Houses of worship and a person’s experience of their faith should be free of sexual abuse.
Shockingly,
when victims of child sex abuse by religious leaders and other
perpetrators come forward to seek justice and stop abusers from causing
more harm, they are blocked by current New York State law. New York
ranks among the very worst in the nation -- alongside Alabama, Michigan
and Mississippi -- for how the courts and criminal justice system treat
survivors of child sex abuse.
Mental
health experts know it can take decades for a victim of this abuse to
overcome the fear, shame, and trauma to be able to come forward to
confront their abuser, but our current law allows survivors of abuse to
pursue criminal or civil justice only until the age of 23 -- a statute
of limitations of, in some cases, only five years.
A
bill called the Child Victims Act can change that at the upcoming
session. It will extend or eliminate the statute of limitations so
victims come forward and perpetrators can be prosecuted, helping victims
get justice and taking unknown abusers off the streets. April and May
are critical months for clergy to demand that officials introduce and
vote for the bill.
Right
now, many Republican members of the New York legislature are opposing
the bill. Some religious institutions are pressuring legislators to
reject the bill because it could mean holding them accountable.
Religious groups and others are threatening to thwart the re-election of
members if they pass the bill.
Clergy
for Child Victims is mobilizing faith leaders to sign this petition to
the governor letting the governor, state assembly, and state senate know
that we stand behind the governor's support of the bill. On May 9, a
group of clergy will make a lobbying trip to Albany to try and get new
legislation passed before budget negotiations start.
New York State's laws protecting
survivors of child sex abuse are broken. The New York State Legislature
must eliminate the Statute of Limitations for child victims of sex
abuse, enable those who were denied justice the chance to pursue it, and
thereby help get abusers off the streets.
Why is this important?
Jennie's life changed when her coach began molesting
her at age 15, trauma that has impacted every area of her life. But
like so many victims of child sex abuse, it wasn’t until many years
later, when she was 25, that she understood what had happened to her.
Under New York State law, the window for pursuing legal action for child
sex abuse is only 5 years after one turns 18. Not only can Jennie not
pursue justice; her abuser remains on the streets.
New York State ranks alongside Alabama, Michigan and Mississippi, as
among the worst states in the U.S. in how its courts and criminal
justice system treat survivors of child sex abuse.
Shockingly, victims brave enough to come forward to seek justice and
stop abusers from causing more harm, are blocked by New York State law
because current state law allows survivors to pursue criminal or civil
justice for a maximum of just five years after they turn age 18. But
mental health experts know it can take decades for a victim of child
sexual abuse to overcome the fear, shame, and trauma before they are
able to come forward to confront their abuser. Perpetrators can continue
to abuse if not stopped.
Many of us faith leaders have seen the wounds caused by sexual
predators; wounds whose pain cannot be overstated, wounds that may never
be fully healed. We also painfully acknowledge that rather than being a
source of healing for victims of child sexual abuse, religious
institutions have too often been a part of the problem. It's now time to
be a part of the solution.
Please join us in urging New York to join states like California,
Delaware, Minnesota, Hawaii, Illinois and Florida that have recently
passed legislation extending or eliminating the statute of limitations
and creating windows for survivors to come forward. This legislation
will no doubt bring justice and importantly, prevent further abuse. When
similar legislation was passed in California, over 300 previously
unknown abusers were identified.
Reforming NY State’s Statute of Limitations makes all our children
safer and we urge you to join us today as we prepare to take this issue
to Albany.
How it will be delivered
Right now legislators in Albany are debating
the 2017 Child Victim's Act which will repeal the Statute of Limitations
for civil and criminal cases and create an opportunity for victims who
were denied justice to pursue it. We urge you to sign our petition
today. We will deliver the signatures to the Governor, State Assembly
and State Senate to encourage them to pass the Child Victim's Act.
Dear Friends,
I just signed the campaign: New York State Must Stop Failing Victims of Child Sex Abuse
It would mean the world to me if you could also add your name. Each of
us can help build the momentum we need to bring about a more just world.
Will you join me by taking action on this campaign?
Dozens Arrested in Ultra-Orthodox Newspaper Extortion Scheme - NO YESHIVA - NO ARMY - NO JOBS - NO ETHICS - NO DECENCY - NO EDUCATION - NO SKILLS - JUST A BUNCH OF DIRTY CRIMINAL BUMS!
Israel Police arrested Tuesday 28 suspects on suspicion of being
involved in a harassment and extortion with threats scheme against
executives of large private and government companies, in an attempt to
force them to advertise in the ultra-Orthodox newspaper Hapeles.
The police this morning carried out a search at the newspaper’s offices and arrested senior editorial staff.
The newspaper is affiliated with Rabbi Shmuel Auerbach, whose
Jerusalem faction leads demonstrations against Haredi conscription into
the IDF.
