Man set for harassment trial linked to Rabbi Chaim Halpern investigation

Samuel Erlanger, 37, will appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court for trial on July 11 as part of ongoing investigations into orthodox rabbi Chaim Halpern, 54, leader of Divrei Chaim Synagogue in Bridge Lane, Temple Fortune.

Mr Erlanger, of Powis Gardens, Golders Green, denied one charge of harassment without violence at Hendon Magistrates Court on Thursday.

He was arrested in January on suspicion of harassment via telephone following incidents alleged to have taken place between December 25 last year and January 23 this year.

Another man, Shlomo Feldman, 28, of Lynmouth Road, Stamford Hill, faces three charges of harassment without violence in relation to the investigation into Rabbi Halpern and will appear at Hendon Magistrates Court on May 15.

Rabbi Halpern was arrested and questioned in February on suspicion of sexual assault and perverting the course of justice. He is due to return to police in July.

שלום בית

פגשתי את איציק במשרד של עורכת הדין שמייצגת אותו בהליך הגירושין, שהיא גם זו שהכירה בינינו. איציק החל את הליך הגירושין מלילך לפני כשנה, ומזה כחצי שנה הם חיים בנפרד.

איציק גילה שלילך ניהלה רומן ארוך עם הבוס שלה: גבר אמיד וגרוש, שככל הנראה דאג לפנק אותה ולרכוש את ליבה. לדברי איציק, עוד באותו ערב שבו הציג בפני לילך את המכתב האנונימי שקיבל, כנראה מאחת הנשמות הטובות במקום עבודתה, לילך הודתה מיד, טענה שמצבה הרעוע של הזוגיות ביניהם הוא זה שדחף אותה לרומן האסור, ביקשה סליחה והתחננה בפניו שיהיה נאות לשקם את הזוגיות שלהם.

איציק הודה שבמשך כמה ימים הוא באמת שקל את העניין, אך לבסוף החליט שאינו יכול ופתח תיק גירושין. כבר בתחילת התהליך נצמדה לילך לטענה ולדרישה של "שלום בית". לאיציק לא היו הוכחות חותכות על הרומן: מכתב אנונימי לא מספיק, וההודאה של לילך באותו ערב לא הוקלטה, לצערו.

הוזמנתי לפגישה מאחר ואיציק משוכנע שלילך עדיין נפגשת עם הבוס שלה, למרות דרישותיה לשלום בית. עורכת הדין ביקשה הוכחות ותמונות שיוכיחו שלילך עדיין ממשיכה עם הרומן שלה.

למחרת ערכנו חקירה ראשונית על הבוס ועל לילך. לאחר שאספנו נתונים על השניים מיפינו כמה הזדמנויות שבהן השניים היו יכולים להיפגש. בשני המעקבים הראשונים לא השגנו ממצאים חד משמעיים. היה מפגש של שניהם

עם לקוח בבית קפה, שבסיומו חזרו שניהם לעבודה, כך שלא ניתן להוכיח קשר רומנטי ביניהם.

בפעילות השלישית נראתה לילך נוהגת ברכבה ויוצאת מהחניון של מקום עבודתה. במקביל נראה הבוס נכנס לרכבו ונוסע בעקבותיה. לילך הגיעה לחניון של קניון הסמוך למקום העבודה. רכבו של הבוס עצר לידה, לילך עברה לרכבו, השניים נראו מתנשקים בלהט, הבוס שיחק בשערה והם החלו בנסיעה.

כעבור כחצי שעה הגיעו לכתובת מגוריו של הבוס, דירת פנטהאוז באזור השרון. השניים נכנסו לחניון התת קרקעי. עוקב מהיר דילג לתוך הבניין וזיהה את שניהם נכנסים לדירתו של הבוס. כעבור חמש שעות, סביב עשר בלילה, נראו השניים יוצאים מהחניון ונוסעים חזרה לכיוון הקניון.

במהלך הנסיעה לילך נראתה מלטפת את עורפו של הבוס. הפרידה הייתה יחסית מהירה וזריזה. השניים התנשקו שוב. לילך עברה לרכבה ונסעה לביתה.

