My Son’s Plight

B”H

There is an ongoing problem at the Dekalb County Jail in Atlanta.

Religious inmates are being denied their right to their religious needs, including religious dietary needs.

My son, a religious Jew from a religious Jewish family, was denied access to Kosher food in May, when he was first arrested, and again in June when his bail was revoked.  This is an unacceptable situation which not only affects Jewish inmates, but also inmates from other religious groups.  Atlanta is a diverse place.  We need to make sure that the basic civil rights of everyone in our jails is met.  I am a mother and a taxpayer.

As a mother, I don’t want to see my son have to fight to maintain his religious needs at the very same moment when he  can and should be depending heavily upon the strength of G-d.  As a taxpayer, I don’t want to see the precious resources of the county lost to litigation because the county has violated the basic rights of those in the jail.

Thanks For the Books!

B”H

My sincere thanks go out to whomever ordered the books for my son.  He received The Garden of Emunah and another book (please forgive me, I can’t recall the title this morning).  It was a miracle how the timing worked out, as he had completely run out of things to read (other than a Siddur, of course), when the two books arrived to him yesterday morning.

Whomever sent the books–thank you so much!  Thank you from my son, thank you from me!  You have reminded my son that there is a community out there who cares about him.  That means more than you could know.

Sunday, July 4

B”H

My son is still isolated from everyone else, he still has no access to a library.  I have given him some money in his account for some extra food, so he has been trying to supplement his food supply with the few kosher items available from the store.

He can’t shave, of course, as there are only single-edged razor’s available, so he said he looks like a cave-man right now.

He has read all the books I sent him, so because he is in isolation, he doesn’t have any other options.  He said they have let him have some recreation time–but it is him alone in a room with a basketball hoop.

Mostly, he is tired of being alone and terribly depressed.

Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday

B”H

Not a whole lot of changes for my son.  On Friday, for the first time, he got a prisoner’s handbook.  He spent the weekend reading it, along with the Siddur and Rabbi Angel’s book.  He said he was able to keep Shabbat for the first time since he got there, and he sounded really happy about it.

They are still feeding him on a very strange schedule.  He said it has been in the following pattern:  3 a.m. breakfast, 9 a.m. lunch, and 5 p.m. dinner.  He said he is starving most of the time and asked, for the first time, for me to put money in his account so he can get some food.  He said he can’t sleep because he is so hungry.

He is still stuck in a 12X12 cell with limited visitation, no recreation time, and no socialization at all.

Some Good News, Finally–June 24, 2010

B”H

I just spoke to my son and he finally got the Siddur I sent along with a book by Rabbi Angel.  He said he had already read half of Rabbi Angel’s book, and he was looking forward to reading the rest.

He said he started crying when he was reading it.  “I remember how much I love to be Jewish, to be religious.  I kept thinking about Israel and how much I loved it there, how much I need to get back to what is important in my life.”  He said he longs to tie tefillin again.

He also said they put a clock up outside his cell so he can keep Shabbat, and he asked for me to ask the rabbi about what he should do to pray under the circumstances.  He has a bed frame under his bed that he can set up as a sort of mehitza between himself and the bathroom, he wanted me to ask the rabbi whether it would be OK to use that.  I called the rabbi on my cell, and he got an acceptable answer.

He said that there is one guard there who is very kind to him, and he was feeling a lot better about things now that he had something to read and a Siddur.

He still has very little food, a very strange meal schedule, and, of course, he is still secluded, but he sounded a lot better than he has in a while.  He is upset to spend another Shabbat in jail, but he is thankful that this Shabbat will probably not be as bad as the last.

Another Shabbat Approaching–June 24,2010

B”H

I sit here in the dark before my other children are awake, and I am alone with my thoughts about what has been happening to my son.  I am becoming rather desperate, at this point.  He has been locked in a 12X12 cell for almost a week with no social interaction.  His phone is limited.  They won’t give him any books that I had sent to the jail in the way posted on their official website, and Shabbat looms before me.

I try to reach out, hoping that someone will help me help my son.

