Thursday, January 15, 2015

The JBlog Review

The Schlesinger Twins and Daat Torah


As published on The JBlog Review.

Though I often disagree strongly with the Daat Torah blog there is at least one issue that Rabbi Daniel Eidensohn has been championing where he seems to be on target. The issue is one that he refers to as the case of the Schlesinger twins. Here is an article on the subject. I encourage people to read about the issue, do their best to draw informed conclusions, and help if they are able.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Schlesinger Twins: Chabad of Manchester supports Beth

As published on Daas Torah.







TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN

I am concerned about the welfare of Samuel and Benjamin Schlesinger, and the lack of contact they have with their Mother. The Austrian Courts have awarded, limited visiting rights to the British mother, Mrs Beth Schlesinger (nee Alexander), which are often cancelled.

The court's unusual decision to deprive a mother of the right to raise and/or spend time with her children has placed a significant strain on Mrs Schlesinger. More significantly, I am concerned that the twins' growth and development are suffering, while the mother is not included in any way in matters relating to her children's health, welfare and education.

I would ask that all concerned should address the best interests of the children and consider ways to build a better future for the boys, with their Mother.

Rabbi Dovid Jaffe



Friday, January 9, 2015

Личная война Бесс Александер - Schlesinger Twins

Thursday, January 8, 2015

As published on Relevant Info



В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению.


Жила-была в Манчестере девушка по имени Бесс Александер, религиозная еврейка, окончившая Кэмбриджский университет.  И однажды она познакомилась в Париже с доктором из Австрии, Михаэлем Шлезингером, тоже ортодоксальным евреем, принадлежащим к одной из наиболее влиятельных и богатых семей в Австрии. Бесс поспешила выйти за него замуж. Вскоре она поняла, что совыршила ужасную ошибку. Муж издевался над ней, угрожал и бил, даже после рождения детей – близнецов Самуэля и Бенжамина. В 2010 году Шлезингер попытался добиться госпитализации жены в психиатрической лечебнице закрытого типа, но вместо этого полиция удалила из дома его, посчитав, что его поведение представляет угрозу для жены и детей. Доктор бил не только жену, но также и своего тестя, и даже собственного отца.


Шлезингер позвонил судье Верховного суда Австрии, своему близкому другу Констанзе Тау, и поросил ее поговорить с судьей, которая вела его дело о насилии в семье и разводе, Сюзанне Готтлихер. После встречи друх судей, Готтлихер изменила своё мнение и постановила, что отныне Бесс не будет иметь полной опёки над детьми, как было решено раньше. Половину времени они будут проводить с отцом. Бесс был перекрыт выезд за границу. Слушания в суде не было – судья приняла это решение за кулисами. В 2011 году Шлезингер потребовал психиатрической экспертизы для своей бывшей жены. Экспертизы была проведена на немецком языке, которым Бесс почти не владеет. Психиатр ( состоящий в штате судьи Констанзы Тау) пришел к выводу о её неадекватности, основываясь на том, что она отвечала медленно и неуверенно… Вам это ничего не напоминает, уважаемые читатели?


Неоднократно проведенные независимые экспертизы показали, что Бесс вполне адекватна и способна заботиться о детях. Несмотря на это, судья Готтлихер вынесла постановление о передаче детей под полную опеку Шлезингера. Дети были букально вырваны из её рук полицией. Несчастная женщина подавала одну апелляцию за другой, включая Верховный Суд Австрии , но ни одна из них не была рассмотрена, без объяснения причин.


Дети находятся под надзором няньки-филипиннки, не говорящей ни на одном из европейских языков. Отец детей отменяет все посещения матери – за последние несколько лет он отменил 50 визитов (!)- за которые она должна платить центру посещений – 40 евро за визит, вне зависимости от того, состоялась ли встреча в детьми.


В интервью газете HuffPost UK Бесс сказала, что её мальчики не говорят вообще – в возрасте 4 лет. Они могут лишь произнести несколько слов на смеси английского и немецкого, не знают никаких игр или песен. В центр встреч дети приходят с грязными, спутанными волосами, в грязной, давно не стиранной одежде, немытыми и очень, очень напуганными. Знакомые семьи подали многочисленные жалобы о состоянии детей в социальные службы, но ни одна из них не была принята к сведению.


