Shalom Eichler finally arrested in Jerusalem

Chaim Levin the victim

by 

Chaim Levin

Sholom Eichler the "molester"

Sholom Eichler was arrested on March 21st near Kfar Chabad for sexually abusing me as a child. I had already filed a civil lawsuit against him in New York and he ignored the lawsuit and fled to Israel with his family. The result of that lawsuit is still pending, I was awarded a default judgment against him and will hopefully know the amount of that judgment by this coming Monday, March 25th.

As I’ve written previously on my Facebook page and have told many people as well, the last place that Sholom Eichler molested me was when our families were visiting Israel together on a family trip while we were staying at the [then Hilton] David Citadel hotel. The details of that incident, along with many of the other incidents remain clear as day in my mind; I even remember the room number that he abused me in while we were in Jerusalem.

After ignoring the civil lawsuit against him in New York Sholom Eichler and his family fled to Israel because of the default judgment that I was granted against him. Unfortunately for Eichler, the criminal statute of limitations are much broader and severe in Israel, and so I spent the past few months researching my options before deciding to press criminal charges against him. It pains me greatly to know that there are so many sex offenders out there whose victims have the ability to bring them to justice but are too afraid to do so because of community or family pressure, or because they don’t feel strong enough. For 7 seven years I was frightened by the prospect of forcing Sholom Eichler into a courtroom or even confronting him, and it is thanks to the support of many great survivors, advocates, friends and family who showed me that it’s possible to pursue justice despite the staggering intimidation that many victims face once reporting their crime and/or going public especially when coming from more religious communities.

The Israeli justice system operates quite differently than what I was familiar with in regards to how sexual abuse cases are handled in the US. After I received confirmation on Thursday morning that Eichler was arrested, the police requested that I be on “standby” for when they would call me. I thought they would ask me to ID Eichler or something, but what came next was very unexpected. I was brought into a fairly small room with three police interrogators, one of them a translator, and was directed to sit in a seat right across from Sholom Eichler where he was sitting with shackles on his feet.

The main interrogator read Eichler his right to remain silent and warned him that anything he said would be used against him. I was still absorbing the fact that I was sitting right in front of the monster who took so much away from me, the monster that caused so much damage that no amount of therapy will ever undo, but within two minutes I was able to gain my bearings. According to legal experts in Israel, this process is called “eimut” (confrontation) and is used by interrogators to observe the body language between the victim and the accused. I was instructed to look at Eichler and tell him what he did to me, they were adamant that I describe every incident in detail and not hold back on anything. It was at that moment that I looked at the monster in the eyes and told him exactly what he did to me, where he did it and the painful and sensitive details of the times he abused me.

This “confrontation” was sort of like a court proceeding, after I gave my opening statement Eichler was given a chance to respond to what I said, and without an ounce of shame or remorse he attempted to deny everything that I claimed he had done to me. With every word he spoke, with every lie he told I felt my blood boiling to the point where I thought I was going to explode, but although he was lying, his body language was telling a very different story. He was completely unhinged and was shaking non stop, he sounded like he was on the brink of tears and his attempts to discredit what I was saying were clearly not working. One of the things I confronted him about was about a meeting that he and I had five years ago before he got married in which he apologized to me for what he had done to me. I looked at him and said “how dare you sit right in front of me and call me a liar? How do you live with yourself knowing what you did despite the fact that not only did you apologize to me but also admitted your crimes against me to my older brother and my mother as well?”. Eichler admitted to meeting me five years ago, (something he denied until now) and said “I didn’t apologize for what I did to you, I apologized for how you were feeling”.

I pressed further and recounted in vivid detail how Eichler used to wait on his parents’ porch that was just across the street of my school for when I would be walking home from school so that he can lure me inside to commit those unspeakable acts. I also recounted the times that he abused me in the synagogue that our families attended, in my parents’ house, upstate at the bungalow colony that our families both attended during the summer, and of course, one of the most brutal incidents, the last time, in that hotel in Jerusalem on the fifth floor. Eichler had the audacity to attempt and accuse my older brothers of actually abusing me; and when asked by the interrogators why I would make such claims against him he said that he was the “perfect target”. I responded to that by saying that if i was looking for a “perfect target” I would have gone after one of his older brothers which would have ensured that one of them would be sitting in American prison today because they would’ve been well within the criminal statute of limitations within the American justice system.

