Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Synagogue

This letter to Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation, Mercer Island, Seattle, Washington, drew his attention to some issues that he needed to address. They concerned Council House, Seattle, a government financially-assisted senior citizen residence and members of his congregation.

The letter gave him an opportunity to respond to exposé on how members of his congregation abuse senior citizens, misappropriate government funds, and practice racism and religious bigotry. His congregation includes several superior court judges, lawyers, and others who have run amok against all Judaic principles.

Rosenbaum did not respond although he acknowledged receipt. He continues to harbor alleged criminals and bigots at the highest level of his administration.

The essay “Mindful Madness” contains negative information about several members of Herzl-Ner Tamid congregation and will appear on the Contra Cabal web site within the next 48 hours. Responsible media follow a policy of "simultaneous rebuttal" in which subjects are given an opportunity to respond to general statements based on an existing story or one about to be released. This ethic affects and protects public figures and leaders of institutions - it embraces a “hold the innocent harmless” philosophy.

I give you notice following the international codes of ethics agreed among journalists that I will publish sequels which deal with the topics in more detail. Several of those ethical codes, tested in international courts, have legal precedent. This prepublication notice gives you an opportunity to respond to content affecting reputation or moral character. People named incidentally usually receive this type of notice, however, a no-contact order obtained by some members of your congregation prohibits them from enjoying that courtesy.

This letter is addressed to you personally at the institution which you represent. I do not expect you to treat yourself as a third-party conduit to those people arguably covered by a court no-contact order and expect you to honor my intent. Moreover, for public accountability, I encourage you to respond in open exchange before 31 December 02. I do not solicit a personal opinion, therefore, any response should address matters of fact and religious doctrine only and base upon essays published on Contra Cabal web sites or Washington superior and supreme court records that relate to Trummel v. Mitchell.

Contra Cabal essays contain opinion based upon research. I use the pseudonym Nmesis and openly declare personal or conflicting interests. Conflicts may relate to topics or to opinion especially when the content draws upon advocacy, experience, conclusion, or interpretation. An accredited journalist, I try to conform with the code of conduct and ethics of the journalism profession, tested by courts in both Great Britain and USA.

Several essays expose abuse of senior citizens and other minority groups. I promote unfettered discussion of the ideologies and practices, many of them detrimental, that presently exist within closed societies. I describe much of the dysfunctional behavior that I have experienced and name perpetrators. I do not expect to change anything.

Moral imperatives sometimes override ethical considerations. The moral duty to do something about abuse becomes tantamount to bearing witness and truthfully reporting it. Those who have actually suffered the European holocaust, and actively supported civil and human rights for many years, know that one can only do a small amount to relieve suffering.

Members of later generations sometimes acquiesce as bystanders. Parrot-like, they reiterate holocaust parodies about the suffering of their forebears. Then indifference and hypocrisy gives them social standing in their closed communities. [Lest we Forget]

They involve themselves in “charitable work” knowing that only personal equity appreciation in their “non-profit” ventures counts for them. Their charitable interest relates only to self-aggrandizement and what they can gain from their involvement - a culturally ingrained hypocrisy loosely defined as “the holocaust industry”. This describes several members of your congregation whom I have dubbed the “Herzl-Ner Tamid Hornet’s Nest”. [Frog's Dream]

I recount my experiences, and those of other people, to try to describe the ethical and moral cancer that permeates some closed senior-citizen societies and those people who control them - in particular Council House, Seattle, and by extension the “Hornet’s Nest” within Herzl-Ner Tamid.

I provide the following information to keep the record straight and to refute some of the propaganda circulated internationally by several members of your congregation and their employees. Since 1947, I have worked as a journalist, an editor, a technical communicator, an associate professor, also as a university administrator.

I have held international press credentials for about forty-five years. I hold letters (European terminal degree equivalencies), a Rensselaer post-graduate degree, two PhD/ABD credentials, and two elected international fellowships. I have won an international silver medal for my satire and a US award for my educational programs for disadvantaged people.

Born into a working class family with German and Jewish ancestry, I chose Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, George Orwell, and Rudyard Kipling as role models. They had a profound and lasting influence upon my life although in very different ways. In retrospect, I believe that I made wise choices.

I feel grateful for the example of these men especially at this time when I again experience fascist pressure. I have recently suffered victimization from some members of your congregation who have had me jailed under the most cruel and unusual circumstances in attempts to silence me - they denied my constitutional rights.

A Londoner, I remember the influx of Jews into England and the 9,200 Kindertransport children rejected by the US Congress and all other countries except Great Britain. I remember the BBC announcement (03 Sep 39) that Britain had declared war on Germany partly as a result of those circumstances.

More vividly, I remember some of those immigrants, my neighbors and schoolmates, among the 90,000 civilian deaths that occurred in England at that time. I remember the cruelty and ostracism of other children toward me because of either my German or my Jewish ancestry - damned if I answered to Jew and damned if I answered to German.

