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Op-Ed: Rabbis Aren’t Always the Enemy

by Yaacov Behrman – Forward

Forcing rabbis to report abuse allegations, as Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes wants, may intimidate families into staying quiet.

All competent rabbinic authorities are in agreement that cases of child abuse should be reported to law enforcement. Agudath Israel of America nevertheless requires parents to obtain rabbinic permission before reporting abuse to authorities. Although in the overwhelming majority of cases, abuse allegations turn out to be accurate, there has been a minority of cases in which innocent individuals were wrongly charged with abuse crimes. These individuals were vindicated only after lengthy proceedings. Therefore, some rabbis feel that in a case where there are no witnesses to the abuse and there is only one victim, who is a minor, a rabbi should assess the validity of the allegations before the accusations are brought to the police.

Forbes Israel Ranks Israel’s Richest Rabbis

Globes

Israel’s richest rabbi. Photo: Kikar Shabat.

Rabbi Pinchas Abuhatzeira, the great-grandson of the Babi Sali, is Israel’s richest rabbi, with an estimated fortune of NIS 1.3 billion, according to the “Forbes Israel’s” ranking of Israel’s ten richest rabbis. The magazine says that the social protest hurt the fortunes of the rabbis’ by greatly reducing their income from donations from tycoons.

Music Video: Hang Up the Phone

In a futuristic take on his hit song ‘Hang Up The Phone,’ from his blockbuster album Leap of Faith, Lipa Schmeltzer teams up with producer and director Danny Finkelman to tackle our generation’s ever growing infatuation with gadgets head-on, in a music video that is both sci-fi and practical advice for today’s technologically obsessed society.

Video: Mordechai Ben David Sings with Chosson

Mordechai Ben David made a surprise appearance at the wedding of Boruch Sholom Blesofsky (Crown Heights) and Mushky Geisinsky (Bethesda, MD) at Razag Ballroom last week, along with his son Yeedle. He sang a duet with the Chosson, who is an accomplished singer in his own right.

Chief Rabbi Amar visits Lubavitch of Brazil

Last Wednesday, Jewish tycoon Mr. Joseph Safra celebrated the wedding of his son David Safra. Among the honored guests who came from around the world to attend the wedding was Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar. During his stay in S. Paulo, the Chief Rabbi made it a priority to visit the Lubavitch Educational Institutions in the city.