Smoke and Mirrors That Tropper is Spreading On Other Blogs

FACT:

Anyone who has ever heard Tropper speak, knows without a shadow of a doubt that it is him on those tapes.

FACT: He stepped down from EJF days before the tape came out, knowing that he would no longer be able to be head of EJF once the tapes are out.

FACT: He has never denied the tapes. And has come out with an apology for his behavior.


Below is smoke and mirrors sent to other blogs including mine, in this case Luke Ford posted it on his blog:

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http://lukeford.net/blog/?p=15054

ST emails: Dear Luke, you have given much attention to the Tropper scandal, and rightfully so I think it would be nice to at least show a little of the other side of the story. From the blogs it would seem as is there is no other side, but in fact in the chareidi world, and I’m referring to the Chareidi world that in principle does not have Internet (Yes they do exist in large numbers!) there is a view that by many is assumed as the obvious. That view is not the view being shown on any blog that I have come across. So being that I have always found you to be someone which frequently shows other views even though it may not be yours, I’d like to request that you post this message.

An OPEN LETTER to Rabbi Daniel Eidenson of Har Nof Jerusalem. Rabbi Eidenson has in recent years been in the forefront in trying to bring down Rabbi Tropper. He has been doing this through his blog which for the past few years has primarily been focusing on reporting anything negative on Rabbi Tropper. Rabbi Eidenson through his blog was one of the first to report and spread the word about the current scandal regarding Rabbi Tropper. His negative statement’s regarding Rabbi Tropper have recently been quoted on many other blogs. He is very much ‘on top’ of the current scandal, and is very often the one to come up with new negative information for other blogs to post.

