The Case of Malka Leifer, Ner Israel, The Weinberg Family and Bnei Brak

Malka Leifer
From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter

Also see the case of School Principal - Malka Leifer
Please note that it was learned that the case of Malka Leifer has connections to Ner Israel and the Weinberg Family. More information to follow soon.

Police: Bnei Brak has by far the highest rate of sexual offenses
By Roni Singer-Heruti
Haaretz
March 31, 2008

Police investigating suspicions that a sex predator is wandering about in Bnei Brak said Sunday that they believe there are more cases of sex-related crimes in that city than in any other locale in Israel.

"The number of sex offenses in the Bnei Brak area is higher than any other city by tens of percentage points, and it is clear to us that we do not know about many cases that are not even reported because of the well-known fact that in the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community, there is great reluctance about reporting such incidents," a senior police officer in the Tel Aviv District said.

The Dan Region police received reports of 10 sexual assaults of girls in recent months. Two cases involved rape; the rest were instances either of attempted rape or indecent assault. In all cases the girls, aged approximately 12, gave a similar description of their assailant, who they said wore the garb of a specific Haredi community, and used the same modus operandi in his assaults. The suspect followed his victims and then attacked them in the yard or the lobby of a residential building.

However, police are also exploring the possibility that more than one assailant is involved.

In recent months the police have been tightening their relations with rabbis in Bnei Brak as a way of countering the attacks. According to police sources, the cooperation has often been successful and the rabbis have encouraged parents to complain about sexual assaults perpetrated on their children.

"Contrary to the past there is greater trust in the police [among the Haredi community] and less shame in filing a complaint. We recognize these phenomena that occur occasionally, and recently there have been many publications in the city, which have warned children about sexual predators," a senior public figure from Bnei Brak told Haaretz Sunday.

"Now the approach tends to be inclined toward involving the police as soon as possible after we learn that the attack has taken place. More than ever there are reports in various places, especially in schools and in letters to the parents, warning against the phenomena that threaten the children," the local source added.

He explained that there are mediators whose role is to liaise between the families and the police.

However, police sources still say that "the number of complaints that are filed is far from being high," adding that they are aware that in reality, there are many more instances of sexual assault which police only learn about through their intelligence sources.

The information is often received from "messengers" who are members of the religious courts of individual rabbis, and who disseminate rumors, recommending that the police investigate them.

A week ago, a 33-year-old resident of Lod was arrested in Bnei Brak on suspicion of sexually assaulting a teenager who returned home late one night. The suspect, who has been indicted, followed the teen and her friend, and assaulted one of them. As they fled, he chased one of them and attacked her in the lobby of the building where she lived. Her father and brother heard her screams and came to her aid, and the assailant was arrested.

Police say that "this is a widespread phenomenon and children are harmed by it. The problem is that this is a closed community where it is not customary to report such cases. Thus sexual assailants, and other kinds of criminals, know they can operate without fear in Bnei Brak, and know that the chances that complaints will be filed against them is minimal."

Nonetheless, police stressed that "the community in Bnei Brak knows the situation a lot better than us."

Mind Control, Cults and Jewish Survivors of Sexual Trauma

With the number of cases coming out in the Jewish community that have cult like leaders I wanted to share the following links that I found on The Awareness Center's site:

• Jewish Survivors of Spiritual Abuse

• Soul Searching: Sexual Abuse, Cults, and Missionaries

• Cults Missionaries, Sexual Victimization and the Jewish Community

• Background Information and The History of Rabbinical Ordinations

• Video: on the Strategic Interaction Approach - Steven Hassan

Alleged and Convicted Cases of Spiritual Abuse in Jewish Communities

1. Case of Rabbi Yoram Aberjil (Netivot, Israel) (Accused of cult like practices, sexual harassment of young women and threatening the lives of his victims and those who advocated for them)
2. Case of Rabbi Ephraim Bryks (Winnipeg, Canada, New York, NY) (Accusations about sexual inappropriate behavior with children started surfacing in the 1980's.)
3. Case of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach (Accused of several cases of child molestation, and sexual assault of young women)
4. Case of Rabbi Mordechai Gafni - AKA: Marc Winiarz, Marc Gafni, Mordechai Winiarz (New York, Florida, Los Angeles, Israel) (Accused sexual assault of teenage girls, attempted sexual assault of a young adult female, and of cult like practices)
5. Case of Werner Erhard (AKA: John Paul Rosenberg) Founder EST (Accused of incest, which were later recanted. Also accused of cult like practices)
6. Case of Jacob Frank and the Frankist Movement (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
7. Case of Bruria Keren (Beit Shemish, Israel) (Accusedof molested her twelve children and other children in the community and also of cult like practices)
8. Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin (Kiryat Bialik, Israel) (Accused of sexual assault and cult like practices)
9. Case of Malka Leifer - School Principal (Elsternwick, Australia, Tel Aviv, Israel; Bnai Brak Israel) (Accused of molesting several female students and cult like practices)
10. Case of Rabbi Michael Ozair - aka: Rabbi Michael Ezra, Rabbi Michael Ezra Ozair (Beverly Hills, CA) (Convicted, pleaded no contest to oral copulation with a 14-year-old minor.)
11. Case of Martin H. Stein, MD (Accused of using mind control techniques on a minor. Stripped of his medical licenses in Virginia and the District for negligence, inappropriate and excessive prescribing of drugs for patients as young as 4 and sexually intimate behavior with a patient).
12. Case of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler (Monsey, NY) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
13. Case of Rabbi Isadore Trachtman (Chicago, IL and Jerusalem, Israel) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
14. Rabbi Aharon Schechter and Tranquility Bay Reform School (Jamaica, West Indies) (Accused of knowing a school was using mind control techniques on minors).
15. Case of Rabbi Hershy Worch ( Manchester, England; Mbale, Uganda; Melbourne, Australia; Pawtucket, RI; Istanbul, Turkey; Chicago, IL) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
16. Case of Rabbi Matis Weinberg (Baltimore, MD, Santa Clara, CA and Har Nof, Israel) (Accused of cultic type practices and sexual offenses)
17. Case of Sabbatai Zevi (Smyrna; Turkey; Greece; Egypt; Palestine)

