Opuscula Rush to Judge Alleged rapist Was premature?

As this is keyed, a once-accused man is walking free for lack of evidence.

According to the right-of-center Israel HaYom on-line newsletter (http://tinyurl.com/y52wn58e) A Palestinian man indicted earlier this month for raping a seven-year-old girl at her school in the Binyamin region of Judea and Samaria, a case that transfixed Israel, was released from prison on Tuesday morning and the charges against him were dropped.

After Israel Police investigators re-interviewed the victim, Military Advocate General (MAG) Maj. Gen. Sharon Afek made the decision to cancel the indictment against Nazmi Abed el-Hamid Kattousa due to a glaring lack of evidence.

 

Israel HaYom page

 

According to many Israeli sources, the accused was one step away from an American-style lynch mob (http://tinyurl.com/yyytqka2) when the MAG canceled the remand.

Rape cases never are easy. It usually comes down too “He said-She said.”

When a small child — in the Israeli case, the girl was 7 years old — the crime is all the more heinous.

PERSONAL KNOWLEDGE

When I was editor of a newspaper in a small U.S. Western town (Ely, Nevada) a pre-teen girl claimed her boyfriend — then 19 or 20 years old — raped her

When the matter reached the court, the judge cleared the room and personally, gently questioned the child.

It turned out that
a. The boyfriend was innocent
b. The child had been raped as she claimed, and
c. The rapist was the child’s own grandfather.

Add the hostility between Israelis and the Muslims coming from the PLO-controlled territories and emotions quickly rise to the boiling point.

The Israel HaYom blurb ended noting "After examining the evidence in the case, the completion of the investigation and the analysis of the investigative actions that are yet to be carried out, the Military Advocate General believes that at this time there is no reasonable chance of convicting Kattousa. Therefore, the MAG decided to walk back from the indictment and allow the Israel Police to continue completing the investigation," the office of the Military Advocate General announced."

My first born is a detective on a municipal police department. He is assigned to the child abuse division and works in a unit called crimes against children and families. It handles child abuse, elderly abuse, domestics, rapes, lewd and lascivious acts etc.

He also deals with pedophilia and other sex offenders as well as have kiddy porn to cases.

The Israeli police may find enough evidence to bring this man before the bench.

Hopefully they will not stop looking for the perpetrator(s) because they have a likely suspect.

Perhaps someone like the judge in Nevada will discover the truth by gently questioning the child.

Rape cases never are easy. Rape cases involving young boys and girls are particularly difficult.

A mob throwing a rope across a tree limb is not the answer.

Not in Israel and not in the U.S.

 

Next Day

From A7 news (http://tinyurl.com/y4j7sgno), Despite Katusa having failed a polygraph test during the initial investigation, prior to the indictment, a major discovery at the victim’s home this week changed the prosecution’s position regarding the indictment, Israeli media outlets reported Monday night.

A question arouse shortly after the indictment was filed, however, regarding the veracity of the child’s identification of Katusa as the perpetrator.

The case lacked physical evidence, due in part to the family’s decision not to immediately report the matter to police, and investigators say the victim may have been led by her mother to identify Katusa as the perpetrator.

Despite Katusa having failed a polygraph test during the initial investigation, prior to the indictment, a major discovery at the victim’s home this week changed the prosecution’s position regarding the indictment, Israeli media outlets reported Monday night.

Meanwhile Yehuda Fried, who is representing the 7-year-old rape victim and her family, responded Tuesday to the alleged rapist's expected release.

"The possibility that the rapist will walk free frightens me," Fried told 103FM Radio. "The possibility that he will return to working in the school is horrifying. We will do everything we can to change the decision." (http://tinyurl.com/y4ggtlle)
I am not certain why the victim of a crime needs legal representation beyond the police and state prosecuters.

Fried may be trying to make a name for himself or perhaps a fat fee, but he should know that until a court rules on guilt or innocence, even in Israel, a person — from a premier to a janitor from the PLO areas — is innocent.

