Not all the chassidim have the same respect for science as the rest of us.

An interesting side note–baby Moshe’s parents (may they rest in peace) had two children with Tay Sachs disease (one of whom is already dead). What happened to genetic testing before marriage?

None of these signs is in itself PROOF of abuse, but they do call for further investigation. Usually it’s nothing, but any injury that meets these criteria merits a closer look. It doesn’t matter who the parents are, how nice they seem, or how much money they make. Or how “frum” they are.

For Valis’s peer group, his identity was in itself proof of innocence, which is nonsense. That’s what I meant when I said that haredim are often dangerously naive. They also lack technical skills, which include such fields as criminology and pathology, to name but a few. They willfully and consciously render themselves unfit for group autonomy.

Of course deviance has always existed, in every culture, including the Haredim. Whether they are uniquely ” brought up in environments of hostility and rage”, I don’t know. There’s a wide range here, the common theme being tolerance of deviant behavior among “one of us”. “Dan l-chaf zchut” is a noble principle for personal morality, but it’s a lousy tool for law enforcement.

Despite what my nephew tells me about the utopian nature of frum households, I’m sure that domestic abuse has always occurred. The significant thing is that it used to take place privately. Now, their brazenness and sense of complete rightness are such that they aren’t ashamed to do it publicly. The message that’s been communicated to them from birth is that any action is acceptable if taken to protect their way of life. They’ve been brought up in environments of hostility and rage; everyone and everything outside of their community is the enemy.

There needs to be re-education. That’s the key to quelling most of the extremism we face today. I think sending some key people stacks of bills in brown paper bags would help to replace some of the textbooks in East Jerusalem, and even the rhetoric of some of these imams.

I am not sure. But not selling sulfuric acid at the hardware store is apparently an important aspect of it. Pakistan does not ban any of these chemicals. They don’t care.

Awful, awful, awful. DK thank you for bringing this to our attention.

I have a question for everyone: How, logistically, legally, and morally can we stop this from happening in Ramat Bet Shemesh or B’nei Brak??

Jeff–as long as we are the ones willing to do the work of law enforcement and defence, no, nothing like this is going to happen in Ramat Bet Shemesh or Bnai Brak. The correct term for petty twitchy bullies like that is “chickenshit”.

Again, the Haredim want to run their own autonomous domain, but they don’t have the necessary technical skills and they’re ridiculously naive, besides which, they’re mostly broke.

Work hard, show up, take responsibility, stop bitching. You may not triumph, but for sure, all else is vanity.