Update on Isaac Hersh - New York Jewish Week

David Pelcovitz, PhD

Breaking: Brooklyn Teen Released from Jamaica

by Stewart Ain

New York Jewish Week

March 30, 2008

Isaac Hersh, the 16-year-old Orthodox Brooklyn boy who was allegedly being "abused by the staff" of a school for troubled youths in Jamaica, is back in the U.S.

He arrived at Teterboro Airport in New Jersey early Friday morning after his parents agreed to have him released to the custody of a New York psychologist.

The psychologist, David Pelcovitz, a professor at Yeshiva University, examined Hersh for 90 minutes yesterday in Jamaica and concluded that he had been physically and mentally abused, according to Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe of Houston, TX, with whose family the teen had stayed for nine months before his parents spirited him away to the boarding school in June.

Rabbi Wolpe said he and Pelcovitz and two other men flew to Jamaica

in a private plane during the early morning hours Thursday. They had to rush, the rabbi said, because they had learned that American officials were going to interview Hersh at the American Embassy in Kingston at 9 a.m. Thursday in response to a federal lawsuit against the U.S. State Department alleging the boy was being abused at the school.

"We were waiting at the gate of the Embassy so he could see us and request to meet with us," Rabbi Wolbe said. "It was a miracle that we got there five minutes before he arrived."
The rabbi said U.S. consular officials were present when he asked Hersh to describe the treatment he received at the school, Tranquility Bay.

"He said he was thrown on his face by the staff and that both hands were twisted up behind him while five people were on top of him, putting their fingernails into his ears," Rabbi Wolbe said. "And he said he was punched in the stomach when he asked to borrow a pen from a counselor. … The vice consul with us was crying. She could not believe it."

After Pelcovitz interviewed the teen and made his assessment, Hersh was then returned to Tranquility Bay until his father, Michael Hersh, CEO of the Chevra Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps, agreed by phone to have his son released into Pelcovitz' s custody. The boy was then flown back to New York where he is in an "undisclosed safe location," according to Rabbi Wolbe.

He noted that young Hersh is not with his father, who, according to the federal suit, had been charged by authorities in Israel with child abuse for giving his son medicine without a prescription. The suit said the medicine was to calm the boy down.

Ken Kay, who said he was formerly associated with Tranquility Bay and that his son was its former director, asserts that the school is for troubled youths who need behavior modification. He denied that any abuse took place there.

For more reading on World Wide Association and Tranquility Bay:

• World Wide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools
• Tranqulity Bay (ISAC)
• Teen-ager leaps to her death at compound in Jamaica
• No More Nightmares at Tranquility Bay?
• Parents Divided Ove Jamaica Disciplinary Academy
• Tranquility Bay Documentary

Tranquility Bay Reform School

Isaac Hersh is Free and Back in the USA. . .

Isaac Hersh /Tranquility Bay
Isaac Hersh is Free and Back in the USA. . .But Let's Not Forget The Rest of the Children at Tranquility Bay!!!

As of 7:00 am this morning Isaac Hersh is back in the United States and is receiving medical attention. For more information about this case click here

A huge thank you goes to:

• Joshua Ambush, Attorney
• Rabbi Aryeh Wolbe, executive director of the Torah Outreach Research Center of Houston and who is also one of the foster parents for Isaac twin brother
• Rabbi Avraham Wolbe, Monsey, NY
• David Pelcovitz, Phd of Yeshiva University
• Mr. Zvi Gluck, Hatzalah, New York, NY
• Isaac Klein, Far Rockaway NY
• Senator Hillary Clinton.
• Rabbi Yosef Shereshevsky from Norfolk Virginia, COO of Wextrust Capital, for financing this operation and providing his private Jet.
  
• Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski, Rabbi Dovid Feinstein, Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky were involved in the rescue.
  

Save Isaac Hersh: Standoff Between the US Embassy and the Jamaican Government

Please forward to everyone you know!

Save Isaac Hersh:
Standoff Between the US Embassy and the Jamaican Government
© (2008) The Awareness Center


According to a reliable source a great deal has been happening over the last 24 hours in the case of Isaac Hersh, a sixteen-year-old boy being held at dangerous reform school/torture chamber, called Tranquility Bay, which located in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica.

