Contributed by bill, thank you; from: http://www.vosizneias.com/58196/
For a background on Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, a main instigator of the lawsuit:
(Israelnationalnews.com) Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, the eldest son of the current spiritual leader of the Shas party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, is charging the party with endangering Jews.
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef said the Shas party should immediately quit the government or bear responsibility for putting Israel in grave danger.
He charged Wednesday that Shas can no longer use the excuse that negotiations with the Palestinian Authority to surrender parts of Jerusalem are far from fruition. ....
Yosef said that Shas is betraying the decision of the Council of Torah Sages and putting the entire Jewish people in endanger by remaining in the government. He added that Shas would garner a lot of popular support from strong pro-Israel voters if it quit the coalition.
Shas sources say that Yosef has disagreed politically in the past with his father, the party’s spiritual leader and said that Yosef’s views do not reflect the positions of his father or of the Shas party.
"Shas Sages: Dialogue; Only Religious Courts
Following a meeting in which they were briefed on Thursday's demonstrations on behalf of parents who preferred going to jail, the sages also said matters such as this can be dealt with through dialogue."
"Protesters Attack Rabbi Yaakov Yosef
The younger Rabbi Yosef is one of the leading signatories to the petition against the Emanuel school parents, who are seeking to separate their daughters from some Sephardic children in the Beit Yaakov school in Emanuel.
The Case of Beis Yaakov Chasidic School for Girls in Emmanuel, Israel
There are two other girls’ schools in Emanuel - the Chabad Lubavitch school, founded in the late 1990’s, and the Beit Rachel and Leah, under the Shas-Mayan network of Sephardic schools, founded in 2007. The three boy’s schools were then and continue to be Chabad Lubavitch, Shas-Mayan Sephardic, and Chassidic.
What makes the Beis Yaakov Chasidi school different is its standards, in particular standards concerning tznius, no MP3s, exposure to media, etc.
The original Beis Yacov was largely comprised of Chassidic families. The demographics here changed. Members of the chassidic community were moving out, and the flavor the original Beis Yaakov was becoming more modern. Outreach programs began in an effort to encourage people to move the original Beis Yaakov back towards its original narrower interpretation of the Israeli Haredi lifestyle. This outreach did not succeed, so the Chassidim formed their own school - in their minds, returning to the original school’s former style.
The formation of the Beis Yaakov Chasidi was an effort by members of the original Chassidic population here to re-create the kind of Beis Yaakov that they had a decade ago. It was a stricter school - in terms of dress, exposure to media, even to some aspects of Haredi culture that they feel is not for them as in Haredi “rock music”, choice of careers, etc.
LAWSUIT
Upon its opening, an individual who does not reside in Emanuel sued the school for ethnic discrimination, claiming that this was a school for Ashkenazi students only.
RAV SHIMON BA’ADANI FORBIDS USING SECULAR COURTS AND SECULAR MEDIA
HaRav HaGaon Rav Ba’adani wrote a letter that was distributed to every family in Emanuel in 2007 forbidding the bringing of grievances to the secular media or courts, and that any grievance must be brought to a religious court. It is a widely held practice to air grievances with the local Rabbi before going to religious court.
Rav Ba’adani is widely respected in the Haredi world. It is unlikely that anyone in the Beis Yaakov Chasidi or the original Beis Yaakov or Beit Rachel and Leah (the newly founded girls’ Sephardic School, unnoticed by the media or courts) or the Sephardic boys’ school or the Chassidic boys’ school would bring complaints to the secular media.
INVESTIGATION BY MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Shulamit Amichai, the head of the Ministry of Education in 2007, sent attorney Mordechai Bass to investigate the situation. His states, “The division was not ethnic, it was religious. I am convinced that there is no ethnic discrimination.” (See synopsis at bottom of page).
30% of the girls attending Beis Yaakov Chasidi are Sephardic, not including those of blended heritage. 20% of the students in the original Beis Yaakov are Ashkenazi, many have blended heritage.
The guiding principles of our community are its various philosophies, not heritage. The leaders of the Beis Yaakov Chasidi really did not know or care who was Sephardic, Ashkenazic, newly religious, religious for generations, until this issue hit the news and they had to answer this question.
COURT HEARING APRIL 29 2010
The parents of the girls in the Beis Yaakov Chasidi who happen to be Sephardic petitioned to meet with the Supreme Court Judge Levi during the initial phases. He refused to meet with them. The very first time the judge met with the parents was on April 29 2010. Only half the parents were allowed into the court, as there were many spectators in the courtroom. But if these parents were subpoenaed, shouldn’t the court have made room for them?
None of the parents were put on the stand or cross-examined.
Judge Levi ordered representatives of the Beis Yaakov Chasidi to work out a compromise with the plaintiffs. That means that Yoav Lallum was to be involved in the forming of the school’s rules.
And since no “agreement” had been reached, unlikely when working with an anti-religious activist, on May 17 Judge Admon Levi ordered all the girls to return to school and all be in the same classes. He also ordered that the Sephardic and Ashkenazi girls will have two separate tracts for prayer and halacha class. The Beis Yaakov Chasidi will close, only the original Beis Yaakov will exist.
But in the original Beis Yaakov, the girls have always prayed together, Sephardic liturgy. And there were not separate halacha classes for Sephardim and Ashkenazim, all the girls learned the entire spectrum of halacha. Ironically, the Supreme Court is making its own “separation” that the original Beis Yaakov and Chassidic Beis Yaakov never did.
But more importantly - where does the Israeli Supreme Court base its right to alter nuances in school curriculum? How can Judge Levi decide that there will be separate tracts for Ashkenazi and Sephardic students in prayer and Jewish Law - a separation that this community itself does not recognize?
It was stipulated in the court order that the parents could sign up their girls in any schools they wished, other than the Beis Yaakov Chasidi of Emanuel. The parents of the Beis Yaakov Chasidi then signed up their girls in the Beis Malka School in Bnei Brak.
