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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Deborah Feldman Claim Of Murder Cover Up In Kiryas Joel

Deborah Feldman X Satmar Hasid

Coroner’s report lists 20-year-old’s death in Kiryas Joel as suicide.

With allegations of communal cover-ups involving child sexual abuse dogging the haredi community over the past several years, it may not be much of a stretch for some readers to believe a gruesome story that appears in a new memoir about growing up in, and leaving, the Satmar community.

The story, recounted by Deborah Feldman in “Unorthodox: The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots” (Simon and Schuster), involves the alleged mutilation and murder of a boy by his own father — supposedly for masturbating — and the subsequent cover-up of the crime by Hatzolah, the community’s volunteer ambulance service.

The only problem, however, is that based on information obtained by The Jewish Week, the story seems not be true.

Feldman claims she first learned of the grisly crime from her husband who had, in turn, heard about it from his brother, allegedly a member of Hatzolah at the time, who had been called to the blood-soaked scene. Apparently, the boy’s “penis was cut off with a jig saw and his throat was slit too,” Feldman writes.

Feldman recounts that her husband told her his brother “said the neighbors told him they heard loud arguing coming from the house. When he called the [volunteer ambulance] dispatch, they told him to go home and keep quiet about it, that they would take care of it. He said they buried him in thirty minutes and they didn’t even issue a death certificate.”

In a pre-publication interview with Julie Wiener in The Jewish Week, Feldman was questioned about the veracity of the story. Feldman not only insisted that she was not lying, but asserted that the father was known to be mentally ill and implied that he had escaped justice for his crime.

“I worry about his other children,” Feldman told Wiener, “and I worry about people thinking if he could get away with that, then they can get away with anything.”

This is not the first time Feldman has made this allegation. Indeed, in December of 2008 it appeared on her then anonymous blog, Hasidic-Feminist, where it was described as a “Class A secret.” In the blog post, Feldman recounted the story of a “thirteen year-old boy [who] had been castrated with a jig saw and bled to death.”

The incident, according to Feldman, took place “two years ago on an Erev Shabbos in [Kiryas Joel].” She goes on to elaborate that when Hatzolah arrived at the crime scene (a basement) and tried to question the father, “he refused to cooperate, saying only that his son deserved it and that he was a chazar, a pig, because he touched himself.” Feldman then notes that no police report was ever filed and the boy was “under ground” in 30 minutes. “People of KJ,” she warned, “a murderer walks in your midst.”

While some of the 31 comments on the blog post were credulous of Hasidic-Feminist’s claims, several expressed serious skepticism. At least one claimed knowledge that the death was in fact a suicide and that the young man (who, one commenter noted, was not 13 but 19) was well known to have been mentally ill.

“Our community would not have ignored a murder,” wrote a commenter with the screen name Product, “but anyone familiar with Hasidic culture knows that any mention of a familial disgrace such as suicide would be stifled. This explains why the story is so shrouded in mystery.”

A few commenters even chastised Feldman, in the guise of Hasidic-Feminist, for not reporting her knowledge to the police. “[No] one has gone to the police,” she responded to one of these charges, “because no one wants to be publicly outed as a musser — a tattletale. That’s a sin that merits ‘honor killing.’”

However, The Jewish Week confirmed that the state police do in fact have a record of the incident and its office provided the paper with the names of two of its investigators called to the scene, John Van Der Molen and Michael Colern. Calls to the two officers were not returned Thursday.

Further, a death certificate obtained by The Jewish Week indicates that the death — which it noted occurred in a “storeroom” on a Friday afternoon in Kiryas Joel around the approximate date Feldman’s blog alleged — was ruled a suicide by coroner Thomas A. Murray, and lists the cause of death as “partial decapitation, severed carotid arteries due to circular saw.” The deceased’s age was listed as 20.

Several e-mails to Feldman and her publisher, Simon and Schuster, seeking comment did not receive a response.

