Of Bar Mitzvah Boys And Beer

I was at a Bar Mitzvah a few months ago where there was a minor brouhaha over a case of suspected underage drinking. Apparently. somone had spotted a group of the Bar Mitzvah boy's friends walking around with bottles of beer. Someone went to investigate, and it turned out that the bartender had been, at the kids' request, refilling the empties that he had poured out for the adults with the kids' choice of soda. When the father of the Bar Mitzvah boy was notified, ostensibly so he could put an end to the fun, he demurred, obviously thinking the whole thing was creative and hilarious. And so, tens of thirteen-year-olds continued to walk around a party swigging what appeared to be beer, with the host's approval.

However, that these kids would think it's terribly cool to walk around with alcoholic drinks in their hands doesn't surprise me. Since the days that I was a teenager, the dangerous and illegal practice of underage drinking has not been able to shake its image of being a really cool thing to do. What does surprise me is how the culture of drinking has gained more and more of a foothold in our communities. It's one thing to have a drink (or a couple) when eating dinner out with adults, and I'm not even against adults sharing a L'Chaim at a simcha. But the drinking has become constant. I have been at peoples' homes for meals on Shabbos, where hosts and guests alike have gotten raucously drunk polishing off bottle after bottle of booze - with their children sitting at the table. I was at a Bar Mitzvah recently where there was tray after tray of designer cocktails being passed around - and that was in addition to a full open bar, with 6 different types of designer beer. It was no wonder that the kids present had figured out how to beat the system and score for themselves some of the funky-looking flourescent drinks that barely taste alcoholic at all. I was actually recently at a Bar Mitzvah where there was no alcohol served at all, due to the party's hosts having been at a Bar Mitzvah a few weeks before where a fourteen year-old guest ended up passed out on the bathroom floor of the shul, after sneaking far too many drinks from the bar. I have even heard of a disturbing trend of serving the adults mixed drinks at children's birthday parties and Upsherens (boy's first haircut). Is that really necessary? I certainly don't think it's appropriate to do a large amount of recreational drinking while supervising children.

A friend was telling me that she brought her son to a local school for his Upsheren, and when she asked the Rebbe performing the Upsheren what she should bring for the party, he gave her a list that included cake, honey for her child to lick off the hebrew letters (a tradiitonal part of the event) - and some alcohol for the Rebbes to make a L'Chaim. She said she was grateful for the receiving line of Rebbes coming in to say Mazel Tov to her and her family - but somewhat uncomfortable when they helped themselves to a shot in honor of her son's first haircut, with a passel of 4 year-olds looking on. Not that anyone imbibed inappropriately - no one had more than a shot apiece. But still, is it appropriate for Rebbes to be drinking even the tiniest drop of alcohol on the job? In front of their students? Do you think it's even legal? And I fully understand that the practice of drinking a L'Chaim has traditionally accompanied the marking of lifecycle events in the Orthodox world. But in today's day and age, when the drinking that goes on in out communities has progressed so far beyond a quick shot (or a few) of schnapps drunk out of a plastic shot glass to accompany herring and kichel, to wine, beer, mixed drinks, and hard liquor served everywhere from parlor meetings to Sunday Tzedakah brunches? Maybe the drinking of liquor at every event has to be reassessed. Perhaps the quick drinking of L'Chaims that used to acceptable at every Simcha has now, due the increase of public drinking in the Orthodox community, become no longer appropriate.

I am aware that many shuls have instituted alcohol-free kiddushim. And while I applaud that move, I am not even sure that I think that would have been necessary - had the drinking just remained a the simple making of a L'Chaim with friends and family to commemorate a special event. But it hasn't. It has become a part of life. I always remember my father pouring a small shot glass for his guests on Shabbos between the fish and the soup course, as his father used to do. And it certainly never seemed to me, as a child, like anything I wanted to partake in. But change the scene to men laughing wildly while pouring shot after shot throughout the Shabbos meal - and suddenly it seems a whole lot more attractive of a habit.

Now don't get me wrong. I love a good glass of red wine or a well-made appletini as much as the next girl. I just question whether our kids' birthday parties and Upsherens, Shabbos meals, and Bar Mitzvahs are the appropriate place to imbibe.

Update: Here are a couple of links on the subject of modeling the proper behavior for our children from the always wise and well-written Rabbi Yakov Horowitz: I, II

Memorial Day Thoughts

My kids asked me yesterday what Memorial Day commemorates, prompting a long discussion about the scores of American soldiers that have given up their lives for our freedom. But it was hard to explain to my son this morning why going to Yeshiva trumps getting a day off in their memory (especially when his sisters' school apparently doesn't fel that way). I explained to him that his Yeshiva feels, correctly so, that learning Torah in preparation for Shavuot, when we celebrate Matan Torah, trumps Memorial Day - at least for the morning half of the day.

Of course, this push-and-pull between American and Jewish values is part and parcel of life here, especially to people like myself and my husband, who actually care about the observance of certain American holidays, as compared to many Orthodox Jews, who make a point of brushing these holidays off, and refusing to even allow American holidays to rate. I'm not talking, of course, of out-and-out religious holidays like Christmas, New Years, etc. But I find it shows a lack of Hakarat HaTov to this wonderful country that we live in to refuse to even acknowledge, particularly in conversation with your children, that today, July 4th, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Presidents Day, etc., commemorate people without whom we wouldn't have the freedom to live life as we do.

Here are my Memorial Day thoughts from last year, and here is a nice Memorial Day post from Chaim.

A Disgusting Show Of Bias

I have to admit, I thought I was done with blogging the District 15 elections. But this is a story that seems to never go away. I saw a piece in today's edition of the local paper, the Nassau Herald that really made my blood boil. If this not the most biased piece of garbage to ever pass as news, then I don't know what is. This stuff makes even Gary Rosenblatt look like he's "fair and balanced". And that, my friends, is quite the stretch. Here is the piece in full, with my commentary interspersed:

The month-long battle for the Lawrence school board was tame compared to recent years, but despite the toned down rhetoric from the four candidates, the campaign was not without controversy.

Fair start.

From stealing pro-budget leaflets, submitting fliers giving the wrong date of the election, selectively sent e-mails and accusations of subliminal language, the 2006 Lawrence school board races appeared to be as divisive as in the past, according to many observers.

This could have been a reasonable paragraph, except for some minor quibbles. The first point, regarding the "stealing of pro-budget leaflets"? It's never borne out in the article. Not that the rest of the points are proven in any substantial way, as I will enumerate below, but the point as it stands, claiming the stealing of pamphlets is just gratuitous bashing of the private school (i.e.: anti-budget) community. To throw out such an accusation without even a lousy attempt at proving it? Not so much as a measly anonymous comment "alleging" that the stealing went on? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. Moving right along.

One controversy stemmed from campaign signs for candidates Michael Hatten and Uri Kaufman that had the words "Lag B'Omer" on the bottom, indicating that the election day fell on a holiday observed by many Orthodox Jews. Many residents felt the words were designed to be a code to let the large Orthodox Jewish population in the district know that Hatten and Kaufman would serve the community if elected.

"Too many people don't know what this is" said Alison Biller of Woodmere, a 1998 Lawrence High School graduate at the May 9 school board meeting when she addressed her concern over the language on the signs.

