On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 1:48 AM, Nathan Rosenberg <nr5155@gmail.com> wrote:
 

 

    I feel that most of you who are working on  this of child molestation don't understand the root of the problem.

there is a Vaad Mishmeres Hatznius that are working in conjuction with the Rabonim and they extort money

every year from the petifiles enough to bail out Ain insurance Co. or and the Washington Mutual Bank.Almost

on daily basis I get complaints from people that they tried to extort ten thousand dollars from them. On one of

my websites called Klaf Kosher ,com I got alot of complaints in writing, and most of it is facticitous its not true

its acusations but nobody wants to come foward because they are being threatened that they will throw out there

children from school and synagouges.And they dont share the money to help the victoms. Its regular mafia business

going on for over forty years plus. 

   Same is true when parents have a legitamate complaint on a teacher that

they molested a child they get the same threats,and if these threats dont work like in my case  when I did not close the hotline they threaten me with a gun twice the same is true with the parents of these children they are threathened even

with a gun. Therefore until we dont get involved with the right government agencies who dont have jewish leisions

misguiding them and bribing them we are going no place. I am refraining from talking to the newspapers who call

me constantly because it would be very embarresing to belittle my own jewish brothers. I hope it will not have to

happen. WE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY UNDER MUCH MORE TORTURE UNDER STALINS REGIME IN RUSSIA

AND IN HITLERS REGIME IN WORLD WAR TWO. as long as this message is not understood we will get noplace

trying to help these victims. My hot line educated the community very well, we finally don't live in denial, we find

a certain percentage of our children molested by orthodox teachers but to go into step two to fight the teachers

and to arrest them we cannot get them to do it because of the life threatening threats. Speaking to many fathers

who they're children who were molested are very frustrated and they are threatening to become vegelentions ands

they will take knives and guns and kill their childrens attackers.Maybe its the best thing that could happen because

the church only woke up after the preist was killed, but it would be ashamed because we are a holy nation to Hashem.

Have a Happy  New Year and an easy fast, and lots of success to all of us that want to wipe out evil from Klall Yisroel.

rRabbi Nuchem Rosenberg 

 

 On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 7:54 PM, asher lipner <lipnera@gmail.com> wrote:
 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Hella Winston <hellawinston@nyc.rr.com>
Date: Oct 2, 2008 7:41 PM
Subject:
To: asher lipner <lipnera@gmail.com>
 

Haredim Begin Confronting Pedophilia
 

By Lana Gersten
Thu. Oct 02, 2008

Article tools

• Text size:   Larger | Smaller
•    Print this article
•    Email this article
•    Other articles by Lana Gersten
•    More in News

 

After years in which the issue of pedophilia has been quietly dealt with among ultra-Orthodox Jews, a number of leaders in the community are speaking out publicly on the topic, spurring anger and debate over this sensitive issue.

Sexual abuse of children has periodically arisen in the ultra-Orthodox community through high-profile cases like that of Yehuda Kolko and Avrohom Mondrowitz, a teacher and a youth counselor, respectively, who were accused of abusing their students. Leaders in the community told the Forward that they generally treated those cases as isolated incidents. But both the Kolko and Mondrowitz cases have bubbled back up, and in the past few months a number of community leaders have forcefully taken the issue to a new plane.

Perhaps the most influential voice has been of Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who over the past year — and, particularly, over the past two months — has started a somewhat personal campaign and argued that the ultra-Orthodox community has become a haven for child molesters. Agudath Israel of America, a national ultra-Orthodox umbrella organization, has entered the fray by publicly debating legislation on the topic.

"Until not terribly long ago, the issue was very much in the shadows," said David Zwiebel, director of government affairs and general counsel of Agudath Israel of America. "The fact that there were isolated reports here and there of cases arising in yeshiva settings, it was known, but they were very isolated."

"Sometimes they were dealt with correctly and sometimes incorrectly," Zwiebel added, "but the severity of the problem and the possible magnitude were really things that most people, including myself, just didn't understand."

The largely Brooklyn-based ultra-Orthodox community, which spans many different sects, has seen a handful of explosive cases, beginning with that of Mondrowitz, who was indicted in Brooklyn on five counts of sodomy and six counts of sexual abuse in 1985, but fled to Israel during the scrutiny.

In 2006 and 2007, Kolko was charged with several counts of sexual abuse. In this case, which went to court, prosecutors allegedly talked the families of the victims into not pursuing further action after a plea bargain was negotiated, The Jewish Week reported. While Kolko first faced felony child sex abuse charges, he eventually pleaded guilty only to child endangerment and received no jail time.

Religious communities of all sorts often attempt to deal with sex abuse behind closeed doors. In the ultra-Orthodox community there is also a scripturally motivated desire to deal with legal problems through religious courts rather than secular ones.

But in 2006, New York magazine published an in-depth look at the Kolko case and the larger issue of sexual abuse. In October 2007, Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes signed papers requesting the extradition of Mondrowitz to the United States.

Following suit, Hikind, an Orthodox man himself and one of the most vocal members of the community, has brought unusual publicity to the issue. He said he only recently came to the realization that sexual abuse in his community is not, in fact, restricted to isolated cases. He said that lately, an "avalanche of people" has come to his office to talk about cases of sexual abuse.

