We previously discussed the decision of prosecutors to grant ultra-Orthodox Jewish defendants anonymity — denied to other defendants — in facing sex-crime charges. It is, in my view, a highly problematic form of favoritism shown to a powerful community in Brooklyn. Moreover, as discussed earlier, it is highly unlikely in this tight-knit community that the identification of both the accused and victims would not be known. Now, four Hasidic men have been arrested for alleged harassment and obstruction of witnesses, including the offer of a $500,000 bribe to refuse to testify against a Hasidic leader. The prominent accused man in the Satmar Hasidic community, Nechemya Weberman, has been accused of 88 counts of sexual misconduct, including oral sex with a child younger than 13 years old. In addition to the money, the men are accused of threatening to withdraw the kosher certification from the restaurant of the boyfriend, Hershy Deutsch, unless the woman dropped her claims.
The four men accused of offering a young woman and her boyfriend a $500,000 bribe not to testify against Weberman. The woman is one of the alleged victims who was abused as a young Jewish teen. Her boyfriend was allegedly also threatened that his restaurant would be denied kosher certification by the sons of a leading Rabbi. Abraham Rubin, 48, was charged with bribery, witness tampering and coercion. He promised to send them to Israel and to give them the name of a lawyer who would help them change their testimony. The name of the lawyer has not been released. Also charged are Jacob, Joseph and Hertzka Berger, sons of a local rabbi who are now facing coercion charges for the threat to withdraw the boyfriend’s restaurant’s kosher certification.
If true, it would appear that bribery and coercion (and possible child abuse) are less of a pressing concern for some in this community than access to the Internet and “unadulterated freedom.”
While withholding the names of accused men, members of the Hasidic community gathered at fundraisers where the victim was identified and posters were hung on lampposts and brick walls accusing her in Yiddish, of libel.
Hynes office has been ridiculed over its handling of these cases. In addition, the office committed prosecutorial abuse by failing to share exculpatory evidence with defense attorneys in a case involving allegation of rape and the forcible prostitution of a Chabad Lubavitch woman from Crown Heights for nearly a decade. The entire case was dropped. There is no report of punishment over the abuse or why the man would not have to face a new trial.
We have previously discussed the difficulties faced by rape victims in the orthodox Jewish community. Hynes’ office however has made it more difficult for such victims by granting special status to accused defendants and mishandling these cases, in my view.
Source: NY Timesas first seen on ABA Journal
OK here’s the web-page for the guys who have been attacking various alleged abusers in this tight-knit closed, coercive community for years:
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2012/06/names-of-four-indicted-hasidim-released-678.html
Hynes’ office only recently got “upright” about telling people to cooperate in the prosecution of abusers from HIS protectorate. He ought to be investigated by a special prosecutor for his actions going back to the very first day he sat his lying, corrupt rear-end (only with the greatest respect) down on the chair in his baksheesh-lined office.
I’m really wondering if the Berger family is related to one Marty Berger who figured so prominently in a child abuse near-death case back in the late 80s, right through the 90s, in which Hyne played such a role (protecting the abusers and destroying not only the protective mother’s legal rights and reputation but also the child’s ultimate sanity). Does anybody know quickly whether these three Bergers are related? I didn’t read all the reports. Amiss that way, but really, preoccupied right now. Anybody know?
Woosty,
CROSSPOST.
Woosty,
Just loved the parrot cartoon (?). Wrote about it on another thread and forgot to mention it here.
Now all this foot licking is to get you to tell me how you find these excellent youtubey things. Magnificent handling of hte main figure
Woosty,
Woosty wrote: “But when Big exists in their present size by making sure that Little has to conform to certain basic behaviors that they do not…and especially if they ‘make up the rules’ unilaterally,.the word is not ‘Bully’
When Big refuses to enforce those rules upon himself but insists that Little continue to be placed at risk by those same rule to Bigs advantage….the field is doubly imbalanced……Woosty.
Excellent. Really.
But then you have branched into the methods of bullying. Encountered every where and at all levels of govenment and business, such as banking, to give societal
sanction to evil deeds, to hide unethical coercion, to simply use society to enforce the advantage they enjoy because of position.
Bullies cooperate, it is attendant on success in achieving personal goals. And they have earlier internalized the goals as seen in society—to borrow from Chomsky.
But they are highly competitive. They must be, for reasons of subversion from below and defeat from the side and of course repression from above.
I fully respect your need to name it as rape. Such attachments or visualizations are each person’s way of handling it mentally and/or emotionally. I see the bully, you see the rapist. Equally valid. But we must see how it grows out of the individual and reinforced by the system, fights energetically to survive at the cost of whatever: At the survival of life itself even???
Woosty,
First; I did not understand this:
“and what could be an effective solution….a correction as it were without further enrichment of that dynamic and damage to the one already being damaged???” Woosty…
Secondly, I see the bully’s life strategy is always to end on top, whatever ethics dictate and whatever the method he needed. He is not willing to share life space, but sees only to his needs, and has no set limit to them. They are
quite flexible upwards and outwards.