 

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to state proseuteersdefamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Jews need JDL To protect Jews Around world

QUESTION: Is America experiencing Europe’s growing anti-Semitism? That was the center of discussion at a conference hosted earlier this month by the Hudson Institute’s Center for Religious Freedom, featuring experts on anti-Semitism in Europe and results from a May 2019 poll of Americans. ¹

While the article, as usual, failed to provide a list of questions and how they were phrased, and also, as usual, failed to provide any demographic information, the writer noted that the poll found that instead of anti-Semitism becoming normalized, most Americans think anti-Semitism is increasing in the U.S. (and see it as a problem in society). But 20% don’t believe 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, and those respondents are more likely to be young.

It is this scrivener’s opinion that one reason, perhaps the main reason “20% don’t believe 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust is because we — Jews — constantly ignore the other 6 million non-Jews who were slaughtered by the nazis — and that is not counting military casualties.

Romas were murdered; Communists were murdered; the mentally and physically weak were murdered, along with a few Christians.

The article continues quoting Elan Carr, the U.S. Department of State’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, who spoke eloquently about the rather deceptive idea that there is a “new” anti-Semitism. He shook his head. “It’s just the same old thing,” he explained.

Ancient accusations against Jews, such as the infamous “blood libel,” are newly packaged in such twisted guises as “Israelis are child murderers,” and “Jews have infected Palestinian children with the AIDS virus.”

Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, who serves as director of the American Jewish Committee (AJC) in Europe, told the group “Listen to the victims and don’t make excuses for the perpetrators. Build coalitions and pay attention to hate speech, and learn from what’s happening in Europe!”

THE POLL

Some of McLaughlin’s major findings

  *  Most of the 1,000 registered U.S. voters polled are familiar with anti-Semitism and believe it is increasing. In an open-ended question, 62% of participants described anti-Semitism as a hatred of Jews or bigotry.

  *  Religious intolerance is seen as the leading cause of anti-Semitism (25%), followed by Muslim extremism (19%)

  *  Attempts on college campuses to shut down pro-Israel speakers is viewed by a majority (54%) of likely voters as anti-Semitic.

  *  The BDS movement is seen as anti-Semitic by a majority of likely voters by a nearly 3-to-1 ratio.

  *  The Democratic party is not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism within its own party, respondents noted by a 2-to-1 ratio (48% to 22%).

ANTI-SEMITISM IN U.S. vs. ELSEWHERE

Excluding left-wing Jews, particularly those affiliated with the Democrat party, most American Jews have the opportunity to defend themselves. Sadly, Jews in New York and California, where gun laws allow only criminals to have firearms, are less able to defend their lives and the lives of their fellow Jews.

What is needed, in this scrivener’s opinion, is for a resurgence of the Jewish Defense League, anathema to the leftists, to bring together like-minded Jews and to train these Jews in self-defense tactics, including the use (where legal) of firearms.

In many cases, anti-Semites are cowards.

If they know they might be injured or killed in an attack on Jews or Jewish institutions, they might be less inclined to physically attack us. Not knowing who is armed and trained to use the weapon can be a significant deterrent to an anti-Semite.

Part of the training is to know when not to use the weapon.

I am not proposing that Jews form a vigilante force, but even police — if they are honest — will admit that they cannot be everywhere at once; people need o know how to protect — defend — themselves until help arrives.

While blatant anti-Semitism — outside of the U.S. House of Representatives — is rare in the U.S., but given the example of Europe, it still has a threat.

Unlike Europe which has a long, sad history of bigotry and hatred of anything or anyone who is different — and in the case of the nazis and their psychopath followers.

An obvious Jew — obvious by his haberdashery — has three choices:

  *  Discard the clothes that “make the man”

  *  Avoid areas where anti-Semites are known to congregate

  *  Travel only in large groups of people willing to defend themselves

  *  Prepare to defend himself sans aid from others.

Remember,, if you dare, the fate of Kitty Genovese² 964, 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death across the street from where she lived in an apartment in New York City. The New York Times published an article claiming that 38 witnesses saw or heard the attack, but none of them called the police or came to her aid.

While deliberate anti-Semitism is rare in the U.S. — rare, but not unknown — “innocuous” anti-Semitism — the unthinking remark — is not. We need to “correct” such remarks or actions when they occur in the manner in which they occur. I cringe when I hear someone refer to a person as a “little Jew.” My two sons are both more than six feet tall, which I hasten to tell people who mouth that comment.