Companies targeted by the scheme include Coca Cola, Shufersal, Materna, Tara, Strauss, Tnuva and Optica Halperin.
In the last six months, police conducted an undercover investigation
against the extensive operation that concluded last night with a wave of
arrests throughout the country. Police also visited the headquarters of
Hapeles in Jerusalem and confiscated computers and other multimedia
devices.
Some 250 police officers participated in the arrest operation that
took place in the early morning hours of Tuesday. Suspects were detained
in Jerusalem, Bnei Brak, Modi’in Illit, Ashdod, Rekhasim and Hadera.
Several of the suspects are expected to be arraigned later Tuesday in the Rishon LeZion Magistrate’s Court.
During the arrests, police were attacked in several locations by
crowds of residents who threw objects and shouted abuse at officers. In
the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem, protestors blocked roads with
dumpsters.
The investigation began after police received dozens of complaints
from company executives who alleged that they were receiving constant
harassment by phone, email and fax.
According to police, suspects presented themselves as those
representing a large section of the public that “felt deprived” that the
companies were not advertising in a newspaper that represents them,
such as Hapeles.
At this point, suspects would begin a ceaseless campaign of calls,
faxes and email to the same company executives and their families
leading to severe disruption, not only in the company’s normal
activities, but also those of executives’ families.
In some cases, hundreds and thousands of calls, emails and faxes
would be received every day, with the goal being to coerce the companies
to advertise.
According to police, the operation was so extensive that suspects
operated a special call line in which dozens of workers would
clandestinely receive instructions and details related to the people
they were supposed to harass.
Shufersal CEO Itzhak Aberkohen said, “It was the same group of people
who would harass every day for weeks from the early hours of the
morning until the late hours of the night. It got to the point where we
had to turn off the phones or put them on silent. It interfered greatly
with our personal and family relationships.”
According to another executive, “When I was answering and trying to
have a conversation, some of the people were polite and some really
threatened me. From the other side of the line were children and adults
who cursed, screamed and screamed.”
Another executive said that apart from threatening the workers, they would also call their parents at unusual hours.
“My mother told me that one morning they called her and said to her,
‘Your son is taking a side and you will pay the price for it, the
company will also pay a personal price,'” said the executive.
Orthodox Families Won't Out The Mohels Who Gave Babies Herpes, City Says
Four families aren't cooperating with the Health Department's investigation, according to a spokesman.
WILLIAMSBURG — A Health Department
investigation into who infected four infant boys with herpes
during Orthodox Jewish circumcision ceremonies has been thwarted because
the community — including the children's parents — refuses
to cooperate, the city said.
Only two of six families whose babies contracted herpes since 2015 from metzitzah b'peh, a
religious rite that calls for a trained devotee, or mohel, to clean
circumcision wounds by oral suction, have provided the names of the
practitioner, according to Health Department spokesman Christopher
Miller.
"Unfortunately, some in the community are resistant to sharing the
name of the mohels," Miller said. "This is a very insular community.
This is a very religious ritual." The city ordered the two mohels who were identified to stop performing metzitzah b'peh in mid-March and they could face civil and criminal fines and punishment if they don't comply, under a revised city policy. They have to test negative for herpes simplex antibodies before the city will rescind the order, Miller said.
The men were asked informally by the Health Department not to perform
ritual when the city found out about the infections of two babies in
December of 2015 and July of 2016, Miller said.
Health Department officials said they were able to track the
herpes infection to the mohels because of the timeline of when and where
herpes blisters appear on the newborn. Because they appear in the
genital region five to seven days after the baby's eighth day of life,
when the bris takes place, health officials pinpoint the mohel as source
of the virus.
A herpes infection in an infant can cause brain damage and even death.
Orthodox leaders have said they were cooperating with authorities, but questioned how pervasive the problem is.
Rabbi David Niederman, the head of United Jewish Organizations of Williamsburg and North Brooklyn, an umbrella organization for the area's Orthodox community, said in an earlier interview that they were fully cooperating with the city,
though he highlighted, "the sheer numbers of metzitzah b’peh which are
done annually here in the city and in the Jewish community all over the
world,” where no baby boys contract herpes.
“This is a religious practice that has been going on for thousands of years," he said.
“We have been working with different authorities and we are ready…to
determine who the cause is. If anybody is the cause, not only will the
community actually ban him, that person himself would refrain..to ensure
that anybody who infects a child is taken off the practice,” Niederman
said in an earlier interview.
He could not be reached for comment Tuesday because of the Passover holiday.
A source privy to discussions about the infection issue, who asked
not to be named because he was not authorized to speak about it, said
that the community was skeptical that the mohels had caused the
infections and believed that Health Department officials just wanted to
end metzitzah b'peh.
