At Least the Charedim Will Not Let you Die in the Sky as they Control an Airline

DRAMA IN THE SKY: 2 ElAl Flights Have Shabbos Issues, 1 TO LAND ON Shabbos, 1 Lands In Athens

Two El Al flights from New York to Israel have had serious “Shabbos issues” on Friday afternoon.

There is much confusion and disinformation going around, and the following are the exact details.

Both flights, 008, and 002, were delayed for hours leaving NY on Thursday due to the snow storm.

Flight 002 was supposed to depart JFK Airport at 6:30PM, and was supposed to arrive at 11:50AM on Friday morning in Israel. The flight eventually departed NY at 11:45PM. The flight is packed with Frum people, and a decision was made to land in Athens before Shabbos. The passengers were being put up by El Al in a hotel.

Flight 008 also departed late, but it was a flight that to begin with that was supposed to land at around 3:40PM on Friday (Shkiya is around 4:40PM in Tel Aviv). It does not appear to be full of Shomer Shabbos passengers. Despite that, the plane was going to land in Rome for Shabbos, but a person became seriously ill on board and a Shaila was presented to Hagaon HaRav Yitzchak Yosef. He ruled that the plane should continue to Israel, and land on Shabbos – due to Pikuach Nefashos. It appears the flight will be landing at around 5:30PM – around an hour after the Shkiya.

El Al said in a statement that “extreme weather in New York is causing cancellations and delays in hundreds of flights, including El Al flights that left Israel last night. Due to the delays and delays, El Al does not fly on Saturday, the company is forced to land Flight 002 in Athens and Flight 008 in Rome.”

To read the article in its entirety click here.

From the YU Observer – Education and the Ultra-Orthodox

THE YESHIVA UNIVERSITY OBSERVER

PULLING THE PLUG ON POTENTIAL: HOW MODERN ORTHODOXY MUST SAVE ULTRA-ORTHODOX EDUCATION

By Molly Meisels, Junior News Editor

At this very moment, children in Jewish day schools and yeshivas across the country are learning about the fall of the Roman Empire, the intricacies of Talmud, and the anatomy of the human body. They are building robots and competing in debate tournaments, while anticipating their acceptances to prestigious universities. Their lives are fixated on an education which will be the foundation of their economic and social futures, allowing them to positively impact their communities. Their lives have been focused on education, both secular and Jewish, for as long as they can remember. It is all they know, and most take it for granted. They expect all Jewish children to have these experiences, but this is unfortunately not the case. If you travel to the ultra-Orthodox communities of Brooklyn and Rockland County, most children will never learn how to write an essay, name the bones in their bodies, or do mathematics beyond multiplication and division. Many will end their secular educations at the age of twelve, and some will never be able to sign their names in English.

The ultra-Orthodox community has many attributes. Its community members are pious, dedicated, and passionate, deserving of respect from the rest of Jewish society. However, the state of education in most ultra-Orthodox communities is in crisis. While I never wish to impede the religious freedoms of individuals, the issue of education is not a religious one. Education is a necessity. Education is the atom of our lives. Without it, we cannot flourish and we cannot succeed. Just as you cannot have gold, silver, or iron without atoms, you cannot have health, wealth, or gender equality without a solid education. Education breaks cycles of poverty and illness, allowing those born into low socioeconomic communities to rise above their circumstances. By prohibiting valid standards of education in a community, you are cutting off a life-line, and pulling the plug on lives that still have potential.

In ultra-Orthodox communities, girls are provided with a solid, albeit a substandard, education. Girls are taught four hours of Jewish studies and four hours of secular studies per day. They are prohibited from learning Gemara and their studies are immensely censored, but they are taught history, English, science, and math. They will most likely not utilize their education, but they have received one. Boys experience education a bit differently. Many Chassidic boys begin their secular educations at seven years old. From seven to twelve, they have approximately one hour of secular studies per day, when they learn the basics of math, reading, science, and history. Secular studies are viewed as an inconvenience by administrative figures, and the children notice this, causing them to disrespect their secular studies teachers. They come to realize rather quickly that their secular education does not matter in the slightest.

