Former principal of girls' school in Melbourne arrested in Israel on sex assault charges

The Australian    THE former principal of a Melbourne Jewish girls’ school who fled Australia in 2008 after being accused of sexual assault has been arrested in Israel and is facing extradition. 

 

The federal Attorney-General’s Department has confirmed Malka Leifer was taken into custody in Israel after an extradition request from Australian authorities.

The mother of eight left Australia six years ago after she was sacked as principal of the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel School Elsternwick following allegations of improper conduct with students between 2001 — 2008.

A spokesman for the Attorney-General’s Department said Ms Leifer was wanted to face prosecution in Victoria for alleged sexual assault offences.

Lessons about happiness & spiritual satisfaction learned from spaghetti sauce - Malcolm Gladwell

הרב שיק: לא לטייח מקרי התעללות בילדים, לפנות למשטרה

Kikar HaShabbbat

הרב אליעזר שלמה יהודה שיק, המכונה "הצדיק מיבניאל" קורא להתלונן במשטרה על תוקפי ילדים ולא לטייח את המקרים. בכך, מצטרף הרב שיק לרבנים נוספים שקראו בשנים האחרונות לפנות לגורמים המוסמכים ולהתלונן על מקרי התעללות במגזר החרדי.

בשאלה שפורסמה באתר האינטרנט של הרב שיק, סופר על קייטנה במהלכה פגע לכאורה נער קטין בילד - בנוכחות אמו של הנער. לדברי אמו של הילד, ששמעה על המקרה, היא ניסתה לברר עמו מה אירע, אולם החליטה לעצור זאת כי ראתה שבנה "נכנס ללחץ", כלשונה.

Discrimination against Chareidim in the workplace by Allan Katz

Here is a short summary of   an   article from The Marker '   dealing with Discrimination against Chareidim in the workplace' and then my response.

My initial reaction to the title of the article describing the difficulty a graduate of the sought after elite Hi- Tec 8200 unit of the Intelligence Corps  to find work because of his Hasidic dress and appearance, was that a man with a chasidishe style dress, uncut beard, pe'yos etc would be at a big disadvantage as people normally don't like to be with people different to the themselves. But the people who complained about discriminationin the article  - just because they are chareidim -  were modern chareidi, no beard or suit, and who had went to the army – and this surprised me. Chareidi women have another obstacle in their path. They are asked when they intend to fall pregnant again. Although the % employment rate for women in Israel is 66.3% and for Chareidi women a close 61.2% we must keep in mind that often they are the sole breadwinners. Other obstacles in the path of Chareidim is the lack of training and qualifications, English and Maths, the degrees or non-academic diplomas  from the Chareidi colleges are not so competitive, and in the case of men they expect higher salaries because they enter the market at an older age and with a big family to support. The Ministry of Economic Affairs has a program to help absorb more Chareidim in the work force by opening employment centers, providing professional development and training, and offering incentives to employers to take on Chareidi workers. The spokeswoman said that employees were afraid of employing Chareidim because of their perceptions of demands for separation between the sexes and kosher food. She was hopeful in the long run as Chareidim become more open to working in a secular environment and employees reap the benefits of serious and dedicated Chareidi workers.[...]

The problem imho is the message conveyed by the politicians – both chareidi and secular. The chareidim would prefer not to work but remain in learning and live on hand outs and not integrate into Israeli life by going to the army etc. . . . So a private employer would ask himself – why support a community that discourages its men to go out to work or make a contribution to the country by going to the army. I think it was before the last elections that a friend of mine - studying in a Kollel and doing hours of she'rut le'umi with the intention of studying dentistry asked a  ' Gimmel ' - Agudah politician the following question. Why they did not join others defending the existing rights that 'she'rut leumi' offered to those who wish to study and enter the workforce.  The politician gave various excuses but when pushed, he said that Agudah cannot be seen to be encouraging young men to leave Kollel and go out into the workplace. The same negative attitude is to employment and parnassa is also expressed in the context of education. A kollel for young men who wanted to work and learn seriously in a Kollel framework was forced to close down.  A school offering kids to graduate in one year and do other courses afterward together with a learning program was severely criticized in the name of ' pure haskafos'.  It seems that issues of poverty have no place in ' hashkofos'.It seems that nothing has changed in the 60 years since Rav Dessler passed away? Rav Dessler had the view and belief ...... that  Yeshivah students should be encouraged to pursue full time learning and be denied the chance to get an academic qualification. Only in this way, could Yeshivas produce a large student body,  needed to  produce  Talmidei Chachamim and Ge'dolei  Yisrael. The negative impact on the lives of those not suitable for full time learning was a worthwhile sacrifice for this goal.The issue now is whether the system would not be better served by altering the single focus to one that allows a multiple tier educational system. [...]