"I'm shocked, and I've been around a long time, and I'm pretty with it," Hikind told the Forward. "I've been absolutely shocked and flabbergasted by what I've witnessed in the last eight weeks."

In response, Hikind has taken up the fight this summer by creating a new task force in his office that he says will develop a protocol to address the problem of sexual abuse in a broad way. The task force's mission is to collect a list of suspected child molesters and make that list available to the public. In an interview with the independent community newspaper The Jewish Star, Hikind boldly described what he views as the extent of the problem.

"If you're a child molester, the best community to come to is Borough Park, Flatbush, Lakewood or Monroe," Hikind said, referring to areas that have large ultra-Orthodox populations. "Your chances of being arrested are much smaller because people don't press charges."

Amy Neustein, one of the most outspoken activists on child abuse, has noted the change.

Now, Neustein believes that the "groundswell of activism and discontent with the community has finally reached critical mass."

Zwiebel also believes that this issue is more on the radar now, but he traces the beginning of the interest to a time before Hikind's campaign. He believes that it goes back to the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. It was then, Zwiebel said, that his members started to hear their own stories of abuse.

In 2006, Agudath Israel supported a bill introduced in New York State to allow private schools to opt into a program that required fingerprinting for all new hires. That same year, Agudath Israel had "no opposition" to a bill that would have obligated these schools to report any cases of sexual abuse and child abuse in their school setting.

More recently, Agudath Israel has declined to take a position on a new fingerprinting bill that would mandate all private schools to opt into the system, though Zwiebel said that this was only because the rules and regulations of the system have not yet been published.

The movement in the community, though, has not gone unopposed. In August, Rabbi Benzion Twerski, a psychologist and respected member of the community, was tapped to head Hikind's task force. He resigned just days after his appointment, reportedly because of the overwhelming pressure and intimidation he received.

"That just goes to show you that we've got a long way to go," Hikind said.

Marvin Schick, who has written extensively about Jewish affairs in his position as president of four Orthodox Jewish day schools, one of which is ultra-Orthodox, believes that Orthodox Jews at large are following the trends of larger society. Because there is greater attention being paid to this problem in the secular world, the Orthodox community is just following suit, he said.

Asked whether more people are now realizing that sexual abuse is a real problem, Schick said: "I don't think [that's] fair. I've been president of four schools for 36 years, and there hasn't been a single situation."

He also warned against the possibility of false accusations, which could ruin the lives of those unjustly punished.

Despite the concern, cases of alleged sexual abuse keep coming up — most recently in August, when a former student sued Rabbi Avrohom Reichman, a teacher at a prominent Satmar school in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, accusing him of sexual assault and abuse. The suit from the student alleges that the school failed to protect students against sexual assault. Reichman has not yet responded to the suit.

According to Elliot Pasik, the attorney for the alleged victim in the Reichman case, Hikind has taken up the issue at the right time and is on the right track. He believes that the public recognition of the problem will lead to increased legislation with a greater sense of urgency.

"There's growing consensus, both in establishment quarters and in the synagogue pews, that some helpful governmental involvement in the life of our yeshivas is necessary," Pasik said.

----------------------------------------

23

 

Date: Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 3:18 PM
Subject: Fwd: Latest Update from Hella Winston
To: Mayer Rosenberg <pa4family@gmail.com>

 

On Fri, Oct 3, 2008 at 1:48 AM, Nathan Rosenberg <nr5155@gmail.com> wrote:
 

 

    I feel that most of you who are working on  this of child molestation don't understand the root of the problem.

there is a Vaad Mishmeres Hatznius that are working in conjuction with the Rabonim and they extort money

every year from the petifiles enough to bail out Ain insurance Co. or and the Washington Mutual Bank.Almost

on daily basis I get complaints from people that they tried to extort ten thousand dollars from them. On one of

my websites called Klaf Kosher ,com I got alot of complaints in writing, and most of it is facticitous its not true

its acusations but nobody wants to come foward because they are being threatened that they will throw out there

children from school and synagouges.And they dont share the money to help the victoms. Its regular mafia business

going on for over forty years plus. 

   Same is true when parents have a legitamate complaint on a teacher that

they molested a child they get the same threats,and if these threats dont work like in my case  when I did not close the hotline they threaten me with a gun twice the same is true with the parents of these children they are threathened even

with a gun. Therefore until we dont get involved with the right government agencies who dont have jewish leisions

misguiding them and bribing them we are going no place. I am refraining from talking to the newspapers who call

me constantly because it would be very embarresing to belittle my own jewish brothers. I hope it will not have to

happen. WE ARE IN THE COMMUNITY UNDER MUCH MORE TORTURE  then UNDER STALINS REGIME IN RUSSIA

AND IN HITLERS REGIME IN WORLD WAR TWO. as long as this message is not understood we will get noplace

trying to help these victims. My hot line educated the community very well, we finally don't live in denial, we find

a certain percentage of our children molested by orthodox teachers but to go into step two to fight the teachers

and to arrest them we cannot get them to do it because of the life threatening threats. Speaking to many fathers

who they're children who were molested are very frustrated and they are threatening to become vegelentions ands

they will take knives and guns and kill their childrens attackers.Maybe its the best thing that could happen because

the church only woke up after the preist was killed, but it would be ashamed because we are a holy nation to Hashem.