Last night a private jet carrying a delegation of three individuals arrived in Montego Bay. The delegation included a mental health professional who is an expert in child abuse, and both a medical and legal professional. Upon landing they were immediately escorted by United States Embassy officials who to Tranquility Bay. The goal of this excursion was to communicate directly with the Isaac Hersh to determine if he was OK.

The first time they went to the gates, the delegation and the US embassy officials were turned away. After the second attempt they were granted a visit. Isaac was immediately taken to the US Embassy where he confirmed on the record that he had been physically abused by his father, Michael Hersh while living at home. He also stated that he was currently being tortured and deprived of basic necessities in Tranquility Bay.

At some point the delegation from New York was arrested and is currently being held on attempted kidnapping charges. Jamaican authorities took delegation member's passports they are currently being detained. I've been told that at this time several politicians are involved along with the federal court.

At this time US Embassy officials are staying at the gates of Tranquility Bay in hopes of gaining the release of this child.

Michael Hersh maintains legal custody (parental rights) of his son Isaac. Affidavits, along with testimony is being presented to a federal judge in New York. The goal is to temporarily remove parental rights from Isaac's parents so that the child can receive proper help.

Here's what you can do to help:

Call Rabbi Aaron Schechter who is Michael Hersh's spiritual advisor (Dean, Yeshiva Chaim Berlin) and the families attorney, Steve (Shlomo) Mostofsky, President of the National Council of Young Israel (which is a national synagogue
organization representing 150 synagogues throughout the United States).

1. Demand that they drop the charges of kidnapping of delegation members.
2. They allow delegation members to bring Isaac back to the United States so that he can receive proper medical and psychological attention.

Contact Information:
Steve (Shlomo) Mostofsky, President
National Council of Young Israel
212-929-1525
president@youngisrael.org
http://www.youngisrael.org/content/Contactus.cfm


Rabbi Aaron M. Schecter, Dean (Aharon Moshe Schechter)
Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin (Flatbush)
1593 Coney Island Ave.
Brooklyn, New York, 11230
(718) 377-0777

For more information on this case go to:

• SAVE ISAAC: The Case of Michael Hersh
• Coaltion Against Institutionalized Children

The Awareness Center on Bruria Keren - the Burka Wearing Mother

If you or anyone you know is involved Bruria Keren or any other group like her's there is a great deal of information that you might find as helpful. The Awareness Center's goal is to offer information, resources, hope and healing to Jewish survivors of sex crimes.

Please feel free to contact us if there's anything we can do to help: 443-857-5560

Bruria Keren

54-year-old, Bruria Keren, was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse and physical abuse of her twelve children. She has also been accused of cult like practices. According to the Jerusalem Post, Keren is "the leader of a fringe sect of Jewish women with a Taliban-like dress code. . . The women who adhere to a dress code more stringent than that of the most extreme Muslim sects and a rigorous health food diet.

The followers of this sect/cult number as many as 50 in Beit Shemesh and are also scattered around Safed and Jerusalem. According to reports the women do not speak with men, even by telephone. The vast majority of the women who belong to the sect have secular backgrounds.

According to a Jerusalem Post article "Even in Beit Shemesh, made up of some of the most religiously extreme sects in Orthodoxy, such as Satmar, Toldot Aharon and Shomrei Hachomot, this group of women was considered ridiculously - even psychotically - zealous. .. The women who belong to the sect lack any recognized rabbinic backing. They rarely leave their homes. When they do, their female children, dressed in long robes, accompany them. The women's extensive face coverings make it dangerous for them to cross the street unattended."

For more information: click here

NY Jewish Times on Saving Isaac Hersh

If you or anyone you know was abused at Tranquility Bay contact attorney, Joshua Ambush Immediately. He can be reached at: 410-484-2070



Rabbi Aaron Schechter / Tranquility Bay / Michael Hersh

Custody Case Over Son Of Hatzalah Executive Suit alleges 16-year-old ‘being abused’ at Jamaica facility.
by Stewart Ain
NY Jewish Week
March 26, 2008

A bitter custody case centered on a controversial rehabilitation center in Jamaica for troubled youth has embroiled the U.S. State Department, Israel and the CEO of the Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps here.

At the center of the controversy is Isaac Hersh, 16, who, according to a federal lawsuit, was handcuffed and forcibly dragged from his parents’ Brooklyn home at 5 a.m. on June 13 by two burly men. He was then taken to a school in Jamaica called Tranquility Bay.

The suit, filed by the Washington Center for Peace and Justice, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting victims of injustice, alleges that an eyewitness at the facility saw Hersh “being abused by the staff.” The suit claims that there have been “numerous” other documented cases of abuse of youths there.

A former associate of the school, Ken Kay, called the allegations “ludicro us.”

The suit alleges that the “health and safety” of Hersh are in jeopardy and it seeks to compel the State Department to visit him and render him medical care. Named as defendants are the State Department and the teen’s parents, Michael and Miriam Hersh. The former has been the CEO of Chevra Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps for the past five months.

Meanwhile, the boy’s aunt and uncle, Rosa and Elliott Greher of Silver Spring, Md., are in Brooklyn Family Court seeking to wrest custody of the teen from his parents. In the same court, the youngster’s grandparents, Rafael and Rifka Cohen of Queens, are seeking visitation rights. A May 28 trial is scheduled.

“My only interest is the well-being of Isaac Hersh,” said Rafael Cohen. “I have no involvement in the federal suit.”

