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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

The Violence of Silence!


http://thejewishreporter.com/2011/08/02/leibys-lesson-the-violence-of-silence/

By RABBI GARY MOSKOWITZ

Still in shock we must focus our attention to how such a horrific tragedy could occur and what went wrong in the rescue efforts of precious innocent Leiby. There are those who don’t want to point fingers as they must realize by now are pointing in their direction and threaten the very fabric of the way they do business in the community and with government. Ignorance and arrogance permeates the air in Boro Park and in much of the orthodox Jewish community.

Egregious errors in judgment leading to serious ethics violations at best to sinister crimes will be exposed which I pray compel the city or state to hold hearings how the community and police conspire to protect their images at the cost of great suffering of the weak and most frail in our community. Yes, I believe the Leiby murder could have been prevented if proper caution and care were taken prior to the kidnapping and certainly if the rescue effort was more professional. I am detailing this with other cases in my book “Chasing Justice – I am my Brother’s Keeper.”

The insular orthodox community which breeds insular crime feels that a collective appearance which influences both public and private funding is more important than the individual no matter what the misery. Pedophiles and domestic batterers have a good life knowing that there is little chance their victim will come forward out fear of the community’s religious psychological terror campaign against anyone who threatens the ban of approaching the secular courts or press. Many in the religious leadership indoctrinate their congregants and followers that they would be in violation of Jewish law if they would turn in any Jew to an outside jurisdiction namely our secular courts regardless of their crimes against their community. They fail to realize they are not living in ancient sovereign Israel as they have no jurisdiction in criminal matters as they openly violate the law of our land which by itself is a violation of Jewish law and this is accomplished and facilitated under the protection of many politicians kowtowing to their strong influence from block voting.

Beyond the public congratulations between the volunteer’s community’s security patrol known as the Shomrim and the NYPD there are deep feelings of mistrust and resentment emanating from both sides. The NYPD knows that the Shomrim are not accountable to anyone, have little or no professional training, hinder serious criminal investigations and yet the community has more faith and trust in them as they often seem to show up the NYPD on many occasions. The Shomrim experiences regularly the often reported headline news of the NYPD’s incompetency, laziness and outright refusal to take and investigate complaints as the rest of us know. While disdain runs both ways their relationship is cemented by a larger common interest – keeping the statistics low anyway possible regardless of violations of law. This complicit relationship often means people like the murderer Levy Aron often stays out of harm’s way until there is a body count. The police keep crime down when they don’t report it and Boro Park keeps their image.

Every second is crucial in a missing child’s case. There is no time to guess during an emergency. The following information comes from multi-media reports, interviews with reporters, parents in Boro Park, the Shomrim, canvassing volunteers and with members of the NYPD on the abduction and murder of Leiby Kletsky. I am convinced more information will come out shedding light on the debacle of the case. This is a brief oversimplification of the problems of the Leiby kidnapping/murder case which collectively contributed to this human tragedy.

There is no parent training in Child Safety for most of the community and since most do not watch television or use on the internet for fear of being over exposed to the bad influences of the world they do not have access to much public information on the subject. There is no community preparation for the obvious, missing kids, awareness of sex offenders in area, terror attack etc. As a result ignorance overwhelms many people. Most people I spoke with still believe that a child has to be missing for 24 hours first before the Police get involved which is not true. The Jewish civilian patrol Shomrim like most civilian patrols have little or no professional training and often practice rescue searches during the emergency itself. Rabbinical pressure on the community to call a rabbi first or their designees in this case the Shomrim regarding crimes are a must with full knowledge of the NYPD. This includes missing child cases as the rabbinical leadership does not desire unwanted scrutiny in their community which is fodder for another article.

Leiby’s mother waited an hour before calling for help and then she first called the Shomrim. The Shomrim then waited another three hours to notify the police thereby loosing precious time where if the NYPD was brought in right away other resources could have been deployed. Additionally the Shomrim keeps records of suspected criminals/pedophiles which the police department has no access to opening legal consequences from the right and left and while they have access themselves they have no authority to do anything with it without involving civil and/or criminal activities. Finally thousands of dedicated volunteers showed up with no clear direction.

When police finally arrive it became a fanfare of high profile imaging where commanders flaunt their political friendships without the proper investigative tactics which ultimately could have saved the boy’s life. The hero here is a man name Yakov German who initially had the idea to check the video surveillance cameras from the stores surrounding the school/camp area where Leiby was walking from.

Why weren’t the police detectives and commanders many who are getting paid over $110,000 a year and many with only a high school diploma pouring through these videos like Yakov German did right away? Even when they first got Yakov’s video showing Leiby’s last whereabouts it took them hours longer to bring in another detective who specializes in identifying cars to identify the car of Levy Aron.

From reports in the media and from volunteers who were there validated my own assumption from my prior experiences as a police officer with these cases involving the NYPD. Complacency with no immediate sense of urgency resonated from some officers believing that little Leiby will turn up later as what happens in most cases they work on. The “Here we go again attitude” where the belief is that Leiby is probably at a friends house where he fell asleep. This is very similar to when officers answer commercial and residential burglar alarms. With so many being false the police often become lax in their response and investigation. They need to treat every case as real and think of the false alarms as practice for when the real thing happens.

Even more insidious is the belief by many in the community and by some of the officers working there that the Chassidic orthodox Jews have too much clout which negatively affects their police performance. One cop asked me, “Do you think the police brass with all their helicopters and squads of detectives would have come if there was a missing black kid? Two weeks after this diabolical murder the police in the 66 precinct in Boro Park still have not received any additional training about missing children or dealing with the local public as was reported to me by officers in the command. In short the police need much retraining in thinking and investigating.

After Leiby’s murder the Jewish community had a hug fest thanking the police and other groups for their sincerity in helping to find Leiby. Huge ads were taken in the Jewish press. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I am sure everyone sincerely wanted to find Leiby alive and well. However their lack of training and lack of professionalism precluded this. I sincerely hope that there was an error in the media when it reported that members of the police department said that the time factor of receiving the videos depicting where Leiby was last seen wouldn’t have made a difference. According to the medical examiner Lieby wasn’t murdered until Tuesday.

Leiby could have and should have been found alive and there is plenty of blame and blood to go around!

In my recent meetings with NY State Senator Marty Golden, NYC Council Public Safety Chair Peter Vallone, Congressional candidate David Weprin and NYS Assembly Dov Hikind’s legislative staff member I detailed some practical and legislative recommendations to protect our children and community. These are recommendations I have made in the past regarding protecting us from child abductions, terrorism and crime.

