Satmar Rebbe Of Kiryas Joel DECLARES WAR Against NYS Education Department [FULL AUDIO CLIP]
The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel delivered a fiery speech last night, during which he effectively declared war against the NYS Education Department. The speech was delivered at the 74th annual “Chuf Alef Kislev” event, the day Hagaon HaRav Yoel Teitelbaum ZATZAL, the founder of Satmar Chassidus in America, escaped from the Nazis during the Holocaust in 1944.
Thegathering was held at a massive warehouse in Williamsburg, with thousands of Chassidim in attendance.
The highlight of the annual Yom Hatzoloh event is the speech by the Rebbe, using the forum to address some of the burning issues on the agenda, both in Eretz Yisrael and primarily, outside of Israel.
As YWN has been reporting, New York State is taking steps towards stricter enforcement of its education requirements on yeshiva elementary schools. In line with recently released NYS Education Department guidelines, all yeshiva elementary schools must teach a ‘substantially equivalent education’ to public schools, with a minimum of six hours of secular studies daily. The new regulations leave little flexibility for what yeshiva elementary schools may teach.
This is cause for serious concern to many, and this year, the Satmar Rebbe dedicated his annual speech to addressing this new Gezeira, vowing a tenacious fight in what it sees as state intervention in the education of the tenokos shel beis raban, an unacceptable situation to put it mildly.
The Rebbe gave clear instructions to his followers to defy the Education Department’s new orders, noting that the yeshiva system’s successes far outweigh those of the alternative, public schools, which he blasted as needing far more reform than yeshivos.
In his approximately 60 minute long address, the Rebbe first addressed the situation surrounding a new IDF draft law in Israel, which may be legislated in the near future, vowing to fight “that not a single bochur will fall to the Zionists R”L”. The Rebbe then addressed the harsh Gezeira being faced by yeshivos in New York State as a result of the new state educational guidelines mentioned above.
The Rebbe then slammed New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia, “who conspired with traitors and the wicked to persecute chareidi Yiddishkeit in New York, which only wants to educate its children in accordance to Torah and tradition as has been from generation to generation, in talmidei torah, in yeshivos ketanos, and in girls schools” cried the Rebbe.
The Rebbe continued: “She wants to change Klal Yisrael and remove us from our religion exactly as the Greeks wanted in their time, to destroy the education institutions, a decree of extermination (shmad). Who would have thought that here, in the greatest democracy in the world, a time would come when a decree on education would become reality?”
“I hereby declare that Klal Yisroel will not bow down or surrender to the wicked, not even before the Commissioner of Education, and with great devotion we will be able to educate our children in Torah education. We have had many situations in the past demanding mesirus nefesh for the Torah HaKadosha, and also today, we will launch a major war against the Commissioner of Education in any way [necessary] without compromises and agreements.”
“In a democratic country there is freedom of religion and they have no right to interfere in our religion, and if the Commissioner of Education wants to improve education in the State of New York, please ask the public schools to correct their education curriculum. We have been living in New York for 70 years, which is already a number of generations, and one can already see the fruit of our education as compared to the public-school education. In our schools they do not murder, there is no violence, no drug sales and no thieves. Even percentage wise, we are more successful than the public school graduates,” the rebbe continued.
The Rebbe continued to attack the commissioner and the poor education of the non-Jews in New York. “We see the percentage of graduates of their (public school) education, and the graduates of the Jewish education system; who fills the prisons and who fills the large commercial houses and factories here in New York?
Percentage wise, we contribute more to the economy with the graduates of our institutions than the graduates of their institutions. Therefore, the government has turned a blind eye to this day and they realized that even though they invest $25,000 per student in government schools, compared with a few tens of dollars per student in transportation and other budgets, they benefit a great deal more from the students of the Jewish education versus their graduates.”
“Therefore,” the Rebbe concluded, “we will not sit idly by but we will fight a fierce battle over our right to live in our religion, and B’ezras Hashem, we will cancel this terrible gezeira and will not obey the Education Commissioner in any way. Of course, it will only happen if there is achdus. We must put all the petty politics aside and to seriously unite all the communities and unite all of the chareidi Jews, to exploit the ties with the leaders of state, to the federal court, and B’Shem Hashem, Na’ase V’Natzliach!”