שוחחתי עם איציק. הממצאים היו חד משמעיים. הוא הופתע לקבל שיחת טלפון מלילך, למחרת בבוקר, כשהיא שואלת האם הוא מקבל את הצעתה לנסות בכל זאת טיפול זוגי משותף..

Treton - NJ Governor Had Secret Weight Loss Surgery

Trenton - Gov. Chris Christie secretly underwent gastric band surgery in February to try to lose weight at the urging of his family, spokesman Michael Drewniak told The Associated Press on Tuesday.

The father of four agreed to the surgery, in which a tube was placed around his stomach to restrict the amount of food he can eat, after turning 50 in September. Christie told The New York Post, which first reported the surgery, that he said he wasn’t motivated by thoughts of running for president.

“I’ve struggled with this issue for 20 years,” he told the newspaper. “For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them.”

Christie has never disclosed his weight. But he joked about his size during a February appearance on “The Late Show with David Letterman,” pulling out a doughnut and saying his girth was “fair game” for comedians, who had made fun of his size for years.

Christie was soon angered by comments from a former White House physician who said she worried about him dying in office. The governor said Dr. Connie Mariano should “shut up.”

Days later, on Feb. 16, Christie had the surgery. He said the operation lasted 40 minutes and he was home the same afternoon.

“A week or two ago, I went to a steakhouse and ordered a steak and ate about a third of it and I was full,” he told the Post.

Christie declined to say how much weight he has lost since the surgery.

The Republican governor is running for a second term in November, although his name is often mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

“I know it sounds crazy to say that running for president is minor, but in the grand scheme of things, it was looking at Mary Pat and the kids and going, ‘I have to do this for them, even if I don’t give a crap about myself,’” he said.

Gastric band surgery is pitched as a minimally invasive procedure. One version of it is sold under the brand name Lap-Band. Its website says the surgery is appropriate for adults who have failed with more conservative alternatives, such as diet and exercise.

Christie has talked about working with a personal trainer since he first ran for governor four years ago.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery says that about 200,000 people in the U.S. have weight loss surgery each year.

Jerusalem Police: We will not obstruct women's prayer at Western Wall

Jewish Agency Chairman Natan Sharansky presented his proposal on the Women of the Wall to the Knesset Committee on the Status of Women on Tuesday.

The proposal to set up a new egalitarian prayer section at the holy site, which has the support of the Reform and Conservative movements, centers around renovating the Robinson's Arch area adjacent to the Western Wall. This is the area the High Court in 2003 had designated as an alternative so that it would be more of an extension of the Kotel plaza, and would be open most hours of the day to accommodate both WOW and non-Orthodox groups who wanted to hold services.

Sharansky said the goal is a solution that will enable every Jew to express his or her connection to God and the Jewish people and that it can only be reached through dialogue between the different segments of the Jewish people.

The organization behind the struggle to change the rules of prayer for women at the Kotel expressed reservations about the proposal last week, citing they would like to continue operating as a women's group.

MK Aliza Lavie (Yesh Atid), who chairs the Knesset panel on women and had advocated for Sharansky's proposal, warned that the current limbo, "in which it isn't clear what is permitted and what is prohibited, could lead to serious problems on Friday."

This coming Friday, WOW plans to hold its prayer service in honor of Rosh Hodesh (the first day of the Hebrew month of Sivan), with prayer shawls, tefillin, a Torah scroll and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein's consent, who decided not to appeal the decision.

Michael Frankenberg, legal advisor to the Jerusalem Police said at the meeting that they would act in accordance with the court's decision, and not obstruct the women's prayers, shawls, tefillin and all.

Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch endorsed Sharansky's proposal, though he pointed out there are parts he agreed with less.

Harel Goldberg, a representative from the Justice Ministry, said the Attorney General's decision not to appeal the court ruling supports the notion that prayer at the Kotel must be more inclusive and liberal than the Orthodox Jewish custom.

