Barry Jacobson's 1983 Arson Conviction Vacated Due To Antisemitism At Trial

 

A New York man who spent nearly 40 years trying to clear his name after a jury tainted by antisemitism wrongfully convicted him of arson has finally been vindicated.

Lawyers for Barry Jacobson — who were helped in their efforts by the Anti-Defamation League and the Innocence Project — announced Tuesday that a court had agreed that the jury was biased and the case was subsequently dismissed by prosecutors.

“This has weighed deeply on his mind and conscience for decades,” said Bob Cordy, an attorney for the now 78-year-old Jacobson.

Jacobson was found guilty in 1983 of setting a fire at his home in Richmond, a small town in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts. He was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $10,000, although he ended up spending only about a month behind bars.

The conviction nearly ruined his life. Jacobson, who was in the commercial real estate business, lost his real estate licenses in Massachusetts and New York, Cordy said. It interfered with his personal relationships and his mental health.

“For nearly 40 years I have been haunted by this wrongful conviction,” Jacobson, who was unavailable for comment, said in a statement. “Time and again it has affected my career, my business, my family and my community. It has been beyond painful. It is an experience I would not wish on anyone.”

The prosecution and jury deliberations were both stained by antisemitism, said Cordy, a former associate justice on the Supreme Judicial Court, the highest court in Massachusetts.

The prosecution, relying on a racist stereotype, implied that Jacobson set the fire for the insurance money, Cordy said.

Even more shocking were comments made by the jury foreperson.

French Jew killed by tram likely a target of antisemitic attack, family says

 Relatives of Jeremy Cohen, a 31-year-old French Jew who died two months ago after being hit by a tram in the town of Bobigny, near Paris, said Monday that his death was not an accident, but was the result of an antisemitic attack.

Initially, his death was reported as a “pedestrian being run over,” but video footage released by Cohen’s family on Monday showed the moments leading to his death and indicated that the incident could have been triggered by an assault.

In the video, Cohen is seen attacked by several members of a large group before running away from the crowd and being hit by an incoming tram.

Relatives of Jeremy Cohen, a 31-year-old French Jew who died two months ago after being hit by a tram in the town of Bobigny, near Paris, said Monday that his death was not an accident, but was the result of an antisemitic attack.

Initially, his death was reported as a “pedestrian being run over,” but video footage released by Cohen’s family on Monday showed the moments leading to his death and indicated that the incident could have been triggered by an assault.

The new footage raises the plausible possibility that Cohen did not notice the incoming tram as he was trying to escape his assailants, which would mean his death was the result of the attack.

“Jeremy’s death is linked to an attack of which he was the victim — by a gang of young people immediately before being hit,” Gerald Cohen, his father, told Radio Shalom, a French-Jewish radio station.

UAE court sentences Israeli woman to death for drug possession

 

An Israeli woman has been sentenced to death in the United Arab Emirates, after she was arrested for drug possession.

The woman, an Israeli Arab, was arrested in Abu Dhabi on March 17th, 2021 after half a kilogram of cocaine was found in her possession.

A UAE court found the woman guilty, despite her claim that the cocaine was not hers.

On Tuesday, the court handed down a death sentence.

The defendant’s attorney is expected to appeal the decision.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, the Israeli Foreign Ministry confirmed the sentence, saying: “We are aware of the case and are working via the department for Israelis abroad and our representatives in the Emirates.”

MSNBC host says white people ‘do not understand’ why Blacks Beat the Crap out of each other!

 

An MSNBC host over the weekend said white Americans should “sit this out” as controversy persists around Will Smith slapping stand-up comic Chris Rock during the Academy Awards last week.

Tiffany Cross, who anchors a weekend talk show on the left-leaning cable news network, interviewed actress Yvette Nicole Brown and TheGrio columnist Michael Harriot on Sunday.

Harriot claimed the Smith-Rock incident was an example of “how black people relate to each other” in a way that white people do not understand, “even though it happened to everybody [watching the ceremony].”

