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Monday, July 17, 2006

THE FIRST DOCUMENTED ABUSE CASE AT NER ISRAEL RABBINICAL COLLEGE BY A DORMITORY SUPERVISOR

This story was sent to me by The Awareness Center....Israel Fishman wanted his story publicized. He passed away recently.

The sole purpose of me posting this is to demonstrate that molestation of children by people in authority is not a new phenomena; how it took Israel fifty years to tell his story, and that the very graphic details of his molestation were absolutely burned into his memory for his entire life. He was continually physically molested by NTL until he left the yeshiva. Sexual molestation generally begins by encouraging children to openly discuss their private personal behavior, talking about their innermost normal thoughts, converting them into sins and horrible guilt. Once the victim's secrets are exposed, the predator uses that information to threaten the victim with exposure, and now can perpetrate their crime with little fear of being exposed. In just about every case of sexual abuse that I'm aware of, the abusers' MO are practically identical.

UOJ



by Israel Fishman

Please note the following is graphic. The article below tells of the experiences of an incest survivor that occurred over 50 years ago.

The following took place in 1953. I am not quite 15 years old and the youngest student at the Ner Israel Rabbinical Academy in Baltimore Maryland, which was then located at 4411 Garrison Boulevard.

When I arrived a few months earlier I had been the second youngest student, but the boy who was then the youngest was caught in flagrant delicto with another boy and was tossed out. The boy's father, a rabbi from Richmond, Virginia was the mashgiakh (kosher supervisor) for the large FFV Baking Company there. He must have come in to stay for that particular Sabbath, as traveling on that day is strictly forbidden.

So on that sacred day he approached the head of the Yeshiva, Rabbi Jacob L. Ruderman, who was sitting at the front of the large bais medrash (study hall) pleading with him to give his son a second chance. In front of all the students and teachers, Rabbi Ruderman screamed at the boy's father that he could not talk with him because the matter was absolutely closed, and that the boy must leave immediately. Meanwhile I am living in constant fear that either somebody in the yeshiva will find out all my dark secrets, or that God will surely punish me most severely for my unmentionable, abominable sins.

All the time, however I can't stop thinking of the beautifully gorgeous, angelic looking, red-haired and freckled boy, Hochberg from Hartford, and what might have been. I still shudder when I recall the recent Friday night when a whole bunch of fellow students came to visit me in my dorm room when I was sick. It was a Friday night there were no lights on in the room and all sat or stood around in total darkness. Hochberg, though, sat on my bed, and put his hand under the blanket and groped me. I was so scared, because I was worried that it was an entrapment, and I remained absolutely soft. This is the yeshiva environment in which the following event is taking place.

I have just shut the lights leaving my room for the study hall's evening session. It is a weekday and therefore we have study sessions every evening. Before I actually leave the room I feel somebody's hand on my shoulder who gently but firmly leads me back into my room. The lights remain turned off. His name is NTL. He is an older bokhur, that is, one of the senior students who took responsibility for the moral training of the younger students on a one-to-one basis.

He leads me to the bed where he sits very closely besides me and holds me very tightly around the waist. He is stronger and more powerful than I am. He is also an older bokhur that you have to respect and listen to. I was immobile and frozen.

He tells me that he could tell from the lines under my eyes that I was masturbating (which I already knew was a grave sin, that is the masturbation and not the lines under the eyes per se!), Before long I am confessing to him all the other evil things that I had been doing, including the sex that I had had for many years with my older brother, Calmin. I tell him that it had gone on for nearly six years and had only ended when we separated a few months earlier, with him going to seminary in Cleveland and I, as I said earlier, coming to Baltimore. I feel so relieved in unburdening myself to someone who is so interested in me.

Through the whole long evening (and it feels that it it a very long evening) I am so scared and afraid, feeling that I dare not make a single move, let alone excuse myself to take a pee, which is getting more and more urgent.

I continue to remain in NTL's close embrace, although by now we are standing against a closet door with one of my hands squeezed against the doorknob. By now I don't know what is hurting more, my hand against the doorknob, or having to pee so urgently. But still I dare not move. I am trapped.

NTL makes me promise that I will never, ever, urinate standing up (because doing that I would be touching myself and that might very well lead to masturbation). I must also immediately train myself to sleep only on my side, and not on my belly or back (in order to avoid having a nocturnal emission, which, of course, is also sinful). I am to tell him every time that I transgressed, even if it was just a matter of having a wet dream. Finally, he tells me that I am so indebted to him for what he is doing for me that, even if I had a million dollars, I would have to give it all to him.

I have no awareness of how long I am with NTL; only that my hand is hurting and that I need to pee so badly. I am so afraid of him and I am so overwhelmed by this evening. No one has ever talked to me at such length and especially helping me to overcome my sinful desires.

I have no idea or comprehension where this evening's experience and my relationship with NTL will undeniably and inescapably take me, and what tragic and painful consequences I will have to endure down the road. But all that is in the future (or at least four or so months away.).

188 comments:

Anonymous said...

UOJ,
Why are you bringing up ancient history. I am glad to see you can't find anything on Rav Eisenman. Eat Crow. When is the apology going to be posted and you reveal your real name. Why dont you post things that are relevant about things happening today? Israel is again finding itself having to defend herself why dont you use your blog to awaken people to do something to improve ourselves so that hashem should have mercy on us. We should share in good news.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Above Anon,
I feel obligated to tell parents and teens how the predators operate. The location of the molestation is NOT my point.

Anonymous said...

To be honest, UOJ, I am a big supporter of what youre doing and really believe its vital to expose and punish the molesters. But, I dont get this post. There is no molestation by the supervisor, the guy had a sexual relationship with his brother, and he confessed to the older bachur, but the bachur did not molest him in anyway, other than being in a close embrace. I dont see what was explicit all, or graphic for that matter.
This is also irrelevant to the NIR case at hand. Its shocking you would post this, as its of no value to anything.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

JBL,

Israel was physically molested by this NTL person. This is the "part"
he asked to be publicized.
Read my intro, putz!

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Above Anon Supporter,

It is vital that parents teach their children that ANY inapropriate "conversation" with their gullible children is wrong!

Nobody has a right to "probe" the innermost thoughts of children unless authorized by their parents, and are trained mental health professionals.

This is not intended to be a NIRC bash; we must understand all elements of the disease to be able to stop it dead in it's tracks!

Anonymous said...

I am not convnced. I think that you are just digging up trash. I am finding myself more inclined to the intellectual discussion of the other blog more than the sensationalism here.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

I put up the facts, you believe what you want. I have not been wrong yet.
BTW, Israel has recorded hours and hours of tape of his experiences. If I get permission to publicize them, I will!

Anonymous said...

Fresh allegations is what thirsty dogs want, fresh blood, raw flesh, dirty details, preferably new, maybe even some of your own.

They want to believe the worst of you, uoj, and only the best of klal yisroel, THEIR klal Yisroel, saintly roshei yeshiva, gedoylim, the hanhola, they speak for the Am Hashem.

The toyreh velt is the true world. THe world of the asurdike internet is hafuch, lopsided, upside down, biased, unfair, blunt. Don't be surprised if the faithful of yated blame you, uoj, for galus bovel, poras, modai, yavan, edoim, the Holocaust. To attack Ner, to dare dishonor their former mashgiach, and by implication, their chashuvo hanhola, is to be deserving of a death penalty, jihad, korais, holy war.

Their map room is prepared, their toy soldiers on the defensive, but only the winning team, the hanhola, including gaiva of the plain, know how many students they have kicked out over the years for inappropriate overtures. They did not want to hurt the perpetrators. They protected them when they kicked them out. They sent them elsewhere to abuse others. This was their public service. They were not responsible. THEY were not gay. They did no wrong. They never do. Only u.

Anonymous said...

UOJ,please respond to the claim that R'Eisman has been cleared.(and apologise if nescasary) BTW this post is nothing new,its been on the awareness center for a couple of years already.

Anonymous said...

Because something appears on the awareness site does not make it a fact. Please watch you lakguage learn to take critizicism

Anonymous said...

UOJ, why on earth are you naming victims of abuse? Isn't that taboo even for you? Do you think Hochberg from Hartford wants his name around? And what about poor Calmin? Have you any feelings for victims' sensitivity?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

The information posted is already in the public square. Eiseman has NOT been cleared by anyone but himself. In matter of fact MORE victims are coming forward.

People need to be educated, children need to be aware of the signs of abusers' methods, and ultimately a group of Orthodox mental health professionals, totally independendent from the Establishment, must be formed to hear all allegations of abuse.

The yeshivas and the rabbis are guilty of breaching their fiduciary responsibilty to care for the children entrusted to them.

Where is this group of mental health professionals? Where is the organized parent body ready to take on this holy task. What are you waiting for? Is this not an emergency?

Anonymous said...

"please respond to the claim that R'Eisman has been cleared.(and apologise if nescasary)"

Is it true that a rat scroll on masturbation in yeshivos,, with English directions, is to be published, with many famous my-sim about gedoilim discovering, asking, finding, investigating, very interested in - masturbation?

If the right rebbe isn't chosen to edit this work, an apology is in order.

Anonymous said...

Where is rabbi T H Weinreb? Where is his NEFESH? Where is the OU? Where is gary rosenblatt, still on vacation?

Where is anyone - besides uoj?

Anonymous said...

We must dig in, hunker down, dissemble. We must confer with the agudah and work together. The gedoylim have called for mass tehillim rallies. We need their tefiloys for us. We, the yeshivois, are klal yisroel. Don't tell anyone, but we really only care about FRUM jews in eretz yisroel. Yeah, relatives who aren't so frum can certainly be included, if they send us money, but even more than any of them, we care about ourselves. We care about us, our family, our families, our moisad. We must preserve the legacy. It was built and given to US. We will do the right thing to hold on ... and any Bais Din will do what they must when we tell them to. Such is the koyach of Toyreh, the power of the Am Hashem.

We are IT.

Anonymous said...

R’ Shmuel Berenbaum calls for Tefillah
Due to the terrible situation in Eretz Yisroel & the fact that President Bush is backing Israel, the Mirrer Rosh Yeshiva, Maran Hagoen R’ Shmuel Berenbaum Shlita has just informed people that they should say Tehillim - Kapittal עט and פ and the מי שברך for the President of the United States should be read on Shabbos by K’riyas Hatorah.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
UOJ, why on earth are you naming victims of abuse? Isn't that taboo even for you? Do you think Hochberg from Hartford wants his name around? And what about poor Calmin? Have you any feelings for victims' sensitivity?
-----------------------------------
Before you jump down the messengers throat , why dont you assume that he DID YES ask the family.

Anonymous said...

UOJ,

As of now, YTT will be open next year. Come then, you can't boast anymore "I haven't been wrong yet."

Anonymous said...

you are just digging up trash. I am finding myself more inclined to the intellectual discussion of the other blog

which "other" blog?

the canonist? that prattling intellectual? uoj isn't about being intellectual. He's unmasking phonies, spilling their beans, moving their dirt, not covering up. He's been at one with them for years, worked for them, with them, saw it all. He's not the only one. Rav Eiseman is an intellectual. If his reputation is being hurt, without cause, that's a tragedy. If he's hurt with cause, that's also a tragedy. Chavivin yissurin.

UOJ will admit he's wrong if he's wrong when he's proven wrong (won't you, Master?) If he does, we must stand up for him just like the hanhola. If no civil court case results, he owes rav eiseman a big (unattainable) apology, and if he's merely projecting what he's been told by others whose lives are screwed up, the shoe is on the other foot. UOJ is unifying the center, opening the pool, creating fires to warn us.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said "I am finding myself more inclined to the intellectual discussion of the other blog more than the sensationalism here."

What other blog?

Anonymous said...

To all those that don't believe abuse and molestation lives in the orthodox and heimishe world WAKE UP!! Don't live in a cave. If you don't take measures to protect your family chas vshalom it can happen to your family. Whether OUJ brings out new cases or old abuse and molestation exists in our surroundings, whether in yeshivas, camps or other places. Don't be blind folded!!!

Anonymous said...

its amazing how the writing style here is so eerily reminiscent of angrysoul.

I wonder if its the same author.

Anonymous said...

Yirmiyahu hanavi said you should say the misheberach even if the president doesn't back israel.

The State Department is running that show and there are very complex forces in the background: nuclear weapons, Iran, the war against terror, hamas, hizbollah, syria, the gulf states, oil politics. Backing Israel just happens to coincide with the present state of America's perceived national interests.

But, if reciting a specific kapitel will make a biggg difference, the gedoylim have spoken. Long live the gedoylim. Hail the gedoylim.

May their tefillois bring peace and the rebbe back.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

As UOJ pointed out, he posted Israel Fishman's story to illustrate how a coercive sexual relationship typically starts in a yeshiva.

Sexual molestation generally begins by encouraging children to openly discuss their private personal behavior, talking about their innermost normal thoughts, converting them into sins and horrible guilt. Once the victim's secrets are exposed, the predator uses that information to threaten the victim with exposure, and now can perpetrate their crime with little fear of being exposed.

