Rav Elyashiv needs our prayers, condition very critical

Rav Shlomo Kook reports on Tuesday morning, 14 Shevat 5772 that Rav Elyashiv remains in critical/serious condition. According to combined reports, the posek hador’s condition has taken a turn for the worse.
Rabbi Kook stated “The rav is hanging between Heaven and earth” calling upon the tzibur to continue davening for Rav Yosef Sholom ben Chaya Musha b’soch kol cholei am yisrael.
MK Moshe Gafne emerged from Shaare Zedek Medical Center with a similar message, calling on the tzibur to continue davening. He explained there does not appear to be any improved.

Amsterdad Chief Rabbi apologises for calling homosexuality an illness

AS THE chief rabbi of Amsterdam apologised for signing a declaration which described homosexuality as an illness, a new row has broken out in the Netherlands over a therapy promoted by a Christian mental health group to help 

homosexuals “repress their sinful urges”.

Aryeh Ralbag, who is based in New York, was suspended last week by the city’s orthodox Jewish community after using his official title to sign with more than 180 other rabbis the Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality

The declaration caused outrage among liberal Jews on both sides of the Atlantic by not alone describing homosexuality as “an illness” which could be “modified and healed”, but by characterising it as “an unacceptable lifestyle choice”.

It emerged yesterday that Rabbi Ralbag had apologised to the city’s orthodox leaders for using his Amsterdam title when signing the controversial document, which he now accepted had been “wrong”. As a result he has been reinstated.

However, with his position still in doubt in the long term, he also said that with the benefit of hindsight he now believed that he should not, perhaps, have signed it at all because “it did not properly reflect my position”.

There was even a suggestion last night that Rabbi Ralbag flew to Amsterdam at the end of last week to meet Jewish elders – just days after insisting that he and his wife believed their lives would be “in danger” if they visited the country to discuss the issue.

Meanwhile, in a new row, MPs and gay rights groups have demanded details of a therapy promoted by the Christian mental health organisation Different – which claims to teach homosexuals how to ignore their sexual feelings – because it is available on State-subsidised health insurance lists.

The therapy has become an embarrassment for health minister Edith Schippers, who at first said it should be taken off insurance lists because “health insurance is to pay for treatment or to prevent illness – and homosexuality is not an illness”. Later, she too was forced to make a U-turn, saying the therapy did not attempt to “cure” homosexuality, rather it aimed to help homosexuals decide whether or not they could accept their sexual feelings.

From the Irish Times

Black Preacher gets wrapped in a Torah while talking about JC

Beit Shemesh Gangster who advocates forcing women to dress like Chareidim speaks out on video

The interview is in hebrew!

Cancer can be prevented! Says the Israel Cancer Association

It is possible to prevent 60 percent of cancer deaths by lifestyle changes, early diagnoses and proven medical interventions, according to the Israel Cancer Association.

To avoid a wide variety of cancers, maintain normal weight over the years, without yo-yo dieting. Exercise regularly and minimize the number of fattening foods you eat. Youth should exercise daily, if possible, but at least three times a week. Cut the number of hours you spent sitting or lying down and watching TV.

Minimize the amount of high-calorie, salty and sugary foods you eat and prefer vegetables, fiber and fruit. Poultry and fish are much preferable to red and fatty meat. Prefer baking and cooking to grilling and frying meat. Whole wheat products are much more healthful that those made from while flour.

Eating garlic reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, according to recent research. There is no evidence, the experts say, that artificial sweeteners used in normal quantities raise the cancer risk, and they are preferable to sugar.

There is no agreement among scientists that eating organic foods are more effective in reducing cancer risks than ordinary food, the ICA said. Wash produce with water (and soap if possible). Avoid trans fats that are produced from turning vegetable oil to solid fat such as margarine.

Read more Jerusalem Post

No....He's not Jewish ... that's Cardinal Dolan of New York

Scientists: "Forget Global Warming" "Mini Ice-age Coming!"

The supposed ‘consensus’ on man-made global warming is facing an inconvenient challenge after the release of new temperature data showing the planet has not warmed for the past 15 years.
The figures suggest that we could even be heading for a mini ice age to rival the 70-year temperature drop that saw frost fairs held on the Thames in the 17th Century.