He said the custody case was begun “after the parents were willing to voluntarily relinquish custody.” He declined to say what changed their minds.

Asked what would happen if the judge revokes the parents’ custody since U.S. court rulings are unenforceable in Jamaica, Cohen said: “We will have to cross that bridge as we come to it.”

His lawyer, Leah Shedlo, said the Cohens have not spoken with Isaac for about two years. Asked about reports that Isaac has sent a letter home saying he was fine and being treated well, she said she understood that the “children are required to send these letters home. I have spoken with some [former] students and they confirmed it.”

Shedlo said also that Isaac’s court-appointed guardian had not spoken with him as of the last court date in January.

The Hersh’s lawyer, Shlomo Mostofsky, declined comment.

David Shipper, the attorney for Chevra Hatzalah, said his organization is “carefully monitoring” the two court cases, “taking into account the seriousness of the allegations.”

The federal suit contends that Michael Hersh was charged with child abuse by Israeli authorities while the family was living there several years ago. It was alleged that Hersh forced Isaac and his twin brother Shlomo to take medicine without a prescription. The drug was designed “to control them,” the suit said, adding that the family then “abruptly returned to New York.”

Ken Kay, president of the now defunct Worldwide Association of Specialty Programs and Schools, said that until two years ago his organization had provided services to Tranquility Bay and that his son used to be its director. He denied that youngsters there are abused.

“They are there because they do not function well and have been in life-threatening situations,” he said. “It is a facility that is highly structured because the kids have lax structure.”

Asked about the complaints of abuse posted on the Web by former students, Kay said: “Those who don’t complete the program continue to be angry and mean. ... This is a character-building program accredited by the Northwestern Association of Accredited Schools.”

He said Jamaican officials and representatives from the American consulate “regularly visit and if there was abuse there, they would have reported it. ... I’m very comfortable with Tranquility Bay. I think it’s a good school.”

Isaac Hersh - Age 16

Orthodox Mother accused of Incest, Beit Shemesh, Israel

From: The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter

Court extends remand for mother suspected of abusing her 12 children
By Jonathan Lis
Haaretz
March 25, 2008

This case will soon be up

A Jerusalem court on Tuesday extended by six days the remand of a Beit Shemesh woman suspected of abusing her twelve children.

Police believe that the children had sexual intercourse with each other, some for a long period of time.

"The investigation started a few months ago following a complaint from a distressed teen. I arrived at the house and it seemed as though something was not right there," said police head of investigations in Beit Shemesh, Roni Markovitch. "We opened with a wide-scale undercover investigation, and then we received complaints of violence within the family and incest between the siblings."
Advertisement

Markovitch maintained that not all of the 12 children were involved in incest.

During the police investigation, it became evident that the mother was violent towards some of her children, and would routinely beat them, sometimes with a sharp object. In other instances, when the children would come home late, they would be sent to sleep in a locked shed outside of the house.

"The mother called what happened there 'education,' and I call it terror," said Markovitch, "the violence in that house was not easy. I have investigated many cases, and this is the hardest."

New York Times on Isaac Hersh - WE ALL MUST SAVE HIS LIFE!!!

CALL TO ACTION: Everyone Please Call Your Local Television Station - Encourage Them To Do A Story To Save Isaac Hersh's Life and ALL of the other Children in Tranquility Bay!!

Isaac Hersh / Boys lay prone on stone floor at Tranquility Bay, a reform school on the island of Jamaica that has been called a concentration camp.

New York Times:
March 25, 2008

A battle has erupted in an Orthodox Jewish community over a Brooklyn teenager, Isaac Hersh, 16, who was sent by his family to a behavioral “boot camp” in Jamaica that his lawyer says has abused him. The boy’s father, Michael Hersh, is chief executive of a large Orthodox volunteer ambulance service, Hatzalah; the boy, one of eight children, had been living with another Orthodox family in Texas. [Daily News]

Jewish family sues Jamaican reform school for troubled teens

By Kirsten Danis, Daily News City Hall Bureau Chief

New York Daily News

Tuesday, March 25th 2008, 4:00 AM

Isaac Hersh / Boys lay prone on stone floor at Tranquility Bay, a reform school on the island of Jamaica that has been called a concentration camp.

A battle has erupted in the Orthodox Jewish community over a Brooklyn teenager sent by his prominent family to a behavior boot camp accused of terrifying abuse.

Isaac Hersh, 16, has been trapped since last summer at Tranquility Bay, a reform school on the island of Jamaica with a soothing name - and harsh discipline, according to the lawyer hired to try to get him out.

"It's a modern-day concentration camp," said Maryland lawyer Joshua Ambush.

Isaac's estranged parents sent him to the boot camp last year after luring him back to Brooklyn from his new home in Texas, court papers claim.

Isaac's twin brother, Sol, is panicked he's next to go.

"He's very worried about his brother. He's very worried about himself, too," said a friend of the family who asked to remain anonymous.

Tranquility Bay offers the promise of turning bad boys into focused achievers, but the walled-off camp with barred windows has been called a nightmare.

Children have been beaten, forced to eat their vomit and made to stand in painful contortions for hours, according to a separate suit filed in Utah by former students against private boot camps, including Tranquility Bay.