On Sunday morning May 30, the first day that the girls from Emanuel attended this school in Bnei Brak, a group of reporters came to Emanuel and followed the morning bus, and filmed the girls entering this school. That day the school informed the parents that the Ministry of Education declared that they are not allowed to accept the girls from Emanuel.
OVERCROWDING IN RELIGIOUS ISRAELI SCHOOLS
Some classes in the cities have as much as forty five, even forty eight girls. A teacher in Jerusalem told me, “It can be nearly the end of the year before I get to know all my students.” This puts enormous pressure on students to compete for a limited amount of space.
High school is in some ways more important that seminary education in Israel, unlike the American model of college being of foremost importance. Living in smaller towns lessens the pressures of competing for places in high school without lowering standards of education, as the religious world is brimming with a surplus of teachers who themselves must move to smaller areas to secure employment.
SOME MORE INFORMATION ABOUT EMANUEL
Emanuel was a fairly easy target - deep in the Shomron, an unlikely place for many to visit and check the facts for themselves. Not a well-off community, with few resources for self-advocacy. Small enough that you are easily exposed to the great variety that exists within the Charedi world, and any place in which variety is supported fosters a healthy, moderate environment.
If you like languages, you could improve your Hebrew, Arabic, French, Russian, Yiddish, English, Judeo-Yemenite, Moroccan, Persian, Bucharian, Tunisian.
For religious choices you have the spiritual Sephardim saying their blessings with fervor, proud of their glorious past under Islam and their good relations with local Arabs. Or the Lubavitchers, steadfast in their mission to spread Chassidut and make sure you learned some Torah today. The modern orthodox balancing it all and their doorway into the professions; the proper and learned Lithuanians happy to answer any question on Jewish law - by answering with another question. The meditative Breslover Chassidim crying “father” in Yiddish in the middle of the night as they pray on the hillside; the Chassidim who migrated from Tiberias a generation ago - of a heritage part Russian and Old Yishuv Edut HaMizrach and their talent for teaching; the two Yemenite sects, one which favors kabala and mysticism, the other which cleaves to Maimonedean rationalism. You have the more open Sephardim and Ashkenazim - and blended - who flourish in the original Beis Yaakov or modern orthodox schools, the stricter Sephardim whose grandmothers wore purda with veiled faces. “Strict” and “lenient” are not ethnically delineated.
Emanuel is a place where you are easily exposed to the great variety that exists within the Charedi world. If we had hyphenated last names going back about three or four generations, revealing the many who have blended heritage, this whole Sephardic - Ashkenazi “divide” would fade away. Small towns like Emanuel are actually a very good place to live and get to know different types of people.
THE BAIS YAAKOV SCHOOL
The first set of grades on the report card of the Beis Yaakov School in Emanuel concern personal character traits: prayer, attitude towards studies, attitude towards peers, respect of elders, respect of property, neatness and cleanliness, task completion, homework preparation, behavior during class, modesty. In each category is a line for teacher’s comments. This is a good chance for personal growth for a child.
Rebbetzen Henya Liebermensh, late wife of Rav Nosson Liebermensh, told me, “my father used to cover the bottom half of my report card and look at the comments on my character traits. If they were good, he would praise me and hand back the report card with a smile.”
We need schools that help the whole child and family grow. Beis Yaakov has high standards. You do not have to attend it if you do not want to.
The vice principal of the Beis Yaakov Emanuel is a Sephardic woman. There are of course excellent Sephardic women teachers in the Beis Yaakov, and there are excellent Sephardic men teachers in the Chassidic boys’ school that my son’s attend.
ATTORNEY MORDECHAI BASS’ EVALUATION OF THE BEIS YAAKOV EMANUEL CASE:
A brief synopsis, original report in Hebrew is below.
Page 1
Invitation to investigate
“On January 28 2008 I was invited to evaluate the complaints of ethnic discrimination made against the Beis Yaakov Emanuel administration. I have thoroughly reviewed relevant material … and have met with administrators from the ministry of education, the chinuch atzmai (independent religious schools’ network, which Beis Yaakov is under), and I visited the two schools in question.”
Page 2
Evaluation of ethnicity
“The percentage of Ashkenazi families in the original school is 23%, and in the new (Chasidi) school, 73%.”
(Footnote at bottom: “Such figures are not totally accurate - firstly, the schools do not note the ethnicity of their students in the registration - and this is a good thing! Secondly - this figure was…partially based on the tenor of the family name, which can also be inaccurate.” )
Were any families refused admission to the Beis Yaakov Chasidi, Emanuel?
“All parents wanting to sign up their daughters to the new school, and were ready to accept upon themselves the school’s conditions, were accepted (lit. “not refused”). Since there was no rejection (of any applicants), where is the discrimination?”
Page 5
“Description of Emanuel Community”
A varied population dwells in Emanuel - Chassidic, Lithuanian, Sephardic, some families have been Haredi for generations, some for one generation, some are newly religious for a few years. In larger towns, this variety is expressed in a variety of schools. Until this year there was only one (Haredi) school in the town.”
Attorney Bass notes the tensions between the stricter, sheltered factions and the more open, lenient factions.
Page 6
Attorney Bass notes the founding of the Sephardic girls’ school in Emanuel, Beit Rachel and Leah, under the Mayan-Shas network, which at the time had only a small first grade.
He notes the various options that the parents explored - having different tracts in the same building, or opening a new school. In the end, a new school was founded.
Page 7
“The two schools are administrated separately, with two different principals.”
Physical separation between the two schools - fact or fiction?
“…photographers claimed that the cloth that was placed on the (pre-existing) fence prevented the girls from seeing each other. This is not true. Only part of the fence was covered. The yard surrounds the school from four directions, and the girls (from both schools) are able to see and play with each other. The (media) portrayal of two completely separate sections of the school yard…is not true.”
Page 8
“Were the students in the two schools divided according to ethnicity?
