4000 Orthodox Rabbis By Drone

Via Gothamist:

Thousands of Orthodox Jewish rabbis gathered in Brooklyn this weekend for the 31st International Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. According to a press release, over 4,200 rabbis from over 80 countries all convened in Crown Heights for an annual event aimed at reviving Jewish awareness and practice around the world. It all culminated with the Rabbis coming together outside the Chabad-Lubavitch headquarters on Eastern Parkway for an epic group shot—which included videos of the scene taken by drone.

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.

Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi: Violating Shabbat Is Worse Than Committing Murder

After a story about a Shabbat-violating barber, Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi says:

"Don't make this mistake. Don't send your children to public school. Get them out of there right away. Don't be afraid of the money. [Unclear: Something about "animals".] You put him in good Yeshiva and one day you're gonna see how you saved them. At least your grandchildren will be Jewish. Better your son will be a doctor and your grandchildren will be Vinny and Tony? Or Achmed? Is that better? OK, so your son became a doctor. But who are his children. Irene? And Christine? And who - who are these children? What's gonna be when 71% of people in America getting married to non-Jews. Do you know that? 71%. Every day Israelis getting married to goyim here in New York alone. Every day."

RELATED: You might remember Mizrahi from his December 2013 declaration that even masculine homosexuals "must be stoned to death."

NEW YORK CITY: 50,000 Ultra-Orthodox Jews March In Protest Of Israeli Draft

The Times Of Israel reports:

The widespread opposition to the draft poses a challenge to the country, which is grappling with a cultural war over the place of the ultra-Orthodox in Israeli society. The issue of army service is at the core of that struggle. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, the ultra-Orthodox, who make up about 8 percent of Israel’s 8 million citizens, largely have been allowed to avoid military service, compulsory for most Jewish men, to pursue their religious studies. Older men often don’t work and collect welfare stipends while continuing to study full time. The ultra-Orthodox insist their young men serve the nation through prayer and study, thus preserving Jewish learning and heritage, and by maintaining a pious way of life that has kept Jewish culture alive through centuries of persecution. But the exemption has enraged secular Israelis who say the ultra-Orthodox are not doing their fair share.

Quote Of The Day - Rabbi Yair Hoffman

"It is said that Machiavelli was the first to recommend it, but the old adage of 'the best defense is a good offense' has been adapted wholesale by the LGBTPed community, and New York State is next. A bill first introduced last year by Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, was just reintroduced in the New York State legislature with new amendments. Our Governor, Andrew Cuomo, is the one who introduced anti-Leviticus marriage ceremonies in this state and is quite likely to advocate passage of this bill. The LGBTPed community is in high gear and it appears that the religious communities are way behind the eight-ball. As of this writing, not one of our Torah organizations has issued a statement on the New York State bill. The bill, in essence, deprives both minors and therapists the freedom of seeking out therapies that will encourage redirection for those struggling with unhealthy physical attractions. This is a direct assault on religious freedoms in this state by the LGBTPed community, and we must put in an all-out effort to quash this bill." - Rabbi Yair Hoffman, writing for Yeshiva World News.

ISRAEL: Hasidic Rabbi Bans Boys From Eating Soy Because It Makes Them Gay

Via Gay Star News:

According to a report in HaMevasser, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter issued the ban due to the belief that ‘hormones’ in the food could cause boys to become effeminate. And if these boys become more like ‘girls’, then teachers and older students would become attracted to them. The rabbi is also concerned soy will cause female students to sexually mature faster than normal. Officials at the school believe soy-based products damage the ‘spirituality of students’. The leader of a group of an ultra-orthodox Jewish sect in Israel, the rabbi has previously told men to stop shaking hands for fear that ‘normative incidental physical contact’ could lead to gay sex.

According to Wikipedia, the rabbi is one of the wealthiest persons in Israel and is worth as much as $250M. That's a lot of soy.