The case has so riled up members of the normally insular Orthodox community that several are taking the rare step of publicizing Isaac's situation.

One one side is Isaac's informal Texas foster family, who are also Orthodox, and their supporters, who prompted a nonprofit to file suit in Washington last week on Isaac's behalf.

They claim he was lured to Brooklyn with the promise of a job, handcuffed and thrown into a van that took him to the boot camp as he cried and begged to be released, the suit says.

On the other side are the teen's father, Michael Hersh - CEO of Brooklyn's huge Orthodox volunteer ambulance service, Hatzalah - and his wife, Miriam.

"Hatzalah will carefully monitor these proceedings, taking into account the seriousness of the allegations," the organization said in a statement.

The couple has a prominent supporter in Rabbi Aaron Schecter, head of Brooklyn's tight-knit Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin, according to the suit.

It is unclear what prompted the parents to send Isaac to another country. Michael Hersh did not return a call for comment.

They had a troubled relationship for years, according to the suit.

Isaac, one of eight children, was sent to schools in Virginia and Long Island before the family moved to Israel in 2002, where the parents were accused of abusing Isaac, the suit says.

From there, the boys went to live with families in Texas, although the parents never lost custody.

"They're healthy, good, normal teenage boys," said the family friend.

Case of Malka Leifer - Is Zipporah Oliver Helping To Cover Up A Sex Crime?

I was just reading The Awareness Center's web page and found the following and one has to wonder if we need to be concerned with "cultural issues" in the charedi world, when the "cultural issues" result in shaming and blaming survivors of sex crimes in to silence?

It appears that ex-school principal, Malka Leifer is hiding out in Bnai Brak, Israel. I was also informed she grew up on Tel Aviv.

From The Awareness Center's site on Malka Leifer

If anyone has a photograph of Malka Leifer, please forward it to The Awareness Center. The goal of this web page is to help protect innocent children from becoming the next victim of a sex crime.

In 2000, Malka Leifer was hired by Adass Israel Girls School. In 2003 she was promoted and made principal. Her employment terminated and left Melbourne within 24 hours of being investigated by the school board. There were allegations made that Adass Israel school purchased the ticket for Leifer to return to Israel. Norman Rosenbaum, the schools spokesperson, the rumors are not true.

Zipporah Oliver, a prominent Orthodox psychologist, was quoted in saying that she has encouraged anybody who feels traumatized by the events to seek help in a culturally appropriate way.

Over the last seven years The Awareness Center has seen "the culturally appropriate way" in many orthodox communities is to let the rabbis "handle" these sorts situations, by either doing nothing or protecting the alleged sexual predator not to embarrass his or her family, at the expense of those who have been criminally violated.

It's not very often we will see rabbonim encouraging survivors of sex crimes to work with law enforcement, instead they encourage survivors to have their cases heard in a Jewish religious court. According to Jewish law there needs to be two `kosher' witnesses to a crime. It's important to note that women do not count as kosher witnesses. When you are dealing with sex crimes, there is hardly ever one witness, let alone two.

We all must be aware that our rabbis are not trained to conduct victim sensitive interviews nor have knowledge in how to collect forensic evidence. The "cultural norm" in more insulated communities is to scare those who have been victimized into silence by warning them they will not find good marriage partner or be allowed in good yeshivas (schools) if it was known they or a family member were a victim of a sex crime.

Instead of instilling fear, our rabbis should be encouraging survivors to work with law enforcement, to insure no more innocent children, adolescents or adults are harmed by alleged sexual predators. Instead of promoting fear, our rabbonim have a responsibility to be educating our communities that all survivor of sex crimes should be honored and respected.

The Awareness Center wants to encourage all survivors of sex crimes to contact their local rape crisis center and to work with law enforcement. It is the only way to insure that there is hope in stopping a sexual predator from creating more victims.

PRESS RELEASE: Save Isaac Hersh's Life!

Isaac Hersh / Micheal Hersch, Father

Law Offices
Joshua M. Ambush, LLC
Hilton Plaza
1726 Reisterstown Rd., Suite 206
Baltimore, Maryland 21208

Contact: Joshua M. Ambush, Esquire, 410-484-2070

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FEDERAL LAW SUIT FILED TO RESCUE CHILD FROM MODERN DAY CONCENTRATION CAMP

March 20, 2008, Baltimore, MD

The Washington Center for Peace and Justice, Inc. filed a federal lawsuit today on behalf of a 16 year old Brooklyn boy seeking injunctive relief to stop his abuse and to gain his release from a notorious behavior modification facility in Jamaica, West Indies, where he was sent after being brutally seized at the behest of his parents, Michael and Miriam Hersh. Michael Hersh is a former student of Yeshiva Chaim Berlin in Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, and a disciple of Rabbi Aaron M. Schecter, dean of the Yeshiva.

The complaint, filed in U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, details the long history of abuse of the boy by his father that culminated in his being forcibly removed from his mouse in the early morning hours on June 13, 2007. The boy was sadistically handcuffed and dragged to a waiting van by two men hired by his parents while shocked witnesses helplessly watched him plead with his abductors.

It was not until several months later that worried family members learned that the boy had been sent by his parents to Tranquility Bay, an affiliate of World Wide Association of Specialty Schools and Programs, WWASPS. The complaint details documented cases of abuse at Tranquility Bay which includes beatings, sexual assault, food deprivation and excessive use of isolation.