When these boys turn thirteen, everything changes. Most boys are sent to yeshivas, where they remain for up to fifteen hours per day. They learn no secular studies at all. Some boys are given the option to take secular studies classes after their fifteen hours of learning, but most decline. They are exhausted. Why learn secular studies when they can use the time to sleep? And more importantly, why learn secular studies if their rabbis do not deem them vital? Consequently, by the time they are eighteen years old, most boys will have the education level of a fourth-grade public school student.

This system sets children up for hardship. Education generates tolerance, understanding, and critical thinking skills, and Chassidic children are deprived of these essential proficiencies. It is well-known that education is dangerous. Education challenges the power of leadership. Education is the one weapon ultra-Orthodox communities cannot fight in the war against secularization. Educate a child and you change a world; keep a child in darkness and you preserve your influence.

Chassidic communities face astronomical levels of poverty, and this is a product of insufficient education. In the Chassidic village of New Square, the average household income is $21,773, compared to the New York State average of $60,741. This makes New Square the poorest municipality in New York, with a poverty rate of 70%. The New York Chassidic community of Kiryas Joel is ranked as the second poorest New York municipality. These communities rely heavily on government funds, making it nearly impossible for them to ever reach stability. While some men in these communities are born with innate business-sense, allowing them to build their way up economically, they are the exceptions. Most struggle to find jobs to support their families, and many women are busy raising their large families, barring them from working full-time jobs.

You’d think that the government would notice this lacking educational system and do something to combat it, but the government does close to nothing to improve the educational standards of these communities. The bloc votes provided by Chassidic sects are vital for political reelections. Without the Chassidic vote, many would not be in their positions. Investigations into the dismal state of ultra-Orthodox educational affairs are pushed off, closed due to inadequate evidence, and utterly ignored. But politicians cannot ignore a problem of this magnitude, as it will grow and consume the next generation of Chassidic children.

If politicians choose to do nothing, then it is up to the Modern Orthodox community to take concrete action. The Modern Orthodox community has a love/hate relationship with the Chassidic community. They adore sharing mystical tales of Chassidic rabbis, admiring the sects from afar. However, they tend to disassociate with the more fundamentalist Jewish sects, and they believe that the issues plaguing these communities are not theirs to combat. But I beg to differ.

Yeshiva University is an institution which defines itself by Torah U’Madda. YU has found a way to fuse these two together, and its students represent Torah Jewry at its finest. Students of Yeshiva University, and Modern Orthodox individuals at large, are the only ones who can assist the Chassidic community. They are in a position to persuade. They can teach the Chassidic community how to balance a Torah life and a life of secular education. They can teach the Chassidic community how to rise above poverty and gender inequality. They can change the worlds of children being denied a fundamental human right. Remaining apathetic is no longer an option. YU is at the forefront of change across the world, but change begins at home. Chassidic communities are family. They share the same genes and heritage as those attending Yeshiva University, and many Yeshiva University students have Chassidic ancestry.

Modern Orthodoxy must exert its resources and vast knowledge to save the state of education in Chassidic communities. It is their obligation to assist those who have trouble assisting themselves, for what good is Tikkun Olam if it is only practiced in third world countries? Modern Orthodoxy must start organizations, lead GED programs, and help encourage local government officials. Yeshiva University should make a concerted effort to recruit students from ultra-Orthodox schools. Many ultra-Orthodox teenagers do not fit the Chassidic mold and want to pursue something religiously different. However, they do not have educational resources and do not believe that there is a religious alternative to their upbringings, leading them to leave Judaism completely. Organizations like NCSY should be welcoming and accommodating to students of ultra-Orthodox backgrounds, since they too could use kiruv. Summer programs and camps should do everything in their power to accept the ultra-Orthodox, as it would provide a comforting and safe Jewish environment for these children to blossom in. Acknowledging the positive work done by many Modern Orthodox institutions should be highlighted and celebrated, like families from Chassidic backgrounds being accepted into schools like Bruriah, Ma’ayanot, and Yeshiva University. However, we should not be satisfied with anything less than excellence, and the current state of ultra-Orthodox education is anything but excellent.