SHABBOS MORNING WHEN SO MANY PEOPLE ARE IN THE STREETS, THIS PRESENTS A MAJOR TZNIYUS PROBLEM,
THE TZNIYUS PROBLEM IS BY THE LADIES WHO AT HOME FOR THE HUSBANDS GO DRESSED LIKE WASHERWOMEN, ( AND THAT IS WERE ALL THESE DIVORCES START ) WHEN THEY GO OUT IN TO THE STREET THEY WERE LONG WIGS AND BODY HUGGING CLOTH, AND FORBIDDEN COLORS ALL MADE UP THAT EVEN MEN THAT USUALLY ARE CAREFUL WERE THEY LOOK, CAN NOT HELP IT
TO THE LETTER WRITER MAN OR WOMEN, I SAY TZNIYUS IS IN THE MIND, AND IF YOUR MIND IS FILTHY YOU WILL SEE A BANANA AS A PENIS
PLEASE LEARN MORE TORAH AND YOU WILL BECOME AN ELICHER YID.
I'm a single mother separated from my husband for over 5 years. Unfortunately, my husband is asking for unreasonable terms in order to give me my get. He is using all tactics to make my life more difficult. It’s a heartbreaking journey. My utmost priority is that my kids be sheltered from this whole mess. Recently, I was advised by leading Rabbonim to get an attorney to settle the case so I can go on with life. This way my kids will also be able to move on as quickly as possible. ב"ה I found a dedicated lawyer with an understanding ear who can help me with this case.
But legal fees cost thousands of dollars and my salary can just about cover food and shelter for me and my children.
Jerusalem Mayor-elect Moshe Leon is busy assembling his coalition, and this week, Leon and his negotiating team are expected to meet for another round of talks with the chareidi parties. Senior positions will be given to members of Shas and Degel Hatorah, for they played a major role in getting Leon elected. As for Agudas Yisrael, it is going to be a difficult few years, for now is the payback for refusing to back Leon in the mayoral race.
There is competition between Degel and Shas, as they both want control over the prestigious and ever-so-important Chareidi Education portfolio, with each aware this control’s the yeshiva funding.
Yahadut Hatorah held the post for years, but in the last administration, while they licked the wounds of defeat for backing Leon in the mayoral race, Mayor Nir Barkat closed a deal behind their backs, with Shas, and the Sephardi party now wants to maintain control of the portfolio in the incoming administration.
According to a weekend report appearing in Yediot Achronot, that Degel Hatorah, which has six seats in the coalition, is going to receive the Building & Planning portfolio, the Finance portfolio, Chareidi Housing, Allocations Committee and more. The report quotes one senior official saying, “Barkat created many portfolios to permit having a broad-based coalition, so there are plenty of jobs and divisions to control for all”.
Being that Shas controlled the Chareidi Education during the past five years, it has almost entirely resolved the issue of discrimination against Sephardim and it is not likely Shas will relinquish control of this portfolio without a major fight.
The Peleg, which backed Ofer Berkowitz, may not be in the coalition but may find itself in the opposition. It is still too early to make a final determination. What is clear is that Degel Hatorah, with its six seats, will hold a significant amount of power in the incoming administration.
WATCH: Novominsker Rebbe Speaks Out Against Those Causing Machlokes in Klal Yisroel in America
During the Keynote Session at the annual Agudah Convention on Motzei Shabbos, the Rosh Agudas Yisroel, the Novominsker Rebbe spoke out about the Machlokes in Eretz Yisroel regarding the issue of “Giyus”.
The Rebbe, Rav Yaakov Perlow, spoke in a pained voice, as he made a public Ma’cha against those using the issue to create Pirud, a split, among the Chareidi community in America.
His words were followed by a powerful Drasha by HaRav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi from Eretz Yisroel, who slammed those who question the decisions that were made by Maran Rav Shteinman ZATZAL and YB”LCT the Sa’ar HaTorah, Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky and Hagaon HaRav Gershon Edelstein.
The Rebbe issued a disclaimer that he is not speaking on behalf of Agudas Yisroel, but only stating his own opinion, as well as in the name of Hagaon HaRav Shmuel Kaminetzky, the Rosh Yeshiva of Philadelphia and member of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah.