Feds Charge Rabbis With Torturing Men With Cattle Prods To Force Divorce

Federal prosecutors have charged two New York City area Ultra-Orthodox rabbis with using cattle prods to force Jewish husbands to agree to divorce their wives. 

Rabbi Mendel Epstein, 68, of Brooklyn and Rabbi Martin Wolmark, 55, of Monsey, Rockland County, were among 10 people arrested in the barbarous scheme with tentacles that ran all the way to the rabbinical court. Epstein is accused of running an unholy crew that charged women trapped in marital limbo $70,000 to $100,000 to strong-arm their stubborn husbands into granting a Jewish divorce known as a “get,” a criminal complaint reveals. Wolmark, who presides over the rabbinical court in Monsey, is charged with accepting money to make sure the court approved the gets. “They didn’t do it out of religious conviction,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Gribko told a judge Thursday in a federal court hearing in Trenton, N.J. “They did it for money.”

Prosecutors say the group conducted at least 20 kidnappings.

BROOKLYN: City Moves On Orthodox Businesses Over "Modesty" Dress Code

The NYC Commission On Human Rights is seeking to fine Ultra-Orthodox Jewish businesses for posting dress code notices that target "immodestly" dressed women. Gothamist reports:

"There's nothing wrong with a dress code," says Clifford Mulqueen, the Deputy Commissioner and General Counsel for the Commission on Human Rights. "What the law says is that you can't advertise in a way that might make one protected group of individuals uncomfortable. When you speak about sleeveless shirts or low-cut necklines you're specifically referring to women's dress, and that may make women feel unconformable and unwelcome." But the Orthodox Jewish Public Affairs Council argues that the signage, which has since been removed from the storefronts on Lee Avenue, is merely a request. "From our understanding of the signs, they express a wish, not a condition of service, similar to the dress code of the Court Room where this case will be heard," Yossi Gestetner, Co-Founder of OJPAC said in a statement.

An attorney for the shops says, "Frankly, it’s very troubling that the commission thinks it’s okay for the Four Seasons restaurant to impose a dress code but not a bakery owned by a Hasidic businessman." The case will be heard in January and the businesses face a $5000 fine each.

OJPAC has been running radio ads about the flap.

RELATED: A Hasidic group in Williamsburg last year succeeded in having a bike lane removed because of the way those slutty female bike riders tend to dress.

BROOKLYN: Ultra Orthodox Jews Mock DA With Yom Kippur Chicken Image

An unidentified New York City group of Ultra Orthodox Jews has mocked the reelection campaign of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes by publishing an internet ad that depicts Hynes as a chicken to be slaughtered "Yom Kippur-style."

The ad states, in Hebrew, “It’s time to beat kaporos.” Kaporos is an 800-year-old ritual in which Orthodox Jews wave a live chicken over their heads before Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. In symbolic exchange for their sins, the chicken is later slaughtered. A Hynes supporter, City Councilman David Greenfield (D-Flatbush), called the message “appalling.” Greenfield said the ad implies Hynes’ oppoents want "to see Joe Hynes killed in the ritual tradition of slaughtering chickens.”

A spokesman for Hynes' rival, Ken Thompson, says their campaign has nothing to do with the ad. Thompson has been aggressively courting Brooklyn's massive Orthodox community, some of whom charge that Hynes has unfairly targeted local rabbis charged with child molestation. Virulently anti-gay New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, whose district includes major Orthodox communities, has endorsed Ken Thompson.

Rabbi Noson Leiter: NY Anti-Bullying Bill Is Emotional Child Molestation

"Much of the homosexual agenda is predicated on predatory practices targeting youth. I would suggest people look at the information on the Dignity for All Students Act in New York state, the homosexual indoctrination in schools is a major issues that could be attacked on that basis. It’s like spiritual and emotional child molestation, that’s a term people may want to use. There are bills in California and proposed in New Jersey and New York seeking to ban reparative therapy, as Greg Quinlan referred to it as the Jerry Sandusky bill that we just testified against this week in New Jersey. These are all examples of terrorist and barbaric tactics and strategies and policies of the homosexualist movement." - Rabbi Noson Leiter of Torah Jews For Decency. Right Wing Watch has much, much more at the link.