Have a Happy  New Year and an easy fast, and lots of success to all of us that want to wipe out evil from Klall Yisroel.

rRabbi Nuchem Rosenberg 

---------------------------------------

24

 

On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 7:54 PM, asher lipner <lipnera@gmail.com> wrote:
 

Haredim Begin Confronting Pedophilia
 

By Lana Gersten
Thu. Oct 02, 2008

Article tools

• Text size:   Larger | Smaller
•    Print this article
•    Email this article
•    Other articles by Lana Gersten
•    More in News

 

After years in which the issue of pedophilia has been quietly dealt with among ultra-Orthodox Jews, a number of leaders in the community are speaking out publicly on the topic, spurring anger and debate over this sensitive issue.

Sexual abuse of children has periodically arisen in the ultra-Orthodox community through high-profile cases like that of Yehuda Kolko and Avrohom Mondrowitz, a teacher and a youth counselor, respectively, who were accused of abusing their students. Leaders in the community told the Forward that they generally treated those cases as isolated incidents. But both the Kolko and Mondrowitz cases have bubbled back up, and in the past few months a number of community leaders have forcefully taken the issue to a new plane.

Perhaps the most influential voice has been of Brooklyn Assemblyman Dov Hikind, who over the past year — and, particularly, over the past two months — has started a somewhat personal campaign and argued that the ultra-Orthodox community has become a haven for child molesters. Agudath Israel of America, a national ultra-Orthodox umbrella organization, has entered the fray by publicly debating legislation on the topic.

"Until not terribly long ago, the issue was very much in the shadows," said David Zwiebel, director of government affairs and general counsel of Agudath Israel of America. "The fact that there were isolated reports here and there of cases arising in yeshiva settings, it was known, but they were very isolated."

"Sometimes they were dealt with correctly and sometimes incorrectly," Zwiebel added, "but the severity of the problem and the possible magnitude were really things that most people, including myself, just didn't understand."

The largely Brooklyn-based ultra-Orthodox community, which spans many different sects, has seen a handful of explosive cases, beginning with that of Mondrowitz, who was indicted in Brooklyn on five counts of sodomy and six counts of sexual abuse in 1985, but fled to Israel during the scrutiny.

In 2006 and 2007, Kolko was charged with several counts of sexual abuse. In this case, which went to court, prosecutors allegedly talked the families of the victims into not pursuing further action after a plea bargain was negotiated, The Jewish Week reported. While Kolko first faced felony child sex abuse charges, he eventually pleaded guilty only to child endangerment and received no jail time.

Religious communities of all sorts often attempt to deal with sex abuse behind closeed doors. In the ultra-Orthodox community there is also a scripturally motivated desire to deal with legal problems through religious courts rather than secular ones.

But in 2006, New York magazine published an in-depth look at the Kolko case and the larger issue of sexual abuse. In October 2007, Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes signed papers requesting the extradition of Mondrowitz to the United States.

Following suit, Hikind, an Orthodox man himself and one of the most vocal members of the community, has brought unusual publicity to the issue. He said he only recently came to the realization that sexual abuse in his community is not, in fact, restricted to isolated cases. He said that lately, an "avalanche of people" has come to his office to talk about cases of sexual abuse.

"I'm shocked, and I've been around a long time, and I'm pretty with it," Hikind told the Forward. "I've been absolutely shocked and flabbergasted by what I've witnessed in the last eight weeks."

In response, Hikind has taken up the fight this summer by creating a new task force in his office that he says will develop a protocol to address the problem of sexual abuse in a broad way. The task force's mission is to collect a list of suspected child molesters and make that list available to the public. In an interview with the independent community newspaper The Jewish Star, Hikind boldly described what he views as the extent of the problem.

"If you're a child molester, the best community to come to is Borough Park, Flatbush, Lakewood or Monroe," Hikind said, referring to areas that have large ultra-Orthodox populations. "Your chances of being arrested are much smaller because people don't press charges."

Amy Neustein, one of the most outspoken activists on child abuse, has noted the change.

Now, Neustein believes that the "groundswell of activism and discontent with the community has finally reached critical mass."

Zwiebel also believes that this issue is more on the radar now, but he traces the beginning of the interest to a time before Hikind's campaign. He believes that it goes back to the sexual abuse scandals in the Catholic Church. It was then, Zwiebel said, that his members started to hear their own stories of abuse.

In 2006, Agudath Israel supported a bill introduced in New York State to allow private schools to opt into a program that required fingerprinting for all new hires. That same year, Agudath Israel had "no opposition" to a bill that would have obligated these schools to report any cases of sexual abuse and child abuse in their school setting.

More recently, Agudath Israel has declined to take a position on a new fingerprinting bill that would mandate all private schools to opt into the system, though Zwiebel said that this was only because the rules and regulations of the system have not yet been published.

The movement in the community, though, has not gone unopposed. In August, Rabbi Benzion Twerski, a psychologist and respected member of the community, was tapped to head Hikind's task force. He resigned just days after his appointment, reportedly because of the overwhelming pressure and intimidation he received.

