Less than 24 hours after a terrorist attack took place on Dizengoff street in Tel Aviv, hundreds of Israelis from all walks of life gathered on the corner where the terrorist attack took place to welcome in Shabbat and pray for the people that were injured. This is Israelš¤
Monday, April 10, 2023
Sunday, April 9, 2023
Malka Leifer: The story behind Melbourne sisters’ 15-year fight for justice and Leifer's Depraved Acts Against those who Trusted Her
It was the drawn-out legal battle kept hidden from jurors as a 15-year battle to bring a principal to justice reached its final weeks.
Three sisters’ fight to hold Malka Leifer accountable may never have come to fruition if not for video taken by private investigators who tracked her to the West Bank settlement of Immanuel in late 2017.
The former principal of the Adass Israel School – a religious school catering to Melbourne’s ultra-orthodox Jewish community – had fled back to her home country in 2008 after allegations of the sexual abuse of students first began swirling.
Details about Leifer’s extradition from Israel are only now able to be published after a gag order expired as a Melbourne jury handed down their verdicts last week.
Victoria Police had initiated extradition proceedings in 2014 but the case stalled when an Israeli court found she was mentally unfit to stand trial.
A social worker, Chana Rabinowitz, had contacted the school board days earlier to report her client’s whispered admission that she had been sexually abused.
“She was hunched over into herself and she could only whisper what it was,” Rabinowitz told a Melbourne court last month.
“She told me she had been hurt sexually by Malka Leifer. She described some of what happened.”
Leifer had fled Melbourne with her family in the middle of the night on March 6, 2008, after receiving a warning from members of the insular community.
On Monday, a jury found the 56-year-old guilty of sexually abusing Dassi Elrich, 35, and her sister Elly Sapper, 34, while they were students and later as junior religious teachers.
She was acquitted on allegations of abusing their older sister, Nicole Meyer, 37.
The mother-of-eight had been recruited to lead religious studies at the all-girls school in 2001, to great excitement in the school.
“She came to the community and became this person that was revered as much as a rabbi, and I had never seen a woman that people looked up to like this,” Ms Erlich told the trial.
“She made me feel loved when I spent time with her … I was hoping that she would love me like a mother. I wanted to feel loved,” Ms Sapper said of their relationship.
The sisters first filed police complaints in 2011, sparking a decade-long legal battle fought through two countries’ court systems.
Leifer was arrested by Israeli police in August 2014 at the request of Australian authorities and placed on house arrest as she challenged the extradition process.
For close to two years, she avoided scheduled hearings in an Israeli court, claiming she faced panic attacks and was too unwell to attend.
Then, in June 2016, the sisters were undoubtedly shocked when news broke that Leifer had been found mentally unfit by a court-appointed psychiatrist and her extradition hearings would be delayed indefinitely while she received treatment.
Her lawyer, Yehuda Fried, told news outlets at the time she struggled to get clear instructions throughout the proceedings.
Leifer’s house arrest was lifted and she quietly continued on with her life.
Appeals from Australian government officials – including then-prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews – to re-examine the case failed to gain traction in Israel.
More than 200 hours of video proof showing Leifer out-and-about doing mundane tasks such as shopping and catching public transport, spectacularly captured national and international news headlines in 2018.
The sisters had travelled to Israel and met with the anti-child abuse organisation Jewish Community Watch, which arranged for a private investigator to track her down in the gated community.
It was then they launched the Bring Leifer Back campaign to fight for her return.
The footage galvanised Israel’s police force, who launched a fresh investigation and rearrested Leifer the same year amid suspicion she was feigning her mental illness.
A new assessment found she was able to stand trial and, by 2019, she was being held in the country’s only female prison awaiting extradition proceedings.
Israel’s former health minister Yaakov Litzman was placed under investigation the same year over allegations he had tried to pressure psychiatrists to find Leifer unfit to stand trial.
He stood down from the Israeli legislature, the Knesset, in 2022 and was sentenced to eight months jail after taking a plea deal for breach of trust.
A panel of psychiatrists engaged by the Jerusalem District Court found in 2020 that Leifer had faked her mental illness to avoid returning to Australia.
More than six years after Victoria Police first filed the request, Israel signed the extradition order in December 2020.
A female officer from Victoria Police travelled to Israel in early 2021 and Leifer was taken into Australian custody, touching down in the country on January 25.
