TIME: Jersey's Corruption Scandal: The Israeli Connection

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The mass arrests in the New Jersey corruption scandal last week were big news — in Israel. Images of prominent rabbis and Jewish businessmen being cuffed and arrested after morning prayers filled the front pages under headlines trumpeting the discovery of the "Jewish laundry" used to bribe prominent New Jersey officials allegedly using Israeli charities. In particular, Israeli commentators seized on the connection between several of those arrested and prominent figures in Shas, the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi Torah Guardians Party, founded by the octogenarian Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who remains its spiritual leader.

Among those arrested on July 23 were Rabbi Eliahu Ben Haim and Rabbi Edmund Nahum, who are reportedly close to Rabbi Ovadia Yosef and his son, Rabbi David Yosef. Ben Haim and Nahum were allegedly major fundraisers for Shas and Yosef family networks of educational institutions. According to a report on Israeli television, Rabbi David Yosef was also said to have been the target of Solomon Dwek, the FBI's chief informant, who asked the rabbi to help him launder a check for $25,000. David Yosef reportedly declined.

"Leaders of Shas, which won 11 seats in the Knesset and is the fourth largest member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition government, told TIME the party has no connection to the scandal. Roei Lachmanovich, spokesman for Shas Party leader Eli Yishai, told TIME that fundraising by the American rabbis for Sephardi institutions in Israel did not mean they were connected to Shas. He said that Shas institutions — including the rabbinical schools, or yeshivas — received their budget directly from the Israeli government and denied that Shas had been involved in any money-laundering or illegal activity. Furthermore, he said that Rabbi David Yosef was not a member of Shas and did not represent the party. "Besides the fact that he is Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's son, he has no formal connection to the Shas organization," said Lachmanovich.

One of those arrested was a Brooklyn man, Levy Izhak Rosenbaum, who was charged with trading in human organs. In Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox community this week, Rosenbaum, who claimed to be a real estate dealer, was described as a macher, or fixer, who assisted renal patients in finding appropriate medical treatment in the U.S. According to the official complaint, however, Rosenbaum planned to give an Israeli donor $10,000 and then charge the client who requested the kidney $160,000. The payment would be laundered through what Rosenbaum described first as a "congregation," then as a charity. According to published reports, Rosenbaum ran the Brooklyn branch of Kav Lachayim, a charity for sick children that was once supported by convicted financier Bernie Madoff.

The Shas media reacted to the entire scandal with countercharges of anti-Semitism. Yitzhak Kakun, editor of the Shas newspaper Yom Le'Yom told the Jerusalem Post: "The FBI purposely attempted to arrest as many rabbis as possible at once in an attempt to humiliate them." Meanwhile, Nissim Ze'ev, a Shas Knesset member, said, "The U.S. police are trying to make it seem as though there is some kind of Jewish mafia."

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[aquart]

1. "A charity that was once supported by Bernie Madoff."

Which means they were left high and dry and desperately in need of money. Was this how he was trying to raise it? Or was he planning to keep it for himself?

[Howardx]

2. "as though there is some kind of Jewish mafia."

gosh why would anyone think that?

[MrBig]

4. It's Interesting

People always assume every minority has some sort of evil mafia. The Black Mafia. The Jewish Mafia. The Gay Mafia. The Mexican Mafia.

It's kind of ridiculous. I guess the majorities just need a boogeyman to keep themselves in power.

[Howardx]

5. actually

its the organ selling and money laundering that makes me think that, not any need for a "boogeyman"

[IndianaGreen]

6. There was a Jewish mafia, and they were tough!

Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, Arnold Rothstein, and others were tough customers. These guys from Shas are amateurs.

[Kurska]

7. My great grandfather on my father side was a book keeper in the jewish mafia.

My grandfather was a gun and drug runner to south/central america aswell, although I've never known him because he skipped on my dad and saw very little of his son, much less his grandsons.

[azurnoir]

8. OMG your kidding

and here I always thought Jewish men all were bookkeepers or Rabbi's or something and occasionally engineers :sarcasm:

[Kurska]

9. One day my family up and got a offer from him if we wanted a free house in some banana republic

Forget which, we turned it down seeing as how we would never have any need for it, but I know very little of the man.

[wuushew]

11. C'mon Frankie... my father did business with Hyman Roth, he respected Hyman Roth.?

Your Father did business with hyman Roth, your father respected Hyman Roth, But your Father Never trusted Hyman Roth.

[Sezu]

3. OMG Jews have criminals too?????? /nt

[invictus]

10. It looks like the organ trafficking and money laundering was financing Israeli political parties.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1102901.html

[grassfed]

12. Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (linked to NJ Scandal) Calls President Obama a "Slave"

A spiritual leader of Israel's Shas Party, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef (see OP), referred to President Barack Obama as a "slave' with plans to rule the world and monopolize affairs in Tel Aviv.
"We live in a time when slaves are governing us and are trying to control us," he said. "American insidiousness tells us to build here and not to build there as though we were slaves working for them."

His remarks have been labeled racist by PressTV.com, a Middle Eastern newspaper, and goes on to detail the notion behind the statements that were made during Yosef's weekly sermon. The Rabbi expressed his resentment behind the Obama administration's efforts to apply pressure to Tel Aviv leadership over it's expansion settlement, an age-old mid-east territorial battle.

"We are not employees of the Americans… and Israel does not work for the United States," he shouted.

President Obama has been shunned by a mass of Israeli's over his hard-nose approach with the country in his strategy for peace in the region. The president's approach differs from many former U.S. presidents who had a tendency to comply with Israel's agenda.

The senior rabbi harshly criticized Obama for what he believes is a favoring of Arab states and mad claims that Obama has a personal gripe with the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

The "spiritual leader" went on to attack Arabs.

“And where is our temple?! The situation there is a cause for grief! There is nothing there but evil Arabs who are occupying our lands… and I hope that the messiah will appear soon to destroy them," he was quoted by the Arab language daily al-Miesri al-Yaum (Egypt Today) as saying.

The rabbi's remarks come during a time when diplomatic conflict has risen between Israel and the Washington, who has called for the country to completely freeze all construction projects. Tel Aviv, however, is pushing for continuation to meet the needs caused by the Jewish communities "natural growth."

On July 27, a group of right-wing Israeli supporters took part in a an anti U.S. rally in Jerusalem: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R4rmdHhMw4&eurl

http://hiphopwired.com/4910/israeli-rabbi-calls-president-obama-a-slave/

[HamdenRice]

13. WNYC news talk shows cover this saying it's related to religious bans on organ donation

Brian Lehrer has had several shows on this scandal, and has had guests on discussing the shortage of organ donations in Israel and the Jewish community because of the supposed religious ban on burying incomplete corpses (eg like the religious who clean up every drop of blood at bombing sites). The result is a severe shortage of organ donations.

But the scheme was abusive. In one report an expert said that impoverished Russians were promised air fare to Isreal, but forced to stop in NYC, where they were effectively kidnapped and told they could only continue on to Israel if they gave up a kidney to pay for it.

Prominent hospitals -- Mount Sinai and Albert Einstein Medical College -- are implicated, because, according to reports, they were doing the organ harvesting, and authorities find it difficult to believe they didn't know they were dealing with an organ smuggling ring.

The ring also worked out of Brazil and South Africa, but authorities in those countries shut them down. It's a mystery why the US FBI, which had information on this years ago, did not act as swiftly as Brazil or South Africa.