Joshua Ambush, the lead counsel in the case, announced the filing of the action against the parents. Michael Hersh, father of the boy is the CEO of Chevra Hatzalah Volunteer Ambulance Corps, Inc., the largest all-volunteer ambulance service in the United States. The complaint also names the State Department for constitutional and civil rights violations.

Ambush emphasized that the lawsuit is not about tort damages, but rather is an effort to save the boy's life and rescue him from a modern day concentration camp. "Child abuse by a parent should not be tolerated in civilized society, and should not be tolerated when the parents hires surrogates to perpetrate the abuse. It is unconscionable that perpetrators of abuse are able to evade prosecution by virtue of the fact that the abuse is taking place outside the jurisdiction of the Untied States. In addition to rescuing this child, this suit seeks to demonstrate that federal courts, in such cases, retain jurisdiction over the abusers and those that aid and protect them."

A copy of the complaint that was failed in this case is attached.

http://www.geocites.com/safeisaac/files/HershComplaint.pdf

Joshua Ambush will be available for interviews by phone appointment at 410-484-2070

_______________

Please have Yitzchak Meir Ben Michael Chaim in mind in your Tefillos when you say "Matir Asurim" - This is a real Mitzvah of Pidyon Shvuyin.
_______________

Contact the following people to encourge them to FREE 16-year-old Isaac Hersh from his prison.

US Department of State
Office of Children's Issues
2201 C. Street NW, Washington DC
1-888-407-4747
AskCI@state.gov

Michael and Miriam Hersh, Parents
1014 W. 10th St.
Brooklyn, NY 11230

Chevra Hatzalah Volulnteer Abmulance Corp, Inc.
1340 East 9th Street
Brooklyn , NY 11230
718-998-9000

Rabbi Aaron M. Schecter, Dean (Aharon Moshe Schechter)
Mesivta Yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Berlin (Flatbush)
1593 Coney Island Ave.
Brooklyn, New York, 11230
(718) 377-0777

Looking for Survivors of William Aryes, MD

William Aryes, MD - Child Psychiatrist

William Aryes is a Harvard trained psychiatrist, who allegedly molested children under his care. The victimized children come from all faiths.

If you or anyone you know was sexually abused by Dr. William Aryes, please contact Detective Rick Decker at the San Mateo Police Department immediately.

Contact:

Detective Rick Decker
San Mateo Police Department:
650-522-7654

_____________________________

Judge bows out of Ayres hearing, citing 'antipathy'
Burlinggame Daily News
March 21, 2008

By Michael Manekin / Bay Area News Group A San Mateo County Superior Court judge has unexpectedly bowed out of an upcoming hearing involving William Ayres, the once-prominent San Mateo child psychiatrist awaiting trial on allegations that he sexually molested his patients.

Citing "antipathy" toward one of the lawyers involved in the case, Judge John Runde submitted a written order Tuesday that was placed directly in the Ayres case file.
"Antipathy to counsel impels me to the conclusion that I cannot be impartial to both sides in this matter," Runde said. "I therefore recuse myself."

Under state law, judges are allowed to recuse themselves in cases that could bias their decision-making process. Recusals can occur for any number of reasons, but neither prosecutors nor the defense could recall more than a few occasions when "antipathy" toward an attorney provided the basis for a judge to bow out of a hearing.

"I've never read such a thing," Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said Thursday upon learning of the ruling. "'Antipathy' is a very specific word, and I have no idea what would have caused it.

"Everything seemed appropriate in court, and I'm actually stunned at what I've just read."
When alerted of the judge's decision Thursday afternoon, defense attorney Doron Weinberg was equally bewildered. Speculating at first that the judge's "antipathy" could be directed toward prosecutors, he quickly dismissed the notion.

"If (Runde) is referring to me, I have absolutely no idea what he's referring to," Weinberg said. "I don't think anything happened in the courtroom (during previous hearings) that was out of the ordinary. There was some spirited dialogue, but certainly no attack or disrespect."

Weinberg, who called Runde's decision to bow out of the case "mystifying," frequently sparred with the judge during a December hearing, when the two men last met in court. The attorney had requested the hearing to argue a motion to suppress prosecution evidence acquired by search warrants that gave investigators access to his clients' patient files.

"The court appears to have had already made up its mind," Weinberg told Runde in December. At one point, the defense attorney went so far as to lecture the judge on the nature of search warrants, saying, "Surely, the court understands the difference between probability and possibility of a crime."

The judge ultimately denied the motion, summarily dismissing each of the defense attorney's arguments during the December hearing.

However, a state appeals court last week ordered Runde to offer Weinberg a new hearing to defend his client, stating that the judge denied the defense attorney an opportunity to make his case by calling witnesses to the stand.

Now that Runde has declined to preside over a new hearing, a new judge will be assigned to hear the defense motion, Wagstaffe said.

The motion calls on the judge to suppress evidence gathered from Ayres' patient files, charging that the search warrants violated the state's psychotherapist-patient privilege, lacked probable cause and permitted constitutionally prohibited searches.
The search warrant enabled authorities to confiscate files for some 800 of Ayres' former patients and contact those treated by Ayres since 1988 who were between the ages of 11 and 17 at the time.