During the following two years she faced a series of hearings across Melbourne courts before the case was eventually set down for a trial in February 2023.
Over seven weeks a jury heard evidence from the three sisters, police investigators, Adass Israel school staff, and psychologists and psychiatrists.
Leifer remained expressionless through the trial, sitting in adock at the back of a courtroom and was often seen reading a small gold and white coloured prayer book while silently mouthing words.
After more than 31 hours of deliberations spanning nine days, the jury re-entered the courtroom to a thick silence shortly after 3.45pm on Monday April 3.
Beyond reasonable doubt, they found Leifer guilty on five counts of rape, one count of rape by compelled sexual penetration, four counts of indecent act with a 16 or 17 year-old child, five counts of indecent assault and three counts of sexual penetration of a 16 or 17 year-old child.
The verdicts relate to incidents that occurred between 2004 and 2007 on school trips, during private education sessions at Leifer’s Elsternwick home, and backstage of a school play being performed at the Phoenix Theatre.
She was acquitted of five charges of rape and four charges of indecent assault, which were alleged to have occurred on school grounds or a June 2016 school camp in Blampied.
In their testimony before the jury, the sisters said their mother had been violent and abusive growing up, and school had felt like a safe haven.
Leifer, they said, had begun to show them a “warmth and care” they were not receiving at home.
Prosecutors argued the evidence proved the former principal had targeted the girls for their vulnerability, manipulating them with her affection.
“In each instance, she started with lesser acts so she could see the reaction and escalated over time,” crown prosecutor Justin Lewis told the jury.
“As far as the accused was concerned, they were ripe for the picking.”
Leifer has vigorously maintained her innocence, with her barrister Ian Hill KC telling the jury from the outset her interactions were “proper and professional”.
Outside of court on Monday, he told reporters he had “nothing to say at this time”.
The sisters, however, held hands as they faced TV cameras and a throng of journalists to proclaim; “the whole world will know that now, she is guilty”.
“Today we can start to take the power back that she stole from us as children,” Ms Sapper said.
“We have sat in this court for going on nine weeks now, every day listening to our truth and having people try to tear that apart and tear us apart.”
Ms Meyer, whose allegations the jury acquitted Lefier on, described the feeling as “bittersweet”.
“Yes it’s bittersweet, but she is guilty,” she said.
“I turned around and looked at her … if she doesn't want to look at me, so be it.”
Ms Erlich said the abuse had held them hostage for so many years but it was now “time to start looking forward”.
“This is the beginning of our future now, throwing off how the abuse has impacted us for so many years and it’s time to start our lives,” she said.
Shortly after the verdict was handed down, Adass Israel School principal Aaron Strasser issued a statement on behalf of the school.
“On behalf of Adass Israel School, we apologise to the survivors abused by Mrs Malka Leifer while they were students here,” he said.
“We are sorry for the distress they have suffered and the impact of that abuse on their lives and families.
“We commend the survivors’ bravery in coming forward.
“Adass Israel School complies fully with all child safety standards and regulations, and we have zero tolerance for abuse of any kind.”
Leifer will return to court for sentencing at a later date.
Very Disturbing Report: Son of George Soros Has Visited the White House 14 Times
Last year, 37-year-old Alexander Soros had at least a dozen meetings with White House officials, per its visitor logs, the New York Post reported Saturday.
“His latest trips include visiting Dec. 1 with then-White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain’s advisor Nina Srivastava, who also worked on Biden’s presidential campaign, the logs show,” the outlet continued:
[T]he younger Soros was one of 330 people who attended a lavish state dinner on the White House South Lawn hosted by the president and First Lady Jill Biden honoring French President Emmanuel Macron and Macron’s wife, Brigitte.
A day later, Alexander Soros — who chairs the powerful, liberal grant-making network Open Society Foundations founded by his dad — met with both Advisor to the Counselor of President Mariana Adame and Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer, records show.
Maia and Rina laid to rest in double grave
Following Friday's deadly terror attack, in which the Dee sisters, Maia and Rina, were murdered by an arab terrorist, the two sisters were laid to rest together on Sunday afternoon.
When the bodies of the victims entered the funeral hall, the two remaining sisters broke down crying and fell on their sisters' bodies.
The ceremony opened with the reading of Psalms for the recovery of the victims' mother, Leah, who remains in critical condition following the attack.