The yeshiva world frowns on any and all sexual experimentation or even interest in girls, and since just about 100% of teenage boys do masturbate with varying levels of frequency and all but the genuinely gay boys are interested in girls, it doesn't take a background of sibling incest to make someone vulnerable to a predator.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

UOJ, pardon the digression but it's a form a chizuk.

Anon,

The State Department wishes it was running the show. The fact is that GWB is in charge of the US gov't and he wants Israel to kick Hez's ass. It's not just the administration. Support for Israel can be found among the fighting soldiers of the US Marines. They know who blew up the Marine barracks in Beirut, killing over 200 of America's finest. Pam over at Atlas Shrugs, a libertarian blog that supports Israel posts a letter from a United States Marine serving in Iraq:


Dear Atlas,

I am the Marine that wrote to you about the News Media betraying us.
I just wanted to tell you that we, Marines, SUPPORT Israel in their war against Hamas and Hizbullah. I cannot express to you how many Marines I have talked to or have heard say how proud of Israel they are. I cannot tell you how happy I am that Israel is destroying Hamas and Hizullah. We all CHEER when we watch Lebanon being bombed on TV in the Chow Hall. I hope Israel annihilates Hamas, Hizbullah and Syria. Because the way we see it, that is less Jihadists for us to fight. I can't speak for all Marines, but the Marines that I know and talk to stand by Israel 100%. And I am in the infantry, we are front line Marines. Warriors. We support Israel because we have fought the same people they are fighting, Jihadists. This is a world war. It has been a world war since 11 September 2001. Hopefully now people are realizing the true scale of this conflagration. And Israel is fighting the same enemy in Gaza and Lebanon as America is fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan, just on another front in the same war. And we see the Israeli Soldiers as brothers in arms against a common enemy. Myself and the Marines in my unit, Veterans of 2 tours in Iraq, support Israel all the way to victory. And I THANK the State of Israel for their determination, fortitude and vigilance in the destruction of Evil.
God Bless America.
God Bless Israel.
And God Bless all freedom loving people worldwide.

- US Marine and Veteran of the current world war.

Jewish Survivors said...

This article has been up on The Awareness Center's web page for 3 years.

You can find it at:
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/studentsnerisrael.html

Jewish Survivors said...

I forgot to mention that if you want to hear Israel's full story you should watch the video "trembling before god".

Anonymous said...

Then the gedoylim want us to be mispallel for the President because the Marines back Israel too.

noch besser.

As long as you know that it is our chataim and peshaim, this blog, which is causing the current crisis, that's all that really matters. The gedoylim would be mispallel for an end to the internet, but they don't even know what an inter net is, so, boruch Hashem, it's gerade doch uoj they want defeated. He is the enemy, he is hizbollah, not sheftel or shragi's friend. Everyone should be mispallel.

And the rosh yeshiva, reb Naftali Neuberger, zecher tzaddik livrocho, should be a meilitz yoisher, a gute better, for ner naftali and klal yisroyel. omain.

Jewish Survivors said...

Here's another early case at Ner Israel. It's from 1969.

http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/abusesnerisrael.html

Anonymous said...

UOJ are you running out of things to write that you have to print this laughable story that really says nothing about anything?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Yaakov,

If you consider this story laughable, shame on you. Crawl back into your hole buddy.

Anonymous said...

the gedoylim should be concerned about uoj not hizbollah. hizbollah doesn't ruin their businesses.

Jewish Survivors said...

Sibling Incest and other forms of sexual molestation of youth is NEVER laughable. I understand that it makes many people uncomfortable, and a natural reaction to high stress may be to laugh. Situations like the one described by Israel is very real, and unfortunately it's something that is also happening at a yeshiva near you too!

Anonymous said...

not too often, though, not in my experience. We can also overexaggerate then extent of certain problems. Incest, which does exist, is far less common than drug and alcohol abuse in our frum yeshivois.

Nobody knows this more than every hanhola. They are bums, of course. Everyone we're not related to is a bum.

Anonymous said...

http://jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com/2006/07/brad-case-of-baltimore.html

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Jersey Joe and friends,

And right this moment a parent may be calling their son in camp and asking their child if a counselor is asking them about their masturbation practices...and telling their child that they're coming to pick him up if the answer is yes. Another Jewish kid saved from the grasp of a do- nothing, money grubbing, community.

Not quite Hizbollah or Hamas, but destroying the Jews nevertheless!

Anonymous said...

Jersey Joe is my kind of guy. He wades into an issue of pikuach nefesh and makes NO sense whatsoever.

Anonymous said...

Uoj your time being anonymous is coming to an end כל המחלל שם שמים בסתר נפרעין ממנו בגלוי

Anonymous said...

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NY_SEX_OFFENDER_TV_NYOL-?SITE=NYMID&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

Jul 16, 1:39 PM EDT

Cable show points out local offenders

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. (AP) -- Welcome to Sex Offender TV.

A new show on public-access cable features resident sex offenders with their photo, name and address and the ages and genders of their victims. "Sex Offender Community Update" debuts Monday.

Officials behind the idea say they don't know of other cities or stations that have taken this approach.

"The main purpose of this television program is to make the information more easily available and accessible, not to warn about a specific individual," a disclaimer says at the start of the 30-minute show.

"The sex offenders are going to have more notoriety because of it," City Councilman Chris Papastrat said. But he added the program, which will be broadcast regularly to 72,000 households, isn't meant to ruin anyone's life.

But Robin McGinnis says it could. The president of the national Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers says she doesn't know of other communities with such shows. She says the broadcast will only cause more anxiety for offenders and others.

"I think it's just panicking the community even more," McGinnis said by phone Sunday. "Sex offenders have become the lepers of the community. I don't see how we expect sex offenders to rehab if we continue to push and push them."

The vast majority of sex offenders molest their own children and aren't hanging out in parks and attacking people, she said. "Yes, they should be held accountable, but such a small number are truly dangerous in the community."

This isn't Binghamton's first action on sex offenders. In October, the city repealed a new law that virtually banned all moderate- and high-risk sex offenders from living there after a group of offenders filed suit against the mayor and police chief.

The law kept Level 2 and 3 registered sex offenders from living or traveling within a quarter-mile of any day care, school, park or playground. The group claimed the law violated their constitutional rights.

Monday's show features only Level 3 offenders, which the state classifies as having the highest risk of offending again. Papastrat says the city has about 50 such offenders.

The show's information also can be found on the Internet, by phone or from school officials. Papastrat said officials were looking for an inexpensive way to reach the most people, since school officials said mailing fliers regularly to residents had become expensive. Former mayor Richard Bucci also supported the plan.

"We don't know if any other city is using public access for this kind of show," Papastrat said by phone Sunday.

Monday's show features Papastrat, police Capt. Alex Minor and Time Warner Vice President David Whalen discussing the prevalence of sex offenders in the city and ways to monitor them. Whalen is also the show's host.

"An informed public is a protected public," Papastrat says.

Further installments are planned monthly.

Anonymous said...

The only chilul shem Shamayim in secret was perverts violating little boys in yeshiva basement boiler rooms and elsewhere. UOJ is the shaliach that publicizes these crimes.

Anonymous said...

Who are mechallel shem shomayim b'sesser if not the hanhola?

Chillul Hashem takes place in the presence of Jews. If UOJ's info is accurate and someone is prepared to testify that this is so, when Herman Neuberger threw out a bochur who made such an outlandish claim, he was mechalel shem Hashem b'seser. Your institutional loyalties aside, to ignore these problems is a chillul Hashem. Big time.

v'nifraim mimenu b'galui.

Anonymous said...

UOJ, as israel fights the terrorists, take comfort in the certain knowledge that nirc has licensed professionals onboard. Who knows better how to fight dirty than the lawyers?

Anonymous said...

What surprises me most of all is the amount of restraint from the victims and their families. Chas veshalom if it happened to my kid, I would personally castrate the mamzer.

Anonymous said...

Uoj your time being anonymous is coming to an end כל המחלל שם שמים בסתר נפרעין ממנו בגלוי

V'nehapuch hu !!! you moron, get it right.

All those hours the victims spent in silent fear which traumatized them and caused them to slip in their Ruchniyus thereby causing the ultimate chillul hashem is now being publicized and the attackers should be suffering from it.

Anonymous said...

Your hated for yeshivos comes from the mental rape by the hands of your putz father.

Anonymous said...

don't be so sure what you'd do, when. talk is cheap. the fact is most victims are ashamed of what's happened if it happens. Self doubting and self loathing, they are the innocent ones. The tough guys talk big but how many mamzerim have you castrated?

I would like to believe that rav eiseman is not guilty, that rav eiseman is a tzaddik, that ner israel is the BEST yeshiva, and until proven otherwise, we must assume this is the truth. Ner Israel is a great yeshiva, a makoim Toirah, a chashuva moisad.

Ok. we'll continue the next segment of this commercial after lunch.

Anonymous said...

This posting greatly dilutes any credibility one may have had in UOJ's NIRC claim. POssting this tired nonsense implies there are no real facts to report about the present day.

Anonymous said...

There are skeletons in my yeshivas closet, come clean them out.

ADMITNOTHING said...

UOJ....

What is going on with the other Yeshivahs you were doing fact finding on ?

Once again, I call upon you to publish the entire list so we, the parents can mobilize.

There is strength in both numbers and tuition dollars.

Anonymous said...

Even this story is not true it shows prolems with nirc from long ago.

Anonymous said...

I think the time has come for you to go back to the old days of outing the phonies and frauds of yiddishkeit. The self-appointed rosh yeshivas and fakers are getting a free pass while you focus all of your efforts on the child molestors. I'm not saying you should quit the holy task in which you are engaged at the moment but mix it up a bit and keep us posted along the way of the Kolko and NIRC case.

A fan.

Anonymous said...

To be fair, there is a mixed message in the Fishman post.

He describes an exchange involving Rav Rudderman, zal, where it appears that the rosh yeshiva and gadol had a zero tolerance policy concerning homosexual behavior in the yeshiva.

The post then goes on to describe two different sexual acts.

The first concerning the writer and his brother is extremely troublesome on many obvious levels. So much so, in fact, that it creates some questions as to what actually occured with the yeshiva bochur and how much was forced and how much was consensual.

UOJ, I am your biggest supporter, but I am not sure this was the best illustration concerning these heinous crimes.

Anonymous said...

When are the curtains closing on waterbury?

Anonymous said...

uoj is one person, just one guy. Like the hanhola, he relies upon snitchers. Without a strong, efficient and loyal snitcher network, how else can you really know the worst you can believe?

The hanhola of every yeshiva has known this for years. Without loyal snitchers to rat on everyone else the very grave avayrois of watching tv, renting a movie, going to a movie, listening to a radio, talking to a girl etc. would go unpunished and their rechilus and lashon hara is l'shem shomayim, in addition to being very useful to the hanhola.

So, without snitchers, where are u, uoj? If a distinguished rosh yeshiva's honor has been sullied without just cause, you are a baal avayro. You are ruining his good name. What you need are better snitchers, but since the internet is assur, they can't really find you. Even YK at YTT, without proof, with a lawyer, without a court, it's all hearsay. public relations, allegations. For the charges to stick, the oylom haToyra requires proof.

Anonymous said...

The writing style here is exactly that of the angrysoul blog. It's overwrought breathless prose, written in present tense, and full of red hair and freckles.

I suspect that the two are the same author. And I think it points to them both being a little more fictional than people here would care to admit.

Examine it for yourselves - side by side, they're amazingly similar.

I wonder how much of this stuff is the sound of one hand typing.

Jewish Survivors said...

All anyone needed to do was get to know Israel Fishman, you would see the evidence of his childhood trauma. It was all very real. If only he got the help he needed while the abuse was happening, or shortly afterwards. I can't even begin to imagine the differences it would have had on his life.

Israel was a very special person. We owe a great deal to him for coming forward and sharing what he has about his victimization. I know his hope was to educate our communities to prevent one more person from being harmed.


May G-d comfort all of his friends and family among the other mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Bal H. Bos,

Thanks...I appreciate your critique.

I too agree that a zero tolerance policy was the appropriate action by R' Ruderman zt"l, no dispute there, depending on if he threw out the right kid. Today that kid could probably get help and turn out to be an honorable member of society. I hate to think what became of that kid.

The story I put up was simply an example of inappropriate behavior by authoritative figure in the yeshiva that led to physical abuse.
No rebbe or mashgiach has a right to probe in that area, period. It is beyond their realm of understanding and in most cases leads to physical molestation.

I'm a layman...but this is what's told to me by mental health professionals and confirmed overwhelmingly by abused victims.

Perhaps not a perfect example; the message is clear though; all parents should put their kids on notice that if anyone ever wants to discuss these issues with them, they should refuse to discuss it and notify their parents immediately!

Anonymous said...

But, UOJ, not a word more about the Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Eiseman? Have you concluded your sources are false, the charges, untrue, the damage done?