RELATED: Last fall Leiter declared that Hurricane Sandy was God's revenge on New York for legalizing same-sex marriage. He was later denounced by Governor Cuomo.

Churches Files Prop 8 Brief

The Mormon Church, the Southern Baptists Convention, the National Association of Evangelicals, the Orthodox Jewish Union, and a sect of the Lutheran Church have filed a joint Supreme Court brief against the overturn of Proposition 8.  Chris Johnson reports at Washington Blade:

The brief offers three major reasons for why the Supreme Court should uphold Prop 8, which the court is currently reviewing as result of pending litigation known as Hollingsworth v. Perry: 1) Prop 8 reflects a rational choice amid conflicting views of marriage, not prejudice; 2) Prop 8 should not be invalid because it expresses the views of religious voters; 3) Prop 8 is in line with the values of California voters and more likely to sustain the institute of marriage.

“Proposition 8 expresses the people’s sense that society should continue preserving marriage as the institutional bond joining together and protecting a husband, a wife, and their children,” the brief states. “That complex judgment was no doubt influenced by traditional marriage’s roots in California’s history, culture, laws, and diverse religions and by the public goods the people understand it provides in erecting an orderly social mechanism to cope with natural reproduction … and in protecting the family setting where children thrive best … and best acquire the ‘moral powers requisite for politically liberal citizenship.’”

The brief concludes: “The people of California violated no one’s civil rights when they adopted Proposition 8. Their twice- expressed preference for the traditional definition of marriage over an untested rival conception was thoroughly rational. It is therefore thoroughly constitutional.”

The coalition has also filed a brief against the overturn of DOMA. So much for the Mormon Church's big PR push about now being gay-friendly. It also bears mentioning that the National Association of Evangelicals was once headed by Ted Haggard.

BROOKLYN: Hasidic Leader Sentenced To 103 Years For Child Molestation

A Brooklyn judge today meted out a harsh sentence against the Hasidic leader who was convicted last month on 59 felony counts of child molestation.

Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice John Ingram handed Nechemya Weberman a 103-year-sentence without the prospect of parole. "The abuse of a child cannot be swept under the rug or dealt with by insular groups believing only they know what is best for their community," District Attorney Charles Hynes said in a statement. The abuse began in 2007, when the girl's parents hired Weberman to help their then-12-year-old daughter. It continued -- mostly in his office -- until 2010, the district attorney's office said. "I suffered great psychological damage and fell into severe depression," said the victim, whom CNN is not naming because she is a minor. The case brought scrutiny on the Satmar Hasidic community, many of whom live in the insular Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. "We honestly and truly believe that this was a setup," said defense attorney George Farkas after sentencing. "He knows that his future lies in the appellate process."

According to the victim's testimony during the trial, Weberman forced the girl to reenact scenes he'd seen in porn videos.  Weberman reportedly sat on his community's "female modesty" committee, which enforces his sect's rigid dress codes and its demand that women show deference to men. Four other members of the sect were charged with witness intimidation during the trial.

BROOKLYN: Hasidic Leader Heads To Israel To "Disrupt National Elections"

On Sunday night thousands of members of Brooklyn's Hasidic community lined the streets to see off their leader as he headed to Israel. Failed Messiah reports:

Last night, the Williamsburg Satmar Rebbe Zalman Leib Teitelbaum left on a trip to Israel, his first since becoming rebbe several years ago. Teitelbaum's stated aim for the trip – besides attending a granddaughter's wedding – is to disrupt Israel's national elections scheduled for Tuesday [today] and to encourage haredim to resist the military draft. He got a massive sendoff in Brooklyn last night and a large police escort that appeared to be supplemented with several private SUVs with (illegally) blaring sirens.