A painting, dated 1684, by Abraham Hondius depicts one of many frost fairs on the River Thames during the mini ice age

Based on readings from more than 30,000 measuring stations, the data was issued last week without fanfare by the Met Office and the University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit. It confirms that the rising trend in world temperatures ended in 1997.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2093264/Forget-global-warming--Cycle-25-need-worry-NASA-scientists-right-Thames-freezing-again.html#ixzz1ktIqVUd

Noah Foxman struck twice, killed in Hit and Run in Flatbush...Video

Police say the 58 year-old, Noach foxman was knocked to the ground by a grey van, which remained on the scene. As he lay in the crosswalk, the man was struck again by a sedan that did not stop.

The tragic accident unfolded at around 10:30PM, when R’ Noach was crossing Coney Island Avenue and Avenue K, when he was struck by a vehicle. He was conscious and alert, and told bystanders to call for an ambulance. Then, as he lay in the crosswalk in the rain, a speeding vehicle struck him very hard, and took off without stopping.
Flatbush Hatzolah raced to the scene, and did everything they could to try and save his life. He was rushed to Coney Island Hospital, but was R”L pronounced dead a few minutes after arriving at the hospital.
Police were combing the streets late at night looking for the second vehicle, reported to be a dark colored small-sized SUV.
Reb Noach Z”L was a fixture at the Bais Medrash of HaRav Hillel David Shlita, where he Davened for many years.
Shocked friends and neighbors gathered at the scene until past midnight, and awaited the Levaya details.
As of this posting, the Levaya will take place in Midwood Chapels on Coney Island Avenue and Avenue M on Friday (exact time to be published when available).

R' Zalman Leib Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbi of Williamsburg, rejects reconciliation with Belz!

The Bais Din of R' Zalman Leib, sent an open letter to the Satmar paper Der Yid, stating that they absolutely reject any reconciliation with Belz and blamed Belzer Chassidus and its leader for making "changes in age-old chinuch" and "for becoming too close with the Zionist establishment." This letter was signed by six leading dayanim and rabbonim of the kehillah of R' Zalman Leib. We reported last week that R' Zalman Leib denounced the Belzer Rebbi for asking Chareidim to stop the violence in Yerushalyim.

The Baal Mochlokas Rebbi, R' Zalman Leib Shlitah

We (Dusizneis) believe that the only reason R' Aaron Teitelbaum accepted Shalom with Belz is because the two Rebbis, are brother-in-laws, married to two sisters. The sisters are very close, and speak to each other on a weekly basis in the "tumedike" language Ivrit.

Chareidim in Israel are Defying Poskim and seeking Academic Degrees!

Chareidim in Eretz Yisroel finally are finally realizing  that the present Kollel situation is not sustainable, and are ignoring the "Gedolim" and seeking careers.
Read the following article from Yeshiva World!

Chareidim at a recent job fair in Yerushalayim

There is a growing trend among chareidim in Israel who wish to attain an academic degree. In 5772, there are over 6,000 students identified with the chareidi tzibur studying for a degree, and N’vei Institute reports a 30% increase in registration this year, Kikar Shabbat reports.

Upon completion of the program, N’vei also assists graduates in finding suitable positions in the workforce. The school will be holding an open day for prospective students on January 29, 2012. The program is designed for yeshiva graduates that wish to invest in a future in the workplace, willing to work hard towards earning a degree that can open doors in a number of fields, including high-tech.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)

Rabbi Steven Pruzansky mobilizing world wide support for Rav Ralbag

Rabbi Ralbag

The decision by Amsterdam's orthodox Jewish community to suspend its chief rabbi because of his controversial beliefs about homosexuality is 'verging on fascism', a committee of orthodox Jews in the US has told the Volkskrant.

The Committee for the Declaration on the Torah Approach to Homosexuality told the paper in an email it is 'shocking' that a chief rabbi in the Netherlands has been suspended for his statements on 'centuries-old religious truths'.

Amsterdam's orthodox Jewish community (NIHS) suspended rabbi Aryeh Ralbag as its nominal chief last week after the New York-based official signed a statement describing homosexuality as an illness which can be cured.