Newly Married Chaim Bloom Killed By Vehicle Minutes Before Pesach Began
Reb Chaim Bloom Z”L, was tragically killed after being struck by a car that collided with another vehicle at 13th Avenue & 50th Street moments after the zman on Wednesday, Erev Pesach.
Reb Chaim z”l was just 23 years old.
The Levaya took place on Friday morning (2nd day Yom Tov) 10:00AM in front on the Bobov45 Shul.
Friday, April 7, 2023
Efrat Sisters Murdered Execution Style by Arab Savages
The names of the two young sisters murdered in Friday’s shooting attack in the Jordan Valley have been announced, as their mother who was also injured in the attack remains in very grave condition.
20-year-old Maya and 16-year Rina Dee HyD were residents of Efrat who had immigrated from Britain. Maya was doing her national service in Yerucham. The two were travelling in a car with their mother when terrorists opened fire on their vehicle, shooting 22 bullets at the car and killing both sisters. Their mother, 48-year-old Leah Bas Tzipora (Lucy), was rushed by helicopter to Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital in critical condition and remains in very serious life-threatening condition after undergoing an operation in the hospital Friday.
The father of the girls and their siblings who were travelling ahead in another car were uninjured but heard the shooting and returned to the scene to treat their family members.
An army spokesperson said the attack had occurred near the Israeli town of Hamra, and that the IDF had launched a manhunt for the terrorists responsible for the shooting. As of Saturday night the terrorists had not yet been apprehended.
“Following the reports of a shooting attack at the Hamra Junction, a report was received regarding a car accident between a Palestinian and an Israeli vehicle. IDF soldiers who were dispatched to the scene located numerous bullet hits on the Israeli vehicle, indicating that the accident was in fact a shooting attack.”
“As a result, three Israeli women were injured, two of them were killed. IDF soldiers are blocking routes adjacent to the scene of the shooting attack, a pursuit after the terrorists has begun.”
Prime Minister Netanyahu announced that “in the name of Israel’s citizens I wish to send condolences to the family from Efrat over the murder of the wonderful sisters, Rina and Maya of blessed memory, in the harsh terrorist attack in the Jordan valley. At this time the mother of the family is fighting for her life and together with all the Jewish nation I pray for her welfare and we all send condolences and strength to the dear family at the time of their heavy grief.”
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said that “my heart breaks to see the smiles of the sisters Maya and Rina who were murdered by a foul terrorist. I pray with all the Jewish nation for the mother’s recovery and offer strength to the family in its difficult hour.”
How the Wokes Erased "Aunt Jemima" from History
A great woman erased from history by idiots.
The branding of the syrup was a tribute to this woman’s gifts and talents. Now future generations will not even know this beautiful woman existed.
What a shame.
The world knew her as “Aunt Jemima”, but her given name was Nancy Green and she was a true American success story.
She was born a slave in 1834 Montgomery County, KY. and became a wealthy superstar in the advertising world, as its first living trademark.
Green was 56-yrs old when she was selected as spokesperson for a new ready-mixed, self-rising pancake flour and made her debut in 1893 at a fair and exposition in Chicago. She demonstrated the pancake mix and served thousands of pancakes, and became an immediate star.
She was a good storyteller, her personality was warm and appealing, and her showmanship was exceptional. Her exhibition booth drew so many people that special security personnel were assigned to keep the crowds moving.
Nancy Green was signed to a lifetime contract, traveled on promotional tours all over the country, and was extremely well paid.
Her financial freedom and stature as a national spokesperson enabled her to become a leading advocate against poverty and in favor of equal rights for all Americans.
She maintained her job until her death in 1923, at age 89.
This was a remarkable woman, and sadly she has been ERASED by politics.
I wanted you to know and remind you in this cancel culture time period.
How CUNY became America’s most anti-Semitic university
The “cleansing” of Jewish students and lecturers from German universities from 1933 to 1935 was one of the Nazis’ first goals met.
Ninety years later, in the metropolis with the world’s largest Jewish population, the City University of New York has successfully completed a yearslong initiative to expunge all Jews from its senior leadership.
Spring will see the exit of the last two remaining Jews on the school’s 80-member senior-leadership team, in a city whose population is about 20% Jewish.
It will be the first time since its 1961 founding that CUNY’s senior leadership will be Jew-free or Judenrein, for those who fear the horrors of history repeating itself.