Officials with the District Attorney's Office say they have spoken to several dozen men who claim they were abused by Ayres. But only seven fall within the state's statute of limitations on molestation crimes, which requires that charges be brought before the accuser turns 29 or that the alleged crime occurred after Jan. 1, 1988.
Prosecutors, who relied on the warrant to find the seven alleged victims, could find themselves without any if a judge rules to invalidate the search warrant.

Whether Runde's decision to throw in the towel means good news or bad news for the prosecution is a matter of speculation, Wagstaffe said.

As for Weinberg, he said the new judicial twist will not likely "help or hurt" his defense of his client.

Said the defense attorney: "It's just a fact that stands on its own."

Click here for more on the Aryes Case

Civil Suit Filed Against Rabbi David Kedmi - Certified Mohel (New Hempstead, NY)

Rabbi Jacob Rubenstein / Rabbi Mark Dratch

A civil suit has been filed against Rabbi David Kedmi to recover damages for Battery and Breach of Contract.

On February 25, 2007, in Kings County, New York, Rabbi David Kedmi conducted a ritual circumcision ("bris") and baby naming ceremony for the parents of infant twin boys. During the celebration the mother was sexually harassed and groped by Rabbi Kedmi.

According to the complaint, Rabbi David Kedmi made lewd and sexual comments took place in the presence of one or more witnesses, including Rabbi Kedmi's wife. The mother also stated that Rabbi Kedmi touched her sexually.

The Survivor contacted Rabbi Jacob Rubenstein (the Young Israel of Scarsdale synagoguge) who was the rabbi who referred her to Rabbi Kedmi, and also Rabbi Mark Dratch (Director/founder of JSAFE). It appears that this was not the first sexual harassment complaint filed against Rabbi Kedmi. What is surprising is that little has been done to stop this alleged sexually offensive individual.

After several conversations with Both Rabbis Rubenstein and Dratch, the "Survivor" was assured that Rabbi Kedmi was undergoing treatment and that steps would be taken to protect other women from Rabbi Kedmi's predatory conduct, yet Rabbi Rubinstein and Rabbi Dratch would not provide details as to any "treatment plan,".

Click here for more information on this case

Huge Tax Cut - Ending Prison Terms for Sex Offenders !!

Just in from The Awareness Center's daily newsletter

David Mandel (CEO of Ohel Children's Home)

Huge Tax Cut !!
© (2008) By Anonymous

Congress (with the help of Ohel Children's Home and Family Services, NY) has recently discovered a new method of dealing with criminals that will help Americans save billions of dollars in future tax years. The theory goes as follows:

Millions of dollars are spent every year on building and maintaining prisons. This is completely unethical. Who are we to convict a criminal to be locked up in such a cruel manner? Who are we to assume that a criminal didn't already do teshuva? Besides the fact that it is very cruel, it will be very bad for the family’s shidduchim (dating/marriage partner).

Therefore, the new system will work as follows: All community leaders are to be prepared to receive all allegations of murder, theft, rape, etc. And of course, our beloved community leaders are naturally capable of dealing with all such situations. (Who needs trained professionals anyway?)

After a thorough investigation is conducted. Of course, this does not include interviewing the victim. That would be a waste of time since he or she is nogeah b'davar( effected by self-interest). Also, it is usually only an aid echod (single witness) which has no real validity. The community leader will then decide whether the allegation is credible.

If it is, the community leader will simply set up a new environment for the murderer, rapist, thief, etc., in which they will no longer have access to their previous compulsions. This will require the cooperation of the murder’s, sex offender’s, thief’s, etc., wonderful, loving family to help guide their unfortunate family member in the right direction. This shall continue until the murderer, sexual predators, thief, etc. is ready to promise that he/she will never do it again. In severe situations, the community leader may recommend that the perpetrator seek therapy, with highly untrained professionals (who will of course, reveal all confidential information to the rabbonim). But the most important role of the community leaders will be to ensure, that this is all done in a very quiet, discrete manner. This way, we are not jeopardizing the good reputation of the murder’s, rapist’s, thief’s, etc., wonderful, loving family.

The system is fool proof.
Skeptics, however, are nervous about the new plan. "How can such a criminal be allowed to wander loose? Shouldn’t we consider the possibility that they may find another victim?" they ask.

These critics obviously have no brains. First of all, anyone who is in a position of being a community leader, is fully equipped to handle, and prevent any criminal from further committing any more crimes. And besides, even if the criminal finds a way to continue breaking the law, it is still beneficial to change to the new method of law enforcement. After all, preserving the reputation of an unfortunate murderer, sex offender, thief, etc. is far more important than protecting the life of some stupid victim. Also, everyone knows that most convicted felons are based on false allegations. And even if the allegations are true, you can’t believe them because it is loshon horah. So there is really nothing to be afraid of.

By the way, not only are all prisons going to be demolished, but the entire police department will be completely unnecessary. Thanks to our courageous community leaders, we can stop wasting billions of tax dollars on foolish expenses, and put it towards more worthy causes (like raising the salary of our community leaders).