Privacy laws prevent Hatzolah from commenting on any case, but Moses Witriol, the director of public safety and chief constable for Kiryas Joel, told The Jewish Week that the story was patently false.

“When the first Hatzolah member showed up on the scene, he cordoned off the area and contacted the public safety office, which in turn immediately contacted the state police. Except for them and the coroner, no other people were in the room [where the boy was found]. The state police conducted a full and thorough investigation and interviewed every member of the family.

“If Mrs. Feldman knows about a crime in the village [of Kiryas Joel],” Witriol continued, “I invite her to come forward to law enforcement.”

Reached by phone, a relative of the deceased told The Jewish Week, “I cannot understand how a person could possibly find it within themselves to fabricate such a gruesome story and slander a completely innocent, grieving and tragedy-stricken family in such a horrific way. The facts are that the boy had a long history of mental illness, and his family and the community did a lot to try and help this individual. It was a very tragic end to a life full of suffering.”

26 comments:

  1. This and the rest of the book is sensasional journalism - at best.
    And for this to she will have to do teshuva.
    Those who support her for coming out, should hope for her views and opinions not mud slinging lies and smear campaining. That is NOT feminism or progress. She has unfortunately undermined any credibility she might have had.
    Also, it seems that a lot of what she writes about has a sexual slant to it. Anyone else pick up on that?

    Vehaishiv lev avos al banim velev banim al avosam.

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  2. The whole book is a fabrication, full of distortion and lies.

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  3. Frankly, this woman should be sued by Hatzolah, leaders of the Satmar community, etc.

    I am no fan of Satmar, but this borders on a serious blood libel. She should lose every penny she made with her book.

    Sue her. Sue her. Sue her.

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  4. Deborah, you may suck a dick better than your peers, but you are a lying tramp who has been ridden more than Seattle Slew. The tragedy you call a murder rubs salt in the wounds of a devastated family. Hell gonna be a biotch for you ho.

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  5. I can identify with her pain.
    Yes, growing up in our community leaves many ppl wounded mentally emotionally...

    However, I cannot identify with her making up stuff. "Some of the things" she said and wrote is so not true...

    I do not understand why she had to make up stuff.
    Undortunatly The truth is more then enough, no need to add.

    God help us!

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  6. whats this would coming to? its pushet not normal anymore! this went wait to far! stop it with the lies its enough!

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  7. I honestly think someone can kill another person in Kiryas Joel! to tell you guys the truth anything can happen there and no one will ever find out about it! so before anybody writes that Deborah is lying think again and make sure you think before you write thing!

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  8. I'm so sorry Kreintchy but you are totally wrong no jew would ever kill another jew or even another person! I lived in Kiryas Joel for over 15 years and no one ever did anything to hurt another person! Deborah just wants attention and i hope everyone will realize that before she turns into some famous girl! Everyone just has to open their eyes!

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  9. I was a witness in a family dispute in Boro Park the husband is a very famous person and he hit his wife when hatzolah took her on a strecher he came and smacked her one more time when the police arrived we got a warning "we didnt see anything" nebach the wife went to the hospital and until today i still feel really bad that we ddnt stand up for this lady!

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  10. This lady is just an attantion seeker pls just ignore her, its a book full of lies, we sould file a claim in court against her if possible & put it in jail, she probebly has a misreble life

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  11. The one thing she fails to mention is, one of the weaknesses the Chareidim have, that when there is any news in the community everyone knows all the details without really knowing anything, it seems she has not eaten enough pig yet, and still suffers of this effect like in her past life.
    My suggestion give yourself a few more years of crab, and you might learn fact from illusion.