To the Hasids Who Omit Photos of Female Victims… Your Brand of Radical Fundamentalism is Dangerous

We cannot possibly express the sadness we feel, as Jews and a part of the Jewish Zeitgeist that a Hasidic Newspaper would Omit the Photos of Female Victims Killed in Pittsburgh.

We cannot put to words, how unsettling it is that the decision to remove those photos is “what the readership wants.” And the editor of that newspaper Di Zeitung thinks such an omission is okay. 

It is that very fundamentalism, we believe, that is the genesis for the hatred that sparked this tragedy. While that sounds quite a lot like blame…. well… it is. In every religion there are segments that are moderate and others that are fundamentalist, radical and in some sense, dangerous.

The current dogma in the United States (and in other countries) the Islamophobia, the Xenophobia, and the anti-Semitism is not sparked by the middle-ground. It is sparked by the extremes. And those extremes are frightening.

The removal of the photographs represents censorship, a method of controlling what people see and therefore what they believe. The omission of the photographs of the female victims is a carte blanche invitation for the people within the readership community of Di Tzeitung to diminish the value of those losses.

We are paying a special tribute here.  To Joyce Fienberg, Rose Mallinger and Bernice Simon, you matter.  For all of the victims in Pittsburgh and your families and for the world that has fostered this hatred, we shed a tear.

 

 

 

Hasidic Newspaper Omits Photos Of Female Victims Killed In Pittsburgh Synagogue Massacre

 

A weekly Yiddish newspaper serving Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox community is once again facing criticism for preventing women from appearing in its pages.

The Forward reports that Hasidic tabloid Di Tzeitung is refusing to print the photographs of women murdered in the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre this past weekend. While Friday’s cover features images of the eight male victims, the three women who were killed are honored only through a small-print acknowledgment of their names and ages.

View image on Twitter

Zackary Berger, MD, PhD@ZackBergerMDPhD

Image of ultra-Orthodox newspaper after Pittsburgh.
“America Shocked by Mass Murder of 11 Jews in Their Temple In Pittsburgh”
[their Temple!]

Picture below:
“The Pittsburgh Martyrs” [8 men]

Smallest type below that
“And 3 women” [no pictures]#Misogyny

10:15 AM – Nov 1, 2018

• 13

• See Zackary Berger, MD, PhD’s other Tweets

According to the founder and editor of Di Tzeitung, Adam Friedman, the newspaper has a longstanding practice not to print any photographs of women in its issues. “It’s about modesty laws,” he told Gothamist. “Nobody in our readership, men or women, considers this a negative or thinks it’s denigrating women. We write about women very prominently and respectfully.”

It’s not the first time that the small newspaper—which was founded in 1988 and has a print circulation of about 9,000—has faced criticism over the policy. In 2011, Di Tzeitung made headlines for digitally deleting an image of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton from an iconic Situation Room photograph of officials monitoring the Osama bin Laden raid.

In that instance, the newspaper offered “regrets and apologies” for not reading the terms of use on the White House-distributed photo, which explicitly prohibited any manipulation. But alongside that apology, the paper issued a stern defense of its women-excluding practice:

The readership of the Tzeitung believe that women should be appreciated for who they are and what they do, not for what they look like, and the Jewish laws of modesty are an expression of respect for women, not the opposite. The allegations by some, that Orthodox Judaism denigrates women or do not respect women in public office, is a malicious slander and libel.

In a post addressing the controversy, Politico wrote that the Clinton air-brushing had “produced a reasonable debate—if one much more often heard about Islam—about whether this is an outrageous instance of a repressive culture, or simply a religious tradition worthy of respect.”

To read the remainder of the article click here.

The California Bank Backing Hasidic Developers…. AND 199 LEE AVENUE

199 LEE AVENUE, GLOBAL PROPERTY ASSET MANAGEMENT, SECTION 8 HOUSING, 421A TAX ABATEMENTS, LIQUIDITY AND THE TAGWORDS FOR THE  MONEY THAT FINANCES HASIDIC DEVELOPERS

199 Lee Avenue is really little more than a building with thousands of PO Boxes. Most of the PO Boxes represents another company. Most if not all of which are Hasidic owned and some of which are the actual registered addresses for assorted companies which may or may not be real companies.

In fact, 199 Lee Avenue was also tied to the late Menachem Stark and properties that he owned.