I spent yesterday writing to lawyers asking for help, I wrote to rabbis, I wrote to friends, but I am quickly realizing that even though my son has not been convicted of anything, even though my son has not hurt another human being besides himself, even though I have been writing anonymously and no one knows what he is accused of, many in the Jewish community sit and judge him anyway.

I understand why Hashm asked Gentiles to established courts of justice rather than Jews.  We are far too harsh against our own.

Still No Siddur/Books Delivered–June 23 2:30 p.m.

B”H

My son had to rush his phone call today–the phone is on a cart and he has to ask for it.  The woman who has charge of the phone wanted it back, just after we started talking.

He still sits in the medical wing.  He still hasn’t gotten the Siddur or any of the other books I have sent him (The Siddur and two other books arrived on Monday morning via UPS) even though it has been a full 48 hours since they arrived at the jail.

He is now ill.  He said he can barely get out of bed, so I told him to ask them to take his temperature when he feels feverish and to get as much rest as he can.

I not surprised he is ill with all the stress and lack of sleep he has gotten over the past three weeks.

EEEK! Missionaries!–June 22, 2010

B”H

My son can’t see a rabbi because the jail won’t allow him in.  I sent him a Siddur, which is, so far, “held up” by the mail delivery process (yeah, right).

And now . .  . A MISSIONARY has visited his cell.  VISITED HIS CELL???  She gave him treif from “RBC Missions.”

She handed him missionary tracts and told him that if he “believes in j . . .  that he will be freed from Jail.”

I told him to dispose of them.  He doesn’t have a waste basket (or a burn barrel, a pity).  He wants to hold them as evidence in case he sues (in case?).

So, let’s review, shall we?

On June 21, they denied a prominent rabbi access to my son.

On June 21, the Jail received a Siddur via UPS from me at 9:38 a.m. (I love package tracking!).  It is now 5:15 p.m. the next day, and the Siddur still is not in my son’s hands.

HOWEVER, a MISSIONARY was allowed access to my son.  My son, who has ‘KOSHER DIET’ WRITTEN ON THE OUTSIDE OF HIS CELL.  My son, who is being discriminated on the basis of his religion.  My son who has been prevented from having any other materials to read, is approached by a xtian missionary who gives him a treif bible and a bunch of missionary tracts.

HMMMM.

Any lawyers out there want to take a chance on this case on contingency??? I am just at the end of my rope here.

(Just drop me a comment!  I won’t publish it, but I will probably contact you!)

A Parent’s Plight–June 22, 2010

B”H

Up until now I have only written about my son and what he has been going through, but I have to spend a moment and tell you also what I have been going through.

My son has been accused of things that have led him to jail.  He is not perfect, but he shouldn’t have to give up his religion because he is in jail.  In fact, this should be the moment when he can do teshuvah, the moment of repentance when he should renew his obligation to Hashm.

I can’t get him out of jail.  The bail is too much for me to afford, and the conditions are too impossible for me to meet, so he sits in jail.

Meanwhile, he calls.  He calls.  He calls.  I am the only one he can call, and right now, because they have secluded him in a 12X12 cell for the crime of being a religious Jew, I am the only person he can talk to.

When the phone rings I am filled with dread because it is so expensive to pay for, and because I know that he will cry and beg to come home, and apologize for what he has done, and beg some more to come home.  My heart breaks when he calls.

I look at pictures of him as a child, as a young teen.  Before.  I cry a lot.

Does This Sound Like a Normal Meal Schedule To You???

B”H

When my son called at 1 p.m. they were serving him his dinner.

HIS DINNER???  At 1 p.m.?????

He gets breakfast at around 3 a.m.

He gets lunch at around 9 a.m.

He gets dinner at 1 p.m.

HUH?

No Access to Siddur–June 21

B”H

I ordered a Siddur on-line and had it delivered to the jail (the only way to have any books given to an inmate.)

He has been without a Siddur for two weeks and hasn’t seen a Chumash.  There is no access to religious materials.

The package came this afternoon, the mail room came up, my son saw the package, he heard the mail-room person ask if he was there.  The guard waved her on.

He can’t communicate with the guard because they can’t hear him.

My son has no Siddur.

He also mentioned that his girlfriend has been sending him letters.  He hasn’t gotten any.