This is just one of many systemic initiatives designed to expel the Jewish presence at CUNY.
The once-vibrant recruitment of students at New York City’s Jewish schools has all but ceased at most campuses, and there is now abundant evidence demonstrating it’s more difficult than ever for a Jewish professor to attain a CUNY faculty position.
But what bodes even worse for the city’s Jewish students and academic leaders is that CUNY seems hell-bent on replacing its Jews with anti-Semites.
13 Jews and 5 Goats Arrested For Trying To Bring Korban Pesach
Five goats were seized by the police and confiscated, and two activists received an administrative removal order signed by Homefront Command Major Rafi Milo.
All the detainees were released under restrictive conditions. The district court canceled the restrictions imposed earlier this week on Raphael Morris, the chairman of the movement.
The movement offered this statement: "A big thank you to all the dedicated activists who came to Jerusalem today intending to offer the Passover sacrifice, especially to the Honenu organization and attorney Nati Rom for the legal assistance provided to all the detainees."
Yesterday, against the background of reports and intentions to offer a Passover sacrifice on the Temple Mount, Rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinovitch prohibited the bringing of animals to the Mughrabi Gate. The Western Wall Heritage Foundation prevented the entry of animals into the area in accordance with regulations governing the holy places.
It was reported that "the Western Wall Heritage Foundation operates according to the instructions of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, which for generations has opposed any act of this kind, and under the authority of the Western Wall Rabbi, has been preventing such actions for years, and will continue to do so this year as well."
On Monday, the Chief Sephardic Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef, sharply criticized those who went up to the Temple Mount and those who call to go up there. "According to the Halacha, there is a strict and absolute prohibition to go up to the Temple Mount. The dangerous calls to go up to the Temple Mount on the eve of Passover, in particular, and in general, are irresponsible and contrary to Halacha. No man or woman should trample the Halacha by going up to the Mount," said Rabbi Yosef.
The rabbi also said: "The seal with a prayer for a complete redemption and hope that our prayer will be accepted and we will be healed and we will be able to eat there from the sacrifices and from the Passovers, happy in the building of your city and happy in your work.
Wednesday, April 5, 2023
Tuesday, April 4, 2023
18 Year Old Arrested in Miriam Sussman Death in Monsey Hit & Run ...Released
An 18-year-old Hudson Valley resident has been charged with leaving the scene of a crash last year that left another woman dead.
The Rockland County teen, from Monsey, was charged on Monday, April 3, said Lt. Michael Gannon, with the Ramapo Police.
Her name was not released due to her age at the time of the incident, making her eligible for youthful offender status, Gannon said.
The crash took place in Rockland County around 12:45 a.m., Sunday, Nov. 28, on West Carlton Road in Ramapo, Gannon said.
Gannon said officers responded to the area after 52-year-old Miriam Sussman of Monsey was found dead in a wooded area adjacent to the roadway.
Sussman had been reported missing on Monday, Nov. 29, causing police to search for Sussman, reported ABC 7.
An investigation found the woman was struck and killed by a vehicle. The vehicle left the scene, Gannon said.
Following her arrest, the teen was arraigned and released without bail.
Malka Leifer Reportedly Molested Her Students In Bnei Brak Before She Went to Australia and then again after she Fled Back to Israel
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by Ittay Flescher
A prayer of thanks – that was my first reaction to the guilty verdict of Malka Leifer. It’s a sex-abuse case I've followed for over 13 years years as a former teacher at Melbourne's Adass Israel School, then as a member of the city's Jewish community and a friend of the victims, and later as a journalist in Israel with Plus61J Media.
I still remember the shock when journalists Ashley Browne and Naomi Levin broke the story in 2008, writing in The Australian Jewish News that Leifer had fled to Israel in the middle of the night with the help of the school's leaders.
I remember how many people criticized the brave victims who came forward and the journalists who told the women's stories; they were charged with sinat hinam and lashon hara – baseless hatred and slander.
I remember the civil court case in 2015 where the Supreme Court of the state of Victoria ordered the school to pay more than 1.1 million Australian dollars ($740,000), with Leifer having to pay AU$150,000, one of the largest sex abuse payouts in Australian history.
I remember the concerns that many people raised – that talking about this story would stoke antisemitism and harm the Jewish community's reputation, or damage Australia-Israel ties.
