Chag Kosher V'Samaiach

Route 306 in Wesley Hills will be closed April 12- 15

The state Department of Transportation will close Route 306 in Wesley Hills between Grandview Avenue and Willow Tree Road for construction activities between April 12 and April 15.
Weather permitting, the closure will begin at 8 p.m. April 12.
Previously, the department had planned to maintain one-way, alternating traffic with a temporary traffic signal from April 2 to April 20. Partnering efforts with the Village of Wesley Hills have enabled the DOT to close the road instead to save time and money.
Motorists are encouraged to follow the posted detour and to use caution when traveling through the work area. Fines are doubled for speeding in a work zone.In accordance with the Work Zone Safety Act of 2005, convictions of two or more speeding violations in a work zone could result in the suspension of a driver’s license.

The Yeshivaworld.com writes an Op-Ed, asking why we don't let Arabs know that we are also Anti-Israel!

The Yeshivashe World is getting crazier by the second.

They own a News Blog called Theyeshivaworld.com, and in that blog they print an Op-Ed and ask:
"where are we? What are we doing to let the Arab world know that we are not pro-Israel? Good, the Neturei Karta of Yisroel Dovid Weiss is fake and wrong, but where is the real Neturei Karta? We, the frum Jews of the world, know that it was not our idea to make a state, fight wars against the Arabs or arouse their anger. We are peaceful people. But how are the Arabs going to know that if we don’t find some way to tell them?"


Dusiznies:
We are not "pro-Israel"? We send our kids to learn Torah in their institutions, and have their children put their lives on the line to protect our bochrim ... and we are not "pro-Israel?


Yeshiva world states:
"We, the frum Jews of the world, know that it was not our idea to make a state, fight wars against the Arabs or arouse their anger. We are peaceful people."


Dusiznies:
Its not "our idea...to fight wars against the Arabs?
What a stupid ignorant comment. The Israelis want war with the Arabs? They want their children to die?
Doesn't the Torah write "Habo Lehorgach" If someone wants to kill you, kill him first?
Arabs killed us before there was a State... did you forget about the pogrom that murdered yeshiva students in Chevron in 1929 almost 20 years before the state?
Here is the whole stupid and crazy article:

The latest episode in so-called Neturei Karta’s history of meeting with and marching alongside the enemies of the State of Israel – their participation in the March to Jerusalem from Jordan and Palestinian Land Day commemoration in Lebanon – must give us pause for reflection.
Of course, it is reprehensible to show support for terrorism of any variety, or to honor the memory of a terrorist with blood on his hands. But I wish to carry the criticism of this fringe group a step further. One of their stated purposes is to soften the Arabs anger at Jews by showing them that at least some Jews, in particular Orthodox Jews, oppose Zionism and the State of Israel. By claiming to represent us all, they aim to save us all from a would-be attacker. My question is: just how do they expect to succeed in this mission, when every action they take elicits condemnation from just about the entire Orthodox Jewish world? Do they think the Arabs will really believe that they represent anyone but themselves?
If these people are really serious about their goal, they must stop acting on their own, and seek out support from the Gedolei Hador for everything they do. If Gedolim tell them that their current approach is wrong, then they must follow the Gedolims guidelines for the right way to get the message out. As long as they don’t do that, they are doing more harm than good, because the picture of four Jews joining an Arab march while the rest of the Jewish people condemns them is enough to convince anyone that almost all Jews are pro-Israel.
Which brings me to my question for the larger frum Jewish world: where are we? What are we doing to let the Arab world know that we are not pro-Israel? Good, the Neturei Karta of Yisroel Dovid Weiss is fake and wrong, but where is the real Neturei Karta? We, the frum Jews of the world, know that it was not our idea to make a state, fight wars against the Arabs or arouse their anger. We are peaceful people. But how are the Arabs going to know that if we don’t find some way to tell them?
Yesterday, Rav Nochum Weissfish was attacked by an Arab youth with an axe as he walked in the streets of Yerushalayim. Two weeks ago, a rabbi and three Jewish schoolchildren were murdered in France. The perpetrators were evil murderers, but anyone with common sense knows that when there are murderers walking around, you have to make sure not to get caught in the crossfire. You have to distinguish yourself clearly from those whom the murderers hate. These innocent Jews could have been any of us. To a terrorist, we all look the same. What are we doing to address this problem? Where are we?

Father of child who got rejected from Yeshivah Screames at Rav Neuman!

