Trevor Blake: Judaism in the News
Israel News: ‘Saint with Pure Semen’ Imprisoned
Former Defense Ministry employee says his semen is holy liquid, physical contact with him heals body and soul. Number of women fall under his influence after he tells them he is one of 36 righteous people in Judaism.
Los Angeles Times: Sex Allegations Against Rabbi Roil Israel’s Orthodox Community
Sexual harassment by religious leaders and homosexuality among rabbis.
Chicago News: Dad Could Be Jailed for Taking Girl to Church
Last month, Joseph Reyes violated a court order when he took his young daughter to services at Holy Name Cathedral. The court order– which states Reyes cannot expose the toddler to any religion other than Judaism– came down after Reyes, 35, baptized his daughter without his wife’s permission. His wife is Jewish and he converted, but the couple is in the middle of a bitter divorce. Reyes says he was a practicing Catholic when he married his wife, Rebecca. He converted to Catholicism after his daughter’s birth. Now, he says his estranged wife and the court is interfering with his right to expose his daughter to both religions.
New York Times: British High Court Says Jewish School’s Ethnic-Based Admissions Policy Is Illegal
Britain’s Supreme Court declared Wednesday that it was illegal for a Jewish school that favors Jewish applicants to base its admissions policy on a classic test of Jewishness — whether one’s mother is Jewish.
The Freethinker: Cycle Lanes Removed to Appease Jewish Neighborhood Group
A CYCLE lane “war” has broken out in the New York Hasidic enclave of Williamsburg. The lanes, covering 14 blocks of the neighbourhood were sandblasted away last week after Jewish zealots complained that scantily-clad hipster cyclists were distracting them from holy thoughts. According to this report, cyclists attracted to the area made it difficult for the Hasids to obey religious laws forbidding them from staring at members of the opposite sex in various states of undress.
BBC News: Rabbi ‘Offered Cocaine for Sex’
Rabbi Baruch Chalomish, of Upper Park Road, Salford, rented an apartment where he could “relax and have a party”, Manchester Crown Court heard. Police raided the Salford flat and discovered a total of 101 grams (3.6oz) of cocaine and more than £17,000.
Haaretz Israel News: Brazil to Extradite to Israel ‘Rabbi’ Suspected of Child Abuse
A self-appointed rabbi accused by Israeli officials of burning and cutting toddlers as part of a purification ritual will be extradited from Brazil, an official said Thursday. Elior Noam Chen will be picked up Oct. 27 in Brasilia by two Israeli agents, a Brazilian Foreign Ministry spokesman said.
Toronto Sun: Dad Convicted After Trying Home Circumcision on Son
A Vancouver-area man has been convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for a botched amateur circumcision he attempted on his four-year-old son. However, Justice Marion Allan acquitted the man, who along with his family can’t be identified under a publication ban, of aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
First of a series that never ends (etc.). As is so often the case, a rabbi becomes a ‘rabbi’ when they are caught doing something wrong. There are no black swans: that bird you see over there is not really black, or not really a swan. There are no bad rabbi: that man you see over there sucking blood from a baby’s mutilated penis is not really bad, or not really a rabbi. Much of the animal remains in the man. It takes religion to bring out the monster.