Доктор Шлезингер отказался комментировать состояние, в которм находятся его дети. (История его семьи может пролить свет на его поведение. При разводе его родителей его мать получила все права на детей и не давала отцу видеться с ними. До сегодняшнего дня он не поддерживает отношений с отцом и ненавидит его – в сущности, совершенно незнакомого человека).


Как известно, Британские официальные лица, и уж тем более правительство, крайне неохотно вмешиваются в то, что происходит с их гражданами за границей. Но в этом случае злоключения гражданки Великобритании заслужили внимание членов Парламента и обсуждение в Палате Общин. Грахам Стрингер, депутат Парламента назвал случай Бесс Шлезингер «Кафкианским» и «недоступным пониманию». В докладе в Палате Общин Стрингер рассказал депутатам о сотоянии детей, о том, что у одного из мальчиков отсутствуют 4 передних зуба, а у второго – два, без всяких на то медицинских оснований. Судья Готтлихер отклонила раппорт из ясель малышей, в котором говорилось о том, что они плачут и прячутся при виде отца. Дети серьёзно отстают в развитии – чего не наблюдалось, когда они жили с матерью – и черезвычайно травмированы.


Бесс рассказала в интервью HuffPost UK, что её семья готовит иск в Европейский Суд по правам человека, при помощи Британского правительства. (Что само по себе очень необычно и доказывает неординарность этого случая).


Бесс борется за право быть матерью своим детям уже 3 года.



В статье, написанной самой Бесс, она расказывает о невыносимой боли разлуки с детми, о их дне рождения, праздниках и семейных торжествах, проходящих без них. О том, как она вернулась на Рош Га-Шана в Манчестер, чтобы не быть одной на праздники, и как рыдала в объятиях своей матери в синагоге, когда трубили в Шофар. О двойной боли ее матери – за дочь и за внуков.


Шлезингер утверждает, что Бесс отошла от религии (что не соответствует действительности,) и община Вены отвернуласть от неё, оклеветанной чужестранки, по указанию раввинов.


При чём тут мы и Израиль, скажут читатели.
Все евреи ответственны друг за друга, и когда где-то совершается зло, мы не имеем права просто стоять и смотреть. Евреи диаспоры и Израиля всегда связаны. И не только в таких случаях, как дело Полларда, когда человек пожертвовал всем ради Израиля, но и в таких, когда вроде бы Израилю нет до этого никакого дела.


Очень часто зло совершается совсем рядом с нами. Бесс – далеко не единственный человек, пострадавший от произвола чиновников, коррупции, лжи и поклёпа. Наверняка каждый из нас знает о случаях, когда это происходило в Израиле. Особенно страдают иностранцы и олим, не говорящие на иврите. Об одной из них я расскажу в следующей статье.


Бесс и её семья просят, чтобы о её истории узнали как можно больше людей. Никому не известно, где найдётся человек, который сможет ей помочь. Все материалы для этой статьи находятся в открытом доступе в Интернете, на сайте семьи Александер и в Британской прессе.

 

Monday, January 5, 2015

Rebbetzn Rosenberg told the London community about Mr. Schlesinger's cruel and vindictive behavior regarding his children

As published on Daas Torah blog.

Thursday, January 1, 2015


On Sunday evening 14th of December Rebbetzin Miriam Rosenberg from Bnei Brak addressed a group of women from the Chareidi community in London to highlight child custody issues. She used the tragic case of the Schlesinger twins in Vienna to illustrate her points.


Many of the women who attended, have friends and family in Vienna, and proceeded to make contact their Austrian connections soon afterwards. The general feedback has been that the Chareidi community in Austria are also convinced that it was corruption in the judiciary which led to the injustice of the children being removed from their mother’s care (there can be no other rational explanation for the judge's behavior).

Furthermore, the community in Vienna, from independent sources, informed them that the weekly visitation has been put on hold due to the person doing the handover being unavailable. As such, the mother’s visitation has effectively been reduced to every alternate Sunday until further notice. The father, Mr. Schlesinger, can still allow the weekly visits to continue, if he wishes, under the handover supervision of Chief Rabbi Eisenberg (which has been kindly offered repeatedly), but every such request has been declined by Mr. Schlesinger.

Monday, December 22, 2014

Pictures outside Judge Susanne Göttlicher's office

Judge Susanne Göttlicher awarded 100% sole custody of the Schlesinger twins to their father, Mr Michael Schlesinger in July 2011.