"That just goes to show you that we've got a long way to go," Hikind said.

Marvin Schick, who has written extensively about Jewish affairs in his position as president of four Orthodox Jewish day schools, one of which is ultra-Orthodox, believes that Orthodox Jews at large are following the trends of larger society. Because there is greater attention being paid to this problem in the secular world, the Orthodox community is just following suit, he said.

Asked whether more people are now realizing that sexual abuse is a real problem, Schick said: "I don't think [that's] fair. I've been president of four schools for 36 years, and there hasn't been a single situation."

He also warned against the possibility of false accusations, which could ruin the lives of those unjustly punished.

Despite the concern, cases of alleged sexual abuse keep coming up — most recently in August, when a former student sued Rabbi Avrohom Reichman, a teacher at a prominent Satmar school in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, accusing him of sexual assault and abuse. The suit from the student alleges that the school failed to protect students against sexual assault. Reichman has not yet responded to the suit.

According to Elliot Pasik, the attorney for the alleged victim in the Reichman case, Hikind has taken up the issue at the right time and is on the right track. He believes that the public recognition of the problem will lead to increased legislation with a greater sense of urgency.

"There's growing consensus, both in establishment quarters and in the synagogue pews, that some helpful governmental involvement in the life of our yeshivas is necessary," Pasik said.

Dear all

As my name is in the subject line, I guess I can chime in. ;)

I think that before we do anything, we must protect reb nachum rosenberg

If he is still getting death threats (as did dr twersky 30 years ago) how can we expect anyone watching this to stick their necks out?

I propose that we create a 'NATO' where we all pledge to defend any of the group that is threatened in any way

Perhaps create a simple website where others can sign their names and addresses

We need to break the fear cycle.

The bloggers will spead the word

Nachum; let the group know which rabbis are instigating the terror and let's post their names addresses and phone numbers and ask every memeber of our group to call them

We should also post contact info for the brooklyn DA, police chief, and elected officials. Let them each get hundreds of emails demanding 24 hour protection for reb nachum and a full investigation into who is running the terror campaign

Thoughts??

 

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

 

---

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 6:09 PM, Nathan Rosenberg <nr5155@gmail.com> wrote:
 

our problem is 1 the death threats from the rabbi and the molestors 2 the politicalthreats as throwing out the other children from school screming in thestreets ect until we dont have protection from the government forget everything i dont have were to davin 9 weeks
this muct get national tv coverage

thank you all gut yom tov

rabbi nuchem rosenberg

p.s. you can hear my speech live on www.klafkosher.com
 

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 5:37 PM, Chaim Shapiro <chaimshapiro@aol.com> wrote:
 

DRAFT VERSION

This can be phrased either as an individual resolution or a communal resolution (or both)

In light of the recent horrific news about child abuse that have rocked our communities and as a partial fulfillment of my (our) obligation for Teshuva on Yom Kippur, I (We) resolve that I (We) will not stand for child abuse in our communities any longer.  I (We) will protect our children.  I (We) will protect the victims. I (We) will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak and report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities.  I (We) will support legislation to make our Yeshivos and schools safer.  I (We) will work to educate my (our) community to prevent further abuse.   I (We) will not stand silently by anymore.

 

I second the motion.  Chaim, write it up.  Send it around.  Let's do it. 
 

A few of us clinicians AND adult survivors AND Rabbi Blau AND Elliot Passik, our coaltion of the willing, simply putting out a joint statement.  Nothing too controversial because it will take too long. 

 

How about applauding Rabbi Horowitz? 

 

What about applauding Dov Hikind?

 

What about denouncing the community's reaction to Benzion Twerski that forced him to resign?  (It is a horrible, horrible busha to our community that not ONE "gadol" or "rebbe" came to his defense.)

 

Then just calmly, in a non-sensational way, confirming the bad news that sexual abuse does indeed occur in our community, that we have been sweeping it under the carpet for way too long, and that we need to address it by everyone AT LEAST:

 

parents talking with their kids in an age apopropriate manner (possibly add - talk to a rabbi who understands these issues about how to do this.  People will be surprised to find out how few rabbis will even be able to discuss this with them - a huge part of the problem)

 

schools implementing safety protocols (intentionally vague but it gets the point across)

lobbying for newly Agudah-backed legislation mandating fingerprinting and backgruond checks in yeshivas

 

encouraging victims to get professional help when needed and supporting them through the process

 

Educating ourselves to the problem by reading Sherree Belsky's upcoming publication "Extracting our heads from the sand".

 

I don't know what else right now.  But you get the point.  Don't you think that NOT a NEFESH statement, which will never, never happen in this lifetime, but a statement by 100 of the "coalition of the willing" with rabbis, clinicians, survivors and advocates will make a dent? 

 

 

Please everyone get back to me about this idea and what they would like to see included or excluded from a public statement they would be willing to sign.  I think for now the lowest common denominator with the largest number of signers would be great to get in before the fast!

 

> > McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while
> > you browse - Download Now<http://toolbar.aol.com/elections/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000001>
 

---

McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - Download Now!

 

---

McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - Download Now!

"I (We) will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak and report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities." 

