Challenge Rescinded

Posting Update 8/5/12 10:00pm:

The imposter's comment magically disappeared from Teaneck Patch, but the memory lives on. As does my comment with links to this blog :-) I should thank the imported for increasing the traffic to this blog, but I don't thank charlatans.

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An Etz Chaim member, the same one with all the pro Etz Chaim comments on here has posted a comment on the Patch using MY NAME. This was his comment:

http://teaneck.patch.com//articles/congregation-s-lawsuit-against-teaneck-moves-toward-trial

shluffenheimer Macdougal

10:43 pm on Saturday, August 4, 2012

If you check my website Macdougal Musings, you will see that I have issued a challenge to Rabbi Feldman and his Congregation Ohr Saadya. Although I think the Lawsuit against the Teaneck Board of Adjustment is wrong, I have done some self reflection since posting that challenge. I have come to realize that by creating this blog I have continually defamed Rabbi Feldman along with Robert Erlich and the rest of his congregation. I have Actually acted like a complete Jerk. My actions have been dispicable, reprehensible and morally wrong. I own a deep apology to Rabbi Feldman for my absolutely childish and inexcusable conduct. I have also defamed people of Scottish decent for using the name Macdougal. Please consider dropping your lawsuit for it is wrong and bad for the town. However, two wrongs do not make a right and I have been an absolute jerk and am unworthy of being a part of this Community, please forgive my inexcusable actions and continuous infantile behavior. I hope that your congregation grows to be a great success.

I never posted this nor will I ever post a comment such as this one. I have nothing to apologize for rentlessly pursuing the truth about the fraudulent actions of the synagogue founded and spiritually lead by Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Robert Erlich - President and defended by Akiva Shapiro.

My response:

This is the REAL Shluffenheimer MacDougal, registered member of Teaneck Patch. Not the imposter posting in my name.

A Comment from the REAL Shluffenheimer MacDougal:

Due to the comment above this one from Saturday night August 4th at 10:43pm, pretending to be me, I am rescinding my Challenge to Etz Chaim as seen on http://macdmusings.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-macdougal-challenge.html and the blog isn't going anywhere.

The commentor above this comment is a charlatan and a sham. A coward posting in my name. Typical Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya Identity theft fraud. Anyone who has read my blog knows that my english, grammar, diction and style does not match the faker above.

I will never and have never ever apologized for anything in my blog, even within the confines of my challenge. What Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya and Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman is doing is wrong and harmful to the entire Jewish community of Teaneck.

It is time for the Jews of Teaneck to say something and speak out to the leadership of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya. 

http://macdmusings.blogspot.com/2012/07/see-something-say-something.html

Shluffenheimer

See Something Say Something

Countries around the world have ways to report activities or packages that one might even just suspect of being harmful and if you know it is harmful, it must definitely be reported.

In England you can see signs like this one

In Israel you can see scenes like these

Even in America you can see signs like this one in Washington, DC

At a nuclear facilities there are signs like this

And in NYC, after 9/11 you can see signs like this

Everywhere in the world, parents tell their children to watch out for strangers and suspicious activities. Adults report all suspicious and criminal activities to the authorities.

Unless you are an ORTHODOX Jews and the impropriety involves other Jews or Synagogues. Look at the news today and read about all of the deeds that were hidden for years and communities falling apart because nothing was said. Even their Rabbis, their spiritual leaders, preached for silence.

This blog is asking for Teaneck residents, Jew and Non-Jew, to stand up to Etz Chaim. Say something to Rabbi Feldman and the RCBC about the Torat/Toras fraud, the filing for the family room, nasty treatment of the neighbors (Jew and Non-Jew alike) and frivilous lawsuit against Teaneck taxpayers.

Rabbi Feldman is being PAID for his silence

The friends of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya will never admit wrongdoing. Be brave and be strong and tell your friends that they need to drop the lawsuit and approach the BOA through proper channels like every other synagogue in Teaneck.

It time to SEE SOMETHING SAY SOMETHING in Teaneck. ITs time for Jews not to be silent at injustices, but vocal to their leaders. Make Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya follow the same rules as every other synagogue, church, mosque and non profit business in Teaneck.

Just because a Rabbi is cool and learned and is a man of the cloth, doesn't make him infallible.

The Gold Standard

To win a courtcase, there must be some contact with the opposing counsel. In the case of Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) there was a winner before any correspondence was sent between Akiva Shapiro ECOS lawyer and Teaneck.