This happened in Boro Park on 13th Avenue....
The following Yeshivas in Monsey should get the same treatment:
Yeshiva Chofeitz Chaim ... Rabbi Mazza
Yeshiva Yesodei Hatorah ... Rabbi Rubin
Yeshivah Ohr Reuvein ... Rabbi Bamberger
Anybody who has more names to the list ...make a comment

Shocking Poll: 62% of Jewish Voters would elect the Anti-Israel Obama, only 4 % consider Israel to be top priority!

Jews never learn read the following article from the Dailycaller.com and weep!

President Barack Obama continues to have the Jewish vote firmly in his corner.

A new survey from the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has found that 62 percent of Jewish Americans said they would like to see Obama re-elected in November. Thirty percent said they would prefer the Republican alternative.
According to the PRRI survey, Obama is enjoying the same level of support “as during a comparable point in the 2008 race.”

Just 4 percent said that Israel is the most important factor in their choice — the majority, 51 percent, rated the economy as their top factor, followed by “growing gap between the rich and poor” with 15 percent, and health care with 10 percent.

PRRI CEO Robert Jones told Haaretz that the relatively-low ranking in voting priority Israel polled at for American Jews does not mean it is not an issue.

“As a voting priority it is low, [but] it doesn’t mean it’s not important,” he said, adding that “we wanted to be sure on this issue and allowed people to mention their first and second-most important voting issue, because it was clear the economy is swapping everything. But even as a second issue Israel didn’t move up the list — it was still 5 percent.”

Of those interested in the Republican alternative, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney had the most support with 58 percent of the vote. Fifteen percent favor Rick Santorum, 13 percent like Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul gets 12 percent of the vote.
 

“There has been some speculation about possible movements toward the GOP among Jewish voters, but the current state of the race suggests that this year’s Jewish vote will resemble past elections,” said PRRI Research Director Daniel Cox. “The likely Republican nominee, Mitt Romney, is unpopular among most Jewish voters, and the GOP’s signature campaign proposal — repealing the recent health care law — is opposed by nearly six-in-ten American Jews.”
According to PPRI, the survey was conducted online between Feb. 23 and March 5, 2012 among 1,004 random self-identified Jewish adults with a +/- 5 margin of error.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie ignors Satmar and goes to the Kotel!

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie touches the stones of the Kotel, the holiest site where Jews pray, during his visit to Jerusalem's old city, Monday, April 2, 2012.

Avraham Perl charged with 40 counts of sexual assault on a 12 year old girl! Video

A 59-year-old Monsey man has been charged with 40 counts accusing him of having oral sex with a girl when she was between the ages of 12 and 15, police said Friday.

Dovid Kohn, also known as Avraham Perl, is being held on $1 million cash bail in the county jail in New City on 40 counts of second-degree criminal sex act and first-degree sexual conduct against a child.

The girl is now in her mid-20s, Ramapo Detective Lt. Mark Emma said Friday.

The woman came forward March 19 to file a complaint against Kohn, who runs a video business in Monsey that covers events for businesses.

“This happened over three years when she was between 12 and 15,” Emma said. “I wouldn’t question the motive of any victim who decides to come forward.”Emma said there is no statute of limitations on sex crimes. The sexual-conduct charge is applied when the alleged abuse lasts at least three months.

Authorities would not say how the suspect and the woman knew each other.

The reason for the high bail from Justice Rhoda Schoenberger was because he uses two names, police said. The judge set bail at $5 million bond or $1 million cash.

His legal name is Avraham Perl and he has lived in the Monsey community for 30 years, said his lawyer, Kenneth Gribetz. He is married with three adult children.

Gribetz said his client will plead not guilty and will provide the court with documentation showing his legal identity.“We will review the facts and circumstances of the case when the police and District Attorney’s Office provide us with the details,” Gribetz said.

Emma said anyone with information can call the Ramapo Police Department at 845-357-2400 and ask for the detective bureau.

Obama's State Department refuses to say that Jerusalem is the Capital of Israel, Video!

Let’s state the facts:
The State of Israel has a capital.
The capital is Jerusalem.


Barack Obama, while he was a presidential candidate, even admitted that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital at AIPAC when he stated, “Jerusalem must remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.”


Okay, so, Obama then hemmed-and-hawed to get out of the political quagmire caused by his statement which offended the poor Arabs, but even when trying to weasel his way out of the controversy, Obama still called Jerusalem the capital of Israel. Obama told ABC News, “The fact is, Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. So, I was simply stating a fact.”


Yes, it is simply a fact— Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.


It is not up for negotiation. Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.


Keep saying this over and over.


The United States is legally obligated to recognize Jerusalem as sovereign Israeli territory. Not just “West Jerusalem” or Jerusalem that was under Israel’s control prior to 1967, but all Jerusalem.


Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.


