Hasidic Paper Photoshops Female World Leaders Out Of Paris Solidarity March

Via Mediaite:

Yesterday’s historic march across Paris included over 40 world leaders expressing solidarity for France after the Charlie Hebdo massacre., but if you read this Haredi newspaper, you’d believe that none of them were women. The image that ran on the front page of the Israeli newspaper edited two female world leaders out of the image, originally provided by wire service GPO: Denmark Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. A third woman in a blue scarf who we can’t identify was also cut out.

NEW YORK: Flight Delayed Because Hasidim Wouldn't Sit Next To Women

A flight from New York City to Tel Aviv was delayed on Wednesday because ultra-Orthodox passengers refused to sit next to women.

According to the passengers who were on the plane, their fellow ultra-Orthodox travelers refused to sit next to women prior to the takeoff, which not only delayed the flight, but caused actual chaos to ensue on the plane. "People stood in the aisles and refused to go forward," said Amit Ben-Natan, a passenger who was on board the plane. "Although everyone had tickets with seat numbers that they purchased in advance, they asked us to trade seats with them, and even offered to pay money, since they cannot sit next to a woman. It was obvious that the plane won't take off as long as they keep standing in the aisles."

Galit, another traveler on the flight, said the ultra-orthodox passengers suggested she and her spouse split up to better accommodate their desired seating arrangements: "Why should I agree to switch places?" she said with anger. After she refused, the haredi man seated next to her conceded, but it was only temporary: "I ended up sitting next to a haredi man who jumped out of his seat the moment we had finished taking off and proceeded to stand in the aisle." It seems that after takeoff a large portion of the haredi travelers took to the aisle to pray which, according to their fellow travelers, crowded the aisle and caused the flight to be unbearable. "I went to the bathroom and it was a mission impossible, the noise was endless," Galit said.

The airline has promised to look into "future steps" to prevent the issue from recurring.

BROOKLYN: Gay-Bashing Victim Sues Ultra-Orthodox Street Patrol Members

The Brooklyn gay man who was brutally beaten by a gang of Hasidic thugs has filed a civil lawsuit against his attackers.

Taj Patterson, 22, suffered a fractured eye socket, torn retina and multiple contusions from the Dec. 1 beatdown in Williamsburg by as many as a dozen ultra-Orthodox vigilantes who were looking for a suspect who had vandalized cars in the area. Patterson, a fashion student at New York City College of Technology, is suing the five men indicted on gang assault charges. “The family wants justice for Taj both criminally and civilly,” said his lawyer, Sanford Rubenstein. The suit, filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court, seeks unspecified damages for Patterson’s injuries and accuses the volunteer safety patrol of negligence. “There’s more to this than meets the eye,” said George Farkas, the lawyer for defendant Abraham Winkler, whom sources have identified as a Shomrim member.

The attackers were arrested in April.

RELATED: The Shomrim and a splinter group, the Shmira, are "public safety" groups that aggressively patrol the Hasidic neighborhoods of Brooklyn with a fleet of official looking vehicles, some of which resemble NYPD patrol cars. Members of both groups, who reportedly hate each other, have been charged with assaulting black residents of Brooklyn. One of the Shomrim members arrested in April was also arrested in 2012 for taking courtroom photographs of a child molestation victim in order to intimidate her as she testified against a Hasidic leader. Her attacker, who was later sentenced to 103 years in prison, sat on his sect's "modesty committee," which enforces strict rules of dress and behavior for female members.

BROOKLYN: Five Ultra-Orthodox Jews Arrested In Gang Assault Of Gay Man

Five Hasidic men were arrested in Brooklyn today for the December gang beating a gay fashion student. At least two of the men charged belong to a controversial Ultra-Orthodox street patrol group.

Taj Patterson, 22, has said he was headed to his Fort Greene home after a night of partying last December when over a dozen ultra-Orthodox men assaulted him on Flushing Ave. in Williamsburg while shouting anti-gay epithets. Aharon Hollender, 28, Abraham Winkler, 39, Mayer Herskovic, 21, Pinchas Braver, 19, and Joseph Fried, 25, were charged with gang assault and other counts, but not with any hate crimes, authorities said Wednesday. “We simply cannot allow anyone walking on the streets of Brooklyn to be knocked to the ground, stomped and brutally beaten,” said Brooklyn district attorney Kenneth Thompson. The group, at least two of whom belonged to a volunteer patrol called Shomrim, were looking for someone who vandalized cars in the area and stopped Patterson, prosecutors said. Even though the vandalism report was unfounded, they allegedly started pummeling the victim, authorities said.

The victim suffered a broken eye socket, a torn retina, and numerous cuts and bruises. It's not clear why hate crimes charges have not yet been made. The alleged attackers have been released on bail and face up to 25 years in prison.

RELATED: The Shomrim and a splinter group, the Shmira, are "public safety" groups that aggressively patrol the Hasidic neighborhoods of Brooklyn with a fleet of official looking vehicles, some of which resemble NYPD patrol cars. Members of both groups, who reportedly hate each other, have been charged with assaulting black residents of Brooklyn. One of the Shomrim members arrested today was also arrested in 2012 for taking courtroom photographs of a child molestation victim in order to intimidate her as she testified against a Hasidic leader. Her attacker, who was later sentenced to 103 years in prison, sat on his sect's "modesty committee," which enforces strict rules of dress and behavior for female members.

BROOKLYN: Hasidic Leader Forced Young Girl To Reenact Porn Scenes

According to yesterday's testimony by the alleged victim of Brooklyn Hasidic leader Nechemya Weberman, he made made her reenact porn scenes during years of molestation that began when she was 12 years-old.  Weberman sits on his sect's modesty committee, which enforces strict rules of dress and behavior for female members.

During her fourth grueling day on the stand, the teen detailed why she hid her torment, which allegedly lasted for three years, beginning in 2007 when she was 12. She never broke down on the stand, even when confronted with intimate details of her tumultuous early teens. Testimony by the recently married teenager was the key evidence in the high-stakes trial that has been marked by incidents of purported intimidation. Three ultra-Orthodox men were arraigned Friday evening after they allegedly took photos inside the courtroom earlier this week — including one of the teen on the stand — and posted them on the Internet. Lemon Juice, Joseph Fried and Yona Weisman were charged with contempt of court. Juice had legally changed his name from Joel Weingarten, according to his friends, though it was unclear why. In another bizarre twist, Fried, who runs a news service for the Satmar community, had been secretly recorded arguing with the alleged victim’s now-husband a few months ago. “Even if it’s true, he shouldn’t go to jail,” Fried is heard saying of Weberman, according to the recording obtained by the Daily News and translated from Yiddish. “A Jew doesn’t belong in jail.”

Another member of the Satmar sect has been accused of offering the victim $500,000 if she would drop the charges. Four other ultra-Orthodox members were charged with intimidation in June. Earlier this week Weberman was seen attempting to further intimidate the victim by glaring at her through a glass courthouse door which has now been papered over.  He faces 88 felony counts of child molestation. 

RELATED: Last year a Satmar member spat upon lesbian Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum during a New York Senate protest about the same-sex marriage bill.