About five minutes into his speech, the Rebbe said he wished to respond to an earlier remark from the Lakewood Rosh Yeshiva, that in Eretz Yisroel there are “Chilukei Deos” (differences of opinion) that all need to be validated, and that “nobody can feel that he is being pursued by the other party.”
But the Rebbe said that “as an individual I would say that that is not the nekudah.”
“There’s one basic nekudah (point) here, and its not a question of the chok hagiyus (IDF draft law). It’s a question of a hanhagah (approach) that the overwhelming majority of the Olam haTorah has accepted from the days of Rav Aharon Leib [Shteinman] ZATZAL, to Rav Gershon [Edelstein] and the Sar HaTorah of our day, Rav Chaim Kanievsky – eschapt ah tzitter (one shudders) when one speaks about him.
“And yet there is a miyuta demiyuta (tiny minority) of people obstinately refusing to accept that hanagah, and that’s where all the problems come from, and that’s the real issue.”
“No one has a right to bring this Machlokes to America”, said the Rebbe.
The Rebbe added that he came to the convention intending to “not speak a milah achas (one word) about what is happening in Eretz Yisroel,” but he felt it was necessary to make this point clear.
In his riveting remarks, Rav Boruch Mordechai Ezrachi said: “A generation needs a leader and Boruch Hashem, our generation is blessed. It’s a zechus to live a world in which he reigns”, (referring to Hagaon HaRav Chaim Kanievsky).
Bnei Brak Chosson Transported to Hospital After Cutting Foot Breaking The Glass Under The Chupah
A Chosson in Bnei Brak ended up visiting Mayanei HaYeshua Hospital during his wedding, as he cut his foot severely while smashing the glass under the Chupah. Hospital personnel understood the situation and treated him immediately, permitting his return to the wedding hall in under 30 minutes.
The Chasunah took place in the Keter HaRimon Hall in Bnei Brak on Monday night.
According to family, the glass, which was supplied by the wedding hall, was too thick, and it resulted in the chosson sustaining a deep cut to the bottom of his foot.
One can only imagine the faces of personnel when both a chosson and kallah arrived in the emergency room. They were received immediately, warm and professional attention towards permitting their return to the wedding ASAP.
HATE IN THE UK: Man Riding Bus Asked Where He’s From – Says “Israel” – Gets Punched In The Face
A man was punched in the face while riding a bus in South Wales in what police believe is an anti semitic attack.
The 38-year-old and his mother were travelling from Barry to Cardiff on Monday afternoon when another man and woman approached them and asked if they were Welsh, police said.
The victim’s mother replied that she was born in Israel and the woman then punched the man in the eye, South Wales Police said.
He was also grabbed by the mouth.
The bus driver stopped the vehicle and the attackers escaped, police added.
The victim was treated in a local hospital.
“Hate crime has no place in society and has always been a priority for South Wales Police,” a spokesperson said.
After much pandemonium due to reportedly mixed messages from El Al about the cause of what turned out to be a more than a three-hour delay on the tarmac at JFK Airport on Thursday evening, the plane took off, despite the requests of many passengers to disembark for fear the flight would not make it to Tel Aviv before Shabbat.
The watchful passengers eventually did disembark prior to their scheduled destination, but not until hours later, when El Al announced that the flight would not, in fact, make Tel Aviv in time for Shabbat, and so diverted the plane to Athens.
While the decision caused some further confusion and consternation about how Shabbat would be kept in Athens on about an hour’s notice, the story for the most part at that point began to turn from worry and concern to relief and calm —and even elation for at least one of the passengers featured in a social-media post.
“This is going to be one of the most exciting, beautiful Shabbats ever,” said the jubilant man in a video posting standing among smiling fellow passengers in the baggage-claim area in Athens. “I am spending it with Yidden from everywhere. Everyone’s chipping in together. It’s going to be beautiful. We have … well, whatever we have, it’s not about the food. It’s going to be about the ruchnius [‘spirituality’] and achdus [‘unity’]. It’s about 120 people who got off the plane to be shomer Shabbat, and that is what counts.”
The mood change, largely generated by the certainty of being able to keep the weekly Jewish holiday even under extenuating circumstances, was further evident on one of the transport buses shuttling some of the passengers from the airport to their Shabbat destination.
There, mostly Chassidic passengers could be seen in a video dancing while chanting one of the well-known sections of the Friday-evening prayers: “Those who observe the Shabbat and call it a delight shall rejoice in Your Kingship,” as the English translations goes.