The United States and Britain signed the 1924 Anglo American Convention which is a ratified treaty. That means the two countries are legally obligated to honor the rights laid out in the Mandate for Palestine, of which the Jewish People are the sole beneficiary. The territory mapped for the Mandate includes all Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria, all the Gaza Strip, and oh yeah, Trans-Jordan.


Yes, I agree with the claim that "Jordan is Palestine," but remember all Palestine is the legal territory of the Jewish National Home. There is no legally recognized Arab nation in Palestine. Arabs right of self-determianation was recognized in Arab countries, like Syria, Lebanon, Mesopotamia (Iraq), and what today is Saudo Arabia, but not in Palestine


The Arabs right of self determination in Palestine was not recognized at San Remo nor through the Mandate for Palestine. Any question about that? please read the minutes from the April 1920 San Remo Conference. I will be uploading this in the near future to the Office for Israeli Constitutional Law web site in the near future.


All Palestine/Eretz Yisrael belongs to the Jewish People, as Winston Churchill stated, “by right and not by sufferance.” These rights are based on “The historical connection of the Jewish People with Palestine and the grounds for reconstituting their home in that country.”


For those who think being Torah observant means, “The only rights we need are the ones G-d gave us,” well, I can’t argue with you. G-d is the only one who grants rights, otherwise they are just priveleges. However, it was those “G-d given rights,” based on the Tanach (Bible), upon which the world body based their recognition of the Jewish National borders. British Prime Minister David Lloyd George defined the recognized borders that would be tied to the Mandate for Palestine as “from Dan to Beersheba,” using the Tanach’s repeated description of Israel’s borders. He explained the term to mean the greater area of land that had been under Jewish control from Joshua through the First and Second Temple periods.


The U.S. is obligated to recognize these borders and Article 5 of the Mandate for Palestine, which prohibits ceding any territory from the Jewish National Home, and article 6 which recognizes the rights for Jews to build anywhere in within the boundaries mapped for the Mandate for Palestine. Any statements made by the U.S. Administration that challenge or attempt to negate these rights, violate the legal doctrine of Estoppel. Estoppel is the prohibition against taking any action, or making any statements that violate a prior legal agreement or obligation.


Since the U.S. recognized Jerusalem as being part of the Mandated Jewish country via the 1924 treaty, the United States Government is legally barred from adopting any policy, taking any action, or making any statement that would appear to imply that the Jewish People no longer have sovereign rights to Jerusalem.


This is not a matter of challenging a President’s foreign policy. The recognition of Jewish legal rights to the Jewish National Home is U.S. law. Violating a treaty, which the constitution refers to as the “Supreme Law of the Land,” is illegal.


The right for the Jewish People to name Jerusalem as our capital, which was done around three-thousand years ago, long before the United States existed, cannot be denied. There is no reason not to adamantly demand the world respect these rights.


 Prime Minister Netanyahu must tell President Obama that if he wants to play, he will have to respect Israel. The Jewish People do not have to be subject to abuse by the U.S. Administration.


If Israeli leaders and Jews around the world would uniformly declare the Jewish State will not have its sovereign rights challenged, perhaps the U.S. would suddenly be able to find Israel’s capital on the map.


Don’t be afraid to stand up for your rights.


Enough is enough !

Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky Backtracks on his comment about Metziza B'peh,

We should have known this the minute Rav Kaminetzky said that Metzizia Be'Peh should only be done with a tube...

Rav Kaminetzky also backtracked when he gave an Haskamah for Rabbi Slifkin's Books and then when under pressure asked that his Haskama be removed....
The Rav must have been under tremendous pressure for him to have made the following comment, reported by Yeshiva World. Notice he uses the term "clarify", the Rav doesn't deny he said what we reported.
"I wish to clarify remarks that were attributed to me on the subject of Metzitzah B’Peh.

The practice is indeed time honored and is followed by the majority of the Orthodox Jewish community today around the world, as it has been for thousands of years.

To my knowledge, it has not been proven that the practice leads to contraction of illness. The halacha is extremely sensitive to health concerns and it is wrong to insinuate that Jews who are very particular in the care of their children would be engaging in a practice for thousands of years which is inherently dangerous.

We have a sacred responsibility to protect our children from danger and that responsibility is paramount. However, in the absence of an inherent danger from our performing mitzvos or following our traditions, we must follow them. In my view, there has been no demonstration of an inherent danger associated with Metzitzah B’Peh.

The statement that, “I don’t think there is a response to them,” referred specifically to those who allegedly said it would be invalid to use a tube where there are demonstrable health issues present as to either the Mohel or the child.

Similarly my comment that in my community “as far as I know they do metzitzah with a tube,” refers to a case where a health concern has been established and was in no manner intended to suggest that I believe that it should be universally adopted.