Brown chimed in, saying: “On Twitter, a lot of us were like, ‘Y’all sit this out for your protection,’ because when we need to have a conversation, we’re gonna have it.”

“Some people use their words, some people use their hands. It is what it is. In the black community, we understand that,” Brown said.

Brown later added that “violence is [not] the answer” and all three condemned Smith.

Cross then interjected, saying she would “try to put this in context for our white fellow countrymen as best I can.”

“In really, truly black America, there’s a commonality amongst us all,” she said.

“If we went to a white person’s home and it was their family dinner, we were sitting at the table, and the mother hauled off and slapped the father and everybody at the table has an opinion,” Cross added.

“If I weigh in as the guest in this home and say, ‘Yeah, you guys are terrible,’ everybody’s like, ‘I’m sorry. When did you get an opinion? This is our family table,’” she said.

That’s what this moment felt like for many of us. There’s a nuance to what happened.”

Smith resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Friday in the face of possible suspension or expulsion from the organization for his on-stage slap of Rock.

Smith said in a statement he would “fully accept any and all consequences for my conduct” imposed by the Academy’s Board of Governors.

“The list of those I have hurt is long and includes Chris, his family, many of my dear friends and loved ones, all those in attendance, and global audiences at home,” Smith said in the statement.

Rock reportedly was encouraged to file charges against Smith when the LAPD showed up to the Dolby Theater after the assault, but the comic refused. 

14-Year-Old Chareidi Arrested After Molesting Young Girls In Beitar Elite ...Rabbis didn't go to police

A 14-year-old eighth grade youth in a chareidi town in central Israel has been arrested after a shocking series of assaults on young girls aged 7-8 in his neighborhood. The arrest was made after parents complained that their daughter had been molested by the youth. Police received other complaints this week and realized that the youth was a serial offender.

The boy has admitted six assaults on girls but police suspect that the number is much higher. Some of the cases occurred in cellars or behind buildings and one of the attacks occurred in a stairwell.

During the past week police gathered evidence from surveillance cameras. After Whatsapp images of the youth were sent to various groups, the youth was identified and arrested.

The clip shows the suspect standing in the middle of the road. Noting a young girl walking he followed her and began talking to her until he succeeded in dragging her to a nearby building where he allegedly molested her.

One of those involved in the case told Chareidim 10 that a local rabbi had sent parents to place an add in the local newspaper instead of going to police.

“This boy was a ticking bomb. Police agreed to place pictures in Whatsapp groups since they feared he would harm other girls. Yet instead of sending the parents to police the rabbi tells them to place an ad?”, the person fumed.

“The police acted effectively, working around the clock until they caught him.” 

Yossi Azulay Sings Vehi Sheamda with Gospel Choir in Live Concert in Paris

 

Moshe Oysher Rachem Nu Concert 1944 Town Hall NYC in a Cantorial Comedy Routine

 Move to 3:38 mark to hear him singing Racheim Nu from Bentching 

In rare decision, rabbinical court rules a man is married - but wife is considered single

 

In a rare ruling, the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court issued a decision last week stating that a man who publicly stated that the get or traditional divorce document he granted his wife was not valid would be considered still married and that he would be placed on the list of people who are not permitted to remarry until he granted his wife an additional get.

However, at the same time, his wife would be considered divorced and free to remarry. The couple wed in 2006 and had five children, but after a decade, the marriage fell apart. In April 2017, the wife left the house and filed a divorce claim with the Rabbinical Court in Jerusalem, but from the moment the procedure began, the husband unequivocally refused to grant her a divorce.

In December 2019, upon the request by Ohr Torah Stone’s Yad La’isha Legal Aid Center which represents the wife, the Court handed down a decision compelling the husband to issue the divorce or to face a series of social sanctions.

When the imposition of sanctions did not yield the desired effect, the court – in another rare move – approved the request of Yad La'isha's Attorney Dina Raitchik to order the owner of the apartment that the husband rents not to renew his rental lease, and instructing any other homeowners in Israel not to rent him an apartment until he released his wife from her chains.