Um...a "code"? Are these the subliminal messages that the first paragraph is referring to? Seems pretty cut-and-dried to me. The election fell on a Jewish holiday. The signs were put up in neighborhoods with large Orthodox population. What a genius of subliminal messaging it must have taken to encourage a population to vote by reminding them that the election fell on their holiday, and that even though many Orthodox Jews traditionally plan outings and trips on that day, they should plan their day to include time to vote. Does anyone really think that this would have been done any differently in any campaign, mayoral, senatorial, whatever? That's the name of political campaigning. Anyone see Michael Bloomberg's campaign signs written in Mandarin all over Chinatown in the recent NYC mayoral election? Or Freddy Ferrer's Spanish commercials? I didn't hear anyone complaining then that "too many people don't read Mandarin". Or speak Spanish. Thats what we call targeted campaign materials. Subliminal messages? Code? Don't make me laugh. And we continue:

Some people from the private school community also expressed displeasure at the campaign signs posted on numerous lawns for Brooks and Rizzo since they were identified as the "public school candidates"and interpreted the words to mean that they would only represent one segment of the community.

"Some" people from the private school community? Try "most" people from the private school community. Uh, this is not exactly an attempt at any sort of coded message here. This isn't a matter of "interpretation" either. Someone proclaims themselves, in signs all over the community, as "the" candidate representing a certain group, and it's kind of hard to look at it as anything but an exclusive representation. This is hardly comparable to writing "Lag B'Omer" on the signage. Hatten and Kaufman certainly did not proclaim themselves to be the "private school candidates" . To compare the first debatably "subliminal" message from Hatten/Kaufman's signage to the out-and-out message of exclusion in Brooks/Rizzo's signage is clear a sign of bias. Next paragraph:

Another controversy that occured during the campaign included a letter circulated throughout the yeshiva community saying how important the election was to their interests which was signed by numerous Orthodox Rabbis in the area.

Why exactly was the letter controversial? I read the letter. It made no indication of which way to vote, it simply stressed the importance of the election, and urged the community to vote. Is voting not important? Did the public school not send out a mailing (paid for by taxpayers, I might add), expressly encouraging public school parents to vote? Yet somehow, the second example is less controversial than the first - so much so that it didn't even make the cut to be included in this sorry excuse for reporting??? The mind boggles.

There were also many e-mails selectively forwarded throughout certain members of the community urging support for Hatten and Kaufman...

Oooh. Now that is sinister. Sending e-mails around to selective people encouraging them to vote for specific candidates. I have an even better one: There were rumors that people were encouraging others in their family and social circles to vote for Hatten and Kaufman by the use of a telephonic device that enables people to communicate by typing in a special 7-digit code. Shocking!

...accusations that leaflets were issued in certain areas giving the wrong date of the election, as well as reports of campaign signs being stolen.

"Accusations"? "Reports"? Care to elaborate? Short of any direct quotes or information referring to these allegations, they are totally meaningless. Can this article be any more shoddily researched?? Truly, though, the piece de resistance of this whole stinking piece of garbage is the last paragraph:

Despite the outcome of the elections, Janice Goorland, who formed the activist group "Lawrence Pride and Spirit" which supported the cadidacies of Rizzo and Brooks as well as the budget, was happy with how they conducted their campaign. "We truly ran an honest campaign" said Goorland. "We can hold our heads up high".

"We can hold our heads up high?" As opposed to...who exactly? The "other side"? From whom the reporter apparently neglected to get a quote? The Orthodox Jews, who had the audacity to send out (gasp) e-mails? And refer to a Jewish holiday on their signage?

Ugh. This was very disappointing to see in what is ostensibly a "community" paper. But then again, what to expect from a paper whose editor proclaimed in a pre-election editorial endorsing Rizzo and Brooks that private school parents are not entitled to hold office on the school board at all?

"Oprah Goes To Auschwitz"

I think that Oprah has done a tremendous service when it comes to the Holocaust awareness of your average American television-watcher. First, she made her decision to highlight Elie Weisel's Holocaust memoir, Night, for her "book club", and then she followed up with this segment, where she and Weisel actually visit Auschwitz.

But the brains behind this billboard spotted in California, advertising the show, might consider the need for a bit of...rewording.

(via)

"Are Blogs Kosher?"

Rabbi Mark Dratch of JSafe, an organization created to deal with Rabbinic abuse in our communities, writes a piece in the Jewish Week titled "Are Blogs Kosher?" His answer: Yes and no. Check it out.

Bullying in Our Schools

The latest blogbuzz is all about Rabbinic abuse in our Yeshivas. And while that is a very serious topic, and one that certainly needs our full attention, there is another form of abuse that goes on in our schools on a daily basis, one that - while it is admittedly not quite as potentially detrimental to the psyches of our youth as molestation - still poses an enormous obstacle to the self-confidence levels that our children will need to function in the world for the rest of their lives. That scourge is bullying.

The boy who got teased every day during recess for "throwing like a girl".

The girl who was passed notes in class that read "You're fat!"

The child who would find out, every Monday, that a large group of her classmates would get together every Sunday - and pointedly never include her in their plans.

The boy who got punched repeatedly in the stomach every day on the long, unsupervised bus rides to and from school - and warned that if he "tattled", it would only get worse.

Who hasn't been witness to a bully in action? Who hasn't brushed off the bullying behavior of an older sibling to a younger sibling by saying "boys will be boys"? Or the exclusionary behavior of one girl to another as "girls will be girls"? Therein lies the problem. The social acceptability of the abusive behavior of bullying (and make no mistake - bullying is a form of abuse) creates a situation where the bully is not just allowed to continue with his/her behavior - but implicitly encouraged to do so. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the only parents I know who are concerned about bullying in school are the ones whose kids are being bullied. I have yet to hear a parent complain to me about how their child is a bully, or how they are upset by the bullying that goes on by other children towards their children's classmates. The willful, ignorant, or subconscious denial toward this type of behavior on both the part of teachers and administrators as well as parents is just mind-boggling.

The bullying that goes on in our schools is rampant. Woe unto the child who is poor at sports and gets three strikes for the losing out. Or the short, scrawny kid who is just begging to be pushed from seat to seat down the aisle of the bus like a pinball. Or the kid who the Rebbe made the mistake of commending for his exemplary behavior, causing the class bullies to take it out on the "goody-goody" (due to resentment? Jealousy?) during recess. But this post isn't simply about physical bullying, though that certainly goes on, most commonly among boys - though it can occur, albeit less commonly, among girls as well. But anyone who has girls can attest to the extreme mental cruelty that goes on between young girls. The exclusion of certain kids from playdates, the shutting out from recess games, the unshared secrets, catty comments about a girl's dress or appearance, or, among boys, the taunts toward a child who displays a lack of athleticism - all of these are forms of bullying that can undermine a child's self esteem for many years to come.

I think awareness has to be raised in every single school about bullying and its potential consequences. I believe every school should implement a zero tolerance policy towards any type of bullying, whether physical or verbal. We, as parents, need to be able to rest assured that our children are being sent to school as a safe haven, not as a place where they are going to be humiliated and degraded - or taught that it is at all acceptable to do that to others.

Here is a list that I found online that enumerates some signs that your child might be being bullied. I am aware that most are common sense - but common sense never stopped anyone from missing signs of abuse, especially with a child that doesn't speak up.