"That’s why we’re not willing to give out the mohels. We know the
city is going to ban them without giving them due process,” the source
said. "There is not proof that they actually infected the baby."
“It has to be proven, not blind accusation," the source said. "We
believe there is a group of overzealous officials in the Department of
Health whose goal is banning the practice entirely. It's just a step for
them."
"The health of infants is our primary concern, which is why [we]
recommend against direct oral suction all together," Miller said.
Health experts said they are confident that the mohels are infecting the infants, though they admit definitive proof is elusive.
The agency could, theoretically, outsource the genetic sequencing of
viral samples to research laboratories, according to Dr. Stephen Morse, a
professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Medical Center.
But, he added, "I think, based on location of the lesions and
time, the simplest hypothesis" — in this case, transmission via
metzitzah b'peh — "seems to be the most likely."
Whether or not mohels are the definitive source of the infection, if
they test positive for herpes simplex, they shouldn't perform the ritual
either way, Miller said.
"Anyone infected with [herpes] simply should not be placing his mouth
on an infant’s open wound because of the risk of infection,” Miller
said.
There are dozens of well-known mohels within Brooklyn's Orthodox
community, often doctors or rabbis, who are trained in the sacred ritual
of metzitzah b’peh.
We need to talk to kids about the risks they face online, says
information security expert Sebastián Bortnik. In this talk, Bortnik
discusses the issue of "grooming" — the sexual predation of children by
adults on the internet — and outlines the conversations we need to start
having about technology to keep our kids safe. (In Spanish with English
subtitles)
[This talk contains graphic content.
Viewer discretion is advised.]
0:15
This is Nina Rodríguez's Facebook profile.This person had three different profilesand 890 kids between 8 and 13 years old
among her friends list.These are excerpts of a chat
with one of those kids.This is an exact copy of the chat.It's part of the case file.This kid started sending private photosuntil his family realized
what was going on.The police report and subsequent
investigation lead them to a house.This was the girl's bedroom.Nina Rodríguez was actually
a 24-year-old manthat used to do this with lots of kids.
1:12
Micaela Ortega was 12 years oldwhen she went to meet
her new Facebook friend,also 12."Rochi de River," was her name.She actually met Jonathan Luna,
who was 26 years old.When they finally caught him,he confessed that he killed the girl
because she refused to have sex with him.He had four Facebook profilesand 1,700 women on his contact list;90 percent of them
were under 13 years old.
1:51
These are two different
cases of "grooming":an adult contacts a kid
through the internet,and through manipulation or lying,
leads that kid into sexual territory —from talking about sexto sharing private photos,recording the kid using a webcamor arranging an in-person meeting.This is grooming.This is happening, and it's on the rise.The question is: What are we going to do?Because, in the meantime, kids are alone.They finish dinner, go to their rooms,close the door,get on their computer, their cell phones,and get into a bar,into a club.
2:41
Think for one second
about what I've just said:they're in a place full of strangersin an uninhibited environment.The internet broke physical boundaries.When we're alone in our bedroom
and we go online,we're not really alone.
3:04
There are at least two reasons
why we're not taking care of this,or at least not in the right way.First, we're sure that everything
that happens online is "virtual."In fact, we call it "the virtual world."If you look it up in the dictionary,something virtual is something
that seems to existbut is not real.And we use that word
to talk about the internet:something not real.And that's the problem with grooming.It is real.Degenerate, perverted adults
use the internet to abuse boys and girlsand take advantage of, among other things,the fact that the kids and their parents
think that what happens onlinedoesn't actually happen.
3:58
Several years ago,
some colleagues and I founded an NGOcalled "Argentina Cibersegura,"dedicated to raising awareness
about online safety.In 2013, we attended meetings
at the House of Legislatureto discuss a law about grooming.I remember that a lot of people thoughtthat grooming was strictly a precursorto arranging an in-person meeting
with a kid to have sex with them.But they didn't think about what happened
to the kids who were exposedby talking about sex
with an adult without knowing it,or who shared intimate photos thinking
only another kid would see them,or even worse,who had exposed themselves
using their web cam.Nobody considered that rape.I'm sure lots of you find it odd to think
one person can abuse anotherwithout physical contact.We're programmed to think that way.I know, because I used to think that way.I was just an IT security guyuntil this happened to me.
5:10
At the end of 2011,in a little town in Buenos Aires Province,I heard about a case for the first time.After giving a talk,I met the parents of an 11-year-old girl
who had been a victim of grooming.A man had manipulated her
into masturbating in front of her web cam,and recorded it.And the video was on several websites.That day, her parents asked us, in tears,to tell them the magic formulafor how to delete those videos
from the internet.It broke my heart and changed me foreverto be their last disappointment,
telling them it was too late:once content is online,we've already lost control.