BOTTOM LINE

If we don’t want Europe on on shores, U.S. Jews must prepare to defend themselves, and one of the best ways to do that is to invite training from the JDL. (JDL logo on right.)

We also must be active at the polls to prevent more anti-Semites — Jews or not &mdash from winning seats in government — ANY government

But that’s just my opinion.

Another voice that seems to agree about arming Jews is that of Dr. Mordechai Kedar.

In an op ed on the Arutz 7/Israel National News site³, Kedar opines that while on a tour of Jewish organizations in the U.S. (A) good many Jews of all cultural types spoke clearly and openly of their fears with regard to two things: the rise in Jew-hatred and the deteriorating security situation.

The growing hatred towards Jews is evident in worrying reports of a dramatic rise in the number of incidents where this hatred is expressed, the most shocking being shooting sprees: One, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on the Succot holiday this year, was the work of a murderer named Robert Bowers who broke into the Tree of Life Synagogue murdering 11 worshippers in cold blood and wounding six. The second happened this past Passover when a murderer named John Ernest broke into the Poway, California Chabad House, killed a worshipper and  wounded three others. In both cases the perpetrators cited the anti-Jewish Turner Diaries written in 1978 by an American Nazi named William Luther Pierce who also writes under the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald.

Image of kippa with statement “Jews can Shoot” on it.

Twentieth century history teaches that the more Jews were integrated into the society in which they lived, the greater the threat they were perceived to pose to that society, therefore the greater the hatred they inspire.

Until recently, most American Jews felt that the US is intrinsically different than Europe, that "it can't happen here." That feeling has begun to erode.

A number of Jews have established an organization called Jews Can Shoot. Their kippahs are embroidered with the words: "Nothing Says Never Again Like an Armed Jew." Printed on the lining of the kippah is a saying by the Jewish Sages: "If someone is coming to kill you, rise against him and kill him first."

The above are excerpts from Kedar’s op ed.

It is worth reading the entire article.

Sources

1. http://tinyurl.com/y2u2hyun

2. http://tinyurl.com/q2tpvox

3. http://tinyurl.com/y5dhc3wn

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula The problem With war: Innocents

CALL THEM “COLLATERAL DAMAGE” OR “innocent bystanders.” Mostly they are NOT combatants. This does not apply to terrorists who wear no military garb, much like the “Black Pajama” fighters in Vietnam or the terrorists in the PLO and Gaza hiding behind true civilians. The problem with almost any war there are “civilian casualties.”

If the U.S. responds to Iranian of Chinese provocation, e.g., attacking ships in international waterways, if all-out war is declared, thousands of civilians will die.

Likewise, if Israel is attacked en masse by Hezbollah, the PLO, or Hamas, it will respond in a manner to prevent more attacks. True, the UN and other leftists will rail about “proportional response” suggesting that for every attacker killed, at least one Israeli should die. That, of course, is unacceptable for the Israelis.

AN ASIDE

During World War 2, the nazis bombed English cities to convince the islanders to join with Lord Haw-Haw and Gandhi in allowing the nazis to take over the island.

In return, the English fire-bombed Dresden, killing whomever was in the bombs’ — and resulting fires’ — area of destruction.

During the same war, the U.S. dropped two atomic bombs on Japan with horrific results; hundreds of Japanese instantly died, and thousands more suffered, but the bombings DID end the war in the Pacific. The Japanese chose to ignore the warnings dropped from planes passing over the island.

In both cases, civilians paid the price for their government’s actions.

MUSLIM PROMISES

The leaders of Iran and its proxies — Hezbollah, the PLO, and Hamas — promise to kill all Israelis. Never mind if the Israeli is a Muslim, a Jew, or something else.

Israel, despite protests from the UN and leftists, will defend itself.

The best defense? A good offense.

Israel has weapons.

What the world has seen to date are primarily defensive weapons.

It sometimes exercises its air force.

It is known to have several missile-launching submersibles. It has a pretty good navy with “over-the-horizon” capability. It might not be able to take on the U.S., Chinese, or Russian navies, but Iran is none of those.

Unlike soldiers with rifles, bombs and missiles are non-selective in their targets. True, there ARE “smart” bombs and missiles that can hit a specific building — or even a car on the road — but depending on the damage inflicted on Israel by the attackers, Israel may need to forego “pin-point accuracy” in favor of mass destruction.