• Comes home with torn, damaged, or missing
pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings;
• Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches;
• Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she
spends time;
• Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and
from school, riding the school bus, or taking part
in organized activities with peers (such as clubs);
• Takes a long, “illogical” route when walking to or
from school;
• Has lost interest in school work or suddenly
begins to do poorly in school;
• Appears sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he
or she comes home;
• Complains frequently of headaches, stomachaches,
or other physical ailments;
• Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams;
• Experiences a loss of appetite; or
• Appears anxious and suffers from low self-esteem.

If you fear or have any information that your child is being bullied, is bullying others, or that bullying is going on in your child's school, call the school. Get involved. Ask the administration what rules and guidelines they follow to prevent the peer-to-peer abuse from becoming rampant. And while you're at it, ask about the guidelines they have in place to prevent teacher/student abuse.

It's your right to ask, it's your right to know.

Torah Umesorah Tidbits

Krum links to Still Wondering's dispatch from the Torah Umesorah convention that took place last week. SW reports, and I have subsequently heard from another source, that one of the bits of advice given to Rebbes and educators at the convention was that Rebbes should refrain from ball-playing with their Talmidim, as it "takes away from Yiraas hakavod". To quote from Krum's response:

Putting aside their failure to address the countless other problems facing yeshivas and their students, these eitzas reflect an utter cluelessness about what is going on outside the monasteries of Lakewood and Bnei Brak. Ask any yeshiva graduate which of their high school rabbeim actually inspired them, and I gaurantee they were the ones who played ball with them rather than those that though ball playing was bittul torah. And the issue here is not Modern vs Ultra-orthodox, but rather how best to inspire and educate American yeshiva students.

I agree. Far be it my place to criticize the words of a Torah scholar, but it is clear that in this era of at-risk kids, this sort of advice is not necessarily relevant to American Yeshiva students. Playing ball with Talmidim during the infrequent breaks given during the long Yeshiva day is something that I think is healthy on an emotional as well as physical level. On an emotional level, because these Rebbes who spend extra time with their students tend to be the ones that create a real Kesher with their Talmidim, and are able to influence them in other, more important ways. On a physical level, because there is precious little time to get exercise during the long Yeshiva day. In today's day and age, when obesity is an epidemic among American youth, it certainly can't hurt for a Rebbe to set an example for "V'Nishmartem Meod L'Nafshotechem" ("be verey protective of your lives") by getting some much needed recreation with them. I'm not saying every Rebbe should do so, but I certainly doen't see why the ones who do should be stopped.

Related: DovBear has a harsher take.

Five Towns Tuition Tumult

Over the past year, I have been hearing a certain topic of conversation brought up time and again. I have heard it raised both amongs friends, family, and business associates; in real life and in the blogworld; at Shabbos tables, at the supermarket, and in restaraunts; and usually in anger and/or desperation. That topic is the rising cost of Yeshiva tuition.

And of late, what used to be a constant buzz of conversation seems to have reached a deafening roar in my neighborhood. The hysteria seems to have been precipitated by several occurences. Evidently, a local Yeshiva decided, without any sort of warning, to raise tuition by an exorbitant percentage - I have been told the raise was in the vicinity of 12% per child. Making things worse, the Yeshiva, apparently concerned about the effect the tution increase might have on certain struggling families, decided to extend an immediate tuition discount, reflected on their upcoming year's tuition bill, to certain families that they "felt could use a break". As this was a completely unscientific process, and as the administration of the Yeshiva has no concrete information as to the yearly salaries of most tuition-paying families, the decisionmaking process seems to have been so many shots in the dark. All of these decisions have caused nothing short of an uproar. First, the families who, without warning, received next year's expanded tuition bill in the mail, reflecting as much as thousands of dollars in increases for some large families, understandably upset many. Second, the fact that some families were said to have received a discount without having to even request it, and without any evident criteria as to who receives the discounts other than outward appearances as to how much money these families are making (which needless to say, can be very deceiving). Third, the fact that some people were extended the discount when they felt that they did not need it, or felt that others surely needed it more than them, created a situation where some who work hard to not have to require a tution break felt that their pride had been wounded by the overtures on the part of the Yeshiva to "give them a break".

All in all, the sequence of events have caused nothing short of an firestorm among those in my social circles.

I am not in a position to judge whether or not the Yeshiva needed to raise tuition. It is entirely possible that operating costs have risen to the tune of the increase reflected in the Yeshiva's tution bills. That said, it's impossible to know, due to the complete intransparency of the Yeshiva's finances, and therefore, the Yeshiva is relying on the parent body's trust in the their financial management. What I am seeing stirring in the Yeshiva-going community is very similar to the sentiments that caused the mutiny when it came to approving the budget in School District 15. People are losing faith in the Yeshiva administration as to whether their hard-earned dollars are being spent wisely. Unfortunately, there is no system of democracy in a Yeshiva. Whereas parents banded together and voted for their candidates and against the budget in the recent public school board elections, they don't have the same option when it comes to the board of their Yeshivas. And people are getting a little angry and resentful. Many seem to feel that the board is comprised of their unelected representatives, and that it makes decisions that affect the whole parent body, who by and large have no representation or methods of making their opinions heard. Another point I have heard countless times - most recently from the two couples, both parents in the Yeshiva, that I had lunch together with yesterday - is that the present board is represented heavily by people who live (Baruch Hashem) very comfortable, even lavish, lifestyles, and don't seem to be of the ilk that would feel the mark of a 12% tuition increase. As one of my guests stated "It's all well and good that the present board feels that a 12% tuition increase is in order, but maybe that's because for them, that means the difference between Chanel and Gucci. For us, it means decisons like whether we can afford to invite company over for Shavuos".

Many people also feel burned by the fact that they are paying the full increase so that other parents, who are possibly in the same or better financial position than them, can be spared paying the increase. I think people are comfortable with the fact that the Yeshiva way is for the "haves" to do everything in their financial ability to help the "have-nots" (or "have-lesses") be able to provide their children with a Yeshiva education. But when a parent who is more well-off is getting spared the increase that a struggling parent is being required to pay? Wouldn't it have made more sense to halve the increase, and apply it across the board? Or, to send out the tuition bills with the full 12% increase reflected on the bill, and make a notation on the bottom of the bill informing any families who feel that the increase is too steep to handle that they should feel free to contact the Yeshiva's financial office? Or to extend a credit or discount to families for each additional child attending the Yeshiva, as many other institutions do? There must have been a better way to handle the proposed increase than simply springing it on parents in this uneven and surprising manner.

Actions like this are simply going to create a situation where the so-called "tuition crisis" is going to be felt even more keenly by the some of the most hardworking, productive, dues-paying members of our community. And you know what? It just isn't fair.

Local Rabbi Roundly Condemns Any Form of Child Molestation

In the past few days of accusations have been swirling of child molestation and subsequent cover-ups in our Yeshivas. Perhaps most damaging and outrageous was an allegation, made in New York Magazine, that quoted a Gadol, Rav Pinchas Scheinberg, as having ruled in the past that there must be actual penetration in order for child molestation to be actionable from a Halachic standpoint. A refrain that I have heard over and over this week is "Where are the Rabbis? Why are they silent? Where are the condemnations of these acts from our community leaders?" And I am very pleased to say that at least one local Rabbi has stepped up to the plate and issued a public condemnation in both his own name, as well as Rav Scheinberg's.

