Tag Archives: Haiti

Message 5 February 28, 2010, 2010 5:03:42PM Yoram has left a new comment on your post “WHO IS JORGE PUELLO, PT 2: JUMPING DOWN THE RABBIT…“ > [Responsa III, 112] In other words, the proof for the matrilineal descent lies with the accuser . . . Not with the alleged victim. Why? In the Mishna – the compilation of Oral Torah – we find an injunction that says: > [Kiddushin 4:10] In another responsum, now in regards to the Anusim of Ashkenaz (Germany) in the 12th c., Rabbi Salomon bar Simson said: > [Geshichte der Juden in Deutschland a.a. O. p. 29, Bernfeld a.a. O.S. 192.] Why? Very simple, to speak wrongs on Israel leads to impiety, as exposed by Maimonides, of blessed memory: > [Iggeret ha-Shemad, Halkin’s translation, (Philadelphia, 1993) p. 17] Now I am also held accountable. The very claim of the Anusim carries authority, and establishes the main reference point for rabbinical defense. The Rabbis dialogue underneath the voice of the Anusim. We hardly find any actions to the contrary. And since it is in the majority of opinions to consider Anusim as part of Israel, it follows that it is treated with the utmost respect and Continue Reading →

Message 6: February 18, 2010: 5:04:23PM Yoram has left a new comment on your post “WHO IS JORGE PUELLO, PT 2: JUMPING DOWN THE RABBIT…“ Again, I must go back to the few Rabbis who are aware (not even knowing) the legal precedence on Anusim, and yet have to conform to the Status Quo to avoid any problems. Yet, let it be known they are not obliged and loop wholes can be found within the system. In all fairness, you must understand that the whole issue of “conversion” is abhorred in the minds of some Anusim. They have every right to think so. We know that some people demanded also conversion from Yemenite Jews decades ago, yet the Yemenite community stood on its feet and fought their way through. How does one Jew have the right to invalidate the other’s lineage? Anusim lack the communal aspect, and as a result they cannot defend themselves jointly.By all that we know on Anusim, no ceremony of “conversion” was ever performed and neither a certificate was ever issued. Can anyone bring me the Responsa from 1400’s to 1800’s that explicitly show how this was ever done? For all we know, Anusim were treated Continue Reading →

Message 7: February 18, 2010 5:04:44PM Yoram has left a new comment on your post “WHO IS JORGE PUELLO, PT 2: JUMPING DOWN THE RABBIT…“: > For Judaism to be operative in what we call the “chain of tradition”, the full force the Written and Oral Torah, the commentaries of the Talmud, and the post-Rabbinic tradition as deposited in the Responsa have to operate hand in hand. To render any of these useless, renders the whole “chain” inoperative. For this reason, Maimónides in his Mishne Torah – who in the name of the Sages – says: > [MT Hilkhot Mamurim, II.2] Because it is certain that we all are dwarfs in the presence of the luminaries of the tradition, and when will it happen for us to surpass them? Let me let you into a secret: Never. And how can anyone explain to the Anusim – with the full use of Halakha – how these most central matters on Israel’s identity do not come violated to its very core through the use of Giur? Is this perhaps a joke? Can Israel be Israel without what the Sages have known for all times? And how can one invalidate the lineage of Continue Reading →

Accurate personal info, including the religious affiliation, of Jorge Torres Puello is scarce so far, but the question has caught on in the blogosphere: Is Torres Puello really Jewish? Although the relevancy of this question has nothing to do with adoption, the subject of the Daily Bastardette and End Child Exportation and Trafficking…, I’m going to take it on. No reference is made to Torres Puello’s religion in the interview with his mother and stepfather in the Miami Herald (registration required) or CNN. I’ve heard nothing to suggest he was born Jewish. Puello isn’t a Jewish name, but Torres is. His father is reported to be Puerto Rican and if he were Jewish, it wouldn’t make his son Jewish by birth. There are a couple media references saying that Torres Puello is a Jewish convert, but I’ve not seen any genuine documented source on that. If it is true, when did he convert and who did he convert under? Nobody has come forward to claim him. We only “know” Torres Puello is Jewish because (1) he says he’s Jewish and (2) he wears a kippah and talit. I have a talit. Does that make me a Jewish man? When Did Continue Reading →