My long experience has shown that despots control many specialized programs and government-funded organizations. They enforce a new type of sectarian totalitarianism and work toward the suppression of individual freedom. They use their wealth and power to force their ideologies upon others, to enrich themselves, and to perpetuate their power.

A recent US General Accounting Office investigation discovered misappropriation and resident abuse in twenty-six percent of the senior citizen facilities that it inspected. Exposure of abuse can only take place if those who have suffered it have the courage and means to speak out about inequity and malfeasance.

The three branches of government give an appearance that they support equitable practices. However, those practices have become weapons in the hands of corrupt people who suppress evidence in attempts to cover up their own malfeasance. They use judicial privilege to intimidate their adversaries. They use religion to cover up their illegal activities.

The Fourth Estate exists as a watchdog. As a member of the press corps, I report events and provide evidence to support all my allegations. I recognize that the truth, by its very nature, often inflames the sensibilities. In anger, insecure people become fearful because they identify with the negative aspects of the discourse. They probably fear disclosure of their own machination. They dread losing the power that they may have usurped and try to intimidate other people. They make wild attacks upon journalists and others who report malfeasance.

I have published hundreds of articles that expose corruption. As a result, I have suffered prior restraint, censorship, and denial of due process of law. I have now languished in jail and lost my home at the hands of members of your congregation. I stress that no one has ever sued me for defamation or libel. I have neither born malice nor deliberately published false statements that would give rise to legal action.

Challenging injustice has caused me immense personal loss of assets and income. I have overcome the personal anguish caused by the loss of my home and material possessions, the removal of my teaching credentials, and denial of contact with students. This has caused me to perceive those experiences as an inspiring process. When one transcends the immediate humiliation and harassment caused by arbitrary decisions made by others, one sees more clearly one's true vocation. Eventually this results in vindication.

I believe that continuing with my present endeavors will help create legal precedent. This may stop the erosion of freedom of expression in the electronic and other media. My actions may help to keep the directors of government financially-assisted, senior-citizen residences accountable. They may encourage authorities to stop the misappropriation of government funds in support of racial and religious discrimination in the facilities that they oversee.

Due process of law limits the power of institutions and the judiciary arbitrarily to deprive individuals of their constitutional rights. Prior restraint applies to the denial of the right of journalists to gather and publish information or opinions without institutional control or fear of reprisal. However, several members of your congregation consistently act unconstitutionally, in a consort with others, to deny due process of law. Others, try to evade accountability by arbitrarily and frivolously challenging mental competence.

Special interest greed cannot possibly support equal political, economic, social, and civil rights for all people. Successive American political systems and policies have failed. They have allowed, and many times promoted, prejudice within one group in favor of another. They do not provide the egalitarian principles that the ethic requires. Many victims of discrimination turn to their religion for solace.

As a former professor also as a public intellectual, I believe that I have a responsibility to bring abuse to the notice of relevant authorities; as a citizen, I have a responsibility to inform law enforcement authorities about malfeasance and misuse of federal funds; and, as a journalist, I have a responsibility to gather information and to develop public awareness about wrongdoing.

The underprivileged need a means to expose the injustices meted to them by benevolent despots who usurp power absolutely. They need the means to expose the lack of ethics and rampant injustice. They need to warn others about fraudulent programs.

The rabbinate must address bigotry within its congregations. Especially, it must try to curb proselytization in government-funded secular environments. The disingenuous and unlawful manipulation of federal regulations for self-aggrandizement and monetary gain for religious purposes must cease. Perhaps, through increased public awareness and public pressure those responsible for the care of the elderly may eventually accept their obligations and treat all of them fairly and equally.

An elderly woman, born and raised in Seattle has lived there all her life as an integral part of Jewish society. She commented with regard to Council House and Herzl-Ner Tamid: “Jews stick together” - a platitude that probably has meaning for many people. In a moral sense, it probably becomes an admirable trait. She added: “Don’t expect a reply from the rabbi because he depends on his congregation for his income and will not rock the boat.” Another platitude that may hold truth for some rabbis.

I believe that everyone should have the opportunity to speak for themselves. I believe that rabbis should take a moral and ethical stance commensurate with their teachings - that they should not base those teachings upon their income sources or political affiliations. Therefore, I grant you the courtesy of a reasonable time to respond to this letter.

I expect to receive your comments in behalf of Herzl-Ner Tamid before 16:00 Tuesday 31 December 2002 PST. You may request a time extension if you wish. Failure to reply will result in publication of the material that I have.

You can identify the members of your congregation and their relatives from the attached list. Their attorney, Richard D* B**, is a member of your congregation. I believe that others have comported themselves in a way that I can only interpret as a conspiracy.

Paul Trummel.

Letter 23 Dec 02/1200 sent to Rabbi J. Rosenbaum by Certified US Mail and receipt acknowledged.

Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative Congregation

Rabbi J Rosenbaum
3700 East Mercer Way
Mercer Island, WA 98040

© Copyright 2002 by Paul Trummel
All Rights Reserved: 23 Dec 02/1200 PST
Edition: #801-29-10/04-0627-09:58
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