Dear Community Members:

Over the last few days, a number of people have brought to my attention an article from a secular publication asserting that a world-renowned Rosh Hayeshiva issued a halachic ruling regarding child molestation. This alleged ruling "through this publication“ has resulted in widespread Chilul Hashem and gross misrepresentation of clear and indisputable Halacha.


The purpose of this letter is not to address the context of the quote, the alleged ruling in question or the specifics of the primary accusations made in the article. This letter is about clarifying the position of halacha with regard to child abuse, to the extent that position has been clouded by these recent events. Moreover, this
letter is about urgently disseminating essential halachic facts which -- hopefully -- will serve to mitigate the potential damage and destruction caused by this mischaracterization.

It is incumbent upon all Rabbonim worldwide to unite and unequivocally declare that Orthodox Judaism absolutely forbids child abuse of any kind sexual and non-sexual. And, as with any other allegation of halachic wrongdoing, the appropriate testimony must be given, and the appropriate proceedings must be convened, in order to establish the truth of any accusations.

Allow me to be among the first to make this declaration, and I speak not only for myself but also for the Rosh Hayeshiva named in this publication, with whom I have consulted:

Sexually abusing a child in any form is a flagrant violation of our Torah. Halacha absolutely prohibits any and all such conduct. No "benchmark" exists to qualify a sexually motivated act as child molestation, and there are no "technical defenses" to justify child abuse. To be crystal clear: the touching of a child in a sexual manner is utterly forbidden by our Torah and by our mesorah.

It is my hope and prayer that this letter will serve to clarify any confusion about the Torah view on these very serious issues. Obviously, this is not a scholarly letter or article -- now is not the time for Talmudic sources, lengthy discussions or intellectual debates. It is simply the time to set the record straight solely for the purpose of abruptly ending the Chilul Shaim Shomayim facilitated by the dissemination of the supposed Torah viewpoint reported in the article.

Child abuse is forbidden. An issue this easy does not need further clarification. It is my sincere hope that, in consultation with other Rabbonim in our community, we can collectively and effectively formulate appropriate strategies to ensure that the issue of child abuse is dealt with appropriately, proactively and swiftly in our community and beyond.

Good Shabbos.

Rabbi Aryeh Ginzberg
Chofetz Chaim Torah Center
Cedarhurst, NY

In addition to his own condemnation, Rabbi Ginzberg quotes Rav Scheinberg as putting his name behind a different ruling, one which forbids any sexual contact with minors whatsoever as being an act of child molestation. While the letter doesn't go so far as to refute the allegation that Rav Scheinberg tried to dissuade the alleged molester's accusers from pursuing their claims , it does refute the notion that there are technical limitations to the definition of molestation.

Yasher Koach to Rabbi Ginzberg, and I hope to see all of our communal leaders following suit in the coming days.

Misplaced Letter To The Editor?

A letter to the editor in this week's edition of the Nassau Herald, a non-sectarian local publication (emphasis mine):

To the Editor:

For the past 25 years, Hatzalah Ambulance of the Rockaways and Nassau County has functioned in our community in the most admirable fashion. Hundreds of young men have displayed devotion and dedication to their neighbors, friends, and perfect strangers 24/7/365 in a manner that epitomizes mesiras nefesh and a special art of chesed shel emes.

Our obligation was to encourage, thank, honor and give chizuk to the members of Hatzalah as they marked a quarter of a century of service on Sunday, May 7, at the annual BBQ. But even more than that, we owe it to ourselves and our families to financially support this unique organization, because if chas v'shalom disaster strikes, whom are we going to call? We need them to be outfitted with sufficient ambulances, the latest equipment and the most expensive drugs - our very lives depend on them. The budget of over $500,000 must be met, the insurance bills must be paid, and the capital improvements must be made.

We are grateful to Rabbi Dovid Weinberger for his many years of guidance to our local Hatzalah and and his constant consultation with the Gedolei Yisroel regarding the issues that present themselves. We thank him for his co-authoring a sefer on Hatzalah KeHilchasa, and wish him and Rabbi Mechel Handler much Hatzlacha as the "Madrich L'Chevrah Hatzalah" goes to print.

THE RABBONIM OF THE ROCKAWAYS AND NASSAU COUNTY

Um... did this get submitted to the right paper? Because this letter didn't run in this week's 5 Town's Jewish Times, so I am going to assume that the Jewish paper was its intended location, and there was some kind of mix-up. It's a fair bet that the vast majority reading this letter in the Nassau Herald are not going to know what in God's name the letter-writers are trying to get across. I mean, at the very least, "THE RABBONIM OF THE ROCKAWAYS AND NASSAU COUNTY" could have included a glossary.

More Satmar Squabbling

This is just lovely. More good press about the Satmars:

Chaya Sura Teitelbaum, wife of the grand rabbi's son Zalmen, and three other women went to the Cemetery of the Satmars in upstate Kiryas Joel yesterday afternoon.

Angry students from a nearby yeshiva, who are loyal to Aron Teitelbaum, who's been fighting with his brother, Zalmen, for control of the sect, threw rocks, State Police said.

You can't really blame these kids, I guess. They're just following the lead of their elders.

Election Wrap-Up

There's a piece in Newsday about the Lawrence elections, which basically wraps up the whole situation.

This quote from present school board member Pam Greenbaum basically sums up the consensus I've been hearing today from both sides:

"...the people have obviously spoken. ... It's yours now, do what you have to do and see if you can do it better."

Most people, whether saddened, angered, resigned to, or excited by the prospect of the makeup of the newly elected school board, seem to feel that the new members have taken on an awesome responsibility to serve all our district's children responsibly. I sincerely hope that by this time next year, the board will have regained the trust of the voters, and the whole community together will be taking satisfaction in the passage of the 2007-2008 proposed budget.

Another Day, Another Gary Rosenblatt Howler

It's been a while, so it feels like should be about time for a post criticizing Gary Rosenblatt for once again dropping the journalistic integrity ball. He puts out an article, all the while pretending his own erroneous reporting on the story in the past never happened. SIW's got the goods.

Bowing to Threats

Wow, this is very distressing:

A planned visit to Quebec by the Rebbe of the Gur Chassidic sect, Rabbi Yaakov Aryeh Alter, and Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteineman, both leading figures in the Hareidi-religious community in Israel, has been cancelled. The reason for the sudden cancellation is reportedly the plans by members of the Satmar Chassidic sect in Montreal to hold public demonstrations against the visiting rabbis.

Satmar Chassidim in Montreal have obtained a police permit for a protest scheduled for the day of the two Israeli rabbis' planned arrival in town. The spark for the Satmar opposition to the two Hareidi-religious rabbis is Rabbi Shteineman's support for the Tal Law and for the IDF's Nachal Hareidi unit, both of which signal formalized integration of Hareidi citizens into larger Israeli society.

The Rebbe of Gur, seeking to avoid the public disgrace of open conflict in the Jewish community, elected to cancel the visit, despite pleas from local rabbis that such a tactic would strengthen the extremist minority in the French Canadian city.

Does anyone really think it's a good idea for the Charedi community to time and again bow to its most extreme elements? Though I respect the fact that the Gerrer Rebbe is trying to avoid conflict, I just question whether this type of action just sends a message that Ultra-Orthodox Judaism responds well to these sorts of strong-arm tactics. Which, sadly, it does.