If so, you owe the hanhola a big apology, an ad in hamoidia, a full page in yated. Yudi Kolko has won.

I am not thrilled with this topic. It is not my idea of exciting reading. But, I do place a high value upon truth and if we can't trust uoj, who can we trust? The hanhola?

Anonymous said...

What do you call a rabbinical student who is a sex offender, yet his abuses were covered up by his yeshiva?



Answer:
RABBI

Anonymous said...

There is something that we are all over looking. I keep coming across cases of young men being abused in Yeshivas. One common thread is the language they use to describe their abuse. Instead of calling it sexual abuse or a sexual assault, they are calling it all homosexual behavior.

I think it is critical that we start educating our youth in the correct terms. It's not uncommon for survivors who are yeshiva bochur's to undergo a "grooming" process by their offenders who may also be a yeshiva bochur or an employee of the yeshiva.

Here's a brief explaination of "grooming"
http://www.netsafe.theoutfitgroup.co.nz/offenders/what_is_grooming.aspx

"Grooming is when a person tries to `set up' and `prepare' another person to be the victim of sexual abuse. Although not all sexual-abuse is preceded by grooming, it is a very common and deceitful process, which can be used by strangers or by those known to the victim. The method can take quite a while (even months and years), and can be very subtle and sneaky. Victims of grooming often do not realise that they are being manipulated until after they have been sexually abused, and even then, some victims do not see how the grooming led to their abuse."

Paul Mendlowitz said...

The victims have spoken, are speaking, and will have a lot more to say.
There is not a scripted story with predictable results; it took a full year for YTT to get rid of Yudi Kolko.
It was NOT the lawsuit that caused his termination per se, it was the humiliation of being exposed for the world to see, how Orthodox Jews behave in an "ais tzara" that has impacted generations of innocent children.
NIRC has options, I hope they choose the right one.

Anonymous said...

The Baltimore Bais Din is the way to go, everything al pi daas Toyreh.
Everyone is expendable, if they're not related.

Maybe mordechai and aron should apply for a job? There must be something they can do on the farm.

Anonymous said...

An Endorsement of UOJ!



Editor's View
by Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz

The Courage To Act

What is one to make of the never-ending stream of sorrowful news in our communities? It seems as if every day we hear of a fresh tragedy. The pain is so raw. How are we to respond to all of this?
Those of us who follow the news read such stories and wonder how it will all end. Where are we headed and is there anything we can we do to derail the constant carnage?
Perhaps we can glean inspiration and direction from this week’s parsha.
At the conclusion of Parshas Balak last week, we learned that following the episode with Balak and Bilaam, the Bnei Yisroel began to sin with the daughters of Moav. A nesi bais av committed his sinful act with a daughter of the leader of Midyan before Moshe and all of the Bnei Yisroel.
The entire nation stood around weeping, at a complete loss. Hashem was about to send a plague as punishment for the crime when Pinchos arose from the crowd.
He was the sole individual who was not confounded by the unprecedented outrage - the only one who remembered the halacha and knew what had to be done. Even as cynics mocked him and he himself was unsure of the outcome his act would produce, Pinchos ignored the scoffers and sprang forward, plunging a spear into the bodies of Zimri and his partner.
He thus stopped the already devastating plague and brought a swift end to yet another inglorious chapter in our people’s history.
Parshas Pinchos opens with Hashem telling Moshe Rabbeinu that “Pinchos the son of Elozor the son of Aharon the Kohein turned back G-d’s wrath from the people of Israel with his act of kana’us, and He did not destroy the Bnei Yisroel in His anger. Therefore, say [the following]: Hashem is bestowing upon Pinchos his covenant of peace. He and his children who follow him shall be privileged with the covenant of kehunah forever.”
By following the dictates he had been taught by Moshe Rabbeinu and intervening in a machlokes, Pinchos merited the blessing of eternal peace. The man of peace is not necessarily the one who sits back passively and does nothing. The one who sits on the sidelines weeping as evil rears its ugly head and seems to triumph is not promoting peace; he is encouraging evil.
Pinchos is deemed worthy to bear the torch of kehunah and carry on the tradition of Aharon Hakohein, to be an oheiv shalom verodef shalom, because he put his own ambitions aside and rose to the challenge. Pinchos was given the eternal blessing of peace because he made peace possible in Yisroel by exterminating evil.
Pinchos halted the plague which had already killed 24,000 Jews because he had the moral courage and clarity to act when others were confounded and immobilized.
He didn’t let popular opinion deter him from slaying those who brazenly defied the Torah authority. He knew that an oheiv shalom verodef shalom sometimes has to act courageously, even if his actions invite misunderstanding and recrimination.
Pinchos knew that the cause of peace is advanced through fidelity to halacha. Shalom is achieved by pursuing shleimus, even if that involves sacrificing sacred cows and jeopardizing a career.
Shalom is rooted in shleimus; when everything is proper, when everything is complete, and whole, then it is possible to also have shalom. If you are lacking in shleimus, if the state is not absolutely intact, then you cannot have shalom. Torah is the absolute truth, with it the world was created, and it serves as the ultimate yardstick in defining our behavior. If we stay true to it, then we will consequently be blessed with peace.
Pinchos passed this test and he was therefore singled out as being worthy of following in the footsteps of Aharon Hakohein, who exemplified the pursuit of shalom through the service of G-d.
With all of the countless misfortunes besieging our people as yechidim and as a klal, it does seem as if we are living through a period of mageifah.
Perhaps what we need are more people like Pinchos in order to stop the plague in its tracks. We need people whose loyalty to Torah compels them to arise from the mourners who sit weeping and demonstrate by action what needs to be done.
There are no prophets among us and no one can say why specific tragedies befall us. But we all are aware of evils being perpetrated which nobody fights. We all know that most things are not b’shleimus in our world. We are all aware of people who suffer and urgently need someone to rush to their aid. Apathy and often fear prevent us from carrying out these missions of mercy and justice.
Despots are experts in playing the game of brinkmanship and taking advantage of people’s reluctance to rise up against injustice, even in self-defense.
In our daily lives we also confront people who abuse their position or our own good natures, to serve their own selfish, destructive ends. We must have the fortitude to stand up to them in the tradition of Pinchos. We must speak up when confronted with injustice, while being careful to remain within the Torah-prescribed parameters.
We have to seek to achieve perfection in our personal lives and slay the demons which lurk inside our camp and in each one of us.
An eis tzorah is a clarion call to us to do teshuva and help return the world to a condition of shleimus. Tragedy calls out to people of inner greatness to conquer the urge to remain passive and take action, instead, to return our world and our people to shleimus through Torah. The only way to merit peace and tranquility is by following the path of shalom and shleimus as defined in the Torah.
Pinchos lives on as Eliyohu Mevaser Tov, who will announce to us the arrival of Moshiach when enough of us follow in his path. That path was forged for him by his rebbi, Moshe Rabbeinu. In every generation, there are individuals who carry a nitzutz, a spark, of the neshoma of Moshe Rabbeinu, who continue to light up that path. Let us seek them out, learn Torah at their feet, so that we may all merit to hear the call that the geulah sheleimah has arrived.
Every act we take to bring perfection to the world will bring us that much closer to the day when Eliyohu will announce that the golus has finally ended. May it come to pass speedily in our days.

--

Anonymous said...

Let's send Kolko to Israel now....let him molest those damn hezbolah animals

Anonymous said...

it is also time that you start to clean up the sexual abuse in the jewish music world starting with

yeedle werdiger who was arrested in israel for molesting a girl younger than 15
it was covered up due to MBD spending 1.5 million dollars to insure she would not press charges
PLEASE HELP US STOP YEEDLE FROM EVER PERFORMING

WHERE ARE THE RABBONIM TO PROTECT OUR YOUNG GIRLS

Anonymous said...

one needs to thank the UOJ for helping our community come to terms with the despicable rabbis(garbage) that due this and take advantage of our young boys and girls

the leadership of these schools should resign and beg mechila

and we should publicize the abuse of women andd girls in the jewish music industry

Anonymous said...

Your assertion that Yated endorses OUJ speaks miles.

OUJ you are coming apart like a cheap suit

You have no obligation other than to mentaly masturbate yourself with self importance.

Anonymous said...

"all parents should put their kids on notice that if anyone ever wants to discuss these issues with them, they should refuse to discuss it and notify their parents immediately!"

UOJ, what are kids to do if they don't have a loving and functional family? Who do they turn to?

Anonymous said...

Are the goings on in the Ner Israel dorm in the 1950s part of the coming lawsuit against NIRC?

Anonymous said...

Some have said that this post was preparation for his next Yeshiva that he is trying to expose.

There is no evidence other than discussing with talmidim sensitive topics, so we have to first let everyone know that even discussing these topics is in the category of molestation

Anonymous said...

The Yeedle Werdyger cover up was not for molestation. It was allegedly for statutory rape.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Waterbury Bochur,

"Discussing" teens' sexual thoughts and masturbation practices with a rebbe is NOT in the same category of molestation.

A rebbe that probes into this area with talmidim should not be in a yeshiva or around children; generally this aberrant behavior leads to molestation.

Anonymous said...

Anyone notice what that loser "Tuvya" is up to lately? He has turned his blog into a billboard that decries accusations that he is Avi Shafran. It makes you wonder why he would put so much effort into the denial if he is not Shafran. He uses a kaka excuse for why he sounds like Shafran, claiming he has read his books.

Hi Avi Shafran, I mean "Tuvya".

Anonymous said...

generally, blah blah blah.

Every rebbe has the right to discuss whatever they wish. If the bochurim don't want to discuss masturbation, don't talk. But, a witch hunt against any rebbe that mentions masturbation is heresy. Physical molestation is the issue here, anything else, barking up a tree.

If there is no evidence, these allegations are evil, this blog, misdirected. We should be focusing on lesbianism. Why not?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

"A witch hunt against a rebbe that mentions masturbation"

How about a rebbe that asks a student how many women has he bedded at one time?

Anonymous said...

Masturbation comes up when the shiur learns halacha, especially Kitzur Shulchan Aruch. COnsidering that it is called "the biggest avayra in the Torah". It should be brought up in shiur. Some shitos like the Sefer Pella Yoetz even hold that shomrim should be appointed to check up on boys in their rooms to make sure they aren't jerking off.

Anonymous said...

would you be offended if i asked u, oj, how many?

Anonymous said...

"he has read his books."

Has anyone actually done that? Have you tried to read his books? They aren't well written.

He's a mouthpiece. He puts most of his energies into "journalism." He should have stuck to Toireh, given up mouthpiecing for the Agudah to mouthpiece for a Bais Din. There's still time. Maybe, he can do both, and learn in koylel at the same time.

Anonymous said...

There are sometimes bochurim who fake sick so they can masurbate in their room all day. You can sometime see them doing it for an hour straight through a crack in the door. Are you not supposed to do something about that?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Anon,

If you were a rebbe who "needed" to know "how many", so you could discuss the details with me for hours upon hours in the middle of the night, leading me to do t'shuva...because "confession" to a rebbe is the way to t'shuva, and then ask me how many women "sucked" me off....so again I could do t'shuva....then I may answer you.
(sorry to be so graphic..I must make a point here-the story is true)

Anonymous said...

Anon
Anything else is barking up a tree...


There is allot more types of abuse then physical molestation. What planet do you live on.

Anonymous said...

Rebbi In Scranton

Thank you my dear shver for youre interesting insight I will pass that on to Ginsberg ASAP.

Anonymous said...

The bochurim in the yeshiva have absolutely no problem with it. He helps out many and is not a "sicko." And if we have any "sickos" we will drive them out of town--as we have done. We dont need you.

Stick to the real issues and stop trying to dig up dirt just to keep people reading your trash.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

How about a rebbe that asks a student how many women has he bedded at one time?

Halevi. From your lips to God's ears. More than one at once??!! I'm lucky to get a smile, let alone a BJ. But then I'm not into that whole Howard Stern watching Lesbians thing.

BTW, from the desription in the Tanach, would you say that an elderly David HaMelech bedded more than one young woman at a time?

Anonymous said...

"(sorry to be so graphic..I must make a point here-the story is true) "

- which yeshiva?

Anonymous said...

Shea Fishman said it's "not the right climate" to announce the sex offender registry. With all these yeshiva horror stories coming to light, it looks stormy enough to me.

Does anyone understand Fishman? Because Kolko is being unmasked you DON'T do anything to protect kids?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Waterbury Bochur,

Do your parents know HE is dragging you out of bed in middle of the night and talking sex with you?

You may think that's great...do your parents feel the same way?

Paul Mendlowitz said...

These are very sensitive topics...PLEASE don't joke around about this topic. Editor I gave you one pass, that's it!

Anonymous said...

UOJ, what are kids to do if they don't have a loving and functional family? Who do they turn to?
You know what? That's exactly the prototype of the kid who gets tons of advice from expert (read: unqualified) Rebbeim and Mashgihchim who are eager to take credit for all the "help" they gave. What a pity.