I see no necessity for citing the name of any rabbi in this resolution. 

The sentence suggests that (1) every signer holds that Rav Elyashiv, from Israel, is the final arbiter of halacha;  and (2) that he is universally recognized as such by all of orthodox Jewry.  Neither is correct.

Further, if this Resolution is seen by outsiders, as we hope, it may appear that orthodox Jews do not obey secular law, unless Rav Elyashiv first gives the green light.

I suggest, simply:  "We will report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities."

Additionally, the last sentence is problematic for me:  "I (We) will not stand silently by anymore."   I - and others - have not been silent, and this resolution is not part of the al chet's.

Thank you, Chaim, for drafting this.

 

DRAFT VERSION

This can be phrased either as an individual resolution or a communal resolution (or both)

In light of the recent horrific news about child abuse that have rocked our communities and as a partial fulfillment of my (our) obligation for Teshuva on Yom Kippur, I (We) resolve that I (We) will not stand for child abuse in our communities any longer.  I (We) will protect our children.  I (We) will protect the victims. I (We) will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak and report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities.  I (We) will support legislation to make our Yeshivos and schools safer.  I (We) will work to educate my (our) community to prevent further abuse.   I (We) will not stand silently by anymore.
http://zorachconsulting.com/
 

I second the motion.  Chaim, write it up.  Send it around.  Let's do it. 
 

http://zorachconsulting.com/
 

A few of us clinicians AND adult survivors AND Rabbi Blau AND Elliot Passik, our coaltion of the willing, simply putting out a joint statement.  Nothing too controversial because it will take too long. 

 

How about applauding Rabbi Horowitz? 

 

What about applauding Dov Hikind?

 

What about denouncing the community's reaction to Benzion Twerski that forced him to resign?  (It is a horrible, horrible busha to our community that not ONE "gadol" or "rebbe" came to his defense.)

 

Then just calmly, in a non-sensational way, confirming the bad news that sexual abuse does indeed occur in our community, that we have been sweeping it under the carpet for way too long, and that we need to address it by everyone AT LEAST:

 

parents talking with their kids in an age apopropriate manner (possibly add - talk to a rabbi who understands these issues about how to do this.  People will be surprised to find out how few rabbis will even be able to discuss this with them - a huge part of the problem)

 

schools implementing safety protocols (intentionally vague but it gets the point across)

lobbying for newly Agudah-backed legislation mandating fingerprinting and backgruond checks in yeshivas

 

encouraging victims to get professional help when needed and supporting them through the process

 

Educating ourselves to the problem by reading Sherree Belsky's upcoming publication "Extracting our heads from the sand".

 

I don't know what else right now.  But you get the point.  Don't you think that NOT a NEFESH statement, which will never, never happen in this lifetime, but a statement by 100 of the "coalition of the willing" with rabbis, clinicians, survivors and advocates will make a dent? 

 

 

Please everyone get back to me about this idea and what they would like to see included or excluded from a public statement they would be willing to sign.  I think for now the lowest common denominator with the largest number of signers would be great to get in before the fast!

 

"Rabbi Horowitz, Strike while the iron is hot?"  I am obvoiusly not informed about something.  Can you please update me so I will know what everyone is talking about.

> > McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while
> > you browse - Download Now<http://toolbar.aol.com/elections/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000001>
 

---

McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - Download Now!

 

חדשות - חדשות - חדשות

====================

On Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 3:53 PM, asher lipner <lipnera@gmail.com> wrote:
 

To: TheAwarenessCenter@yahoogroups.com

Man raped girl in shul on Yom Kippur'
Jerusalem Post - Oct. 16, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1222017551235&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

A 24-year-old Jerusalem man was arrested on suspicion of raping a six-year-old girl in the bathroom of a synagogue on Yom Kippur, police said Thursday.

After the alleged incident in the Kiryat Yovel neighborhood, the girl told her parents that the man had touched her and she complained of pains. Her father approached the alleged rapist and took the leaflet out of his identification document before the suspect ran away.

The girl's father reported the incident to police after Yom Kippur and the suspect was caught in Jerusalem's town center on Wednesday.

The suspect, who has a record of previous sexual offenses, was remanded in custody until Sunday. He denied raping the girl.

Also Thursday, another Jerusalem resident was arrested on suspicion of raping, sodomizing and indecently assaulting his young daughter.

Police launched an investigation into the latter case after a social worker at his daughter's kindergarten noticed the girl playing unusual games with dolls.

After the arrest, three of the man's daughters from a previous marriage filed complaints to police, saying he had raped them when they were young girls.


**************
New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination. Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out (http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002)

 

=======================

I saw it on UOJ and thought it was marvelous.  But you left out the best part!  The fire trucks and treife pizza deliveries at 3:00 in the morning to Reb Dovid!  It was still awesome.  Very well written.  Yasher Koach, and I'm going to forward it to all. 

 

On Wed, Oct 15, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Michael Lesher <michaellesher@optonline.net> wrote:

 

:

 

    An article written by Dr. Amy Neustein and I has just appeared in the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse dealing with coverups of child sex abuse cases in the Orthodox community. I thought you'd like to see it -- and maybe you should send it out to the group so THEY can see it. It's the first of its kind to appear in a scholarly journal, and the issues it raises are certainly timely.

