebrew name, and other religiously pertinent information the charity promises Kanievsky will use when he gives the donor a remote blessing.

Alleged Victim Of Malka Leifer Speaks Out For The First Time

"…It has been 18 months since Malka Leifer was arrested!! Where is Justice? Where is the court system that is on the victim’s side? Where is Malka Leifer? Why is she allowed to hide behind her supposed panic attacks? Is rape not considered crime enough to be trialled?? Where is justice?…"

Top Haredi Backer Of NYC Mayor Fails To Show Up To Serve Prison Sentence For Sex Abuse, Arrest Warrant Issued

A top haredi backer of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to show up today to begin serving a prison sentence for a sex abuse conviction.

High Court Orders Government To Explain Obvious Pro-Haredi Bias In State Child Care Subsidy Program

“Granting the subsidy to couples in which the father learns in yeshiva full time does an injury to all other couples who need to prove that they are working or studying in order to gain employment in the future. This discrimination is expressed in acceptance committees for child day care in which preference is given to the children of yeshiva students since the families of yeshiva students will always be poorer than families where both parents work."

Chabad In Melbourne Announces New Organization Scheme

Chabad in Melbourne, Australia has released what it says will be its new organizational structure and the methods of electing or appointing the people who will be the lay leaders of Chabad institutions there. A close look seems to show that the disgraced old guard will still easily be able to control everything behind a razor thin veneer of very limited democracy.

Anti-IDF Haredim Deface Sefardi Prayerbooks In Beit Shemesh Synagogues

The anti-IDF haredim took Sefardi prayer books and ripped out the pages where the prayer for IDF soldiers is printed or blotted out the words of the payer with markers.

Chief Rabbi Tells Knesset Israel Is A Jewish State First, A Democracy Only (A Distant) Second

The haredi Sefardi Chief Rabbi of Israel Yitzhak Yosef was invited to speak in the Knesset’s on-site synagogue yesterday to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the dedication of Knesset building. Yosef's message to lawmakers? Democracy takes a back seat to Judaism.

Public School Parents Sue NY State Department Of Education And Board Of Regents Over Haredi-Controlled Scandal-Plagued East Ramapo School Board

Parents of public school children in East Ramapo Central School District have filed a petition in State Supreme Court in Albany, asking the court to direct the New York State Board of Regents and the State Education Department (SED) to take concrete remedial action to safeguard their children’s right to a sound basic education as guaranteed by the New York State Constitution.