Meanwhile, Israel's Minister of Religious Affairs Naftali Bennett plans to present new regulations for Jewish holy places that could restrict the right of Women of the Wall to pray as they see fit in the future, though he promised to formulate the new rules with input from the women's group.

Former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron Okays HIV-positive organ donation

Receiving an organ donation from an HIV-positive patient is permitted according to Halacha: Following an appeal from Israel's AIDS Task Force through the Puah Institute, former Chief Rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron has ruled that a life-saving organ donation can be received from an HIV-positive person, even if the recipient may become HIV-positive himself following the transplant.

According to the rabbi, "If the person will not live without the organ donation, it is permitted and the transplant must be carried out in order to save a life."

Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, one of Israel's most prominent poskim (legal scholar who decides the Halacha in cases where previous authorities are inconclusive or in situations where no halachic precedent exists), is known as a pragmatic posek whose rulings are accepted by very wide circles in the Jewish world.

His current ruling, Israel's AIDS Task Force says, may lead to a process which will allow HIV-positive people to act on their right to donate organs to other HIV-positive patients and to any other person in need, and save lives.

According to the AIDS Task Force, the new ruling has many implications, including the emphasis that this is a chronic illness which can be treated and that patients can live with it for a long time.

"The world of Halacha is preceding the medical practice here, and we hope that Rabbi Bakshi-Doron's decision will prompt the medical world to hold a relevant discussion of this issue," says Dr. Yuval Livnat, director of Israel's AIDS Task Force.

"First of all, we must allow HIV-positive people to donate organs to other HIV-positive patients. Such transplants are being conducted successfully for several years now in South Africa, and more than a month ago the Senate's Committee on Health passed a bill allowing such donations in the US as well.

"Giving HIV-positive patients the option to donate organs to other HIV-positive patients will shorten the transplant waiting time, which is long as it is – especially in Israel.

"Second," he adds, "there are situations in which we should approve – as Rabbi Bakshi-Doron recommends in his ruling – organ donations from HIV-positive patients to people who are not HIV positive. For example, in situations in which the recipient urgently needs a donation – and there is no suitable donation from a person who is not HIV positive, and this donation could save his life."

'Halacha dealing with complex issues all the time'

Rabbi Menachem Burstein, head of the Puah Institute which helps couples with fertility, medicine and Jewish Law, explains: "The halachic ruling on medicine and Halacha of the Puah Institute is based on an up-to-date examination of the medical innovations, and at the same time on extensive consultation with the greatest poskim of our generation.

"The important ruling of our master, Chief Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, may he live long and happily, is accepted by millions of Jews in Israel and around the world, and demonstrates, to those who do not already know it, that the Halacha progresses and deals with complex issues all the time. This is an excellent example of a halachic perception which provides a ruling while addressing innovations in the world of medicine."

The National Transplant Center stresses that HIV-positive people can already donate organs today – but only to other HIV-positive patients. However, in Israel this has yet to be done.

"The world is experienced in this, especially regarding kidney transplant," says Dr. Tamar Ashkenazi, head of the National Transplant Center. "As far as we know, South African has the greatest amount of experience in this field."

Israel has not been required to deal with the issue yet. More than 7,400 new cases of HIV infection occur each day. On average, at least one of them is Israeli.

The absolute majority of the new cases are contracted from people who are unaware that they are HIV positive. A survey conducted in the past three years by Israel's AIDS Task Force and the Mutagim research institute revealed that nearly 70% of Israeli residents have never been tested for HIV.

Sex slaves in the Holy Land

Prostitution in the Holy Land has a long history that stretches back to before Israel’s founding in 1948. At the start of World War II, Tel Aviv was known as a “Holiday City.” Soldiers and men throughout the region poured into the city to partake of its burgeoning flesh trade and, according to complaints filed during the British Mandate, prostitution flourished in cafes, apartments, and various public spaces.