”INNOCENT” VICTIMS

It is my understanding, from various media reports, that there are people in Iran, in Lebanon, in the PLO territories, and in Gaza, who would like to overthrow their masters.

There were Poles in Poland during WW 2 that hated the nazis for invading Poland. They fought the nazis with guerrilla tactics. In some cases, a few Poles even helped Jews or absorbed them into their units. (This scrivener knew one.) The Nordic countries also had their guerrilla units.

Unoccupied countries such as the U.S. and the English smuggled weapons to the partisans.

Perhaps Israel and Egypt — no friend of Hamas and Islamic Brotherhood — might do the same. There might even be more support from other Muslim states, e.g., Saudia, currently under attack by Iran’s proxy in Yemen. I consider Jordan unable to do anything that might upset Iran since it is largely populated by “Palestinians” that have proven to be, and remain a threat to the royal house. It would take a U.S. to provide succor to Iranians who are willing to try and overthrow the ayatollahs. (If the Democrats take over the presidency and both houses of Congress, any U.S. support for Iranian dissidents will go away.)

IF IRAN or its proxies attack Israel “to wipe if off the map,” civilians by the thousands will die. There will be civilian deaths in Israel, but there will be many more where the attacks originated.

When the Democrats controlled the White House and Congress — the FDR years — the U.S. turned a blind eye to the atrocities in Europe.

When Obama and the Democrats controlled America, Israel’s enemies had staunch support in Washington.

Unless there is a Harry S Truman-type personality in the Democrat party, the party’s return to power in the U.S. will see the return of the FDR and Obama eras: “See no evil, Hear no evil, and pretend there are no threats to an ally.”

JUST ANOTHER WAR

A war between Israel and Iran and its proxies will not be “a war to end all wars..” It WILL be a war that will destroy generations; thousands of non-combatants will die on all sides.

Israel probably will prevail, but at a cost.

What really is stupid is that if Iran and its proxies had any sense, they would rush to make peace with Israel so their people could enjoy the advances coming from Israel.

The next war will be blamed on the “Palestinians issue.”

Time and time again the “issue” could have been resolved in the PLO’s favor, but each time, the PLO refused to compromise on its demand that Israel disappear.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula Kosher labels: Who do you trust?

I AM A KOSHER CONSUMER, I am not a
*  Food scientist
*  Masgeach
*  Rabbi<

I am not employed by any agency that certifies or approves the kashrut of any product.

I am a kosher consumer.

I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH kashrut certifying/approving agencies.

 

I like Irish whiskey. (I’ll also drink Arak, Bourbon (Kentucky and Tennessee), Rum, Vodka, and if a glass is put into my hand, Scotch.

Providing the potable is kosher.

I am a bit of a makpeed, an extremist, when it comes to my liquor.

I know that most rabbis will take a lenient approach, but I stand with the one or two who are strict.

If an alcoholic beverage is aged — matured — in a cask formerly used to contain non-kosher wine the product is, by this scrivener and a few poskim, not kosher.

When I plan to purchase booze I check
*  The bottle; does it state that the liquid is aged in Bourbon or first fill oak barrels?
The distillery; does the distiller tell me the product is aged in Bourbon or first fill oak barrels?

I have queried many distillers of Irish and scotch whiskeys.

Without exception the responses seem to have been truthful.

All Bourbon is acceptable unless it is flavored.

Since most distilleries are owned by stock holders, and since at least some of the stockholders are not Jewish, I am not overly concerned with “the problems of Pesach.” This may become a problem when Israeli whiskeys hit the market, but for now . . .

There are several “kosher whiskey lists” including, in the U.S.:
*  cRc (www.crcweb.org/LiquorList.pdf)
*  Star-K (http://tinyurl.com/y63v2xbk )

In the UK, Kosher Whiskey & Liquor (http://kosherliquorlist.com/en/) and KLBD (https://www.theus.org.uk/category/kosher).

Canada has, according to Arlene Mathis’ Kashrut.com, the MK (http://tinyurl.com/y3h6z6up). The MK list of Irish whiskeys is highly abbreviated.

Of all the lists, I like the cRc’s best.

It is no substitute for contacting the distiller, but it seems stricter than Star-K, KWL, and KLBD.