 

    Thanks for all your work, and hag sameach!

 

    The link is:

 

    http://amyneustein.com/pubs/jcsa.article.2008.pdf

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <VICKIPOLIN@aol.com>
Date: Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 12:59 AM
Subject: What Should Be Done with ex-Rabbi Mordechai Gafni: The Saga Continues (AKA: Marc Gafni)
To: undisclosed-recipients


What Should Be Done with ex-Rabbi Mordechai Gafni: The Saga Continues (AKA: Marc Gafni)
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Gafni_Mordechai.html

For those of you who are not familiar with ex-Rabbi Marc Gafni he was a rabbi who lost his original smeicha (Rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, when old allegations of child sexual abuse hit the news media.

 I've also heard that he also lost his smeicha from Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (founder of the Jewish Renewal Movement) after allegations of clergy sexual abuse arouse in Israel a few years ago.

 At the time Gafni went into hiding, yet everyone was sure within a two year period he would attempt to recreate himself again.  

Marc Gafni has been living in Salt Lake City, UT and has aligned himself with Diane Musho Hamilton, who many refer to as a "New Age Guru" and also Rabbi Gabriel Cousens.  A few months ago in a magazine article he promised he would not practice as a rabbi, yet he did not keep his word on this.
 Marc Gafni  is now involved with "the International Jewish Liberation School, which has been created by Cousens and Gafni.

The question is what should the Jewish community do with a confessed sexual predator who is attempting to create a new form of Judaism?  Many have already distanced themselves from Mordechai Gafni, many say everyone knows to stay away from him, the problem is that when you have a sexual predator out there, they will always find another unsuspecting victim.

Below you will find a brief history of Gafni.

____________________________
Marc (Mordechai) Winiartz was born in Pittsfield, Massachuestts in 1960 and grew up in an orthodox home. He is the son of Holocaust survivors. Once moving to Israel Marc Winiartz changed his last name to Gafni. Winiarz is also known as Mordechai Winiarz, Marc Gafni, Mordechai Gafni and or Marc Israel.

Gafni told Haaretz (March 4, 2004) "At age six or seven, I knew that I wanted to be a rabbi," "Because I really loved the world of the book, which I'd known since I began learning at age three."

From 1973-1977, Gafni went to Ohr Torah aka Manhattan Hebrew High School, which was overseen by Rabbi Shlomo Riskin and run by Vancouver rabbi Pinchas Bak (who passed away on Purim 1977 at age 32).

After college he became a Rabbinical student at Yeshiva University, yet did not get his rabbinical ordination (smeicha) from YU.  Instead, Mordechai Gafni obtained his ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin.  According to Winiarz/Gafni, he attended Yeshiva University for one semester around 1981. He attended Queens College for one semester. "I transferred all my credits to Edison College," says Marc. "It's one of those places that give you life credit. I got my degree from Edison College (circa 1985).

In 2004, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, the spiritual leader of the Israeli community of Efrat, was going to revoke the rabbinic ordination he gave Rabbi Winiarz/Gafni many years ago when they had a close rabbi-student relationship. When Gafni heard of Rabbi Riskin's wishes, he wrote a letter "returning" his semicha to spare his former teacher any further embarrassment.

Winiarz/Gafni was 18, he was engaged to a woman, yet never married. According to various sources Winiarz/Gafni has been married three times. At age 20, Winiarz/Gafni married for the first time to a woman from Maine, which lasted two years.

In the early 1980's, when Mordechai was nineteen he sexually abused a thirteen-year-old girl in her home.  It wasn't until many years later that Marc Gafni confessed to the molestation while being interviewed by Gary Rosenblatt, editor of the New York Jewish Week.  Marc stated: "I was a stupid kid and we were in love," the rabbi said. "She was 14 going on 35, and I never forced her"

In 1983 Mordechai Winiarz was married his first wife. During that time was also a youth leader for a group called "JPSY" (Jewish Public School Youth). The group involved working with at risk teenagers.  It was during this time he was accused of molesting a fifteen-year-old girl and an attempted sexual assault of a young adult woman.  At the time the rabbis accused him of cult like practices.  Both women went to various rabbis looking for help, yet nothing was done except he was chased out of town, moving to Boca Raton, Florida.  There was some sort of scandl and he fled Florida suddenly.  

Marc Winiarz/Gafni was originally hired by Ellen Lieberman, when see needed someone to fill in for her while she was on a maternal leave. There have been reports of Gafni charming his way in and taking over Lieberman's positon.  He renamed the organization "The Jewish Youth Movement."

JPSY was funded by Jewish philanthropists as Jeffrey Glick, Michael Steinhardt and Marc Belzberg.

In 1991 he left the Unitied States to start a new life in Israel, changing his name to Mordechai Gafni.

May, 2006 new allegations were made against confessed child molester Rabbi Mordechai Gafni . This time the allegations were made by three women who filed a complaint with the police in Haifa (Israel). The new claims were of professional sexual misconduct / clergy sexual abuse. The alleged offenses occurred during Torah lessons given by Gafni.