“Were the students in the two schools divided according to ethnicity? The plaintiffs claim yes (the top of this page exhibits the plaintiffs’ claim)….The original school has 107 Sephardic girls and 32 Ashkenazim. The percentage of Ashkenazim is thus 23%. The new (Chasidi) school has 58 Ashkenazi girls and 21 Sephardim. The percentage of Sephardim is thus 27%….I repeat that…anyone interested in registering their daughters in the new school and ready to accept the school’s way of life was not refused.
“I spoke to the plaintiffs and asked for one instance of parents who asked to register their daughter and was refused and they had no such case.
He goes on to discuss the legal technicalities of opening a new school, licensure and so forth.
Page 11
Again -physical separation between the two schools - fact or fiction?
Attorney Bass reiterates that accusations of physical barriers between the two schools were exaggerated and that indeed there was free access between the girls of both schools. He notes that the new school occupies (the third floor) rooms which were unused. (The third floor had housed the high school, and was vacated in September 2004 when the high school got its own building.)
(I laughed when I read paragraphs 4 and 5, which address the plaintiffs’ accusation that the times of school starting and recess were at different times. Attorney Bass found this to be untrue. Of course both schools begin at the same time - 8am. Of course the recesses are at the same time. Would it make sense to have recess at different times, with one school trying to study while the other half is making noise outside?)
Paragraph 6 on page 11 addresses the plaintiffs’ accusation that the girls in each school were forbidden contact with each other. Attorney Bass notes that there was no such ordinance issued by the school.
Page 12
More on the culture of Emanuel - Sheltering childrenHere, Attorney Bass sensitively notes the great variety that exists in the Haredi world, despite its outward uniform appearance in dress. He suggests that non-Haredim attempt to understand the mentality of sheltering from the outside world, and that the more strict and sheltered Haredim would understandably be wary of having their children have close contact with more lenient and worldly Haredim.
Page 13, paragraph 22
Was there ethnic discrimination in the Beis Yaakov Emanuel?
“The division was not ethnic, it was religious. I am convinced that there is no ethnic discrimination.”
Conclusion
When ethnic discrimination actually occurs, we must combat it with all our might. I express my sorrow about complaints like these - thrown in the air - that increase hatred among Israel, and are totally baseless.”
Signed
Attorney Mordechai Bass
______________________________
Synopsis of letter from Rachel Guveri, head of education, town council of Emanuel, to Emanuel’s mayor Ezra Gerashi
December 2009
As my duty as head of education, I check on the schools and kindergartens. I have visited the Beis Yaakov School five times this year.
Concerning allegations of discrimination that have arisen:
1. There is no separation wall in the school.
2. There is one uniform dress code for the whole school.
3. There are no separate recesses.
4. The yard is shared; the girls (from both schools) play together.
The students are happy with the situation.
1. Registration - each family was given a choice at the beginning of the year which school to choose from - Chasidi or general.
2. Prayer - each girl prays according to her home custom. In the first grade they receive a prayer book from the Sephard tradition.
3. Girls learn the gamut of Jewish law, both Sephardi and Ashkenazi traditions, as a seamless whole.
4. Both schools learn the same curriculum.
5. The rules for both are the same.
6. There are teachers who teach in both schools.
I see that the girls are happy in these schools. (Additionally) the new Mayan-Shas (Beit Rachel and Leah) school has a nice atmosphere and the girls are happy.
There are schools in Emanuel for all to choose from for their individual needs.
The directive to unite the two Beis Yaakovs has opposition from parents in both schools.
I recommend allowing (the Beis Yaakovs) to remain two separate tracts - Chasidi and general, this is the first preference.
{Yair Alpert-Matzav.com Israel}
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef opened a can of worms by turning to the Supreme Court and ACRI. Even the Ministry of Education realizes that the court overstepped its boundaries. If the court doesn't relent, and persists in pursuing the mothers, there will be blood in the streets.
Ministry of Education: Don't arrest Emmanuel mothers
Ahead of hearing on Sunday, Ministry of Education to request High Court to forbid arrest of mothers for sake of children
Ynet reporters
Taking a step back - Ahead of a High Court hearing on Sunday regarding the arrest of 22 mothers from the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel who refused to turn themselves in, the Ministry of Education will recommend that the mothers not be arrested.
In an official statement, Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar said the decision was made out of an overall view that reflects the wellbeing of the students.
According to estimates, the hearing will include the panel of judges – Hanan Meltzer, Edna Arbel and Edmond Levy – without representatives from either side.
Levy on Friday ruled that the mothers' detainment will be delayed, after they failed to report to a detention center in Jerusalem.
Also on Friday, the Noar K'Halacha organization, which filed the original petition to the High Court against the segregation of the Beit Yaakov girls' school in Emmanuel, filed a response to the petition for the parents' release, asking the court to consider an alternative to their imprisonment, such as revoking funds and licenses.
"The circumstances in this case clearly show that the parents will continue to violate the court ruling and will not send their girls back to the school," read the response.
Haredi sources said they will do everything in their power to prevent the arrest of the mothers. One source said "the protests that were held against the arrest of the 'starving mother' will be duplicated by 22 if there's an attempt to forcefully arrest them."
Ben Dror Yemini: Emmanuel Decision Just the Beginning
Saying that the court's decision has to be enforced, Yemini said the decision was wrong and he hoped it would be reversed.....
http://www.israelnationalnews.
A critical question is who will care for the children in the families while both parents are in prison. The option of only one parent sitting in prison at a time has apparently been dropped, except in families with special-needs children. The Welfare Ministry has appointed its Deputy Director, Menachem Wagshall, to head the special task force of social workers who will attempt to take control of the situation. Two senior supervisors from the Ministry have been in Emanuel since yesterday, helping the local welfare department. Forty social workers around the country are on stand-by in case they are needed, while others have been assigned to make sure that each and every family has a solution.
Dozens of Social Workers to Care for Emmanuel Chidren
Two senior supervisors from the ministry were sent to Emmanuel to work with the community's welfare department. A staff of 40 social workers from the ministry were assigned to make sure the children were protected and under supervision. Dozens of local social workers were put on alert to deal with any situation that comes up.