Discussion

Ralbag will remain suspended until he and community leaders have spoken about the issue, but it is unclear when this will happen. On Sunday, the NRC said the rabbi believes his life would be in danger if he came to the Netherlands.

Ralbag told the paper: ‘I have strong indications that my wife and I would not be sure of our lives if we came to the Netherlands now.’ He declined to say what the threats were but did say he took them ‘extremely seriously’, the paper reported.

The declaration, signed by 162 rabbis and mental health practitioners last year, states that 'homosexuality is not an acceptable lifestyle' and that 'behaviours are changeable'.

Freedom of speech

In the email, committee spokeswoman Susie Rosenbluth says freedom of speech and freedom of religion are holy. The NIHS is officially part of the orthodox community and cannot then point to the 'unique position of Dutch orthodox Jews' as some in Amsterdam have done, she wrote.

New Jersey rabbi Steven Pruzansky, who is mobilizing intenational support for Ralbag, blames Dutch tolerance for the situation, the paper says.

Rabbi Pruzansky

'Dutch society is so tolerant, with legal and open prostitution and a sharp reduction in faithfulness in marriage, that it is impossible for Jews who grow up in such surroundings to embrace the moral message of the Torah,' the Volkskrant quoted him as saying. 'They are in spiritual shock.'

Time out

Ronnie Eisemann, chairman of the NIHS, had hoped the suspension would allow for a cooling-off period in order to prevent a schism between the orthodox and more liberal wings of the Dutch community.

However, a speedy solution is now unlikely, the paper argues.

Rabbi Ralbag, Chief Rabbi of Amsterdam Suspended for signing Anti-Gay Letter!

Rabbi Aryeh Ralbag Shlitah is also the Rabbi of the Young Israel of Avenue K in Brooklyn. The "Orthodox" Jews of Amsterdam want their Rabbi to go against the Torah and be Pro Gay, so they suspended him!

The chief rabbi of Amsterdam, Aryeh Ralbag, was temporarily relieved from his post Wednesday by the board of the Orthodox Jewish community, after he signed a document describing homosexuality as an inclination which “can be modified and healed.”

Ralbag, a US-born Orthodox rabbi nominated to head the Amsterdam community in 2005, had recently cosigned the document titled “Declaration On The Torah Approach To Homosexuality,” which called on “authority figures” to “guide same-sex strugglers towards a path of healing and overcoming their inclinations.”

“Rabbi Ralbag’s signature may give the impression the Orthodox Jewish community of Amsterdam shares his view,” a press release by the community’s board, known the NIHS, read. “This is absolutely untrue. Homosexuals are welcome at the Amsterdam Jewish community.”

Ronnie Eisenmann, chairperson of the board, added: “The community regrets that the chief rabbi cosigned this document and distances itself from this view.” He also offered “heartfelt apologies to anyone who may have been hurt by the rabbi’s signature.”

“The board has decided to (temporarily) relieve the chief rabbi from his duties, in any case until he travels to Amsterdam to discuss the issue.”

Esther Voet, former editor-in-chief of Dutch Jewish weekly Nieuw Israëlietisch Weekblad, supported the decision to relieve Ralbag of his duties.  “I think it’s the only right position because the policies of rabbi Ralbag have come repeatedly under scrutiny for a while now.”

Voet, currently vice-director of CIDI - the Dutch Jewish community’s watchdog on anti-Semitism – said there was a cultural gap between the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Brooklyn and the relatively liberal Dutch Orthodox community. Her organization called on Ralbag to step down as chief rabbi on Tuesday, following his signature on the document.

“The Dutch Jewish neshoma (soul) is unique. We have special rules, like waiting only one hour before eating meat and dairy. We need a chief rabbi who is aware of our traditions and that’s something you cannot fly in two times a year,” she said.

Content is provided courtesy of the Jerusalem Post

Jewish New York Times Travel Editor Vows Never to Visit Israel! Sounds just like the Satmars!

I sat down to read the New York Times Travel section, which this week featured a major piece on Jerusalem. By the second paragraph, I was shaking my head in disbelief.

Matt Gross

The author, Matt Gross, declared up front that “I will go pretty much anywhere, anytime” as a travel writer. Yet, in the very next paragraph, he revealed that “of the world’s roughly 200 nations, there was only one – besides Afghanistan and Iraq (which my wife has deemed too dangerous) – that I had absolutely zero interest in ever visiting: Israel.”