Those twenty minutes felt like hours and most of the exact details are quite blurred in my head at this point, but luckily it was all on the record and will surely be used to prove his guilt in criminal court. What I remember was the feeling of empowerment I felt when I looked at this evil excuse for a man in the eye and told him exactly what he had done to me and the look on his face, the expression of guilt and shame, feelings that I felt for far too long because of what he had done to me; the tables had finally turned and for the first time in thirteen years Sholom Eichler finally had to answer for his heinous crimes. After leaving that room, I felt nothing but strength and a certain of closure. As painful and emotional as that confrontation was for me, it reminded me that pursuing justice is one of the most important things that a person could do in his or her life.

Eichler was released on bail the next day, the exact amount is still unknown to me but I hope to find out soon, and it is my sincere hope that he will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. I hope that others will learn by example that while at certain points the prospect of facing their abuser might seem impossible but the truth is that with the right amount of support, therapy, and healing facing one’s abuser IS possible and the power that abusers enjoy over their victims (the way Eichler had power over me) diminish over time.

Aside from knowing that it was my obligation to make sure that Eichler answer for his crimes and that I exercise every single legal option that was available to me in order to do so, I hope that by pressing criminal and civil charges against my abuser a better precedent will be set in the future for those struggling with the decision of if and how they should take action against those who stole part of their innocence, part of their soul. I know that by being so public about my past and about what was done to me is giving a voice to so many who feel like theirs was taken from them, something I once felt all the time. I’ve been publicly shamed on more than one occasion; anonymous emails and tweets from people who don’t even have the courage to use their real names remind me the importance of this journey and only empower me even more to pursue justice. Those voices of hate and negativity fade and the voices of my family, friends and every single person who supported me and encouraged me echo loudly for me and for the world to hear, to you all, I am thankful, I wouldn’t be here without you.

A Victim of the "Breslover Tzaddik" tells her story

The Tzaddik Harav Elizer Berland

It took A. some time to realize she had been sexually harassed by Rabbi Eliezer Berland - a holy and righteous man in her eyes - and for her to file a police complaint. She is 18, married, her pretty face wrapped tightly in a black kerchief in the so-called Jerusalem fashion. She is going through a crisis, not only as a woman who was sexually harassed, but also as someone who was raised with a unique system of beliefs, at the center of which is the rabbi, the righteous foundation of the world.

Since A. became disillusioned, her world has collapsed. She stopped working, and her life now revolves around both the court case and the rift in her community, which has shunned her since she submitted her complaint to the police.

"I am the daughter of a veteran disciple of the rabbi," she says. "My father still believes in him. I think that if he were to cease believing, he would die from it. Today, now that I am outside, I understand that Shuvu Banim is a false Hasidic sect that is only after money. Everything the rabbi would do was very peculiar, not ordinary. He would yell, would travel around at night to tikkunim [sessions of 'spiritual repair'], and we'd follow after him.

"My husband is a righteous one. Our vart [a Yiddish term for an occasion that proceeds a betrothal] was at the rabbi's. We waited there all night. My husband cried to the guards to let us in to see the rabbi, and only at 5 A.M. did we break a plate. I was pleased. It was a matter of pride between me and my girlfriends that I had a groom who would chase after the rabbi. After the sheva berakhot [the week of nightly meals and blessings after a wedding], my husband continued his pursuit of the rabbi. He would go to Hebron, Amuka [in the Galilee] - wherever the rabbi was, my husband would chase after him. Later I joined in too.

"We thought we were demonstrating our devotion. For a year after our marriage, I did not have a single evening with my husband, because I was busy, in pursuit: We were the rabbi's minions. There was a group of women who pursued the rabbi. The rabbi would excite us, suddenly emerge from the car, do tikkun, and then get in and drive off. I worked from noon until 4 P.M., so that I would have time to sleep in a little in the morning, but many times I would telephone and say that I wasn't feeling well. So I also wasn't receiving a proper salary.

"My father instilled in us at that the rabbi is the essence of spirituality at home. I began going to the rabbi too, because we'd heard you could get a blessing. Once we used to see him from afar, but now we realized that you could get in to see him without paying millions of shekels. We got excited, we started going to him at night.

"The first time I went in to the rabbi, it was with another woman: He gave us a kiss on the forehead. Something gentle, a kiss from the righteous one. At the time I didn't think it was unusual, but from a kiss it developed into holding you, touching, licking. A lot of women don't believe the rabbi touched and kissed [others], because he didn't touch them. These are older Ashkenazi women.

"If he had touched them, they would have done him in. So he did it to us, the innocent disciples. Like that, so we wouldn't feel it, his hands were constantly fluttering about. He would come close and do it quickly without your realizing, with three or four women in the room - caress this one, embrace that one. One day he told my husband, 'Your wife will have the privilege of being in the world of nobility' [a higher realm the soul belongs to, according to kabbala]. It was only afterward that we understood he was preparing him.