From THE YESHIVA WORLD Yesterday
Thanks to bill
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/General+News/62830/VIDEO-%26-PHOTOS%3A-Yerushalayim---Bnei-Brak%3A-Over-300%2C000-MeKadesh-Shem-Shomayim.html
VIDEO & PHOTOS: Yerushalayim – Bnei Brak: Over 300,000 MeKadesh Shem Shomayim
(Friday, June 18th, 2010) [Video & photo links below] Today, erev shabbos, the day after, there is widespread agreement, that Thursday’s prison marches, the atzeres in Bnei Brak and Yerushalayim were a major Kiddush Hashem, as the secular and frum media alike report the astounding reality that hundreds of thousands of yidden gathered for one purpose. They recited tehillim and heard words of chizuk from Gedolei Yisrael Shlita. There were no ‘incident’, scuffles with police, audible shouts containing vulgarities, but a forum of kedusha in the presence of Gedolei HaDor, who sanctified the forums with their presence.According to the daily HaMevaser, over 300,000 attended the two forums, along with the leading rabbonim, admorim, and roshei yeshiva.
Today, the day after, the argument surrounding Chinuch Atzmai continues, some insisting discrimination is a reality, while other simply deny its existence. Thursday’s events however were not about the differences, but they served to send a clear message to all yidden, to the government, and most of all, to Israel’s secular Supreme Court of Justice. The message, yes, you may feel that you reign supreme, but we are here to tell you otherwise, and if chas v’sholom we are compelled to choose, between Torah and Gedolei Yisrael Shlita and the secular court system, we opt to remain loyal to the Gedolim Shlita – even at the expense of parting with our dearest children and spending shabbos in prison.
The message, while not understood or accepted by all, was delivered respectfully and in a most potent fashion, one that shouts loud and clear, there will be no compromise regarding chinuch of the children and total and undiluted adherence to the words of the Gedolim Shlita, in this case, Kvod Kedushas HaDmor M’Slonim Shlita, who is known for his commitment to the chinuch of the tinkos shel beis rabon, one who is foreign to politics, kovod and the secular values that dominate the day-to-day life of the Modern State of Israel.
Baruch Hashem, the participation in the atzeres was widespread, and even Gedolim affiliated with the dati leumi community such as HaGaon HaRav Zalman Baruch Melamed Shlita and HaGaon HaRav Dov Lior Shlita instructed talmidim to attend the atzeres, exhibiting an understanding that the message crossed all barriers. This was not a matter of dati leumi versus chareidi, or IDF versus beis medrash, but a message of unit, Torah reigns supreme above all else.
Regarding Chinuch Atzmai and Emanuel, undoubtedly, after the parents serve the two-week prison terms, they will be that much stronger and determined in their path, heroes in their community, but then, only then, the real work will begin, for Emanuel, a small community in Shomron will have to heal its wounds, the sharp division of the varied population, the humiliation felt by the Sephardi girls and the feeling of mission felt by the convicts after serving their prison term.
One can only hope Gedolei HaDor Shlita will continue to guide us all, and that the decisions made are L’Shem Shomayim, and this we pray will result in achdus, and eventually increased understanding in a state where the Supreme Court reigns.
In addition to the amazing coverage provided by Yechiel Spira and the staff at YWN Israel Thursday, Yehuda Boltshauser / Kuvien Images & Co. were out in full force at the “Prison March” – both Yerushalayim and Bnei Brak; and present the YWN readership with hundreds of photos, and video coverage.
Click HERE for photos taken in Yerushalayim – Coverage by: Refael Ovadia / Chaim Schvarcz / B.W. Posen for Kuvien Images (Yehuda Boltshauser & Co.).
Click HERE for photos taken in Bnei Brak – Coverage by: Y.Y. Shachar and Bitzy Hazen for Kuvien Images (Yehuda Boltshauser & Co.).
http://israeltruthtimes.blogspot.com/2010/06/brave-chareidim-i-am-supporting-you.html
http://israeltruthtimes.blogspot.com/2010/06/what-this-amounts-too-to-my-lay-non.html
And make sure to read the COMMENTS section below this article: lots of interesting information there, provided by third parties.
COMMENTS:
Retired Judge Cheshin's son killed in hit-and-run road accident
Published: | 06.18.10, 10:21 / Israel News |
An initial police investigation revealed that the man was hit by a car while riding his bicycle near Rosh Ha'ayin. The driver did not stop to assist the victim or call for help, and fled the scene. (Raanan Ben-Zur)
bill replies:
THE WORLD IS NOT HEFKER!
DS :
IMPORTANT UPDATES:
Rabbi Yosef Withdraws from Emanuel School Case
Speaking to Israel Radio, Rabbi Yosef said that there were 33 other rabbis involved in the case, and they could decide how to proceed.
Rabbi Yosef: Don't Go to Secular Courts
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef quits Emmanuel school struggle
Rabbi who gave halachic backing to fight against discrimination in religious school says threats led him to halt involvement in struggle
Kobi Nahshoni
Rabbi Yaakov Yosef, one of the leaders of the struggle against discrimination at the Beit Yaakov religious school in Emmanuel, announced Saturday night that he is halting all activity in the matter after he and his family members came under threat over the issue.
The rabbi said he was willing to take the pressure himself and push forward with the struggle, but once the matter began to affect those around him, he was forced to back down.
The decision may have significant repercussions, since Rabbi Yosef is the only one to give halachic backing to the struggle's leader, Yoav Lalum, and even went to the High Court of Justice despite a halachic ruling that forbids speaking before legal sessions that do not follow Jewish Law.
Lalum confirmed to Ynet that his rabbi was ending involvement in the struggle, and reiterated his commitment to act according to his instructions.
Haredi elements doubted the rabbi's explanation and linked his decision to comments made by his father, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef Saturday night, who spoke out against rabbis appealing to the secular courts.