(hattip: Shmarya)

Capital Punishment Deterrent

Not the only reason, but this article just sums up why I could never support the death penalty.

SD #15 Preliminary Vote Results

Update: Final numbers have been updated below.

According to sources, the following are the preliminary final results (pending the counting of absentee ballots):

School Board Race

Kaufman (4,691 4,882) vs. Rizzo (4,289 4,300): Kaufman wins

Hatten (5,179 5,365) vs. Brooks (3,667 3673): Hatten wins


Budget Vote

Proposition 1: Yes (3,569 3,580), No (4,406 4,587) - Failed

Proposition 2 (Capital Reserve Fund): Yes (3,368 3,369), No (4,147 4,316) - Failed

Proposition 3 (Library budget): Yes (5,159), No (2,317) Passed

Background posts: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII

Lag B'Omer Mini-Meme

Krum tagged me with this mini-meme. The first song I listened to today was Pump It, by the Black Eyed Peas. Twice. Admittedly, not quite the stuff of dancing around bonfires, but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless.

I tag: TTC, Ezzie, and JPT.

A Hard Post To Write

It has become impossible to ignore the lastest round of accusations of Rabbinic abuse in Yeshivas. I found it difficult to take seriously the anonoblogger who had been covering this story up until now - it's hard to get past the obvious personal agenda and manic rantings that he espoused, whether or not the story was true - but now that there is a lawsuit filed, and a detailed mainstream media story out there that quotes a victim under his real name, it's time to comment.

This story makes me ill on so many levels. The ones most obviously hurt by this are the direct victims of this horrible alleged crime, both past, and God forbid, future. Every new child that is put into danger by leaving a known or suspected pedophile in a position to strike again is being failed by anyone who is at all aware of any accusations, be it their Rabbis, teachers, administrators or the entire community. I cry for these victims.

The question then is, whether there actually exists a concerted effort to cover up these types of crimes in our Yeshivas and communities. And the answer seems to be a clear yes. The incredibly sad part of this mess is that this is not a story line that we're seeing played out for the first time. Ten years ago, there was a similar story of alleged abuse in the Yeshiva system. The allegations were ignored time and time again. The accused was shockingly allowed to remain in a position where he was in constant contact with youths, and was enabled to keep up with his depraved behavior. Any attempts by victims or their advocates to bring up the issue were stonewalled. In the end, the whole sordid mess was played out in the press, in the most public possible manner.

The story here seems to be following the same script. The allegations were ignored, the accused was allowed to remain in contact with defenseless children without a real attempt to uncover the truth, and the story has broken in the mainstream media in a way that has brought nothing but shame upon our community. This shouldn't be. This culture of denial has allowed the pool of victims of this crime to balloon in a way that is completely unecessary and terribly tragic. Does anyone really believe that those with pedophilic tendencies are anything but sick, sick people, who need psychological and/or psychiatric assistance, and most importantly, to be immediately removed from positions that allow them to abuse again? Does anyone really believe that they are doing these perpetrators a favor when they are allowed to remain in these positions to "save face"? That the direct victims of the abuse are being failed in the worst possible way is evident. But how about the families of the accused? Do they benefit from the burying of this story, especially in a case such as this, when the attempted coverup ultimately subjects them - and the whole Orthodox community - to the public embarassment of a mainstream media story?

Do we never learn from our mistakes?

Please keep all comments appropriate.

More Neighborhood Nastiness

Krum has a post up regarding an issue that I have been following doggedly (to the apparent chagrin of some of my readers), my community's upcoming local school board elections. He answers some questions that were raised recently in the community as well as right here in my comments section, of whether Orthodox Jews should be advocating for a specific outcome in this election. To wit, from a comment left here in the name of one "Yaacov Gross":

Voting against the public school budget and non-Orthodox school board candidates appears to have become almost an article of faith among many in our community. Too bad. That's what happens when Jews begin to act in a manner that comports with the "power politics" standards of a secular society rather than with their Jewish values.

... In our community, the school budget and board battles have now become proxies for a much uglier clash, one that pits Orthodox Jew(euphemistically referred to as "private school parents") against everybody else. That should disturb us on many levels. As Torah Jews, we have a mission to the world, and Chazzal have been adamant in insisting "chachomim -hizaharu biDivreychem". Wise people should be cautious in how they speak. "Divrey chachomim biNachat nishmaim". The words of the wise are spoken with gentleness. We cannot hope to fulfill our mission to the world through aggressive and hostile conduct - even if we believe it to be politically expedient or "more effective". The Torah approach is one of "darchei shalom", the way of peace.

Krum disagrees with the premise, however, that the Orthodox community's action of aligning themselves as a voting bloc is the incorrect way to behave:

Second, while the rhetoric surrounding the upcoming vote may have sometimes crossed a line (and I include my community in this assessment), the notion that Orthodox Jews should refrain from advocating forcefully on behalf of their own interests because of the “what the goyim/non-orthodox might think” is outdated and wrongheaded. If we learned anything from the Holocaust it is that the “Court Jew” approach to Jewish advocacy exlemplified by people like Stephen Wise – who despite being the most influential and well-respected American Jew of his generation, was afraid to forcefully advocate the plight of European Jewry to FDR -- is ineffective and leads to disaster. Orthodox Jews have a unique set of needs – and like any other interest group -- should feel free to advocate for the interest within the bounds of constitutional, democratic and religious principles. I am not naïve enough to think that those who might speak ill of us as a result would have thought of us any differently had we sat on our hands and kept our mouths shut instead.

I agree wholeheartedly. Indeed, I have seen many examples in the past few weeks that prove Krum's last point. There is an e-mail list of "key communicators" that circulates throughout the community, between the public school administration and members of both the private and public school community who wish to be kept "in the loop", as it were. (I might add, as a parenthetical, that I was on that list for a while, under my Orthomom e-mail address. Apparently, someone did not like what I was posting, because my name was unceremoniously dropped from the list, and I no longer receive the e-mails. Being as there are both other anonymous addresses on the list, as well as members of the press, there isn't any other conclusion to draw aside from the one that they didn't like my kind of communication - i.e., public criticism of the present board and its policies.) Ostensibly, the point of the e-mail list is to foster a greater level of understanding and communication among community members, presumedly working toward the goal of providing equitably for all district children, in a way that satisfies all voters. Instead, the rhetoric that has been circulated among the list's members has become heated - and very telling. An example (in response to reasonable and perfectly justified questions raised by a member of the Orthodox community about the disparity between the numbers of students receiving special ed in the private school vs. public school populations):

How could anybody living around here be suprised at the behavior of these people. Isnt it ironic that Bruce was chastised for trying to help us challenge these people? Perhaps now you see that they are capable of anything. What I don't understand is why you think you can reason with them.

"These people"? "Capable of anything"? Um...what year is this exactly? What country am I living in? When people talk in this offensive and stereotypical manner regarding a certain group, they have nothing to blame for it but their own bigotry.

Trying Train Ride

To my readers:
Please bear with my through the following little rant. I need to get it out of my system. I hope to get back to my regularly scheduled programming soon.

It's bad enought to have to take the Long Island Railroad into the City. The unbelievable slowness at which the local branch of the train travels is enough to drive a Type-A-mom-of-four-on-speed sort like myself to extreme frustration. And that's without the added joy of yesterday's seatmate.