‘Our Gift and Our Inheritance’
What the passengers didn’t know at that moment was what was waiting for them at the hotel that the airline had booked: a full-course Shabbat meal, prayer-hall accommodations and arrangements for customary Shabbat learning sessions, compliments of local Chabad emissaries Rabbi Mendel and Nechama Hendel. The couple, who have co-directed the Athens Chabad center since 2001, were alerted about the incoming flight and situation around 11 a.m. (Athens time) on Friday. By 4 p.m., they had put together a lavish Shabbat spread for what was actually more like 150 people, according to the account of another passenger.
The travelers from all Jewish backgrounds—held together by the mutual desire to keep the Shabbat—had been told only on the plane that Chabad would be helping out once they arrived in Athens. To their further relief upon entering the hotel lobby while frantically rushing the reception desk to check in—clock ticking—they learned from hotel personnel that Chabad had a full Shabbat meal and program planned.
One of those passengers was Shalom Lipner, former foreign-policy adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem and currently a non-resident senior fellow at the center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institute in Washington. He was on the flight with his wife, returning home to Israel after a trip involving a joyous occasion and business engagements.
Reflecting on the overall experience, he told Chabad.org: “Everyone was determined to make the best of things, which couldn’t have happened without Rabbi Mendel and Rebbetzin Nechama. People who would not normally have spent Shabbat together were suddenly thrust into an impossible situation that broke down barriers.”
Another passenger, Ben Chafetz, provided much detail about the whole flight and Shabbat stay that also focused on the theme of how Jews from far-flung factions came together under trying circumstances to create a positive experience.
“Chassidim had gotten off that plane—men with black hats, colored shirts, in T-shirts, in suits, women with sheitels and snoods [head coverings], no sheitels, in skirts, in pants,” related Chafetz. “Everyone coming off the plane was united in one thing: We believe in G‑d and Torah. Shabbat is our gift and our inheritance, and we would keep it.”
The travelers were from all Jewish backgrounds, brought together by the mutual desire to keep Shabbat.
He described the atmosphere once everyone was settled in at the hotel and Shabbat prayers beginning with one word: “beautiful.”
“We were all so happy to be able to keep Shabbat, and the davening [‘praying’]and level of simcha [‘joy’] was very high.”
He added: “After Kabbalat Shabbat, we walked through the hotel to the dining area, and I can tell you with 100 percent conviction that what I saw was beyond anything I could have imagined.”
He reported that the vast majority of the dining area was reserved for the Shabbat meal—tables set with bottles of wine, grape juice and challah rolls. “Where the hotel usually displayed its salad bars and assortment of cold meats was now filled with platters of gefilte fish, and six or seven large bowls with a variety of salads and dips. It was as if it had been planned for weeks in advance.”
Anything but true.
It was the work of the Hendels, honed and talented from years of welcoming large groups of expected and unexpected guests, with the grace of Shabbat hospitality.
After being alerted about the incoming flight by an assistant of passenger Rabbi Shalom Ber Sorotzkin, who heads Yeshivas Ateret Shlomo of Beit Shemesh, and shortly after by the local El Al office, the Hendel’s kicked into action.
“We started getting organized bringing in our kitchen staff from the kosher restaurant we have, plus additional help, and assessed the situation,” Hendel said. “What we had, what can be prepared in that short amount of time, what’s in our freezer. We already had 130 guests planned at the Chabad House anyway, and we always make extra food for unexpected guests. We also took some of that.”
They also arranged for a Torah scroll, prayer books and Chumashim (copies of “the Five Books of Moses”), Shabbat candles, materials for the concluding of Shabbat prayer, called Havdalah, “and whatever else was necessary for a proper Shabbat,” said Hendel. With the help of El Al, the couple was also lodged in the airport hotel, the Sofitel, a 45-minute drive from their Chabad center in downtown Athens—for the Shabbat experience.
“People were so appreciative of how beautiful the Shabbat turned out that when they learned we are in the middle of a mivkah [ritual bath] building project, they really wanted to help,” added Hendel.
He said that Rabbi Akiva Katz, head of the United Kashrut Authority in Jerusalem, who was on the flight, made an impromptu fundraising effort to help complete the project, with Rabbi David Derli, who heads Tiferet Tiberias institutions in Tiberias, pledging a significant amount personally and encouraging others to help.