In 2018, as I entered the courtroom on Jerusalem's Saladin Street for the first hearing in the Leifer case that I attended, I was struck by the fact that the only ultra-Orthodox Jews there were family and supporters of Leifer's campaign to avoid justice in Australia. Some were holding mezuzahs or reciting Psalms, while others were holding texts with writings from the kabbala.
Leifer's sister would often hold an image of Reb Shaya'la of Kerestir up toward the judge, as this Hungarian rabbi who died a century ago was believed to possess the power to heal the sick and comfort the afflicted.
Heshy Goldstein Host of "Failed Pesach" Struggles to Answer to What Happened in an Interview with Zev Brenner
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| Zev Brenner |
It is yet another Pesach Program fiasco, that could be called, “The Pesach Program that Wasn’t.” This time, it was the Pesach program scheduled to take place at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City. It didn’t happen.
Here is the transcript from the Zev Brenner show.
Zev Brenner:
I’m Zev Brenner. Heshy Goldstein joined us. I think it’s been a long time since he’s been on the program. He runs Aryeh Hospitality. They’ve been running weekends throughout the year and they were scheduled to run a Pesach program in Atlantic City, the Claridge Hotel for just a couple days ago. He sent out an email directly saying that the program’s been canceled due to fraud and he’s here to explain exactly what’s going on. Thank you for joining us, Heshy. I thank you Doni Schwartz of Passover Listings. To anything Pesach, you can check out Passover Listing for helping to putting together the segment. So, thank you for joining us.
Heshy Goldstein:
Hello. Reb Zev, how are you?
Zev Brenner:
Good, thank G-d. So, you’ve been running Pesach program running proper throughout the year. You were going to be running a big Pesach program for Atlantic City. So, what happened a couple days ago?
Monday, April 3, 2023
What was the biggest mistake a company has ever made?
United Airlines not paying $1200 to Dave Carroll might be their worst decision ever.
After boarding a United Airlines flight, musician Dave Carroll got himself seated. He heard another passenger exclaiming that the baggage handlers were literally throwing the guitars.
After arriving at his destination, he opened the case to inspect his $3500 guitar and found broken and ruined which was beyond repairs.
Dave went through hell to try and get United to pay for their sins. After nine months of struggle he agreed to settle for $1200 flight voucher but later was informed by the airline that he wouldn't get it as he missed his 24 hours of reporting window at the time of his initial complaint.
However, this wasn't the case. He informed several airline executives when he was at the airport but everyone just ignored him.
He finally decided to make a music video about his horrible experience with United and called it 'United Breaks Guitars'.
The music video went viral and the airline gave his money but the damage to their reputation was already done.
And if you think that United only lost their reputation and not any big money than hear me out.
The song gathered enough bad PR for the company that their stock was reduced by 10% costing the shareholders $180 million and this happened only within four days after the song was launched.
With that money United could have bought Dave more than 51000 guitars.
Trump Is Actually The Second GOP Presidential Candidate Indicted By Local Democrats
The indictment of Donald Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg Thursday sent shockwaves around the country.
Trump’s defenders — and even some legal experts — haven’t been shy about describing the prosecution of Trump as politically motivated. While the specific indictment has yet to be revealed, Bragg appears likely to charge Trump with felony “falsifying of business records” pertaining to a Federal Election Commission violation relating to buying the silence of pornographer Stormy Daniels, who alleged the two had an affair.
Bragg is further employing a dubious and novel legal theory to charge Trump because the statute of limitations on this crime has expired.
Daniels would later publicly deny she had an affair with Trump and that she had been paid hush money to stop talking about it. Her personal lawyer, Michael Avenatti, who was a driving force in bringing the allegations against Trump, would later end up in prison for tax fraud and stealing from clients, including Daniels.
Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Five Facts for its 80th anniversary
April 19 is the 80th anniversary of the start of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Here are five stunning facts about the revolt that most histories of the Holocaust hardly ever include.
- Mordechai Anielewicz was not the sole leader of the ghetto fighters.