When going to court against a township, especially in the case of "religious discrimination" and the duress of Robert Erlich, it is important to pick an experienced and qualified lawyer to help you win. But that's not the case here. ECOS picked a lawyer who values something more than religious freedom for the Shtibshul Prayer Group. It can't be the money because he is doing the case pro bono, so what is in it for him?

Lets learn a little bit more about Akiva Shapiro from Martindale (a handy website where you can research lawyers). I'll be sure to bold the important parts.

Practice Areas Litigation Appellate and Constitutional Law Media, Entertainment and Technology White Collar Defense and Investigations
University	Columbia University, Bachelor of Arts, History, 2001; Yale University, Master of Arts, Religious Studies, 2008
Law School	Columbia University Law School, Juris Doctor, 2008
Admitted	2009, New York; U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York

Akiva Shapiro is an associate in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's New York office, where he is a member of the firm's Litigation Practice, as well as its Appellate and Constitutional Law Practice Group. Mr. Shapiro's practice focuses on a broad range of appellate, constitutional, criminal, and complex commercial litigation matters, often involving challenges to the policies and legal determinations of government actors. Mr. Shapiro is regularly engaged in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, federal and state courts of appeal, and New York's trial courts. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)


Some representative matters in which Mr. Shapiro has been involved include: Persuading a New York appellate court to grant an emergency stay, and issue a precedent-setting ruling on the merits, preventing the NYPD from continuing to target the ticket-sales practices of an entertainment venue; representing a brand drug manufacturer in an interlocking, multi-year cluster of intellectual property lawsuits, both at trial and on appeal ; suing to prevent the implementation of a statute on takings and environmental impact grounds; and a wide range of high-stakes commercial disputes involving-among other things-fraud, breach of contract, and class action claims. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro has participated in the preparation of numerous certiorari and merits stage briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court, including as principal architect and author of a number of amicus briefs relied on by the Court in the constitutional, criminal-immigration, and separation of powers contexts.

Mr. Shapiro is also currently leading the trial team in a suit to protect the land use and First Amendment rights of a New Jersey synagogue; for his work on that case, among others, Mr. Shapiro was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.

Mr. Shapiro earned his Juris Doctor in 2008 from Columbia Law School, where he was a senior editor of the Columbia Law Review, a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar, and a semifinalist in the Harlan Fiske Stone Honors Moot Court competition. After law school, Mr. Shapiro served as a research assistant to Judge Debra Livingston of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and to Professor Harold Edgar. He also received a Master's Degree in Religious Studies from Yale University, where he was a member of the Yale Journal of Law and the Humanities and the recipient of a Yale University Fellowship. In 2001, Mr. Shapiro graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts in History. Mr. Shapiro is admitted to practice in the State of New York and before the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. (Since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most - my addition)

Mr. Shapiro regularly speaks on constitutional and legal ethics topics , and has published "Should the Lower Courts Save Taxpayer Standing?" in The Journal of Appellate Practice and Process, 10 J. APP. PRAC. & PROCESS 273 (2009)."

Very impressive guy this Akiva Shapiro and he totally fits ECOS. He graduated college in 2001 and got his MA in religious studies and his JD in 2008, from two different Universities located in two different states. Very impressive to  go to Yale and Columbia concurrently and earn those degrees. He was admitted to the bar in 2009. That's a ton of education and experience for ECOS to draw upon to help them win, NOT! 

Akiva Shapiro has an impressive write up and has achieved a lot since 2009 - 2 1/2 years at most. Obviously ECOS wasn't happy with their last lawyer and they took on this experienced lawyer to show Teaneck that they mean business, afterall he was the lawyer who prepared a brief for Zivotofsky vs Clinton which was argued in the Supreme Court in 2011. 

So what is in it for  Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya or ECOS (Every Congregant's Overtly Sinning) ? Why Akiva Shapiro? 

• He's a member of  ECOS
• He's doing it Pro Bono
• He convinced Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman its a good idea
• Zalman Levine doesn't like losing
• Robert Erlich wasn't happy with the accurate quotes in the various newspapers
• Since Mario Guralnik is not involved with ECOS anymore they feel their chances for victory greatly improved
• ECOS already used Jason Flynn for their parking initiative and it failed
• Gary Miller was extremely active and disappeared
• They will have nothing to talk about during laining if there are no lawsuits

Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya loses either way because of the bad press and the stigma of going to a shul that has separated itself from the community and is built on hate.

Teaneck loses either way because the tax payers have to foot the bill for the BOA's defense.

