Cartoon of the day!

Drama at Viznitzer Wedding...Rebbe refuses to go to chupah until Photographers leave!

Translation below:

דרמה בחצר ביתו של האדמו"ר מויז'ניץ בבני ברק: האדמו"ר סירב לצאת לחופה שנערכה הערב (שני) בחצר ביתו בשל מצלמת וידאו שהוצבה במקום.

הערב התקיימה חופה בחצר בית האדמו"ר, כאשר כובד לפי התוכנית באמירת הברכות. אך הדקות נקפו והאדמו"ר השתהה זמן רב. ובינתיים שרו הנוכחים ניגוני חופה.

לאחר עשרים דקות ניגש גבאו ואיש סודו של האדמו"ר, שייע קרויזר לבעל השמחה, והסביר לו: "אתם יכולים להמשיך בברכות אך הרבי לא יצא לומר את הברכות בשל השתתפות צלם וצלם וידאו".

בעל השמחה נסער ונכנס לאדמו"ר, הוא הסביר כי לא ידע על האיסור הגורף כל כך, וכי הוא יסלק את הצלמים. האדמו"ר השתכנע ויצא למעמד החופה.

לפני כחודשיים נתקנה תקנה בויז'ניץ. כי על פי הוראת האדמו"ר אין להביא צלם במעמד החופה וכי האדמו"ר לא ישתתף בחופות בהן לא תישמר התקנה. מחוץ לבית האדמו"ר אף הוצבו שלטים המזכירים את התקנה.

Loose Translation:
Drama unfolded at the Viznitzer Rebbe's house where a Chupa took place. The Rebbe refused to go out to the Chupa because of the video cameras.

The Rebbe was supposed to say the berachos under the chupa ....guests were confused because the Rebbe had not come out so they continued singing for 20 minutes ....hoping the Rebbe was going to walk out of his study and come to the Chupa.

The Gabbai Shaye Kroizer then explained to the Baal Simcha, they can continue with the Chupa because the Rebbe is not coming out because of the photographers.

The Baal Simcha then became agitated and ran  into the Rebbe's study explaining that he had no idea that there was a prohibition on taking pictures...

The Baal Simcha then removed the contaminated photographers and the Rebbe came out to say the Berachos

Frum Con Man Targeting Frumies!

Frum Con Man 

Con artists have taken note: New York’s ultra-Orthodox Jews make fairly easy targets. Just slap on a kippah, a 

dark suit and have a sob story at the ready.

Approach the target, preferably on Friday afternoon, close to Shabbat. Tell your story about the car that was towed to the pound. The wallet with the credit cards and IDs that is in said car. The wife who is due with twins any minute now, and is tending to little children back home.

The heartstrings-tugging scam has claimed at least two victims who told the Forward they were scammed by the flim-flam artist who used a remarkably similar story in recent months. Cell phone photos indicate the scam artist is the same person. Other victims have come forward on social media sites, but are apparently too embarrassed to tell their stories publicly.

One victim eventually reported the scam to New York City police, but he said officers at the 66th precinct in Brooklyn refused to file a report, citing the insignificant amount. A police spokesman said the NYPD does not know of any pattern of Orthodox men preying on other Orthodox men in the city.

“We cannot comment on this particular incident,” said Sgt. Brendan Ryan, adding that the NYPD does not categorize crimes by religious affiliation of the suspect. “We also don’t break down crimes to that degree.”

Even the victims emphasize that they do not know for sure whether the suspected scam artist is really Orthodox, or just familiar with the habits of frum Jews.

Whether the NYPD tracks the scam or not, it feels like a real crime to Shulem, who asked that his last name not be used.

The 28-year-old Hasidic man from Brooklyn says he was conned one Friday afternoon in the fall as he rode the No. 2 train. Shulem visited a sick friend at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and was rushing to get home to his wife and three children in time for Shabbat at 6 pm, when a short, stout man approached him. The man looked like your average Modern Orthodox New Yorker, wearing a dark suit, white shirt, and a small yarmulke over his slicked back hair.

He introduced himself as “Ethan Schwartz” and proceeded to tell his desperate story: his car was towed and he needs $264 to get it back from the pound, but he has only $200 in his possession. He lives in Westchester, he said, and he needs to get back home in time for Shabbat. His credit cards and ID are in his wallet, which is in the car, and the ATM is virtually useless, he continued, since his bank does not have a Manhattan affiliate.

At first, Shulem insisted he would not lend the $64 with no proof. But he also entertained the idea that the guy was, indeed, desperate to get his car back.