High grade cameras installed around businesses near schools and Houses of Worship which are accessible in real time from the internet so there is no waiting hours to access fuzzy video footage.

Video footage needs to be monitored regularly so we can detail hostile surveillance from potential abductors. If a pedophile is hanging out at a school or camp it can be detected before a situation arises. Police reports mention that this was a chance encounter by a loner. We don’t know that and there is a real possibility that Levy Aron as with other abductors was tracking Leiby and that he could have been working with another accomplice.

Technology has come of age where we can outfit every child with a tracking device on their person like we put on our cars. Every kid seven and older can carry a cell phone programmed to call only their parents or 911. Alarms can be programmed and placed on children that go off when they separate at a certain distance.

We must train and deploy a citizen detective program training parents how they can assist and facilitate police investigations very much the auxiliary police do with patrol. Compel professional training to volunteer community patrols like the Shomrim who are dedicated to keeping their community safe or they should lose all funding.

Enforce mandated reporting of educators and specific community leaders including clergy with criminal and civil penalties for not reporting suspected crimes against children and with cases of domestic violence.

Schools, camps and youth programs should not release kids except to a parent or a responsible adult approved by the parents.

Make available the listing of all residential sexual offenders in the community.

Legislation needs to be passed that in the investigation of any child abduction or terror attack the police do not need the permission of any owner to access the video saving hours of time.

Mandating parochial schools and camps for all their staff to be fingerprinted and go through a similar background check as the NYC Department of Education puts their teachers through.

Creation of a NYS license called “Child Safety Specialist” where every public and private school and camp would be mandated to have a Child Safety Specialist training kids, parents and educators a few times annually before, during and after school starts.

Anyone who is aware that a child is missing within the first hour and doesn’t report it to their police department should face felony charges.

Offer tax credits for those who spend funds on safety for their children from martial arts classes, Safety Instructional DVDs, safety cameras to child safety classes. Creation of our Clergy 911 program where all clergy would be trained in crisis intervention and mandating reporting.

A government, religion and community are judged by how they protect the weakest in their society; the sick, the poor, the victim and the oppressed. The bible is replete with statements like “Justice, Justice You Should Pursue and “Don’t Stand Idly by the Blood of your Neighbor” and much more. Denying justice to the weakest for some warped sense of community/religious image is a threat to justice everywhere. Since most of the leadership is either complicit or missing in inaction we are appealing to mothers to rise up and protect your children, yourselves and Jewish and American law.

Our group the Child Safety Initiative made up of professionals in the health, medical, educational, police, legal and rabbinic fields are calling for a federal civil rights probe leading to hearings to determine which mandated organization, educational institution, community group and individuals working with the minority Jewish community were/are coercing individuals not to assert their rights in reporting crimes and testifying in court against their assailants. We implore victims and those who are aware of victims in the community to come forward to us. We can offer those coming forward protection by working with the Department of Justice. We are also calling for any rabbi or community leader who espouses their congregants and people to go to a rabbi first in the event of a suspected crime bypassing the police should face criminal and civil rights charges.

Lastly as I strenuously try to apply my grief and anger management techniques to myself my advice for my own Orthodox community is I pray you awaken from your coma soon. Don’t wait again for a body count. Take your energies, money and resources and invest it in practical preventive and therapeutic care. The community doesn’t need more dedications of Torahs and synagogues in memorials. We need more safety and security for our children in our communities.

We at the Child Safety Initiative have been offering child safety seminars and martial arts classes regularly. We are completing our first Child Safety DVD which will be available shortly and we are hosting a Child Safety and Health conference at the last week of August at the Kutcher’s Hotel. In September we are holding our first annual Child Safety and Health Legislative forum. Don’t be reactive be proactive.

As the Jewish New Year approaches and Jews around the world become more reflective of their lives I kneel before God scratching the floor weeping in agony looking towards the heavens with shouts from my heart – Why? I can almost hear whispers of, “Don’t ask God – ask Man!

Rabbi Gary Moskowitz is director of the Child Safety Initiative and can be contacted at gavriael@aol.com

39 comments:

Boruch said...

Is this the same Gary Moskowitz who advocated self-defense classes and was part of the JDL when it was relevant? If so, keep it coming.
One of the issues that we so boldly ignore is the lack of communication and cooperation between the police and the community during this time. Why did Mr. German have to go to Shomrim with his info and have a police chaplain be a go-between. As a scion of many of the long blue line - direct communication fosters respect.

Queens said...

Gary Moskowitz is a fraud.

He was kicked out of the NYPD for improprieties. Check out articles in NY tabloids about that.

He claims to have semicha from the joke yeshiva of Monsey's Rabbi Spivak. That's the guy who gives hashgocho on all kinds of unsupervised non-Jewish owned bakeries and restaurants that are open and cooking food on Shabbos. The Jewish Press's Yaakov Klass is a magid shiur at that yeshiva.

Moskowitz is a chameleon and shape shifter who keeps reinventing himself & goes running wherever he thinks he can make a few bucks.

First he was kicked out of a pulpit in the Bronx. Then he called himself "Conservadox" at a temple he led on the North Fork of Long Island's East End. He was thrown out of there too. When he was later able to find a job as assistant rabbi at a left wing modern orthodox shul in Forest Hills, he redesignated himself as orthodox. He creates a buzz about various fad issues like having armed guards in shuls after 9/11. Now he is trying to cash in on the brutal murder of Leiby Kletzky zl.

He is a loser and a carpetbagger looking to make money. Every time he creates a buzz surrounding the fad de jour, he's got an instantly created company waiting in the wings to sign up those captivated by his enablers in the media, whether it is for his karate school or Barzel Security company that trains how to use guns or now his "Child Safety Initiative" which no doubt will entail a money making angle.

Bnei Brak said...

Which yeshiva is this?

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=232571

An indictment was filed on Thursday in the Tel Aviv District Court against Rabbi Yaakov Vimer, a Bnei Brak teacher suspected of serious sexual offenses against a student.

According to the charge sheet, filed by attorney Claudia Bilenka of the Tel Aviv District Attorney’s office, the 52-year-old Vimer committed sodomy and sexual assault on the young boy over a period of two years, in 2002–2003. The victim was 12 years old when the alleged abuse started.