Dear Rabbi Eidenson,
A few questions for you:
1. Do you know for a fact that the voice on the audio is Tropper’s voice? If yes, can you tell how you know this.
2. Even if it is his voice, who said these are not cut n paste sentences from months of recorded conversations with various people put together as a frame (listen to the audio W/O the woman’s voice, its not half as bad)?
3. Does you realise that there is no dispute as to who released these tapes. And A) that person has a very strong hate for R’ Tropper. B) He has been accused of threatening to kill him. C) He has been accused of threatening to throw him out of a 9 story bldg. D) He has claimed that he is Mashiach. This has been documented. E) His wife is a non Jew with a very shaky geirus at best. F) Many in his family claim that he is not stable and is on drugs. G) There is a million dollar lawsuit to which Tropper has been called to testify against this person.
4. Do you realize that the above said person by the name of Guma Aguiar is a billionaire who has unlimited amount of funds to bring down Tropper, and could have easily paid good money to someone to talk on the tapes, or paid big money to bug the phones and do a cut n paste job with this women talking as if Tropper was talking to her. Or a combination of both tactics in making these tapes? Lets not forget that Hollywood movies are totally made like that from beginning to end. Cut and paste, impersonations, etc. nothing a BILLIONAIRE couldn’t get done if he hated someone as much as Guma hates Tropper.
5….
6.DO YOU REALISE THAT THIS WOMEN IS AN OLD FRIEND OF GUMAS?
Its not so hard to connect the dots.
Although Rabbi Tropper did release a statement today regarding the scandal, it was a very “pareve” statement, and he did not admit to anything other than violating issues of modesty. Now, of course one can try and derive from the statement that he is in fact admitting guilt by not denying the allegations, and by in fact actually admitting to ‘partial wrong doing’. The fact of the matter is that after the statement was released Rabbi Tropper has openly said the accusations are totally false and were fabricated to smear him. Therefore claiming that he admits that he did wrong to answer the above questions is is a non answer, since as of now he is denying it. In addition to this he has many reputable Rabonim and Roshei Yeshiva standing on his side. I highly doubt they would do that if: A. they thought he was guilty, and B. He was admitting his guilt.
It is known that that there are many believing that the allegations on Tropper (which you in your great Tzidkus had a hand in spreading) are false…even after hearing the tapes. In addition you yourself have raised some points in your post “the case for Rabbi Troppers defense” which leave room for many to believe that he may NOT be guilty of all the Lashon Horah/ Motzi Shem Rah being spread by Balei Lashon Horah.
There are many who have questioned this blog, here and elsewhere, as being full of Lashon Horah.
I see you quote R’ Shternbuch as saying “there is no problem to say that Tropper is a menuval or a sheigitz (Megila 25) and in fact it should be publicized that he is a menuval.” Although I have not heard him say this myself, and frankly I find this hard to believe that he would give you such a heter (I plan on asking him if he really said that as soon as I can), I will assume for the sake of this letter that you are not lying. So if that is case, the question is: how can someone Pasken give a heter to say lashon Horah and/or Motzi Shem Rah, both of which are life and death (clearly that is the case with Tropper- if people will except this gossip, he is finished) based on a Gemara (megila 25, as you said) when the mefarshim (see Chofetz Chaim Klal 7, #4, and Be’er Mayim Chaim #8) there speak at length what the gemarah means. And by no means in anyone’s rational interpretation does this Tropper story come close to the criteria!
I also see that you took the liberty to pasken on your own based on you’re convenient interpretation of other gemarah’s etc., CONTRARY to what is ruled by the Chofetz Chaim in his sefer on Lashon Horah very explicitly.
Now there are 2 possibilities. 1) R’ Shterbuch never said this, and you made this up. And you twisted the Gemara completly avoiding the poskim to fit your needs. Just as the reform and conservative do with the Bible. And just as you have accused others of doing, rendering you a total hypocrite. On top of that, this renders you a fraud in portraying yourself as one who is very zealous for the Torah, and on the other hand you have no regard for the terrible sin of Lashon Horah etc. which is unquestionably far worse then anything you are accusing Tropper of.
2) R’ Shternbuch did say this based on fabricated facts that you fed him out of your obssesive hate for Tropper.
I find it hard to believe that R’ Shternbuch would not know what the mefarshim say on that Gemarah and Pasken against the Chofetz Chaim who is the unquestionable Posik Achron when it comes to laws pertaining to Lashon Horah.
As for you, it might be worthwhile to actually LEARN the Sugyas Hagemarah before you use it for distorted purposes, and showing everyone your lack of ability to learn a Gemarah.
So if the whole story was indeed a set-up, you had a hand in ruining someones life. You had a hand in ruining the life of his wife and children (who I’m sure are suffering very much). And although you might be giddy now at seeing the downfall of someone who you have made your enemy (Your happiness is evident…). Shlomo Hamelech said: Do not be happy when your enemy falls…For G-D will be upset with you and will turn his anger away from him [and put onto you, (mefarshim)]. (Proverbs24 17-18) I believe Shlomo Hamelech. Maybe you will end up being another proof to his wisdom.

Leib Tropper makes it into the Rockland Count Goyish Newspapers, now all his goyshe neighbors can see the chillul hashem.

http://religion.lohudblogs.com/2009/12/22/influential-ultra-orthodox-rabbi-from-monsey-caught-in-sex-scandal

Influential ultra-Orthodox rabbi from Monsey caught in sex scandal

DECEMBER
22
The ultra-Orthodox Jewish community likes to keep to itself, but you may hear a very loud sigh coming from Monsey and NYC these days.
An ugly scandal is unfolding regarding one Rabbi Leib Tropper, a Monsey-based fellow who has headed a prominent group called the Eternal Jewish Family. The EJF’s mission has been to oversee the conversion of non-Jews married to Jewish spouses—according to the most strict standards for Jewish conversion.
But Tropper has resigned in recent days over a Tigger Woods-ish scandal.
Apparently, he was taped speaking to a woman seeking conversion about highly un-rabbinic things.
The blog FailedMessiah.com, which chronicles the failings of the Orthodox Jewish community, spoke to the woman and reported this:
*****
The woman told FailedMessiah.com Tropper was “holding things over me.” Tropper can be heard on one of the tapes asking the woman to have sex or phone sex with other men. She said Tropper would tell her, “If you fulfill my needs, I’ll fulfill yours – and you need a conversion.”
Tropper can be heard on the tapes saying, “I’m not going to force you to do anything you don’t want to…you own your body, I don’t own your body.”
The woman says Tropper asked her to role play certain sexual scenarios with these men, either capturing the encounter on tape or describing the encounter in detail to him afterward, but she refused. “He likes to see women raped,” the woman said. While sometimes Tropper suggested men for her to have encounters with, he encouraged her to find men on her own and then report back to him. “He wanted someone who would be very rough.”
She says other women were also recruited by Tropper to fulfill these fantasies.