Seminary Scandal: Joe McCarthy also had a list he wouldn't reveal

The present seminary scandal reminds me of the Joe McCarthy's hunt for communists. As shown below he insisted he had the name of those who had infiltrated sensitive government agencies - but he refused to share the information. I well remember the fear of communists as well as the reliance on rumors or associations - which caused a reign of terror in American in the 1950's. The fear of doing anything which would cause people to make accusations of communism caused people to avoid friends or family members and to allow the bullying of many in the name of patriotism. The rejection of the rule of law, of the right to fair trial, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty - did much damage to the fabric of American society. 

I sense a similar fear in air, there are suspicions everywhere, there are anonymous documents taken for fact, there are rabble rousers who are making accusations based on inferences, erroneous deductions and lies. The guilty need to be found - but the paranoia which has developed and the readiness to assume guilt without any meaningful evidence or the normal rules of a fair trial has to be stopped.

If anyone has evidence of abuse or even suspicions of abuse - they need to contact either the Israel Beis Din or the police. It is not acceptable to simply make comments on blogs - either anonymously or by name. It is not intelligent to make drastic change in plans of seminary or shidduchim or even friendship based on wild rumours. We have means of establishing the truth and protecting the vulnerable - but it needs to be done in a mature, lawful manner to protect the innocent and correctly label the guilty.

Reform Judaism's dilemma - Serve Jewish community or the help the world?

NY Times    Leafy, affluent Park Slope, Brooklyn, embodies the challenge facing modern American Jewry: Though many Jews live there, few are observant. So it was no small feat when Rabbi Andy Bachman took the helm of Congregation Beth Elohim in the neighborhood eight years ago and began attracting a vibrant congregation of Jewish atheists and agnostics, as well as the more traditionally religious.

Drawn by big-name book talks, family-oriented religious classes and the rabbi’s teaching that to be Jewish is to do good in the world, membership in the Reform synagogue doubled to more than a thousand families. It drew young literati like Jonathan Safran Foer and catapulted to national attention as a model for what might bring some of the nation’s millions of Jews who are unaffiliated with synagogues back to the fold.

Recently, however, Rabbi Bachman shocked many in his congregation and in Jewish circles by announcing that he was stepping down from the pulpit and out of Jewish leadership to help New York’s poorest, regardless of their religion. [...]

His decision was deeply personal, but also touched on vexing questions at the center of Judaism’s future in this country as modern Jews — the secular, the unaffiliated, the questioning — grapple with what it means to be Jewish and what role a synagogue should play in that identity. Nationally, synagogue affiliation is falling as American Jews increasingly decide they do not need to live out their Jewishness in a religious context.

Seminary Scandal: CBD's "spokesman" Frum Follies attacks the IBD as not being a real beis din

The war of words in the Seminary Scandal has now reached a new low.  The great blogger, newsleaker and defender of the CBD and R Gottesman - Yerachmiel Lopin - has published his "psak" - that this is not a truly a dispute between two beis dins but between a real beis din and a mere bunch of 3 corrupt Israeli rabbis! 

Wow is this a gross and disgusting misrepresentation of the halachic status of the Israeli beis din as well as a deliberate slur against great talmidei chachomim who are recognized as having greater competence and integrity than the CBD. He apparently is just trying to distract from the ugly fact of the CBD's bizarre refusal to cooperate with a beis din that they themselves selected to deal with the scandal. Lopin - who has never manifested an expertise in halacha or even concern for observing it - now presents himself as a rabbinic authority in order to denigrate the opponents of the CBD.

Lopin fails to mention in his screed that the CBD sent one of their dayanim Rav Zev Cohen together with askan R Gottesman (from Torah U'Mesorah and the CBD) together with Rav Aharon Feldman to initiate this beis din for the express purpose of dealing with the Scandal. There is a detailed Shtar Berurin which I have published - that was witnessed by the above  -which authorized the IBD to deal with the matter. 

Were the purported great experts of the CBD unaware of the "facts" that Lopin is claiming when they arranged for the transfer of the case - if so they can't be considered experts. If they were aware that they were giving the case to "a corrupt group of rabbis" - then they were clearly derelict in their duty. Either the CBD was remiss in giving the case to the IBD or Lopin is seriously misrepresenting the facts. The reality is that the CBD was clearly aware of the integrity and competence of the IBD and Lopin's description is false.

Lopin has consistently misrepresented facts - such as claiming that the IBD prohibits students from transferring to another seminary when the IBD only prohibited predatory recruiting. He also has consistently falsely claimed that the sale to Yaakov Yarmish was a sham because Yarmish is a good friend of Meisels. The fact is that the first time they had real contact was only a month ago as a result of the scandal. The sale is real. Rav Aharon Feldman (who has been closely associated with both beis dins) has verified that fact.