“If by Divine Providence you find yourselves in Athens, it’s to help accomplish something positive,” Derli said in his pitch about the project, being built with help from Keren Mikvaot and the Rabbinical Center of Europe.
It was not easy to say farewell to their impromptu guests after all that developed over Shabbat, though happenstance brings new situations of similar nature on a regular basis and there’s always more to look forward to, said Hendel. The couple, with the help of their staff, packed up and went home.
As for their guests, upon return from the trip on a flight that departed late Saturday night and landed only a bit delayed this time— 1:45 a.m. Sunday in Israel—the group belted out louder than usual the standard end-of-flight cheers, then broke into song again on the theme of Shabbat delight, shared Lipner.
THE SHOMREI SHABBOS PASSENGERS, SHOULD IN THE FIRST PLACE, NEVER HAVE BEEN ON THAT FLIGHT ACCORDING TO HALACH.
I HAVE SAID THAT A FEW TIMES AND ALL THE RABBONIM AGREE WITH ME.
THAT YOU DO NOT TRAVEL TO ISRAEL ON A FLIGHT THAT DOES ARRIVE, THE LATEST TIME EARLY FRIDAY MORNING.
I SAY AGAIN IF YOU CAN NOT GIVE UP A DAY OF WORK IN NEW YORK, THEN STAY AT HOME.
A FRUM JEW WHO TRAVELS TO ISRAEL ON A LATE FLIGHT SHOULD NOT THINK THAT HE IS BETTER THEN EL AL AND THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT WHO DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE HOLY SHABBOS.
THE AVNEI NEZER ZY"A ONCE TOLD HIS GABAI THAT HE WANTS TO TRAVEL TO THE BRIS OF A CERTAIN SIMPLE YID.
THE GABAI ASKED,
" YOU DO NOT GENERALLY GO TO A BRIS THAT IS IN A DIFFERENT CITY. WHY DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THIS ONE ? "
THE AVNEI NEZER REPLIED, " THAT FATHER MADE A KIDDUSH HASHEM, THEREFORE I WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE BRIS . "
" WHAT KIDDUSH HASHEM DID HE MAKE ? " THE GABAI WAS INTRIGUED .
THE AVNEI NEZER EXPLAINED, " THE FATHER SAID TO ME , HASHEM HELPED ME, AFTER FIFTEEN YEARS OF WAITING, HASHEM GRANTED ME A SON.
THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I HEARD SOMEONE SAY THAT THE SALVATION CAME FROM HASHEM. GENERALLY, I HEAR PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY RECEIVED THEIR YESHUAH FROM THE GERRER REBBE OR FROM THE KOTZKER REBBE, OR FROM RADZAMINER REBBE.
THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I HEARDSOMEONE RECOGNIZE THAT HASHEM PREFORMED THE MIRACLE.
" THIS RECOGNITION IS A KIDDUSH HASHEM, AND THEREFORE I WANT TO ATTEND THE BRIS, "
A young girl, presumably from a Southern town near the border that has been bombarded with rocket fire, asks viewers if they slept well the night before.
“Well I didn’t”, she says. “We were standing here in a bomb shelter, scared the whole night.”
“Are you crazy?!” she asks Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “You don’t do ANYTHING for us!”
“Gaza is shooting rockets and we are standing here like DOGS!”
Israel Municipal Runoff Election Updates – Sunday, 11/11/2018
Which Candidates Will Chassidim Back in Jerusalem Mayoral Race?
It is minhag that on the Shabbos before an election, that in the chassidish communities, the candidate backed by the rebbe is announced. This announcement did not come this past Shabbos despite the fact Tuesday is Election Day, presumably because there has not been an official announcement from Agudas Yisrael.
Towards the end of last week, Agudas’ Vaad of Eight gave the green light to begin negotiations with candidate Moshe Leon, towards determining if Agudah would officially back him in the upcoming runoff election, scheduled for Tuesday, 4 Kislev. However, that was short lived as Agudah decided to connect the elections in Tzefas, where Shlomei Emunim candidate Nachman Gelbech is running for mayor in the runoff election. Whatever the case may be, while in the first election Agudas Yisrael officially backed Yossi Deutsch, now, in the runoff election, there has not been any official word.