"You know how I feel about the Supreme Court, beware of this thing, you have seen what they did this week, you have seen their path. We are separate from them, we have the holy Torah," Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said Saturday night.
Supreme Court Charged with Illegally Sending Parents to Jail
The Israel Law Center (ILC) filed a “habeas corpus” writ against the Prison Service and Israel Police on Sunday for holding the 43 fathers from Emanuel unlawfully. The suit claims that the Supreme Court overstepped its authority in ordering the parents to be jailed, in that it is permitted to issue orders against government bodies or their representatives, but not against private individuals.
Asked why the suit was not filed against the High Court itself for exceeding its authorities, ILC Director Nitsana Darshan-Leitner explained to Israel National News, “That was also an option, but the immediate priority was to file suit against those who are holding these citizens illegally – namely, the jails and the police.”
She further explained that nowhere in the law is it expressly written that the Court is the address for perceived illegal decisions by it itself - "although we wrote in the petition that we expect the Court to exercise judicial review over itself in this case. The High Court of Justice is not permitted to assume the authority of issuing orders against individuals.”
The High Court sentenced the parents to jail for having aided in the violation of a previous ruling ordering the integration of a Hassidic-religious girls’ school in Emanuel. Petitioners, including an organization called Noar Kahalacha, claimed that the school accepted students based on their ethnic background, discriminating against Sephardim – while the parents said that the school’s sole standard was religious, and that 27 percent of the students were in fact Sephardic.
Noar Kahalacha is a grantee of the New Israel Fund, an organization that has been accused of being downright anti-Israel for its funding of most of the Israeli NGOs that testified against Israel in the Goldstone Committee, among other anti-Israel groups.
The Court, headed by Justice Edmond Levy, did not accept the parents’ position, and when they refused to send daughters to the “integrated” school, he ordered them to spend two weeks in jail. It is now (Sunday) considering a request to exempt the mothers from going to jail; all sides in the court case agree that this request should be accepted.
Taxi Company Precedent - Not Acceptable
The original ruling ordering the parents to jail cited a previous District Court ruling in which taxi drivers were served with contempt of court orders for not enforcing a ruling forbidding taxi companies from taking passengers from Ben Gurion International Airport. The ILC said that this precedent is not relevant, in that the District Court is permitted to serve individuals with orders of this nature, while the High Court of Justice is not.
“The High Court of Justice was created to defend citizens from the authorities,” the petition states, “and it must be limited to this. Defense of a citizen from another citizen is reserved for the criminal and civil courts.”`
“The High Court expanded the meaning of the law defining its authorities to its most extreme extent,” Darshan-Leitner said, “but there is no way to explain the law in a way that will grant it authorities that the law explicitly did not give it. Private citizens are not obligated to follow rulings issued against governmental authorities – even if the ruling comes from the Supreme Court. If such rulings are not implemented, there are various ways of enforcing them – but for the High Court to issue rulings that are not in its jurisdiction is not one of them.”
Group: Emanuel Arrests Illegal
The petition quotes an Israeli Basic Law that states that such court orders can be issued only against institutions, not individuals.
Supreme Court Denies Petition Against Emanuel Jailing
The petition, which listed the police and the prisons service as defendants, claimed that the court was not empowered to make decisions and issue orders on individuals.
Court Postpones Discussion on Emanuel Mothers
Rabbinical Court: Emanuel Girls Together During Appeals
The court also ruled that all the girls of the school would learn together during the remaining week and a half of this school year, and that talks would continue during the summer vacation on arrangements for the next school year.
Rabbis on Emanuel: Withdraw the Lawsuit, Integrate the School
The organization Noar K'Halacha, led by attorney Yoav Laloum, filed suit against parents from Emanuel for creating a separate, hassidic track within a local hareidi-religious school. The group accused the parents of discriminating against Sephardi girls. The parents, for their part, said the separate track was open to students of all ethnic backgrounds, but only if they agreed to fulfill its religious rules, which were more stringent than those in the rest of the school.
Laloum should withdraw his lawsuit immediately, the rabbinic court ruled. The parents, several of whom have gone to jail rather than integrate the school, should return their daughters to school, where all the girls will learn together in the one and a half weeks remaining in the school year, the ruling continued.
During the summer, parents of girls in both tracks can continue their efforts to reach a compromise, judges said.
Laloum's suit already made it to the Supreme Court, which ordered parents to integrate the two sects. When parents withdrew their daughters from school in protest they were sentenced to jail for contempt of court.
The court has agreed to jail only fathers for now, while mothers will face another hearing on Tuesday. A father who did not report to prison last week was arrested Sunday; his lawyers said he will protest the arrest on humanitarian grounds, as the man is a single father to an ill child.
LATEST UPDATE:
So now we know exactly who the Rasha is: Yoav Lalum and company. We shouldn't have expected anything different, considering whom he represents: the New Israel Fund, ACRI, Physicians for Human Rights, the Ford Foundation, Christian Aid, the UN, Norway, and the list goes on and on. His representation of the Sephardim is NOTHING BUT A SHAM. At last the mask is off, and that is good: let JEWS FINALLY KNOW where the truth lies. The enemy within has been exposed, and good Jews who had been misled by this circus have no more excuse to be in the dark now.
Expected Compromise in Emanuel is Not Happening
One is that the plaintiff, Yoav Lalum, who claimed that the Slonim school in Emanuel discriminated against Sephardim, refused to follow the court’s first ruling – namely, to withdraw the suit.
Secondly, the rabbinical court (Beit Din) stated that its second ruling was grossly misinterpreted. The second ruling stated that any future separation in Emanuel must be done only in accordance with rabbinical rulings; the Beit Din stated that the media had misinterpreted this as if it represented agreement with the Supreme Court ruling on the matter – when in fact, the rabbinical arbitrators’ panel stated, such a conclusion “is in direct opposition to all the Torah giants, who said that there is no ethnic discrimination.”