After World War II and with the creation of the State of Israel, new immigrants, who were occasionally forced to prostitute themselves in order to survive, fueled Israel’s sex trade. As in countries all over the world, Israeli sex buyers readily exploited economically and socially disadvantaged populations. Yet, as Israel developed into a wealthy nation, it became economically viable to sustain a sex trafficking industry, and international organized crime quickly recognized a financial opportunity.

By the 1990’s Israel was established as a destination country for trafficking, and international sex trafficking victims had replaced the local market. Israel’s flesh trade was booming and making between half a billion to three quarters of a billion dollars a year. It was a particularly desirable market for traffickers because the purchase of sexual services was, and still is, legal in Israel. This protects traffickers because it makes it difficult to prosecute them and to identify their victims. Throughout the 1990’s traffickers acted with impunity and, according to the Hotline for Migrant Workers, smuggled 3,000 women annually into Israel.

The women arrived largely from the former Soviet Union, but a small percentage came from South America and Asia. The countries of origin shared two common denominators: a dire economic situation and women desperate to provide for themselves and their families. Traffickers promised women work as au pairs, waitresses, or medical masseuses. A few were told that they would work as exotic dancers and fewer were told that they would be prostituted. No one was told that upon arriving in Israel their documents would be confiscated and they would be bought, raped, and transported to brothels where they would service between 15 to 20 men a day.

By the late 1990’s, sex trafficking to Israel had reached such dizzying heights that the world began to take notice. In 2001, the US State Department released its first Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report and ranked Israel as a Tier 3 Nation – the report’s lowest possible ranking. A Tier 3 country is defined by its high level of trafficking and its failure to take significant strides to combat it.

Israel’s ranking was a public shaming at the hands of its most prominent ally. Moreover, it carried potentially massive economic consequences. According to the U.S.’s Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, Tier 3 nations would be subjected to strict economic sanctions. As Israel receives $3.1 billion in annual assistance from the U.S., the fallout would have been explosive.

The TIP Report and increasing pressure from NGOs, such as ATZUM’s Task Force on Human Trafficking, served as a catalyst for change. Since its Tier 3 ranking, Israel has passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, which imposes a maximum 16-year sentence upon traffickers. The Ministry of Welfare also began to operate two shelters for trafficking victims and Israel established SAAR, an anti-trafficking police unit.

Thanks in part to these measures, government and non-governmental sources agree that sex trafficking in Israel has been reduced. Yet, though Israel was recently awarded Tier 1 status, many would argue that it has not gone far enough in its efforts to reduce sex trafficking and prostitution. In 2011, SAAR was disbanded, and many victims of trafficking find themselves in prison instead shelters because the two state-funded shelters are overflowing.

Moreover, while Israel recognizes sex trafficking as a serious crime, it still considers prostitution to be a choice made by some women. This attitude flies in the face of reality. According to Saleet, a hostel for prostituted women in Tel Aviv, the average age of entrance into prostitution in Israel is 14, and “coincidentally” 90 percent of prostituted persons are victims of incest, rape, and abuse.

This past February, Israel’s Ministerial Committee nearly brought Israel one step closer to eradicating prostitution when it unanimously approved legislation that would have prohibited the purchase of sexual services and decriminalized the provider. This legislation had the potential to drastically reduce demand and assist the 15,000-prostituted persons, a third of whom are children, trapped in Israel’s sex trade. However, it was ultimately not passed into law.

Prostitution and trafficking have been a shameful part of Israel’s narrative for far too long. In order to continue to move forward, Israel must recognize prostitution, as well as sex trafficking, as the form of modern slavery that it is.

 

 

Times of israel

Police launch criminal investigation into Emmanuel Rosen sex harassment claims

Police announced the launch of a criminal investigation against journalist Emmanuel Rosen on suspicion of sexual harassment of female coworkers, following a preliminary probe which included deposing several testimonies from suspected victims and deciding whether there was enough evidence to warrant an official investigation.

Rosen suspended himself from his position as Channel 10's political commentator after the complaints became public about two weeks ago. He had also removed himself from additional public positions in television and radio.

Police are now set to question Rosen under caution. They added the investigation does not focus on any specific instances, but on a "broad web" of violations of the law of sexual harassment and other sexual offenses.