Vimer is alleged to have abused the boy on dozens of occasions during breaks and after school, when he would lock himself and the victim in a classroom.

Vimer held the boy against a wall, forced him to strip and sexually assaulted him, according to the indictment.

The abuse was carried out in Vimer’s house, prosecutors said.


“On dozens of occasions, [Vimer] ordered the complainant to come to his house in Bnei Brak, on various pretexts. While in the house, he forced the complainant into a room and closed the door. He forced the complainant to take off his clothes, then sexually assaulted and sodomized him,” the charge sheet reads.

“All this time, [Vimer] threatened that if the complainant told anyone about these acts, he would make sure that the complainant would be expelled from school.”

Prosecutors have requested that Vimer remain in custody until the end of the proceedings against him.

Judge Zion Kapah ordered that Vimer be held in custody until a hearing scheduled for Monday.

Bnei Brak said...

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=214358

Palestinians held for raping Bnei Brak boy

By YAAKOV LAPPIN

According to suspicions, the men, who were in Israel illegally, lured the boy with candy, before allegedly abusing him sexually and emotionally.

Four Palestinians from the West Bank in their 20s were arrested in recent days on suspicion of raping an 11-year-old boy in Bnei Brak, police announced on Tuesday.

According to suspicions, the men, who were in Israel illegally, lured the boy with candy, before allegedly abusing him sexually and emotionally. Police were alerted to the incident after the boy told his older brother about the alleged abuse, who then contacted police.

The suspects were working at an events hall in Bnei Brak, police said, adding that the alleged offenses took place in an abandoned structure near the boy’s home.

He has since been transferred to the care of social workers and is receiving psychological treatment. Police said they acted immediately to arrest the suspects before the could flee to the West Bank.

Q said...

Rudi Guiliani was one of the best crime fighters in the last fifty years. He knew well that in large rings of crime, there's a couple of big thugs who have to be taken down. Once that happens, the entire ring will implode on itself.
So get rid of:

Malkiel kotler

Lipa Margulies

Ahron Shechter

Noovaminsker

Shor/Kalmanovitch

Heinemann

Dovid Cohen

Belsky

To name just a few.

Anonymous said...

What is your case against R' Malkiel?

Which Kalmanowitz?

Queens Vaad Putz said...

http://blogs.forward.com/forward-thinking/141209/

Arthur said...

While he makes some very valid points, it is a very arrogantly written article, and could have been written with a little more sensitivity. Blaming people will not bring this poor child back. Education in these areas is very important, yes, but don't knock the good people who tried to help.........

Sceptic said...

While he has some valid points, I think that:

1. This is a bit of a vanity pc for the author who wants to promote his forthcoming book and/or get booked to speak at community child safety forums

2. Even if police were called immediately and even if they went straight to the videos I highly doubt that Leiby could have been saved

3. Conspiracy theories are not helpful and are likely wrong. Not likely that levi aron was on lookout or had an accomplice!

Tendler mindset said...

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=232809

Attorneys in former president Moshe Katsav’s appeal introduced a new line of defense Sunday, and said that there was a possibility the former president did have sex with “Alef,” the main complainant in the rape trial – but that the relations were consensual.

Katsav was convicted in December of two counts of rape, two counts of sexual harassment, an indecent act using force, and obstruction of justice. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Anonymous said...

The gedolim in Bnei Brak poskened that no one should hire Arabs because of the threat of terrorism and because they hit on girls. Molesting kids would be another another by-product. Which caterer under which hashgocho was hiring Arabs because they wanted to pay less than the going rate for Eastern European workers?

Anonymous said...

Police arrest 4 orthodox men on suspicion of paedophilia
By MELANIE LIDMAN
08/11/2011 13:13


Four ultra-Orthodox men were arrested by Jerusalem police in the past week on suspicion of sexually abusing children in their neighborhood between the ages of three and 13 over the past two to three years. According to the police, the men would lure the children into their apartments using promises of candy, money, or movies, and then would abuse the children.

The four men, who were brought to the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court on Thursday afternoon for a remand extension hearing, denied the charges. Police suspect one of the men of serial paedophilia, and believe he may have abused a large number of haredi children in his neighborhood. The investigation was ongoing.

Miriam said...

Catskills Warning: Man Tries To Lure Kids Into Car

A man, age 40-60, in a silver 4-door vehicle with tinted windows has gone to 3 different bungalow colonies in the [Monticello] area and attempted to abduct little boys.

I have confirmed the following story with the Sheriff’s department:

A man, age 40-60, in a silver 4-door vehicle with tinted windows has gone to 3 different bungalow colonies in the [Monticello] area and attempted to abduct little boys.

One 11 year old boy reported that this man asked him for help with his iPod and the boy screamed and the car quickly drove out of the colony.

The Sheriff’s department suggested that kids travel with buddies and be educated in this matter. I will continue to check in to see if this man has been caught.

In the meantime, I will let the counselors know so that they can be extra diligent in making sure no camper is ever unsupervised during day camp hours. I am going to leave it to you, the parents, to educate your children in this matter.

Stay safe,
Miriam

Don't Ruin His Life said...

"The Sheriff’s department suggested that kids travel with buddies and be educated in this matter. I will continue to check in to see if this man has been caught."

Did anyone ask the rabbonim before going to the sheriff?

Don't Ruin His Life said...

"The Sheriff’s department suggested that kids travel with buddies and be educated in this matter. I will continue to check in to see if this man has been caught."

Did anyone ask the rabbonim before going to the sheriff?

Avi L. Shafran(ovitch) said...

http://daattorah.blogspot.com/2011/08/ami-magazine-trashes-critics-of-having.html

I just love this piece in my new magazine called Ami that attacks all you idiots like UOJ and Elliot Pasik for using the Kletzky incident to turn the frum public against the Agudah.

Marvin Schit said...

I know it's called biting the hand that feeds you, but not in gantzen, because it's Agudah connected money that pays for my column. I am not paid by Jewish Week itself.

http://www.thejewishweek.com/editorial_opinion/gary_rosenblatt/it_anti_orthodox_seek_safer_community

The headline last week of an Orthodox magazine, Ami, used the word “slander” in referring to our reporting on Shomrim. Rabbi Avi Shafran, director of public affairs for Agudath Israel of America, wrote in Ami, where he is editor at large, that The Jewish Week “seems bent on viewing and portraying the charedi community with” a “jaundiced eye.”