6:03
Since that day, I think about that girlwaking up in the morning,
having breakfast with her family,who had seen the video,and then walking to school, meeting
people that had seen her naked,arriving to school, playing with
her friends, who had also seen her.That was her life.Exposed.Of course, nobody raped her body.But hadn't her sexuality been abused?
6:41
We clearly use different standards
to measure physical and digital things.And we get angry at social networksbecause being angry with ourselves
is more painful and more true.And this brings us
to the second reason whywe aren't paying proper
attention to this issue.We're convinced that kids
don't need our help,that they "know everything"
about technology.
7:11
When I was a kid,at one point, my parents started
letting me walk to school alone.After years of taking me by the hand
and walking me to school,one day they sat me down,gave me the house keysand said, "Be very careful with these;
don't give them to anyone,take the route we showed you,
be at home at the time we said,cross at the corner,
and look both ways before you cross,and no matter what,
don't talk to strangers."I knew everything about walking,and yet, there was a responsible adult
there taking care of me.Knowing how to do something is one thing,knowing how to take care
of yourself is another.Imagine this situation:I'm 10 or 11 years old,
I wake up in the morning,my parents toss me the keys and say,"Seba, now you can walk to school alone."And when I come back late,they say, "No, you need to be home
at the time we said."And two weeks later,when it comes up,
they say, "You know what?You have to cross at the corner,
and look both ways before crossing."And two years later, they say,"And also, don't talk to strangers."It sounds absurd, right?
8:37
We have the same absurd behavior
in relation to technology.We give kids total accessand we see if one day, sooner or later,they learn how to take care of themselves.Knowing how to do something is one thing,knowing how to take care
of yourself is another.
8:55
Along those same lines,
when we talk to parents,they often say they don't care
about technology and social networks.I always rejoin that by asking
if they care about their kids.As adults, being interested
or not in technologyis the same as being interested
or not in our kids.The internet is part of their lives.Technology forces us to rethink
the relationship between adults and kids.Education was always based
on two main concepts:experience and knowledge.How do we teach our kids to be safe online
when we don't have either?
9:39
Nowadays, we adults
have to guide our childrenthrough what is often for us
unfamiliar territory —territory much more inviting for them.It's impossible to find an answerwithout doing new things —
things that make us uncomfortable,things we're not used to.
9:58
A lot of you may think it's easy for me,because I'm relatively young.And it used to be that way.Used to.Until last year,when I felt the weight
of my age on my shouldersthe first time I opened Snapchat.
10:21
(Laughter)
10:25
(Applause)
10:30
I didn't understand a thing!I found it unnecessary,useless, hard to understand;it looked like a camera!It didn't have menu options!It was the first time I felt the gapthat sometimes exists
between kids and adults.But it was also an opportunity
to do the right thing,to leave my comfort zone, to force myself.I never thought I'd ever use Snapchat,but then I asked my teenage cousin
to show me how to use it.I also asked why she used it.What was fun about it?We had a really nice talk.She showed me her Snapchat,
she told me things,we got closer, we laughed.Today, I use it.
11:25
(Laughter)
11:27
I don't know if I do it right,but the most important thing
is that I know it and I understand it.The key was to overcome the initial shockand do something new.Something new.Today, we have the chance
to create new conversations.What's the last app you downloaded?Which social network do you use
to contact your friends?What kind of information do you share?Have you ever been
approached by strangers?Could we have these conversations
between kids and adults?We have to force ourselves
to do it. All of us.Today, lots of kids are listening to us.Sometimes when we go
to schools to give our talks,or through social networks,kids ask or tell us thingsthey haven't told
their parents or their teachers.They tell us — they don't even know us.Those kids need to knowwhat the risks of being online are,how to take care of themselves,but also that, fundamentally,
as with almost everything else,kids can learn this from any adult.
12:50
Online safety needs to be
a conversation topicin every house and every
classroom in the country.We did a survey this year that showed
that 15 percent of schools saidthey knew of cases of grooming
in their school.And this number is growing.Technology changed
every aspect of our life,including the risks we faceand how we take care of ourselves.
13:19
Grooming shows us this
in the most painful way:by involving our kids.Are we going to do something
to avoid this?The solution starts
with something as easy as:talking about it.
The 'Touching the Horizon' educational project from Pitchon-Lev
"Touching the Horizon" participants from Sderot on a day of consolidation.
(photo credit:Courtesy)
Pitchon Lev, a nationwide humanitarian organization in
Israel, is providing at-risk youth with a guiding light, a future of
hope, and the essential tools for a chance at success. Established in
1998, they have impacted the lives of thousands of diverse youth and
families from disadvantaged neighborhoods across Israel. As an inclusive
organization, Pitchon Lev’s goal is to breakdown the barriers of
gender, religion, race, ethnicity, or nationality, and provide support
for all people in Israel.