In no way should what I said be misconstrued as supporting the curbing of, or outside interference with, Metzitzah B’Peh. In fact, we have very effectively self-regulated the practice over the past 3500 years.

Jews have made tremendous sacrifices over the millennia to properly observe our religious obligations and traditions; it would be a shame to return to the days when parents and circumcisers feared performing the hallowed bris which enters every Jewish male into a covenant with God.

Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky.

Sugar causes Cancer!

Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatric endocrinologist at the University of California, believes the high amount of sugar in the American diet, much of it in processed foods, is killing us. And as Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports, new scientific research seems to support his theory that sugar is toxic, including some linking the excess ingestion of sugars to heart disease. Gupta's report will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, April 1 at 7 p.m. ET/PT.

Americans are now consuming nearly 130 pounds of added sugars per person, per year. Those include both sugar and high fructose corn syrup. And while many vilify high fructose corn syrup and believe it is worse than sugar, Dr. Lustig says metabolically there is no difference. "They are basically equivalent. The problem is they're both bad. They're both equally toxic," he says.

Dr. Lustig treats sick, obese children, who he believes are primarily sick because of the amount of sugar they ingest. He says this sugar not only leads to obesity, but to "Type 2 diabetes, hypertension and heart disease itself." Something needs to be done says Dr. Lustig. "Ultimately, this is a public health crisis...you have to do big things and you have to do them across the board," he tells Gupta. "Tobacco and alcohol are perfect examples," he says, referring to the regulations imposed on their consumption and the warnings on their labels. "I think sugar belongs in this exact same wastebasket."

A recent study supports the idea that excess consumption of high fructose corn syrup is linked to an increase in risk factors for heart disease by increasing a type of cholesterol that can clog arteries. The University of California, Davis, study also indicated that calories from added sugars are different than those from other foods. Subjects had 25 percent of their caloric intake replaced with sweetened drinks. Nutritional biologist Kimber Stanhope was surprised to see that after only two weeks, "We found that the subjects who consumed high fructose corn syrup had increased levels of LDL cholesterol and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease," she tells Gupta. "I started eating and drinking a whole lot less sugar."

What happens says Stanhope, is the liver gets overloaded with fructose and converts come of it into fat, which gets into the bloodstream to create "small dense LDL," the kind of LDL that forms plaque in arteries. The irony here is that for precisely that reason - avoiding heart disease - a government commission in the 1970s mandated that we lower our fat consumption. "When you take the fat out of food, it tastes like cardboard," says Dr. Lustig. "And the food industry knew that, so they replaced it with sugar...and guess what? Heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and death are skyrocketing," he tells Gupta.

And other scientific work shows that sugar could also be helping some cancer tumors to grow because sugar stimulates the production of the hormone insulin. Nearly a third of common cancers such as some breast and colon cancers, contain insulin receptors that eventually signal the tumor to consume glucose. Lewis Cantley, a Harvard professor and head of the Beth Israel Deaconess Cancer Center, says some of those cancers have learned to adapt to an insulin-rich environment. "They have evolved the ability to hijack that flow of glucose that's going by in the bloodstream into the tumor itself."

What does the sugar industry have to say about this? Gupta spoke with Jim Simon, a member of the board of the Sugar Association. "To say that the American consuming public is going to omit, eliminate sweeteners out of their diet, I don't think gets us there," he says. Simon points out that the science is "not completely clear" and it's wrong to single out one food because the real emphasis should be on long-term reduction of calories, balanced diet and exercise.

Neutrei Karta (Yemach Shemom) join Arab Murderers of Jews on "land day protests"

American Rabbi Yisrael Dovid Weiss (C), and other members of Neutrei Karta (Orthodox Jews United against Zionism) activists listen to the speech of Hezbollah senior Nabil Qawouq at Beaufort castle in Arnun, Lebanon, 30 March 2012, during a ceremony to mark the annual ‘Land Day. Palestinians clashed with Israeli soldiers and police in the West Bank and East Jerusalem on Friday, and one person was reported killed, during protests to mark Land Day, an annual commemoration of the 1976 shooting of six Arab-Israelis. 

Jewish Rabbis march with, thousands of Jordanians travelling towards the Jordan Valley to participate in a planned march, held as part of global demonstrations in support of the Palestinians and a free Jerusalem, in the Jordan Valley, Jordan, 30 March 2012. Activists from across the country plan to gather in the village of Kafrein near the holy baptism site, near the Kingdom?s border with the Palestinian territories, and Israel following noon prayers on Friday 30 March 2012. The rally is held under the umbrella of the Global March to Jerusalem which will feature the participation of activists in 80 countries, with rallies planned on the borders of Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories with Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon.  EPA/JAMAL NASRALLAH

The Shiur of a Kzayis (Olive) as we know it and have been taught , is totally wrong!