Have a happy and healthy Purim!
Family Member of a Survivor of Sexual Violence

Sensitive Care practice handbook for providers - Adult Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse

Handbook on Sensitive Practice for Health Professionals:
Lessons from Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
Click here to download pdf file

Message From The Awareness Center to the Vaad Ha Rabbonim of Baltimore

The Awareness Center has a suggestion for the Vaad Ha Rabbonim of Baltimore.
www.theawarenesscenter.org

Every day a child in our community is being sexually abused. These children grow up to be adult survivors. Often these survivors are unable to hold jobs or pay for therapy with therapists with the proper qualifications to deal with sexual victimization issues.

Wouldn't it be wonderful if the rabbis in our community lent their support to help organize fundraisers that could assist in meeting the financial, emotional and spiritual needs of these survivors?

It can happen! The rabbi of an Orthodox shul in St. Louis did just this. Rabbi Ze'ev Smason was the rabbi who created a foundation to help survivors. He helped found 'Our Precious Children'. He got the idea after learning that an alleged sex offender was volunteering at a youth group that was being run in his shul. Rabbi Smason did all the right things. He was also a major force behind the arrest of the alleged offender.

We are all told that miracles can happen -- so perhaps the Vaad Ha Rabbanim of Baltimore would work with The Awareness Center to accomplish this goal.

Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin - 73-year-old Rabbi Arrested on Sex Assault Charges

From Failed Messiah and The Awareness Center

Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin, who is married to a granddaughter of the Baba Sali, was arrested late yesterday on multiple charges of sexual assault. He is 73 years old. According to Blogger, Failed Messiah, Rabbi Krispin has close ties to Chabad.

If anyone has a photograph of Rabbi Krispin, please forward it to The Awareness Center.

This case will soon be up on The Awareness Center site

Rabbi of northern town detained on sexual assault charges
By Fadi Eyadat, Haaretz Correspondent
Haaretz
March 18, 2008

Police have detained the Chief Rabbi of city in the north on suspicion that he sexually assaulted and harassed three employees of the city's religious council.

The 73-year-old rabbi, who is also suspected of assaulting two women who came to the council offices for guidance, has denied all charges against him.

Police suspect the rabbi assaulted the employees over a number of years, with the allegations only coming to light after an alleged victim complained to police, leading officers to a series of other women who reported being assaulted.

Police reported the investigation is ongoing and that due to the old age of the suspect, if convicted he will probably be sentenced to house arrest
-------------------------------------------
Television Report in Hebrew regarding Rabbi Mahluf Aminadav Krispin
(translated in sign language for the deaf)

Case of Malka Leifer on Lateline

Female principal at Jewish school stood down over claims of inappropriate conduct

Windows Media	Broadband	Dial-up
Real Player	Broadband	Dial-up

Click here: for more on this case

We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish - By A Member of the Baltimore Community

From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter:

We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish
By Member of the Baltimore Community
© (2008) The Awareness Center

Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer of Baltimore writes in this week's shul bulletin for Parshas VaYikra: "We must feel the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of these eight young Bnai Torah who were brutally murdered [in Eretz Yisroel]."

It is human to ask WHY and know that there is no ultimate answer in this world, but there are ways of analyzing world events to learn lessons.

These events unfortunately parallel the current community topic of sexual abuse and child molestation. We must connect to the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of the many young B'nai Torah (both boys and girls) who have been sexually molested and are then coerced to keep silent.

The parallel continues: the perpetrators of murder in Eretz Yisroel are the Arabs. Yet the Israeli government leaders give the enemy Arabs political power, lethal weapons and international support. Our Rabbinic leaders enable the perpetrators and molesters to hide under the cover of victim silence. This cover up allows the perpetrators to continue their destruction of the physical, emotional and spiritual lives of more Jewish victims, families and future generations of Klal Yisroel.

So now we have a hint of one of the deep dark reasons WHY tragedy has hit our people at this time and this place. In the holy of holies, Yerushalayim, and with our holy kinderlach.

According to national statistics a child molester will criminally sexually violate between 117 - 120 times prior to law enforcement being notified.

Last month at a community meeting, David Mandel of Ohel Children Home (NYC) and Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer instructed community members not to report alleged sex crimes to the police. Instead to report the crimes to the rabbonim. Considering the fact that this policy has been endorsed by the president of the Vaad of Baltimore (Jewish Religious Court), one has to wonder if the number of victims left by a sexual predator within the Eruv would be double the national norm? -- Vicki Polin, Director - The Awareness Center

For more information on various alleged and convicted sex offenders living in the Baltimore orthodox community click below (alphabetical order):
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16).

1. Case of Stanley Ashman
2. Case of Aron Goldberger
3. Case of Rabbi Moshe Eisemann
4. Case of Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau
5. Case of Rabbi Benyamin Yaakov Fleischman
6. Case of Cantor Stuart Friedman
7. Case of Shmuel Juravel
8. Case of Martin Kaufman
9. Case of Rabbi Yaakov Menken
10. Case of Ephraim Ohana
11. Case of Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro
12. Case of Rabbi Yisroel Shapiro
13. Case of Rabbi Aron Tendler

Those who are no longer living or moved out of the Eruv of Baltimore

1. Case of Brad Hames
2. Case of Judge Robert I.H. Hammerman
3. Case of the Student Offenders of Ner Israel Yeshiva in the 1950's
4. Case of Steven Howard Oken
5. Case of Rabbi Matis Weinberg
6. Case of Wayne Stephen Young

if any cases are missing please forward them to The Awareness Center