Tropper's excuse for being silent till now, he hasn't lawyered up yet.

Why does he need a lawyer?

Suffern, NY - Rabbi Leib Tropper’s response to recent allegations has been delayed until now in deference to his legal counsel.


Events of recent weeks have caused Rabbi Tropper great anguish, in particular given his recognition that the high standard of ethics in the Jewish community is one of its most treasured principles.
He wishes to express his regret for the turmoil caused by his departure from the Eternal Jewish Family organization and for what has appeared to be conduct not within our significant laws of modesty. Rabbi Tropper now looks forward to a return to both his studies and time with his loving family, as well as to personal introspection. He thanks those outside his closest circle of friends for respecting his privacy.

"Allegations"

these are not allegations, these are 100% fact and on tape for doros to come.

"caused by his departure from the Eternal Jewish Family organization"

so it seems he is just sorry that he had to leave, and not for his reprehensible behaviour.

"for what has appeared to be conduct not within our significant laws of modesty"

Hello? who are we kidding here, did he walk around town in a shirt that was too tight, or shorts? That would be him not keeping up with laws of modesty.

Take it a step further, was he caught watching pornography or in a simple affair? No much worse, he was caught red handed extorting sexual favors for himself and others from potential converts in return for conversions.

Wake up and smell the Coffee Hanhollah of Kol Yaakov, he has stepped down from EJF he should do the same thing for allother positions of power that he has over people interested in Judaism.

Haaretz Reports...

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1137435.html

U.S. rabbi involved in sex scandal led fight against Israel conversions

It is hard to imagine a more embarrassing situation in which to find an exclusive ultra-Orthodox organization - a group that was a standard-bearer in the fight against "breaches in the wall of conversion" and "the penetration of complete gentiles into the vineyard of Israel." These breaches pale into insignificance in comparison with the accusations against the man who heads the organization itself: according to the claims, Rabbi Leib Tropper of Rockland County abandoned the apparently stringent Halakhic standards of his Haredi organization and established a conversion process based on his most private impulses. A report in the New York Post earlier this week revealed a sensational story about "a prominent Orthodox rabbi has been caught on tape discussing his apparent love affair with a shiksa he was converting to Judaism." The woman involved is 32-year-old Shannon Orand of Houston, who still seeks to convert from Christianity to Judaism. The bulk of the report deals with embarrassing comments that the rabbi made during a phone call, during which he was recorded demanding the woman perform a number of sexual services for himself and his friends in exchange for granting her a conversion certificate. Only at the very end of the Post report is it mentioned that at the start of the month, Rabbi Tropper resigned from his position as head of the Eternal Jewish Family organization, which dealt with conversions. But the connection to the group is in fact the story's punch line, making the affair another incident in the ongoing crisis in the world of conversion. This connection also explains the extent to which an alleged case of blackmail has rocked the rabbinic world in Israel and the United States, and also has a complex relationship with the business dealings of the chairman of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club, Brazilian Jewish entrepreneur Guma Aguiar. Rabbi Tropper's stated goal in founding the Eternal Jewish Family was to "fortify the walls of conversion," amid an ideological debate between the Haredi and national camps in Israel. While functioning as a well-known rabbi in the New York area and head of the Kol Yaakov yeshiva, Rabbi Tropper enlisted wealthy Jews in the Haredi fight against to non- ultra-Orthodox conversions, especially those carried out by special conversion courts in Israel headed by Rabbi Haim Druckman. As such, the doors of senior Haredi officals were thrown open to him, including that of Rabbi Shalom Elyashiv, a leader of the Lithuanian Haredi sect, and rabbi Tropper himself had the title of gaon ("most learned") bestowed upon him by the ultra-Orthodox press - all because of his efforts and comments against conversions by the Conversion Authority, against the "infiltration" of gentiles into the people of Israel. When news of the affair began to emerge two weeks ago, posters denouncing Tropper were plastered across the Haredi city of Bnei Brak, whose title commanded: "Leave impurity." The text's anonymous authors threatened that if he did not quit the organization, "We will publicize our voice aloud, accompanied by pornographic pictures and shocking video clips." The rabbi did indeed announce his resignation, but failed in his efforts to hush up the affair. It was leaked to American Jewish bloggers, the audio tape was posted on YouTube, and the Post published the story (under the headline "Tal-mood for love: Sex-tape rabbi tries to 'share' hottie," referring to one of Tropper's demands in the tape). The current scandal is not the first in which the Eternal Jewish Family and Tropper have been involved. Tropper recently accused Aguiar of assaulting him in a Jerusalem hotel in April while the rabbi served as a prosecution witness against the businessman in a civil suit in Florida. Aguiar - who recently resigned from the organization - is accused of entering Rabbi Leib Tropper's room at the David Citadel Hotel, assaulting him and threatening to cause him further harm. At the time of the alleged attack, Tropper was testifying at Aguiar's trial on embezzlement charges brought before a Florida court by the businessman's uncle, Thomas Kaplan. As part of a war of slander between the pair, a notice was published in the Haredi newspaper Hamevaser, according to which rabbis close to Aguiar gave up their stringent halakhic demands with regard to his wife. The notice alleges that the businessman is "married to a woman who underwent a very dubious conversion." Tropper's associates claim that Orand, the tape and the posters are all connected to this legal dispute. One of the associates told Haaretz that, "Guma Aguiar succeeded in throwing Rabbi Tropper to the trash."