Lopin slanders the Israeli Beis Din - whose members are recognized world wide as being superior to the dayanim of the CBD - as being focused solely on lying in order to protect the money investment in the seminaries and that they have no concern for the victims. Lopin stoops to ad hominem attacks because he has no real justification for the CBD's betrayal. The CBD has not only betrayed their commitment to the IBD - but in their supposed compassion for the seminary girls they have prevented resolution of the matter. This stalemate is creating a slander against all the girls who have attended or are attending these seminaries. Where is their compassion? Where is their concern for the victims.

His disgusting slander concludes with this "gem":

The 3IRs are not a Beis din. They are a business protection scam. Israel has its share of convicted politicians including an orthodox ex-president convicted of rape. Chicago has had more than its share of crooked politicians and gangsters. But it also has its  untouchables. I applaud Chicago for standing its ground and not acquiescing to the shenanigans of the 3 Israeli Rabbis.

Lopin - have you no shame?

Rav Gedalia Schwart Nefesh Chicago 2011

Punishment or Teshuvah- Repentance by Allan Katz

Guest Post by Allan Katz: 

In one of the discussions on the DT blog about using extrinsic motivators like punishment , I was challenged  with the pasuk  וידעת עם לבבך כי כאשר ייסר איש את בנו יהוה אלהיך מיסרך

I said I would respond at a different time. The pasuk  Devarim 8:5  is in this week's parasha, so here is my response

Click to read full post

 =======================

Against 'punishing kids , doesn't the Torah - Devarim 8:5 say -You should know in your heart that just as a father will chastise his son, so Hashem-Your God, chastises you

וידעת עם לבבך כי כאשר ייסר איש את בנו יהוה אלהיך מיסרך

Rabbi Shimson R. Hirsch notes that the word מוסר - mussar =moral teaching has nothing to do with punishment or chastisement which focuses on making a kid suffer for past mistakes. It is about kids internalizing the education and guidance they receive from their fathers. Does God actually punish us or is it more about how we make meaning of what happens to us? Man has the freedom of choice to interpret and explain his misfortune. It could be simply the way of the world, bad luck or misfortune, (reward or) punishment for past behavior or God communicating to him to change his ways and do Te'shuvah. The Talmud-Kidushin 20, tells of a man who sins by doing business with fruit from the Sabbatical year -fruit that is deemed ownerless and free to be taken by all. There is a consequence for this sin - he has to sell his movable property , if he does not change – he has to sell his fields, then his home , his daughter , and if he has not yet changed, he will have to sell himself to an idolater. Rabbi Chaim Shmulevitz asks – why did he not learn the first time or the second time? People find it so difficult to say they did wrong and change, especially when people are struggling and taking knocks, since they tend to feel sorry for themselves.

One might ask that when parents or teachers punish kids, the lesson and message is clear and it is in the interests of the child to change to avoid the punishment. We may think we are teaching him a lesson, but he is still free to make meaning of what is happening to him.Usually , he learns something completely different - you are unfair.[...]

Seminary Scandal: A parent explains why he is sending his daughter to Chedvas

I have verified that this is from a parent who is sending his daughter to Chedvas. I welcome addtional comments by parents of either girls in the 4 seminaries or are planning on attending. Additionally from parents who have taken their daughters out or who have changed their minds about sending them.

Guest Post by neveyacyack •

Why we continue to support our decision to send our daughter to Chedvas.

We are Americans living in Israel, and have been for the past 17 years. Our daughter went to Charedi schools, up to and through 12th grade of a Bais Yaacov. She is an outstanding student and could have gone anywhere. She chose to go to Chedvas, as did some of her friends because:

- She knows many girls who went there in the past several years, and they all said the same thing: the staff is outstanding, each person is treated as an individual, the school places a strong emphasis on the American approach to Ahavas Yisroel and they deal with and answer all questions of hashkafa that thinking Americans have.

We have followed this blog and many others.

We have spoken to Rabbaim at Chedvas, and other schools.

We conferred with heads of other seminaries here who we know.

We have conferred with principals of American high schools for girls.

And, we had a rather long talk with Y. Yarmush.

We found him to be totally open and frank.

They are putting into place all the logical recommendations:

supervision of all staff, from top to bottom. Safeguards of all sorts. Procedures that would prevent any abuse or anything close to abuse.

Meisels has not been in Chedvas for at least 2 or 3 years. No matter who runs it, or owns it, we are positive that he will not be there.

There have been no verified complaints from Chedvas about any sexual advances by any staff people.

Chedvas remains full, and they do not anticipate any problem meeting its financial obligations.

If anything, the school will be stronger this year.

So, following our hearts, our heads, and the advice of several senior outstanding mechanchim, we will continue to support our decision to send our daughter to Chedvas

Rivky Stein & Yoel Weiss: Judge ruled in January that Rivky has been making false claims of abuse against Yoel

   Judge rules that Rivky has been abusing the judicial process