INTERPOL: WANTED JORGE TORRES ORELLANA (Jorge Pulleo)CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN, PEOPLE SMUGGLING, TRAFFICKING & ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION Thanks to everyone commenting and sending tips. They are tremendously helpful. Tomorrow I plan to sit down and go through them carefully. “Plan” being the operative word. The way the story is moving it won’t surprise me if Jorge Puello is picked up in Andorra by then. In the meantime, it’s impossible to keep up and comment cogently on breaking Puello events. The best way is to break the story into chunks, although with so much new news, old news gets tossed aside, at least for now. Today I’m writing about Jorge Puello. Next, unless something big breaks, I’ll give an update on the New Lifers. ***** On February 11, 2010 ((New York Times) we first learned that New Life Children’s Refuge “legal adviser” Jorge Puello, may not be who he claimed to be. As I determined earlier, and the New York Times verified, Puello is not a licensed lawyer in the Dominican Republic. In fact, he’s not a lawyer anywhere. How Puello became the group’s “legal adviser” is still unknown. Updates on that situation will appear in another entry. The article said Jorge Callegas, Continue Reading →

Big news popping out of DR tonight. The New York Times reports a growing amount of evidence to connect New Life Children’s Refuge “legal adviser” Jorge Puello to a sex trafficking ring operating in El Salvador. The trafficking suspect, who police believe is Puello, worked with Pablo Nasser, the former deputy director of the Salvadoran Immigration Service to lure foreign girls and women into the country and sell them into prostitution. The latest break comes from two sources: (1) photographs that appear to match Puello and the trafficking suspect and (2) public and court records linking Puello to a Florida address that is tied to the suspect. Hey, I thought Jorge didn’t have a passport! Here’s what the Times says: The Salvadoran police asked their Dominican counterparts on Friday to arrest Mr. Puello. “Dominican authorities should proceed to detain him,” said Augusto Cotto, deputy director of investigations for the Salvadoran police. “If the fingerprints coincide, we’d begin the process to try to bring him to El Salvador.” Eric Álvarez, a spokesman for the Salvadoran chief prosecutor’s office, said Friday that judicial officials had determined that photographs of Mr. Puello in Haiti matched those of the suspect wanted in El Salvador. Continue Reading →

For my initial report on Jorge Puello, please go directly below this entry. The Associated Press and CBS News reported Friday afternoon that Jorge Puello, “legal adviser” to the New Life adoption traffickers, as suspected, has no license to practice law in The Dominican Republic. AP reporter Frank Bajak writes: Jorge Puello, who has been a high-profile advocate for the American Baptists as they navigate the Haitian justice system, is in apparent violation of Dominican law for failing to register with the local bar association or obtain a license, said Jose Parra, vice president of the Dominican Lawyers Association. Parra said his organization was still investigating the situation and might file a complaint with the Justice Department, which could pursue criminal charges. Last night I asked some questions about Puello’s relationship to CVBC and Laura Silisby. I was particularly interested in whether Puello and Silsby had a pre-quake relationship (about what?) which would have greased the way for Puello to slide in and “advise” the prisoners, their families, and their churches. We now have this small statement from Sean Lankford, whose wife Corinna and daughter Nichole are being held in Haiti, which suggests that either the folks in Idaho are Continue Reading →

I’ve been curious about Jorge Puello since his name appeared about 10 days ago as the legal adviser for the New Lifers. Puello made a big splat on CNN when he complained about the severe conditions under which his clients were jailed: “No air conditioning! No Electricity! Very disturbing!” According to news reports Puello was hired by Laura Silby’s church, Central Valley Baptist, after either the church or Laura Silsby and her gang rejected the attorney (or attorneys) recommended by American Consular Services. Puello, in turn, hired Haitian attorney Edwin Coq to represent the detainees, even though Coq speaks Creole and no English. What to make of that nonsense? Last week, according to whose story you believe, Puello fired Coq, claiming that the Haitian had demanded a $60,000 fee and attempted to bribe the prisoners back to the US. Coq denied the accusation, and said he quit because the families back in Idaho never sent him the $60,000 he needed to take the case. Sources inside of Haiti who know Coq claim that he is an “honest young lawyer” and refused to believe Puello’s claim. Coq has complained to the press that Puello has ruined his reputation. Over the weekend Continue Reading →

This is the first part of a 2-part blog, which was becoming too long for comfortable consumption. Part 1 is limited to the latest story coming out of Haiti on the break-up of Silsby’s onsite New Lifers and allegations of attempted court bribery last week. The Laura Silsby child lifting case just keeps getting stranger. MSNBC reporter Kerry Sanders reported Saturday that one of Laura Silsby’s “missionaries” slipped a note to his producer Don Wood during an off camera interview. Signed by eight of the 10 prisoners, the note said the detainees feared for their lives. And seemingly feared Silsby. The 3 minute broadcast is below. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy Here are the relevant parts: We fear for our lies here in Haiti. There is corruption and extortion. Laura wants to control. We believe lying. We are afraid. Please you must listen. We have no way to call. Court will not let us have a say about truth for us We only came as volunteers. We had nothing to do with any documents. We have been lied to. ****** The Associated Press picks it up from there, reporting Sunday morning (Feb. 7) Continue Reading →