The Slonim Hassidic community has maintained all along that there is no anti-Sephardic discrimination, and that in fact 27% of its students are Sephardic. The Slonimers say that they do close their schools to those whose religious observance is not on par with theirs; families with TV sets, for instance, are not allowed to send their children to the Slonim school – or to many other Hassidic schools, for that matter.
It had been hoped that the rabbinical court would quickly find a compromise, which would enable the 43 Slonim fathers of students in the Slonim girls’ school to be freed from prison and enable the mothers not to have to report to prison at all. The Supreme Court is to make a decision regarding the women tomorrow (Tuesday). One father who never reported to prison has been arrested by police; he says he is a single parent with a sick child.
The Rabbinical Court (Beit Din) stated on Monday morning: “Since Mr. Lalum did not adhere to the Beit Din’s order of yesterday to withdraw his petitions and claims from the general court, setting various conditions that the Beit Din did not agree to, and because the Beit Din’s ruling was abused in the media – therefore the Beit Din sees this as a violation of its decision, and the session that had been set for today is canceled.”
The way I see this development, the Supreme Court has lost. IT, and not the parents, had to backtrack. Let's see what they will do in order to save face.
Moment before High Court discussion, parent who failed to show up for imprisonment in school discrimination case tells Ynet, 'There is an atmosphere of persecution against an entire public among the people of Israel. Our ancestors came before the sentence and we will do what our ancestors instruct us to do'
Just look at these women: real criminals, wouldn't you say!
The High Court on Tuesday discussed the request of 22 parents from the Emmanuel discrimination affair not to be jailed.
Ahead of the discussion, several mothers explained to Ynet why they had failed to show up for their imprisonment last week.
The mothers were accompanied to court by some 15 haredi men, including Ami Barber, one of the fathers who failed to report to jail. He was detained for questioning several days ago and released ahead of a court hearing on his matter.
"My son underwent surgery at Tel Hashomer (hospital), and I returned home during the protests and decided that we are not at such a high level of crime to have to report to prison," he said.
"I don't think my crime justifies separating from my son for two weeks. I don't know what I'm going to tell the judge. I don’t expect him to understand. There is no racism in Emmanuel. We feel what our ancestors felt 70 years ago. There is an atmosphere of persecution against an entire public among the people of Israel. Our ancestors came before the sentence and we will do what our ancestors instruct us to do."
One of the mothers, Yehudit Weinberg, said as she entered the courtroom, "It's not normal putting children's mothers in jail, but I have no problem going to jail. The court is not above the rabbis – the rabbis are above the law.
"On Thursday things were very difficult for us and we had to care for our other children, so we didn't report to jail. In any case, we won't agree to unite the (Ashkenazi and Sephardic) classes."
Another mother, Aliza Lang, added: "We don't want and have no impulse to go to jail in the first place, but if there's no choice – we'll go. We are acting according to our rabbis' opinions."
The panel of three judges decided Sunday to postpone the discussion and hold it in the presence of the parties and their lawyers. The State Prosecutor's Office does not object to the mothers' request not to jail them.
The parents' lawyer, Attorney Mordechai Green, told Ynet on Monday evening: "I hope the court will use the tools it has, accept the opinions voiced by the professional elements, the Ministry of Social Affairs, the National Council for the Child and welfare officials, release the mothers and prevent a new catastrophe."
Update:
High Court: 13 Emmanuel mothers won't be jailed
Judges rule some of women who refused to obey court ruling in school discrimination case don't have to report to prison, others will be jailed after their husbands' release. Father who failed to report to jail tells Ynet, 'I decided I shouldn't be arrested'Latest Update: | 06.22.10, 14:43 / Israel News |
The High Court of Justice ruled Tuesday that 13 of the 22 mothers from Emmanuel who refused to obey a court ruling in the Beit Yaakov school discrimination affair would not have to report to jail. The other women will be imprisoned after their husbands are released. The judges wrote in their decision, "After reviewing the requests we received and listening to the parties' claims, and after further reviewing the stand of the attorney general, the National Council for the child and the chief welfare officer on juvenile matters we have decided that the mothers would be exempt from reporting to jail." As for the other nine mothers, Judges Edmond Levy, Edna Arbel and Hanan Melcer ruled that "their arrest will be delayed until after their husbands are released from jail." The judges also postponed the arrest of two fathers to July 4. The two will have to report to the Russian Compound in Jerusalem unless they honor the High Court ruling. The judges also decided to discuss the petition again on Sunday and look into whether they should continue the enforcement measures against the parents who violated the High Court ruling. In light of the haredi public's conduct during last week's discussion, the judges said, the next week's discussion will be held without an audience and the only people allowed to enter the courtroom will be the parents, media representatives, the petitioners and the lawyers. Attorney Mordechai Green, representing the parents, said that the court's decision was "disappointing and inconsiderate of the needs of the children and their families. Leaving the children without a father and mother for a month is definitely a serious blow." Some of Emmanuel mothers. 'Rabbis are above the law' (Photo: Noam Moskowitz) YES! |
THIS COURT ALREADY HAS BLOOD ON ITS HANDS.
Emmanuel mother miscarries 'due to mental state'
Published: | 06.22.10, 14:00 / Israel News |
One of the women ordered to go to jail as part of the Beit Yaakov school discrimination affair collapsed in her house in Emmanuel on Monday and later underwent a miscarriage at the Mayanei Hayeshua Hospital. The woman's husband has been in the Maasiyahu Prison since Thursday and haredi elements are working for his release. Ynet learned that the hospital's medical staff believes the woman's mental state was what caused the miscarriage. The woman was scheduled to attend a hearing at the High Court of Justice which would have determined whether she and the other 21 women, who failed to report to detention centers last week, would be sent to jail. The hospital's spokesman Moshe Friedman refused to confirm the details of the report out of respect for the patient's privacy. Ultra-Orthodox elements were outraged upon receiving word of the tragedy. Knesset Member Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said that "the State is becoming inhumane. Today it is with the haredim, tomorrow with other sectors of the population." Gafni also addressed attempts to release the woman's husband from jail and said, "This is a crossing of red lines. A woman is begging to have her husband beside her during her miscarriage but the court refuses to even respond." Yitzhak Sheinin, who is active in the haredi struggle, described the incident as "white murder." "It appears that one can commit murder in the name of the law. We are being portrayed as leaders of a civil mutiny or a coup and as those who wish to turn Israel into Iran, and so in the sake of democracy they wouldn't mind eliminating 1,000 people. " Sheinin noted that police placed snipers on roof tops during the mass haredi protest in Jerusalem last week. He leveled harsh criticism at High Court judges. "The judges sit conveniently in their air-conditioned chambers while mothers struggle alone in their homes, and as a direct or indirect result such a tragedy occurs. The judges' panel's only aim is to trample over anything to do with religion and the ultra-Orthodox."