Anonymous said...

Snitches to yeshiva hanhallos have been revealed in many cases. Most of them are good for nothing losers who think they advance themselves this way. Even Lakewood BMG gives you a job if you report back with enough juicy gossip.

There is a teshuva in Igros Moishe that you are not allowed to tell loshon hora even if a rosh yeshiva asks you to.

Anonymous said...

Why the link? Is Waterbury bochur the same guy as that sweathog Tuvya?

Anonymous said...

Ooh, ooh! It sounds like there's real serious learning in Waterbury yeshiva for this "bochur" to spend his mornings arguing on UOJ's blog.

Anonymous said...

Hey Horshack, some bochurim fake sick to do you know what and some fake sick to blog and argue with UOJ. For such a self-righteous and upstanding bochur, he is violating the rules and kedushas hayeshiva by hiding his laptop in the dorm.

Anonymous said...

Un-Orthodox Jew said...
These are very sensitive topics...PLEASE don't joke around about this topic. Editor I gave you one pass, that's it!

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

Very funny, UOJ. Like you don't turn the whole matter into a dirty joke. That like the pot calling the kettle black.

Anonymous said...

UOJ
You may think that's great...do your parents feel the same way?


The parents dont "feel" because they dont know. The overwhelming majority of kids especcially yeshiva kids will not discuss this with their parents. The rebbeim of this sort know that, and so the majority are ripe for their perversions.

Anonymous said...

Also, if the abuse is old and there are no recent or current indications of continued abuse, then the balancing act may weigh in favor of keeping things rather than harming the accused's family and children.
----------------------------------

This was an actual post on Tuvya's blog. Is it just me or has the whole world gone insane? Maybe we were wrong in executing Eichman. After all, the abuse was old. How can we harm him and his family like that?

Anonymous said...

Uoj you cannot stop me from spreading the word on YTV!!! Why are you protecting them??? Were you abused there and are too ashamed??? You are a hyprocrite!!!

Anonymous said...

he's not one of the sickos.

Of all the crazy stories documented about der Alter of Slabodka, some of whose antics border or "mental" abuse, as far as I know sex was not onoe of the subjects of discussion. Missing mincha. Forgetting Mincha. This was a much more serious avayro. In a real makom Toirah, there is fear of the consequences. In a joke institution like Scranton, as long as the tuition is paid, the bochur is making progress.

waterbury bochur is a serious yingel. any bochur who blogs is flaunting the rules, an enemy of Toirah, not welcome in ner yisroel.

Anonymous said...

You can see, uo, that bochurim are loyal to their roshei yeshiva in waterbury, baltimore, maybe even, New York. As r' lipa would tell you, this is a kiddush Hashem.

Anonymous said...

uoj, if you'd like to discuss sex in the middle of the night, can my wife and i schedule an appointment?

Anonymous said...

You are unfair to uoj.

His kettle does not use drugs.

Anonymous said...

First off I want to let you know that you can read up on the Yeedle Werdyger case at: http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Werdyger_Yeedle.html

I know that it is very common for people to crack jokes when talking about very stress producing topics, such as childhood sexual abuse.

I also am aware that it's not common for most people to talk publicly about masturbation. Again, it is a stress producing topic.

There is a connection in ones brain between tears and laughter. At times when someone is very happy, tears come to their eyes. When someone is extremely anxious they may spontaneously giggle or laugh.

It's totally understandable why the jokes are coming out right now. It's much easier to laugh, then to address the very serious issues.

I want to recommed that everyone either go to your local public library or purchase a book that is really writen for children. I think it will help with some of the anxiety that's out there. It's called "A Very Touching Book...for Little People and for Big People" by Jan Hindman.

exposemolesters said...

I am perplexed at how the "frum" world is so quick to the defense of accused sexual molesters, and so slow to the defense of the victims. It boggles my mind, and I keep asking myself this question. If it was YOUR child who was complaining of being touched inappropriately in his private areas by some Rabbi, older bachur, dorm counselor, neighbor, friend, stranger, or anyone else, would you be so quick to dismiss the charges??? What if your child was a "girl" would your blood boil more than if it was a boy?

My point is, that awareness is the fundamental issue at hand. We have an obligation to take issues of sexual abuse seriously. By convincing ourselves that we are beni torah and don't believe such terrible accusations against a "Rabbi" of all people, then we ourselves will be held responsible for keeping quiet and fooling ourselves.

Child molesters thrive on the fear of their victims and use that as an edge to continue their terrible acts. They are chronically ill and will NOT stop their behavior unless we ourselves put an end to it via methods that work.

Yes, it is extremely painful to come to the realization that "Jews" CAN DO WRONG, especially when molesting little boys. However, that is still not an excuse to shove our problems under a rug and temporarily making it go away. Only a fool does that. I believe that most Jews are not foolish people. We are the most prosperous nation on the face of this earth. The Torah was given to us and not the other nations.

I think about what is happening in Eretz Yisroel today. We are in a large scale war with Islamo-fundamentalists who want to wipe us off this earth. They provoke and provoke and provoke and then what....? Israel is forced to finally retaliate to defend themselves. So What do our enemies say? They blame us of course. It's all the Jews fault. We are responsible for the worlds problems.

We are occupiers, murderers, infidels, and terrible people. So, say our enemies. Do we really believe that though? Do we honestly look at ourselves in the mirror as some wicked horrible people that want to kill Palestinian babies? Of course we know that it's all rubbish. A fantasy made up by our enemies to rationalize their horrible deeds against the Jews, that's all it is.

That being the case, why are we so blind to the fact that there is a great trend of child abuse in our own Jewish communities? I'm talking about physical abuse as well as sexual abuse. Why do our own communities, shun such realities as if it was a plague? No one is saying to pass judgment on an individual or institution merely based on an accusation, but we definitely need to investigate and verify them, instead of just dismissing them as so many people have done.

Let us all learn from Pinchus ben Elazar Hachoen. He had the courage to do the correct thing even though he risked his life for it. This UOJ blog is not a popularity contest, it is an awareness center dedicated to saving children lives period. Until we have a 'responsible' group that will deal with sexual abuse in the Jewish community and investigate it without any prejudice or a fogged up Jewish brain, we desperately need blogs such as this one to continue.

Indeed Pinchus was rewarded the priesthood even though he was a descendant of Yisro, making him a Yisroel at best.

There were once people that wanted to run an old man out of town. They came up with a strategy to make the old man look real foolish. One day they approached him with one of them saying. Tell me old man, the bird that i am holding in my right hand, is it dead or alive? Why, the answer to that lays on your hand, the old man replied. The ploy failed. They tried tricking the old man with a clever plan. If he had answered yes, then the man holding the bird would squeeze the life out of it. If he had answered no, then the man would have simply opened his hand and let the bird fly away.

We indeed hold the future in our hand, let's hope we make the right choices.

YOB has finally responded to the allegations and coverup of sexual abuse of boys almost 2 decades ago. Too little too late though. YOB has until Aug-1-2006 to fire "rabbi" Yehuda Nussbaum or else the lawyers will then take over with a vengeance!

Have a great summer everybody!

Anonymous said...

Hey shpritz/shoprite its,

"Yitzro tokfo, shigoyon Hayetzer" to use the jargon...

Yitsro tokfoi is fine, mebbe, for "bein odom l'atzmoi," but when your avayrois include aroyois like ayshes ish, which damages a family unit, or mishkav zachor, which also destroys a family, it's not so simple to wipe away. Everyone can rationalize their moral failures and every yitzie can say, "yitzri." Blame yitzri, then walk away. These acts impact upon other people. Masturbation is equated with mass murder, but murder really is and murderers don't get away with the excuse, "excuse me, shigayon hayetzer."

We can blame all the world's problems on the sitra achara, but sometimes we have to admit, "ain hadavar talui ela bi."

Mashgichim, especially, know this to be true.

Anonymous said...

If the frum world, people live tuvaviya, defends molesters, it's because they are ours, insiders, chashuva people. It's a ruach shtuss. We forgive our children many slights. Some of us actually forgive our parents, our siblings, our neighbors, our friends. Other people, well, they are just that, other.

That's the rationale. Why punish their families for their misdeeds? This is misguided liberalism, blinded by bias, no longer objective or open minded. Who said anyone was open minded?

Those who have power, dignity, wealth, position, when compared to the victims, well, whose side would you want to be on? The winning one, of course. When the fbi starts prosecuting perverts and putting them away for life, nobody will want to stick up for them. They will be abandoned, dumped, forgotten. How many agudah members has avi shafran visited in prison? Let him write about that for hamoidia. Let him tell the world through the Jewish Week how much the Agudah does for the klal, how many times they've obtained kosher food for pedophiles, more than chabad. They are the best.

Outing a rebbe who got away with molestation for twenty years may not be particularly kind, but removing the damage is. This is a mitzvah too, dina d'malchusa, a popular position in American politics.

Anonymous said...

uoj, a rabbi's rabbi, a rebbe's rebbe, a mashgiach's mashgiach, a gevir's gevir, a blogger's blog, you aren't popular with those you are discomfiting. Goodie goodies don't like talking about sex anyway. If they are straight, they can't understand same sex desires. It's outside their realm of experience. No thank you, thank you, they say. The bigger problem here is the old boys network. How is it possible, if the allegations are true, that simcha kaufman etc. did nothing all the years there were rumors at camp agudah and mah navu? I never heard the rumors, but I know others who have. They forgave one of their own, didn't want to believe the worst, didn't believe the worst, but were eager to believe the worst and worse than THAT about anyone outside of Boro Park.

You must shake the world, the Toira true world, the world of tuvyaavishafran, the world that already believes the worst about everyone else, but only the best about the best, themselves. Tuvya has until August thirty first to apply for a rebbe's position in brooklyn.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

UOJ,

Noted. Will try to confine the humor to other topics - though I wonder why what I posted was in poorer taste than many of the comments regarding Kolko and bi'ah she'lo kidarka (see, I can be discrete if I want too). In any case, it's your reshut so I'll respect your wishes.

Actually, I'm a bit surprised that you, UOJ, used Fishman's account, as I understand he is one of the gay Jews featured in Trembling Before God the film about "gay orthodox Jews", a film that no doubt promotes the gay agenda, something that you have opposed.

Fishman was unquestionably troubled and deeply conflicted. You see that in his ambivalent remarks about one of the boys who molested him, remarks filled with obvious sexual attraction at the same time they reflect pain caused by the object of that attraction.

Of course a yeshiva system that one on hand calls homosexual acts an abomination and on the other creates a dormitory situation virtually guaranteed to increase same sex activity and tells boys that it's bad to think about girls must be described as conflicted too.

I've mentioned it before but I think it bears repeating. The Catholic church now has to deal with an entrenched homosexual subculture within the church's seminaries and institutions. Vicki Polin may be nuts [and Vicki, you may not like TK and TS, but your comments on the EX-JFJ blog are way over the line of inappropriate and border on mesirah, a charge I am loathe to make], but she may be onto something about funny business in Baltimore. Only a fraction of abuse is reported, abused victims often become abusers (either later or concurrently w/ other kids), and there's a huge conspiracy of silence, so yeah, I can believe that there may be some multigenerational sexual hanky panky in some communities.

Serious enough, UOJ?

Anonymous said...

ATTN:UOJ aka SMALL DICK

WE WILL TURN UP THE HEAT ON YOU FASTER THAN YOU CAN SAY "GET ME THE HELL OUT OF HERE"

Anonymous said...

The Editor,
I actually had the honor of getting to know Israel Fishman over the last three years of his life. Israel was very public about being gay and about being a survivor of sibling incest and other forms of childhood sexual abuse.

Remember -- All children can becoming victims of sex crimes (gay, lesbian, bi, straight, rich, poor, Jewish, non-Jewish, etc.). The issue has nothing to do with a persons sexual orientation, social economical status religion and or race. The issues we are discussing have to do with crimes against children and also young adults. We are talking about an individual using their power, control, authority and their ability to manipulate others to sexually victimize our children.

Israel was like many other survivors of childhood sexual abuse. He was sexually victimized and then had normal reactions to abnormal events.

We also have to pay attention to the fact that Israel's assaults occurred in the 1950's. What resources were available to survivors of sex crimes back then? Remember the first rape crisis center weren't even established until 1975. Israel did not have the privileged of having access to the types of help that are available today.

I can't even begin to imagine the differences in Israel's life if he there were people advocating for him right after the first time he was sexually victimized -- or right after the events he described that took place at Ner Israel.

I would never say that Israel "was troubled." He had his issues -- just like you and I. Can you name one person who isn't "conflicted" about something in their own personal lives?

This kind of language used in your comments is a part of the problem. Instead of trying to empower individuals who have been victimized by sex crimes, you seem to be choosing using words in an attempt to make them appear mentally unstable.

I wish I had a magic wand and could have you go back in time and live Israel's life and all of the abuses he endured as a child and a young adult. Before you cast stones at Israel or any survivor of childhood sexual abuse, you definitely need to have a better understanding of what the issues and ramifications are.