Two paragraphs later, he took a stab at explaining why: “But to me, a deeply secular Jew, Israel has always felt less like a country than a politically iffy burden. For decades I’d tried to put as much distance between myself and Judaism as possible, and the idea that I was supposed to feel some connection to my ostensible homeland seemed ridiculous. Give me Montenegro, Chiapas, Iran even. But Israel was like Christmas: something I’d never do.”
Actually, I was hoping for a happy ending after that kind of set-up – some realization that, as a first-time visitor, Gross had forged a bond with Israel, that would outlast his stay. Yet, unless the tug of the Austrian Hospice, “my own secret hideout,” or the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, “now my favorite church in the world,” or the Barood bar, can lure him back, it didn’t seem to happen.

It almost goes without saying that the New York Times would find a travel writer on Jerusalem who brings some heavy-duty baggage to the topic. In this case, he turns out to be a person whose self-declared curiosity extends to every country – remember that Iraq and Afghanistan are off limits only because of a jittery wife – except one, Israel.
And this is my point. It’s that a travel writer by profession could proudly proclaim no place – not, in his own words, Bridgeport, Connecticut, nor Iran, nor Chiapas – was beyond his scope of interest, save the Jewish state.
And yes, that he considers his Jewish identity relevant to his self-description only makes matters worse.

How can it be that a (Jewish) travel writer could work in the field for so long and only because of a chance meeting with a friend reverse course – “suddenly feeling life calling my bluff” – and journey to Jerusalem, otherwise bypassing one of the most intriguing cities in one of the world’s most interesting countries?
But then again, for Gross, I repeat, “Israel felt less like a country than a politically iffy burden.”
Does Israel somehow make his life uncomfortable as “a deeply secular Jew,” while those pesky Israelis endlessly deal with the messy demands of sovereignty and neighbors who aren’t always ready, even after 63 years, to recognize the Jewish state’s right to exist? Would his self-image and place in the world be enhanced if only Israel closed up shop?

Funny how no other country awakens in him such feelings. He’s ready to go anywhere, he says, as if there were no other “politically iffy burdens” in the world, no other countries in conflict, no other territorial disputes, or, unlike Israel, no countries with major issues of domestic political legitimacy.
I understand that Judaism means little to him. He’s not alone. But if he’s willing to call himself a Jew, as he does, was there nothing about the Jewish state – its history, archaeology, society, complex tapestry, geopolitics, culture, or psyche – that aroused the faintest curiosity in all these years?

Does Gross think he was dropped by parachute onto this earth, disconnected from a past that, yes, originates in the Middle East, and not in the shtetls or in the suburbs of Boston where he was born?
Does he not realize that without this part of the world - without Jerusalem, without the Bible and the prophets who roamed the Land, without a territorial linkage, however abstract it might have become to some in centuries of Diaspora living - there would be no Jewish people today, not even "deeply secular" Jews?

And since he did visit Yad Vashem, where he described himself as moved by this “hellaciously detailed museum,” might he have reflected on the meaning of Israel for those who found refuge there? Or those who might have been saved had a Jewish state existed in the 1930s, at a time when Bridgeport, Connecticut, Iran, and Chiapas weren’t falling all over themselves to offer a new home to Europe’s beleaguered Jews? Instead, within a sentence, he moved on to his principal quest, as he said, in the western part of Jerusalem: “eating well.”
Sadly, of course, Gross is not unique. I know other American Jews for whom Israel has no meaning,

They’re missing out on an essential, and deeply fulfilling, part of their identity. For all of its daily challenges, the rebirth of Israel is nothing less than a modern-day miracle. How many Jews over the centuries, recognizing the intrinsic link between the land and people, would have given

That connection may not have happened, at least not yet, for Gross, who doubtless will rush off to Iraq and Afghanistan as soon as his wife gives him a green light, unfazed there by “politically iffy burdens.” But ask other first-time visitors to Jerusalem how they feel and you’re likely to catch the twinkle in their eye.
It’s only unfortunate that the Times’ editors didn’t turn to one of them – with the writing talent and absent the heavy psychological baggage – to author this featured travel article.