One entity of Pitchon Lev is Touching
the Horizon, an educational program engaging at-risk youth as part of
their overall objective of eradicating poverty in Israel. This
seven-year program takes in at-risk youth from diverse communities and
guides them through everything from schooling, social support, army
preparation, and guidance upon enlisting. Participants are led by the
same adult who accompanies them for seven consecutive years. As Rabbi
Shlomo Carlebach says, "All that a child needs is one adult who will
believe in him," which is precisely the role of the adults in the
program - to provide each child with someone to be their teacher,
mentor, and friend, and to guide them through the critical life
transitions of school, army, and citizenship.
Touching
the Horizon, which is the end result of the seven-year program, is
broken down into three life stages. The first phase of the program
begins in 10th grade through high school graduation, followed by three
years of empowerment and cultivating leadership skills through
volunteering, community connections, and ongoing assessments of each
individual’s achievements. The second phase is army service, in which
participants are accompanied through the process of enlisting into the
IDF or Sherut Leumi (National Service), and have three years of
continued mentorship and leadership training during their service, along
with financial support in the form of a monthly stipend. The third and
final phase of the program is helping the young adults transition into
civilian life after completion of their service. The same mentor who has
been with the participant for the previous six years continues with
them for one more year to guide and support them through the processes
of integrating into an academic institution or workplace.
The
organization is accredited by the Ministry of Education and accompanies
its students with guidance and support to achieve an official high
school diploma upon completion of the program, along with a variety of
skills to continue on to higher education or a successful career path.
Chen Ben Lish, a 20-year-old soldier in the program explains, “There is a
mentor who accompanies you for seven years, from the 10th grade,
through military service to citizenship, and he works with us to realize
potential, strengthen our self-confidence, believe in ourselves, and
make our society better."
The opening of a new class at the Gutman High School in Netanya
Youth
who take the opportunity to join this remarkable educational program
learn and grow through formal schooling, social interaction, forming
community connections, and taking on volunteer roles. With an emphasis
on building empowerment among the participants, one goal is for each
child to take responsibility for him or herself, and their own
achievements. Shai Ohayon, a 17-year-old in her second year of the
program reflects on her experience, "I feel like I'm a different child,"
she says, "My mom says I've changed completely from my studies, and
that she no longer has to beg me to wake up every morning.”
The
program also helps students gain a connection to Israel, to the land,
the culture, and the people of their own country. Ella Shlomkovitz, one
of the teachers, was amazed at the change of view within her students.
“When I first went in, they were in the place of 'let us go', 'what is
this nonsense?' There were questions like,` Why should we give [to
Israel]?, and today they are talking about combat service” Shlomkovitz
says of her students.
Tel Aviv University has
partnered with Pitchon Lev to conduct in-depth research analysis on the
educational program. Professor Yizhar Uplatka, who conducted the project
research, said that the program made the youth take responsibility for
their lives, and concluded that:
- 93% are eligible for matriculation
- 93.7% of graduates of the program enlist in military or national service
- 87% are graduates of the program and were in enrolled in higher education or suitable work
There is no doubt that this unique organization is saving lives
from the cycle of poverty, and establishing the next generation of
successful Israeli citizens.
Click here donate and help Pitchon Lev help others celebrate the upcoming Passover holiday.
Do Haredim Deserve the Right to a Functional Modern Education in Israel? (and in the U.S.A.)
A lawsuit argues that men and women who left the
ultra-Orthodox world without basic math, history, and language knowledge
to live secular lives were neglected by the state. The state counters
that it’s the parents’ fault.
It was radio that rescued Haim Rubinstein from the ultra-Orthodox world.
As a 13-year-old boy growing up in the religious Tel Aviv suburb of
Bnei Brak, Rubinstein would surreptitiously listen to talk radio using
earphones he hid under his pillow. “I would tune into a program for
teenagers, where kids would talk about their fights with girlfriends or
parents. Through the program I was exposed to the lives of secular
children,” he recalled recently. “Radio saved my life.”
By the age of 16, Rubinstein had left his prestigious yeshiva in
Jerusalem, and started managing the online chatroom of a Tel Aviv radio
station. Fearful that he was on his way to abandoning his religious
lifestyle entirely, his parents put him on a plane to England, where
more-liberal yeshivas were available. “At the time, I couldn’t count to
10 in English,” he remembered. “I boarded a plane for the first time,
but the stewardess couldn’t speak any Hebrew, and I was unable to ask
for a cup of water. My frustration was immense. I remained thirsty for
the entire five-hour flight.”
Today, Rubinstein is determined to be compensated for his lack of
secular education. Math classes at his yeshiva terminated at long
division, and he never studied English, geography, civics, or history.
The long school days were typically filled with Talmud and bible
classes. Now, at 28, Rubinstein is the spokesman of Out for Change, a nonprofit created in 2013 to lobby for ex-Haredi Israelis finding their way in the secular world.
