As published on the Daas Torah blog.
There are probably not many people in the online Jewish world who have
not yet heard about the tragic custody case of the Schlesinger twins in
Vienna. Anyone still unfamiliar with the details of this case who is
interested in finding out more, should watch this frank discussion in
British parliament http://helpbeth.blogspot.co.il/p/british-parliament-14th-january-2014.html
In the last few weeks an extraordinary letter has
been published, signed by an increasing number of senior and
well-respected Rabbis, in protest at the treatment of the twins and
their mother in Vienna (full letter is included at the end of this
post). The letter openly criticizes the courts as much as the Austrian
Jewish community and their leaders. It is very rare for a community to
be called out so publicly by the rest of the Jewish world in this way,
and has no doubt only happened following the exhaustion of all
diplomatic efforts to engage the local Rabbinate in any constructive
dialogue.
Furthermore, this letter follows many other independent letters including from a Beth Din, The office of the Chief Rabbi in the UK, and the British Board of Deputies, and the CEO of Chabad in the UK. (Full list here http://helpbeth.blogspot.co.il/p/endorsements.html )
Furthermore, this letter follows many other independent letters including from a Beth Din, The office of the Chief Rabbi in the UK, and the British Board of Deputies, and the CEO of Chabad in the UK. (Full list here http://helpbeth.blogspot.co.il/p/endorsements.html )
So far, there has been no (public) response from anyone in Austria
despite every opportunity afforded to them. Anyone who tries to contact a
friend or family member in Vienna is told they have no knowledge of
the case or the people involved. (Try it yourself Austria - Vienna Synagogues )
Jewish
leadership in Vienna rests firmly on the shoulders of these men. They
may think ignoring this international scandal absolves them of any
wrong-doing, but clearly public opinion thinks otherwise. The longer
this goes unresolved, the more distance will be created between the Jews
of Austria and the rest of the globe. Rabbinic reputations built up
over entire careers are being frittered away because they are choosing
to ignore what has now become an International scandal within the Jewish
world and beyond.
 |
| Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg |
Chief Rabbi Paul Chaim Eisenberg is the current Chief Rabbi of the body
that represents Vienna’s Orthodox Jewish community, known as the IKG. He succeeded his father, Rabbi Akiba Eisenberg, in 1983.
 |
| Rabbi Avrohom Yona Schwartz |
Rabbi Avrohom Yona Schwartz is the Rabbi of the Khal Chassidim on
Grosse Schiffgasse, and carries a recognized Kashrut authority in Vienna. He was one of the closest students of the late Rabbi Chanoch Dov Padwa
(Stamford Hill, London) and wrote the book Halichos Chanoch which
entails a collection of his halachic rulings, lessons and anecdotes.
He is regarded by many as the leading figurehead for the Chareidi community in Vienna.
 |
| Rabbi Josef Pardes |
Rabbi Josef Pardes is the Rabbi of the Misrachi Synagogue on Rabensteig
in Vienna and is the son of the disgraced late Dayan Chaim Pardes,
former President of the Tel Aviv Rabbinical Court (Israel).
Many people in Vienna view him as a close mentor of Mr Schlesinger. Rabbi Pardes has to date ignored many invitations to comment on the subject.
 |
| Chabad Rabbi Jacob Biderman |
Chabad Rabbi Jacob Biderman is the head Chabad emissary to Austria and is the principal of the Chabad kindergarten attended by the Schlesinger Twins. He also serves as the Rabbi of the Chabad Synagogue "Heichal Menachem" on Rabbiner Schneerson Platz.
Biderman holds a position on the Executive Board of the RCE and is vice president of the "Lauder Foundation" for educational affairs.
 |
| Former IKG Present Ariel Muzicant |
Ariel Muzicant was president of the IKG until February 2012. Although Dr
Muzicant is no longer the IKG president, many still regard him as one
of the most influential men in the Austrian Jewish community today. He
is a Vice President of World Jewish Congress (headed by Ronald Lauder) and also a Vice President of European Jewish Congress in charge of security and crisis management.
 |
| Current IKG President Oskar Deutsch |
Oskar Deutsch has been the president of the IKG since 2012 and has used his position to speak out against anti-Semitism.
Full text of the letter below.
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.
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
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
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