Beth's case taken up by new president of the board of deputies

As published on the Daas Torah blog.

 

Beth's case taken up by new president of the board of deputies

The following appeared in the Jewish Telegraph Friday July 17, 2015 page 26

Arkush: I will be robust for Beth

JONATHAN Arkush has promised to “robustly”take-up the case of Beth Alexander with the leaders of the Austrian Jewish community.

Last week, we revealed how 18 rabbis from Britain had signed an open letter criticising their Austrian counterparts and the community there over the treatment of the Mancunian mother. Beth, formerly married to Dr Michael Schlesinger, of Vienna, lost custody of her twin sons, now aged six. She has access to them for only six overnight stays each month and has fought a bitter battle through the courts with her ex-husband.

Mr Arkush told the Jewish Telegraph: “It is a matter of deep concern. This is something I am personally committed to. “It is a painful case and also one which is deeply regrettable. I will do my best to move things along.”

He also said he, together with Board senior vice president Richard Verber, last week met with Martin Eichtinger, the Austrian ambassador to the UK. “I am also planning to meet Jewish leaders in Austria and be robust in dealing with the matter with them,” Mr Arkush added. [...]

 

 

 

Jewish News: UK rabbis slam Austrian peers for ‘shunning’ orthodox woman in custody battle

July 6, 2015

As published here.

 
Some of London’s leading rabbis have slammed their peers in Austria for “shunning” an Orthodox woman after a Viennese court deprived a British Jewish mother of her children.

The group of 17 rabbis, from London, Liverpool, Reading and Manchester, as well as one from Australia, called on other rabbis to get involved, saying Beth Alexander had been through “dreadful and unnecessary pain”.

In a series of legal rulings following her divorce from Michael Schlesinger in 2009, Alexander lost custody of her children, Sammy and Benji, and is now limited to six nights a month, no weekends, having to pay handover fees and child maintenance.

Last year, British lawmakers said the case was “Kafkaesque,” and rabbis last week mirrored the language, calling the rulings which all but barred Beth from seeing her two boys “perverse” and “an injustice”.

The rabbis’ letter blasts the “Austrian Jewish community and certain members of the Austrian rabbinate [who] have largely shunned her,” and takes aim at “Austrian Jewish communal leaders [who] have not adequately supported a vulnerable and defenceless young woman”.

Among the signatories are Rabbi Danny Bergson of Pinner, Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky of Borehamwood and Elstree, Rabbi Boruch Davis of Chigwell and Hainault, Rabbi Elchonon Feldman at Belmont, and Rabbi Yisroel Fine, formerly at Cockfosters.

Others include Rabbi Moshe Freedman from New West End shul, Rabbis Pinchas Hackenbroch and Gary Wayland of Woodside Park, Rabbis Dov Kaplan and Marc Levene of Hampstead Garden Suburb, Rabbi Daniel Roselaar of Alei Tzion, Rabbi Meir Salasnik from Bushey and Rabbi Nissan Wilson from Redbridge.

JTA: British rabbis criticize Austrian counterparts for shunning divorcee

July 7, 2015 2:49pm

As published here.

(JTA) — Leading British rabbis criticized their Austrian counterparts for shunning an Orthodox British woman living in Vienna who lost custody of her children.

The rabbis from London, Liverpool, Reading and Manchester called on the Austrian Jewish community and its leaders to show support for Beth Alexander, who lost custody of her twin sons in 2013 by order of a court in Vienna following her divorce from Dr. Michael Schlesinger.
She can see her sons six nights a month, no weekends, and is required to pay maintenance, the British Jewish News reported.

“Beth Alexander is a warm, kind-natured and generous person who deserves to play a full and active role in bringing up her children,” the rabbis wrote. “We hope and pray that the natural maternal love that she has for them will ultimately break through the effects of this disgraceful injustice that she and her children have been forced to endure.”

The letter criticizes the Jewish community for having “not adequately supported a vulnerable and defenseless young woman.”

The rabbis state that “Schlesinger has been given opportunities to make life easier for Beth and the children, and yet appears to have deliberately ignored them. This gives the impression that his children are merely pawns in a spiteful game to make life for Beth a living hell.”

Jewish Chronicle: UK rabbis urge support for Beth Alexander in custody battle

By Tal Fox, July 7, 2015

As published here.

Beth Alexander and her sons

A group of leading British rabbis have criticised the Austrian Jewish community for its treatment of a British woman involved in a custody battle with her Austrian ex-husband.

The 18 rabbis have signed a petition in support of Beth Alexander, saying that she had suffered “dreadful and unnecessary pain” since her divorce and that the Austrian Jewish community and rabbinate have “largely shunned her”.