Moshe Ronen, Rosen's media adviser, welcomed the move: "There is now a proper procedure with rules and standards, as opposed to the 'field trial' which was taking place up to now. We urge everyone to allow the police to complete the investigation."

One of those to go public after the initial report was published by Haaretz was fellow journalist Gadi Sukenik, who told Army Radio last week that "Industry rumors and these acts, and I emphasize the word acts, took place over years. I confirm what all these journalists claim. I swear it's just the tip of the iceberg, and the least grave offenses, there are far more serious cases."

He said going public with the claims must have been a daunting prospect for the victims, as claims regarding harassment made behind closed doors are inherently difficult to prove.

"Trust me that I would not have gone on air had I not known these things for a fact. Many managers worked in the media who knew everything. Over the years the picture only became clearer, but companies still continued to employ him. I complained, I asked why, but no one appointed me the juror," Sukenik said.

Earlier Monday, Meretz Chairwoman Zahava Gal-On criticized Channel 2's conduct in regards to the Rosen affair: "Channel 2 acted accordingly and fired Rosen but did not publish it. Whoever does that causes future victims' blood to be let."

Announcing his suspension when the allegations were made public, Rosen stated: "An anonymous campaign to tarnish my reputation has been ongoing for 10 years… presenting an imaginary character that does not exist – 'a harassing Emmanuel Rosen.'"

Dissent in Habayit Hayehudi over candidate for Ashkenazi chief rabbi

Members of Habayit Hayehudi are split over who to support in the race for Chief Rabbinate, with party leader Naftali Bennett strongly in favor of Rabbi David Stav, a founder of the religious Zionist organization, Tzohar.

On Sunday Bennett denied reports about “deals of one sort or another with Shas or other parties” concerning the race for the Chief Rabbinate, which were apparently made without his agreement. Bennett's statement was published close to midnight, a short time after Rabbi Yaakov Ariel, the rabbi of Ramat Gan, had already officially announced his candidacy for Ashkenazi chief rabbi.

Ariel’s candidacy was agreed upon yesterday at a special meeting which he attended along with five leading rabbis in the religious Zionist camp, who approved his candidacy for Ashkenazi chief rabbi, as part of a deal with Shas. The deal calls for supporting a bill that would enable incumbent Sephardi Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar to serve an unprecedented second term.

The deal with Shas was presided over by two Habayit Hayehudi party members -- Housing and Construction Minister Uri Ariel and Deputy Religious Services Minister Eli Ben Dahan.

Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Bennett (who also serves as the minister for religious affairs) supports Stav's candidacy for Ashkenazi chief rabbi. His statement reveals the depth of the rift within Habayit Hayehudi and could trigger a conflict with the top religious Zionist rabbis who back Ariel as their candidate.

The 150-member body that elects the two chief rabbis consists of rabbis, mayors, heads of religious councils, and appointees of the chief rabbis and of the minister of religious services.   The electors are currently made up of a clear majority of ultra-Orthodox members, which means that Bennett will not be able to bring about the appointment of a Zionist chief rabbi without cutting a deal with the ultra-Orthodox.

Yossi Olmert to give key testimony in Holyland trial

Yossi Olmert is due to answer prosecutors’ allegations on Sunday that he received NIS 500,000 in bribes at the behest of his brother, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, during the latter’s term as mayor of Jerusalem. Yossi Olmert, who fled to the United States several years ago after running up huge debts in Israel, will be testifying by videoconference from the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., as part of the Holyland corruption trial, in which his brother is a key defendant.

Ehud Olmert is accused of expediting the expanded construction of the Holyland luxury apartment complex and facilitating other real estate ventures in exchange for bribes paid not to him but to others, including his brother .

At his police interrogation, deceased state witness Schmuel Dechner said he transferred NIS 500,000 to Olmert at the request of his brother Ehud.

