Tzedek-Tzedek

Cops At Ben Gurion Airport Perhaps more than any other pedophiles, Jewish ones are likely to hop from country to country. When ex-pupils of Rabbi W from Monsey accused him of molesting them as children, Rabbi W simply bought himself an El Al ticket and moved to Bet Shemesh in Israel. Rabbi W is now employed as the School Counselor/Mephakeach of a cheder; a status which gives him privileged access to every child in the cheder. When presented with evidence incriminating Rabbi W, the cheder has claimed that they were previously aware of the allegations from Monsey about Rabbi W, and they had therefore taken 'appropriate safeguards' in order to continue Rabbi W's employment at the school "without unduly risking the welfare of the children". In Australia this past July, Rabbi David Kramer was found guilty of sexual offenses against four young boys at Yeshiva College in Melbourne and sentenced to three and a half years imprisonment. During the hearings, ...

A young relative of mine was due to spend Yom Kippur with his friends on Ramat Migron. Ramat Migron is a "ma'achaz" - loosely translated as an "outpost" or "illegal/not approved Jewish settlement". Actually, boasting just a couple of sukkah-like shelters, Ramat Migron is probably safer called a "Jewish presence", rather than a settlement, in what would otherwise be either a barren hillside, or a Palestinian "presence", settlement, whatever. Ramat Migron was initially established as a protest encampment against the proposed demolition of the village of Migron - a more substantial maachaz. The protest was ultimately unsuccessful, and Migron was both demolished and relocated in 2012. Ramat Migron survived, in a modest sense. So, my relative went to Ramat Migron to help make up a minyan for Yom Kippur. At around 4pm, border policemen came to the encampmet and told the boys to get into the van and they were driven to a ne...

Very funny interview with US Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, on "State of the Union" - an Israeli political satire show. Shapiro's command of Hebrew is impressive - as is his good sense of humour. (Or was that hum or ?)  

By Shoshannah Jaskoll The Times of Israel 12 September 2013 Underreporting of sexual abuse is a global problem . According to Israel’s National Council For the Child, only about 1 in 10 cases of abuse reach the authorities. Here, in Bet Shemesh in 2010, the reporting was only a third of the national average. This equates to 1 in 30, the lowest reporting rate in Israel. Since Magen, a nonprofit dedicated to prevention, intervention and treatment of sexual abuse of children, began operating here three years ago, the reporting of sexual abuse has increased, and in 2013, it actually doubled from the year before. We are no longer the sex abuse coverup capital. Full article:   http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/protecting-your-kids-from-sexual-predators/

"Sarah" is an intelligent, capable and caring mother to 6 lovely kids. Sarah was happily married for 14 years to "Yosef", a frum, personable and socially popular professional.   The family was stable, paying their bills and enjoying their lives in Ramat Beit Shemesh.  That was last Yom Kippur.  For Sarah, not 12 months, but twelve long & bitter years seem to have passed since then.  It began with a formal letter taped onerously to their front door one day. The letter was an eviction notice - giving the family 30 days notice by court order to leave their apartment.    Phone calls from gruff strangers, at all hours, asking for Sarah, and demanding payment of debts that Sarah was oblivious to. Lawyer's letters and payment demands arrived by mail.  Gradually, the true picture dawned on Sarah. That these were debts secretly accumulated by Yosef, due to reckless and compulsive gambling. By forgery and fraud, these debts wer...

In studies, only one in ten cases of child abuse are ever reported. Furthermore, reporting of child abuse in Beit Shemesh is just half the national average. In other words, for every case which is reported, a further 19 remain hidden. The victims remain at risk, unprotected and untreated, and the perpetrators continue to operate without consequence. B"H, the problem of child abuse in our community is now being effectively & responsibly addressed by "Magen", the unique Beit Shemesh Child Protection Organization. In this past year, calls for help to Magen have DOUBLED. Over 70% of these calls are from Anglos - from every sector of the community. Hareidi, Dati-Leumi and Secular. Magen's free services have had a remarkable impact on the awareness of child abuse/protection in our community,and the ability for those effected to step forward discretely, and for victims/survivors to receive the help they need. Many child abuse perpetrators can no longer operate wit...

Barack Obama said that his red-line in the Syrian Civial War would be the use of chemical weapons; yet, the world witnessed the sarin attacks on thousands of Syrian civilians, and then Obama pulled back from delivering the planned attack on Syrian targets. Predicatably, the more right wing among us called Obama "yellow-belly" or many equivalents. While the less sanguine were relieved at Obama's caution about getting the US involved in yet another far-away war. Every parent, teacher and boss knows that one must be careful about making threats - "if you do this, then...". Making a threat of ensuring that there will be specific consequences to a specific act, is a commitment. Like any commitment, failure to make good on the threat usually results in reduced credibility. So the first rule about threats, is one must be equipped and willing to carry them out. "I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll blow your house down!" may frighten ...