"That time I had come with my husband to the rabbi as usual, and he said, 'You stay here and you come with me.' He locked me in his room and went out. When he entered he pointed to the bed. I don't remember what he said to me. He kissed me and stuck his tongue in my mouth. He held me real tight, my whole body, close to his, and he became dreadfully excited and panted. He told me, 'Now you are in the world of nobility,' and licked my face until it was really sticky. I was fighting with myself not to do anything. To this day I am traumatized by it.

"After that he put his hands under my blouse and felt me up brusquely. And then he opened the door and I ran to my husband and told him excitedly that the rabbi said I was in the world of nobility. We began to fight, because my husband understood."

'I miss kissing you'

A. says Berland frequently preached sexual abstinence. "For nine months he told me and my husband not to touch. From the time we married, we were prushim [abstaining from sexual relations]. It killed us. Sometimes we would touch and then we'd say, 'The rabbi will be mad at us.' My husband and I would go in and I would ask the rabbi, 'When will we be blessed with children?' He would say, 'You are not touching each other? You will be visited.' We were naive. I thought I would have children just because the rabbi promised me we would be visited. But he kept on saying, 'Now go immerse yourself' [in a ritual bath], as though he was ensuring that I would be pure for him. In front of other people he would ask: 'When did you go to immerse yourself?' I whispered in his ear, and he would say in front of the others that I had gone. I would feel embarrassed. The rabbi would call all the time: I love you, miss you, miss kissing you. But he would mix this sort of talk with holy talk. And then all of a sudden he stopped calling me."

A. came to her senses with the help of a veteran disciple of the Bratslav Hasidic sect. "The Hasid's daughter was a friend of mine," she explains. "She would go in to the rabbi every night, like me. After the incident occurred [the sexual harassment], her father told her he a secret scroll, which told of 18 women who were each tied to the righteous one [the rabbi] on a different side of the body and how each has a part in redemption. We came to her father and began talking to him about it. Suddenly he said, 'Enough, there is no secret scroll. The rabbi is despicable.' We were shocked. He called our husbands and told them. Only then did we understand what had happened, and everything blew up."

The public suspicions regarding sexual harassment by Berland arose during the course of an a police investigation into a dispute and shooting within the Hasidic sect. The investigation concluded that the dispute broke out following an attempt to silence Itai Nachman Shalom, a disciple of Berland who witnessed him having sex with a woman from the community, and refused to keep quiet about it. Since the scandal's eruption a few months ago, the Shuvu Banim sect has been split between the rabbi's supporters and detractors.

Berland, who is apparently in the United States now, knows he is under investigation for sexual harassment, and is represented by the Tel Aviv attorney Jacob Weinroth.

Women from the community are now offering support to the ones who say they were harassed and are encouraging them to seek help. The women wish to remain anonymous because they fear the wrath of thugs within the sect. They explain that Berland took advantage of weak women by force of his charisma. They say both he and his disciples explained to the women that by means of their submission, they were "helping" the rabbi to battle the Iranian threat facing Israel, and to prevent a holocaust from being visited on its people. A lot of women were hurt but are for now keeping mum, they say.

A Facebook page for victims of the rabbi's alleged abuse from the Hasidic sect, which was launched by a Haredi woman outside it, has seen a steadily growing number of subscribers. According to the woman who manages the page, several women have been in touch with her privately, and told her that they too had been sexually harassed. The descriptions are similar: "They came into the room to receive a blessing from the rabbi and it ended in lickings, roaming hands and statements such as, 'I am taking all offenses from you.'" She adds that several of the women say they subsequently received money from Berland, sums of $500-1,000, but are afraid to complain and are not willing to speak with the authorities about this.

Miss Israel a black girl meets President Obama, Video

Rabbi Lau's powerful words to President Obama, Video

Monsey Boy serving in the IDF comes home for Pesach and surprises his mother in Amazing Savings, Video

Surprising his mother in Amazing Savings

A mother is left stunned as her soldier son walked into a store she was shopping at.

The man from Monsey, New York, who served in the Israeli army surprised his mother when he came home without notifying her.

The Orthodox Jewish soldier, who spent time serving in the Israeli army, decided to come home and spend the upcoming holiday of Passover with his family.

He did not let his mother know of his plans, instead he arranged for someone to record the sweet reunion between himself and his mother, which took place at the Amazing Savings store in Monsey, New York, where his mother was shopping at the time.