I was happy enough to get a window seat yesterday, planning on getting a little paperwork done during the commute. Until a woman chose to occupy the aisle seat next to me. She oviously had other plans for her commute, ones that didn't include letting me get a little paperwork done. Those plans were as follows:

1. Picks up phone. Dials. Reads off shopping list. A long one. Loud. Entire train car now knows what kind of milk her family drinks, that she is serving chicken, broccoli and rice for supper, and her name, address, and credit card number and expiration date. This lady isn't just considerate, she's a real brainy one, too.

2. Picks up phone again. Dials. Yells into phone in the way that I've heard many an obnoxious housewife talk to their English-as-a-second language nannies (note to woman: non-English speaking is not the same thing as deaf. You want her to understand you better? I have a tip. Learn Spanish. Don't scream.):

"Hi, Maria? Yes. Hi. It's ____. Everthing OK? Baby is OK? Baby eat? Yes? You give baby bath yet? Yes? Good. Maria? Listen. Put baby sleep, then maybe groceries come. When groceries come? Yes? Then you clean chicken, wash vegetables, and put everything else away. When you finish that? Yes? Clean the house, do the laundry, and do all of the ironing. But, Maria? Listen for baby while you do. Okay? Maria? Yes? You understand? Commprendz? You commprendz, Maria? Yes? Yes? Okay. You need anything, you call me cellphone. Okay? Yes? Okay Maria. Bye."

3. She then proceeds to unwrap her sandwich. It's (you could have guessed, I'm sure) tuna. Very pungent tuna. She eats it. Entire train car now smells like tuna and pickles. She balls up foil and throws it discreetly (she thinks, at least) under the seat in front of her.

4. Takes out her bulging makeup bag. Proceeds to apply every type of makeup product known to womankind. Including (!) tweezing her eyebrows. Is it just me, or are some things just not for public consumption?

5. Opens her newspaper. Did she somehow not notice that everyone else reading the paper on the train uses the "commuter's fold", so as not to annoy the hell out of their seatmates with the rattling of the hugely unfolded paper? I guess not. Skims (either that, or speed-reads) paper, tosses it under seat in front of her (not quite as indiscreetly this time).

Train pulls into Penn Station. I offer silent thanks to God that the ride is over.

Bungled Baggage Checks?

This NY Times article is not exactly reassuring for anyone who travels with any airline besides El Al:

Federal airline officials are considering a request by the Israeli national airline, El Al, to screen its own baggage at Newark Liberty International Airport, as it does at four other major American airports, a government spokeswoman said on Thursday.

Since February 2002, when the newly created Transportation Security Administration assumed the responsibility of inspecting luggage, El Al alone has been permitted to conduct a second screening at four airports, including Kennedy, said Ann Davis, an agency spokeswoman. Ms. Davis said El Al requested the extra security measures because Israel is a primary target for terrorists.

Under the agreement, Transportation Security Administration officials check bags, then allow the El Al officials to subject luggage to another screening using equipment and software calibrated to be more sensitive.

Though a spokesperson for the airline claims that the double-screening system is not an indication of a lack of confidence with the regular screening that all other baggage receives, some people disagree with that characterization:

Michael Boyd, a former airline security official, said, "The Israelis know darn well that our bomb detecting equipment doesn't work and that the people in charge of airport security don't know what they're doing."

Lovely.

We Got Mail

From an e-mail sent around to "key communicators" in the district, from District Superintendent John Fitzsimons:

Tikkun Olam and Shame on You.

In the most recent edition of the Five Times Jewish Times, on p.3, here appears an open letter signed by community Rabbis.

They wrote in the second paragraph of their letter, "...many children in our community have been denied vital special education services..." Not one of the signatories spoke to me or our pupil personnel director prior to making such a blatantly false accusation regarding students requiring special services. Other than rumor and innuendo, there is no data to support this claim.

The district provides exemplary services to all children with disabilities in the community. In fact, we have many letters on file from parents of private and public school parents thanking us for providing the special services that have positively changed the course of their child's education.

I would welcome any of the Rabbis to visit the schools to observe the instruction we provide and that we conduct in both the public schools and in the local yeshivas.

Shame on all of you for acting in such an irresponsible manner. How do such falsehoods serve to meet the spirit of Tikkun Olam?

John T. Fitzsimons

Lawrence Superintendent of Schools

I take issue with this communique on several levels.

First, Fitzsimons's claim that "Other than rumor and innuendo, there is no data to support this claim" is simply incorrect. There is much data to support the claim of Private school students getting denied special education services at a much higher rate than public school students, which I outline in this post. If the superintendent would like to show counterevidence that explains the disparity between the rates, that would be welcomed. But to claim to be blindsided by the allegation when it has been one I've been hearing for months is simply disingenuous. As a matter of fact, the claim and the disparity in the data was brought up by School Board Candidate Uri Kaufman at Candidates' Night just two weeks ago.

Also, Fitzsimons's claim that he has "many letters on file from parents of private and public school parents thanking us for providing the special services that have positively changed the course of their child's education" must be proof positive that there are no unhappy parents, right?

I'm also not sure what he means when he refers to "Tikkun Olam". As far as I've always been taught, Tikkun Olam means the righting of wrongs and correcting inequalities. In essence, the superintendent is turning the definition of Tikkun Olam on its head by suggesting that the proper thing for community Rabbanim to do would be to turn a blind eye in the face of injustice such as this.

Perhaps someone should inform Mr. Fitzsimons of the real meaning of the term Tikkun Olam. Maybe then he will understand that the true way to achieve it would be to vote in the candidates who have the best interests of all district children at heart - and by that, I am not referring to the candidates who are claiming to be representative of ONLY the public school community.

Talking Bible Dolls

These are...cute, I guess. According to the website, these Talking Bible Dolls, (obviously marketed to Christian audiences - Jesus is one of the three "characters" offered, along with Moses and Queen Esther), are rag dolls that emit "actual scripture verses to introduce children of all ages to the wisdom of the Bible". Click here to listen to clips of the Talking Queen Esther Doll and the Talking Moses Doll quote verse. Nothing like hearing a toy that is being marketed to children say: "Do not commit adultery" when you hug it. (I'm not kidding, Talking Moses actually says that!)

(via)

Gedolim Digging In Heels On Racist Policies?

I will preface this post by saying that I have no idea of the reliability of the website I am about to link.

The article, on the site HydePark, seems to be quoting sources close to Rav Elyashiv as saying that he is considering adopting the "Chok Satmar" - meaning, that he is considering adopting the decision that the Satmar Chasidim follow of not accepting any government funding toward their school system. According to the article, this is in response to the Israeli High Court ruling I wrote about here, which addresses the quotas that Beit Yaakov schools apply to the number of girls of Sephardi origin who are granted admission.

I am not jumping to conclusions of whether this is true, but I would like to hear if anyone has more information on this.

(HT)

Heroine of the Day

Abe Foxman pens an obituary in the Jewish Week for a woman, Sister Rose Thering, who is truly deserving of the title "heroine". Thering, a Catholic nun, who passed away this week at age 85, spent her life working to fight anti-Semitism. She changed deeply held anti-Jewish beliefs in the Catholic church, and was instrumental in the passing of Nostra Aetate. She was a staunch supporter of Israel, as well as an outspoken advocate for Holocaust education. Read the JW piece here.