After the naming of the Yad Mordechai kibbutz, with its physically stunning Memorial to Mordechai Anielewicz, and the heroic story of its defenders in the 1948 War of Independence battle fought there, the name Anielewicz became forever cemented in the public’s mind as the commander of the Warsaw Ghetto fighters. However, Anielewicz led only one of the two main armed resistance organizations in the ghetto. Anielewicz led the ZOB (Jewish Fighting Organization). The other organization was the ZZW (Jewish Military Union), and its frontline commander was PaweÅ Frenkel (also spelled Frenkiel). The ZZW’s chairman was psychiatrist and neurologist Dr. David Wdowinski, who survived the war and testified against Adolf Eichmann in 1961. Two years later, he published a short, personal account about the uprising called And We Are Not Saved (1963). Both the ZOB and ZZW are best described as Zionist organizations, and the majority of their leaderships and fighters came from Zionist youth movements.
- The fighters only had bricks, Molotov cocktails and a few pistols with which to launch their revolt. On Jan. 18, 1943, the first armed Jewish resistance action in the ghetto by an organized force occurred. It is believed that this first round of fighting was conducted by the young Zionists with pistols and improvised explosive devices such as homemade grenades. Many reports claim that for the first-time resistance fighters were able to take rifles from the Nazis they killed. Whether or not that is true, what is known is that the ZZW was able to obtain machine guns and other rifles from both criminal sources and from contacts in the Polish resistance Home Army (the AK).
- Some Jewish fighters in the ghetto falsely considered other Jewish fighters to be fascists.The ZOB was organized and led by members of leftist Zionist youth organizations and connected to the kibbutz movements. Many of these Zionists looked to David Ben-Gurion as the Zionist movement’s leader and considered their right-leaning political opposition, led later by Menachem Begin and inspired by the Betar organization’s founder Ze’ev Jabotinsky (1880-1940), to be fascists. This false accusation of fascism is practically 100 years old now and was able to be weaponized for political purposes due to several factors, among them Betar’s practice of paramilitary training, as well as military dress and other militaristic trappings. What is more, Jabotinsky’s followers honored him with admiration and esteem unseen on the Zionist left. Finally, Jabotinsky’s embrace of capitalism gave the Jewish left another reason to oppose him and his organizations.
- The uprising never really ended.
While many accounts of the revolt in the ghetto report that the uprising ended with the destruction of the main ZOB command bunker at Mila 18 on May 8, 1943, the truth is that fighters in the ghetto continued to strike at Nazis well into 1944. That address was used as the title of the novel by Leon Uris, which may be entertaining but strayed far from the true narrative. In 1979, Dan Kurzman’s popular book The Bravest Battle: The 28 Days of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was published, and it solidified in the minds of many that the uprising lasted less than a month in total. Ghetto fighters who hid in other bunkers beneath the rubble carried out sporadic armed attacks on Nazis until the Warsaw Uprising began in August 1944. Hundreds of Nazis were killed by ghetto fighters in all.
- The two major Jewish resistance groups only agreed on a strategy right before the Nazi attack.
It was just hours before the Passover seder, and both the ZZW and the ZOB knew that it was urgent that they agreed to coordinate their efforts. Hitler’s birthday was April 20, and a final deportation action was scheduled to be completed before that date.
A more balanced look at the history of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising can be found in the 2011 book Flags Over the Warsaw Ghetto by Moshe Arens, a former Israeli defense minister who was a senior Betar leader in the United States in his younger years. Both that and the Wdowinski volume will leave you inspired and awed by the courage of the young Zionists who chose to fight the Nazis against all odds.
Major Pesach Program Goes Belly Up right Before Pesach but it Was "Non-Gebroktz"& Offered Hand "Shmurah Matzos"
A Pesach getaway program scheduled to take place at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, NJ, has dissolved into disaster due to what the director of the Pesach program described as a “huge financial scam.”
People who signed up for the Pesach program, which had been slated to run from April 4-14 and featured a full roster of singers and personalities, were notified Wednesday of an “unfortunate and unprecedented situation.”
“While the program was moving along nicely, while our dedicated team was working tirelessly to make it a true success, we were hit with a huge financial scam, and we are not sure at this point if we can continue,” a message from Aryeh Hospitality said.
“We are trying to find an alternative option,” the message continued. “Should we be successful at it, we will notify you immediately.”
It wasn’t clear what the scam alluded to was, though unconfirmed rumors have been spreading like wildfire across social media.
Australian court finds Malka Leifer guilty of rape, sexual abuse
Malka Leifer, the former principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne, Australia was found guilty of rape and sexual abuse of children Monday.