Chaim Halpern the accused rapist will be giving a shiur on "Ze'roah & Beizim"

Young frum teenager commits suicide in Tallis and Tefillin

הלב כואב וממאן להאמין, לראות דבר כזה, בחור צעיר שנשבר משאיר מכתב מסביר מדוע הוא עושה מה שעשה, וזרק את עצמו כשהוא מעוטר בטלית ותפילין

אני לא כותב שם וגם לא מביא את התמונה המקורית של הבחור, מפני שמדובר בענין אישי בלבד ולא ציבורי. אבל אני מביא את הדיווח מפני שזה מחייב לשים עין על בחורים שבורים, לעיתים עם מילה טובה או עידוד הכי קטן מצילים נפשות

Loosely translated:
It is with an aching heart and hard to believe, to see something like that, a young man broken in spirit and leaving a suicide letter explaining why he  did this , that he had to to throw himself off the banister dressed in  tallit and tefillin

I did show the original picture of the guy, because it is a personal matter and not a public matter . But I am showing this,  because we all should  keep an eye on the boys who are broken in spirit , and perhaps we can give them a kind word or encouragement, it  can save lives.
read Beoilumim shel chareidim

Rehearsal at Ben Gurion Airport for Obama , Video

Turner the admitted sex abuser walks

Moshe Turner, der kranker zucher

A 59-year-old Monsey man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years probation for sexually abusing a 14-year-old boy, though the judge said the man hedged on taking full responsibility.Moishe Turner told Rockland probation officials that the boy backed his buttocks into him, causing them to have sexual contact, state Supreme Court Justice William Kelly said reading from a pre-sentencing report.Kelly said the comments raised doubts about Turner’s sincerity and he seemed to blame the boy for the sexual acts . The judge noted the probation officer recommended six months in jail for Turner for that reason.Turner seems to have “characterized the victim, a 14-year-old, as sexually aggressive, a wild child,” Kelly said, adding Turner was 

“qualifying” and “hedging” on his January plea.

Turner pleaded guilty to second-degree criminal sex act on Jan. 18, a charge that could have brought seven years in prison. He admitted having anal and oral sex with the boy on seven occasions during July 2011.District Attorney Thomas Zugibe and prosecutor Jennifer Parietti offered the plea agreement sparing Turner from serving jail time when the family didn’t want the boy testifying in open court, though the youngster offered specific details of sexual abuse before the grand jury that indicted Turner on seven counts of criminal sex act and endangering the welfare of a child.Turner also denied he rented a car for the boy, who was stopped by police for driving without a license. The report stated Turner, a married father of five children, is unemployed, has no prior criminal history and receives food stamps and Section 8 assistance toward his rent at 8 Dana Road, Kelly said.Turner’s lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz, insisted to Kelly that the Monsey man accepted responsibility. Gribetz told the judge that Turner has come to the realization that he was wrong and there’s no rationalization for his actions .“I’m sorry for the whole problem,” Turner told Kelly. “I will never do that in my life.”

Satmar girl sings "Kah Ribon Ulam" with Chassidishe accent, Video

In a revealing top, a former Satmar girl shows off her singing skills.

A source close to the woman, revealed her identity as Breindy Rosenberg.

Rosenberg does not look or dress as a typical Satmar girl, but when she sings her accent definitely gives away her background.

Rosenberg grew up in the Satmar community of Kiryas Joel in Monroe, New York.

Rosenberg is seen dressed in a sleeveless and v-neck top as she sings a Jewish song, which Orthodox Jewish men sing at the Shabbat table every Friday night.

According to people who know Rosenberg, she has left Kiryas Joel and she now resides in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

In the video below, Rosenberg is heard singing a Jewish song. She is struggling to carry the tune and she stumbles over many Hebrew words.

A man is heard in the background helping her with the song. At the end of the song she laughed at herself and she wished everyone a Good Shabbos. We can only hope that the video was not recorded on Shabbat.
Video was removed, will try to get it back soon

Look where you Holy "Shaimos" wind up, Video

Shaimos dumped like garbage

Thousands of Jewish people were devastated and angry after one prominent rabbi has desecrated Jewish holy books by dumping them at the side of a road.

Jewish law requires one to bury torah scrolls and some other religious items that are no longer usable.

Rabbi Chaim Abadi, was paid by people in the Lakewood, New Jersey, community to bury their religious articles, according to the Jewish law. 

Sadly, rabbi Abadi violated their trust by not burying them properly, according to Jewish law or according to the laws of the state of New Jersey.

Larry Simons, who is also Jewish, first alerted the State Department of Environmental Protection about the bags.