Under interrogation, Yossi Olmert previously confirmed receiving the money from Dechner, but denied the prosecution’s claim that the transfer was at his brother’s request. Yossi Olmert claims he does not know who asked Dechner to send him the money, but suggested it may have been former civil service commissioner Avraham Natan, who denied the allegation. Ehud Olmert’s knowledge of the transfer is crucial to convicting him for accepting bribes.

If Yossi Olmert, a historian and former head of Israel’s Government Press Office, retracts part of the testimony he gave police, he could be declared a hostile witness. Apart from Dechner’s statement at his interrogation, there is no evidence proving that Ehud Olmert made such a request on behalf of his brother. The former premier’s attorneys did not have the opportunity to cross-examine Dechner before his death at the beginning of March.

Prosecutors have repeatedly argued since Dechner’s death that Ehud Olmert’s indictment was not based solely on Dechner’s statements, and that they have further evidence, such as the testimony of Morris Talansky that Olmert had made a similar request for a bribe. Prosecutors further argue that there could be no other known motive for Dechner to hand over funds to Yossi Olmert.

To convict Ehud Olmert, the court must be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the evidence proves that the former prime minister requested that the money be transferred to his brother. Still, the prosecution said that most bribery cases lack external proof of the request for bribes, yet the courts have found defendants guilty of accepting them.

Olmert’s attorneys met recently with prosecutors to argue that the remaining evidence is weak and pointed to what they said were contradictions in Dechner’s testimony.

Rabbi Amsalem: They Did unto Yishai as He Did Unto Me

Jerusalem - Former Knesset member Chaim Amsalem reacted, Sunday, to the ouster of Member of Knesset Eli Yishai from the leadership of the Shas party by saying Yishai was put through the same revolving door that Yishai put him through. Interviewed on Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew Journal, Rabbi Amsalem said, “The moment that members of the house of Rabbi Ovadia Yoseph - meaning his son, daughter-in-law and Ariel Attias - decided that the grace of Eli Yishai, the revolving door also revolved on him….”

Rabbi Amsalem, who served out his Knesset term as a one-man faction, recalled how he was ousted from the Sephardic-hareidi party, as he put it, for fighting on behalf of Sephardic girls and calling for separation from Lithuanian-hareidi methods, as well as his view that there was a value to work and Zionism.

He said Yishai was in a group that kept him from speaking directly with Rabbi Yoseph and the same thing happened to Yishai. Amsalem said he expected that Yishai’s position of support for Zionism and Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) would weaken and a more Lithuanian approach would be seen under returning Chairman Aryeh Der’i.

israelnationalnews

 

Former Chief Rabbi's Fraud Trial To Continue

The Jerusalem District Court on Sunday rejected former Sephardi chief rabbi Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron’s attempt to throw out the case against him on the grounds that the evidence collected against him violated general principles of justice.

The proceedings against Bakshi-Doron for allegedly ordaining IDF and police officers under fraudulent circumstances while he held the chief rabbi post started in late January.

The three main arguments that the rabbi’s lawyers made to end the case against him without the need to go to a full trial had to do with how the evidence had been collected and the absence of similar indictments against other clergy members who may have acted similarly to Bakshi-Doron.

The two main sources of evidence against him were his in-court testimony in an unrelated trial where he was just an outside witness, and statements he made to police afterwards.

The defense argued that in the unrelated trial and his later police statements, Bakshi- Doron incriminated himself without having been given proper warning by the prosecution, the courts or the police that any incriminating information could be used against him, even though he himself was not on trial at the time.

Bakshi-Doron’s lawyers said that failure to advise him of his right to avoid selfincrimination made the statements unusable as evidence and justified throwing out the entire case against him.

The court rejected the above arguments, saying that Bakshi-Doron had taken all the parties by surprise when he suddenly incriminated himself, and that since no one could have expected him to do so, the failure to advise him of his right to avoid self-incrimination would not be held against the prosecution.

The court added that the prosecution only meant to use the evidence-in-dispute indirectly in proving its case.

Finally, the court dismissed arguments that it was unfair for only him to be prosecuted when others – similarly situated – were not being prosecuted, stating that courts strive for equality in prosecution, but that equality of prosecution did not have to be mathematically exact.

The Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office filed an indictment against Bakshi- Doron in late December 2012.

The IDF and police officers who were fraudulently ordained went on to receive unlawful pay increases totaling hundreds of millions of shekels, the indictment said.

Head state prosecutor Moshe Lador decided to indict Bakshi-Doron after consulting with Attorney- General Yehuda Weinstein, and after rejecting arguments that the former chief rabbi’s attorneys made at a special pre-indictment hearing.

He was indicted for receiving payment of various sorts under aggravated circumstances for his alleged central role in the affair, according to the indictment.

In November 2007, 10 indictments were handed down over the incident, in which over 1,000 members of the IDF and police force received false certificates of rabbinic ordination, entitling them to an extra NIS 2,000 to NIS 4,000 a month in wages.

Those indicted included the head of the rabbinate’s division for administering exams as well as teachers running specially established educational facilities, set up at the time to train security personnel as rabbis.

Students at these schools were ordained by the Chief Rabbinate, making them eligible for salary benefits.

The seminaries where the studies took place received registration fees for the classes, and the security personnel studied for five to 10 hours a week for a period of one to two-and-a-half years at most, but received certification that they had taken a five-year yeshiva program, enabling them to receive the pay bonus.

The earlier case is still ongoing.

During the course of Bakshi- Doron’s testimony in the earlier case, the indictment alleges that he contradicted his earlier account to police on the events surrounding the case.

According to the indictment, Bakshi-Doron admitted in his testimony that he had directed administrative officials to “look the other way” and issue ordinations even if the candidates did not meet the standard criterion.

This testimony led to police questioning him again. In the new round it was revealed that Bakshi- Doron knew that official statements about the level of knowledge attained by those being ordained were fraudulent, said the indictment.

The allegations against him relate to his activities during his tenure as Sephardi chief rabbi from 1998 to 2003.

The indictment says that he ended up taking a central role in the scheme, in an attempt to curry favor with other parts of the rabbinate who supported the programs, issuing the ordinations through his righthand man Rabbi Yitzhak Ohana.

The next hearing in the Bakshi-Doron case is scheduled for May 16.

 

 

 

 

 

Jpost

ALL phone calls in the US are recorded and accessible to the government

A former FBI counterterrorism agent has hinted at a vast and intrusive surveillance network used by the U.S. government to monitor its own citizens.

Tim Clemente admitted as much when he appeared on CNN Wednesday night.

Discussing the Boston Marathon attack and past telephone conversations of Katherine Russell and her now deceased husband, suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Clemente said that those conversations would be available to investigators.

Clemente discussed the issue in this exchange with host Erin Burnett, as recorded by the CNN transcript.

BURNETT: ' Tim, is there any way, obviously, there is a voice mail they can try to get the phone companies to give that up at this point. It's not a voice mail. It's just a conversation. There's no way they actually can find out what happened, right, unless she tells them?'

CLEMENTE: 'No, there is a way. We certainly have ways in national security investigations to find out exactly what was said in that conversation. It's not necessarily something that the FBI is going to want to present in court, but it may help lead the investigation and/or lead to questioning of her. We certainly can find that out.'

BURNETT: 'So they can actually get that? People are saying, look, that is incredible.'

CLEMENTE: 'No, welcome to America. All of that stuff is being captured as we speak whether we know it or like it or not.'

He reiterated those statements again on CNN on Thursday night, adding that 'all digital communications in the past' are recorded and saved.

He stressed that no digital communication was secure.

The Guardian noted that such practices have been hinted at before, such as when AT&T engineer Mark Klein revealed that the company had helped build a special network for the National Security Agency to have total access to all data about telephone calls.

And Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have said for years that the public would be 'stunned' to learn the lengths its government went to to monitor them.

The Total Information Awareness program has been slowly instituted in the years following the 9/11 terrorist attacks with little controversy.

However the actual government practices have been kept secret.

Some new polls suggest that Americans have become increasingly concerned that they are giving up civil liberties to the war on terrorism.