The rabbis said they were disappointed over the lack of support from the community and its leaders.
In 2013, a court in Vienna granted full custody of Ms Alexander’s twin boys to their father, Dr Michael Schlesinger.

A subsequent appeal against the decision was rejected.

The rabbi’s called for the access rights granted by the courts to be observed by Dr Schlesinger
They wrote: ‘Beth Alexander is a warm, kind-natured and generous person who deserves to play a full and active role in bringing up her children. We hope and pray that the natural maternal love that she has for them will ultimately break through the effects of this disgraceful injustice that she and her children have been forced to endure.’

Signatories to the petition included London rabbis Elchonon Feldman and Meir Salasnik, Rabbi Arnold Saunders of Manchester and Liverpool’s Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg.

Rabbis protest Michael's spiteful mistreatment of Beth and Twins

As published on Daas Torah.

 

בס״ד

Re. Beth Alexander

We have followed the case of Beth Alexander for some time and have had the opportunity to hear from her about the dreadful and unnecessary pain that she has suffered following her divorce. In the initial stages of Beth’s separation, her husband was evicted by the police after allegations that he had been violent. The Austrian court only allowed him restricted and supervised access to his children.

Yet many of us have followed the Kafkaesque decisions made by subsequent courts which have granted full custody to Beth’s ex-husband with only limited visiting rights. Beth is naturally distraught over the lack of care being given to her children. They are looked after by paid help who speak little German or English.

Beth is also concerned for the health of her children, especially after dental procedures were performed without her knowledge to remove teeth from both of the boys. What is more perverse is that on top of the injustice in denying Beth’s children proper access to their mother, Beth has had to pay up to 50EUR for each 2-minute handover, failing which, she would have been unable to see her children. This is in addition to the child maintenance she must pay as mandated by the court.

To add insult to injury, Beth finds that the Austrian Jewish community and certain members of the Austrian rabbinate have largely shunned her. She has been told by individuals in the community to keep quiet or go back to England and forget about her children. While we recognise that the court’s decisions must be respected, we are profoundly disappointed that the Austrian Jewish community and leadership have not adequately supported a vulnerable and defenceless young woman, who has been thrust into this intolerable situation against her will.

We are also deeply concerned that Dr. Schlesinger has been given opportunities to make life easier for Beth and the children, and yet appears to have deliberately ignored them. This gives the impression that his children are merely pawns in a spiteful game to make life for Beth a living hell. We therefore request that Dr. Schlesinger takes the following steps to alleviate Beth’s situation for the sake of Sammy and Benji.

• To accept the offer of a simple and inexpensive handover of the children, coordinated by the Chief Rabbi of Austria or others within the community.

• To comply with the Court’s access orders in full.

• To stop cancelling access visits to Beth in defiance of the courts.

• To accept the generous offer of Rabbi Hofmeister to host Beth and the boys for one Shabbat meal a month with immediate effect.

We wish to send the strongest message possible to Dr. Schlesinger that his behaviour is a disgrace and our patience has run out.

Beth Alexander is a warm, kind-natured and generous person who deserves to play a full and active role in bringing up her children. We hope and pray that the natural maternal love that she has for them will ultimately break through the effects of this disgraceful injustice that she and her children have been forced to endure.

We therefore join the Chief Rabbi, Ephraim Mirvis and our other colleagues who are working to help address the best interests of Beth and her children, and call upon other rabbonim and communal leaders to join us in our endeavours.

Rabbi Danny Bergson, London
Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky, London
Rabbi Alex Chapper, London
Rabbi Zvi Cohen, London
Rabbi Boruch Davis, London
Rabbi Elchonon Feldman, London
Rabbi Yisroel Fine, London
Rabbi Dr. Moshe Freedman, London
Rabbi Pinchas Hackenbroch, London
Rabbi Chaim Kanterovitz, London
Rabbi Dov Kaplan, London
Rabbi James Kennard, Melbourne, Australia
Rabbi Anthony Knopf, Cape Town, South Africa
Rabbi Marc Levene, London
Rabbi David Mason, London
Rabbi Alon Meltzer, Canberra, Australia
Rabbi Joel Portnoy, Manchester
Rabbi Yosef Richards, London
Rabbi Shaul Robinson, New York, USA
Rabbi Daniel Roselaar, London
Rabbi Meir Salasnik, London
Rabbi Arnold Saunders, Manchester
Rabbi Zvi Solomons, Reading
Rabbi Gary Wayland, London
Rabbi Nissan Wilson, London
Rabbi Mordechai Wollenberg, Liverpool