Rav Eliezer Berland, "Groiser" Tzaddik of Breslov flees Israel after sexually abusing 20 women

An elderly Jerusalem, Israel rabbi fled Israel, and is currently in the United States, after police questioned him for the rape of up to 20 women and girls, according to press reports in Israel.

The most popular Israeli news website reported that the sudden trip to the United States that the leader of a large Hasidic group took a few weeks ago, was to escape possible charges of sexually abusing women and girls who came to him for advice.

The rabbi, is believed to be 75-year-old Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the chief of the Shuvu Bonim Breslov sect. He is a member of the Vaad Olami D'Chasedai Breslov or World Committee of Breslov Chassidim and is credited with helping thousands of secular Jews to convert to Hasidic Judaism.

Berland is currently in Miami, Florida, according to press reports in the United States.
The father of a 15-year-old girl who was allegedly raped by the rabbi told Army Radio that when his 15-year-old daughter told him about the abuse his older daughter also came forward and admitted that the rabbi had sexually abused her, too.

It is rumored that up to 20 women and girls were sexually abused by the rabbi. Several of his followers recently caught the rabbi naked with a naked underage girl, according to press reports in Israel.

Frum Jews eating grasshoppers for breakfast

Forget the herring, pass the grasshoppers..

As Israel is fighting the swarm of locusts which entered Israel from Egypt this week, one ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is happy to be able to collect bags of grasshoppers in order to enjoy them as breakfast and for snacks, according to press reports in Israel.

Farmers in southern Israel are hurting after swarms of locusts caused damage to crops, estimated at millions of shekels, but some there are very happy with the arrival of the locusts.

Mayer Rene, a ultra-Orthodox Jewish resident of Tel Aviv, told an Israeli newspaper that he arrived early morning to Kibbutz Be'er Milka to see the locusts up close and catch some locusts to eat.

"I started to collect them and was able to fill an entire sack. This is a desert grasshopper, which according to Jewish law is kosher,” Rene said. "Since I was little I've heard stories that Jews ate locusts in Yemen. They used to collect bags of locusts, put them into the oven and eat them. I ate some years ago and it was delicious," Rene added.

He also said: "A few years ago, I baked it in the oven. I cut its head off, pulled the legs and wings out and I ate the remains."
Meanwhile, the Israeli authorities said that calm winds and pesticide spraying reduced the threat of the locusts spreading to other areas of the country.

Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef, the son of Sephardi leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, ruled today that it is forbidden to eat the locusts. "It is the custom not to eat any grasshoppers, even when there are signs that they are kosher.
Some rabbis however, disagree and allowed eating the grasshoppers.

Suspect Identified In Williamsburg Deadly Hit & Run; Previously Did Prison Time For Manslaughter

The NYPD have released the name of a suspect in the deadly Brooklyn accident that killed a couple and their newborn son.
Police are searching for 44-year-old Julio Acevedo in the deadly hit and run.
Acevedo served 10 years in state prison on a 1989 manslaughter conviction; having caused the death of a male victim by shooting him with a gun. He also has a recent DWI arrest in February.
Meanwhile, the woman who had co-signed the BMW’s lease is charged with insurance fraud.
29-year old Takia Walker of the Bronx is charged with allowing a third party to use the vehicle without notifying the insurance company.
Walker allegedly acquired the car under false pretense, and let a third party who was not on the insurance drive it.
The violent crash sent the engine of the livery car into the backseat, where the pregnant woman was sitting before she was ejected.
Her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who came to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.
Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, where doctors performed a cesarean section on the mother to deliver the baby. Both parents died of blunt-force trauma, the medical examiner said.
The Glaubers’ livery cab driver was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and was later released. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled and were being sought, police said.
“Whoever did not go through this can’t even contemplate what this is to lose a sister, and her husband and more at once so suddenly”, Raizy Glauber’s brother Joseph Silverstein said Monday.
“God created this world, this was his will, this was what he wanted, this is what he did and we accept his decree.”

Esther Shkop apologizes for child sex abuse remarks to victim

Dear Kaylie*,

Over the last number of difficult days, regret and a stirring sadness have overtaken me because of the insensitive and harsh email I recently sent you.  I ask for your mechila [forgiveness] and extend you my deepest apology.

Inasmuch as [Torani L'Banot] has always endeavored to provide all of our students with full academic, emotional, and spiritual support - taking into account the variety of life experiences - it has become clear to me that we must do a better job in creating both the appropriate environment and the systems necessary to support our students in their greatest hour of need.  I do maintain our position that it is not in keeping with the standards of Tznius [modesty] and fundamentally unsafe to post intimate information about oneself and others on social media.  [Torani L'Banot], therefore, provides a private and safe forum for support and guidance.