Rashi almost certainly never saw an olive. The same goes for other medieval authorities in Ashk’naz (Germany-Northern France). This little-known but indisputable fact should matter to you. It has everything to do with the following question: Is Halakhic Judaism rational and rooted in reality, or is it a hypothetical construct unconducive to engaging the real world?

It is a simple matter to ascertain, or describe to another, the volume of an average olive, a ‘k’zayit’…provided you have olives. But what if you have never seen an olive? How would you understand the concept? How would you describe it to someone unfamiliar with olives?

This was the reality in Ashk’naz in the Middle Ages, and there is no mystery as to why. The olive tree is native to the Mediterranean basin, from Israel in the East to Spain in the west; it does not naturally grow elsewhere. In Roman times, due to the trade routes which crisscrossed the Empire, olives may have made their way to Germany and beyond. The collapse of Rome, however, led to a breakdown of law and order, and therefore trade.

Medieval Ashk’nazim were unfamiliar with olives, a fact confirmed by R. Eliezer b. Yoel’s (d. circa 1225) discussion of the minimal amount required for a b’rakha aharona: “Wherever a k’zayith is required, one needs a sizeable amount of food, because we are unfamiliar with the size of an olive…” (Ra’avya, B’rakhoth 107).

Some Ashk’nazi authorities concluded that an olive was half the volume of an egg, while others demonstrated, based on Talmudic sources, that it must be less than one third of an egg. How much less they could not say. The truth, of course, is different, as was clearly perceived by one 14th century authority who actually made it to Eretz Yisrael. Responding to the proposition that a person could swallow three k’zaytim at once (which is quite impossible if one assumes a k’zayit to be half of an egg in volume) he wrote: “As for me, the matter is plain, for I saw olives in Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim, and even six were not equal to an egg.” S’pharadi authorities, on the other hand, had no such difficulties. One wrote that an olive is “much less” than a quarter of an egg (Rashba), while another mentions in passing that a dried fig is equal to “several olives” (Rittba). The last three statements, made by sages who saw olives, are entirely accurate.

In present day Halakhic practice, predicated on opinions rooted in the aforementioned lack of knowledge and experience, a k’zayit is often said to be 30 cc, while others say 60 cc. These figures bear no relation to the real world olives of Eretz Yisrael which average 3-5 cc.

It is claimed by some that once upon a time olives were much larger. This claim is false.

Olives and olive trees have not changed, as evidenced by the fact that there are over 70 olive trees in Israel ranging between 1,700-2000 years old, and 7 are approximately 3000 years old. These trees continue to produce fruit identical to the olives of younger trees. Halakhic responsa from the G’onic period echo these facts, stating plainly that olives do not change. Some would have you believe that there are two kinds of olives: real olives and ‘Halakhic’ olives. In their view, Halakha need not reflect reality; it exists in an alternate reality of its own. This is a tragedy because it paints Judaism as divorced from reality and irrelevant to a rational person. This is a lie because Torah was intended by Hashem as our handbook for operating in the real world.

The ultimate purpose of Judaism was announced by the Creator before He transmitted the Torah to His people: “And you shall be for My purpose a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6). The nation of Israel is the priest connecting God and mankind. “I, God, have summoned you for a righteous purpose…. and have assigned you for my covenant with humanity, a light for the nations” (Isaiah 42:6).

The Jewish people, in order to succeed, have to live and lead in the real world. To deal with the challenges facing us as a nation we must think, act and believe rationally. A rational person does not believe in olives 2o times the size of the olives we see with our own eyes. To deal with reality, we have to get real.

We are described as being created in the image of Hashem because we can think and reason. To convince ourselves that Halakha can be based on irrational claims is an insult to our God-given intelligence. Not to mention that it places Judaism squarely in the realm of fairy tales. What kind of message does that send to our children?

Nothing could be more pernicious than the notion that truth and Torah do not mix. The same goes for the idea that Halakhic opinions rooted in Exile-induced misconceptions are sacrosanct and immutable. A philosophy that turns aberration into truth, the Torah of Galuth into the real McCoy, is intolerable. The clear implication is that Judaism, as a system, is broken and beyond repair.

Before you eat your k’zayit of matza at this year’s seder, you might pause to consider what you are about to say about yourself, and what message you are about to send to your family and friends.

I can tell you what message I will be sending: that Torah and Halakah are as real as it gets.