Marvin Schick, an expert in the field of Jewish education who writes a paid-for column in The Jewish Week, goes further in his criticism, proclaiming in a blog that “Orthodoxy-bashing is alive and well” at The Jewish Week, which he said has reached a new low in offering up “a vile exercise in group libel.”

We took comfort in a letter written to Ami magazine from a reader, Faigy Klein, who noted that “the relationship between the Shomrim was not exploited, it was explored, and every thinking person is free to draw their own conclusion.”
She asserted that our report “had nothing to do with vilifying the charedi community and everything to do with the quest for the truth,” and suggested that Ami take up investigative reporting and “find out the truth and possible mistakes which were made in the Leiby Kletzky case … and the lessons learned from all this.”

Similarly, Binyamin Flamm, another reader writing to Ami, called the magazine’s report “a full frontal attack on The Jewish Week, unwarranted and irresponsible.”

He wrote: “It is far from libelous to say that within ‘strictly Orthodox’ communities there is a general sense of taking care of issues internally before going to the secular authorities, if at all. I don’t think the leaders of many of these communities would argue this point and some would be proud of it.”

Flamm concluded his letter to Ami: “It is a disservice to your readers to attack a publication that tries to shed some light on a troubling incident which deserves a thorough review.”

Chameleon said...

Not only does Gary Moskowitz shift affiliations back & forth between Orthodox and Conservative, depending where he sniffs out money to be made, but he blends in with appropriate hairdos. When he is Conservative, he has long hair covering his ears. When he is Orthodox, he gets a shorter haircut.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

The FIRST call in any criminal matter is the police!

Davening didn't help Leiby all that much, DID IT?

We don't know if the posters and massive search by Shomrim that Aron got frightened about, caused the unthinkable. I'm not second-guessing,

JUST SCREAMING OUT LOUD - IN ALLEGED CRIMINAL MATTERS GO TO THE POLICE FIRST!

Q said...

What the Aguda doesn't want you to realize is that prior to the Leiby Kletzky fiasco, their policy was ALL RABBIS and no police. After LK, they tried pulling the same garbage, but this time, it was too much for the average Moishy to take, and the more mainstream orginazations and newspapers started harrasing Zweibel and the Aguda for their coverups. In a typical contemporary Aguda move, they quickly saved their collective asses and came up with this weird "Raglayim Ledovor" pseudo-Heter, which is actually a backhanded way of them going about their coverup, because they still force you to go to Rabbis first.
Frankfurter from Ami magazine is a total and complete idiot for writing that people are using LK just to bash Aguda.
Maybe UOJ could fill the Oilam with the details of the meeting about sexual abuse that was convened by R' Avigdor Miller, and what Shechter and Perlow did then.

Paul Mendlowitz said...

Don't buy Moskowitz's book or join his organization if you don't like him ---- for God's sake --- this piece is exactly what's sick about the Agudah, the gedolei poskim, and the other criminals.

Our community is so sick -- with no relief in sight!

Boruch said...

The detractors have valid points and yet the main point, getting to the police and having the police sensitized to the communities they serve is an old issue. The police serve the city and the brass of the police force. While they are given training and they have community specialists, a cop's job is to deal with law breakers. It's not a stretch when people say a cop is one step above criminals - if you deal with the dregs, the dregs rub off on you. The Jewish community is not particularly respectful when it comes to the police authority, especially in New York City.

Did davening help Leiby? Did Hashem hear? Sure He did, we talk, He listens, then He acts. We interpret His actions. After 120 years we'll know, if it's nogeia, what happened to Leiby and why? We don't stop davening or believing in Hashem because of tragedies. Framing tragedy in the sense that Hashem runs the world strengthens our emunah and bitachon. What happened to the college girl in the Midwest? Will we ever know? And the other children who are missing, presumed dead or worse?
Gary Moskowitz is not the issue and whether he's arrogant or not -(and who says we don't need a good swift kick) - the message, regarding crime, is clear.
Hashem runs the world. Let Him. We have to do our histadlus and making a Rov into a baal mofes is avodah zorah. Ask a Rov about Yiddishkeit, seichel kumt nor fun Got.

Arthur said...

"Now some chassidishe peasants have joined with the British rioters who are Arab, shvartz and low class veisseh. The London rabbonim had to come out with an issur to get them off the streets to stop the tremendous chilul Hashem."

Regarding the above bigoted comment about "chassideshe peasants" from Honest Reporting.

"Guardian’s Obsession Exposed


The Guardian went out of its way to avoid mentioning the race, religion, ethnicity or national background of those participating in the UK riots.

But guess the exception:

The make up of the rioters was racially mixed. Most were men or boys, some apparently as young as ten.

But families and other local residents, including some from Tottenham’s Hasidic Jewish community, also gathered to watch and jeer at police.

Following a complaint from CiF Watch, The Guardian amended its article to the following:

But families and other local residents representative of the area – black, Asian and white, including some from Tottenham’s Hasidic Jewish community – also gathered to watch and jeer at police.

Evidently The Guardian couldn’t bring itself to remove the Hasidic reference, instead preferring to identify the backgrounds of others at the scene.

Yet more evidence of the singularly obnoxious obsession with anything Jewish or Israeli on the part of The Guardian.

UPDATE: The Guardian’s Corrections page, referring to the description of the mix of people on the streets of Tottenham, explains:

In keeping with Guardian editorial guidelines, a more detailed picture of the mix should have been given to specify some of the other groups there."

Phoney Island Ave said...

Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel [pages 30-31 Mishpacha Magazine August, 3 2011]

Agudath Israel of America recently clarified its position on when one is halachically permitted to or required to report suspicions of any form of child abuse to authorities. That clarification led to further debate on a potential clash between halachah and secular law. Agudah's executive vice president, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, discussed this further with Mishpacha's news editor; Binyamin Rose

Would the Agudah support the formation of or put resources into a hotline or a board of rabbanim with the knowledge and expertise to guide people who suspect abuse?

We are definitely looking into this. I had a discussion with a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah about how we should be following up.

People are concerned that incidents of abuse have been swept under the carpet and that victims were even hushed up by prominent community members. Since this feeling has gained validation in people's minds, is there anything in the new Agudah guidelines that alleviates these concerns?