We know that the Almighty places tests before us not only to draw closer to the Creator of the World, but to bolster our capabilities in improving the lives of His children, particularly those that are in great pain and in need of our help and support.  We will be assembling the expertise needed to make recommendations to the Board and to me on the resources and support systems we must improve to serve our cherished students to the fullest extent of our capability.

We as Jewish educators of young adults are on the front-line of life’s many challenges.  Tragically, the scourge of sexual abuse and misconduct has not spared the Orthodox community and its precious children.  We, therefore, must continue to be an institution that sets the standard in helping and supporting our students as they demonstrate the bravery and fortitude required for the healing process.  This is the test the Ribbono Shel O’lam [Lord of the Universe] has clearly put before me in the wake of my private email to you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Esther M. Shkop

Kaylie's Response:

Kaylie’s Response:

I’ve been told to keep quiet for as long as I can remember. My rapist told me not to tell. I could not, but I needed to. That night, I stood in front of my father and tried to tell him what had happened — tried to find some way to explain what went on while he and my mother weren’t home. I had no way to explain what my rapist had done. I could not put terms to the body parts, and no one ever warned me that what had happened was wrong. I only knew that my rapist had tried to manipulate me into stripping for him by telling me he would give me eight dollars and that, after he raped me, he did not pay up. I told my father that I was owed eight dollars… but I could not explain why. I was 7, and these were things that were not talked about.

That silence, that tugging feeling of anguish in my throat with no words to set it free, has stayed with me for years. I was told to not tell my parents. When I finally started speaking about any of the pain within me, I was told to not talk about it to others.

Over the years, I have made a tremendous amount of progress with my therapist. There are many organizations that can help survivors, but they can only help the ones they know about. What about the ones they do not know about? Who will help them? They can only be helped once they reached out... and they can only reach out when they know it is possible to. I came out because I had been one of the girls which were under the radar. They had no way of knowing about me. They have no way about knowing about so many. That's why I came out.

Silence is overrated. There's nothing golden about it when it's hiding the worst pain.

I was shocked because of the underlying message of the first email — that we, as survivors, are somehow the bad ones. That was the very same attitude I had taken a stand against in coming out as a survivor; it breeds silence and allows the attitude to fester from the silent anguish inside victims. This pain and the fear of being expelled from college was what drove me to contact Chaim Levin.

By bringing public attention to what was happening at school, I hoped that this attitude might be reexamined and that I would be able to remain in a school which I had come to truly love. HTC is a wonderful place — the faculty is professional while retaining a level of friendliness towards the students, and every single professor is genuinely interested in the welfare and the progress of the students, as is Dr. Shkop.

The choice Dr. Shkop made when she emailed me her beautiful apology was a wise one — she put her institution at the forefront of schools taking steps to protect and support survivors of sexual abuse. I greatly admire her strength in admitting to her mistakes, and I am very happy we were able to reach a détente. The compromises we both made were not necessarily enormous, but the ripple effect of her actions will, God willing, make an effect which is more than enormous. Pain and darkness can only be fought with a passion for the light, and that passion is something Dr. Shkop exudes in abundance. The darkness every survivor has lived in can only last so long, and, with every step forward, another bit of pain is alchemized into something truly precious — hope.

Update
The following statement has just been released by the Hebrew Theological College.
Tragically and painfully, sexual abuse and misconduct is a plague in our world and our Orthodox community has not been spared. Throughout its history, Hebrew Theological College has always provided caring support and guidance for its students. We are proud of this tradition and are committed to continue to actively demonstrate the highest ideals of Torah and Chesed. Regrettably, in a recent communication with a student who enrolled in our school with a past history of being a victim of sexual abuse, we failed to exercise appropriate sensitivity. As a consequence, we regard this as a catalyst for immediate action, growth and institutional improvement.
Our Board and Executive Leadership are now in the process of identifying a cross section of experts to present recommendations to us that will enable us to develop the resources and support systems needed so that we are positioned to the fullest extent possible to help our students through the healing process.

Woman arrested in hit and run accident of Nachman and Raizy Glauber

Police have arrested a woman who is the owner of the BMW, which caused the tragic accident which killed Nachman and Raizy Glauber.

29-year-old Takia Walker, was arrested after her car was involved in the hit and run accident. Walker owned the BMW which was involved in the fatal accident, but she was not driving, according to police.

Walker, who lives in the Bronx, was not in the car at the time of the accident. She was arrested on charges of insurance fraud. She is accused of allowing a third party who was not listed on her car insurance policy to drive her car.