He told Ethan, brother to brother, that he will lend him the desired amount, but he would need to take a picture of him. If he doesn’t receive the money within a week, Shulem said, he would go to the police with his picture. Ethan was visibly nervous but gave his consent. When Shulem pulled out his wallet and counted the 20-dollar bills, Ethan asked if he could throw in a few extra bucks to make it an even $80.

He gave Shulem an address in White Plains, N.Y., his cell phone number and signed a note stating, “I owe you $80,” and left — presumably to pick up his car.

A week passed and Shulem did not hear anything back. He called and texted him and received apologies and promises. The pattern continued for a few weeks, and Shulem grew increasingly frustrated – not because he was desperate for the $80, but because, at this point, he suspected the guy was a swindler.

“I would like to remind you that you have until tonight to gain credibility by proving your identity,” Shulem wrote to Ethan in a text, after his request for a copy of Ethan’s license to verify his identity went unanswered. “Otherwise, I will go to the police tomorrow.”

Within 15 minutes, Ethan responded: “how sad it is that jews don’t trust jews anymore and that people like u r so jaded it’s a sad world we live in today.”

The con artist denied doing anything wrong and threatened to contact a Jewish reporter who would presumably publicize Shulem’s lack of generosity. The dialogue continued, deteriorating over the following weeks with threats of violence if Shulem publicized his information.

Unsure of how to proceed, Shulem posted the story, along with a photo of “Ethan,” his face blurred, on a Yiddish men’s online chat forum, KaveShtiebel. In a matter of hours, similar stories began pouring in, all involving small sums, and nearly the exact same tale of woe.

Two other stories with a similar modus operandi — a broken car, no money, and an impending zman — were posted. Both seemed to have similar threads, and the description of the man checked out.

One Hasidic man, who gave his name as Sruly, had also taken a picture of the suspected con man. This time, he was outside the Penn Station subway entrance on 34th and 8th Avenue.

“He approached me to ask for directions to Brooklyn Navy Yard, saying he is not familiar with this area,” Sruly said in an interview with the Forward. “He said his car was towed, it’s in Brooklyn and he is short in $90 to get it back. I asked for proof of identity, which he said was in his car at the pound.”

He asked Ethan to send him a text message with personal information, so that he can follow up on his promise to pay him back before the end of the week.

Needless to say, “Ethan” never sent him the payment. After two or three attempts at getting it back, Sruly just gave up. Then, while surfing KaveShtiebel, he came upon Shulem’s story and posted it there.

Shulem, who first came to the Forward with this story, says he wants to raise awareness about swindlers like “Ethan,” men who pull at the heartstrings of fellow Jews by using ultra-Orthodox lingo and eliciting sympathy with an impending Shabbos. The close-knit nature of frum communities allows for some people who may or may not even be frum, or Jewish for that matter, to prey on them and their sense of kindness to the group.

“Using Yiddishkeit as a means of getting people to lend you money is not okay,” he said.

Contact Frimet Goldberger at goldberger@forward.com

Egyptian Lady Lawyer Encourages Sexual Harassment of all Jewish Girls by Arab Men

Boycotters of Israel are a bunch of anti-Semites, Netanyahu finally says it the way it is

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that those who boycott Israel are anti-Semites.

Speaking at the Conference of Presidents, Netanyahu told a group of visiting Jewish-American leaders that it is time for Israel to "fight back" and "delegitimize the delegitimizers."

There are increasing concerns in Israel over a Palestinian-led movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS). The boycott has been growing recently, mainly in Europe, where some businesses and pension funds have cut investments or trade with Israeli firms they say are connected to West Bank settlements.

"In the past anti-Semites boycotted Jewish businesses and today they call for the boycott of the Jewish state, and by the way, only the Jewish state," Netanyahu said. "I think that it is important that the boycotters be exposed for what they are, they are classical anti-Semites in modern garb," Netanyahu said.

But Netanyahu, citing in particular Israel's cybersecurity industry, said the heads of international high-tech companies he has met "all want the same three things: Israeli technology, Israeli technology and Israeli technology".

"The capacity to innovate is a great treasure of profound economic value in today's world," he said. "And that is something that is bigger than all these boycotters could possibly address."

 

Many Israelis say the boycott has strong anti-Semitic connotations and is meant to delegitimize the Jewish state as a whole and not merely a pressure tactic against its policies toward the Palestinians.