For example, cRc does not recommend most Bushmills (Red Bush is the exception) nor Jameson or Tullamore D.E.W. products.

According to the folks at Bushmills, all their Irish whiskeys — with the exception of Red Bush — are aged at some point in casks that formerly contained wine.

Likewise Jameson and Tullamore D.E.W.

I asked.

Scotch is similar.

The very popular Chivas Regal is a blend of scotches, some of which are aged in wine casks. According to Chivas people, only the master blender knows which scotch(es) in the blend had been aged in a wine cask.

 

What’s my problem with wine casks?

The whiskeys are poured into casks that formerly held (non-kosher) wine so the whiskey can absorb some of the cask’s residual flavor and color.

What about the 1/60th rule? Surely the casks won’t contribute that much to the whiskey.

True, but the 1/60th rule is for accidental spills, not deliberate pouring.

I know Orthodox rabbis who don’t care. I also know a few rabbis who do care. Chivas is popular in many synagogues, both Ashkenazi and Sephardi. Likewise Jameson’s Irish.

 

Does it matter if the product is a blend or “straight”?

Not really since unless a product is “single barrel,” all Bourbons, Canadian, Irish, and scotch are blends. “Straight” indicates all the whiskeys in the bottle came from the same distillery. (The age, if listed, is the youngest whiskey in the bottle. Age can — albeit not necessarily — make a whiskey easier on the palate.)

Before depending on any list, find out how the list determines if a product is kosher or not.

After a fairly lengthy preamble, the cRc’s stand on scotch reads as follows: The cRc listings of recommended Scotches follows a stricter standard than the one listed above, and only includes Scotches that are certified and/or are known to not have any contact with wine or wine casks. The cRc editors did a “global search and replace” to make he same statement applicable for Irish whiskeys.

My only problem with the cRc list is that it fails to list all liquors that are “wine cask free.”

Which is why I depend, in the final analysis, on my own research.

There is a caveat: whisky and whiskey blending may change from time to time, It pays to check the kosher lists and perhaps email the distiller, especially if what formerly was labeled “aged in Bourbon (or first-fill oak) barrels” suddenly disappears from the label on the bottle.

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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Opuscula How to clear out Yeshiva shirkers

A word for the yeshiva “boys” from Avot:
Bread with salt you shall eat, water in small measure you shall drink, and upon the ground you shall sleep; live a life of deprivation and toil in Torah. If so you do, "fortunate are you, and good is to you" (Psalms 128:2): fortunate are you in this world, and it is good to you in the World To Come. (R. Yehoshua b. Levy, Avot, 6:4)

If the “yeshiva boys” dodging the draft — national and military — were forced to live as suggested by Avot “for the duration,” it is very likely they would opt for IDF basic training for a shorter duration.

A leaky canvass tent may not seem attractive, but it is survivable. (Been there, done that.)

 

A quick aside.

According to one report, the source of which escapes me now, about fifty percent — 50% — of haridi men in Jerusalem now go to work, to real jobs. Kol haKavod both to the workers and to the firms that employ them.

High tech not only is providing jobs to the haridi women, but the men, too, are staring to be like rabbis of old: work and study.

Avot address this issue, too.

If there is no flour, there is no Torah; if there is no Torah, here is no flour. (R. Elazar b. Azariah, Avot 3:21)

Excellent is the study of the Law in combination of some worldly pursuit. (R. Gamalil b R. Judah HaNasi, Avot 2:2)

To be fair, Avot also states Reduce your business and engage in Torah study. (R. Meir, husband of Beruryah and student and friend of The Other, Avot 4:12) According to Masters of the Talmud (Kolatch, Jon. David Publishers ISBN 0-8246-0434-2), Meir was a scribe (sofer stam).

 

I never could understand why “modern” religious Jews hide out in yeshiva, ignoring their national and familial duties.

Leaders from the time we crossed the Jordan have been “religious.”

There were military leaders (Joshua) and religious leaders (Pinchas), but they worked together. When Joshua went to war, Pinchas went with him.

There always have been exemptions from military duty; If a man was a newly wed or if he just built a home, he was left behind. If a man was a coward, he also was let behind.

The rabbis tells us that Israel survives because of the yeshivot.