Anonymous said...

vicki's charges about baltimore are based on nothing more than fantasies.

Reb Herman protected his moisad. Bottom line: that's it. Nothing more. He wasn't looking for bad publicity, anywhere, including internally. He was also l'shem shomayim (we know this boys, and so are you). The thesis that this is intergenerational has no substance. Unless you have evidence, this is a reckless accusation, unsubstantiated. A blog fixated on pictures, ads about dead people, is not recognized as totally credible. UOJ, on the other hand, is a holy brother, holiest of the holiest, sweetest of the sweet.

He is bigger than you think.

Anonymous said...

They are thugs, uoj, our beautiful frum yidden. When their interests are threatened, kanoyim poig'im boi. Suddenly, like hizbullah, they become even frummer than frum. Frummer than frum may be a mental disorder, but more likely than not it's merely a reflection of human weakness and pride. Who is more arrogant, uoj? You or them?

You, like Moshe Rabbenu, are anav mikol Adam. You, like Avraham Avinu, have made room for Vicki and vicktims in your tent. You, like Lipa Margulies, are a rosh yeshiva, but your yeshiva stands for different values than those who would abuse you.

Let the oylam cringe from our caped crusader, and do the right things.

Anonymous said...

Torah u'mesora watch your mouth nivel peh.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
"vicki's charges about baltimore are based on nothing more than fantasies...
The thesis that this is intergenerational has no substance."

I never said that the problem of sex offenders is intergenerational. I have said that it takes a community to raise a sex offender. When we turn our backs on behaviors that our children are displaying that are questionable -- then we are all at fault.

I don't have charges against Baltimore. I have issues with the way various communities leaders have handled allegations of child molestation. This NEEDS to change TODAY. We don't have any time to waste. Each day that goes by another child is becoming the next victim.

I've said over and over again, if you SUSPECT a child is being abused and or neglected, we are all NEED to make hotline reports. It is up to law enforcement to investigate our suspicions. Our rabbis do not have the education or experience in collecting forensic evidence nor in conducting victim sensitive interviews. Let those who do rule-out if a crime has been committed.

The Awareness Center has put together a 40 hour certification program for our rabbis and other community leaders. It's time for them to learn the facts, and learn how to better help our communities. Instead of bickering back and forth, why not encourage your rabbis to help us find the funds to conduct our first training?

Anonymous said...

UOJ,

I would appreciate if you can respond to TUVIA's below comments taken from his blog in a rational manner:


Un-Orthodox Jew said...
I absolutely could care less what people think about my opinion on many rabbis. That's my opinion, you don't like it, don't come on to my blog.
That's clouding the real issue of today's abuse of power by the Establishment rabbis and organizations that have let Judaism sink into a cesspool and sewage of beards claiming to be teachers and rabbis.
How does a gangster like Margulies get to run a school? How does a half-assed high-school rebbe/ chassidic heir like Perlow get to call the shots for the Agudah and their followers?
What exactly are these guys' qualifications?
Even street sweepers have to pass civil servant exams.
How does a flunky like Shea Fishman get to control a network of 700 Hebrew day shools?
The point here is clear; these bastards destroyed a holy religion; and unless we throw these guys out on their fat asses, "you" will get what you deserve!
Your kids will be molested and physically and emotionally abused. Your wives will be walking around withg ten different wigs on her head to cover ALL the chumras from one bigger shmuck than the other.We'll need 50 hechsherim on laundry detergent.Get my drift...wake up or suffer the consequences! June 29, 2006


What ugly and despicable talk! Bizayon Talmidei Chachamim!; Leitzonus! Nivul Peh! Why was this necessary? Couldn’t he make his molestation point without it?

Ronnie Schreiber said...

Vicki said:
This kind of language used in your comments is a part of the problem. Instead of trying to empower individuals who have been victimized by sex crimes, you seem to be choosing using words in an attempt to make them appear mentally unstable.

First off, I don't buy into your victimhood mentality and won't be bullied by you trying to portray me as victimizing victims. You can deconstruct my post all that you want, but I don't believe in "empowering individuals". Empowering implies that you have some power to give them, which obviously you do not. What is this "power" you are giving them? You've embraced the therapeutic culture and are trying to fit Judaism into it. Victims don't need to be empowered, they might need some therapy to move beyond victimhood into being a survivor, but they don't need platitudes and pablum.

Your crusade, Vicki, is the only one that is relevant as far as you are concerned. Nothing else matters. Just the victims and their families. And if other families are victimized by predators of a different kind, oh well, you can't be bothered with that issue. That's why you went on a blog run by ex-Jews for Jesus members, one frequented by current JfJ members and staff, in two successive posts (note the time stamps - posted immediately after each other) posted the following:


Anonymous said...

There's some good resources on this site for those who are survivors of spiritual abuse. I know the focus of this site is for survivors of sexual abuse, but I think that a lot of the information would be helpful to everyone.

http://theawarenesscenter.org/spiritualabuse.html
10:37 PM
Anonymous said...

Has anyone heard of any allegations regarding a countermissionary rabbi and sexually inappropriate behavior?
10:38 PM


You would smear the entire countermissionary activist community on a site frequented by meshumad missionaries just because you want to bring down TS and TK. I don't know TK and I've already explained to you that TS leaving Jews For Judaism had nothing to do, as far as this insider knows, with sexual improprieties as you have inferred. That he's a charming rogue with an eye for feminine pulchitrude is no secret, but you have no evidence and all you are doing is digging dirt, harming scores of activists whose only crime is that they share an avocation with two guys you hate.

I wish I had a magic wand and could have you go back in time and live Israel's life and all of the abuses he endured as a child and a young adult.

I'm sorry that you wish such cruelty upon people with whom you disagree. Every person has their own pekele, their own set of misfortune and it's hard to say whose is worse. You know who taught me that? My older sister, after she buried her 11 year old daughter.

Before you cast stones at Israel or any survivor of childhood sexual abuse, you definitely need to have a better understanding of what the issues and ramifications are.

The fact that Israel experience sexual abuse doesn't change the reality that he had serious psychological problems - most likely caused by the abuse.

I'm sorry, Vicki, but you're clearly obsessed by this issue and have no perspective. If people don't agree with you 100% you attack them.

I'm sorry if my calls for avoiding a witch hunt atmosphere and remembering the Amirault and McMartin cases makes you think that I am in league with the molestors.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

To Torah Umesorah/Shea Fishman,

You were concerned that "the climate was not right for a sex offender registry" yet!

Well, I've adjusted the climate for you Shea Bozo!

I have made certain that next week the secular media will turn up the heat to a blistering boil in your honor.

Put up that independent sex registry and an independent panel of professionals to hear sex abuse allegations, or expect a barrage of secular media attention.

I'm just getting warmed up...protect our children or pray for Robert Kolker of New York Magazine and Hella Winston the author of The Unchosen to interview you and Avi Shafran over a cup of tea.

Anonymous said...

1. Why don't the "mainstream" rabbis, the liberal ones, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform fund your efforts if the need is so great? Why isn't the Awareness Center a Federation agency or working in tandem with same?

2. The Orthodox community is insular, freighted with conflicting religious traditions, some so strict they cannot imagine this happening. These are the minds you are having trouble changing. Those in power who are aware of abuse, such as the Menahel of Ner Israel (who in all probability has kicked some of them out) may have justified their silence to false hopes that aberrant behavior is a temporary madness. I can't imagine that those in positions of authority (including, perhaps, the powers that be in Brooklyn) ever dreamed this stuff would happen again. They probably figured, okay, once. Stuff happens. Then, they closed their eyes. Now is their moment to admit they were wrong (if wrong they ever are). If not, as more and more victims go to the police instead of the hanhola, the FBI will eventually put the Jewish house in order. UOJ is right. Vicki Polin is sometimes right. But, as a victim yourself, can you understand their position? They see both sides and sympathize. I cannot speak for them either, but, I daresay that no rabbis worthy of the title, anywhere, are pro abuse. They don't want to believe the worst, and operate within halacha. That's their law, including civil law when civil law takes precedence. We have heard on this blog that abusers are not worthy of being saved from punishments (and being handed over to civil authorities) because they are a threat to the Jewish community. They will need a dramatic case to shake them out of their reverie. They may have one. But, money for the awareness center they do not have. It's not high on their list of priorities. Toirah is first. Find a foundation to support your efforts. You can count on uoj.

Anonymous said...

Isn't there life after New York Magazine, uoj?

Where is that defender of the sexually battered, that great basher of Orthodoxy, gary rosenblatt? Gary is fearless, right? This is his ticket to the Pulitzer prize. Gary, stop listening to tuvyah. Think about fame.

Anonymous said...

As far as I see it, the media isn't a very effective tool in the abuse arena. The NY mag article caused a stir for about a week and then everything went back to normal. You need to employ something with a more lasting effect. But thanks for trying.

Anonymous said...

The New York Magazine article opened the floodgates on sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. It will have everlasting repercussions. It was a great piece of Journalism by Robert Kolker.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

I promised a churban Bayis shlishi if nothing was done to protect our children, and I will deliver on my promise in time for Tisha B'Av!

Anonymous said...

the bais hamikdash was torn down bec of sinas chinam
right now there is fire and war in isael..
i think that UOJ "unorthodox jew" is partially to blame for whats up in israel. the sinas chinam and loshan hara this page causes is awful.
Ben, UOJ, ortho rev and the regular "bloggers" on this page.. think if ur possible "blog" will cause a rocket to land on a jewish home or buisness...sinas chinam destroys us..and thats what defines this page

Anonymous said...

UOJ
I didnt know that the bayis shlishi was built and that it can be destroyed. You are promising a baylis shishi to be destroyed what are the first 2 that you destroyed YTT is still around NI is still around. perhaps I am missing something

Anonymous said...

I wouldnt want to be the one to bring a churban bayis shlishi. But maybe that's the right thing to do.

I know, I'll one up UOJ in crazy talk and rhetoric - I'm going to bring the next Holocaust if nothing is done!!!

there, now, orthorev, boog, vicki, jewish whistle, and all you nameless posters, I sound crazy too - worship me already....

Anonymous said...

unorthodox jew,
im sure ur intentions are pure, but ur method is insane.
every organization be it ner israel, ybob temimah, get etc are all amazing organizations. is it possible that one org potentially have an abuse issue, of course they could...but to go out in public and say ull cause a churban is an awful thing to say..its very possible that a page like this is the cuase of the churban in israel now...go to a rav, go to a gadol...
this just causes lashon hara motzai shaim ra etc.. it causes alot more harm than good...think about eretz yirael then decide if this is the right way to proceed...if u get get a haskama from a rav ull be taken seriously..and ppl will trust what u say, now ur a yenta page..ppl go online to check noew, go to onlysimchas then u...

do this right and ull be respected now its a bs page

Anonymous said...

to above anon:my sentiments exactly.

Anonymous said...

"It was a great piece of Journalism by Robert Kolker."

actually, it was pretty similar in style and content to most expose pieces written in new york.
So has anyone here ever bothered to read the mag regularly? guys, just because you approve of the issue doesnt mean it was a good piece of journalism. It was frankly rather pedestrian, and very overdone at times.

Read a little before you speak, people.

Anonymous said...

idi, ot, vy you tink uoyud is causing rockets to land? you speak to your chacham bashi?

Protecting others from sexual abuse is not sinas chinom. Tuvyah doesn't like to hear bizyoinos for talmidei chachomim. True talmidei chachomim would face the problem.

But, perhaps, YOU are to blame for all those rockets and hizbullah? Nachpesaw derochaynu v'nachkoirah.

v'noshuva... with emunas chachomim, daas toirah, the gedoilim. Avadeh, du bist gerecht because it's raining.

Anonymous said...

And I promise churban beis uoj just in time for tisha bav.

Anonymous said...

anon

Youre not G-D and you dont know why rockets are falling in Israel. I can give you 100 other reasons if you would like.
If you were capable of typing and thinking at the same time you would realize what the definition of "Chinum" is. Are you saying that jewish children that are abused are "Chinum" to you. I dont see sina on this blog but rather ahava to the victims completly l'sheim shamayim. But then again we probably have diffarent prospectives on things. Go back to your hole you came from and stay there.

Anonymous said...

"Has anyone heard of any allegations regarding a countermissionary rabbi and sexually inappropriate behavior?"

There have been many allegations made of professional sexual misconduct made against Rabbi Tovia Singer. This is the reason main reason why he was let go from Jews For Judaism.

Most people in Monsey are very aware of his problem, and know to keep their young women away from him. The problem is they don't let the outside world know. He's known to have sexual relations with some of the women he has counseled.

Anonymous said...

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/19/nyregion/19EDUCATION.html

If public school teachers speak to kids about sex ed, why can't rebbeyim speak about the subject to yeshiva kids?

Ronnie Schreiber said...

This is silly. If anyone is guilty of sinas chinam it's guys like you who attack UOJ while blindly serving your Gedoilim.