We think it no coincidence, however, that in 2016 there was an investigation into the PO Boxes and some of the connected LLC’s; an investigation that appeared to end with Kushner and the White House, though the article below suggests that to credit Kushner in the White House is a stretch. Perhaps.

We will say this. It is not the first time 199 Lee Avenue has been on our radar and will likely not be the last. But rather than try and tell you to entire story again, we have highlighted the relevant passages of the articles below in Red. That should tell it all.

We believe that the authorities, Federal and State Tax authorities, the SEC (think REIT’s) and the FBI should still be paying attention, not only to 199 Lee but to a number of connected addresses, some of which are listed below. Please pay attention to the below wherein it states that the Hasidic communities are some of the largest recipients of Section 8 Housing. We also presume that Medicare and Medicaid go hand-in-hand with that, a logical conclusion. But if you take a look at he numbers, particularly as they stand today, it simply does not make logical or reasonable sense. 

 

It’s 1999. AOL is how most people receive email, and computers everywhere could soon succumb to the Millenium bug. It’s also the year when a new lender emerges and quickly gains a reputation for catering to wealthy clients with “complicated” personal finances. Its name? Bank of Internet.

Flash forward to 2018. The bank has rebranded to BofI Federal, emerged unscathed from a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, and has made a major bet on a niche corner of New York commercial real estate — backing projects from some of Brooklyn’s most prolific Orthodox Jewish developers. It does this mostly by acquiring senior notes on loans originated by other funds.

Lately, the bank has been in the headlines for a pair of real estate loans tied to Kushner Companies, as ProPublica reported. At Toby Moskovits’ Bushwick office redevelopment at 215 Moore Street, BofI refinanced the last-known Brooklyn development loan held by Kushner Credit Opportunities Fund, a debt vehicle Kushner Companies founded in 2016. At One Journal Square in Jersey City, BofI put up funds to finance Fortress Investment Group’s $57 million bridge loan to Kushner Companies. That two-tower project has been plagued by problems, both political and financial, and it’s unclear if the company will be able to see it through.

In an interview with The Real Deal, Gregory Garrabrants, BofI’s CEO, said it was misleading to draw any connection between his firm’s business with Kushner Companies and the fact that the SEC investigation was dropped.

“There’s a political agenda behind talking about Kushner,” Garrabrants said. “I don’t know Mr. Kushner, but I don’t have to because we know Fortress.”

Deep Brooklyn

Though BofI, a San Diego-based company with $8.9 billion in assets, has long been active in single-family lending in New York, it only recently got into commercial real estate. Sources said it started to appear as a financing option in “warehouse lending,” in which a bank issues a loan to a warehouse owner and funds that loan with debt from a secondary lender, such as BofI. Essentially, it’s a way for lenders to issue loans without having to use their own money. This type of deal is often referred to as loan hypothecation, in which the original loan is the collateral for the debt a lender seeks from a bank.

“It’s more of a West Coast thing,” said David Eyzenberg, a debt broker, on the hypothecation structure. “Where we really got to know [BofI] was in providing leverage to hard-money lenders.”

The bank’s services have been especially appealing to developers in Brooklyn, specifically the middle-market investors and luxury rental builders hailing from the borough’s ultra-Orthodox communities, according to an analysis of property records by TRD. The analysis found that of Bofl’s 10 largest loans backed by real estate in the last three years, eight were tied to assets owned by Brooklyn developers, including a number from Williamsburg’s Hasidic community.

Hasidic developers commonly prefer to finance in smaller loan increments over several stages, allowing them to revise design plans or recapitalize with additional partners and then restructure the financing, sources said. The approach stands in contrast with Manhattan’s development giants, which traditionally shoot for a large institutional loan up-front.

“There is a certain type of sponsor turning to this bank for land and development deals, which have a higher cost of capital and are harder to finance,” said an investor familiar with the bank who requested anonymity. “And so the bank has largely been serving as a bridge lender to the same players.”

The list includes prominent Hasidic builders such as Simon Dushinsky’s Rabsky Group, Abraham Leser’s Leser Group, Cheskie Weisz’s CW Realty and Zelig Weiss’ Riverside Developers. Public records show Dushinsky has the most debt on BofI’s books, with more than $80 million spread across three loans.

