The Nazareth Magistrate’s Court on Thursday partially lifted a media gag order on naming a key suspect in a two-year investigation into a suspected baby trafficking ring in the ultra-Orthodox community.
Rabbi Shmuel Puretz 44, a businessman who divides his time between New York and Jerusalem, is suspected of brokering a deal under which a heavily pregnant Israeli woman was flown to New York and her baby removed from her allegedly against her will, then given for adoption to a childless ultra-Orthodox couple who live in Israel.
The mother, who is identified in court documents as “Yael,” was at the time under the legal guardianship of another rabbi’s wife, Rivka Segal, who is also a suspect.
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| Rivka Segal |
Many other details of the case are still restricted under a gag order.
Puretz was arrested earlier this year along with some of the other suspects including Segal, the attorney of the adopting parents, and the parents themselves, who have been raising the baby boy.
The suspects have all since been granted a conditional release from custody.
Segal denies arranging Yael’s trip to New York, as well as any involvement in the child’s adoption. Last week the Nazareth Family Court ordered Segal to pay NIS 500,000 ($144,000) in damages to Yael, Channel 13 television news reported.
Puretz is also suspected of involvement in another baby trafficking case, the Walla website reported. In that case, newborn twin girls were allegedly taken from a mother who has three other children, in similar circumstances to those of Yael.
Both women claim that their babies were taken from them for adoption by means of trickery and mental pressure, Walla reported.
Yael told police that in 2016, when she was eight months pregnant, Segal persuaded her to travel to New York.
After arriving at an unnamed local hospital linked to the ultra-Orthodox community, Yael said her baby boy was delivered via cesarean section, and immediately afterwards she was pressured into signing documents she did not understand.
Yael said her son was taken away from her at the hospital and given to a childless ultra-Orthodox couple, who then returned to Israel. She says she has not seen her son since.
Following the birth, she said, she was held captive in a New York home for several months, her passport and papers taken from her. Eventually she was able to contact her partner in Israel and returned to the country.
Yedioth Ahronoth reported in 2017 that Yael’s traffickers charged a $100,000-$150,000 “handling fee” for each adoption they facilitated.
Police believe the human trafficking network has been operating in Israel’s ultra-Orthodox community for some time.
10 comments:
Oy vey! I know Shmuely well but haven't seen him in years. He didn't need the money but he did have kanoyishe potential. Where are the detailed articles on this because I'm hoping that instead of being a chazir in gantzen he was doing a toyva for the baby that happens to be illegal.
Not justifying it but Yediot is reporting that both parents of the baby are mentally ill and had the baby out of wedlock.
This is something corrupt Ohel staffers do by the way for money. And Ohel has done it even when the parents are capable. Drugs & other dirty tactics have been used.
Someone recently exposed Ohel on WhattsApp and was hauled into Court to get warned by a Judge to not go public against things that are before the Court.
All the Puretz boys are different from another & had different paths in yeshivos.
This one I think learned in order: Tiferes Elimelech, Passaic, Beis Hatalmud, then I think either AJ's Brisk or Brisker Kollel.
His Chaim Berliner father comes from Gerrer yichus. Mother's side, zayde was a rosh yeshiva who came through Shanghai & became a not so well known adam gadol. The bubbeh was a sweet old lady who was talmida of the Chassidishe Bais Yaakov in Krakow.
Shmuely also learned in Fallsburg. Yediot reports that besides being a macher in gesheft, he is today owner & officially rosh yeshiva of a yeshiva in north Yerusholayim.
OU Eyepopper said...
What kind of Hefkerus is this?!
https://www.jsquaredfood.com/
"All of our food is Kosher, and is prepared in the Bnos Malka Academy kitchen, which is under the Kashrut supervision Va’ad Harabonim of Queens OR under the Kashrut supervision of our dedicated mashgiach, who is under the authority of OU and STAR-K"
Does the OU agree with this description?
https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:PzJPLYBYcWEJ:https://kugeljews.com/about/+&cd=9&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
this company owned by Jonathan Hartig is a leader & official caterer of a group called "Kugel"
https://ouservices.org/staff/rabbi-avi-heller/
Kugel's "Rabbinical advisor" is this OU rabbi
1
it's one thing that it doesn't irritate these rabbis that the Kugel founders are flaunting the issur negiah on the About page of their website
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/shabbat-kugel-tasting-chat-with-fertility-advocate-father-of-50-kids-tickets-72172723559#
but it's something else entirely when they bring the velt's menuvol Ari Nagel of Tendler's shul to promote his Dor Hamabulnik lifestyle of having babies from over 50 shiksas & counting!
https://nypost.com/2019/12/05/ari-nagel-spawns-52-kids-and-new-sperminator-web-series/
This sick guy is banned from entering Eretz Yisroel and even the Liberals running both NY State & NYC are trying to stop him for being a threat to public health!
Do you even know who these guys running KUGEl are? Are they halachically Jewish? Are they religious? Do they really care? But give her credit, she's looking for an ashkenaz Jewish guy. And the guy... known as "NYC's most desperate single man" https://nypost.com/2015/01/24/meet-nycs-most-desperate-single-man/ is also looking for Jewish... give him credit... trying to do their best to take life in their own hands to mingle and find a jew.
Rosenberg is a sick guy who goes out with any religion, color and body type. He's like that Chomo who insists on wearing the pink yarmulka to flaunt that he's a Yid into toyeva lehachiss.
The half Black woman Simone or her mother was supposedly megayer through Chabad. There are a handful of lowlife Meshichistim and even official shluchim through 770 who have profiteering angles why they are not mechayev kabolas mitzvos just like the fake freya conversions. But if the gerus was in the style of old school Lubavitch, then she is Jewish. She probably knows Ari Nagel from 10 years ago because he was always into Shvartz women even before he went totally off the derech. Besides being the apple of Yeshiva of Spring Valley's eye, he was probably one of the freaks who was always busy with Shvartza giyoressen on Frumster & through the since flopped Agudah shidduch division Invei Hagefen.
https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/former-park-avenue-bank-director-mendel-zilberberg-and-co-conspirator-charged-14
The Agudah jerk who was funding that effort, Monsey lawyer Mendel Zilberberg, was recently arrested by the FBI
Who cares. Chaikel is indicted on several felonies and misdemeanors. Aaron and his son will be pleading guilty to at least one felony shortly. So many people are out money from these guys. Who cares about their yichus? They’re not actually observant Jews.
Not anymore.
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