What causes a rocket to land on a Jewish home is a Jew hater pressing the launch button. The rest is simple physics. So far, it seems that Hiz and their Iranian advisors are using unguided, so called FROG missles. Though the larger rockets can be aimed with some precision, the Kassams and Katyushas are derived from mass firing systems. You may have seen video of the launchers, they are trucks with what look like huge ciggarette packs on the back and fire of all the missiles one after the next, putting down a barrage. The shoot so many because the chances of hitting a target with just one is about nill. As such, a single missle has virtually no chance at hitting the precise target it is aimed at. Of course Hiz is just interested in killing Jews so precise aiming and military strategy are not their concern. The result is that who is getting hurt or killed in Israel by rocket fire is almost random.

If I recall correctly, chazal teach us that in times of great disaster, like a plague, both righteous and unrighteous can be swept away. The KBH, as it were, allowed some randomness into the system. Somebody has to get hit by a truck. Or a rocket in this case. And let us all say tefillot (or tefillos if that's your preference) for the Jews who have been hurt or killed and their families, either civilian or IDF, and for those now in harms way in, near, or over Lebanon. Remember too the Druse and Bedu who serve with honor in the IDF - the soldier killed in the cross border incursion by Hezbollah when they captured two soldiers was a Druse - we don't have many friends in this world so hakarat hatov isn't a bad idea.

Blame the Jew haters shooting the rockets, not UOJ. You failed to learn the lesson of sinat chinam. You appear to not even know what it means. Chinam means free, in this context unwarranted, for no purpose. You may disagree with UOJ's methods, but you cannot call his anger sinat chinam, for it is precisely purposed to protect Jewish children. Your actions smell more of sinat chinam than anything UOJ is doing.

I think it's kind of ironic that the Tuvyas of the world want to stir up hatred between Jews now. This is the first military conflict involving Israel where the US and much of the world, including plenty of Arabs, has essentially given Israel and the IDF a greenlight to deal with Hezbollah. Hamas and Hez went so far over the line, in terms of the numbers of rockets and the brazen cross border raids, that the most the usual suspects can do is whine about disproportionate responses, in other words, Israel is basicly just in responding. Meanwhile, GWB is talkin' Texan when it comes to Hez's sh*t (hey UOJ, if the Pres. can say it, can I write it here?), and Condi is saying that it just doesn't look like the right time for a cease fire. Wow! An old rule broken. You used to know Israel was winning a war because that would be when the State Dept would start calling for a cease fire.

While it's true there is great danger - Jews are dying and being hurt - the KBH may have presented klal Yisrael with a tremendous opportunity for shalom. Our haters are seen by much of the world for what they are, and the IDF can kill them with impunity. May we see the end of Hezbollah as a threat to Israel b'm'heirah b'yameinu.

Perhaps HaShem has given us this opportunity because UOJ is helping the frum velt do tshuvah.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

I promised a churban Bayis shlishi if nothing was done to protect our children, and I will deliver on my promise in time for Tisha B'Av!

UOJ, did you really think that they would respond? Gangsters though some of them may be, they aren't very bright gangsters. Remember, they didn't get their positions because of smarts. Most likely they simply don't know what to do, and other than sending out their flack Avi Shafran, they must be all putting their fingers in their ears going "na na na na" hoping it will all go away. The figure that frummies don't read New York Magazine, that they can stonewall until someone identifies and destroys you.

Anonymous said...

and they can count on a suicide bomber taking care of anyone who DAREz commit mesirah which is worse than rape, the penalty: death by insane bochurim, true kanoyim, who can slash your tires and your face in the name of Toirah and gedoylim. It happens. All it takes is a few crazies and klal Yisroel has them. I steal and commit wrongs, but if you tell anyone, you're a moiser and mammish chayav misa. What they need is a dose of the fbi.

They fear that more than anything else, state and federal supervision. What do they have to be afraid of if they are righteous and pure and innocent?
Do they fear uoj's threats of another Tisha B'Av? I guess that depends who. Not many, not enough, it would seem. The proof is that bochurim in Scranton are still getting sick.

Anonymous said...

Here's a poem about another one of Baltimore finest.

Poetry by a survivor of Rabbi Yaakov Menken http://www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/yaakov_menken.htm



Powerlessness

Part of me is still standing there, naked in front of the mirror
frozen in shame and fear

on that cold winter night.

I was home alone, taking a bath

and you wanted me to walk in naked in front of a window.

"This is an opportunity," you said, "no one is home."

I hung up the phone on you and turned off the ringer.

Later, you were angry that I hadn't taken your calls and done your bidding

what happened next, I cannot write but the event is seared on my heart (or whatever is left of it).

I had no choice.

I needed to mollify you because you were my everything

I thought of running away but I had too much to lose.

Later on, I realized it was either leaving or dying, so I left.

But part of me is still standing there,
naked in front of the mirror
frozen in shame and fear on that cold winter night.


Rabbi Menken has a modus operandi of becoming a father figure to vulnerable young women, supplanting their real family and friends, having them take him into their confidence, having them spill their sexual secrets and questions to him, having them trust him implicitly as a holy rabbi who knows what is best for them...

Many of the young single females on his staff come from respected rabbinic families. Many of them get called by him "Miss so-and-so." The vulnerable ones are more likely to be called by their first names.

Anonymous said...

Please stop all this talk of Sinaas Chinam. That's just liberal Orthospeak for COVER UP. As long as the beards are posing behind the rabbonus and cornholing our youth, you don't have to worry about a little sinaas chinam keeping moshiach from coming.

Here is our new banner:

WHEN THE RABBIS STOP CUMING, MOSHIACH WILL BE COMING!

Anonymous said...

It doesnt matter what the cause, using terms like churban is very silly and inappropriate. Do you really think you're god that YOU get to decide what gets nechrav and what doesnt? It was the same when you compared abuse to the holocaust. Come on - do you really think that 6 million jews being slaughtered is in any way comparable? You employ this ridiculous hyperbole, and then you wonder why no one takes you seriously.
For that matter, I bet that titus also thought HE was bringing the chruban bayit sheini. Guess what -it turns out that he was just a tool in god's hand, and ultimately, he was punished severely for his role. So it sounds like god's gonna make a churban (and that doesnt sound like something I'd wish for, but I guess you know better) using you as a tool, and then punish you for being that tool.
Either way, it sounds pretty bad.
In general,I'd modify my language a little if I were you. But then again, if I were you, I'd bother to publish facts.

Anonymous said...

I have r sons who went to all different Yeshivos and I have never hear of the subject you are discussing here. My sons all are perfectly normal and don't have any psychological problems due to going to their respective yeshivos.So, I think this problem is not as rampant as you would have us believe,and, I think that maybe this column is blowing things way out of proportion, causing Motzei Shem Ra, destroying rebbeim's and yeshivos' reputations. I think it's not for us to discuss in public on this forum and cause such a chillul Hashem. Those who it does concern can take this matter to the authorities and those of us who it does not concern should not be spouting off all kinds of obsenities in public about this.

Anonymous said...

I have r sons who went to all different Yeshivos and I have never hear of the subject you are discussing here.
-----

Perhaps it's time for an honest and open discussion with your sons.

Anonymous said...

I totally understand why The Awareness Center isn't hooked into the Federation or any other organization.

Look at the way cases of sex crimes have been handled in the past. I'm not just talking about in orthodox circles.

When you are dealing with large organizations, you always run the risk of losing funding because of a particular case you are working on.

What happens if an alleged offender is a big wig in the Federation? How would The Awareness Center be able to function?

I remember reading about the case of Rabbi Daniel Gordis on Luke Ford's web page http://www.lukeford.net/profiles/profiles/danny_gordis.htm
Gordis is from a very wealthy family, and is the director of the Mandel Foundation.

Then there is also the case of Cantor Mark Horowitz on The Awareness Center's web page
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Horowitz_Mark.html

Both men are still out there. Horowitz is the executive director JECEI, funded by the steinhardt foundation.

Do you get my point?

Anonymous said...

nitzor, you are incredibly right. Those who have been abused SHOULD go to the authorities. If nothing major actually happened, they should move on. If they want to become fishmen, nebech, they should seek therapy. Normal people do not act this way. What's more, I'd prefer to believe all and any allegations are not true. Do these discussions belong on a blog? They would be more effective in a police blotter instead of the bletter of mishpocha magazine.

above anon, you aren't wrong (using terms like churban is very silly), but uoj's hyperbole is his poetic license. He is an artist. Some jog, others work at a job, yet others express themselves through graffiti, uoj blogs. Please understand. He has no wish to be necherav the bais hamidrashim. Like our Father in Heaven, uoj's kingdom has not yet come. But, you may send in your contributions to uoj in care of the awareness center.

Anonymous said...

open and honest about sex they were not in eastern europe. That's the model. The yeshivois which the chofetz chayim started, the yeshiva reb chayim volozhener started, that's the real aylam haTayreh, the world of our fathers and mothers, especially uoj's beloved lita, but nebech, the doirois are removing themselves farther and farther from the yeshiva velt, the oilom hoemess.

Tell us, uoj, can you eat salt on Pesach without a proper hechsher?

southernyid said...

Yudi Kolko said...

I have r sons who went to all different Yeshivos and I have never hear of the subject you are discussing here.
-----

Perhaps it's time for an honest and open discussion with your sons.


Your insinuation that every bochur in every yeshiva has been molested is completely absurd. I learnt in several mainstream right wing yeshivas through high school / beis medrash in th 70s/80s and know of only one case of an older bochur taking advantage of several young high school bochurim. I am not aware of any inappropriate behaviour by anyone on the hanhala in any yeshiva I learnt in. Does that mean it did not happen? NO. Does it mean that it did? NO. It means I did not know about it at the time and have not heard anything since then.

Furthermore, in my camp experiences I was very close to someone who was alleged to be a molester by many people. I personally never experienced anything inappropriate however I believe the stories because I know the accusers and there are too many of them. But boy was I shocked when it came out.

Point being, plenty of well adjusted normal people have gone through the "system" without experiencing or being aware of others experiencing these horrors. Does this mean they did not occur? of course not. it means that if someone says they do not know they are probably telling the truth.

I would lso like to use this opportunity to jump on the bandwagon of those calling for restraint in your language and degradation of "people". Do not give up the fight, like the ref says at the beginning of a boxing match, lets have a good clean fight. The winner of a clean fight is admired and respected, the winner of a dirty fight is villafied and despised.

Anonymous said...

Yudi Kolko said...

I have r sons who went to all different Yeshivos and I have never hear of the subject you are discussing here.
-----

Perhaps it's time for an honest and open discussion with your sons.
--------------
They're normal, happily married and raising normal families.If something like this would have been going on in their schools, I am sure they would have spoken to us about it.

Anonymous said...

I have r sons who went to all different Yeshivos and I have never hear of the subject you are discussing here.

-----

Perhaps "R" sons refers to repressed sons. You better start talking to them.

Anonymous said...

The more I read your hyperbole, the more I am becoming a fan of the other blog.

Anonymous said...

"If they want to become fishmen, nebech, they should seek therapy."

I agree. Anyone who nebech wants to become shea fishmen needs serious help!

Anonymous said...

no, luke. i do not get your point.

are their cases proven or are they merely outed for the world to see? The Awareness Center is a sleaze blog, just like this one. But, two wrongs don't make a right. The Awareness Center isn't funded because vicki doesn't have a lot of credibility. She looks good, writes well, gathers material, posts pics, complains she's not receiving enough money, and uoj likes her.

Anonymous said...

Rabbi Drops Bid To Out Bloggers
Free speech appears to be on side of anonymous Web sites.
Jennifer Friedlin - Jewish Week Correspondent
July 19, 2006
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=12732

A group of anonymous bloggers that had published information on their
Web sites about a disgraced Rockland County rabbi’s alleged sexual
misconduct won a victory when the rabbi withdrew one of two petitions to
subpoena their identities.

Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, the former leader of Kehillat New Hempstead in
New Hempstead, N.Y., who has been accused of sexual harassment by
former congregants, filed petitions both in Ohio and California district
courts in an effort to force Google, the Internet giant that hosts the
bloggers’ websites, to disclose their identities.

It was not immediately clear why Rabbi Tendler decided to withdraw the
petition in Ohio and whether he would do the same in California.
Neither he nor his lawyer returned calls seeking comment.

Rabbi Tendler was expelled last year for inappropriate conduct from
membership in the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest Orthodox
rabbinic association.

The bloggers’ attorney, Paul Alan Levy of Public Citizen, a
Washington-based public interest organization, said Rabbi Tendler’s decision to
withdraw the petition represented a victory for the First Amendment right
to free speech. He also said that the decision reflected Rabbi
Tendler’s inability to prove that the bloggers had defamed him.