From The Jerusalem Post

Child Rapist Boruch Erps walks because witnesses are pressured not to testify!

Molester Boruch Erps

Erps taught Alef- Bais in YSV (Yeshivah Spring Valley) for many years, and molested and raped his little victims many times. Last week I received the following e-mail from a broken mother who just found out that her son was raped by Erps. This revelation came to light when the boy who is now 17 years old spoke about his childhood experiences in group therapy. The mother told me that this child is off the derech and asked that I post the following e-mail.

I just finished talking to my son,who is almost 18 years old.

I am almost to scared to ask so I just jump in.

Did he (the pre-one A Rabbi who raped him) ever do any thing to him in the class room?

"No, in his house, when you brought me over for Aleph -Bes Lessons."(as per his wife's urging

for "free private tutoring")

I reply through choking tears " I am so sorry! Why didn't you ever tell me?"

He answers " I was scared, everyday I went to class I got chills. I was terrified of him"

I later cry to Hashem WHY!? What did I do wrong? please Help him Hashem.

I daven for him everyday.

This child is now lost, a destroyed Neshama (he says hes an atheist)

I don't judge or blame him.

I am sick inside Please Hashem guide my anger and discust over this.

Sincerely: The mother of another victim of Rabbi Boruch Erps.

After receiving the e-mail, I contacted the mother and asked if the boy would come to the DA's office and tell his story, we can still prosecute until he turns 23. We are hoping that he will.
This Shabbos we got info that not only did Erps molest this boy but he molested his cousin as well, that boy is now 10 years old. How long are we as a community going to allow this to go on? Why is Erps still davening in a shul and getting Aliyas?
We are looking for any victim of Erps to come forward so we can lock up this walking time bomb.
Note to parents: we will keep this totally in confidence, but if you don't come forward,  our society will collapse in short order. Molesters will have been given the message that they can get away with murder, and I mean murder. This guy murdered this teen's soul!
The DA informed me that Erps was actually arrested last year but they had to let him go after the two potential witnesses backed off because of community pressure!

Williamsburg Satmar Rebbi calls for worldwide demonstration to support 6 Eida Hachreidis Swindlers!

R' Amram Shapira, personal assistant to Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia Weiss, was among those who were arrested for swindling Yerushalim Tzedakah Coffers.

R" Zalen Leib Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbi

Rabbi Zalmen Leib Teitelbaum, Satmar Rebbi of Williamsburg is calling for worldwide demonstrations against the Government of Israel in response to the arrests!
The Rebbi also attacked (what's new?) the Belzer Rebbi who said on Chanukah "if there are those among us who believe they will spread the light of Yiddishkeit through violence, they are mistaken." The Satmar Rebbi condemned the Belzer Rebbi in a fundraising event and proceeded to endorse violence.
Just a note to our readers, the Eida Hachreidis, the fanatical and violent group headed by Rabbi Yitzchok Tuvia  Weiss, is supported by Satmar. 
Hertz Frankel writer of the weekly column in Ami Magazine called "The Principle" continues to distort the real Satmar which advocates violence going back to the pre-war days in Satmar, Romania. Satmar has not changed and is like a leopard that cannot change its spots. Satmar is behind the Eida Hachreidis that re-enacted the child in the famous Holocaust picture and comparing it to their lives in Jerusalem.

Ami Magazine drapes White House with Nazi Flags and photoshops Nazi stormtroopers in front!

Frankfurter of Ami is getting crazier and crazier 

Ami Magazine retracts story that Eida Hachareides is non violent but buries it on Page 31 in a small box!

Page 30 of Ami Magazine

Last week Ami Magazine had an "Ami Exclusive" which basically had two Rabbonim of the Eidah Hachareidis, Rav Shlomo Pappenheim and Rav Amram Shapiro say that the Eidah "is under siege by extremists." In other words they were trying to convince the "naive" readers that the Eidah does not agree with the protesters that dressed up in Concentration Outfits and is really against the violence that has been perpetrated on Yerushalyim residents and storekeepers.

 We pointed out last week that Ami Magzine and the editor Yitzchok Frankfurter are a bunch of two bit liars and they knew full well while writing the article that the Eidah was behind the protests and were backing up the bastard that damaged the book store and were absolutely behind the protesters dressing up in Concentration Camp clothing thereby mocking the 6 million kedoishim that were killed Al Kiddush Hashem.