To the extent that the hushing up that may have taken place (the putz won't admit it happened) was a byproduct of halachic concerns about mesirah, I think the teshuvos of the gedolei haposkim that we brought out in our statement should provide the framework that will at least minimize such instances (except that he mistranslates Rav Elyashev's psak to still make it almost impossible to be able to report). We can no longer hide behind a blanket prohibition against reporting to the authorities if the gedolei haposkim are saying you should report to the authorities. That was one of the reasons we decided to publish our statement, even though we knew it would generate some backlash and controversy (disingeneously makes it sound like the Agudah is now taking a Liberal position).

It is clear that allegations of abuse can destroy a person’s reputation and family forever, and that people have misused the system to exact revenge. ls this due to a flaw in the system, and is it correctible?

One of the advantages of the raglayim l'davar standard is that the halachic authorities are telling us you need to be very careful before you report. If it is eizeh dimyon, as in the phrase Rav Elyashiv used- mere conjecture – or if you have some vague sense, that's not enough. Part of what Rav Elyashiv and the other poskim are telling us is, this is dinei nefashos on both sides of the equation and we have to find a balance. We are concerned about some of the statements made by a few advocates for the victims, because there seems to be a lack of appreciation that sometimes allegations of this nature can be destructive to people who are entirely innocent. (Zweibel is lying as the poskim say that even sofek rodef can be killed)

Is there any community-wide effort to raise awareness among children and parents, or is this just up to devoted volunteers?

Over the last number of years, this issue has come out of the closet and has become a part of our community's consciousness. The Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah took a step, which would have been unimaginable 10 or 15 years ago, to encourage parents to talk to their children about good touch and bad touch and what to do if someone touches them inappropriately. There are seminars for summer camp personnel on this subject. I don't know that we are where we need to be yet, but I think very meaningful movement has been made, and further steps are under consideration. (This last paragraph is sick)

sounds weird said...

Someone mentioned last week Shalom Storch and his various failed yeshivas and molester cover ups with Rabbi Kleiman. After he gave up Nesivos Or in Lakewood he ran a place for one year called Machon Aluf Binah that trains in the "science of teaching and classroom management". Pretty good that someone never successful himself becomes a guru.

http://www.hypnosis.edu/hypnotherapists/joseph-tropper/

One of the graduates of the machon is a >hypnotist< named Tropper!

http://www.linkedin.com/in/rabbishalomstorch

And now we can have even more "faith" in Torah Umesorah who have been employing Storch as a "resident mentor" for the last few years.

Anonymous said...

http://chinuch.org/convention/convention_brochure.pdf

Torah Umesorah even made Storch a speaker at their convention. Was he brought on board when Shea Fishman was still there?

Anonymous said...

Rav Doniel Eidensohn writes:

Take a look at Bava Metzia 83a - the result of turning the Jewish thief over to the Romans was death based solely on circumstantial evidence - yet he did it & the gedolim pasken like this gemora.

Minchas Yitzchok 8:148: Is it permitted to report to police reckless drivers who are a danger? Concerning motorists who drive in a manner which endangers all those on the road. Is it permitted to report them? This will result in monetary punishment or cancellation of their license or incarceration in jail & it serves as a deterrent to actions which endanger others.

Answer: Even though halacha prohibits causing a Jew to be given bodily or financially to secular justice, nevertheless a Jew who endangers others is not included in this prohibition. This is explicitly stated by Rambam (Hilchos Chovel u’Mazik 8:11) & Shulchan Aruch (CM 388:12): “All those who disturb the community & cause it distress it's permitted to give them over to the government to be punished by beating, prison or fines” It's obvious those who drive carelessly & wild, endanger lives of all those near them. We in fact have been commanded to avoid danger & prevent it. Perhaps by taking actions against these drivers it will prevent danger & reduce accidents.

Dayan Silman says we posken like the shita that sofek rodef can be killed. There's a principle that a person's life takes precedence over others

Bottom line, a person is allowed to defend himself & others against perceived danger - even if it's possible he's mistaken. And it doesn't require beis din to decide.

See in particular Dayan Silman on sofek rodef - an issue the Aguda claims is irrelevant!

(Yeshurun vol 15 page 662): Commentaries explain the obvious reason for not needing witnesses - they could rely even on circumstantial evidence because this was not a court procedure to punish wrongdoers. Rather it's either done to obey the law of the kingdom or was to stop someone from sin. Rashba is cited in Beis Yosef that witnesses are not needed in such a case". That's because we're concerned only with the truth in order to stop harm & to take protective measures against iniquity. Furthermore according to what I said that even sofek rodef is permitted to kill, it's obvious it's permitted for us to take protective action even if we have unresolved doubts.

Rabbi Gottesman said the Aguda poskens like the Yam Shel Shlomo. Who, contrary to the Aguda position, does NOT require a rav but says a distinguished person should report to the police.

Dayan Silman (Yeshurun 15): The decision to report to police is not given to everyone to decide. Rather as the Yam Shel Shlomo said it's given to a rabbi OR distinguished layman who will judge objectively.

The issue is to be objective - this is what Rav Eliashiv states we don't want reporting because of fantasy or vendetta.

In contrast if you read the Aguda position you see the prime consideration is a rabbi must moderate - even if not an expert & not objective.

As Dayan Silman notes - if the person is in fact innocent, it's likely the government will determine this fact. If you think your house is being burgarlized - you don't need to ask a rav to call police. If you suspect the Jew next to you is carrying a bomb - you don't need to call Rav Eliashiv for permission to call police.

The rabbis have a very poor record of protecting victims & stopping abuse - as even R Zweibel acknowledges.

Explain why I need to ask a rabbi when there's mandated reporting. R' Moshe Feinstein clearly states that mandated reporting - as seen from BM 83 - must be complied with.

Also why does R Zweibel insist there can be a situation that a rabbi can tell you not to comply with mandated reporting - what circumstances justify this?

Anonymous said...

continued

In sum, R Zweibel & the Aguda are playing a shell game. This issue has very clear psakim - which enable compliance with seichel & mandated reporting - without violating halacha.

Claiming only a rabbi can determine whether there's raglayim l'davar - is to maintain rabbinic control. It is not justified by the poor record of protecting victims from sexual abuse which Rav Eliashiv has declared pikuach nefesh.

The Aguda is clinging desperately to control of the situation & is being forced to relinquish their grip finger by finger. It's not the Aguda which has taken the lead in this area but rather the layman - including bloggers

Rav Eliashiv (Divrei Sinai page 45): See Panim Me’eros 2:155 concerning our issue in which someone found an open chest from which much was stolen. There's reasonable circumstantial evidence that one worker was the thief. He was asked whether it was permissible to inform secular authorities & this will lead him to confess … Panim Me’eros concludes, “It is improper to turn a Jew over to authorities as our Sages say they will treat him like a trapped animal & there's concern if he confesses they'll kill him.” From here it's clear this ruling isn't applicable in our times. Therefore it's permitted to turn to police.