IDF closes northern civilian airspace

Arkia Airline announced on Sunday that it was suspending flights between Eilat and Haifa until Thursday 29 Iyar after the IDF announced it was closing the skies over Haifa to all civil aviation until that time. The will impact the airline’s two daily flights which carry a total of 300 passengers.

The closure of the airspace over the city follows the military’s announcement earlier Sunday that Iron Dome defense systems have been deployed in both Tzfas and Haifa.

Fascist 'Jobbik' party wants Jews out of Hungary

The day before the annual gathering of the World Jewish Congress, set to open Sunday night in Budapest, a demonstration was held in the capital of Hungary by the Fascist, racist “Jobbik” party, making statements against world Jewish leaders, and against Israel. The Jobbik party is the third largest in the Hungarian parliament.

Hungarian authorities have taken large-scale measures to secure the meeting of the upcoming congress, and they had forbidden the demonstration to be held. But the courts canceled the government order, saying it would stifle the group’s freedom to demonstrate.

Several hundred people took part in the event, which was held near the Hungarian Parliament building, and in close proximity to the hotel housing the congress delegates. The demonstration was held under the banner, “A march memorializing the victims of Bolshevism and Zionism.”

Standing out in their black uniforms were members of the “Hungarian Guard,” the self-proclaimed militia of the party. They held a military inspection and carried nationalistic flags and crosses.

Even though they appeared in military uniforms, which are forbidden in demonstrations, and even though they have been outlawed in Hungary, the police securing the demonstration allowed them to proceed.

Speakers at the demonstration included the leader of Jobbik, Gabor Vona, plus parliament delegates representing the party, who demanded that Jews apologize for “the crimes they have committed against Hungary under the Communist regime.”

They also said, “Better use could be made of compensation money that the Hungarian government paid to the Holocaust survivors,” and they blamed Israel for “carrying out genocide against the Palestinian people.”

Some of those present wore kefiyas (a traditional Arab headdress) and the speakers called the Palestinians “Holocaust victims on the part of Israel.”

In an attempt to deflect claims that they are anti-Semitic, the speakers included quotes from anti-Zionist Jews and Israelis claiming that “Israel is committing crimes against mankind and following an apartheid policy.”

One of the speakers who won extended cheers from the audience was the party’s parliamentary deligate, who called on those present to create lists of Jews serving in the country’s government, stating that they were likely to be disloyal.

Several speakers read the names of Jews and Israelis “who were taking control of Hungary and acting against its national interests.”

Speakers also made statements against the Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Ilan Mor, and against Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who had agreed to host the World Jewish Congress.

The Congress will last for three days, and will focus, for the most part, on growing anti-Semitism in Europe. The event will be opened by the Hungarian prime minister, Congress President Ronald Lauder and Minister Silvan Shalom.

Toronto - Rabbi Kaplan drops plan to host anti-Islam firebrand Pamela Geller

TORONTO - A speaking engagement by American anti-Islamic firebrand Pamela Geller was moved following police intervention.

Geller, a vocal critic of radical Islam, was due to speak May 13 at a Chabad synagogue in Thornhill, north of Toronto, but the synagogue's rabbi, Mendel Kaplan, backed out after a visit by the hate crimes unit of local police.

“Rabbi Kaplan decided to cancel Ms. Geller's appearance, as it would place him in conflict with the values of our organization, which support a safe, welcoming and inclusive community for all," read a statement issued May 2 by the York Regional Police. Kaplan also serves as a police chaplain.

Geller is known for protesting past plans to build a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, and has posted anti-Jihad signs in that city's subway system. Geller's speaking engagement, still slated for May 13, was moved to a different venue, according to the Jewish Defense League of Canada.

The Toronto Sun reported May 1 that police "threatened" to remove Rabbi Kaplan as a police chaplain if he hosted Geller. Police called that allegation "a flagrant misrepresentation of the facts."

A York Regional Police spokesman told the Sun that if Rabbi Kaplan hosted Geller "then we'd have to reassess our relationship with [him]."