Turns out that we the writers of DUSIZNIES were 100% correct!

Ami put the above "retraction" on page 30, but reading it you would never know that it is a retraction.

The retraction is a letter from the Eida to Ami stating that Pappenheim and Shapiro are not representing the Eida basically saying  that the Eida is definitively pro violence ...

Thousands in North Korea sent to labor camps for not crying enough for dead leader.

North Korea's hardline regime is punishing those who did not cry at the death of dictator Kim Jong-il, according to reports.

Sentences of at least six months in labour camps are also apparently being given to those who didn't go to the organised mourning events, while anyone who criticised the new leader Kim Jong-un is also being punished.
Those who tried to leave the country, or even made a mobile phone call out, were also being disciplined, it has been claimed.

Daily NK says a source has claimed that 'criticism sessions' - which began after the official period of mourning - have now finished and tough sentences are being given out.

The informant from North Hamkyung Province told the website: 'The authorities are handing down at least six months in a labour-training camp to anybody who didn’t participate in the organised gatherings during the mourning period, or who did participate but didn’t cry and didn't seem genuine.'
The source claimed the criticism sessions created a 'vicious atmosphere of fear', which meant the new leader, Kim Jong-un, was being accused of preying on the people now that he has taken power.
It is unclear how many people face incarceration but the figure could be many thousands.

Along with criticism sessions, the regime is also ramping up its efforts to enforce the cult of personality of the new leader.

The source told Daily NK: 'Every day from 7am until 7pm they have vehicles for broadcast propaganda parked on busy roads full of people going to and from work, noisily working to proclaim Kim Jong-un’s greatness.'
Intensive sessions, to teach groups including the Union of Democratic Women and workers in factories and schools about the greatness of the new leader, were leaving people 'exhausted', the source added.

The regime has portrayed the young leader as the spitting image of his grandfather and has been dubbed the 'genius of geniuses' in military affairs, despite having no known military experience.
Jong-il died in December aged 69 after 17 years running the world's most reclusive state. His death was announced on December 19, although he was reported by official media to have died two days earlier on a train journey to give guidance to his subjects.
He was succeeded by his youngest son, Kim Jong-un, who became the third of his line to head the world's only hereditary totalitarian Stalinist state.

The secretive state said today it will enshrine 'eternal leader' Kim Jong-il's preserved body in the palace housing the body of his father, national founder Kim Il-sung, and labeled his February 16 birthday the 'Day of the Shining Star,' deepening its veneration of the late leader as it links his son and successor to the family legacy.

The country will also erect a Kim Jong-ilstatue and set up portraits of a smiling Kim and build 'towers to his immortality' across the country, North Korea said. 'Shining Star' is also seen as a reference to Kim Jong-il's 'military first' policy, which North Korea says his son Kim Jong-un will take up.

The North's state media have sought since Kim Jong Il's death to show Kim Jong Un as a strong, confident military leader, but outside observers are watching to see if he can impose his will over the military and government as strongly as his father did during 17 years of absolute rule.
North Korea has quickly handed Kim Jong-un a slew of his father's prominent titles and repeatedly connected him with his father and grandfather in an effort to add legitimacy to the young leader.

North Korea also has stepped up propaganda praising Kim Jong-il's works and vowed to uphold his policies in what is seen as an attempt to justify the hereditary power transfer.

Palace, where the embalmed body of Kim Il-sung has been lying since 1995, a year after he died. Kim Il-sung is still known as North Korea's 'eternal president.' It was unclear whether their bodies would be in the same room.

On Thursday, the North said Kim Jong-il's body will be displayed at Pyongyang's Kumsusan Memorial

The new name for Kim Jong-il's birthday, 'Day of the Shining Star,' is another link to Kim Il-sung, whose birthday is called the 'Day of the Sun.' 'Shining Star' also was the name given by North Korea to what it says was a satellite it launched into space in April 2009, but that the United States says was a long-range rocket test. The launch stoked regional tensions and earned North Korea international sanctions and condemnation.The new measures reflect North Korea's 'unanimous desire ... to hold the great leader Comrade Kim Jong-il in high esteem as the eternal leader of the party and the revolution,' the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party's Central Committee said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.The North's posthumous treatment of Kim Jong-il is similar to the treatment his father received, said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.'The cult of personality surrounding Kim Jong-il needs to be on par with the fact that his body is treated in the same way his father's is,' Yang said.
From the Dailymail.uk

Mishpacha Magazine banned because it encourages Chareidim to actually get jobs!

