| Milton Balkany |
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RABBI Rabbi Balkany established and is the principal of Bais Yaakov Of Brooklyn a prominent Bais Yaakov school with an enrollment of several hundred girls, devoted to educating Haredi Jew ish girls in Borough Park, Brooklyn . POLITICAL ACTIVITIES Balkany has been active in political fundraising for in June 2003 with the prayer ''"I stand here today among the jewels of our nation, men and women who are precious, who radiate dedication, and they have been selected as the leaders of our land."'' He once rejected an invitation to become the Rabbi chaplain to the senate. CONTROVERSY Yeshiva Rav Isacshon In 1987 Balkany became embroiled in a scandal after a number of California legislators tried to have a grant that he had solicited on behalf of ''Yeshiva Rav Isacshon'' in Los Angeles overturned on the grounds that Balkany had acted improperly in soliciting politicians to approve the $2.3 million grant.''Getting a U.S. Grant--How the System Really Works'', Sara Fritz, Los Angeles Times, August 14, 1989 Prison lobbying He has also lobbied the U.S. Bureau of Prisons to improve conditions for Orthodox Jewish prisoners. According to the '' Village Voice '', several people who have dealt with him say that he has claimed the power to arrange favorable treatment in prison for individuals such as Leona Helmsley and Eddie Antar . He was subsequently banned from making any contact with prison service officials. As part of the 2004 deal with prosecutors of the charity fund pilfering scandal he agreed not to lobby on "any matter involving a federal inmate or any other person charged or convicted of a federal crime." Prosecutors alleged that would ensure favourable conditions for Jewish prisoners in exchange for money of donations to his charities. After he arranged a brief prison release for Helmsley so that she could visit family members' graves before Yom Kippur , the billionaire made a contribution to his school.''Jail Breaks Influential Rabbi Barred From Lobbying Federal Prison Officials'', Tom Robbins, The Village Voice, March 9, 2004 David Luchins In 1994 Balkany tried to have David Luchins an Orthodox Jew and official of the Orthodox Union as well as a former aide to Senator Daniel Moynihan ''Moynihan's Man in Limbo: Mystery Ad Putting Luchins on Notice'', Jeffrey Goldberg, The Forward, February 25, 1994 placed in Cherem (excommunication) after Luchins wrote memos complaining about Balkany's heavy-handed efforts to compel Israeli government officials to use U.S. aid money to fund projects Balkany favored in Israel. Luchins refused to attend the hearings''Republican Rabbi Tries New Political Tactic: Plan to Haul Moynihan Aide Before a Beit Din'', Jeffery Goldberg, The Forward, January 14, 1994 Luchins - a self described liberal - claimed that this was part of a witch-hunt against him by right-wing lobbyists such as Balkany trying to silence him. Balkany told the press that ''"We have grave concern with a lot of things he is doing in the Jewish community under the auspices of being a senior staff member of Sen. Moynihan's, whenever an issue comes to his attention, he gets involved and does great harm. He's hurting individuals and hurting communities, he thinks he has a direct link to Sinai. I haven't accepted his word as God's word yet."'' Luchins responded that ''"Jewish tradition says that every Jewish soul was at Sinai, and I assume Rabbi Balkany's was there also. We may not have met because he might have been in the back, collecting money. He apparently feels a need to find a scapegoat for his own loss of influence in the new administration."'' Utimately Moynihan refused to allow Luchins to attend the hearing.''Moynihan Tells Aide to Boycott Rabbinic Court: Luchins, Haled to Bet Din,. Could Be Excommunicated'', Matthew Dorf , The Forward, January 28, 1994 In March of 1995 a Rabbinic Court met at Yeshiva University at Rabbi Ahron Soloveichik 's suggestion to hear Rabbi Balkany's charges against David Luchins. The court, consisting of three revered Yeshiva University Roshei Yeshiva , dismissed all charges against David Luchins. Bob Dole In 1996 a request for $2.3 million in federal funding for a charitable project was accepted after Bob Dole interceded on his behalf. Dole had been a beneficiary of Balkany's political fundraising and got involved after the proposal had first been rejected by the U.S. Agency For International Development .''Dole Fund-Raiser Got Helping Hand; Project Proposal Won Grant After Initial AID Rejection'', The Washington Post, Serge F. Kovaleski, April 8 The request was in relation to funding for an obscure Yeshiva in Jerusalem run by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin , ''Ohr Torah''. Balkany subsequently sued Riskin in a '' Beit Din '' for $200,000 over non-payment of fees related to his activism on his behalf.''Dole Emerging at Center Of Dispute Over Yeshiva'', Lucette Lagnado, The Forward, January 19, 1996 Riskin argued that he had never asked Balkany to intercede with Dole on his behalf and refused to attend the hearings Despite the fast-tracking of the payment following the AID meeting with Dole, both Dole and AID denied that was any exesive influence exacted on the organisation by the then Senate Majority Leader on Balkany's behalf. Katherine Harris In January 2005, there was some controversy over donations made to Katherine Harris by members of Balkany's extended family including the CEO of Agriprocessors. Harris refused to return the donations organised by Balkany despite after being made aware of the 2003 prosecution and the PETA investigation into the animal cruelty allegations at Agriprocessors.''Harris gifts tied to controversial fundraiser - She got 10 $2,000 checks from donors connected to a man known as "the Brooklyn Bundler"'', Adam C. Smith, St. Petersberg Times, January 27, 2005 Daycare vouchers Balkany became a key figure in the distribution of day-care vouchers in New York due to his close ties with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and top-aide Bruce Teitelbaum . According to reports in the '' Daily News '' Balkany helped corral for Orthodox Jewish schools more than half the city's total allocation of vouchers. Balkany offered a full-service operation, charging families a fee to fill out applications for the vouchers, which were in desperate demand all over the city. Nicholas Scoppetta, at the time serving as commissioner for children's services, was sufficiently disturbed by events to refer the matter to the city's Department of Investigation, which opened a probe that was later joined by federal investigators. ''Rabbi Bunco An Ally of Senators and Mayors Is Charged With Fraud'', Tom Robbins, The Village Voice, September 9, 2003 ''Distribution of Vouchers For Day Care Is Scrutinized'', Somini Sengupta, New York Times, January 30, 2000 Deal with prosecutors In a deal with prosecutors in 2004, Balkany agreed to restrictions on his movement, six months probation, full restitution of the monies and admitted that he was wrong in not complying with specific terms of the grant's use. In return the State Prosecutor's Office promised not to pursue the case.''Rabbi Will Not Be Prosecuted In Theft of Federal Grant Money'', Susan Saulny, New York Times, February 24, 2004 FAMILY He is married to Sarah Rubashkin, an occasional lecturer on Chabad Hasidism, with whom he has 13 children. His father in law is Rabbi Aaron Rubashkin the founder of Agriprocessors. His brother-in-law, Rabbi Moshe Rubashkin is the head of the Community Council in Crown Heights . Another brother-in-law Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin is the current CEO of AgriProcessors. CITATIONS |
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