Let the ”puppet”ship of OHR SAADYA know how you feel:
Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman, Founder and Spiritual Leader –
rabbi@ohrsaadya.org
Robert Erlich, President and
Spokesperson Under Duress –
president@ohrsaadya.org
Levi Goldberg, Vice President and Gabbai 1-3 –
goldberg@ohrsaadya.org
Gabrielle Silverberg, Treasurer NOT Gambler–
silverberg@ohrsaadya.org
Yaakov Kramer, Secretary and Doodler–
kramer@ohrsaadya.org
AvI-Gil Chaitovsky, Board Member -
Feldman Affirmative Action –
chaitovsky@ohrsaadya.org
Yaron Hirschkorn, Board Member –
Zalmallen Levinohen Affirmative Action
hirschkorn@ohrsaadya.org
Feel free to CC me on your emails.
macdmusings@mac.hush.com
Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya needs to know that you do not support them
Monday, July 2, 2012
Call The Waaaambulance
Jewish Standard - June 29, 2012
Suburbanite from August 19,2010
On at least one occasion during the hearings, Edward Trawinski, attorney for Etz Chaim, threatened to sue the township for discrimination.
Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich wrote in an e-mail that the community liaison position is not unique to this application, but that the BOA has required such a position for similar applications.
"We are pleased with the approval and we will comply with all conditions imposed," Erlich wrote.
Bergen County Jewish newspaper (not the secular papers)
The Jewish Standard from August 20, 2010 the week after the BOA approval:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”
A property tax deduction may be in Etz Chaim’s future, but the organization will have to consult a tax attorney now that a portion of the property has been designated a house of worship, Trawinski said.
“That was an unintended consequence because we were always happy with our status as a prayer group,” said Robert Erlich, the group’s president. “Obviously if there’s a tax benefit, as a congregation we’d be foolish not to take it.”
“I am gratified by the decision,” Feldman wrote in an e-mail to The Jewish Standard. “I don’t know all the details of the stipulations, but we will abide by them as we have always complied with all instructions of the township.”
“From an organizational standpoint, nothing has changed,” Erlich said. “Once we get out certificate of occupancy, instead of operating as a prayer group, we will operate as a house of worship.”
“My hope is Etz Chaim and the residents will move forward and put this behind them,” Trawinski said.
From Bergen Record - October 17, 2010
"We are hoping to have a more peaceful future," Feldman said Friday.
"It's quite a relief," said Robert Ehrlich, the president of the group. "From our perspective, this was never a fight worth fighting. We want to move on. To the extent that the neighbors have comments on things we can do to make their lives less disruptive, we're willing to do that."
January 2011, 5 months later:
Teaneck Patch - June 20, 2012
“As we have said from the very beginning, the intrusive, oppressive and unequal restrictions imposed by the Teaneck Board of Adjustment on Etz Chaim as a house of worship strike at this nation’s most cherished freedoms and cannot be justified,” the group’s attorney Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said in an e-mail. “We are confident that a jury will agree when this case goes to trial, as the Court’s summary judgment opinion indicated it would.”
No Akiva, that's not what was said from the beginning.
This is what was said:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”
The conflict seemed to have concluded in September 2010, when the synagogue received the zoning variances necessary to operate as a synagogue in exchange for stipulations including a restriction on weekday services and the length of Shabbat kiddushes.
But the synagogue turned around and filed suit against the town, saying that the restrictions were null because it agreed to them under duress, and because they violated the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, which restricts local laws that place a “substantial burden” on religious practice.
Unless the case is settled before trial, a jury will be asked to decide questions set out by Judge Alexander H. Carver III in his ruling earlier this month.
They include:
1- What restrictions did the congregation agree to?
2 - Were the restrictions agreed to under duress and therefore invalid?
3 - Are the conditions more severe than those placed on other non-profit institutions operating in residential neighborhoods?
4 - And are those restrictions legal under the federal law?
_____________________________________________________________
Great questions!
What did they agree to? Under Duress? Severe Conditions? Legal?
Instead of speculating, I will use Etz Chaim's own words.
From the aftermath of the BOA approving Etz Chaim, here is a compilation of Etz Chaim's lawyer Ed Trawinski's quotes, ”coerced” President Robert Erlich's quotes, and founder and spiritual leader Rabbi Daniel Feldman's quotes.
Suburbanite from August 19,2010
On at least one occasion during the hearings, Edward Trawinski, attorney for Etz Chaim, threatened to sue the township for discrimination.
Etz Chaim President Robert Erlich wrote in an e-mail that the community liaison position is not unique to this application, but that the BOA has required such a position for similar applications.
"We are pleased with the approval and we will comply with all conditions imposed," Erlich wrote.
Bergen County Jewish newspaper (not the secular papers)
The Jewish Standard from August 20, 2010 the week after the BOA approval:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”
A property tax deduction may be in Etz Chaim’s future, but the organization will have to consult a tax attorney now that a portion of the property has been designated a house of worship, Trawinski said.
“That was an unintended consequence because we were always happy with our status as a prayer group,” said Robert Erlich, the group’s president. “Obviously if there’s a tax benefit, as a congregation we’d be foolish not to take it.”
“I am gratified by the decision,” Feldman wrote in an e-mail to The Jewish Standard. “I don’t know all the details of the stipulations, but we will abide by them as we have always complied with all instructions of the township.”
“From an organizational standpoint, nothing has changed,” Erlich said. “Once we get out certificate of occupancy, instead of operating as a prayer group, we will operate as a house of worship.”
“My hope is Etz Chaim and the residents will move forward and put this behind them,” Trawinski said.