Yes my dear friends you read the headline correctly, Rav Elyashav was asked to sign the ban on the Israeli Magazine Mishpacha because it encourages Yungerleit to go find a job and make a living! And guess what, he signed it! Yup! 

This was reported by TheYeshivaWorld.com. 
Galei Tzahal’s (Army Radio) Yael Dan spoke with Avishai Ben-Chaim, Channel 10 News chareidi affairs correspondent as well as with one of the Gadol HaDor’s confidants, Rabbi Chaim Cohen.
These are Ben-Chaim's words, I am not making this up.....
I will highlight in gold his pertinent words... 
Ben-Chaim:
"There is the classic chareidi and this stream is at war with the newcomers, those with an independent weekly publication, those who have successfully influenced readers in ways that is not favorable to the classic stream. This is what is taking place. This is what has led to the letters against the weekly publication, which influences a change, an unwanted change in the eyes of the old stream.

The opinion of the weekly has given legitimacy to change, to going out into the workplace and earning a living for example, without embarrassment. Now, the weekly is challenging the holiest of the holies, that the word of the gadol is not final and unquestionable, and this is what is going on today.

Towards achieving this goal they sent letters from the rav for graphology analysis to place a doubt in the minds of supporters, to permit questioning the validity of the letters against the weekly publication. The exam confirmed the signatures are identical, but this is how it works in the chareidi camp, using a rubber stamp or another type of device and signing when approved. The rav himself does not sign, and that is why they are identical.

This is the same with Rav Chaim Amsellem and his actions vis-à-vis Maran HaGaon HaRav Ovadia Yosef Shlita, trying to slowly move the tzibur away from accepting his word without any question. He is placing doubt in the minds of his tzibur.

Something has happened in the chareidi camp regarding the word of the leader. In the time of Rav Shach, his word was final – no discussion."

Millionaire breaks waiter's finger because he presented him with the bill?

John Castle the finger breaker

A 76-year-old leveraged buy-out king allegedly responded to bad service in an exclusive restaurant by breaking the server's finger.

John Castle was so outraged that the waiter, Paul Kucik, 57,brought out the bill without him asking for it, that he allegedly grabbed his hand and twisted his finger until it broke.

The successful financier was with his wife Marianne at Club-Colette, a private dining club in Palm Beach, Florida when server Kucik gave him the bill - after he claims Mrs Castle had asked him too, reports the Huffington Post. 

The waiter told the police that Castle became so enraged that he yelled 'You schmuck, why did you bring the bill to the table?" before grabbing his hand, says the report. 

He allegedly began 'squeezing and twisting' his fingers 'and only stopped when Mr Kucik freed himself from the tight grip, according to a police report. Kucik said he later began to experience 'excruciating pain' in his fingers and later went to the doctor who x-rayed his hand. The results apparently showed that his left ring finger had been broken during the incident on Sunday night. Castle, is the chairman and CEO of Castle Harlan, a private equity firm, his riches have allowed him to purchase the the Kennedy family's Palm Beach compound in 1995.
Club Colette members are allowed to charge bills to their accounts without having it delivered to their tables, and a bill should not be brought to the table unless it is requested by the host.
However, Kucik claims that Mrs Castle had requested that he bring her their dinner bill and give it to her husband., reports the Post.
Palm Beach police have said they are investigating the incident but no charges have been made. Castle has declined to comment. Kucik told police that he immediately told his employer about the alleged assault, but no action was taken, says the report.

Weird but very True!

Medical officials in Israel are holding a national conference on gynecology ..... but no women are invited.
Because of Orthodox law, men and women can't mingle in the convention center, so the ladies have been banned.
Women can be in the audience, but only behind a curtain, separate from the men.

Reuben Gittelman Conservative Hebrew Day School in Monsey will close due to poor enrollment! Hellowwwww!