David Bar-Hayim is an Israeli rabbi who heads the Machon Shilo Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. HaRav Bar-Hayim’s beth din is well-known for having issued a p’sak halakha permitting the consumption of kitniyot for all Jews residing in Eretz Yisrael.

Rav Shmuel Kaminetzky says Metziza P'peh should only be done with a pipe!

Rabbi Kamenetsky told the Jewish Week  that in his community “as far as I know, they do metzitzah with a tube!

R’ Kaminetzky expressed surprise that any Mohel would perform metitzah b’peh, given the links between the practice and transmission of certain diseases to infants, saying that under the circumstances, performing metitzah b’peh would run counter to halacha.

The rabbi also expressed disbelief about those who would insist on the practice despite its links to the transmission of disease to infants.

“Chas v’shalom [God forbid], if [children are] getting sick [from oral suction], [you] wouldn’t do it,” under Jewish law, he said.

For its part, the Agudah, the haredi umbrella group, has never explicitly denied the risk of herpes transmission through metzitzah b’peh. But its spokesman, Rabbi Avi Shafran, recently told The Jewish Week that “to scientifically assess the risk … one would have to have more [information] than a number like the 20 [cases The Jewish Week counted in the literature],” namely the total number of metzitzah b'peh procedures done over the same time period.

Rabbi Kamenetsky also stated that because it is permissible to do the suctioning with a tube, which poses “no risk at all” to the infant, this should be the practice.

Meanwhile, a paper published in the Winter 2012 issue of the haredi periodical Dialogue — entitled “Is Metzitzah bePeh Dangerous?” — has apparently become a reference for those seeking to defend the practice.

The paper, by Dr. Daniel S. Berman, an infectious disease doctor, seeks to challenge those who argue that metzitzah b’peh carries serious helth risks and falls within a tradition of writings that defend against potential government interference for health reasons.

In the paper, Berman, who has a letter in this week’s Jewish Week, attempts to cast doubt on public health officials’ findings linking the herpes simplex virus to a particular mohel — presumably Yitzchok Fischer, who has been tied to at least four neonatal herpes infections, including one death. Berman argues that absent DNA “fingerprinting” that matches the baby’s virus to that of the mohel involved, one cannot claim that metzitzah b’peh was responsible for the baby’s infection.

Dr. Jonathan Zenilman, former president of the American STD Association and professor of medicine and chief of the Infectious Diseases Division at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center, rejects that argument. In insisting that DNA fingerprinting is the only way to conclusively demonstrate a link between MbP and a case of neonatal herpes infection, Zenilman says, Berman denies “the validity of standard epidemiological methods which are widely accepted by pretty much everyone else.”

In fact, while blood tests can determine if someone is infected with — and thus capable of transmitting — the herpes virus, it is not always possible to obtain the virus’ DNA, which is most likely to be obtained from fresh sores that have not yet scabbed over. “The lack of genetic sequencing to conclusively demonstrate that these are the exact same strains of herpes is not necessary, or even relevant, from a public health standpoint,” Zenilman emphasized.

Even when a mohel does not cooperate with testing — which has apparently happened in several reported cases — causal inferences can be made. “There is a whole paradigm of causal inference in epidemiology,” noted Zenilman, “which includes things like temporal association and biological plausibility,” a term that refers to a cause-and-effect relationship that is consistent with existing biological and medical knowledge.

Indeed, Berman himself seems to acknowledge that Fischer failed to cooperate with an investigation by the New York City department of health, refusing to undergo DNA testing because the city “offered the testing in a way that was extremely unfavorable to the Mohel with regard to his future.”

(Both the city and state departments of health have declined to comment on the investigation into Fischer, who was ordered to stop doing MbP in New York state in 2007; it appears, based on taped conversations obtained by The Jewish Week, he may have defied the order.)

Berman ultimately concludes, based on his summary of reported cases, that there is a “small risk” of herpes transmission through MbP.

However, experts like Zenilman caution that there is likely substantial underreporting of these infections because, for example, recognized cases are not always reported and other cases may not be recognized. “It’s the tip of the iceberg,” Zenilman believes, noting that once a child is infected with herpes, if he survives, he has the virus “for life.”

Without addressing the issue of underreporting, Berman asserts that it is reasonable to assume that any “small risk” of herpes transmission can be eliminated by the mohel rinsing his mouth with Peridex or Listerine, a claim Zenilman calls “nonsense.”

In the second half of the paper, Berman criticizes the New York City health department for declaring that there is “a definite risk of infection” from MbP, and seems to suggest that Jews in particular are being targeted because he “cannot find any recommendations from the Department of Health to members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses faith telling them of the dangers of refusing blood transfusions, which is part of their faith.”