Fieldston School Update

I posted yesterday about Riverdale, NY, residents crying foul at the lack of balance on a panel scheduled to take place at the local Fieldston school. The NY Sun has an update, which describes an interdenominational protest by neighborhood rabbis and other residents who opposed the one-sided representation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict:

Yesterday's protest was organized by Rabbi Avi Weiss, spiritual leader of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Rabbi Weiss was invited to participate in a panel entitled "the Role of Religion in the Region" but withdrew after learning that only Mr. Judt and Mr. Khalidi were scheduled to speak at the final assembly.

In a letter addressed to Fieldston's principal, John Love, Rabbi Weiss called the final panel "so profoundly tilted against Israel that it renders your entire program a deep disservice to your students in intellectual, educational and moral terms." He later told The New York Sun: "This is not an open school. It's very closed."

Rabbi Weiss wrote a letter, which was signed by five other rabbis in Riverdale, that stated their opposition, as well as pointing out that in a meeting with Mr. Love on Friday they had offered to find a third speaker, such as Dennis Ross or David Makovsky, to balance the final panel.

The panel was also criticized as onesided by the Zionist Organization of America, the Anti-Defamation League, Rep. Eliot Engel, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Councilman G. Oliver Koppell.

An alum of the school who attended yesterday's event had this to say:

Ms. Leventhal and some others who heard the speakers said that while they stayed clear of topics like suicide bombings and Israel's right to exist, it was definitely tilted against Israel with repeated references to Israel as an occupying force and an apartheid state.

Sure. Repeatedly calling Israel "an apartheid state" is objectively balanced.

Celebrity Tour

Get this:

Rabbis get woman-free flight

Two leading rabbis buy all first class tickets, ask El Al to only post male stewards on flight so they do not have to see women on way to America

Two leading rabbis set to fly to the United States concluded an agreement with El Al that would see them enjoy a woman-free and movie-free flight.

The Gerrer Rebbe, a Hassidic leader who will fly abroad on Sunday, asked El Al that no air stewardesses be aboard the flight.

El Al complied with the rabbi's request and on Sunday's flight to the United States only males will look after passengers.

The Gerrer Rebbe and Rabbi Aharon Leib Steinman, 93, another leading rabbi, will fly in a historic journey to visit American Jewish communities.

The journey has been exciting the ultra-Orthodox public for six months as it involves the rare cooperation of the two spiritual leaders.

During the visit the rabbis will seek to raise funds for married yeshiva students attending advanced Judaic studies programs.

I'm not even being critical of the fact Rav Steinman and the Gerrer Rebbe want to travel with as little contact with certain factors as possible. They live lives that allow them to avoid any contact with anything that they consider spiritually impure, be it movies, television, or women in various stages of dress that they deem inappropriate. Obviously, this was the only way to transport them to America without putting them through the discomfort of having to endure the in-flight movie, or watching women sleep in their chairs across the cabin. And it's certainly their right to purchase all of the tickets in the first class cabin towards that goal.

And though my first instinct was to to take issue with the seeming waste of so much money to clear the cabin when they could be putting that money towards the charities for which they are actually traveling, on second thought, I am not quite as bothered by it. If these are the only parameters under which these Rabbis are able to travel to America - where I'm sure their stature will recoup the expense many times over in their fundraising efforts, then it really isn't any different than the expenditures that go towards other types of charity fundraisers.

It's also not really different from the lists of demands that celebrities in the music or film world make daily, such as renting out whole floors of their hotels in order to ensure their privacy, or specifying only certain foods be cooked around-the-clock by a personal chef.

I guess these Rabbanim are the Orthodox world's version of celebrities.

Fair and Balanced?

This story has some upsetting coverage of an unfortunate political bias that the Fieldston School, an exclusive private high school in Riverdale, NY is foisting onto their young, impressionable students:

But if Fieldston aspires to the best of university life for its students, it has regrettably also adopted some of the worst aspects of campus culture, a politically correct antagonism toward the Jewish state. Four months ago, Fieldston scheduled a forum on the conflict in the Middle East, lining up two speakers so clearly antagonistic to Israel that the announcement unleashed public outrage, both within the Fieldston community and beyond. A professor at Long Island University, Muhammad Muslih, was to speak in favor of a "two-state solution," while Mazin Qumsiyeh, who once taught genetics at Yale, was to promote a "one-state solution."

That was promoted as "balance." Mr. Qumsiyeh espouses positions so extreme that Fieldston parents and alumni forced the school to pull the plug on the first forum. But there is a clear desire on the part of the Fieldston administration to make sure that their students "get the message." A committee was appointed to schedule a more elaborate and presumably more balanced day-long presentation.

That's not how things turned out.

While pro-Israeli speakers have been recruited, they will only appear in individual panels, not at the main school-wide forum. Two speakers have been recruited for that more important program, professors Tony Judt, who has said that the idea of a Jewish state is a "political anachronism," and Rashid Khalidi, whose support of the Palestinian Arab cause has been well documented.

According to this article in the Jewish Week, the school administration out-and-out refused to place a third, pro-Israel speaker on the panel:

Rabbi Weiss said, “It would be difficult to find two more anti-Israel speakers [than Judt and Khalidi.] I called Fieldston and offered to try and get someone like Ambassador Dennis Ross or Alan Dershowitz or David Makovsky [of The Washington Institute’s Project on the Middle East Peace Process] but John Love, the principal, refused and he wasn’t willing to change things.”

I am fully aware that this type of "balance" goes on every day at universities worldwide. But I would expect that for those who are educating preteens and young teenagers, the responsible action would be to present them all the facts in a truly balanced program, and (gasp!) let them decide on their politics for themselves.

According to the article, some Fieldson alumni have already expressed their displeasure with the way the program is being run, but their complaints do not seem to have registered with the administration.

What's next, Cindy Sheehan vs. Michael Moore as a balanced panel, debating the war in Iraq - for kindergarteners?

More District 15 Drama

Krum points out in my comments to this post that the Lawrence Public Schools sent out a mailing, paid for with tax dollars, which basically encourages only public school parents to get out and vote. The relevant section from the mailing:

Here is an unsettling statistic. A Nassau County BOCES report reveals that in recent voting a mere 20% of public school parents turned out for elections directly impacting their children's education.

Perhaps in another community, without the tensions that exist between public and private school demographics, this would be considered an innocuous statement. But in my mind, this is nothing short of encouraging public school parents - and only public school parents - to get out and vote and put up a good fight against the insidious forces of the private school community. I truly resent my (exorbitant) taxes being used to encourage only one segment of the community to exercise their freedom of democracy.

I don't want my tax dollars to go towards encouraging only select members of the community to vote. The school district should be representing the whole community. Until the non-public school community feels that their interests are being equally represented, I doubt that they will be inclined in any large numbers to approve a budget controlled by a school board that continues to spend district residents' hard-earned tax dollars on excluding them.

Religious Racism?

A few months ago, I wrote about a piece in Haaretz that alleged that girls' schools in the Yeshiva community of Lakewood discriminated against prospective students of Sephardi origin by refusing to accept them. Then came the story I posted about here, that Haredi schools in Israel are refusing to accept students whose parents are newly Orthodox.

Now this.