Parents jammed the auditorium of the Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School for a special meeting called by the school’s administration on Tuesday night.  They heard something they did not want to – the Conservative Jewish day school was closing its doors after classes end in June.  Board President Virginia Feldman delivered the depressing news that dropping enrollment left the school in financial straits.

“There are simply not enough students for Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School to remain financially sustainable,” she said.  “These are difficult times for Jewish day schools.”

Enrollment fell from its high of 350 students in 2002 to 250 students two years ago and then to an enrollment of 150 girls and boys for the 2011-2012 school year.  The school experienced a 20 percent attrition rate for each of the past three years.  The dropping enrollment at Gittelman is not unique, as other Hebrew day schools across the country have shut their doors. 

Feldman told the parents the board explored every possible option to keep the school operating – downsizing, merging, fundraising. 

“We looked at merging. We looked at loans. We looked at renting half the building,” she said. “Ending 40 years of Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School was nothing any of us wanted to do.”

She said the board hopes to sell the building and with the proceeds, pay off debt and use any remaining funds to assist students who want to continue their Jewish education at other schools.

Emotions ran high during the meeting and more than a few parents wiped away tears and choked up as they took turns speaking and asking questions. 

One woman said she attended the New City school and had planned to enroll her child.

“It really makes me sad,” she said. “I really love this school.”

Other parents said they felt let down and that the board should have advised them more openly of the dire circumstances and tapped them as resources for new ideas for fundraising, enrollment, donations and endowments.  Feldman said there were meetings up to the very end and the board tried its best with capital and enrollment campaigns.

“There was no stone unturned, “said Feldman of Orange County.  “There really wasn’t.” 

Another parent said of the school, “It bred very special people. It was a very nurturing environment. “

The audience applauded when one speaker said, “Forgive the board everybody. It’s the community.  This education wasn’t a priority anymore.”

Irit Pinkus has one child who graduated from the school and another in second grade.  She felt the education her children received was well worth the trip from her Orange County home.

“(I’m) very sad, I feel like I’m at a funeral,” said Pinkus. “This school focuses not only on education, the education is superb, but on being part of the community. I think it’s a loss not only for us but for the community.  It will be very hard to find a school with the spirit this school had.”

She went along with many of the parents to the school’s multipurpose room to learn about a “new entity.”  Andrea Sherman introduced the Rockland Jewish Academy, proposed for pre-k through fifth grade students under the supervision of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester and its headmaster, Dr. Elliott Spiegel.

The school would be housed in available unused space at the Jewish Community Campus in West Nyack.

Sherman and Spiegel presented an overview of the school and encouraged parents to attend“informational parlor meetings” next week.  On Tuesday, Jan. 17 a parlor meeting for parents of students grade two through four will be held in Montebello and a similar session on Wednesday, Jan. 18 for parents with students in pre-k (three and four year olds) through first grade will take place in Suffern.

Spiegel said they need to determine how much commitment there is to retaining a Jewish day school in Rockland and asked parents to complete an indication of interest form by February 1.  He said an anticipated enrollment of approximately 100 students would help make the school a reality. 

“It’s very important for the Rockland Jewish community to have a non-Orthodox day school,” he said. “The Rockland Jewish Academy will continue in the tradition of outstanding general studies.” 

He went on to say the school would teach the whole child and include Judaic and general studies, physical play and athletics, which he viewed as a 21^st century skill that teaches kids to work together.

When asked why the academy could succeed where Gittelman had not, Spiegel said he believes it is possible for a new school to grow.

“It’s a dream location (JCC) for another school,” he said.  “I have the experience and knowledge to make it work.”

Older students in sixth through 12^th will have the option of being bused to the middle school campus of the Solomon Schechter School of Westchester.

Reuben Gittelman Hebrew Day School was founded in 1971 as the Solomon Schechter School of Rockland County.  It began in the JCC of Spring Valley, a Conservative congregation located on Route 45 that has since closed. The school outgrew its location in 1992 and moved into the current building on New Hempstead Road.  It was renamed after Reuben Gittelman, the father of Irving and Milton Gittelman, to honor his ongoing love of learning.  Milton Gittelman still serves on the board of trustees.

From the Nyack Patch