However, there have been numerous cases in which the courts have ruled that the interests of the child and the interests of the state outweigh the parents’ rights to refuse medical treatment, and in some states parents who have declined to seek medical care for their children outside of their own religious treatment have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

In fact, according to Alex Luchenitser, associate legal director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, though it has not attempted to do so, the government does have the power to ban metzitzah p’beh in the interest of protecting the public health.

“A practice that can cause infants to die or be infected with a sexually transmitted disease is certainly a practice that the government can constitutionally ban, even if the practice is a religious ritual of some sects,” Luchenitser told The Jewish Week. 

Starbucks bugs frappuccinos

The Rabbis weren't kidding when they said Starbucks needs an hashgacha.... they dye the Strawberry frappuccinos with  cochineal bugs!

Read this from CBS NEWS

Are you a fan of Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccinos? How do you feel about eating bugs?

The website thisdishisvegetarian.com reports Starbucks' Strawberries & Creme Frappuccino is not vegan, even if it contains soy, after a barista alerted the site that the company's new strawberry flavoring contains "cochineal extract" - which is essentially crushed up dried bugs used as dye.

"My guess would be that the recipe changed about three or four weeks ago, when our strawberry sauce got new packaging," the barista told the website. "I was hoping you guys could help get the word out there so that no vegans end up drinking this formerly vegan frappucino by mistake!"

Cochineal extract comes from the dried bodies of cochineal bugs and has been used for thousands of years to color fabrics. The extract is also known as "carmine" or "crimson lake."
A Starbucks spokesperson replied to the vegetarian website on March 16, according to the site.
"At Starbucks, we strive to carry products that meet a variety of dietary lifestyles and needs. We also have the goal to minimize artificial ingredients in our products," the spokesperson said. "While the strawberry base isn't a vegan product, it helps us move away from artificial dyes." HealthPop could not reach Starbucks for comment at press time.The report has prompted a petition on Change.org that calls on Starbucks to use other natural alternatives for food coloring, including red beets, purple sweet potatoes and paprika. The news has also prompted some to point out that a whole lot of our food already contains cochineal extract - and has for quite some time. The FDA says the dye is safe and food and cosmetic labels must state if cochineal extract is present. That means it may be found in wines, yogurts, candies, fruit drinks, ice creams, ketchup, lipsticks, eyeshadow, nail polish - you name it. The Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the FDA in 1998 to get the product labeled on packaging after a study found the dye caused an allergic reaction in one patient. The CSPI hasreceived many complaints since, it said in a 2009 article.The Daily Mail reports that the World Health Organization says consuming cochineal extract has been tied to asthma for some. Some consumers have recently been concerned with another common additive that's found in their food, ammonia-treated lean beef tips, also known as "pink slime." The public response on the additive has prompted several grocery chains and school districts to stop carrying the product, HealthPop reported.

American Media ignored story of Arab slaughter of French Jews!

The New York Post had the story on page 16, The New York Times in the second section, ABC, NBC, CBS and even Fox News by in large hardly gave coverage to the deliberate slaughter of  French Jews by an Arab. If this was Israeli Soldiers killing Palestinians the news would have been 24 hours.

Michael Savage

Talk show host and best-selling author Michael Savage blasted the mainstream media Wednesday for side-stepping the obvious in its coverage of the massacre of Jewish schoolchildren in France – that the likely culprit was an Islamist terrorist.

That proved to be the case early Wednesday when French elite forces stormed the house of a man identified the likely perpetrator. Not only was Mohammed Merah an al-Qaida sympathizer, he had actually been trained in terrorist camps in the Middle East, according to reports.

“When four Jewish children were brutally murdered in France on Monday, the media immediately began to tell us who the murderer was. ‘It was a random attack. It was a serial killer. It was a racist, neo-Nazi murder.’’ Savage wrote on his website. “Every possible alternative was used in order to avoid coming to the conclusion that this was a Muslim terrorist attack.

“Slowly, but surely, the case of the paid shills in the media began to fall apart,” Savage wrote. “First a group of neo-Nazi suspects in the murders was cleared by the French police. And then, early this morning, French authorities closed in on Mohammed Merah, who admitted to killing both the French paratroopers who had died at his hands earlier and the Jewish schoolchildren.

“But the media hasn’t stopped its lies yet,” Savage added. “Again, expert after expert is claiming that this radical terrorist was nothing but a ‘lone wolf.’ And yet the terrorist himself claims that he is affiliated with al-Qaida.”

Read more on Newsmax.com: Savage Rips Media Coverage of Massacre of Jewish Children
Important: Do You Support Pres. Obama's Re-Election? Vote Here Now!