I believe, without support, that this develops out of the baby psyche as a need for survival. Nesting chicks are a good example, the largest and reddest gap gets the worm. No empathy there.
And our society in all parts continues to reinforce this drive. Religious groups only serve to teach hypocrisy and guile in hiding ones drives.
So until you show me why a variant of bullying, which I regard rape as being, is to be the name best suiting the totality, then I remain unconvinced. Yes, rape leads to violation of our persons and our bodies, but the sexual connatation is misleading and distracts from the main drive vector. Domination and survival at the expense of others. Lebensraum, as Hitler (?) said.
Please explain.
If you are connected at the upper eschelon levels of government or media
the pundits have selective amnesia or use the sin of ommission method to provide cover….the call boy scandal and orgies in the reagan bush administrations
… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehleJE5evBI …
Id707, interesting insight.
there will always be innate power imbalances in society and the risk of ‘over reaching’….
Big vs Little is an innate bullying dynamic.
But when Big exists in their present size by making sure that Little has to conform to certain basic behaviors that they do not…and especially if they ‘make up the rules’ unilaterally,.the word is not ‘Bully’
When Big refuses to enforce those rules upon himself but insists that Little continue to be placed at risk by those same rule to Bigs advantage….the field is doubly imbalanced…I beieve the word then is not Bully, the word is ….derp derp….wait for it….derp….derp …..derp….
rape
and what could be an effective solution….a correction as it were without further enrichment of that dynamic and damage to the one already being damaged???
Lotta,
Spinoff on your idea:
Does it all begin with bullying, as opposed to buddying?
And bullies as they grow, learn how other bullies operate to advantage. And they learn how to find bullies, find bully groups, and then finally they learn who and what in society uses bullying as M.O.
The police, the lawyers (!!!), the justice system,
religions, politicians, etc.
Now some choose these as professions.
BUT, and this is a big one, the others who DO NOT choose bully professions, know how to speak bully-speak, identify themselves to bullies in the profession they are in contact with, and can use what are clear bully tactics because of that fellowship, and their knowledge of what must be there in this profession for it to function as a bully one.
Now the psychodynamics of bullies I will leave to others to define. When and how they develop, and the sociological etc.
But I will stand for it as clarification model of how much that is wrong is routinely developed and performned within our societies organization. And a good reason for the persistence in spite of facial cleanups.
I don’t get the sense that these religious communities really think of themselves as part of the United States. Maybe they are just parking here “until the messiah comes.”
If you break secular laws there should be no special treatment because of religious affiliation: Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Amish, SubGenius, FSM, whatever; you don’t get a pass for being part of a religion or religious community. That special treatment (shielding) is given only encourages further bad behaviour. I have no doubt that that these bad actors were already given some extra legal consideration encouraged them to follow up with further illegal actions.
Is there a religious conspiracy to cover for sex crimes?
First the Bishops now these guys & cult members galore in Ohio.
Is it the tax exempt status that gives them the nerve to commit crimes themselves…how do they get a pass just as the cops get a pass on assault, criminals have all the advantages!
Now I am getting too many threads going. The comment relate to the parrot on one and the Hassidics here.
Figure that one out.
Never could stant having the wife talking in the kitchen while I was cooking. One thread at a time only.
A shame I can’t understand parrot dialect adequately.
But OTOTOT, I sure dug the imagery, the use of human body movements as patterns and the general fantasy displayed.
Great stuff.
Couldn’t tthay do one with an Hassidic fiddler on a Brooklyn roof dancing with four pre-teen kids.
Mskes you feel warm at heart.
And then the magic bit of tranforming him into a priest with a cardinal sash at his waist with four choirboys in tow, genuflecting.
Finale: The pope at his window gesturing Pax Vobiscum, with a little Hassidic figure peeping out under his raised arm from behind.
Such a guaranteed success at the box offices.
caution; rude, crude and horribly disgustingly racist ahead:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYQ7UM5KgY&feature=related
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bYQ7UM5KgY&w=560&h=315%5D
Hasidic mafia. Not to give the mafioso a bad name.
KosherDog here sittin in for BarkinDog.
Check their papers. They might have just got off the boat without papers. Tell the guy that did it: Never Again. The guy with the Kosher rating ought to be ashamed of it and remove it from his billboard. If they shave before the jury is picked they might do better at trial. Dont let them enter their pleas in Yiddish.
The woman is one of the alleged victims who was abused as a young Jewish teen. Her boyfriend was allegedly also threatened that his restaurant would be denied kosher certification by the sons of a leading Rabbi.
——————————
very Brave and courageous!
Closed systems are often in danger of becoming dysfunctional and corrupt.
This is what correction looks like.
It’s an inside job….
Insular religious group seeks to protect itself from accountability for its outrageous conduct through covering up illegality. Where have I heard this before?
Kosher bullies.
Although it’s very wrong with what these people are charged with….. Are our prosecutor’s really that much different…… The police? Issuing charges against someone only to have the charges dismissed if the target is convicted……. Or the cops harass someone to the point of being afraid to show up in court….. Think Chicago…..Think NYC….. Think the retired prosecutor Fitzgerald……. I think was his name…… Pretty sad all the way around…….