The model means BofI has little to no interaction with the sponsors themselves. Scott Barone, whose firm Barone Management secured $15.8 million from BofI via Emerald Creek Capital in 2016, said he “never had any actual dealings with them.”

Sources identified Sal Salzillo as one of the main point people leading lender financings on development deals for BofI in New York. However, Salzillo left in March for Sandhills Bank, a South Carolina-based bank owned by the Kalikow real estate family. He could not be reached for comment.

Garrabrants wouldn’t reveal the names of his New York real estate team members and said the firm does not target any specific community for its business.

“There’s no specific marketing or any kind of specific targeting of any particular group of borrowers,” he said.

The wide web

In 2016, the SEC started hitting the bank with subpoenas, after a whistleblower filed a lawsuit in 2015 alleging the bank might have been lending illegally to certain foreign nationals  in possible violation of federal money laundering laws. The suit also alleged the bank failed to fully disclose certain loan practices to regulators. The SEC dropped its investigation in June 2017 without taking any legal action. Garrabrants attributed the lawsuit and subsequent inquiries to the machinations of angry short sellers who watched the bank’s stock continue to climb. In a January 2017 earnings call, he called the allegations “fake news.”

But some have questioned whether the SEC dropping its investigation and the bank’s lending to a major Kushner Companies development project is too much of a coincidence. Jared Kushner joined the White House last January as a senior adviser, and although he has resigned from company positions, he still retains ownership in much of the company portfolio. Garrabrants dismissed these questions as part of a “tin-hat conspiracy” and said the SEC cleared the investigation months before it began talks with Fortress — Kushner’s lender at One Journal Square — about acquiring the senior interest in the loan.

Kushner Companies has faced a series of challenges at the project and it appears unlikely that Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democrat, will grant the company building permits or tax abatements, though he denies it has anything to do with opposition to the Trump administration. Garrabrants was critical of Fulop, but said BofI will make money in the deal regardless. If Kushner Companies can’t build it or if it defaults, someone else will get the project done, he said.

“With respect to any kind of hurdles that arise as a result of any kind of issues related to some of the things that I’m sure people who are motivated in certain in manners put in place,” Garrabrants said in a statement apparently directed at Fulop, “hurdles in respect to [Kushner] in particular, and essentially punish him for his political affiliation, those are more difficult.”

However, he continued, “If we ended up with an ownership interest. … There will be people lining up to make sure that we don’t lose money on that project.

 

THE REAL DEAL ARTICLE TO FOLLOW:

A Rumored Meeting Between Legends in Chabad and the Satmar?

Rubashkin and Mirilashvili to Meet in Rockland County with Unknown Satmar Heads and Maybe Others?

This year’s Chabbad Kinus is proudly featuring the Reb Yitzchak Mirilashvili as the keynote speaker to speak before thousands of ultra-Orthodox, at an event which is scheduled to take place during the first week of November at Rockland Community College, Rockland County, New York.

Sources close to the Kinus have told us that it is attended by thousands, not only members of Chabad but also members of other sects, including the Satmar whose leaders are usually present. This year is expected attract the largest attendance of any thus far and security is expected to be tight. While we had hoped women were also invited, we have been advised that this is a G.O.L.F. (gentlemen only, women forbidden) event.

As to the keynote speaker, while we cannot diminish the importance of the  donations that Reb Mirilashvili has made to Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Mikvahs, Torah Scrolls, etc), we can’t quite shed the feeling that the providence of that money can’t possibly be cleansed within the waters of a Mikvah (or several).  Reb Mrilashvili’s father Michael, it is said, “has an unusually colorful history” so too, we would guess does the family fortune. Be that as it may, the Chabad movement has been proud of it’s donors (think Mark Nordlicht, Lev Leviev, etc.) and we cannot forget about Shalom Mordechai Rubashkin, another darling of Chabad, along with Rabbi Berel Lazar, who is quick to tell us how much Putin loves Mazoh. We cannot begrudge Chabad the fame and fortune of such a legendary list of “Philanthropists.”.  

Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin, if you will recall, was welcomed home with open arms, singing and dancing after President Trump provided him with a promised Presidential Pardon, something we understand came as a tradeoff for Chabad support of Trump’s election. Whether or not the current investigation into Russian meddling has any connection is a matter of speculation.  That said,  after Rubashkin’s return, “Rubashkin spoke enthusiastically in a mix of English and Yiddish, thanking President Trump for commuting his sentence, describing him as a messenger of G-d.”

Sources close to the community have told us that Rubashkin, whose pardon was supported by thousands both online and elsewhere, is enjoying his fame and good fortune; and as a pardoned man has a significant measure of perceived untouchability. So, it would not surprise us to learn that he is allegedly the bridge between warring Jewish factions, particularly where discussions of financial  matters are concerned.

Sources close to the organization of all of the events have told us that there is a planned meet sometime during the weekend of the event to be attended by the heads of Chabad and Satmar and, while we were unable to verify with certainty, there may be other sects represented at that clandestine meeting also.  

In our opinion and given the entire Kinus operation is intended to raise money, it sounds like something out of a Francis Ford Coppola or a Martin Scorcesi movie.

 

Guest Keynote At The Banquet: Mr. Yitzchak שי׳ Mirilashvili 

We are honored to share that Reb Yitzchak Mirilashvili will be the guest keynote speaker at this year’s Gala Banquet.

Through his Keren Meromim Foundation he supports dozens of revolutionary projects spreading Torah learning, Chessed and outreach while supporting hundreds of Shluchim in Eretz Yisroel and throughout the world.

The Mirilashvlili family have become exemplary partners to Shluchim and communities around the world, committed to perpetuating and expanding the Rebbe’s vision accross the globe.

New York – From Monsey To Brooklyn, Rubashkin Greeted By Thousands On Street In Joyous Celebrations

New York – Just hours after word broke that President Donald Trump had commuted his sentence, Sholom Mordechai Rubashkin received a hero’s welcome at his family home in the New Hempstead section of Monsey.

Thousands took to the streets in Brooklyn and revelers packed Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, where cases of Smirnoff were rolled in to celebrate the good news, an unexpected gift from the White House that came in the final moments of Chanukah.

But the level of joy in Monsey was off the charts as throngs of people packed the two block long South Gate Drive where the Rubashkin family has been living for the last several years in order to be the first to greet the 57 year old after his release from the federal penitentiary in Otisville.

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Police blocked off streets in all directions to accommodate the sudden influx of cars to the area, with some drivers abandoning their vehicles and walking because traffic had come to a complete standstill.

Photographer Shimon Gifter was the first member of the media to speak with Rubashkin after his release in an exclusive VIN news interview that took place aboard a coach bus as he prepared to leave Monsey for a trip to Brooklyn to visit his parents in Borough Park, Lubavitch world headquarters at 770 Eastern Parkway and the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s Ohel in Queens.

Free of Otisville and its orange prison garb and surrounded by family members including some grandchildren that he had never met,  Rubashkin was dressed in a black jacket, pants and hat and a white shirt as he spoke about the importance of being “b’simcha” at all times.

Asked what message he would like to send to President Trump, Rubashkin said that he prays for Trump every day.

“G-d should bless him and the United States of America,” added Rubashkin.

 

ABOUT MICHAEL MIRILASHVILI

The Russian-Israeli Billionaires Embroiled in Israel’s Latest Corruption Investigation

His life and business career suffered a lengthy interruption when he spent eight years in prison on charges related to the kidnapping of his father. In August 2000, his father, Moshe Mirilashvili, a prominent member of the Jewish community who served as president of the Congress of Georgian Jewry, was kidnapped in broad daylight on a main road in St. Petersburg. He was released just two days later, and a month and a half after the abduction, the bodies of two of the kidnappers were found.

Michael Mirilashvili was arrested and charged with several offenses, including attempted murder. In August 2003, he was convicted of kidnapping and lesser charges but acquitted on the charge of attempted murder, and sentenced to 12 years in prison. The conviction sent “shock waves” through the Russian Jewish community, the Jewish press reported at the time, saying it was widely believed that Mirilashvili was being targeted, either by rival businessmen or by powerful politicians.