So far, Walker has not given up the driver’s name and authorities are still looking for the driver.

Isaac Abraham, a spokesperson for the Satmar community released a statement warning the driver to turn him/herself in to police.
“Turn yourself in to police before we find you!” Abraham said.

The Williamsburg Brooklyn community is determined to get justice for the three innocent lives taken by the hit and run driver.

The livery cab driver, 32-year-old Pedro Nunez survived the crash.

"The only reason someone fleeing the scene of a crime is because they have done something wrong," Fernando Mateo, President of the New York State Federation of Taxi Drivers, said.


We will never know if drugs or alcohol was involved in the fatal accident since the driver and the passenger of the BMW fled the scene.

Glauber baby dies, Video

News reports just came in that the Glauber miracle baby has died, the baby was in the seventh month and was in critical condition,

 A baby delivered after his parents were killed in a Brooklyn hit-and-run accident died early Monday, a community spokesman said.

Isaac Abraham, who serves as a spokesman for the family’s Orthodox Jewish community, said the child died around 5:30 a.m.

Police were searching for the driver of a BMW and a passenger who fled on foot after slamming into a livery cab, killing the young pregnant woman and her husband.

“This guy’s a coward and he should pay his price,” said Abraham, adding that the community wants a homicide prosecution.

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, were looking forward to welcoming their first child into their tight-knit community of Orthodox Jews.

The horrific crash happened in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn as the couple headed to a hospital.

The funeral for the baby will be Monday in Kiryas Joel. The baby’s parents were laid to rest in a cemetary in Kiryas Joel yesterday.

Nachman and Raizy Glauber killed on way to hospital to have their first child

A shocking tragedy hit the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York, as a young couple was killed as they were on their way to the hospital to give birth to their first child, according to press reports in Brooklyn, New York.

A pregnant young woman who was feeling ill was headed to the hospital with her husband early Sunday when the car they were riding in was hit, killing them both, but their baby boy was born prematurely and survived, authorities and a relative said.

The driver of a BMW slammed into the car carrying Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, at an intersection in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, said Isaac Abraham, a neighbor of Raizy Glauber's parents who lives two blocks from the scene of the crash.

Raizy Glauber was thrown from the car and her body landed under a parked tractor-trailer, said witnesses who came to the scene after the crash. Nachman Glauber was pinned in the car, and emergency workers had to cut off the roof to get him out, witnesses said.

Both of the Glaubers were pronounced dead at hospitals, police said, and both died of blunt-force trauma, the medical examiner said.

Their son was in serious condition, Abraham said. The hospital did not return calls about the infant. The Glaubers' livery cab driver was treated for minor injuries at the hospital and was later released. Both the driver of the BMW and a passenger fled and were being sought, police said.

On Saturday, Raizy Glauber "was not feeling well, so they decided to go" to the hospital, said Sara Glauber, Nachman Glauber's cousin. Abraham said the Glaubers called a car service because they didn't own a car, which is common for New Yorkers.

The Glaubers were married about a year ago and had begun a life together in Williamsburg, where Raizy Glauber grew up in a prominent Orthodox Jewish rabbinical family, Sara Glauber said.

Raised north of New York City in Monsey, N.Y., and part of a family that founded a line of clothing for Orthodox Jews, Nachman Glauber was studying at a rabbinical college nearby, said his cousin.

Brooklyn is home to the largest community of ultra-orthodox Jews outside Israel, more than 250,000. The community has strict rules governing clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Men wear dark clothing that includes a long coat and a fedora-type hat and often have long beards and ear locks.

Jewish law calls for burial of the dead as soon as possible, and hours after their deaths, the Glaubers were mourned by at least 1,000 people at a funeral outside the Congregation Yetev Lev D'Satmar synagogue. Men in black hats gathered around the coffins in the middle of the street, while women in bright headscarves stood on the sidewalk, in accordance with the Orthodox Jewish tradition of separating the sexes at religious services.

The sound of wailing filled the air as two coffins covered in black velvet with a silver trim were carried from a vehicle. A succession of men and women delivered eulogies in Yiddish, sobbing as they spoke into a microphone about the young couple. "I will never forget you, my daughter!" said Yitzchok Silberstein, Raizy Glauber's father.

Afterward, the cars carrying the bodies left and headed to Monsey, where another service was planned in Nachman Glauber's hometown.

"You don't meet anyone better than him," said his cousin. "He was always doing favors for everyone."

She said Nachman's mother herself just delivered a baby two weeks ago.