“If he had had evidence of falsity and malice he could have gone
forward against these folks,” said Levy, noting that as soon as the bloggers
filed their motion claiming that Rabbi Tendler’s petition would violate
their right to free speech, he withdrew his demand. Levy said the
bloggers were moving ahead with a motion under California law that protects
against so-called strategic lawsuits against public participation and
would seek to have Rabbi Tendler required to cover the bloggers’ legal
fees.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to set a federal standard
regarding what a defamation plaintiff would have to show before an anonymous
blogger could be unmasked, lower court decisions have so far set a high
bar, demanding that plaintiffs clearly establish that the claims made
against them are false before the online accuser can be outed.

“It’s a pretty high standard,” said David Hudson, research attorney for
the First Amendment Center, an educational organization based in
Nashville, Tenn., and Arlington, Va.

Within the Jewish world, anonymous blogs have become a touchstone for
debate. Those in favor of anonymous blogging say they give people
fighting for victims’ rights an advantage, particularly in the Orthodox
community, much of which has proven unwilling to openly discuss and deal
with issues of sexual abuse.

“The greatest ‘crime’ today in the Jewish world is not the number of
agunot, it is not the sexual predators that have been allowed to prey on
the vulnerable of our community,” wrote Jewish Whistleblower, one of
the anonymous bloggers named in Rabbi Tendler’s petition, in an e-mail.
“No, it is the crime of speaking out publicly against the corrupt
leadership of our community and those that prey sexually on the vulnerable in
our community.

“The Jewish community needs us bloggers simply because our leadership
refuses to address these problems.”

In addition to Jewish Whistleblower, the other blogs Rabbi Tendler
sought to expose through his petition are rabbinic integrity, jewish
survivors and new hempstead news.

But critics of anonymous blogs said that they are unethical and do
little to advance their own causes.

“It’s immoral to use a disguise to put the heat on other people,” said
Steven I. Weiss, a blogger whose reporting on sexual abuse in the
Orthodox world and other issues can be found at The Canonist.

Weiss noted that several Orthodox leaders, like Rabbi Yosef Blau,
spiritual adviser at Yeshiva University, have been highly criticized for
speaking out against abuse within the community and that by doing so they
ultimately increased the credibility of their claims.

“That’s part of what credibility is: knowing the consequences for what
you are saying and doing it anyway. Anonymous bloggers aren’t willing
to live with the consequences,” Weiss said.

While undermining their own credibility, anonymous bloggers may in fact
be protecting themselves legally. Robert Cox, president of the Media
Bloggers Association, an organization of bloggers, said that one of the
standards used in defamation cases is whether a reasonable person would
believe a particular statement was true. However, given that blogs are
held in lower esteem than many newspapers and magazines, such a
standard may not be met in a defamation case against a blogger, particularly
an anonymous one.

Cox said that although this issue has yet to be settled in court,
bloggers might prove immune to claims of defamation “because nobody believes
us.”

Widely believed or not, some anonymous bloggers say they are in fact
having a great deal of impact and that they plan to continue blogging
anonymously.

Earlier this year, Unorthodox Jew, one of the most controversial
bloggers in the Orthodox community, located several alleged victims of Rabbi
Yehuda Kolko, a teacher at Yeshiva and Mesivta Torah Temimah in
Flatbush, Brooklyn, after he posted allegations against the rabbi and the head
of the school. The anonymous postings eventually led to a lawsuit
against the rabbi, the school and a summer camp.

UOJ says that before he posts any claims against anyone he conducts his
own investigation, verifying the allegations with five sources. Once
he’s satisfied that he has met his own standard, he posts the claims.

“’Free speech’ permits me to say ‘anything’ I feel is accurate,” UOJ
wrote in an e-mail.

For now, no one is challenging him.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Isn't there life after New York Magazine, uoj?


The NY mag article caused a stir for about a week and then everything went back to normal. You need to employ something with a more lasting effect. But thanks for trying.

The secular media next week that UOJ refers to, is NOT NY magazine.
Rather, a much more widely read publication which will be read by many more people than NY mag & has a good chance at rattling the powers that be who are responsible for the rampant cover-ups.

Anonymous said...

how about this for an anology:
the ones who molest and cover up for the molestors are like hizbollah and uoj is israel. until now there has been a back and forth, back and forth, but now it's time to unleash the big guns and get rid of the problem for once and for all. To quote the President, "Find out who is causing this shit and get them to stop." That's right, find out who the enablers are and get them to quit it. call them out in public and get them to squirm and call mercy.
A fan.

Anonymous said...

"Rather, a much more widely read publication which will be read by many more people than NY mag & has a good chance at rattling the powers that be who are responsible for the rampant cover-ups."

Crap! I'm scared the Agudah will can me and bring some real big guns onboard for the rebuttal, like Presidential speechwriters. They'd better have some loyalty to their old spinmeister.

Anonymous said...

the canonical has credibility? another blowhard tooting his own horn.
a lightweight playing cannon whist.

None dare challenge uoj. "anything" he says is accurate. he said so. must be. do we believe everything we hear?

The hanholois are hard at work on their various investigations. They're snooping, digging for dirt, the benefits of this crusade. They will punish those who have broken the rules, those who have microwaves and toaster ovens, palm pilots, cellphones, laptops, radios, chas v'sholom, newspapers, letters from girls, all the big avayros klal yisroel is guilty of, and they'll praise you, uoj, for the gift you've given them, more dirt about others, less about themselves. WE ARE RIDING HIGH. the gedolay hador.

Anonymous said...

who the enablers are?

They are the hanhola.

As tuvyah says, thinking this is osur: you are being mevazeh talmiday chachomim.

Anonymous said...

you mean mishpocha?

Everyone in the bungalow colonies reads that.

What could rattle their cage besides hamoidia and yated? These are the only papers which matter. We will asser every newspaper along with the internet. We will not listen to you who were not born into OUR family. We will ignore the outside world. We already do.

Parents, ignore this apikorsis. Do not listen to rechilus. Blot out the blogs. They are not glatt. They are yayin nesech. Their farm's pride is cholov stam. They are dogs, chelev, nevayla, treifa. (Did i leave anything out? Does my beard look okay? My hat?)

Ronnie Schreiber said...

There have been many allegations made of professional sexual misconduct made against Rabbi Tovia Singer. This is the reason main reason why he was let go from Jews For Judaism.

Vicki, I've already explained to you that this is a lie. I was a staff member of Jews For Judaism at the same time as Tovia. The national organization instutited administrative procedures like time logs, fundraising accountability etc for the branch offices. Tovia was unable or unwilling to comply with those procedures. I was asked to stop using the JfJ name for the same reasons - I'm an organizational disaster and terrible at record keeping. Tovia also had some strong personality conflicts with the then director of JfJ as well as other staff members. We were all aware that Tovia was a charming rogue and hoped that his considerable talents outweighed his flaws. That he liked women was no secret but I never heard even a whisper that he had acted inappropriately sexually with anyone he counseled while at Jews For Judaism. It's possible that there were allegations, but as a staff member I was privy to other shortcomings within the organization and sexual misconduct was not mentioned.

You make it a statement of fact, as though you were privy to the internal discussions in the organization, and when a former official of the organization tells you that you are wrong, you keep repeating your lie and you have slandered countermissionaries in a venue frequented by Christian missionaries. I have no reason to defend TS but I won't allow myself and my former colleagues to be tarred by your very wide brush.

Vicki, you want to bring TS down because he's a buddy to your nemesis TK. That's your business, but you have no right to impune an entire movement by making an anonymous accusation without naming your target. You also don't like Jews For Judaism, either because they haven't embraced you or because you suspect Aviva Weisbrod of unethical behavior. Though I no longer work directly with the organization I have to say that unlike some other Jewish organizations that use the missionary issue as a fundraising ploy (gee, I'd like to offer a 'hand to my brothers' but I'm just a little skeptical about their efficacy), Jews For Judaism spends its money on educational programming for the community and providing counseling for families and individuals. It does good work, has helped hundreds of families, and has brought back scores of Yiddishe Neshamas. You were at the ex-JewsforJesus blog. You think all those defectors mentioned on that site were not influenced by the existence of a responsbile Jewish counter-missionary organization? One of the themes of UOJ is unaccountability and misrepresentation by Jewish charitable groups. Ironically your actions are damaging a group that acts professionally compared to others in its field.

The fact is that sexual abuse of congregants occurs among 'messianics' as well. One 'pastor' was notorious for telling women that "Jesus will forgive you". Since many of these groups have charismatic leaders and cultlike tendencies, the potential for abuse is great. Instead of addressing these issues, making your groups resources available to other victims of abuse, however, you decided to use that venue to smear an entire community of activists in your zeal to bring down Singer.

Anonymous said...

Should I be concerned that UOJ likes my wife?

http://jewishsurvivors.blogspot.com/2006/03/breaking-news-vicki-polin-to-marry.html

"no, luke. i do not get your point.

are their cases proven or are they merely outed for the world to see? The Awareness Center is a sleaze blog, just like this one. But, two wrongs don't make a right. The Awareness Center isn't funded because vicki doesn't have a lot of credibility. She looks good, writes well, gathers material, posts pics, complains she's not receiving enough money, and uoj likes her."

Anonymous said...

"providing counseling for families and individuals. "

curious what the educational background is of the counselors of your organization. I was just at the J4J website, and I didn't see anyone listed there with a clinical degree or as a licensed mental health provider.

Isn't Aviva Weisbord, Matis Weinberg's sister?

Regarding Singer, how many times has he been married? Curious if he's tied with Marc Gafni?

Anonymous said...

Can you clarify what you wrote a little bit better?

What does it mean when an married, orthodox rabbi like Tovia Singer "likes women"?

In what ways did he like them? Is it not common for men to like women and for women to like men? or is there another point you are making?

Please be more specific.


"We were all aware that Tovia was a charming rogue and hoped that his considerable talents outweighed his flaws. That he liked women was no secret but I never heard even a whisper that he had acted inappropriately sexually with anyone he counseled while at Jews For Judaism. It's possible that there were allegations, but as a staff member I was privy to other shortcomings within the organization and sexual misconduct was not mentioned."

Anonymous said...

The editor,

WHy are you trying to rationalize with this Vicki. She and UOJ dont care about facts. It is allegations that are more important

Anonymous said...

"One of the themes of UOJ is unaccountability and misrepresentation." There are some who would make this charge, but from you, ed?

See what happens, uoj, when things are taken out of context. The yeshivois are sensitive to their image. They assume you must be taking things out of context, that the allegations are false, untrue, never were true, even if there were true. After all, they know better. They are am yisroel. They ARE the oilam haToirah. Whatever they say IS daas Toirah. Whatever you say is taken out of context.

Anonymous said...

I hear from my friends in NIRC that the allegations on Rav Eisman have not panned out. It is a bunch of BS to get UOJ some attention. This is starting to make think twice about the allegations against Rabbi Kolko. After all I have no heard a shred of proof. NIRC has set up a board of Rabbis that one can bring charges to Leravcha Demilsa.

Anonymous said...

UOJ

Why do you keep bashing the Rabbonim and the harborers more tham the molestors themselves?

What's the deal with all this vile and vulgar Rabbonim cursing?

Come on ENOUGH ALREADY

Stick to the point.

Anybody else agree with me?

Anonymous said...

we know who you are this is a warning-go away now or you will be outed promptly at a time we deem appropriate

Anonymous said...

and we know you are not ben hirsh

Anonymous said...

It's amazing no one besides myself has figured this out. UOJ is really one of VP's many personalities.

Anonymous said...

editor, its amazing to me that you still ally yourself with sleaze like UOJ. You write:
"Vicki, I've already explained to you that this is a lie. I was a staff member of Jews For Judaism at the same time as Tovia. The national organization instutited administrative procedures like time logs, fundraising accountability etc for the branch offices. Tovia was unable or unwilling to comply with those procedures. I was asked to stop using the JfJ name for the same reasons - I'm an organizational disaster and terrible at record keeping. "

You're lucky that you're not in UOJ's or jewish whistleblower's sights - theyve ruined reputations for far less.

I find it amazing that you can battle vicki polin on the issue of TS, ignoring that she does SO much good in the arena of abuse, and embrace UOJ who tars innocent people with a wide brush himself, since HE does so much good in the area of abuse.

Cognitive dissonance?

I submit that just because someone is championing a worthy cause, it doesnt necessarily follow that every cause they champion is worthy. UOJ is, by and large, every bit as guilty of character assassination as vicki.
If you squawk at her, you should growl at him.

Ronnie Schreiber said...

curious what the educational background is of the counselors of your organization. I was just at the J4J website, and I didn't see anyone listed there with a clinical degree or as a licensed mental health provider.

It's not my organization. As I made quite clear, I volutarily ended my official association with JfJudaism a long, long time ago. I was just disturbed about the venue and methods used by Vicki to solicit dirt on Tovia.

When I was involved, the director at the time was working on his MSW. Other staff members were ordained rabbi and former messianics. My own academic background is in Studies in Religion.

I don't think that someone has to be a licensed mental health provider or have a clinical degree to discuss theology and scripture. You are assuming that there is something wrong mentally with people who change their faith. Do you feel that way about gerim too?