Immediately after the charges were filed Rabbi Mordechai Gafni confessed and fled Israel for the United States. He first landed in Boston, MA, where it is believed he stayed with one of his many female friends. There were rumors that soon after arriving in Boston he continued on to Boulder, CO and stayed with a colleague and then moved on to Salt Lake City, Utah.

Marc Gafni is involved with the Buddhist community of Salt Lake City.  It is believed that he is in the process of trying to reinvent himself again as he did back in the 1980's after the first allegations were made against him of child molestation. Marc Gafni is considered dangerous to women and to both male and female children.  Rumors are floating around that he is involved in BDSM community (Bondage, Discipline, Domination, Submission, Sadism, Masochism).

In July, 2008 it was reported that Marc Gafni married his forth wife and is the process of recreating himself and his web page.  Marc Gafni's biggest supporter is Rabbi Gershon Winkler, founder of the Walking Stick Foundation. It has been reported by that Winkler shares many of Marc Gafni's philosophies including the one on having multiple "marriage partners". 



**************
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==================================================================

 

A1

 

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 3:03 PM, <efpasik@aol.com> wrote:
 

Here is my comment to Rabbi Horowitz's article, pasted from his site:

"My client, Joel Engelman, pointed out to me the following critical paragraph from the Memorandum of Law in Support of the federal government's Motion for a Permanent Order of Detention, as against the defendant:
 

'Finally, the defendant poses a danger to other children in the Sat Mar community as well because he has a history of working in yeshivas for young children. In Belgium, he ran his own Sat Mar school, and in the United States in 2002 he was employed by the Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Temimah, an elementary and secondary school in Brooklyn. UNLESS HE IS DETAINED, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO PREVENT HIM FROM SEEKING SUCH EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE THE SAT MAR SCHOOLS DO NOT OPERATE UNDER GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL' (caps added).
 

I've been saying this for years. New York State has the weakest laws in the country for protecting religious school children. We need laws which require:

Mandatory fingerprinting and background checks;
Mandatory reporter status for all nonpublic school employees;
Mandatory ombudsmen;
Mandatory abuse prevention plans;
Mandatory registration of all nonpublic school employees, and after evidentiary hearing, mandatory discipline;
Extensions of the statutes of limitations.

If we continue to operate our yeshivas without laws protecting our children, we are inviting future disasters, rachmana latzlan."
 

Elliot Pasik

---------------------------------------------------------------------

A2

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A3  

On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 6:27 PM, <efpasik@aol.com> wrote:
 

"I (We) will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak and report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities." 

I see no necessity for citing the name of any rabbi in this resolution. 

The sentence suggests that (1) every signer holds that Rav Elyashiv, from Israel, is the final arbiter of halacha;  and (2) that he is universally recognized as such by all of orthodox Jewry.  Neither is correct.

Further, if this Resolution is seen by outsiders, as we hope, it may appear that orthodox Jews do not obey secular law, unless Rav Elyashiv first gives the green light.

I suggest, simply:  "We will report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities."

Additionally, the last sentence is problematic for me:  "I (We) will not stand silently by anymore."   I - and others - have not been silent, and this resolution is not part of the al chet's.

Thank you, Chaim, for drafting this.

Elliot Pasik

      Sent: Tue, 7 Oct 2008 5:37 pm
Subject: Re: Rabbi horowitz

 

DRAFT VERSION

This can be phrased either as an individual resolution or a communal resolution (or both)

In light of the recent horrific news about child abuse that have rocked our communities and as a partial fulfillment of my (our) obligation for Teshuva on Yom Kippur, I (We) resolve that I (We) will not stand for child abuse in our communities any longer.  I (We) will protect our children.  I (We) will protect the victims. I (We) will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak and report child abuse to the appropriate legal authorities.  I (We) will support legislation to make our Yeshivos and schools safer.  I (We) will work to educate my (our) community to prevent further abuse.   I (We) will not stand silently by anymore.
Chaim
http://zorachconsulting.com/
 

I second the motion.  Chaim, write it up.  Send it around.  Let's do it. 
 

Maybe we should support and disperse an international Yom Kippur Teshuva resolution that we ask everyone to make this Yom Kippur....We (or perhaps I) will not stand for this any longer.  We will protect our children...We will follow Rav Eliyashiv's Psak.  We will support legislation, We will educate our communities...etc

 

http://zorachconsulting.com/

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

A few of us clinicians AND adult survivors AND Rabbi Blau AND Elliot Passik, our coaltion of the willing, simply putting out a joint statement.  Nothing too controversial because it will take too long. 

 

How about applauding Rabbi Horowitz? 

 

What about applauding Dov Hikind?

 

What about denouncing the community's reaction to Benzion Twerski that forced him to resign?  (It is a horrible, horrible busha to our community that not ONE "gadol" or "rebbe" came to his defense.)

 

Then just calmly, in a non-sensational way, confirming the bad news that sexual abuse does indeed occur in our community, that we have been sweeping it under the carpet for way too long, and that we need to address it by everyone AT LEAST:

 

parents talking with their kids in an age apopropriate manner (possibly add - talk to a rabbi who understands these issues about how to do this.  People will be surprised to find out how few rabbis will even be able to discuss this with them - a huge part of the problem)

 

schools implementing safety protocols (intentionally vague but it gets the point across)

lobbying for newly Agudah-backed legislation mandating fingerprinting and backgruond checks in yeshivas

 

encouraging victims to get professional help when needed and supporting them through the process

 

Educating ourselves to the problem by reading Sherree Belsky's upcoming publication "Extracting our heads from the sand".