The husband steadfastly stood by his refusal until it was made clear to him that if he did not grant the divorce, he would be imprisoned – at which point earlier this year he finally agreed to set his wife free.

This week, the tribunal summoned the parties after it came to their attention that the husband had been publicly stating that the divorce he gave was null since he did not actually say the necessary words during the course of the get ceremony. After being warned that his conduct bordered on contempt of court and failure to comply with their decisions, the judges handed down the decision believed to be precedential: since the man had slandered the validity of the get, he will be forbidden to remarry until he gives his ex-wife another divorce (get l'chumra), and will be placed on the court's list of marriage detainees.

Simultaneously, the woman's get remains valid; she will continue to be considered divorced for all intents and purposes and is permitted to remarry.

The judges also imposed seven days in prison for contempt of court. They noted in their decision that if the man would retract his statements and grant the woman another divorce, the imprisonment would be canceled.

Ohr Torah Stone and Yad La’isha applauded the court's decision and the impact it will hopefully have on future recalcitrant husbands. “This Rabbinical Court ruling makes it ever more clear to get-refusers that they have no right to play both sides of the field - on the one hand issuing a get to avoid sanctions, while at the very same time continuing their recalcitrance in public,” said Advocate Dina Raitchik. “We thank the Court for taking a firm stance in this case. This decision is another important step in our continued struggle against get-abuse.”

Pnina Omer, Director of Yad La’isha also commended the "uncompromising determination" of the Rabbinical Court. “This is a remarkable example of how rabbinical judges should aspire to act, and a model to which the Committee for the Appointment of Rabbinical Court Judges should set before them when installing the next round of judges: people of courage who do are not afraid to bravely liberate agunot.”

Dozens of Rabbis ascend Har Habyis

 

Dozens of rabbis and heads of yeshivas ascended the Temple Mount, the holiest site in Judaism, on Sunday for Rosh Chodesh Nisan. The rabbis ascended the mountain led by Temple Institute founder Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, Rosh Yeshiva of Shadmot Mehola Rabbi Shlomo Rosenfeld and Rabbi Eliezer Shankolevsky from Beit Shemesh.

Rabbi Israel Ariel opened the ascent with the words of Torah, Halacha and Aggadah, on the importance of ascending the Temple Mount properly. The rabbi congratulated the organized ascension and said that "when fifty rabbis ascend the Temple Mount, it is a stamp of approval that is likened to the approval of the chief rabbinate for ascension."

The rabbis carried the Torah throughout the ascent to the Temple Mount along with prayers for peace with Israel, combining Psalms and the Kaddish prayer as is customary there. The rabbis noted in praise the positive changes on the Temple Mount in that the police had allowed them to ascend the Temple Mount for the seventh year in a row. They thanked the commanders and especially the district commander Doron Turgeman.

Among the rabbis were Rabbi Baruch Kahana, Rabbi Yitzchak Brand, Rabbi Yitzchak Levy, Rabbi Danny Kitov, Rabbi Azaria Ariel, Rabbi Avraham Blass, Rabbi Doron Ladvin and Rabbi Yitzchak Yavetz.

Capo Ezra Friedlander Is getting Excited by the New Iran Deal pushed by the Biden Administration

Hey Ezra, did you tell the RY of Mir that the grandchild of the  "Tal Chaim" was pushing the Iran-Satmar Deal that could potentially c"v wipe the Mirer Yeshivah off the map? Did you tell him that the grandchild of the "Tal Chaim" arranged that the murderer of over 2,000 Jewish boys get the Congressional Medal of Honor? 

I had the zechus to introduce myself to the Mir Rosh Yeshiva Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel Shlita at the dinner tonight and conversed with him regarding the sefer Tal Chaim on shas authored by my ancestor known as the Tal Chaim of Liska! pic.twitter.com/OmWaE2RAAH

— Ezra Friedlander (@EzraFriedlander) April 4, 2022