The reason why "exit-counseling" is called counseling is to distinguish it from so-called deprogramming (sometimes coercive) used by some anti-cult activists. It's not a clinical or therapeutic experience. If you are going to quibble about "counselors", you might ask your lawyer friends if they have a license to provide mental health services as well.

When I was a staff member the policy of Jews for Judaism was to stick to religion and if the person appeared to need professional mental health care to suggest that they get professional treatment. I don't want to be glib, but what to do with crazy folks was an ongoing practical concern - let's face it, some religious folks are nuts, my comments above notwithstanding. When I first started doing exit-counseling with messianics (and the line between exit-counseling and disputing/debating on a street corner is vague), I consulted with a Rabbi who was an experienced chaplain at a local mental hospital as to the appropriate procedures to follow when dealing with mentally ill people when providing pastoral care.

The way I look at it is that the person who proselytized a Jew into becoming a Christian was most likely not a licensed mental health provider. Their educational background is the "Jewish Studies" program at Moody Bible College or the Assy of God seminary in Springfield, not a psych degree.

Regarding Singer, how many times has he been married?

I don't know. It wasn't my turn this week to keep count. I only know of one marriage and one possibly two kids.

Can you clarify what you wrote a little bit better?

What does it mean when an married, orthodox rabbi like Tovia Singer "likes women"?

For most of the time that I knew TS personally he was not married. He appeared to be a heterosexual. The one woman that I know he married was very attractive. I never discussed Tovia's sex life with him. Some guys obviously enjoy the company of women. I think that's more heteronormative than avoiding the company of women.

Like I said, I think he's a charming rogue. I'm sure that my many sins outweigh his and yours combined.

WHy are you trying to rationalize with this Vicki. She and UOJ dont care about facts. It is allegations that are more important

You remind me of political liberals who can't see the difference between National Review and FrontPage Magazine (not that FP isn't a credible source - it's just way more right wing than NR). I've tried to keep a balanced perspective here and you have to distinguish between what a blogger posts themselves and comments on the site. Over on the extreme is Vicki and JWB. Vicki is obsessed with the subject and JWB is obsessed with himself. I don't consider either one of them to be 100% credible. Steven I Weiss over on Canonist likes to believe that as a "professional journalist" he's above the biases and unaccountability of anonymous bloggers, but he has his own agendas. Near as I can tell, in a difficult situation, UOJ is juggling things pretty well. Does he really waits to get five accusations and a confirmation by his PI before allowing anyone to post a molester's name? He could be blowing smoke up our collective tuchases. My gut feeling is that UOJ very much cares about the facts.

"One of the themes of UOJ is unaccountability and misrepresentation." There are some who would make this charge, but from you, ed?

Oy Vey! Hevi Zehirin B'milav. Let me make it clear that I was not accusing UOJ of unaccountabilty and misrepresentation. Rather I was saying that the unaccountability of some frum non-profits and misrepresentation by some of them was a concern of UOJ's.

Anonymous said...

so, uoj, the accusations don't pan out. Is their chashuva whitewash team setting themselves up for abuse? If not, you should shut down this blog before mr. rosh yeshiva outs you, promptly, when they wish to, whenever. Who is ben hirsch?

They aren't afraid of New York magazine. They have incurred no financial loss. If they thought you had more money, sure, but, money is streaming in. They have a large campus. A College. They are bigger than big, greater than great, the gaiva of the plain.

Anonymous said...

Why are you censoring Tuvyas posts?

Anonymous said...

“The greatest ‘crime’ today in the Jewish world is not the number of agunot, it is not the sexual predators that have been allowed to prey on the vulnerable of our community,” wrote Jewish Whistleblower, one of the anonymous bloggers named in Rabbi Tendler’s petition, in an e-mail. “No, it is the crime of speaking out publicly against the corrupt leadership of our community and those that prey sexually on the vulnerable in our community.

“The Jewish community needs us bloggers simply because our leadership refuses to address these problems.”

Anonymous said...

Mr. UOJ,

Mark my words, YTT WILL BE OPEN THIS SEPTEMBER. As will NIRC, YOB and any other holy institution you are looking to destroy. Nobody is afraid of you, you are scum. Our Torah and its scholars have prevailed through all perils throughout the galus and you are nothing but an annoying fly buzzing in our ears. The gedolim whom you mock have all dealt with a lot more adversity than you can ever try to bring upon them and have always prevailed with Hashem's help. All I can say to you is it's not too late for you to do tshuva. Otherwise, Oy lecha l'yom hadeen.

Anonymous said...

Mr. Rosh Yeshiva,

Give us a hint!

Anonymous said...

UOJ, We would really appreciate a response to Tuvia's charges as posted on his blog

Whatever happened to honesty?
Un-Orthodox Jew said...
Anon above,

I AM ONLY CENSORING ANY POSTS THAT COULD EVEN SLIGHTLY HURT THE VICTIMS! SLAM AWAY AT ME, DO NOT DOUBT THE INTEGRITY OF THE VICTIMS EVER. THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT FROM THE GANGSTER ENABLERS!

July 10, 2006


Let it be said loud and clear! UOJ is a liar! He has not allowed one post of mine through in the past 5 days.

He is scared. He is a coward. And the reason is simple. His modus operandi is to attack those who he doesnt like and anyone associated with them. He doesnt know who I am so he's clueless how to handle me.

Please bombard his ragsheet demanding that he be honest and stop censoring my posts.

Response: Part III will be coming soon. Part V will include some enlightening comments regarding this topic from the esteemed psychologist--Dr. David Pelcovitz.

Anonymous said...

You are that hot-headed that you want to put your kids in more shit than the've had - the warnings will stop and action will be taken.

Anonymous said...

uoj, the word is that you received a lawyer's letter which has having an effect upon u.

gaiva of the plain have the rabbonim and roshei yeshiva of the world on their side, no matter what you say. They have two notable attorneys on their property, on their board, who excels at playing dirty. Do you have reason to fear them? I can't answer that question. Blogs are unlikely to be sued. If they knew you, they would hurt you, for sure. They are only good to their own, their friends, their relatives. U are not theirs. If you were an alumnus, they've disowned you. If you want to send them money, they'll take it gladly. Money is all that really matters to them and you are threatening their living, their lifestyle, their delusions of supremacy. You must be a rosho, they think to themselves. You are jealous. Everyone is. We aren't. We only built the largest, most lavish kollel kollege kampus in the world. We're very simple people. Would you care to see our new single family residences? We own them. They are ours. Not yours. Not yours for the taking. Even if your charges against rav eisemann are untrue, WE know that we HAVE harbored other molesters in the past, but l'ravchuso lemilsa we'll just make believe it never happened. The rabbonim will agree. They already have. Boruch Hashem. Their baalebatim r our people. They r our people. We r people. What are u besides a bum, a shaygetz, a goy, a rochil, a mamzer, worse, the worst, the very worst, interfering with our money store. our ashirus is a clear sign, a siman brocho. we own this. it is ours. please, have a heart. don't take it away. we'll honor you after the air has cleared.

time for mincha.

Anonymous said...

Hey,

Tuvya wrote on his blog that you are not letting him post here. Whats the deal with that?

Ronnie Schreiber said...

editor, its amazing to me that you still ally yourself with sleaze like UOJ.

With my reputation, it's amazing that UOJ allows me to post here. ROTFLMFFTO.

You're lucky that you're not in UOJ's or jewish whistleblower's sights - theyve ruined reputations for far less.

I don't know about JWB, but UOJ doesn't seem to go after people or institutions who acknowledge their failings. I'm not perfect. I lie, cheat and steal - and those are some of my lesser shortcomings. Most of the vidui and al chait applies to me directly. I try to do tshuvah, usually unsuccessfully, but I keep trying.

I find it amazing that you can battle vicki polin on the issue of TS, ignoring that she does SO much good in the arena of abuse, and embrace UOJ who tars innocent people with a wide brush himself, since HE does so much good in the area of abuse.

Give me one example of UOJ tarring an innocent person? Have any of the so-called innocent parties publicly disputed the allegations or addressed the issues directly?

It's mostly a gut feeling, though I'm sure that I could articulate it if I sat down and thought about it. Vicki has embraced the therapeutic culture and projects a victim mentality. Her statistics on abuse are questionable - is one if four girls really abused? She seems to accept a single allegation as proof of misdeed and seems predisposed to conspiracy theories. I'd feel more comfortable about UOJ if he had an independent BOD or BOT providing oversight, but when I look at the various mosdot with their rubber-stamp boards, I don't know if that would make him anymore credible. He just seems more responsible and more sane to me than Vicki does.

UOJ has responded to substantive criticism, sometimes answering his critics directly. Vicki has yet to explain why it was necessary to slander counter-missionary rabbis as a group on a blog frequented by Jews For Jesus leaders just because she thinks TS might have done the horizontal hora with some of the women he counseled.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
you mean mishpocha?

Everyone in the bungalow colonies reads that.

What could rattle their cage besides hamoidia and yated? These are the only papers which matter.


Last I checked, Mishpocha is not a secular publication. We all know Hamodia & Yated won't touch the issue. However, at the same time, we all know that many of our brethren read more mainstream, undiluted media. It is the intention that, by reaching out to the masses via the press, shining the spotlight (however uncomfortable it may be) on the issue of sex abuse within our community, the masses in return will demand Serious changes from
Our Leaders to stop the coverups, ignoring the problem, stonewalling authorities.

Our Schools to screen prospective Teachers/Rebbeim of past misdeeds prior to hiring, educate our kids about abuse and the need for them to communicate to parents or qualified authority about alleged abuse.

Our DA's office to Identify, Prosecute, Force Compulsory rehab, or removal of abusers from our midst permanently.

We as parents should demand nothing less than the above.

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

If you schmucks know who UOJ is, then out him. Otherwise, shut the front door!

Anonymous said...

http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/letters.php3

More troubling is Marvin Schick’s allegedly pluralist concern for Jewish day schools (June 16), where he reports his support of a Solomon Schechter school. In the Jewish Press of June 23, he identifies with the late Rabbi Ahron Kotler, who opposed the induction of women into the Israeli army and cooperation with non-Orthodox rabbis.

How can one plead support for Conservative day schools if one is a devoted follower of Rabbi Kotler, who opposes such support?

People have a right to change their minds, but one’s presentation of self in everyday life should not change with the audience being addressed.

Rabbi Alan J. Yuter
Congregation B’nai Israel
Baltimore, MD

Anonymous said...

The NIRC/Eisemann thing has NOT gone away. Anybody who says otherwise is a liar.

Anonymous said...

Mr. R.Y. the nivel peh is unbecoming of a man of your stature!!!

Anonymous said...

"you schmucks"

During the drei vochen, bochurim, we must be supportive of our fellow yidden in eretz yisroel, in brooklyn, in baltimore, in jail.

The choshuva yungeleit and bochurim and mr. rosh yeshivas who defend THE HONOR OF KLAL YISROEL, WHO ARE MOISER NEFESH FOR LUNCH AND BREAKFAST AND DINNER AND BABYSITTING, SHMOOZING, and TIME WASTING, all to learn with their chavrusos at least some of every day, are keeping our world from toihu vavoihu. HU ARE U? They are not schmucks, they are the pride of the Indian nation, the best of America, the gadlus of the am hanivchor. They are nivchor, not nirvo. They are kedoishim, elyoinim, mammish, the gaivo of klal yisroel. Got it?

Schmucks?

okay.

Anonymous said...

Regarding Singer, how many times has he been married?

Last I heard, Rabbi Tovia Singer has been married 3 times. All marriages lasted less than a year. He has two children. One from each wife - two of his wives. The first marriage was when he was VERY young. I think he was like 18 or even younger. He was forced to marry her because he got her pregnant while in Rabbinical College. IMAGINE THAT!! AN ORTHODOX RABBI TALKING A YOUNG GIRL INTO HAVING PREMARITAL SEX AND GETTING HER PREGNANT!! We are not sure if he was ever married to the mother of his first child. But positive he was married to the second wife. There are divorce papers to prove it.

Rabbi Tovia Singer was not an active father in either of his children's childhood. Society would label the Rabbi Tovia Singer a "DEADBEAT DAD".

Rabbi Tovia Singer is a known womanizer. We have reason to believe that he also likes men. He likes EVERYBODY!! BOTH MEN AND WOMAN!!! Or should we say, "Makes love to everybody".

It is also true that the Orthodox Rabbi Tovia Singer promotes premarital sex among single couples. It is a fact. That is all I have to say about that.

Anonymous said...

Today I got a flyer in the mail from Rabbi Tovia Singer. The Orthodox Rabbi Tovia Singer was trying to sell his $20.00 DVD about religion. I find it terriblet that the Orthodox Rabbi Tovia Singer used NonProfit stamps to send these flyers out and then turn around and try to profit from the flyers and sell his $20.00 DVD's. NONPROFIT means NONPROFIT. But according to the Rabbi Tovia Singer, NONPROFIT means PROFIT.

Does anybody know about this lawsuit judgement that was filed on Tovia Singer last month?