Akiva Shapiro, ESQ has already won. 

• He is lead counsel on this case.
• He was nominated for the Frank Wheat Award, given to lawyers in the firm who demonstrate leadership and obtain significant results for their pro bono clients.
• He was honored at Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya's  last dinner.
• He was promised  2 aliya's a month by Levi Goldberg and then Levi changed it to 3 aliya's because Zalman told him to.
• Rabbi Daniel Feldman will speak at Beth Aaron on a Tuesday night in his honor, for a modest donation of course.
• He will have his picture and name in prestigious newspapers like the Jewish Standard and Teaneck Suburbanite.
• Columbia and Yale will write about him in their alumnus newsletters.
• The Famous Urine Cake King will give Akiva a lifetime supply of splash guards and cakes for his urinals.
• Free high risk deliveries from Dr. Abdelhak.
• Mario Guralnik promised him free parking in his backyard.
• Rochelle Mandelbaum will make sure he gets all the approvals to extend his house, when Akiva is ready.
• Elliot Frome put in a huge bet in Vegas on the verdict and promised Akiva 10%.
• Allan Chanan Cohen promised to smile if Akiva wins.

Akiva Shapiro arranged special permission to argue the case in NJ because he is only recognized in NYS. 

He wins no matter what the outcome, because Akiva doesn't "really" care about ECOS or money. Akiva wants the recognition, the press, the awards and the accolades. Akiva Shapiro is 2 1/2 years into his law career and isn't focused on the outcome. Being first chair is all he cares about and he steered ECOS and Teaneck into the lawsuit for personal reasons. 

Akiva Shapiro is the perfect lawyer for Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya. They both fit together

Teaneck Patch - Biased Reporting Part 2

Teaneck Patch posted an article about Etz Chaim/Our Saadya taking Teaneck to court.

In the comment's section Mr. Jason Flynn posted an inane comment:

Jason Flynn 2:35 pm on Thursday, June 21, 2012
Can we call a spade a spade. There are many synagogues and churches all up and down Queen Anne Road, from let's say West Englewood to Degraw. Some have no parking. Most are 5-10x plus the size of this congregation. Some have services from 6 AM - after 10 PM, seven days a week. There is CVS, restaurants, fruit stores and even liquor stores. There are multiple NJT bus lines that stop up and down this Avenue all day. There are medical buildings, realty offices and banks. Yet, a small congregation has these restrictions and their rights are being violated. Which store front, bank or church have NO signs in front of them on Queen Anne Road? Which one is restricted to one day a week of usage? 


As a person that enjoys membership and participation with the wonderful people that make up this congregation, let's call a spade a spade. The congregation assists the elderly, home bound and ill of our community, regardless of race, religion or beliefs. They provide educational, enriching and productive programming for youth through adult. In 2012, it is kind of embarrassing that our township would even think to ask our congregation not to have a sign outside or use it more than one day a week, when dozens of religious and corporate members of Queen Anne Avenue are not given ANY of these restrictions.

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I tried to respond but my comment has been moderated:

Jason Flynn using the term "Calling a Spade a Spade" is highly racist. NO ONE really uses the term since the seventies for that reason.


Jason Flynn forgot to inform the readers and commenters that he has a grudge against Teaneck for fighting against his charter school and not allowing his school to add to our tax roll.  Transparency is key Mr. Flynn.


Etz Chaim/Our Saadya and Rabbi Daniel Feldman, the founder and spiritual leader, gave extensive interviews for the local papers outlining their weekly needs. Rabbi Feldman said in the Jewish Standard that they need the house on 554 Queen Anne Rd. for 3% of the week. This was long before Robert Erlich "gave into" Teaneck "under duress".


This is a case of a group of people trying to scam Teaneck. They got caught and reapplied with specific stated needs and they got what they wanted. Instead of showing maturity and applying for the NEW changes and a sign like ALL ESTABLISHED CHURCHES AND SYNAGOGUES AND CORPORATIONS do, they are trying to renegotiate a signed deal in court.


Teaneck has tons of Jewish synagogues, prayer groups and kosher shops.  The lawsuit is calling an open and friendly town antisemitic. Its happening because Rabbi Daniel Feldman, the founder and spiritual leader of Etz Chaim/Our Saadya, is allowing his synagogue to try to circumvent the laws instead of following them under the guise of accusations of antisemitism. This is on top of all their negative activities since 2007.


For more info check my entire blog, Biased Repoting and the comments on this Jewish Standard article.

More to come soon