In late 2015, Out for Change filed a landmark damages lawsuit for 4
million shekels ($1 million) against the state of Israel, on behalf of
52 young men and women who left the ultra-Orthodox world and struggle to
find a decent job or make up their lost years of math and English. They
argue that the state had neglected to enforce its core curriculum in
ultra-Orthodox schools, depriving them of a basic right to useful
education.
Surprisingly, the state responded with a third-party lawsuit against
the plaintiffs’ parents and educational institutions, claiming they bear
responsibility for any such harm, “if it indeed occurred.” After all,
the state argued, the parents could have sent their children to
non-Orthodox public institutions.
Ultra-Orthodox schools in Israel are budgeted proportionately based
on the existence of a “core curriculum” in civics, English, history,
mathematics, literature, Hebrew and Bible. Schools that teach the full
core curriculum receive 100 percent budgeting. The majority of
ultra-Orthodox schools—known as “recognized but unofficial”—receive 75
percent budgeting based on the assumption of 75 percent compliance.
Private schools, where no education-ministry oversight exists and no
core curriculum is taught, nevertheless received 55 percent government
funding. According to Education Minister Naftali Bennett, some 40,000
students study in such institutions.
Haim Rubinstein at age 13, and today
For nearly two decades, Israel’s secular parties have attempted to
introduce the core curriculum in Haredi schools, with limited success.
In 1999, MK Yosef Paritzky of the Shinui party filed a claim to the
supreme court against the ministry of education, demanding it set a
minimum number of class hours for secular studies. The court ruled that
government budgets can only be allocated to schools that teach a core
curriculum, but the status quo remained. The 2003 Dovrat Committee and
the 2011 Trachtenberg Committee of 2011 also stressed the importance of a
broad education, but to little avail. The final attempt came in 2013,
when Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid party, passed the
“core-curriculum law,” reducing the funding of recalcitrant primary
schools from 55 percent to 35 percent (starting in 2018). Lapid’s law
was annulled by his successor Naftali Bennett, who reclaimed full
discretion in allocating budgets to schools.
“So what about the 40,000 [students] who don’t study the core
curriculum?” asked Bennett in a Facebook post last year. “That’s a tough
question and there are no magic solutions. … I believe that with no
noise and no legislation we’ll see progress. When over 90 percent of
ultra-Orthodox (who do study some core subjects) will receive
high-quality education and jobs, more and more Haredim will join.”
***
But what of the thousands of ultra-Orthodox men and women who wish to
join Israel’s high-tech job market now but have no qualifications?
According to Out for Change, the government has allocated some 200
million shekels ($52.5 million) to programs geared at bridging the
educational gap for Haredim interested in academic studies. But Israelis
who left the ultra-Orthodox world fall between the cracks, ineligible
for most of the make-up programs. After three years of military service,
Rubinstein applied for a grant to the preparatory school of Ono College
outside Tel Aviv. To his surprise, his interviewer asked him whether he
observed the Sabbath and prayed every day. His ultra-Orthodox
counterparts enter such programs en masse, no questions asked, and are
normally younger, having not served in the army. “I want to be a
productive citizen. How does the state expect me to become one?” he
wondered.
Disheartened by the exorbitant price of private tutoring, Rubinstein
never went back to school. He taught himself how to read English by
listening to the loudspeaker on the London Underground, comparing the
station names to the ones written on the map he held.
According to Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics, some 17,000
Israelis between the ages of 20 and 40 report having left the
ultra-Orthodox world, and now share Rubinstein’s plight (I am informed that the real numbers are much higher). Moshe Shenfeld,
who abandoned his religious lifestyle and established Out for Change,
claims that trend is only increasing; the average dropout rate is 10
percent, or at least 1,300 annually (Only those that do so publicly).
While insisting that the purpose of the lawsuit is not to force
ultra-Orthodox schools to introduce secular studies, Shenfeld
nevertheless believes that if accepted, it will obligate the state to
reexamine the far-reaching autonomy it grants the schools. “The idea is
not that generation after generation of children don’t study and then
are compensated. Everyone loses that way,” he insisted. “We want there
to be an easy and organized way to make up the gap.”
What gives this claim special force is that Israel is obligated to
institute secular studies not only by its own education laws but as a
signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
outlines the minimum requirements of school education. Institutions that
received threatening lawsuit warnings from the state last fall have
already begun hinting to plaintiffs that their siblings, still
registered in the schools, may be harmed by their decision to confront
the state. But Shenfeld said that only eight of the 52 original
plaintiffs have withdrawn their names as a result.