Mirilashvili’s legal team fought his sentencing, calling it “enormously unjust” and “enormously severe.” In 2004, Mirilashvili appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, arguing that his rights had been violated and that he did not receive a fair trial. He was vindicated in 2009, when the European court ruled that his conviction and sentencing was unfair. That year he was released from prison and he moved his home base to Israel, where he continued his business activities in Russia and began investing heavily in Israel and elsewhere.

Since his release, Mirilashvili has held an annual party with rabbis and politicians to celebrate his freedom. Attendees this year included Dery, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, Environmental Protection and Jerusalem Affairs Minister Zeev Elkin, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein and former cabinet ministers Gideon Sa’ar and Ariel Atias.

Mirilashvili’s close ties to politicians were also seen in 2010, when businessman Ofer Nimrodi threw Mirilashvili a party for his 50th birthday at his house in Savion – one of Israel’s richest communities. Some 350 people attended that party, which was said to have cost some $1 million, including Edelstein, lawmakers Tzachi Hanegbi and Meir Shitrit, as well as former chief rabbi Yona Metzger.

The indictment filed against Metzger alleged that Mirilashvili gave Metzger $250 thousand in for the wedding of the former chief rabbi’s son. Mirilashvili wasn’t indicted and Metzger was ultimately convicted in a plea bargain and sentenced to 3.5 years in prison.

Former Vizhnitz Chasid and Years of Abuse – To be Silent is to be Complicit!!

 

[VIDEO] A FORMER VIZHNITZ CHASID DESCRIBES A DECADE OF ABUSE

25-year-old Avrumi Kroiser grew up in the Vizhnitz Chasidic community in Bnei Brak. Beginning from the age of 11, Avrumi was sexually abused regularly by several different people. Despite talking to several adults including his parents and the community’s Admor, no steps were taken to help prevent the abuse. He was simply told that if he “did Tshuvah”, the abuse would stop. After becoming a father himself, Avrumi finally left the community. Avrumi was interviewed for Kaan’s new program “We’re Not Silent”:

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“When you’re in bed at night and suddenly woken by another person touching you, you are startled by the cold, painful contact. You can wake up, open your eyes, scream and shout. But you know that if you shout, the shame will belong to you. Everyone will know what happened to you. And when you go to shul the next morning, the person who hurt you will still be there.

“I was abused for the first time when I was 11. It was Purim. A young man around 20 years old invited me to go to the Yeshiva with him to watch rehearsals of the performance that was planned for the Admor. When I arrived, it was dark and empty, except for him. That’s when he abused me.

“At some point, I just ran away. I couldn’t even muster up a “Don’t touch me!”, I just said that I had to leave and ran. I told a few others about what had happened, and they encouraged me to tell my parents. When I told them, my mother broke down in tears. My father promised he would do something, but despite appealing to authorities in the community, nothing happened. I had to carry the shame with me every day, and my abuser was completely unaffected. So the next time I was abused, I kept it to myself.

“I stayed in the same community, the same institutions, the same places where I was being abused. It could happen while everyone was crowded around the Admor’s table, and someone would put their hand where it didn’t belong. It happened many times at the Mikvah, where everyone is walking around unclothed, but nobody sees what’s happening under the water. The Mikvah was a particularly bad place. There’s so many people, noise, water, and nobody is really watching anybody else because that would be immodest. Abusers take advantage of the chaos, putting their hands where they don’t belong. I was abused there many times.

“The people who are supposed to protect you blame you instead. You tell them about what’s happening to you, who’s touching you, how you can’t sleep at night without finding him right beside you when you wake up. But they just tell you to do Teshuvah and go to the Mikvah, and then it won’t happen anymore.

“As the years went by, I collected more and more abusers, who were always around me. If I saw them on the street, I would cross to the other side. I became introverted. I was afraid of socializing in the community. I didn’t want to be there anymore. But I was a child, I had nowhere to run to. So I stayed, in those same places where I was abused again and again. I carried so much shame, put on my shoulders by my parents, my friends, my community, for ever having dared to speak out. So I was silent. I knew I would continue to be abused routinely, and I was. I felt dirty and delegitimized. I lost my sense of right and wrong. It was a warped version of reality. This is a place with no mature sexuality, so all sexuality becomes distorted. When you see these abusers being promoted to important roles in the community, you get the message loud and clear: Don’t complain. This is normal, this is just part of your life.