Beit Yaakov schools in Israel have apparently for years, been perfectly comfortable admitting to the policy of barring Sephardi girls entry to their schools after they enroll a certain quota:
School principals admit openly that they reject student's because of their ethnic backgrounds. A legal ruling, the first of its kind, issued by the Jerusalem District Court, has now given legal teeth to a phenomenon we have observed for a long time: "There is a suspicion that registration procedures employ ethic criteria in their admission standards."

The quota system by which schools limit Sephardi registration to just 30 percent of the total student population is both well known and deeply rooted. When a student is accepted to a Beis Yaakov school, the principal is expected to mark down whether the student comes from an Ashkenazi or Sephardi family.

These principals – who come from the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) stream associated with Rabbi Yosef Shalom Eliashiv, and for whom the principles of democracy are not exactly an area of expertise – see nothing wrong with this openly racist practice. After all, the Beis Yaakov system was originally established to serve the needs of Ashkenazi girls.

Ugh.

I have no problem with the Haredi world's desire to keep the outside world's innovations from infiltrating its way of life. You don't want billboards with pictures of scantily clad women hanging in your streets? I hear that! You don't want your children watching television and movies? Who can't understand that, with the state of programming today. But I draw the line when "innovations" include such ideas as tolerance and acceptance for one's fellow Jew. Racism is never acceptable as an ideology, but it's even more insidious in a situation such as this one, when members of one's own community are discriminated against with the open approval of so-called spiritual leaders.

I think some enlightement is called for in this particular arena. I just hope it comes about soon.

(hattip)

Holocaust Reality

Though this is the week that we commemorate Yom Hashoa, it's hard to really have any sense of proportion when it comes to remembering the massive tragedy that was the Holocaust. Krum points us to something that really brings the loss home (from the American Jewish Committee Year Book for 1946-1947):

Estimates of the world Jewish population have been assembled by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (except for the United States and Canada) and are probably the most authentic available at the present time. The figures reveal that the total Jewish population of the world has decreased by one-third, from about 16,600,000 in 1939, to about 11,000,000 in 1946, as a result of the annihilation by the Nazis of over five and a half million European Jews.

Sobering.

Lawrence District Fails To Meet State Targets

New York State Education Department published their report cards for all state districts for the 2004-2005 school year. And though Lawrence did show some gains in their test scores, especially on the fourth grade level, the results were decidedly mixed. Lawrence is on a list of 33 (down from 46) local school districts that failed to meet state targets for testing - and Lawrence High School seems to be the real trouble spot:

LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	Grade 8 ELA	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	Grade 8 Math	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School ELA	All Students
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School ELA	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School ELA	Hispanic
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School ELA	Black (not Hispanic)
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School ELA	Economically Disadvantaged
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	All Students
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	White
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	Hispanic
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	Black (not Hispanic)
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE UFSD	High School Math	Economically Disadvantaged
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School ELA	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School ELA	Hispanic
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School ELA	Black (not Hispanic)
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School ELA	Economically Disadvantaged
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School Math	All Students
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School Math	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School Math	White
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School Math	Black (not Hispanic)
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE SHS	High School Math	Economically Disadvantaged
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE MS	Grade 8 ELA	Students With Disabilities
LAWRENCE UFSD	LAWRENCE MS	Grade 8 Math	Students With Disabilities

This is upsetting to say the least, especially with the unbelievably low teacher-to-student ratio in the High School that I pointed out in this post. And before I get a barrage of comments pointing out that Lawrence has unique demographics and a large number of minorities, everyone will just take a second to peruse the data, and note that targets were not met by all students, as well as by the subgroup of white students, as well as the subgroups of disadvantaged students. In addition, the State's report highlighted per-pupil spending for every district in the State. Lawrence comes out at a whopping $25,654 per student - approaching double the state average of $13,826.

I imagine that those over at the Lawrence Public Schools aren't particularly thrilled with these results either.

Misleading Budget Point of the Day II

This is a continuation of the series I began here, outlining misleading or incomplete points that have been included in School District #15's annual budget mailing:

• (p. 5) It is noted that "The State Education Department mandates that District 15 provide equal levels of service...to students residing within district boundaries". The implication is, of course, that the district is abiding by this mandate, and in fact does provide equal levels of service to all students residing in district boundaries. The problem with that fact is that in reality, the district's public school students qualify for one of those state mandates services, Special Education, at a rate that is more than double that of private school students. And even that number is misleading in that district private school children further outnumber district public school children by 50%. So by extension, in reality children attending district public schools receive special ed at a rate of closer to three times that of district private schools. That number is hard to understand, however, without some background. How many kids from each community were evaluated for services and denied? Of late, I have heard many anecdotes of increasingly aggressive denial of services to non-public school students, and though those are worrisome, I am reserving judgement on the veracity of those rumors until I see some hard evidence. That said, with the numbers showing the disparity that they do, I do feel it is the responsibility of the district to show some sort of evidence that private school students are receiving approval for their special education needs at an "equal level of service" to that of public school students, as mandated by law.

More to come.

Slight Lack of Proportion

Is it just me, or does anyone else think that this comment, by a NY assemblyman regarding some of his peers' noncompliance with a suggested government shutdown showing support for yesterday's immigrant strike, may lack just a little in the way of perspective:

Although Mr. Rivera and Mr. Silver said there had been a consensus to cancel the day's session, several other Democratic lawmakers said privately that they opposed the decision, and dozens remained in the chamber after the walkout.

Assemblyman José R. Peralta, who represents Jackson Heights in Queens, said he was disappointed in the members who chose not to support the protest.

"Today is a historic day, and we are united under one banner that is the immigrant banner," he said. "To those who stayed behind, remember this — There is a very famous saying during the time of the Nazis: First they came for the Jews, and I said nothing because I was not a Jew."

I fail to see how the battle for immigrant rights in any way compares to genocide. Just a thought.

Update: A commenter points out that the always timely Ben Smith beat me on this by quite a bit, but has a similar take to my own.

Grandparents Footing The Bill?

I raised the question a few days ago of whether grandparents should be obligated to help their kids pay their own children's Yeshiva tuition obligations, even at the expense of giving them other gifts. I was interested to read, in today's New York Sun, that this phenomenon of school's hitting up grandparents for their grandkids' tuition isn't unique to the Yeshiva world. From the article:

"We have seen an upswing in the incidence of grandparents paying tuition, and also of schools reaching out to grandparents to get them involved - both volunteering in the classroom and contributing to the school's bottom line," a spokeswoman for the National Association of Independent Schools, Myra McGovern, said.

The piece does mention the issues faced in Jewish day schools:

With the price of Jewish day schools soaring as quickly as their prep school counterparts, the Orthodox Union has unveiled a "tuition initiative" that calls on well-off grandparents, Jewish federations, and private foundations to help. Some Jewish day schools have even started asking for grandparent contact information on admissions applications or financial aid forms.
"I know it's becoming a tradition now in a number of Jewish communities because tuition is only affordable when grandparents can help pay," said Rabbi Daniel Schonbuch, director of the union's Young Leadership Cabinet, the group that helped draft the initiative.

Satmar Synopsis

NY Magazine has a great synopsis of the Satmar Zalman/Aaron conflict. It seems to be very well researched, and more thorough than anything I've read on the subject to date. The piece also doesn't trade in the sensationalism of the feud to the extent that other publications have been doing. My favorite line? When the writer of the article calls Reb Zalman "a proud kanoi". Check it out.