Here are some of the pictures outside Judge Susanne Göttlicher's office championing her cause against domestic violence.



Thursday, December 18, 2014

Scrooge lives in Austria - Beth denied extra holiday time with her kids

As published on Daas Torah http://daattorah.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/schlesinger-twins-scrooge-lives-in.html

Why is Michael smiling? Could it be because he succeeded in blocking any extra time for Beth during Chanukah?


Divided custody is rough on the children and rough on the parents. It is especially rough on the children when they are given only very limited time with their mother and are condemned by the courts to be raised primarily by 2 non-Jewish women whose native language is neither German or English. One constant in custody division is that courts usually are concerned that children spend equal quality time with their parents over a holiday period.


Beth was given a clearly unjust ruling concerning her time that she is allowed to spend with her sons - but it has improved over the outrageous ruling that took full custody away from her and gave it to Michael - who had previously been allowed limited supervised visits.


Austrian friends of Beth have informed me - (remember the courts have blocked Beth from publicizing any information about her children) - that while Chanukah goes from Tuesday night (16th) to Wednesday (24th) - the courts are not changing Beth's access to her children and she got to see them Tuesday (16th) and will see them next Tuesday (24th).


Typically courts divide custody during the holiday period rather than keep to the non-holiday division. Courts around the world recognize how important it is for the children to spend equal time during a holiday season - why doesn't the Vienna court?

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Schlesinger Twins: Who is Judge Konstanze Thau?

As published on http://daattorah.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/schlesinger-twins-who-is-judge.html

Thau's Involvement in the case of the Schlesinger Twins

Judge Konstanze Thau


The Austrian newspaper, Heute, reported back in 2013: "This newspaper can now reveal the findings of our research: For months a high court judge (name known) has intervened on the side of the father (the high court judge is a good friend of the ex-husband)."

In fact, according to this post, "judge Konstanze Thau (who has no legal position in the case) was a family friend of Schlesinger's, and was advising him as admitted by Schlesinger in court and documented in the court transcripts."

Back in 2013, an investigation was lodged to investigate her involvement in the case although it is not clear whether any investigation was actually carried out or left to fade away. The article reads: 'Lawyer Dr Helmut Krenn said the case has been suspended while the court investigates whether the judge, Susanne Goettlicher, acted improperly by allowing another judge, Konstanze Thau, to intervene in the case. Dr Krenn said: “I applied to transfer the case to another court because of the intervention.”'

Judge Thau was frequently mentioned during the Debate in British Parliament as having made inappropriate communication with the people involved in the case.
Dr Ulrike Willinger (the psychologist responsible for writing a since-discredited 80 page criticism of the mother which heavily contributed to the 2011 custody decision) was an employee of Kenneth Thau, Konstanze Thau's husband. It seems odd that the judge specifically commissioned Dr Willinger to write the report and was never highlighted as a conflict of interest. This raises even more questions as this report has since been independently proven to be wildly inaccurate in favor of Mr Schlesinger. The custody decision was never reversed despite this underpinning report containing dubious findings.

There is further evidence to suggest that Konstanze Thau was working behind the scenes by the fact that Chabad Rabbi Biderman felt it necessary to forward the mother's private emails to her: http://helpbeth.blogspot.co.uk/p/court-document-rabbi-biderman-sent.html.
Chabad Rabbi Biderman who had been secretly communicating with Thau about the case

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Schlesinger Family Business Contact Details

Schlesinger Family Business Contact Details as shown here: http://www.vienna.net/company/vienna/leather-products-production-wholesale/schlesinger-a-co-kg-39a.html

Schlesinger A & Co KG

Tags: schlesinger a & co kg, leather products / production and wholesale, vienna, leather products / production and wholesale
  • Phone: +43 1 4052610
  • Website: http://www.schlesinger-vienna.at
  • Address:
    Schlesinger A & Co KG
    Lazarettgasse 9
    1090 Vienna
    In English: Schlesinger A & Co KG (Leather products / production and wholesale)
    Category: Leather products / production and wholesale in Vienna

Monday, December 8, 2014

Michael Schlesinger's Professional Position

At the time of writing (Dec 8th 2014) Michael Schlesinger is listed at the "Otto Wagner Hospital and Care Center":

http://www.wienkav.at/kav/ows/ZeigeAnsprech.asp?ID=23618

Dr. Michael SCHLESINGER

Assistenzarzt

Internistisches Zentrum
Dienststelle:  Sozialmedizinisches Zentrum Baumgartner Höhe
Otto-Wagner-Spital und Pflegezentrum
Dienstort:1140 Wien Baumgartner Höhe 1
Telefon:(+43 1) 910 60 - 21340
Fax: (+43 1) 910 60 - 11309
e-Mail


His title is Assistenzarzt which translates to "intern" although it is not clear from this website in which department he is working.


