News Roundup – Fri. 2/12

The dybbuk is not real. Who would’ve thunk? An investigative report on Israeli TV claims to have unmasked the fraud behind the dybbuk exorcisms in Israel by Rabbi David Batzri and others. One woman, previously the subject of an exorcism by Rav Batzri, claims that it was all a setup and now she’s upset that Rav Batzri didn’t pay her the amount promised for her performance. Of course, this woman was in on the charade and hardly the credible witness. And if this is what it takes to convince a superstitious public that dybbuks aren’t, well, real, then we’ve really got a sad situation.

Leading Monsey Rabbonim held a conference on the Leib Tropper scandal. The meeting was chaired by Rabbi Moshe Green, respected Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva D’Monsey. Personally, I don’t get what the fuss is about or what exactly the rabbonim intend to do if they find the allegations credible. But I don’t recall conferences of rabbonim when they banned Nathan Slifkin or Lipa Schmeltzer. They seemed quite happy to go on hearsay. Perhaps the rules are different for a sexual predator who also happens to be a rabbi? Will have to look into that.

The Internet is banned. That was the clear and final word from the gedoilim. At least that was my impression. But apparently I was wrong. There are exceptions; for one, when the site is owned by Charedi newspaper Yated Ne’eman. What was previously known as Etrog is now Tog. And they operate under “strict submission” to the “hallowed judgement” of the gedoilim. Can we get a hechsher for Unpious too? (Although, personally, I’d prefer a ban.)

Sholom Rubashkin has been placed in solitary confinement after being accosted by his cellmate, so claims Matzav.com. Matzav’s journalism isn’t quite up there with the New York Times, but if the report is true, it is indeed worrying. While bank fraud should indeed be punished, something about this situation strikes me as “cruel and unusual.” Then again, abuses in our country’s prison system are nothing new. But if it takes a guy by the name of “Sholom” to raise awareness of it, I’m all for it.

More than 1,500 cases of mumps have been reported in New York and New Jersey over the last several months, nearly all of them within the Orthodox Jewish community. This seems like a newsworthy item for those keeping statistics. For everyone else, you just wasted ten seconds of your life. Sorry ‘bout that.

News Roundups appear twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Send news tips to unpious.editor@gmail.com.

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