Milton Balkany

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Rabbi Milton Yehoshua Balkany (born 1946) is an Orthodox rabbi, Jewish community leader, educator, political actvist and fundraiser.

Contents 1 Activities 2 Controversy 2.1 Yeshiva Rav Isacshon 2.2 Prison lobbying 2.3 David Luchins 2.4 Bob Dole 2.5 Katherine Harris 2.6 Daycare vouchers 3 Misappropriation of charitable funds 3.1 Deal with prosecutors 4 Family 5 References

[edit] Activities

Balkany has been active in political fundraising for Republican politicians since the early 1980s. He has also often acted as a lobbyist for various Jewish causes. He became widely known for giving public religious benedictions (Brachot) to senior politicians.^[1] He opened the US House of Representatives 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."^[1] He once declined an invitation to become the Rabbi chaplain to the senate.

[edit] Controversy

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[edit] 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.^[2]

[edit] 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.^[2] 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.^[3]

[edit] 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^[4] 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^[5] 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.^[5]

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."^[5]

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."^[5]

Utimately Moynihan refused to allow Luchins to attend the hearing.^[6]

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 highly respected Yeshiva University Roshei Yesiva, dismissed all charges against David Luchins.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Bob Dole

In 1996 a request for $2.3 million in federal funding for a charitable project was accepted after then-U.S. Senator 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.^[7] 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.^[8] Riskin argued that he had never asked Balkany to intercede with Dole on his behalf and refused to attend the hearings^[8]

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.^[8]

[edit] 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.^[9]

[edit] Daycare vouchers

Barkany became a key figure in the distribution of day-care vouchers in New York due to his close ties with Rudy Giuliani and top-aide Bruce Teitelbaum. According to reports in the Daily News^{[issue # needed]}, 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.^[10][11]

[edit] Misappropriation of charitable funds

On August 26, 2003, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Balkany had been detained on charges that he misappropriated approximately $700,000 in federal grant money.^[12]

Balkany as the President and Director of Bais Yaakov, a Jewish day school in Brooklyn, applied for, in November 1999, and later received a $700,000 Congressional "Economic Development Initiative" grant administered through the auspices of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. According to the Complaint, he said that the entire grant amount would be used to pay off a mortgage on a building located on the Bais Yaakov property for an entity called "the Children's Center of Brooklyn" to house educational and therapeutic programs for disabled preschool children.^[12]

In November 2001, auditors began a preliminary investigation of a number of "Economic Development Initiative" grants that had been awarded in the New York metropolitan area, including the $700,000 "Children's Center" grant. In connection with the investigation, auditors allegedly learned that the "Children's Center" had failed to file any of the regular progress reports required under rules and procedures of the grant. When auditors interviewed Balkany, he insisted the funds had been used to convert a Bais Yaakov building into the "Children's Center" but he refused to provide the auditors with access to the school's books and records, according to the Complaint.^[12]

Subsequently, investigators obtained records for the Bais Yaakov account at Chase Manhattan Bank into which the grant money had been deposited. Those records reflected that all of the money received from HUD in December 1999 had been withdrawn from the account by early February 2000, a two-month period in which Balkany wrote more than 250 checks drawn against the account. According to the Complaint, further investigation revealed that only one check, for approximately $6000, was used to pay down any of the pending mortgages against the Bais Yaakov property, which at the time of the grant totaled more than $1 million.^[12]

Balkany diverted the funds to an array of individuals and entities who were not entitled to the earmarked funds. He diverted $300,000 to an Israeli corporation in which his son-in-law was an officer, and another $5,000 to a New York import company run by another son-in-law. He also diverted approximately $80,000 to a variety of other rabbis and Jewish schools and organizations located in Brooklyn. He also wrote out 32 checks against the Bais Yaakov account, totaling approximately $78,000, all made payable to "Rabbi Balkany" which were he subsequently endorsed and either cashed or deposited into a personal account at another bank.^[12]

He also used thousands of dollars in grant funds to pay for personal items such as life insurance premiums; credit card bills and income taxes.^[12]

Balkany was charged in the Complaint with theft of government property, filing a false claim, wire fraud and obstruction of justice and released on a bond of $750,000.^[12]

[edit] Deal with prosecutors

In a deal with prosecutors in 2004 pertaining to the misappropriation case, 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.^[13]

[edit] Family

He is married to Sarah Rubashkin, an occasional lecturer on Chabad Hasidim, 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 a member of the board of the Community Council in Crown Heights. Another brother-in-law Rabbi Sholom Rubashkin is the current CEO of AgriProcessors.

[edit] References