Rav Eliashiv (Kovetz Teshuvos 3:231) If someone is sexually abusing a boy or girl in which we can’t stop him from continuing his evil is it permissible to notify government authorities? Answer: Rashba 3:393 states: “My view is if the witnesses are believed by the judges, it's permitted to punish the accused financially or physically depending on what the judges think appropriate to be beneficial to society. Because if we insist on doing only what's specified by Torah law & not to punish except as specified, the world will end up destroyed. That's because elementary rules of functioning society will be breached & ruined. It's established practice to punish those who physically harm others. Every community makes judgments in order to preserve it & this is true in every generation & place according to the needs of the times. For example we see Sanhedrin 58b that Rav Huna would amputate hands as punishment. Therefore these judges you referred to who punish the accused not in accord with Torah law – if they saw need for it to preserve society – they have correctly acted according to halacha. This is when there's a specific order from the king as in the case of R’ Eliezar ben R’ Shimon (Bava Metzia 83a).” We learn from the Rashba when action is needed for tikun olam, sages have the ability in every generation to preserve society & to repair breaches – even when there isn’t a specific order from the king. Ritva (Bava Metzia 83b) stated this order of the king is “if the king says to capture criminals, even though the government will judge without witnesses & warning as required by Torah law & there's no Sanhedrin – it's still permitted since he's the agent of the king. Since it's the law of the land to execute without witnesses & warning as it states [Shmuel 2’ 1:5-16] Dovid killed the Amaleki ger who acceded to Shaul’s request to kill him - the agent of the king is like him.” However, for tikun olam it's not needed to be ordered by the king to act. However, it's permitted to notify the government only if certain the accused has been sexually abusing children. Informing in such a case is clearly tikun olam. However in a case where it's merely conjecture or suspicion, if we permit calling authorities - not only would it not be tikun olam but it would destroy society. That's because it's possible allegations are made solely because of bitterness the student has against his teacher or unfounded fantasy. As a result of false allegations the accused will be placed in a situation for which death is better than life, even though he's innocent. Therefore I do not see any justification for calling authorities in such circumstances.

Anonymous said...

continued

Bava Metzia (83b): R’ Eleazar ben R’ Shimon once met a Roman official who job was to catch thieves. He asked him what he was looking for? He suggested that perhaps the Roman official caught innocent people and let the guilty escape. The Roman official said he did the best he could but he was required by the kings command to catch thieves. R’ Eleazar told him how to catch thieves. R’ Eleazar told him to go into a tavern at the fourth hour of the day. “If you see a man dozing over a cup of wine you should asked him what his profession is. If he is a scholar than you can assume that he woke very early for his studies. If it is a worker than he must have gotten up early to do his work… If he doesn’t have these excuses for being tired than you should arrest because he is a thief.” The Roman government heard about this conversation and they decided that since R’ Eleazar had such good advice he should be given the job of catching thieves and he was duly appointed to the task. R’ Yehoshua ben Karcha was upset with R’ Eleazar and sent him a message, “Vinegar son of wine how much longer are you going to deliver the people of our G d to be killed?” R’ Eleazar replied, “I am just weeding the thorns from the vineyard.” R’ Yehoshua replied, “Let the owner of the vineyard himself [G-d] come and weed out the thorns.” One day he met a certain laundryman who called R’ Eleazar, “Vinegar son of wine.” R’ Eleazar said that since he is so rude he must be a wicked person so he gave the order to arrest him. After R’ Eleazar had calmed down he went to have the laundryman released from jail – but he was not able….Then the Romans hanged the laundryman and R’ Eleazar stood under the gallows and wept. His students told him not to be upset by the laundryman’s death because he and his son had sexual intercourse with a betrothed maiden on Yom Kippur.

Rav Wosner (Shevet HaLevi 2:58): Concerning the issue of reporting the tax cheat to the government see Bava Metzia (83b) concerning R’ Eliezer ben R' Shimon. The gemora reports that he reported thieves to the government. This is proof that where the government has authorized a Jew to report thieves that it is permitted. Even though he was criticized “how long are you handing the people of our G d to be killed” – because the punishment for thieves in those days was death. This is relevant also for a similar criticism from Eliyahu Hanavi to R’ Yishmael which is reported in that gemora. However the actual halacha seems that even when it results in the death penalty it is considered “the law of the land is the law.” See the Ritva on that gemora which is found in the Shita Mekubetzes. Also look at the Responsa of the Alshech who states that a person is not considered an informant for those things required by the law of the land.It is also obvious that this is not comparable to the case of R’ Eleazar ben R’ Shimon (Bava Metzia 83a) which involved danger to the person arrested. In contrast in our case here when they will just punish the person arrested and there is never a threat to life.

Gerrorist said...

http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/74033/unmolested/print/

Avrohom Mondrowitz

A charismatic & eloquent member of the Ger Hasidic sect, the 63 year old claimed to be both a rabbi & Columbia-trained psychologist. Though he was neither, for years he ran a psychology practice out of his basement, as well as a school for troubled youth. He is one of the worst sexual predators in Brooklyn history.

In 1984, Mondrowitz was accused of sexually abusing 4 Italian boys. Since then, the number of Mondrowitz’s victims has been estimated at close to 100 - making him, shockingly, an average pedophile. But given the shame & secrecy surrounding sexual abuse, and his broad network of contacts, the number of victims could actually be much higher. Moshe Rosenbaum, one of the activists who first aired concerns about Mondrowitz in the late 1980s, estimates the number to be 300.

But that would require a case to be brought against him—which, for a variety of troubling reasons, has never happened.

This fall, the New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, will hear arguments pertaining to the release of documents about Mondrowitz. Michael Lesher, an attorney representing several Mondrowitz victims, asked the Brooklyn DA for the documents under New York’s Freedom of Information Law in 2007. A trial court initially ruled in favor of Lesher’s clients, but that verdict was overturned unanimously last year on appeal.