From Bergen Record - October 17, 2010
"We are hoping to have a more peaceful future," Feldman said Friday.
"It's quite a relief," said Robert Ehrlich, the president of the group. "From our perspective, this was never a fight worth fighting. We want to move on. To the extent that the neighbors have comments on things we can do to make their lives less disruptive, we're willing to do that."
January 2011, 5 months later:
Teaneck Patch - June 20, 2012
“As we have said from the very beginning, the intrusive, oppressive and unequal restrictions imposed by the Teaneck Board of Adjustment on Etz Chaim as a house of worship strike at this nation’s most cherished freedoms and cannot be justified,” the group’s attorney Akiva Shapiro, of New York-based Gibson Dunn, said in an e-mail. “We are confident that a jury will agree when this case goes to trial, as the Court’s summary judgment opinion indicated it would.”
No Akiva, that's not what was said from the beginning.
This is what was said:
“The board, based upon testimony, came to the correct legal decision,” said Ed Trawinski, the lawyer who represented Etz Chaim through the proceedings. “And the board balanced the exercise of freedom of religion with the effort to minimize the impact on a residential neighborhood.”
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Top 3 Sources for the Blog
1. 554queenanne.info
2. Assorted newspapers
3. Online resources
If you got blog hate
I can relate
Need advice for a date
or Help ECOS' fate
Don't hesitate
Email is great
Don't wait
macdmusings@mac.hush.com
”For when comments are not enough”
Friday, June 29, 2012
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.
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)."
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.
| |||||
| 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
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
No Respect
Poor Rabbi Daniel Z. Feldman can't get respect from his own congregants.
I blog about Robert Erlich, Levi Goldberg, Zalman Levine, Chanan Cohen, Elliot Frome, Rochelle Mandelbaum etc. and I get tons of hate and people defending them in the comments.
I post about Rabbi Feldman being overlooked by YU and attacking his integrity because he hasn't controlled and spiritually lead the synagogue that he founded to peacefully coexist in Teaneck and NO ONE comes to his defense.
I guess a Levi Goldberg is more important to Etz Chaim/Ohr Saadya than Rabbi Feldman.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
”Poppa I'm A Real Boy!”
I had a great question posed to me this morning on the previous posting:
Anonymous said...
Here is an interesting question Mac. Why is it that you have no problem ripping Rabbi Feldman or Zalman Levine or Cohen, but the one guy that you have never taken to task in your open minded reporting is Levi (can do no wrong) Goldberg? He was right there from the beginning. He walked out of Arzei, took over the Gabbai position in the Jewish Center Orthodox Minyan and is involved in everything else. He is no better or worse than the rest if these houligans, yet for you he is above criticism. Why? June 24, 2012 7:08 AM
My response:
Shluffenheimer MacDougal said... 7:08am Critcising Levi Goldberg is like watching a puppeteer have his puppet make fun of you, but instead of yelling at the puppeteer, you yell at the puppet.
It does take a certain personality to be an effective puppet. You have to have be the correct balance of false modesty and two-faceness and not care about your family or livelihood. Etz Chaim had a ton of meetings at Goldberg's old office where he used to work. ”old” And ”used to”.
My guess and purely speculation is that Mr. Goldberg's bosses were not happy with all the afterhour shenanigans.
Levi is Zalman Levine's younger brother-in-law and Zalman wants to stay out of the spotlight, so he uses Levi as his puppet.
As a gabbai Mr. Goldberg wasn't worthy of my attention, so Mr. Vice President Levi Goldberg you've made the big time. Welcome to my blog. Thank Dr. Levine for all of the special attention you are going to get. June 24, 2012 8:22 AM
If you would like to let Levi Goldberg, Vice President of Ohr Saadya know how you feel, email him at goldberg@ohrsaadya.org
Anonymous said...
Here is an interesting question Mac. Why is it that you have no problem ripping Rabbi Feldman or Zalman Levine or Cohen, but the one guy that you have never taken to task in your open minded reporting is Levi (can do no wrong) Goldberg? He was right there from the beginning. He walked out of Arzei, took over the Gabbai position in the Jewish Center Orthodox Minyan and is involved in everything else. He is no better or worse than the rest if these houligans, yet for you he is above criticism. Why? June 24, 2012 7:08 AM
My response:
Shluffenheimer MacDougal said... 7:08am Critcising Levi Goldberg is like watching a puppeteer have his puppet make fun of you, but instead of yelling at the puppeteer, you yell at the puppet.
It does take a certain personality to be an effective puppet. You have to have be the correct balance of false modesty and two-faceness and not care about your family or livelihood. Etz Chaim had a ton of meetings at Goldberg's old office where he used to work. ”old” And ”used to”.
My guess and purely speculation is that Mr. Goldberg's bosses were not happy with all the afterhour shenanigans.
Levi is Zalman Levine's younger brother-in-law and Zalman wants to stay out of the spotlight, so he uses Levi as his puppet.
As a gabbai Mr. Goldberg wasn't worthy of my attention, so Mr. Vice President Levi Goldberg you've made the big time. Welcome to my blog. Thank Dr. Levine for all of the special attention you are going to get. June 24, 2012 8:22 AM
If you would like to let Levi Goldberg, Vice President of Ohr Saadya know how you feel, email him at goldberg@ohrsaadya.org
WWMD - What would MacDougal Do?
- Shluffenheimer MacDougal
- Bergen County, NJ, United States
- I enjoy discussing hot controversial topics, sharing my opinions and providing a forum free flow of ideas.
When caught circumventing the law, arguing religious freedom or that we are all Jews, hinders your case for sympathy in the secular world.
macdmusings@mac.hush.com