Some rumored that in Belz, it was to be announced the chassidus backs Moshe Leon, but no such announcement was made during Shabbos, and the same is true for Vishnitz and Boyan.
HaGaon HaRav Cohen Calls on Berkowitz to Drop Out of Jerusalem Race
HaGaon HaRav Shalom Cohen Shlita, head of the Shas Moetzas Gedolei Torah, told Jerusalem mayoral candidate Ofer Berkowitz “I love you – drop out of the race!”
Speaking at a Moshe Leon for Mayor election gathering, Rav Cohen warned that if Moshe Leon is not elected, the Chilul Shabbos in the capital will not only continue, but increase. He spoke of how he has already heard that opponent Ofer Berkowitz, the security candidate in the runoff election, will be permitting cafes to operate on the holy day.
Rav Cohen announced, “Berkowitz, I love you and I advise you to drop out of the race and create a major Kovod Shomayim.”
Regarding the chareidim who intend to vote for Berkowitz, Rav Cohen hinted “We don’t know how the Satan operates and at times, even persons with Yiras Shomayim will come and say ‘look what he does for us, what he is giving us, as we have holy interests and lose the whole world.”
Sadly, the rescue mission was unsuccessful, as it appears that cult leaders had moved the children to a different location in advance of the raid at the cult’s barbed-wire surrounded compound.
The horror stories involving Lev Tahor have only gotten worse following the death of the cult’s founder and leader, Shlomo Helbrans, in Mexico in 2017. Since then, the leadership has moved into the hands of his brother Nachman Helbrans, along with Mayer Rosner, Yankel and Yoel Weingarten, who are even more radical and aggressive than the late founder.
Lev Tahor practices include women and girls wearing black head-to-toe coverings day and night, arranged marriages between teenagers, and a violent form of Malkos.
Former members of Lev Tahor (who either escaped or were otherwise expelled) do not recall learning Mishnah or Gemara, nor any Mitzvos Bein Adam LeChaveiro. They spend the majority of the day in deep prayer and are only allowed to study certain sections of the Chumash, with Lev Tahor commentary.
Internal documents of Lev Tahor show that Shlomo Helbrans made his followers swear and sign to uphold the following principles among others.
(1) Everyone must negate his or her mind and mind thoroughly and completely, to the leader of Lev Tahor.
2) They must subjugate soul, spirit, and will.
3) Each man accepts upon his descendants and descendant’s descendants until the end of all generations to be subjugated under the will of Lev Tahor’s leader.. this should be said openly to the leader himself.
4) Everyone must be ready at any time and moment of 24 hours of the day, whether on the Shabbath and Yom Tov, summer and winter, healthy or sick, to do the will of the leader.
5) Whether the person is a young man or an old man, virgins and women they must accept to do the will of the leader.
6) They must agree to throw away all his physical needs, including eating sleep and rest until he fulfills the desires the leader.
7) It is the obligation of each of them at the beginning of the morning prayers to recite and accept upon themselves all of the above with full mouth and supreme joy.
In 2014 YWN ran an article titled “Cults and the War of the Jewish Magazines” in response to Mishpacha and Ami magazines running articles on Lev Tahor. Mishpacha Magzaine had run a fifteen page “expose” on the group, essentially describing Lev Tahor as a cult that has some serious issues involving medicating children, and behaviors that resemble child abuse. Ami Magazing claimed the exact opposite – and ran the following sentence below their headline “The unjust persecution of a group of pious Jews, and the unsettling silence of the Jewish community.”
Originally a citizen of Israel, cult leader Shlomo Helbrans went to the United States where he was convicted for kidnapping in 1994 and served a two-year prison term before being deported to Israel in 2000. He then settled in Canada.
In 1994 he was convicted in Brooklyn for the 1992 kidnapping of 13-year-old Shai Fhima Reuven, a Bar Mitzvah boy he was tutoring, and served a two-year prison term in the U.S. He was originally sentenced to four to 12 years in prison, but in June 1996 an appeals court reduced the sentence to two to six years. Three days later, he was placed in the work release program for prisoners less than two years away from the possibility of parole, where inmates are freed from prison if they have a job. After protests, he was moved back to prison.