The fact that the Court of Appeals will hear the case is a significant victory for Lesher, who believes DA Charles Hynes stopped pursuing Mondrowitz, who’d fled to Israel, because of pressure from ultra-Orthodox voters. Although it seems Mondrowitz could've been extradited as early as 1989, Hynes waited 2 decades, until 2007, to launch the extradition process (UOJ GETS RESULTS!). Jerry Schmetterer, spokesperson for the DA, said if Mondrowitz ever returns, he will be arrested & tried. “We don’t reveal files on open cases & courts have upheld that. I know we've handled this properly.”

Lesher disagrees & is looking for a smoking gun to prove his theory.

Mondrowitz’s father was a popular figure in the community, both a scholar who studied in the Mir yeshiva & businessman in charge of several nursing homes. According to a family friend, the senior Mondrowitz was part of the group of Mir students who escaped Poland before WWII through Shanghai. Avrohom, who was born in 1947, moved to New York in the late 1970s to be close to the Ger Hasidic community in Boro Park.

Part of Mondrowitz’s appeal relied on the stigma toward mental health professionals in the Orthodox community. “He had this reputation of being a wonderful guy & very helpful,” said Deborah Dienstag, a physician who works with the Orthodox community. “People don’t want to go to psychologists, since there’s stigma. There's no stigma going to rabbis.” According to Jeff Dion, of the National Center for Victims of Crime, certain abusers set themselves up as pillars of the community, targeting victims who are troubled, outcasts, or with drug & alcohol abuse problems. If a victim then chooses to disclose acts, he said, “it becomes the word of a ‘bad kid’ against the pillar of the community.”

Mondrowitz’s star rose. He hosted a popular program called Life Is for Living on the now-defunct radio station WNYN. “Don’t picture this man living in isolation or living a double life,” said Lesher. “He was very industrious bringing victims to him & integrating himself into the institutional structure. He founded a school. He got victims through the school. He ran a psychology practice and promoted it with a radio program. He got 100s of kids.”

Jacob Perlow said...

http://www.tabletmag.com/news-and-politics/74033/unmolested/print/

A principal of a yeshiva who asked not to be named found 3 of his students had been molested by Mondrowitz, but the students didn't want to press charges. He then called a meeting with Agudath Israel. The meeting took place at the house of Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, who leads the Novominsk Hasidim. The principal said Aguda were horrified, but didn't go to police. A ruling in 1986 — by which time Mondrowitz had fled — signed by Perlow & Rabbi Svei stated Mondrowitz had been “abusing & damaging children.”

“Great Rabbis & Roshei Yeshiva heard 1st hand from victims & were horrified of terrible crimes which cause hair to stand on end,” the letter said. “Anyone who helps or defends him will be liable for his actions & an accomplice to his crimes. For this, punishment is severe.”

Yet the principal believes many people knew before the meeting but kept silent. “I can't believe anyone didn’t know before. If I were betting, I would bet 100% people knew.”

Rabbi Yosef Blau, spiritual adviser at YU, had an even less charitable view of the response. “This is whitewashing. Yes, they didn’t want him abusing kids, but did they do anything? They said get away from kids, but did they tell people to cooperate? How come not a single Jewish kid cooperated with police? Yes, there was a meeting, they were shocked & then what?”

Blau points to several other notorious sexual abusers who also fled. “When it came to crunch time, they didn’t tell anyone to go to police, they thought having Mondrowitz go to Israel was good enough.”

In 1985, Mondrowitz was indicted on 8 counts of child abuse & 5 counts of sodomy, but 12 hours before detectives arrived at his house, he fled, first to Chicago, then to Canada & finally to Israel.

Activists believe he was tipped off.

Lesher believes a network of interests kept the DA from extradition. “You’re talking about gedolim & institutions that gave a blank check to Mondrowitz. That may be too much for the community to tolerate.” Lesher said he obtained documents from the Justice Dept that report Hynes’ staff requested the Mondrowitz case be closed in 1993. Meanwhile, Mondrowitz lived freely in Israel & was naturalized.

In 2007, the extradition treaty between the US & Israel was further amended & Mondrowitz was arrested. A district court in Jerusalem ruled in favor of extradition, but Mondrowitz successfully challenged that. The case went before the Israeli Supreme Court, which in 2010 ruled against extradition, stating it would be impossible for Mondrowitz to have a fair trial after much time had passed. Activists believe that decision was politically motivated.

“Why did Israel protect a pedophile?” asked a blog. “You have to look at Israeli politics. There's a party Agudath Israel controlled by the Ger Rebbe. It became the major part of UTJ,” a haredi political party. “Each successive government needs haredi politicians with the coalition.” Just as Mondrowitz victims had been denied justice in the US, they would be denied justice in Israel, for the same intersection of politics with the judicial.

The Brooklyn DA’s long years of inaction were the chief reason why extradition failed, according to Mondrowitz lawyer Eitan Maoz. In 1988 the law was amended & the DA notified, but they didn't do anything until 2007. Even Lesher thought entirely blaming the DA to be ridiculous. “It’s preposterous to blame the DA that Israel & America didn't negotiate a new extradition treaty fast enough,” he told me. “I don’t say that as a defender of Hynes — he did plenty to bury the case — but it isn’t his fault the treaty didn’t change sooner.”

Mondrowitz lives in a fashionable Jerusalem neighborhood. He turns 64 in Nov. In all likelihood, he’ll spend the rest of his life as a free man, unmolested. After the Israeli Supreme Court ruling, the only route to extradition would be an appeal, which was not made.

Anonymous said...

They are phoneys. Rabbis hear of more cases of abuse than anyone else in our community.

Agudah's policy is as follows:

1. One should consult Rabbis before going to the police when in question of a suspicion of abuse.

2. Rabbis (and other clergy) should not be mandated reporters in New York like they are in other states, so that the Rabbis can tell people not to report and not risk breaking the law themselves.

All other religious groups support mandating clergy in New York. Even the Catholic Church! The Protestants, the Muslims, the Reform, and Conservative Jews, and even the Modern Orthodox. The only ones to oppose it are Agudah. Their rationale is an even bigger Chillul Hashem. They say that it is unconstitutional and a violation of our freedom of religion to force rabbis to stop protecting molesters and hand them over to the police. They are comparing this "religious liberty" to the ability to perform Milah, Shechita, keep Shabbos, etc. when in fact it is the government mandating not only child safety, but something which is the actual halacha according to Rav Elyashiv, Reb Shlomo Zalman Aeurbach, Rav Sternbuch, Rav Waldenberg, etc.