I’m not sure that is true — although to their credit, the men of hesder yeshivot do don the uniform and honorably serve their country.

If “Israel survives because of the yeshivot,” then move the yeshivot to the front lines.

Schools around the world use “portable classrooms,” basically trailers that can be hauled wherever there is a need.

With AC, heat, and a portable generator, the students have all the amenities of a concrete and mortar classroom.

Set up two portables near the front lines; one for study and prayers and one for sleeping and eating.

Mark the portables “YESHIVA - NON-COMBATANTS.” I’m sure the enemy will observe the non-combatant status just as Israel attempts to avoid firing on schools, hospitals, and mosques where the enemy hides.

Should the enemy be so ungentlemanly as to attack the yeshivot-on-wheels, then Israel should have no compunction about leveling Al-Aqsa and turning the Temple Mount into an archaeological dig. (Wikipedia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Mount] claims there is no evidence that Solomon’s temple existed, but dig deep enough and the evidence will be there.) Never mind that the Waqf might be displeased; when Jordan controlled Jerusalem, the Muslims managed to desecrate many synagogues, a number having great historical significance.

 

MEANWHILE if the yeshiva “boys” rough it a la Avot (ibid.) perhaps that would reduce the cost-per-student and, by extension, mean less need to go begging around the world because, as one schnorer told me, “it’s worth it” to pay for flights, lodging, chauffeurs and the schnorer’s commission.

I think its great that there are people who want to study the talmuds, but — with the exception of a very few — most who make a career of the yeshiva won’t ever become respected poskim or even decent rabbis and teachers.

For too many, yeshivot are a place to dodge responsibility: no work, no military or national service.

Every society has “professional students,” but yeshiva students study — if at all — on the cuff of Israeli taxpayers and donors from around the world.

I don’t think, as Liberman does, that all yeshiva boys should be drafted — remember there was an exemption for cowards — but I believe every yeshiva boy should
(a) Perform some sort of national service, e.g., work in a hospital, teach in a school, pick up trash
(b) Get a job; it need not be a full-time, 8-hours-a-day job, but something.

When I was a student in an ulpan (Kibbutz Netzer Serini in Beer Yakov) many years ago, we had to work. We worked five hours and studied four hours six days-a-week for the six month duration of the ulpan. All of us, from the U.S., the (then) USSR, and from North Africa all survived our jobs at the ulpan. (Did we become Hebrew mavins? But we could, and did, integrate into Israeli society.)

Perhaps I am being unfair to the yeshiva boys. Rabbis don’t go to war.

That is a big duck — a/k/a a “gross canard.”

I personally knew a rabbi in the U.S. 101st Airborne who was one of several “Orthodox” rabbis setting up kosher kitchens in Vietnam.

Then there are the hesder yeshiva soldiers in Israel.

 

A LITTLE HISTORY

The first U.S. combat rabbi was Ferdinand Leopold Sarner who was the third rabbi appointed and he was the first rabbi to serve as a regimental chaplain. A native of Germany, he was elected to be the chaplain by the officers of a predominantly German regiment, the 54th New York Volunteer Regiment, the “Schwarze Jaegar.” He served between April 10, 1863, through October 3, 1864. He received a discharge for medical disabilities resulting from wounds received at the Battle of Gettysburg. (See seymourbrody.com/rabbis/brody_chaplains.pdf)

During World War 1, More than 250,000 Jews responded to America’s call to arms. They received more than 1,100 decorations, including three Medals of Honor for bravery. Approximately 3,500 were killed and more than 12,000 were wounded. There were more than 9,000 commissioned officers, including two generals and an admiral. There were 25 rabbis in the military as chaplains. This was the first large group of rabbis to enter the military in American history. (Ibid.)

There were 311 Jewish chaplains in the military in World War II: 147 were Conservative, 96 were Reform and 68 were Orthodox. Eight Jewish chaplains gave their lives. (Ibid.)

Those are just U.S. rabbis. Not all served in combat, but many did.

The only reason the rabbis wore a uniform was because many “just Jews” of different views served.

---

PLAGIARISM is the act of appropriating the literary composition of another, or parts or passages of his writings, or the ideas or language of the same, and passing them off as the product of one’s own mind.

Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Defamation is a false statement of fact. If the statement was accurate, then by definition it wasn’t defamatory.

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