Jewish Chronicle Reports...

http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/25321/sex-tapes-rock-orthodox

Sex tapes rock the Orthodox

By Paul Berger, December 23, 2009

Recordings of sexually explicit conversations, apparently between a strictly Orthodox rabbi and a woman he was helping convert to Judaism, are rocking the entire Orthodox world.

New York Rabbi Leib Tropper resigned earlier this month from the organisation he founded, Eternal Jewish Family (EJF), after posters appeared in Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem insinuating that he had committed sexual indiscretions.

Within days, recordings of salacious phone conversations between a man and a woman were disseminated on the internet. The man — reported to be Rabbi Tropper, 59 — discusses the woman having sex with him and having sex and phone sex with other men. He also discusses cash payments.

The woman, Shannon Orand, a 32-year-old conversion candidate in Texas, admitted to the New York Post that she recorded the calls but said they were never meant to be made public. Ms Orand did not respond to attempts to contact her via email.

What we have heard, if true, violates the fundamental elements of all that Judaism holds sacred

Rabbi Dovid Jacobs, executive director of EJF, said he would not comment on the recordings. But he did say that EJF’s affiliated beth dins and its chairmen, including Dayan Chanoch Ehrentreu, the former head of the London Beth Din and head of EJF’s European halachic committee, remain committed to the group.

Calls to Dayan Ehrentreu were not returned.

Two weeks ago, the Conference of European Rabbis (CER) passed a unanimous resolution at a meeting of its Standing Committee, in Moscow, objecting to EJF’s attempts to establish itself in Europe.

It had “strong reservations” about the EJF’s attempts to organise local conferences and activities by a new EJF office in Amsterdam were “not welcome”.

Dayan Ehrentreu, who presides over CER’s beth din, was not present at the Moscow meeting. However, last month he spoke at an EJF conference in New Jersey at which — according to the Etrog news website — he called for EJF to strengthen its activities in Europe.

“Would it only be that Eternal Jewish Family will expand its activities among European Batei Din... This matter would be a great rectification for conversion across Europe,” he was quoted as saying.

EJF, founded by Rabbi Tropper in 2005, aims “to protect the Jewish people and sincerely committed converts from fraudulent or unacceptable conversions”.

It promotes a hardline approach to conversions, in which converts must adhere to “the highest standards of halachah”. It has provoked controversy on a number of issues, including its refusal to recognise many members of the largest Orthodox rabbinical organisation in the world, the Rabbinical Council of America.

In 2006, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel, under pressure from Charedi groups like EJF, stated that it would no longer automatically accept conversions performed by RCA rabbis.

This was the catalyst for the RCA to create a more centralised system of regional conversion courts in America, which limited the number of rabbis able to perform conversions to a short list approved by the Israeli rabbinate.