Shenfeld, 32, began his own voyage toward secularism 12 years ago at
the National Library in Jerusalem, where he took interest in old books
on biblical criticism. “I was educated to be religious not by default
but because it’s the proper way of life,” he recalled. “If other people
only listened to us, I was told, they would be convinced that we’re
right.” It was a verse in the Book of Judges, a book he scarcely read in
yeshiva, that shattered his religious worldview. Following the death of
Joshua, chapter two recounts, a new generation emerged in the Land of
Israel, which was unaware of exodus from Egypt. That text seemed to
contradict the Jewish belief in a contiguous tradition of revelation
from Mount Sinai to the present day. “I caught them telling a serious
lie,” he said. “This meant I couldn’t believe a whole bunch of things
I’d never closely examined.”
Shenfeld completed his matriculation exams on his own, served in the
army, and completed a triple-major degree at Hebrew University in
physics, mathematics and computer sciences, fully funded by a grant for
academic excellence. Today, he works as a programmer with Mobileye, a
Jerusalem-based high-tech company specializing in driver-assistance
systems, while mastering the details of his legal battle against the
state with Talmudic precision.
While Shenfeld’s stellar career track may be exceptional for
ex-Haredis, but his motivation to succeed at all costs isn’t, claims
Rubinstein, the organization’s spokesman. “The media loves stories about
poor, pitiful ex-Haredis, but that is simply not true,” he said.
“People who left that world are strong people who break boundaries.
Otherwise, they would have remained in that cozy world. We got out,
transformed our lives, and the country should invest in us.”
For Shenfeld, a Talmudic parable best exemplifies his mission. It is
the story of Honi ha-Me’agel, who met an elderly man planting a carob
tree that would take 70 years to bear fruit. “Why are you bothering with
a tree whose fruit you’ll never enjoy?” Honi asked. “I’m doing it for
my grandson,” the elderly man answered.
AG: Lakewood rabbi stole more than $630,000 from special-needs education fund
CLOSE
State officials were seen at one of the offices for the School for
Children with Hidden Intelligence entering with empty boxes. STAFF
VIDEO BY THOMAS P. COSTELLO
Read the full indictment at the end of this story.
LAKEWOOD
- The founder of a special-needs school, which takes in tens of
millions of tax dollars a year from the struggling public schools here,
was indicted Wednesday on charges he stole more than $630,000 in public
funds and then used the school's fundraising foundation to launder much
of the money, the state attorney general said.
Rabbi Osher
Eisemann, 60, of Lakewood, who is the founder and director of the School
for Children with Hidden Intelligence, better known as SCHI (pronounced
"shy"), was charged by a state grand jury with: Theft by unlawful
taking; misapplication of government property; misconduct by a corporate
official; and money laundering — all second-degree offenses that carry
up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, state Attorney
General Christopher Porrino said in a statement.
The school's
fundraising foundation, the non-profit Services for Hidden Intelligence,
LLC, was also named in the indictment under the same charges. The
school itself was not charged in the indictment.
During
the course of the investigation, Porrino said authorities from the
Division of Criminal Justice discovered the school provided money to the
fundraising foundation, instead of the other way around, and that
Eisemann allegedly used the foundation's bank accounts to fund ventures
that had no connections to the school.
SCHI receives around $1.8
million each month from the Lakewood School District and surrounding
public school districts that send students to be educated at SCHI,
Porrino said.
The school provides educational services for the
"medically fragile, and socially-emotionally challenged children,"
according to its website.
Lakewood is one of the most unusual
public school districts in the country. This fast-growing,
low-income township of nearly 100,000 residents is dominated by Orthodox
Jewish families who send an estimated 30,000 children to private
religious schools. Under the law, the public schools pay to bus the
children to the private schools, which costs more than $20 million a
year.
The public schools, meanwhile, have about 5,000 students and are
facing a fiscal crisis this year with a $14.7 million shortfall.
Administrators said they may have to lay off 119 teachers to balance the budget.
Among the costs affecting the budget is the growing tuition for students sent to SCHI.
Although
the tuition money for SCHI is expected to "be used strictly for
operating expenses of school," Porrino said Eisemann allegedly used the
fundraising foundation to take out around $430,000 to invest in a
business associate's now-defunct clothing line, called TAZ Apparel, LLC,
which was based in Highland Park. No one associated with TAZ could be
reached for comment.
Neither
the school nor the fundraising foundation had any interest in TAZ
Apparel, Porrino said, and Eisemann allegedly invested in the clothing
line as a "personal investment." Authorities from the Division of
Criminal Justice reportedly found contracts between Eisemann and the
owner of TAZ Apparel, in which Eisemann agreed to finance a maximum of
$550,000 in the business while the owner — who Porrino did not name
— would manage the day-to-day operations. The grand jury said the scheme
ran between 2011 and 2015.