Commenters on the above-linked article are questioning why the NYPD provided Teitelbaum with a lights-and-sirens escort typically only granted to some visiting heads of state.

RELATED:  This weekend the Daily News reported that Hasidic leader Nechemya Weberman, who was convicted on 59 felony counts of child molestation last month, has many more victims who have not yet pressed charges.

The self-proclaimed religious adviser even invoked Kabbalah — a form of Jewish mysticism — to convince his victims that having sex with him was kosher. “He’s a monster,” said a man whose daughter was repeatedly brutalized by Weberman a couple of years before the victim at trial came forward. Other women who were sexually abused by Weberman refused to speak publicly for fear of retribution. But those close to them described a pattern of nurturing and grooming where he would shower outcast teens with attention, take them on road trips — and even buy them lingerie. He told one young victim, “That ‘I learned Kabbalah and we were a couple in another incarnation,’ ” said a friend of the woman. Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, who runs a Jewish youth program, said he was told by victims Weberman used the Kabbalah line on them too. “The intimate acts he was performing were intended as a form of repentance for sins committed in their previous lifetimes,” said Horowitz.

Weberman is due to be sentenced today.

Quote Of The Day - Rabbi Yaakov Yosef

"If the teacher lives a perverted lifestyle, what is vernacularly called a homosexual, one must be very careful when studying with such a person. Many times a father will want his son to learn to play the piano, or another instrument. Perhaps the only teacher available is an Arab, and the father hires him as a private tutor. But we suspect them of this kind of behavior and we cannot endanger our children in this manner. When we say that Jews are not suspected of this behavior, we are talking about the average person. But as soon as suspicions have cropped up regarding someone, we must be very careful. This applies to households, and even more so for principals, who cannot hire these people for teaching positions. This applies even if the person was not convicted of a crime and did not serve time in prison for these crimes. The fact that there are questions about his behavior is enough. There is no smoke without fire." - Israel's Orthodox Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, issuing a "halachic ruling" that gay men may not be hired as teachers. His ruling also forbids having a gay roommate. (Tipped by JMG reader Kevin)

NEW YORK CITY: Hasidic Bleach Attacker Surrenders Himself To Police

The Hasidic man accused of throwing bleach into the face of an advocate for the sexual abuse victims of Brooklyn's ultra-Orthodox sects has surrendered himself to New York City police.

Melech Schnitzler, 36 years old, turned himself in to police at the 90th Precinct stationhouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a day after Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg was doused with a cup of Clorox, according to NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly. Schnitzler, who was accompanied by a lawyer, has been charged with assault, menacing, criminal mischief and criminal possession of a weapon. He was awaiting arraignment on Wednesday afternoon. Rosenberg, 62, runs a website and hotline that encourages victims of sex abuse in the Hasidic community to come forward and report the crimes to the police and has been ostracized by the Jewish community as a result.

Rosenberg's blog (in Hebrew) is here.

BROOKLYN: Hassidic Advocate For Abuse Victims Attacked With Bleach

One day after the conviction of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish leader on 59 counts of child molestation, a Brooklyn advocate for the victims of Hasidic sex abuse was sprayed in the face with bleach.

Nathan (Nuchem) Rosenberg, 62, said the vicious attack was linked the the bombshell sex abuse conviction Monday of prominent Satmar sect counselor Nechemya Weberman. Rosenberg attended every day of the trial to support the victim. "Because of the Weberman case, everything is upside down," he said. "Everybody is crazy." Rosenberg, who suffered an internal eye burn that limited his vision, runs an information phone line that often names alleged molesters. He said he was walking down Roebling St. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn around noon when he was approached by another man. "He taps on my shoulder, he says 'whoops' and throws it in my face," Rosenberg recounted after spending three hours at Woodhull Medical Center. Rosenberg identified the alleged assailant as the son of a man he has accused of abusing boys. Cops were looking for the man Tuesday afternoon, sources said.