The high-profile case drew much attention in the U.S., and gained further attention when Helbrans successfully convinced New York prison authorities to waive their requirement that all prisoners be shaved for a photograph upon entering prison, and to accept a computer-generated image of what he would have looked like clean-shaven instead. After the State Parole Board decided in November 1996 to release Helbrans after two years in prison, the case rose to near scandal with suspicions that the Pataki administration was providing him special treatment.
After his release from prison, Helbrans ran a yeshiva in Monsey, N.Y., and was deported to Israel in 2000. He then settled in Canada, where in 2003 he was granted refugee status, claiming his life was being threatened in Israel.
Helbrans and his followers had arrived in Mexico’s southern Chiapas province after spending three years in Guatemala. They had travelled to Guatemala from Canada, where child-protection authorities were moving to seize children allegedly suffering from neglect.
The group had been established on the outskirts of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, north of Montreal, for more than a decade before Quebec authorities began paying close attention. As they prepared to move in to protect children in the sect in late 2013, community members left en masse overnight for Chatham, Ontario. Before the next summer, they had moved on to Guatemala.
Court documents used by Quebec police to obtain warrants alleged that Lev Tahor girls as young as 13 and 14 in the community were routinely married off to much older men. The allegations in the documents, which became public after the sect had fled and were never proven in court, included sexual and physical abuse of children.
The Satmar Rebbe of Kiryas Joel delivered a fiery speech last night, during which he effectively declared war against the NYS Education Department. The speech was delivered at the 74th annual “Chuf Alef Kislev” event, the day Hagaon HaRav Yoel Teitelbaum ZATZAL, the founder of Satmar Chassidus in America, escaped from the Nazis during the Holocaust in 1944.
The gathering was held at a massive warehouse in Williamsburg, with thousands of Chassidim in attendance.
The highlight of the annual Yom Hatzoloh event is the speech by the Rebbe, using the forum to address some of the burning issues on the agenda, both in Eretz Yisrael and primarily, outside of Israel.
As YWN has been reporting, New York State is taking steps towards stricter enforcement of its education requirements on yeshiva elementary schools. In line with recently released NYS Education Department guidelines, all yeshiva elementary schools must teach a ‘substantially equivalent education’ to public schools, with a minimum of six hours of secular studies daily. The new regulations leave little flexibility for what yeshiva elementary schools may teach.
This is cause for serious concern to many, and this year, the Satmar Rebbe dedicated his annual speech to addressing this new Gezeira, vowing a tenacious fight in what it sees as state intervention in the education of the tenokos shel beis raban, an unacceptable situation to put it mildly.
The Rebbe gave clear instructions to his followers to defy the Education Department’s new orders, noting that the yeshiva system’s successes far outweigh those of the alternative, public schools, which he blasted as needing far more reform than yeshivos.
In his approximately 60 minute long address, the Rebbe first addressed the situation surrounding a new IDF draft law in Israel, which may be legislated in the near future, vowing to fight “that not a single bochur will fall to the Zionists R”L”. The Rebbe then addressed the harsh Gezeira being faced by yeshivos in New York State as a result of the new state educational guidelines mentioned above.
The Rebbe then slammed New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia, “who conspired with traitors and the wicked to persecute chareidi Yiddishkeit in New York, which only wants to educate its children in accordance to Torah and tradition as has been from generation to generation, in talmidei torah, in yeshivos ketanos, and in girls schools” cried the Rebbe.
The Rebbe continued: “She wants to change Klal Yisrael and remove us from our religion exactly as the Greeks wanted in their time, to destroy the education institutions, a decree of extermination (shmad). Who would have thought that here, in the greatest democracy in the world, a time would come when a decree on education would become reality?”
“I hereby declare that Klal Yisroel will not bow down or surrender to the wicked, not even before the Commissioner of Education, and with great devotion we will be able to educate our children in Torah education. We have had many situations in the past demanding mesirus nefesh for the Torah HaKadosha, and also today, we will launch a major war against the Commissioner of Education in any way [necessary] without compromises and agreements.”
“In a democratic country there is freedom of religion and they have no right to interfere in our religion, and if the Commissioner of Education wants to improve education in the State of New York, please ask the public schools to correct their education curriculum. We have been living in New York for 70 years, which is already a number of generations, and one can already see the fruit of our education as compared to the public-school education. In our schools they do not murder, there is no violence, no drug sales and no thieves. Even percentage wise, we are more successful than the public school graduates,” the rebbe continued.