Saturday, November 15, 2014

Austrian Court Declares Immediate Injunction Against Mother of Schlesinger Twins

This has been reported in a number of news articles available online:

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/125469/mothers-fresh-setback-battle-win-her-sons

By Naomi Firsht, November 13, 2014
Follow The JC on Twitter

A British mother fighting for custody of her five-year-old twin sons in Austria has been hit with a gagging order forcing her to remove all photos of the boys from her website and social media pages.
University lecturer Beth Alexander has spent the last four years fighting a battle with the Austrian courts to win custody of sons Sammy and Benji from her ex-husband.
An injunction issued last week by an Austrian court ordered Ms Alexander to remove all photos of the boys from her campaign website, as well as any pictures posted on her social media accounts. She is also forbidden from publicising details of the case. "The campaign will continue. I am very determined. They cannot get away with this injustice. It is not going to break us," said Ms Alexander.
Manchester-born Ms Alexander went through a bitter divorce with Vienna-based Michael Schlesinger, after which he won custody of their children.
She then launched an online campaign calling for support in her efforts to regain custody of the boys. The case has been widely covered by British media, and has been raised in the House of Commons.
She added: "I know the gagging order will not work. They cannot just silence me and make me disappear." Under current legal arrangements Ms Alexander is allowed to see her sons every Tuesday and for an overnight visit once every two weeks. She is appealing against the injunction.


This was also reported in the Jewish Telegraph (a local newspaper based in the north of England):



A VIENNA court has imposed an injunction on a Manchester divorcee preventing her from posting on the web pictures of her five-year-old twins, or updates on them.

Beth Alexander, 30, who has endured a bitter four-year legal battle with her ex-husband, Michael Schlesinger who has custody of the boys, revealed this week: “It is with great regret and sadness that I am forced to remove all my happy pictures and videos of Sammy and Benji from Facebook, YouTube and my blog site. “I’m also forbidden from posting any updates on the children's welfare.”

Beth, who until recently was allowed to see her children for just a few hours a week with no overnight stays, opined: “Sharing the wonderful memories of our very precious time together is small compensation for the lonely and painful time apart. “But at least it keeps my children alive for me in the difficult times between my visits.”

Earlier this year, Beth was given increased access by the courts which included overnight stays, including some weekends. Her ex-husband, though, has often cancelled visits at short notice. Mr Schlesinger, she said, had sought the injunction, accusing her of psychologically harming her sons. “More damaging apparently than bringing four armed policemen to remove the then two-year-old children from their mother at supper time, dumping them off with strangers all day and continually denying them the love and care of their devoted mother,” said Beth.

She told me last night: “Mr Schlesinger tried every way of breaking me financially, emotionally and psychologically and when all else has failed he has now tried to gag me. It won’t work.” She said that the publicity and social media had been her greatest weapons and was “glad I’ve been able to make a stand for women everywhere and by exposing the behaviour of certain rabbis to show that they can no longer get away with supporting an abusive man who wants to punish his ex-wife”.

The pictures of the twins during their visits to Beth showed her “close, happy bond which clearly doesn’t fit in with Mr Schlesinger’s agenda which is to break us apart”, Beth claimed. She added: “Sammy and Benji love looking at our online pictures and videos when they come here [to her apartment]. “It is also a way for family and friends far away to stay connected “The father has now even denied us that simple pleasure. “What he fails to grasp is that stopping the world from seeing our strong bond and love will still not destroy it. “You can suppress the evidence, you can try to silence me but I will always remain loyal, steadfast and strong for my boys. Nothing and nobody can break a mother’s love.”

Beth’s Facebook page regularly updated followers with pictures of Beth and the twins enjoying outings and other activities. Her often critical views of her ex-husband and appeals to him to be reasonable were also posted on an Israeli website.