Eisemann is charged with
transferring money from the school's operating account into the accounts
of the fundraising foundation, then sent around $277,000 to TAZ using
checks and wire transfers, Porrino said. Eisemann also is accused of
paying TAZ Apparel's credit card bills — $153,000 in American Express
fees, according to the charges.
Eisemann
allegedly funneled an additional $200,000 from the school operating's
account through the fundraising accounts, which Porrino said was
illegally laundered to make it look as if Eisemann was repaying debts to
the school using his own money.
The
$200,000 allegedly traveled through the school, then was transferred
between "several unrelated entities," individual people — including TAZ
Apparel — and back into Eisemann's personal bank account. The scheme,
which Porrino said was allegedly meant to cover the origins of the
money, was done in six days in March 2015.
Several calls to the school on Wednesday went unanswered.
Jeff
Ifrah, the school's lawyer, said that Eisemann is "not denying a loan
was made." He said that Eisemann, though, used his own money for the
loans. "His full intent was that the loan would be repaid."
Humble beginning
Eisemann
started the school in a storefront in the mid-1990s, in part because he
has a child with special needs, Ifrah said. SCHI began with just five
students, but grew rapidly, both in size and reputation. In 2007, SCHI
moved into a 64,000-square-foot building on a 13-acre plot on Oak Street
and opened its doors to around 250 students and 450 employees. The
school now says that it cares for more than 600 students between the
ages of 3 and 21.
Michael Inzelbuch, former attorney of the
Lakewood Board of Education who now represents children with
disabilities, said Eisemann lived "a rather simple life" and called the
allegations against him "unbelievable." Eisemann's attorney also denied
the charges against his client.
"Rabbi Eisemann has never taken
any SCHI funds for his personal use, and we strongly deny that there was
any ill intent in the use of SCHI funds," lawyer Lee Vartan said in a
statement. "We look forward to the complete exoneration of both SCHI and
Rabbi Eisemann in this investigation."
SCHI has been the subject
of an ongoing Asbury Park Press investigation for more than a decade. A
2012 series exposed how the Lakewood public schools actively kept
minority children in need of special education services from being
enrolled in the school. They were, instead, tutored within the public
school walls. But the Press found that most of the children enrolled by
the school district were almost exclusively from Orthodox religious
families.
Sheldon Boxer, a former principal of Oak Street
Elementary School in Lakewood, told the Press in 2012 that he lied to
parents of disabled children so the district wouldn't have to pay for
them to attend a more expensive school geared toward kids with special
needs, like SCHI.
Although more than $22 million a year in tax
dollars is spent at SCHI, the school has repeatedly denied Press
reporters even a cursory look within its walls. It has, however, hosted
tours for powerful politicians, like U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and
governors Chris Christie and Jon Corzine.
The school again denied
the Press entry to school grounds on Wednesday, with guards at both
entrances allowing only authorized people to enter. Racial criticism
Over
the years, the institution has drawn its share of criticism. Township
residents have pointed to its costly tuition, set at more than $97,000 a
year by the state Department of Education, and its majority white,
Orthodox student body, despite the large population of black and
Hispanic students in the district's public schools.
David Shafter,
a state-appointed monitor who oversees Lakewood's school district, said
the district paid more than $22 million to SCHI this school year, up
from $18 million in the 2014-2015 school year. Tuition at SCHI is much
higher than other schools in the area that cater to special-needs
students.
Lakewood School District pays $60,485 per year in
tuition at the Bancroft School in Voorhees Township, Shafter said, about
41 percent less than tuition at SCHI.
"The tuition at SCHI is the
highest Lakewood pay per student for any out-of-district school,"
Shafter said but added that the quality of the school was not in
question.
SCHI's most recent financial reports show the school
earned $19.2 million in revenue in 2015, most of that coming from public
funds. The school had $18.9 million in expenses, leaving $331,746 in
surplus. The records show Eisemann was paid a salary of $119,273 in
2014.
On Wednesday, Elie Honig, director of the Division of
Criminal Justice, said the attorney general's office was continuing to
seek leads about the case.
“We’re actively continuing our
investigation of Rabbi Eisemann and his alleged use of the school’s
fundraising foundation in schemes to siphon money away from the school
for his personal use,” Honig said.
While the second-degree charges
carry a 5- to 10-year state prison term and a maximum fine of $150,000,
the second-degree money laundering charges carries a $500,000 fine, and
an anti-money laundering profiteering penalty of up to $250,000. No
trial date has been set.
Ifrah, the lawyer representing SCHI, said
even though the school maintains Eisemann's innocence, officials are
worried this case could hurt the institution.
"We're talking about
hundreds of handicapped kids," Ifrah said. "The school is very
concerned it won't be able to continue its mission."
Reporter Mike Davis contributed to this story. Katie Park: kpark@gannettnj.com; 732-643-4358 Payton Guion: pguion@app.com; 732-643-4245