After six weeks of hearings, a jury in the County Court of Victoria found the 56-year-old Leifer guilty on 18 of 27 counts of rape, indecent assault, child abuse, and other sex crimes, while dismissing 9 of the counts. Earlier, Leifer was acquitted of two other charges.
The charges stemmed from claims of rape and sexual abuse against three sisters – Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich, and Nicole Meyer – from 2003 to 2007.
The jury found Leifer guilty on all counts with regards to the 18 charges against her pertaining to Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, and not guilty on all 9 of the charges linked to her alleged abuse of Nicole Meyer.
When an investigation was launched into the abuse of the three sisters in March 2008, Leifer, a dual Israeli-Australian citizen, fled the country, moving to the town of Emmanuel in Israel.
For years, Leifer evaded extradition, feigning mental illness in order to be declared unfit to stand trial.
While a Jerusalem court ruled in 2016 that Leifer was not fit for extradition, a private investigator later proved that Leifer had deceived the court.
In July 2019, a panel of medical experts working for the court found Leifer fit to strand trial, with a the court ratifying the decision in May 2020.
After nearly 13 years abroad, in 2021, Leifer was finally extradited to Australia.
The County Court of Victoria will reconvene on Leifer's case on April 26th to set a date for the sentencing.
Fox News journalist Kassy Dillon converts to Judaism
Fox News journalist and commentator Kassy Dillon has completed the process of converting to Judaism.
The journalist took to Twitter to announce the exciting development with a simple picture of her wearing a Star of David necklace overlaid with her new Hebrew name: Devorah Rut. She later added in a comment: "Thank you, everyone. It’s been a very long journey with a lot of ups and downs. I hope to share the story soon. And for those asking: Yes, I converted orthodox."
Later, she explained that although she could trace her lineage back to Jews who were expelled from Spain, the rabbis who converted her are Ashkenazi, and she will therefore follow those customs.
Following the announcement, Twitter was abuzz with the news, with many Jewish users congratulating her and welcoming her to the tribe.
On Saturday night, one Twitter user asked the journalist how her first Shabbat was, she answered: "Beautiful. Lighting candles for a real purpose just brought me so much happiness."
Ami Magazine's Whitehouse correspondent, Jake Turx, shared a humorous conversation between the two when he asked if it ever occurred to her to hold off on the conversion until after Passover. Dillon answered, "Since I have to 'kosher' my kitchen anyway, by doing it before Passover, I get two for the price of one."
Unfortunately, following Dillon's announcement, antisemitism soon followed, with Twitter posts calling her a race traitor, alleging that she was 'groomed' by conservative commentator Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire to convert, and sharing despicable Holocaust imagery.
Dillon commented on the antisemitism in a Tweet: "And the antisemitism begins! In reality, they've been sending me this nonsense for years. In a way, the antisemites knew I had a Jewish neshama (soul) before I did."
Earlier this year, Dillon attended the Grammy Awards carrying a luxury purse emblazoned with the Israeli flag.
Dillon later posted a picture of herself with the purse at the awards ceremony, writing on her post: "I heard people here like to boycott Israel. What a shame."
Belz Chasidim Organize Worldwide Prayers On Sunday For Rebbe’s Recovery
In the wake of the Belzer Rebbe’s health issues over the past few weeks, chasidim have called for a worldwide prayer vigil to take place at 6:30 PM Israel time (11:30 Eastern Time).
The chasidus announced that “in light of the call by the Rav Hatzadik [Rav Aharon Mordechai Rokeach, the only son of the rebbe] that everyone should pray for the health and speedy recovery of strength for our father, our guide and leader the Rebbe Shlita, the Belz chasidim around the world will unite in a worldwide Tefillah. Today, the 11th of Nissan, with Mincha at 6:30 PM in the Beis Midrash Hagadol, and a public tefillah at the same hour in every location.”
On Wednesday Hatzalah organizations were summoned to the Rebbe’s house after he felt unwell. The rebbe’s situation stabilized afterwards but he has remained in his home and it is estimated that he suffered a hypoglyclemic incident.
The chasidus announced that the rebbe had undergone thorough tests by a specialist doctor who reported that the rebbe is now feeling better.
During the course of Shabbos the rebbe did not leave his home, and was under observation by a resident physician. It is presumed that he will not be leading a communal Seder this year as is his annual custom.
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