MK Moses: High Court decision to imprison women is heartless
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16 comments:
Hazel said:
You send the most interesting things. Thanks. Ha
Rabbi Dov said:
Do not Judge Rabbi Yaakov Yosef. He had no choice. Every Jewish court exist now is biased to be sectorial minded. The problem is Sanhedrin missing from the picture..
Dov
And SHmuel said:
Fragmented groups continue to exist because there is no leadership as a whole.
The whole sequel there should have been controlled sternly by the Chief Rabbanim and Rabbinical Courts but both are jokes.
Part of the larger joke that is the "national leadership". Tragic and deadly joke.
From David Bedein, thanks to Nurit:
The conflict that now ensues in the city of Emanuel has little to do with ethnic tensions between Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jewish Israelis.
Speaking from experience a social work community organizer who worked in the field in the 1970's and 1980's, short sighted bureaucratic decisions that were made then are coming home to roost, a generation later.
The idea then was to lump all lower class people into new housing units and into new towns, with the hope that they would get along with one another.
The Israel Housing Ministry and what was then called the Israel Welfare Ministry mixed families with social problems with working families, and also mixed strictly observant Sephardic families with less strictly observant Sephardic families, with the hope that they would get along with one another.
As the more strictly observant Sephardic families began to choose more traditional schools for their children to learn in, they were not interested in welcoming the less observant Sephardic families to attend their schools, which maintained more rigid standards in terms of dress code, television watching, etc.
A particular Sephardic woman in Emmanuel whose daughter was rejected by the school in Emanuel because the standards of religious observance of her daughter and of her family did not meet the requirements of the school.
That Sephardic woman is media savvy.
She contacted the New Israel Fund, the Shas Party and just about every reporter whom she could get a hold of and claimed that she was being discriminated against because she was a Sephardic Jew.
The NIF, Shas and the media had a field day, as did some Orthodox Rabbis like Rabbi Yuval Sharlo of Efrat who appeared on Kol Yisrael on June 17 and condemned the school in Emmanuel for "racist and discriminatory behavior."
The NIF and Shas, stranger bedfellows as they are, sued in the Israel High Court of Justice to demand that the Israel High Court of Justice order the school in Emanuel to admit the less observant Sephardic girls into their school.
The NIF and Shas were successful in their suit, and the Israel High Court of Justice demanded that any parent who refused to send their children to school under such circumstances be jailed.
And, indeed, 61 sets of parents announced that they were ready to go to jail rather than admit the less observant Sephardic girls to the school.
27 of those sets of parents are themselves Sephardic Jews.
Does that fact affect the NIF, Shas and Rabbi Sharlo? Time will tell.
From Nurit , about the topic in general ,( not a comment on this post):
Explaining the Jews against the Jews phenomenon taking place in Israel these days...it is all about the out of hand judicial activism in Israel and about the terrible coalition election system, with it comes out of hand and dirty politics!
Since the world blames Israel to be an Apartheid state and Israelis racists, the intra-Jewish “racism” inside Israel has fallen on the world's media lap like a gift from God. Now the media can point out that Israelis are not only racists to Arabs but to their own! This 'conflict' legal process is paid for by the New Israel Fund (NIF), always happy to fund campaigns that attack the Orthodox and make Israel look evil and “racist” in the world. I highly recommend to learn the facts
From an article By Steven Plaut:
" To buy the support of the hareidi parties for government coalitions, both Labor and Likud have long ladled out funding to hareidi schools with no conditionality at all. Including with regard to admissions criteria for students. Those long-time dirty deals of tossing out pecuniary pork with no conditions in exchange for political backing created the current Emmanuel standoff.
But I also believe in democracy and pluralism. I believe Jews in Israel have the right to live and to school their kids in ways different from my own notions.
I also believe that the worst fanatics in this story are the judicial activists in robes in the court. Yes, that group of Ashkenazi-only judges that issued the contempt injunction and order for the mass arrest of the parents. And the media talking heads cheering on the court and its “defense of democracy” were also entirely Ashkenazim!
The very same courts have ordered no one at all arrested after a judicial writ was issued earlier recognizing that the Jews who owned property in the Simon the Righteous (Sheikh Jarrah) neighborhood are the legal owners and have the right to evict the Arabs squatting in their housing units. When those court orders were ignored by the Arabs, backed by demonstrations of leftists led by Hebrew University professors, no one was arrested for contempt.
The court has picked a fight with the huge hareidi community, and yesterday tens of thousands took to the streets in their black hats and winter coats in the 95 degree heat to challenge the legitimacy of the court’s decision. I do not see how the court can win in this battle."
DS response to Rabbi Dov:
Dear RabbiCov,
I am not judging Rabbi Dov. I am just saying he made a bad mistake with terrible repercussions, and he should NEVER have contacted those groups. They can only cause harm. And going to a court that is known to only want harm for Am Yisrael also shows bad judgment, to my opinion. Even his father thinks it is a mistake, right?
You are right. We do need the Sanhedrin, but unfortunately we are not there yet.
Everybody is human, so he made a mistake too.
Sorry, Correction:
Dear Rabbi Dov,
.... I am not judging Rabbi Yaakov Yosef...