For many Israelis, the boycott conjures up dark images of the Nazi boycott prior and during WWII when Jewish academics were kicked out of universities and Jewish businesses were vandalized and boycotted.

After years of brushing off boycott threats as a tool of fringe extremists, Israel seems to have become genuinely worried in recent months.

As is his custom, Netanyahu also addressed the issue of the Iranian threat, saying the interim agreement with Tehran legitimizes the Islamic Republic for no reason and asserting that "Iran has given practically nothing, but gets international legitimacy."

His remarks came on the eve of fresh talks between Iran and the P5+1 group - Britain, France, the United States, China and Russia plus Germany - aimed at reaching a comprehensive accord on Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

Israel was highly critical of an interim deal signed between Iran and the West in November under which Iran agreed to freeze or scale back its nuclear activities for a six-month period in exchange for limited sanctions relief.

The interim deal, he said, only delayed Tehran's nuclear program in four weeks, while the Islamic Republic continues developing more effective centrifuges that would allow them to reach a bomb faster.

The prime minister made similar comments to visiting Peruvian President Ollanta Humala in their meeting earlier Monday.

"So far the only one who benefited from these talks is Iran. In fact they didn't give anything but they got a lot," Netanyahu told President Humala.

"Iran is continuing its aggressive behavior: arming terrorist groups, supporting the massacre of his own people by the Assad regime (in Syria), calling for the destruction of Israel and subversive activities all over the world, including Latin America."

Israel and the West have long suspected Iran of covertly pursuing a nuclear weapons capability alongside its civilian program – charges denied by Tehran.

The United States and Israel – which views Iran as its greatest strategic threat – have not ruled out military action to prevent Tehran from acquiring an atomic bomb.

Iran's top decision-maker Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has also expressed skepticism about the talks, and on Monday said they would "lead nowhere."

"I repeat it again that I am not optimistic about the negotiations and they will lead nowhere, but I am not against them," Khamenei said in remarks published on his website Khamenei.ir.

Satmar defies the Talmud and prohibits makeup for all girls

 Mesachtas Shabbos (95a), and the Tosefta Shabbos (10:13), discuss using eye makeup on Shabbos, there are Amorim that permit a woman to put eye makeup on shabbos. 

The Gemmarah in Moed Katan (1:7) adds that it is an excepted custom for women and a "necessary adornment" for women to apply makeup on the Yomim Toivim. 
The Gemarrah in Mesachtas Kiddushin (73b) relates that women would apply eye makeup to newborn children.

Note that the Gemmarras do not distinguish between married and unmarried women.

Come the Satmar Amai Ratzim and prohibit makeup for any student attending the  Satmar Girl Schools:

The letter sent directly to all parents reads:
"A student from our "moised", of any age, can never apply makeup for any reason. Even if the student attends a wedding of a sister, brother, uncle, aunt, Bar-Mitzvah, engagement party etc."

Satmar prohibits the "Penguin Dance"!

Satmar watched the ladies dancing the "penguin" dance and they ruled that  its not "Tnizisdik"! 
The article in the Satmar Newspaper called "The Blatt" says that the "Penguin" dance spread like wildfire thru the prohibited app "Whatsup"

Women told to Shut Up in new Kol Koreh

Kol Koreh reads in loose translation:

It is prohibited  for women to talk on a cellphone in public or on a bus.. Women talking in public on a phone is a breach of the laws of modesty! G-D should protect us from this!

Jewish girl raped in Shloimy's Bakery in Boro Park

Jose being arrested

Brooklyn Hot News reports that 
Jose Fernando employee at shlomys bakery. at 12x51 was arrested for raping a Jewish girl in the bakery.
No further information at this time.

Rabbonim rule that's ok to dress as Haman or Hitler on Purim but not as an Israeli Soldier!

V'nehepech Hu! It's an upside down world!

Dressing up as Haman or Hitler on the Jewish holiday of Purim, is fine, but dressing up as an Israeli soldier is not, ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis have ruled.

“Authentic Jews should refrain from dressing themselves or their children, as Israeli soldiers or police for the Jewish holiday of Purim this year,” posters signed by several leading ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbis stated.

“Dressing up like an Israeli soldier will not increase happiness,” Rabbi Mordechai Blau, a radical ultra-Orthodox Jewish rabbi said. “Our children are terrified of Israeli soldiers, therefore, refrain from dressing up as them on Purim,” the rabbi said.

“Dressing up as a U.S. or British soldier is fine,” the rabbi added.

Ultra-Orthodox Jews erroneously believe that is the greatest sin against God, to serve in the Israeli military.