The RCA this week issued a terse statement saying it was “deeply appalled, saddened and pained” by the reports of Rabbi Tropper’s “inappropriate behaviour” and calling on anyone who had been victimised to “seek appropriate counselling.

“What we have heard, if true, violates the fundamental elements of all that Judaism holds sacred,” the statement said.

Marc Angel, of the International Rabbinic Fellowship and a former president of the RCA, said in light of the scandal the Orthodox rabbinate in the diaspora, as well as in Israel, needs to re-think its conversion policy.

“When power is concentrated in the hands of a few self-righteous rabbis, the result is inevitably corruption, injustice, immorality,” Rabbi Angel said in an email.

He called the scandal “a siren call to all decent Orthodox rabbis to stand up against the existing ‘rabbinic establishment’”, and to insist that conversions be placed back in the hands of local rabbis — not in the hands of “self-righteous rabbis who betray Torah.”

Calls to Rabbi Tropper, at the Kol Yaakov Yeshivah he founded in Monsey, NY, were not returned.

Tropper issues a weak apology.

Tropper obviously does not realize the immense evils of his ways. In a statement issues today by his representative.

representatives said he “wishes to express his regret for the turmoil caused by his departure… and for what has appeared to be conduct not within our significant laws of modesty.”

He regrets his departure, not his actions. Now that he is no longer officially the head of EJF he can no longer rear his ugly head and throw his weight around in religious circles as easily as he could in the past.

He says "and for what appeared to be conduct not within laws of modesty"?!

Holding an umbrella for a woman or shaking a woman's hand falls within that category.

What he did was pressure those who depended and looked up to him, to rape them, literally and figuratively. He was for all intense and purposes running a brothel.

Obviously Tropper does not feel he did anything wrong besides for not adhere to the very strict laws of modesty.

Here is the rest of the article.

Advocate of Strict Conversions in Sexual Scandal

A key proponent of the successful campaign for stricter conversions in Israel and around the world has resigned from a senior post, and has not denied rumors of a conversion scandal of his own.

Rabbi Leib Tropper, a founder of the hard-line conversion group Eternal Jewish Family (EJF), announced that he had stepped down as its leader when allegations surfaced in news outlets that he had engaged in sexual misconduct with a woman while guiding her conversion. Tropper was among those responsible for major policy changes by the Israeli rabbinate that sparked a worldwide tightening of conversion regulations.

In a statement issued December 23 to the Forward, Tropper’s representatives said he “wishes to express his regret for the turmoil caused by his departure… and for what has appeared to be conduct not within our significant laws of modesty.”

“He was a big player in trying to make the conversion standards more extreme,” said Mark Angel, the modern Orthodox rabbi who founded the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, which opposed Tropper’s reforms.

Now, in an ironic twist, the rabbi whose organization questioned the legitimacy of conversions performed by others has had his own conversions called into question. On December 21, the Rabbinical Council of America, the mostly Modern Orthodox rabbinic association, issued a statement in response to the scandal. “What we have heard, if true, violates the fundamental elements of all that Judaism holds sacred,” the statement read. EJF has been involved in conversions since its founding, in 2005.

The allegations of sexual misconduct against Tropper, reported first on the Web site FailedMessiah.com, cite leaked, unauthenticated audio and video recordings in which Tropper apparently discusses orchestrating sexual encounters between an unidentified woman undergoing a conversion and other men. These allegations were also reported in the New York Post.

The revelations may have undermined Tropper’s hard-line stance. “He was the ultimate de-legitimizer,” said Rabbi Seth Farber, who directs ITIM, an information and advocacy center for Jewish life in Israel. “He claimed he had all the solutions, he had all of the ultra-Orthodox leadership, and anything that wasn’t under his rule wasn’t legitimate at all.”

Tropper is known for particularly strict positions on who can perform and receive conversions. According to a blog post by Rabbi Gil Student, a Modern Orthodox rabbi, Tropper told him that he follows the authorities who believe that rabbis who think the world is more than 6000 years old should not be allowed to preside over conversions. And Jewcy.com reported that in 2006, Tropper reversed a conversion he had overseen after learning that the woman wore pants and not dresses, which is considered immodest in ultra-Orthodox circles.