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  12. Deborah I'm %100 on your side i believe everything you say i beleive that you lived in a torture chamber and i am so happy that you got to escape it keep up the good work we are on your side

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  13. Deborah.. You are more mentally troubled than you may think. I travel the Willi Streets and Cafe's a few times a week and I confirm that are a dishonest lieing piece of work. But I have a question for you.. If you felt that the ultra Chasidisha Wlmsbg lifestyle is not for you, why didn't you pack your bags and move to Bp Flatbush, 5 towns, Teaneck Monsey etc etc.????? Just like Lipa Shmeltzer did. He moved from New Square (doesn't get more extreme than that) to Monsey only 3 or 4 miles down the road and he's leading a very nice Yiddisha life and almost finished building a nice shul (which he couldn NEVER build in New Square.. lol) besides for lots of chesed and Mitzvos that he does as well. Why did you feel there was no middle way between extreme Willi and eating crab cakes and pork!! I just don't get it!! Its obvious that you had a rough upbringing and hard life (and btw YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE!!) Looking forward for your reply!

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  14. Deborah is a big fat liar who is bored out of her mind and decided to make up stories to get attention and guess what she succeeded! she's on TV, online, and stuck in peoples heads!

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  15. six months ago on a hot motzie shabbos there was a hatzolah call on 18th avenue in BP when hatzola arrived the members realize that there was a cat in the house and the door was open they went downstairs and waited for poice to come two BP shomrim members heard the call on the police radio and stopped by to see what was going on hatzolah members told them that there's a cat in the apartment and they are araid to go in the shomrim members ran up opened the door and found a jewish person on the floor his body tempaurture was still hot so they startd CPR and when the police and hatzolah came up he was nifter this story was totally covered up by BP hatzolah and when a family member arrived they told him a that their father died over shabbos which is a big lie

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  16. shut down KJ hatzolah now!!!!

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  17. Deborah i would really like to go out with you but unfortititly you look like crap!!

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  18. i have money for one book only i'm debating which one to buy should i buy shmuley boteach or Deborah feldman! anybody have any suggestions?

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  19. Deborah i really want to help you i really care about you so i'm begging you to go to a cycologist to help you with your mental issues

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  20. oy vey how can jewish yidden write such bad things about a yid she might look like a goy but inside she is really a jew so stop feel bad she is just trying to let people know how she feels!!

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  21. Don't talk about her like that; you can't understand her until you walk in her shoes;
    If she was your child would you post this? Let's try to feel her pain before we speak:

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  22. what a shame in that one picture of her and her husband when she was frum she looks much more happier then she looks now. one day she will so regret what she did

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  23. I read the article about her in both the NY POST & JEWISH WEEK. She comes across as deeply and pathetically confused. I haven't read her book, but if it's anything like HUSH, I am guessing it'll be another misfit pushing a feminist agenda.

    Many years ago, I met another drop-out from Satmar. Very sad, dumpy girl -- stunted, dull-witted & mediocre. By the way she walked around in baggy pants, I sensed she had problems with femininity. Seeing a photo of her on a motorcyle confirmed my belief: she was basically a kid who never got the attention she needed & just wanted to have fun.

    Likewise, I thought this Feldman looked equally ridiculous in her party dress, tznius aside. She just looked like a Jewish girl desperately trying to be "cool" yet not fitting in either world.

    A number of drop-out types I met were equally stunted or weird. Which leaves me to believe that a good percentage have social or psychiatric issues. This Feldman apparently does -- she got a raw deal as far as family. In that respect I would credit her book for bringing to light the treatment of mental illness in these communities. How sad these people aren't getting the help they need

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  24. if you read her post interview you would have seen without 3rd party corroboration how missrepresentation and outright lies she said but now inth age of "correct" any thing and everything is accepted and believed as gospel

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  25. Deborah is 100 0/0 correct the facts are there, but the holy rollers are in denial. A day will come very soon when all the bull shit hokaspokus will be exposed.
    Chareidim should be spelled "Charade" im they are stupified

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  26. PLEASE JUST SAW THE VIDEO SOMEBODY PLEASE SUE HER FOR SLANDER!!!her sec life was gossip?!what is sge talki g about?

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