J sent this link: very interesting comment!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME7K6P7hlko
Aryeh said:
It would seem that the guardians of law and order are in fact criminals engaged in the arbitrary imprisonment of political/religious dissenters. Who would have guessed?
The problem is that Israel's Supreme Cult has been making up its own laws and powers on the fly unchallenged for so long that they do not feel bound by anything other than themselves. If they are not seriously curtailed, they will eventually declare the election to the Knesset of people they do not approve as "unconstitutional" and appoint their own choices. All this to protect democracy.
It has been commented on in many places that "Leftism" as it is understood today is no longer a political ideology but a psychotic disorder. The essence of psychosis it the existence of an internal fantasy world that is only loosely, if at all, connected to our common reality. Where most of us see innocuous dogs, cats or people, the psychotic sees howling demons that must be destroyed before they consume him.
As long as the psychotic is an ordinary person, the harm he can do to himself and others is limited. When he is a judge, head of a secret police unit, general, political leader or whatever, the potential for damage is unbelievable.
Jack says:
In my opinion, it is high time for a constitutional crisis to collar the Supreme Court. The Knesset should be the one to do it but it is institutionally gutless. Asking it to rule against itself seems rather bizarre and useless but if the case is decided by the whole court en banc, it gives it a chance to realize its own institutional megalomania and overrule the Nassi, who is the seat of the problem. I don't know if that will happen. If it is heard by a panel of judges, there is no hope b/c the Nasi chooses the judges who sit on the case!
Tell everyone: you saw it first here! At any rate, it is not enough to stop at the NIF. The multiple enemy NGO's financing it have to be exposed.
NIF Steam-Powers Anti-Hareidi Campaign
Tammuz 8, 5770, 20 June 10 07:13
by Hillel Fendel
(Israelnationalnews.com) Organizations funded by the radical-left New Israel Fund (NIF) are behind the court case against the Hassidic parents who refuse to send their daughters to a school in Emanuel with lower religious standards than they desire. Michael Puah of Arad, who has been following NIF causes, says this explains why the media in Israel has been so one-sided on the case.
No’ar KaHalacha, which filed the suit in the Supreme Court against perceived ethnic discrimination, is backed by two other organizations: Merkaz Tmurah and Achoti, both of which are funded by the New Israel Fund.
The NIF also funds or funded most of the Israeli organizations that testified against Israel before the Goldstone Commission.
“Most unfortunately,” Puah told Arutz-7, “I keep on seeing the long arms of the New Israel Fund… I suddenly understood why the entire media in Israel was enlisted so strongly against the hareidim.”
Even without the NIF, Puah said, “the media doesn’t love the hareidim… but the minute the NIF is involved, [the hatred seems to increase.] Its public relations offices know how to work amazingly well. It is very easy to see that all the media organs are working as if they were coordinated… Otherwise, it is hard to explain the absurdity of Sephardic parents being put in jail for the crime of discrimination against Sephardim.”
Puah, a religious-Zionist who lives in the Negev city of Arad, acknowledged that there is some discrimination, but emphasized, “It is clear to anyone who can see that the purpose of this public campaign is not to help the Sephardim, but to hurt the hareidim.”
“One who knows the NIF,” Puah said, “knows that their method is to take a real problem that exists somewhere in Israel, and then to leverage it in order to weaken the State of Israel, Judaism, the hareidim, and the nationalist camp. They then get the best lawyers to file innumerable petitions in the Supreme Court, and to get the best PR offices for their publicity campaign - namely, the NIF. This is how it worked in Emanuel, and with Vicky Knafu and her march to Jerusalem from Sderot, and with the Reform, and with Palestinians.”
“If we can identify the NIF’s modus operandi,” Puah concludes, “we’ll have half the solution.”
The NIF website boasts that the two organizations mentioned above have been backing the fight against the “racist” Hassidic school in Emanuel for over a year.
bill said:
I believe the true purpose of this unprecedented prosecution of an obviously-innocent man is the same as the true purpose of the jailing of the parents in Emanuel Israel.
We have been a hopelessly divided community, and Moshiach would like to come, but he can’t come when we have no Achdus.
So we have been thrown together, Lubavitchers, Satmarers, Litvaks, Modern Orthodox, Dati-Leumi–every one has come together to face these unprecedented external threats to our existence.
So, let’s overturn this Gezera Raah, and await the immanent arrival of Moshiach.
http://thefamilyjewels-etan.blogspot.com/2007/06/moshiachs-hat-one-of-my-favorites.html
Slonim Rebbe Attacks High Court
Reported: 19:00 PM - Jun/23/10
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The Rebbe of the Slonim Hassidic sect distributed a letter on Wednesday in which he wrote that his followers should not compromise in their struggle regarding the girls school in Emmanuel. "In the fight for sanctifying G-d, even if they stand us before a firing squad, we will not fold and will not compromise."
In his letter, the rabbi doubted the integrity of the High Court: "If I were to think that the court justices believe in what they say, that the school in Emmanuel is based on racism, I think I would behave otherwise. However, I have no doubt in my mind that they know the truth, that all they say are blatant lies."
NOW THAT'S FORTITUDE!
This is funny, and shows you how Hashem works: she wants to oppress other women, SHE will be the oppressed. INSTANT JUSTICE.She wants to play by the rules of the PTB, let her!
Belgian Activists Demand the Arrest of Tzipi Livni
Tammuz 11, 5770, 23 June 10 09:39
(Israelnationalnews.com) Belgian anti-Zionist activists have called for the arrest of Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni, causing complications to her upcoming visit where she had planned to speak with European Union leaders. The activists are accusing Livni of war crimes committed during Israel's Operation Cast Lead against Hamas in the Gaza region.
Livni Says Emmanuel Mothers Should be Jailed
Tammuz 11, 5770, 23 June 10 10:52
(Israelnationalnews.com) Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni (Kadima) said in the Knesset on Wednesday that "In a Jewish, democratic country, the High Court decision must be honored. There are no conditionals here." Livni made the statements in reference to the High Court ruling to imprison mothers from Emmanuel.
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