The blog Failed Messiah, which tracks Brooklyn's highly secretive ultra-Orthodox sects, has posted several stories on the attack.

BROOKLYN: Hassidic Leader Found Guilty On 59 Counts Of Child Molestation

Brooklyn Hassidic leader Nechemya Weberman, who reportedly sits on his highly secretive sect's committee to impose "modesty" up on its young women, has been convicted on 59 felony counts of sexually abusing a teenage girl.

“The veil of secrecy has been lifted,” said Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney. “The wall that has existed in parts of these communities has now been broken through. And as far as I’m concerned, it is very clear to me that it is only going to get better for people who are victimized in these various communities.” The case against the therapist, Nechemya Weberman, was a significant milestone for Mr. Hynes, whose office has been criticized for not acting aggressively enough against sexual abusers in the borough’s large and politically connected ultra-Orthodox community. The verdict represented the first time Mr. Hynes’ office has won a conviction of a prominent member of the Satmar Hasidic community of Williamsburg for child sexual abuse.

Last week the victim testified that Weberman had forced her to reenact scenes he'd seen in porn movies. Several other members of his ultra-Orthodox sect have been arrested for taking photos of the victim on the witness stand and posting them online. Four other ultra-Orthodox members were charged with intimidation in June. Last week Weberman was seen attempting to further intimidate the victim by glaring at her through a glass courthouse door.  His lawyers say they will appeal. The sentencing phase of the trial has not been announced.

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.

Orthodox Rabbis Denounce "Ex-Gay" Therapy By Jewish Group JONAH

Pink News reports today that the Rabbinical Council of America has denounced JONAH, the Jewish "ex-gay" group based in New Jersey which was just sued for fraud by the Southern Poverty Law Center. They also want JONAH to remove a letter from their website which claims that the Rabbinical Council has endorsed their work. Their statement:

“As rabbis trained in Jewish law and values, we base our religious positions regarding medical matters on the best research and advice of experts and scholars in those areas, along with concern for the religious, emotional, and physical welfare of those impacted by our decisions. Our responsibility is to apply halakhic (Jewish legal) values to those opinions. Despite numerous attempts by the RCA to have mention of that original letter removed from the JONAH website, our calls, letters, and emails remain unanswered.”

The Rabbinical Council represents over 1000 Orthodox rabbis in the United States.

UNRELATED: Also yesterday the Rabbinical Council posted a message to "express dismay" over the vote to upgrade Palestine's status at the United Nations.

Orthodox Woman Runs For NY Senate

Novice Brooklyn politician Mindy Meyer, who's using the above Jersey Shore-tinged campaign slogan, says she is the "first young Orthodox Jewish woman to ever run for the New York Senate." Meyer has been endorsed by the state GOP and the virulently anti-gay Conservative Party, which opposed and has since sued to overturn marriage equality. NOM has backed other Orthodox Jews for the New York Senate, but has not yet mentioned Meyer.

After receiving her BA degree from Touro College in New York, Meyer is currently studying at Touro’s Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center as she embarks on her political career. Her lack of political experience, however, does not daunt her, citing her own religious values and moral compass as her guide. “I can tell you one thing…I don’t have experience in corruption,” said Meyer. “That is how politics has to change. There is always corruption but I plan to stick to my values and ensure that none of that goes on in my district.”

On Meyer's campaign site, which appears to have been created by a third-grader, she announces her support opposition to the NYPD's racist stop-and-frisk policy and support for school vouchers. Meyer ran unopposed in the GOP primary and faces volatile five-term Democrat Sen. Kevin "Anger Management" Parker, who has been twice arrested for slugging a meter maid and for attacking a photographer. In 2010 Parker had to be physically restrained on the Senate floor during an argument with a fellow Democrat.