“When I was 20, I got married. The abuse continued. Then I had a child. I realized that I had brought an innocent life into this horrible place, that it wasn’t a matter of if it would happen to him, but when, and I nothing was going to stop me from protecting my child. I went to the Admor and begged him to do something about the abusers in the community. I thought he would be sympathetic to my cause, that he would heed my call to action. He told me to go to the Mikvah every day. When I told him why I hated the Mikvah, what had happened to me at the Mikvah, he told me to just take care of it quickly and to ignore what was happening.

“I realized that I had to do something to protect my child. I also realized that I couldn’t stay in the community anymore. Since getting a divorce and leaving the community, I have done all that I can to speak out, to expose abusers, and to encourage survivors to speak out as well. Even if nobody listens to you, or if people are angry at you, don’t give in. This isn’t supposed to be happening to you, this isn’t ok. Stand your ground.”

 

Yeshivas Meeting with Health Officials to Stem Spread of Measles, Will Miracles Ever Cease?

Williamsburg Yeshivos Meet With NYC Health Department To Stem Spread of Measles

Leaders and school administrators from the Orthodox Jewish community in Williamsburg met today at the UJO of Williamsburg with NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH), a representatives of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit and representatives of the elected officials of the area, to collaborate on efforts to stem the spread of measles infection in the community.

As per the last Department of Health figures, 6 children are confirmed to have contracted the measles infection and more are awaiting lab results to determine if they have the infection. Measles is extremely contagious, and unvaccinated individuals are susceptible to transmit the infection, even if they don’t exhibit symptoms. Measles can be very dangerous and even fatal, especially for those with a compromised immune.

On Wednesday, YWN published a story about a measles outbreak in New York, with 6 residents of Williamsburg and seven residents of Rockland County confirmed to have the disease. An additional eight suspected cases in Rockland County were being investigated involving a mix of adults and children. Many are linked to recent travel to Israel which has been dealing with the disease for months.

• In order to stem this outbreak, parents must ensure that their children received the recommended vaccination doses, at age 1 and a second one at age 4.
• Measles infections are far more prevalent in Israel and Europe. Hence, before travelling with children overseas, parents should make sure that their children from six months and older are vaccinated.
• Measles symptoms include fever, and a rash starting on the fact, trickling down the body and occasionally also appearing on the palms and soles. 
• Children exhibiting such symptoms should not attend school, and the parents should contact their doctor to arrange for an appointment privately, in order not to transmit the infection to other patients.
• Thos contacted that they or their child have been at a place with a measles patient, shall make sure to follow their doctor’s advice.
• Schools where a student was diagnosed with measles, are required by the department of health to exclude all non-vaccinated students until 21 days of the last measles case in the neighborhood.

Dr. Jane  Jane R. Zucker, MD, Assistant Commissioner of the NYC-DOHMH Bureau of Immunization, updated community leaders and school administrators, on the outbreak, and discussed how to ensure that the entire community follows all tips, to stop this outbreak before it results in many more sufferings. The meeting was also attended DOHMH Associate Commissioner Sam Miller and a number of DOHMH representatives, Mr. Pinny Ringel, Senior member of the Mayor’s Community Assistance Unit, and representatives from the offices of Assemblyman Joe Lentol, State Senator Kavanagh and Councilman Steve Levin also participated at the meeting and committed their support in the effort to stop the outbreak.

“For decades, the UJO worked with the NYC Department of Health and the local schools and community leaders to stop outbreaks of infectious diseases. This collaboration is vital for the health of the community. We will continue efforts to ensure that everybody follows the above instructions,” said Rabbi David Niederman, president of the UJO of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn. “We are thankful for the Department of Health for the early detection, alert of this outbreak, and we pray that with everyone’s cooperation we will be able to stop the spread of this disease.”

On Thursday, the Visnitz Monsey Girls School announced that any child who is not immunized, can’t return to school for 21 days. No “religious exemption” is accepted. A religious exemption does not work when there is a measles outbreak.