Officials from EJF could not be reached for comment.

Tropper has worked to extend his rigid outlook on conversions to rabbinical courts around the world. According to sources contacted by the Forward, he is among those responsible for a major shift in conversion policy that occurred in 2007, when moves by the Israeli rabbinate caused the RCA to introduce new, stricter conversion standards.

One source who is familiar with the matter and asked not to be identified called Tropper a “power broker.” According to Farber, Tropper’s charisma and funding allowed him to garner support from major figures in the ultra-Orthodox world. Farber said that Tropper and an Israeli ally, Rabbi Nachum Eisenstein, had the ear of Shlomo Amar, Israel’s Sephardic chief rabbi, in 2005 and 2006, years in which Amar effected policy changes that overturned the status quo of Orthodox conversion in the United States.

“Amar was very impressed with the rabbis whom [Tropper and Eisenstein] surrounded themselves with,” Farber said. Amar attended conferences in the United States, organized by EJF. “He became very, very suspicious of the Modern Orthodox rabbinate in the United States. And that, from a historical perspective, was a disaster,” Farber said.

In 2006, Amar determined that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel would not consider conversions performed by the RCA to be legitimate. The potential implications of the decision were drastic, as the rabbinate in Israel controls such vital areas as marriage, divorce and eligibility for immigration. In response, the RCA restructured the process by which it approved conversions, limiting the ability of individual rabbis to convene religious courts in favor of a more centralized system. Conversions are now performed only by a small number of RCA rabbis.

Meanwhile, in the United States, EJF worked to coordinate and centralize the religious courts that adhered to its stricter standards.

“Until now, every single beis din [religious court] was, to a large extent, independent. There was no interfacing, there were no standards, there was no discussion,” said Yehoshua Wender, who sits on the Bais Din of Houston and is the rabbi of Young Israel of Houston. Through EJF, Wender said that his religious court has been brought into contact with other similarly observant religious courts via annual conferences. EJF lists 19 religious courts in the United States and around the world that it says adhere to its “universally accepted standards” of conversion.

FailedMessiah.com also reported that Tropper used his control over the unidentified woman’s conversion process as leverage to force her to engage in sexual activities. But Wender, who said that the woman was to have been converted at his beit din, said that Tropper would have had no say over whether the woman’s conversion would have been accepted.

EJF site gets a makeover and makes like Tropper never existed.

The EJF site http://www.eternaljewishfamily.org/ used to be covered inn Leib Tropper's pictures. All of a sudden yesterday they removed every picture that he is in. Which was almost everyone.



Why would they do that? After all their position is that he just resigned to be with his family.

Statement by Rabbi Leib Tropper
I have decided to resign my position at the Eternal Jewish Family (EJF) effective December 12, 2009 to pursue a variety of other interests. As a founder of EJF, I am proud of my role of being an architect of a very dynamic and important movement in our community. I will in the coming months do my utmost to be of service to the Jewish community in any way I can. I am extremely enthusiastic that a distinguished Torah personality of the stature of Rav Ela Ber Wachtfogel has agreed to assume my position of Chairman of the Rabbinic Committee and that Rabbi Chaim Blum has agreed to serve as interim director of EJF. I wish every continued success to EJF, its rabbinic leadership and the extraordinary team of dayanim and dedicated individuals that serve the organization in many parts of the world.

1st lie was that he was not stepping down to spend more time with his family. He was stepping down due to a huge sex scandal.




2nd lie, Rav Ela Ber Wachtfogel did not agree to assume his position, he was merely bamboozed By Tropper. Tropper told him that Rav Elyashiv asked him to take over, which was not true.

The lies with Tropper never end.

I guess the removal of all trace of anything Tropper related on the site, even the above press release, is an admittance in silence that he is tainted.



When will they come out and publicly acknowledge and denounce Tropper's evil doings?



As long as they do not, they are committing mass suicide. All it shows is that Tropper is still the puppet master behind the scenes, and that the following PR people should never be hired, as they know not how to handle a PR nightmare.

Menachem Lubinsky of http://www.lubicom.com/ P. (718) 854.4450

And Erin Gentry 917.392.1775