"I've never seen a mother-son relationship like this," Sara Glauber said. "He called her every day to make sure everything was OK. He was the sweetest, most charming human being, always with a smile on his face."

She added that, of him and his bride, "if one had to go, the other had to go too because they really were one soul."

Chaim Fried arrested for luring 10 year old into his car

A man was arrested for trying to lure a 10-year-old girl into his car in Brooklyn, cops said today.

Chaim Fried, 53, had parked his car at the corner of East Second Street and 18 Avenue in Borough Park at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday when he grabbed the girl's arm and told her, "Come with me!" sources said.

The girl pushed him off and broke free.

He tried the same trick on Friday morning at the same location. But this time, police were waiting and put him under arrest.

Fried was charged yesterday with attempted kidnapping, attempted unlawful imprisonment and reckless endangerment of a child.

He posted $2,500 bail last night in Brooklyn criminal court, law enforcement sources said.

Esther Shkop, Dean of Chicago Girl School, blames sexual abused girl.

Sexual Abuse Victim Demeaned and Put on Notice for Misconduct at Hebrew Theological College

Posted by Chaim Levin

Hebrew Theological College Dean Doctor Esther Shkop demeans student survivor of sexual abuse and puts her on notice for having the audacity to talk about her experience. Kaylie's* (a pseudonym) courage is to be applauded. The college's actions are outrageous.

Kaylie*, an 18 year old College student in Chicago had recently posted this image on her Facebook page with this caption:

“I'm a survivor of sexual abuse.

This is not a new thing. I've been a survivor as long as you've known me.

Are you going to change your opinion of me just because three evil people took advantage of me?

Are you embarrassed of me? Are you willing to share our story?

Let's see who my real friends are.”

Just a few hours ago, Kaylie* received the following email from one of the dean’s at her school with the subject line “Breaking all Boundaries”:

From: Esther Shkop <shkop@htc.edu>

Date: Thu, Feb 28, 2013 at 12:11 PM

Subject: Breaking all Boundaries

To: [REDACTED]

Cc: "olstein@htc.edu" <olstein@htc.edu>, "lipshitz@htc.edu" <lipshitz@htc.edu>

I received an anonymous phone call last night with a message from one of your "friends" on Facebook, who expressed great consternation and concern that you have chosen to publicize to "friends" (regardless of their age, sincerity and level of intimacy) your history of sexual abuse.  Your public Facebook page is troubling enough, as is your Google history [which are open to the whole world].  It is troubling primarily because you have chosen to identify yourself by your pathology.  You no longer appear as a full human - but rather as "case study" of a young woman warped by her childhood experiences, and is thus identified wholly by that past.

I am not asking you to deny your pain.  I am asking you to exercise a measure of discretion, and develop a plan to go beyond your past  towards healing.  You seem too intent on wallowing in the past, and drawing sick attention to yourself for all of the wrong reasons.

At the same, you identify yourself as a student of Hebrew Theological College, and by association besmirch your peers as well as yourself.

This misuse of social media is definitely a violation of the HTC Personal Conduct Policy (see page 17 in the Student Handbook). Consequently, the HTC Administration is putting you on formal notice that all inappropriate materials should be removed from your Facebook page forthwith - both on the front page and the back pages.

If you have questions about what is and is not appropriate, feel free to come to speak to me or Mrs. Lipshitz.

Sincerely,

Ester Shkop

Esther M. Shkop, Ph.D.

Dean, Machon Torani L'Banot

Blitstein Institute of Hebrew Theological College

2606 West Touhy Avenue

Chicago, IL  60645

773-973-0241

Hebrew Theological College’s actions would reduce free speech to misconduct and Kaylie* and her courage to nothing. The school’s actions are the only misconduct, and it is utterly horrendous.

If you believe the school should rescind its notice of misconduct and issue an apology to Kyalie* and other survivors, please contact:

Chancellor, Dr. Jerold Rabbi Isenberg
isenberg@htc.edu

Dean Shkop
shkop@htc.edu

Assitant Dean, Rita Lipshitz

lipshitz@htc.edu

Frum Florida Doctor's father was a Nazi!

In his new book, “A German Life: Against All Odds Change Is Possible,” Florida physician, Dr. Bernd Wollschlaeger, tells his gripping story of how years of introspection after growing up in a Nazi family ultimately led him to convert to Judaism.

Bernard Wollschlaeger, MD, FAAFP was born, raised and educated in Germany. He emigrated to Israel, where he served in the Israeli Defense Forces. He currently lives in Miami, where he is a practicing physician and author.

In a new video interview with Newsmax reporter John Bachman, Dr. Wollschlager reveals some of the info. watch below.