 

I don't know what else right now.  But you get the point.  Don't you think that NOT a NEFESH statement, which will never, never happen in this lifetime, but a statement by 100 of the "coalition of the willing" with rabbis, clinicians, survivors and advocates will make a dent? 

 

 

Please everyone get back to me about this idea and what they would like to see included or excluded from a public statement they would be willing to sign.  I think for now the lowest common denominator with the largest number of signers would be great to get in before the fast!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 On 10/7/08, doctorklafter@cinci.rr.com <doctorklafter@cinci.rr.com> wrote:

"Rabbi Horowitz, Strike while the iron is hot?"  I am obvoiusly not informed about something.  Can you please update me so I will know what everyone is talking about.

Nachum Klafter
--------------------
> > McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while
> > you browse - Download Now<http://toolbar.aol.com/elections/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000001>
> > !
> >
 

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McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - Download Now!

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http://www.vosizneias.com/21165/2008/10/07/monsey-ny-could-this-possibly-be-true-yes-time-to-get-frightened/

 

 

Michael Reches

Patents Ink, Incorporated

17 Warren Rd, Suite 8B

Baltimore, Maryland  21208

(    410.484.5844  ext 142

)    410.963.5338    

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On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 4:52 PM, asher lipner <lipnera@gmail.com> wrote:
 

 

http://www.vosizneias.com/21181/2008/10/07/albany-ny-another-child-comes-forward-acusing-former-chabad-teacher-of-abuse/

 

Michael Reches

Patents Ink, Incorporated

17 Warren Rd, Suite 8B

Baltimore, Maryland  21208

(    410.484.5844  ext 142

)    410.963.5338    

7    410.484.9974

*   mreches@patentsink.com

8    http://www.patentsink.com "Experience "Live Virtual Drafting"

 

----------------------------------------

 

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: <horizon5@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: Re: Rabbi horowitz
To: Nathan Rosenberg <nr5155@gmail.com>

 

I apologize for this automatic reply to your email.

 

To control spam, I now allow incoming messages only from senders I have approved beforehand.

If you would like to be added to my list of approved senders, please fill out the short request form (see link below). Once I approve you, I will receive your original message in my inbox. You do not need to resend your message. I apologize for this one-time inconvenience.

Click the link below to fill out the request:

https://webmail.pas.earthlink.net/wam/addme?a=horizon5@earthlink.net&id=1kNkKH6g03Nl34g1

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Here is my comment to Rabbi Horowitz's article, pasted from his site:

"My client, Joel Engelman, pointed out to me the following critical paragraph from the Memorandum of Law in Support of the federal government's Motion for a Permanent Order of Detention, as against the defendant:
 

'Finally, the defendant poses a danger to other children in the Sat Mar community as well because he has a history of working in yeshivas for young children. In Belgium, he ran his own Sat Mar school, and in the United States in 2002 he was employed by the Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Temimah, an elementary and secondary school in Brooklyn. UNLESS HE IS DETAINED, IT WILL BE DIFFICULT TO PREVENT HIM FROM SEEKING SUCH EMPLOYMENT BECAUSE THE SAT MAR SCHOOLS DO NOT OPERATE UNDER GOVERNMENTAL CONTROL' (caps added).
 

I've been saying this for years. New York State has the weakest laws in the country for protecting religious school children. We need laws which require:

Mandatory fingerprinting and background checks;
Mandatory reporter status for all nonpublic school employees;
Mandatory ombudsmen;
Mandatory abuse prevention plans;
Mandatory registration of all nonpublic school employees, and after evidentiary hearing, mandatory discipline;
Extensions of the statutes of limitations.

If we continue to operate our yeshivas without laws protecting our children, we are inviting future disasters, rachmana latzlan."

Elliot Pasik
 

To: Arthur Landesman <slandesman@verizon.net>, Alan Spero <ASpero@gsg-cpa.com>
 

http://www.vosizneias.com/21165/2008/10/07/monsey-ny-could-this-possibly-be-true-yes-time-to-get-frightened/

 

Michael Reches

Patents Ink, Incorporated

17 Warren Rd, Suite 8B

Baltimore, Maryland  21208

(    410.484.5844  ext 142

)    410.963.5338    

7    410.484.9974

*   mreches@patentsink.com

8    http://www.patentsink.com "Experience "Live Virtual Drafting"

 

---

McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - Download Now!

 

http://www.vosizneias.com/21181/2008/10/07/albany-ny-another-child-comes-forward-acusing-former-chabad-teacher-of-abuse/

 

Michael Reches

Patents Ink, Incorporated

17 Warren Rd, Suite 8B

Baltimore, Maryland  21208

(    410.484.5844  ext 142

)    410.963.5338    

7    410.484.9974

*   mreches@patentsink.com

8    http://www.patentsink.com "Experience "Live Virtual Drafting"