It is a very clever way to protect frum child predators, Agudah's overall aim. They seek to cover up all crime in the frum community including their own crimes of aiding and abetting molesters like Mondrowitz, Wainhaus, Mattis Weinberg, Reichman, Kolko, Eiseman, Tendler, Lebovitz, Abramson, Erps, Colmer, Yossi Kolko, Gelbwaks, all the molesters covered up for by the Lakewood Beis Din and the "special" Beis Din in Chicago, etc. etc. etc.

How many more lives will be lost until the rabbis do Teshuva? How many more innocent kids hurt? How many more abandoing Judaism? When will parents learn to think for themselves and to stop blindly following rabbis?

Anonymous said...

By Michael Lesher • The Brooklyn Paper

Whether private, Orthodox Jewish “Shomrim” (“guards” in Hebrew) may serve any useful function is not the question. Let us assume they do. The question – which ought to answer itself – is whether New York City taxpayers should be helping to fund organizations that 1) encroach on the purview of official law enforcement agencies, 2) favor the interests of one specific community, and 3) may well suppress criminal complaints for ostensibly religious reasons.

The discrimination inherent in public funding of Shomrim is a matter of fact, not opinion. Jewish groups in New York are getting far more money through City Council than those affiliated with any other religion, even though Jews make up only about 22 percent of the city’s population. (Catholics, by contrast, make up more than 60 percent.) Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has said that “favoritism” is “endemic” in such a system. Clearly it is.

What’s more, the mission of groups like Shomrim is itself discriminatory. The police force is far from perfect, but unlike Shomrim patrols it is charged with protecting the entire city, not just a privileged slice of its population. And that’s precisely why everyone in the city may justly be expected to fund the NYPD. The same cannot be said for private vigilantes who, in the best of circumstances, represent only Orthodox Jewish communities. And that tells only part of the story: two years ago, the Jewish Week reported that an influential Orthodox rabbi (who still advises the state-funded, Orthodox-run Ohel Children’s Home) taught publicly that Jews may steal from non-Jews “as long as one doesn’t get caught, according to people in attendance.” I wouldn’t want my tax dollars to support private “law enforcement” that may be guided by such a view; are non-Jews likely to feel differently?

Apart from favoritism, religion-based pseudo-police are flawed from the start by their inevitable application of a specialized religious agenda to matters of public policy. Many of the rabbis and lay leaders who dominate Shomrim groups do not believe Jewish criminals should be prosecuted by non-Jews. In 2000, after a Hasidic family went to police over alleged abuse of their young son by another Orthodox Jew, some 50 rabbis signed a public announcement in a Yiddish-language Brooklyn newspaper authorizing the murder of anyone who “informs” on a fellow Jew to secular authorities.

I wouldn’t try to dictate anyone else’s religious beliefs. But taxpayers have the right to demand that their money isn’t used to promote insular religious principles that violate basic law enforcement policy.

Michael Lesher is a writer, lawyer and Orthodox Jew. He is a contributor to “Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals.”

UOJ Gets Results said...

New York - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a new law to require directors of summer camps to report known or suspected child abuse to state authorities.

“Those who work with our children at summer camps are well positioned to notice the signs of child abuse,” Governor Cuomo said. “By requiring camp directors to report suspected child maltreatment wherever it may occur, we are stepping up our fight against child abuse and protecting children across New York State. I thank Senator Martins and Assemblyman Englebright for their work on this much-needed legislation.”

The new law adds camp directors, including those of overnight camps, summer day camps and traveling summer day camps, to the list of persons who are mandated to report known or suspected child abuse or maltreatment to the Statewide Central Register (SCR) maintained by the Office of Children and Family Services. Previously, camp directors were required to report allegations of child abuse only while the child is at the camp. This bill expands the obligation to mandate SCR reports for known or suspected child abuse wherever it may occur and protects camp directors who report suspected maltreatment in good faith from potential civil or criminal liability.

Senator Jack Martins said, “Our children’s safety is our top priority and this law will help authorities identify suspected child abuse cases. New York already requires many different professionals to report child abuse, and it makes sense for camp counselors in their position of supervision of our children to be added to that list of mandated reporters. I praise Governor Cuomo for signing this law and his leadership on issues that protect children across New York from harm.”

Assemblyman Steve Englebright said, “Child abuse prevention starts with people speaking up when they suspect mistreatment is occurring. This common sense law extends existing requirements to add camp directors to the list of professionals who interact on a regular basis with our children who are mandated to report suspected abuse. I thank Governor Cuomo for signing this bill and together we will continue to fight for the safety of our children.”

Ombudsman said...

Zweibel is full of it. How does he have the nerve to say to say it would have been "unimaginable" for parents to warn their kids of being touched inappropriately "just 10 or 15 years ago"??? As a musmach and lawyer he is a disgrace for saying such untruthful words. It was 25 years ago in 1986 that the Novarhoker beis din in Boro Park warned parents in a kol korey. The Agudah is course fully aware of the kol korey but pretends it doesn't exist because of their cover up for Mondrowitz. I am also aware of Yiddishe parents warning their kids as far back as the early 1970s because of goyishe molesters in the gass arein.

5 Towns said...

Does anyone know what Rabbi Yankel Bender's involvement was in the Kolko affair? I know he was at the first meeting of bobbleheads which produced no results. Someone is wondering if Bender's behavior is a reason to avoid his yeshiva, Darchei Torah. Then there is Yeshiva Ketana of Long Island which is run by Rabbi Bajnon, a relative of Rabbi Pinchos Scheinberg. One of Yudi Kolko's kids is in charge of the motzaei Shabbos program there. Even if you turn to the modern orthodox, you can't escape the shysters. DRS yeshiva is named for the 3 crooks Davis & his sons in law Renov & Stahler. They think putting stolen money into building a yeshiva kashers the thievery.

Vos zogt UOJ? said...

A blogger called M.O. Kvetcher alleges that the cover up racket for Mondrowitz went way up to high ranking Federal government officials including even President Reagan.

Moishe Scheinerman said...

"the Kolko affair? I know he was at the first meeting of bobbleheads which produced no results."

Who are you calling a bobblehead? C'mere and say that!

Anonymous said...

Check out R' Shlomo Zalman Auerbach's teshuva in Minchas Shlomo, siman 7, anaf 5. He seems to debunk another Agudah created myth. The Agudah has been claiming you cannot say anything about molesters because the busha is too great for his family members to bear. R' Shlomo Zalman appears to bring raayos that exposing an evildoer overrides such concerns.