French Police have Al-Qaeda Suspect who murdered Jews in France!

A gunman claiming Al Qaeda links and suspected in the killings of three Jewish schoolchildren, a rabbi and three paratroopers barricaded himself in an apartment building Wednesday. He is surrounded by hundreds of police officers and has stopped talking to negotiators.

An early morning police raid to arrest the 24-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent erupted into a firefight. Three police officers were wounded, Interior Minister Claude Gueant said. After hours of trying to persuade him to surrender, police evacuated the five-story building, escorting residents out by the roof and fire truck ladders.

The suspect told police he belonged to Al Qaeda and wanted to take revenge for Palestinian children killed in the Middle East, Gueant said. The suspect also said he was angry about French military intervention abroad, and had spent time in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Gueant said.

The suspect threw a handgun out a window in exchange for a communications device, but he has more weapons, authorities said. Gueant said weapons had been found in the suspect's car.

An Interior Ministry official identified the suspect as Mohammad Merah, who has been under surveillance for years for having "fundamentalist" views. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

Police swept in soon after 3 a.m. (0200 GMT; 10 p.m. EDT Tuesday) on the residential neighborhood in northern Toulouse where the suspect was holed up. At one point, volleys of gunfire heard around the neighborhood were exchanged. An elite squad was handling the negotiations.

It was part of a manhunt for a shooter who has killed seven people, including French soldiers and Jewish school children, in three attacks in the Toulouse area. In Monday's attack, the three young children and a rabbi were killed.

A few hours into the raid, Gueant said the suspect "is no longer talking." Earlier, he had promised several times to surrender in the afternoon, Gueant said, without explaining how negotiators were talking with him.

"Terrorism will not be able to fracture our national community," President Nicolas Sarkozy said, calling in a declaration on national television before heading to the funeral services for two paratroopers killed and another injured in nearby Montauban.

The series of attacks -- every four days since March 11 -- began with the killing of another paratrooper in Toulouse.

The interior minister, who was at the scene of the standoff, said the suspect tossed from his window a Colt 45 used in each of the three attacks. He has other weapons, like an AK-47 assault rifle.

"The main concern is to arrest him, and to arrest him in conditions by which we can present him to judicial officials," Gueant said, explaining authorities want to "take him alive ... It is imperative for us."

A judicial official said the suspect's mother, his brother and a companion of the brother were detained for questioning. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak publicly.

The interior minister had said the suspect's brother "is also engaged in the Salafi ideology," a reference to a fundamentalist interpretation of Islam.

The suspect "said he wants to avenge the deaths of Palestinians," Gueant told reporters, adding that he is "less explicit" about why he killed French paratroopers. The paratroopers were of Muslim and French Caribbean origin, but the interior minister said the suspect told them the ethnic origin has nothing to do with his actions. "He's after the army," Gueant said.

Police, who were still questioning people elsewhere, have followed every lead and hypothesis from Islamist terrorist to a deranged ex-soldier or someone following in the footsteps of Norway's Anders Behring Breivik, the rightist extremist who killed 77 people in a rampage last year.

Sarkozy had said that a "monster" was on the loose in France and vowed to track him down. Sarkozy has played up nationalist themes in his bid for a second term in upcoming elections. He raised the terror alert in the region to its highest level ever Monday, which put hundreds of reinforcements into the area.

Cedric Delage, regional secretary for a police union, said a key to tracking the suspect was the powerful Yamaha motorcycle that he has used in attacks.

Delage confirmed reports that the motorcycle was a dark gray one that had been stolen March 6. The frame was painted white, the color witnesses saw in the school attack.

According to Delage, one of the suspect's brothers went to a motorcycle sales outfit to ask how to modify the GPS tracker, raising suspicions. The vendor then contacted police, Delage said.

The shooter has proved to be a meticulous operator. At the site of the second paratrooper killing, police found the clip for the gun used in all three attacks -- but no fingerprints or DNA on it.

Police studied the online communications by the first paratrooper killed. He was shot March 11 after posting an announcement online to sell his motorcycle, the police official said, and investigators believe the gunman responded to the ad and lured the paratrooper into an isolated place to kill him.

The schoolchildren killed, all of French-Israeli nationality, were buried in Israel on Wednesday. Relatives sobbed inconsolably by the gravesides.

In Paris on Wednesday, a package bomb exploded at the Indonesian Embassy on Wednesday, causing minor damage, but no injuries, police said. The source of the package was unclear. Indonesia's foreign minister said it was too early to say whether there was any link between the mail bomb and an attack on the attacks in southern France.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/03/21/french-police-investigating-school-shooting-raid-house-2-officers-injured/#ixzz1pkktoh7D