Very Important Update on YOB/Nussbaum

expose molesters said...

Sunday, August 20, 2006
Very Important Update on YOB/Nussbaum

Dear fellow friends,

I have been SILENT the past couple of months, i will remain quiet no longer. All of you that have been following my BLOG, and those that care for the safety and welfare of our children, will now get to see some form of justice for a 5th grade "RUBBY" who preyed on children, and those who aided and harbored the predator all these years. The reason i have been so QUIET all this time, is because, i have been in the midst of negotiations with the many victims of Yehuda Nussbaum, and YOB, who used intimidation and denial in their quest to bully and coverup these accusations of both sexual and physical abuse of boys all these years. I did NOT have to remain quiet, but i figured that I'll be nice and give YOB a chance to do the RIGHT thing, rather than what they have been doing, which has been acting scared and stupid, during this whole process. I have been EXTREMELY patient during these ongoing negotiations, perhaps even too patient, and too fair, and too nice. I set an August 1 deadline, for Yeshivah Of Brooklyn to respond by getting rid of Nussbaum, or face the consequences. So far they have still not done so, much to my disbelief and dismay. Although we have been communicating through a third party (a Rov), and I'm trying my hardest to help YOB save face (and a lot of money), by reaching a VERY fair deal for them, i am now starting to lose my patience. The grace period following that of August 1, that I was so kind to give to YOB,has now run out. I am recommending in the HIGHEST form possible, that YOB accept this very generous deal now, or face the alternatives. I am not going to continue negotiations, until ALL our terms are met. As part of negotiations, i bended over forwards and backwards, and did everything humanly possible to achieve our goals, both for the victims and the victimizers, in a most quiet and mentlichidika way, assuming YOB met our very fair conditions as part of the agreement. However, YOB has flinched at a very important aspect of our demands. We want an apology from Yehuda Nussbaum, and YOB, with Yakov (Jack) Mandel, and Shlomo Mandel's signatures on it.

At First, we asked for a public apology to be made in two Jewish newspapers of their choice. What do you think their reaction was, can you guess it? This was their reaction. We can't do that, it will be a great Chilul Hashem, and it will be a very big embarrassment for YOB and Nussbaum. How will Nussbaum's children ever get a shidduch? Also, we cannot apologize, YOB said, because our lawyers won't let us make an admission of guilt, because it opens us up the door for a lawsuit in the future for
other victims of abuse. So what did i do? I improvised, and allowed YOB and Nussbaum to make a PRIVATE written apology. I even offered to sign a release form that will state that we will not pursue further action, even though there is an admission of guilt.

That too, they balked on, worrying that victims can use that as ammunition in the future, against YOB/Nussbaum. Therefore, I am at wits end, and I will not continue negotiating with a side that is scared, and that is trying to get off easy with a slap on the wrist. That is NOT going to happen. Without an apology, there will be nothing to talk about, and I have now given the green light for my lawyers to begin the process of a lawsuit against YOB/Nussbaum, something that I have put on hold until now.

DO NOT underestimate us YOB, we are willing and ready for a war. I promise that the process will be much more embarrassing, dirtier and hurtful to you, than you ever could have imagined. The chillul Hasehm will unfortunate be much greater than it is now. If you are scared of bad publicity, just think how much greater it will be than it is currently. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I promise that after we win very BIG in court, you will be financially drained, and your Yeshiva and the crimes that were committed there will be out in the open for the whole public to witness. All your assets will be frozen and turned over to the victims. At least then, there will be some form of justice. Obviously, these young men are scarred for life, and can never have their innocence returned back to them, so in that respect, they will never have justice.

The generous deal I had in place, was to have Yehuda Nussbaum, fired immediately by YOB, and for him to never be in chinuch or work with children or be in close proximity to them ever again. At First YOB wanted to go to R' Dovid Choen to hear the accusations and make a decision on YOB/Nussbaum's guilt. However. we flat out refused to accommodate that idea, due to many factors, most notably, that the "Rabbi" rout has already been tried and exhausted before, and produced NOTHING. We, also did not want this process to drag out any longer than it already has. Baruch Hashem, YOB got wise, and after much pressure agreed to dismissing Yehuda Nussbaum, which of course is a big accomplishment, and in itself an admission, and we are gratified in that respect. However, as part of the healing process for the victims of the sexual and physical abuse encountered during their school days at YOB, there MUST be an apology period. Like i said, we had wanted a public apology for the victims, but we improvised for a private one, in order to avoid even more of a Chilul Hashem and embarrassment for YOB and Nussbaum. If that does not happen, then I say, see you in court YOB.

In my negotiations, I made it clear to the 3rd party and YOB, that considering the alternatives, they should be quite happy with our very fair list of demands. I specified that YOB should look at this as if it were a plea bargain in a criminal proceeding. To have this opportunity of demonstrating, that it is FINALLY ready to correct mistakes of the past, should be something YOB should be very grateful for. On the contrary of being scared of what public opinion may say or do, like they have been, YOB has a golden opportunity, to demonstrate to other Yeshiva's, that they too must follow course, and address the issue of child abuse, weather it be in the form of sexual, or physical. It will also help bring healing, and closure, to many of the victims who have been suffering, and those who continue to suffer, as a result of being abused as a child. Therefore, although it will be very embarrassing for YOB/Nussbaum, to make a public apology, and to ACTUALLY admit to their crimes, while also asking Mechilla from their victims, they have chosen the scare(dy) cat approach, where-as, what if some other victims will want to sue us because of our admissions, they theorize. In taking that approach, it actually shows, that YOB is more interested in covering their asses (pardon the french), than apologizing to the victims, and taking the lead in demonstrating that it really has done Tshuva, and that it really does care about the welfare of children that have been traumatized for life, and that it really does regret not taking these allegations seriously, when brought to their attention, almost 2 decades ago. Yet, they shy and get scared of doing the correct thing, the proper thing, which is to set an example, that Child Molesters will not be tolerated in schools, and that if there are allegations of sexual/physical abuse, then they must be taken and dealt with seriously. Think about how much more respect YOB can get from people, had they went about it, in that fashion, instead of being in denial and constantly fearing the unknown. Admit to what is known. Admit to the truth. Will YOB have the courage to do that? So far they have not, and time has practically run out on them. This bad press and publicity, is about to get much more damaging, and much more painful, for YOB and Yehuda Nussbaum. Keep checking back here for latest developments.

Think about how much greater the chilul hashem will be, if YOB was put on trial in a secular court, and all the victims will be testifying, and all the cards will be laid out on the table for the whole public to witness. How many times greater, will the bad publicity get for YOB, Yehuda Nussbaum, Yakov "Jack" Mandel, Shlomo Mandel, and others who were recklessly negligent with our children?

I even offered YOB, to shut down this site for good, assuming they kept their end of the bargain, that was to be reached between YOB/Nussbaum, and their victims. I also went out of my way, and volunteered as part of the agreement reached, that i would be willing to talk to any other potential victims that may arise in the future, to try and discourage them from seeking criminal and/or civil action against YOB/Nussbaum, and that I would do everything in my power to try and dissuade these victims by reassuring them that thank G-D, Nussbaum will no longer be around children. No longer will he be working in chinuch, no longer will he be able to physically and sexually abuse children. I could point out those positives and could probably talk them into accepting that some form of justice was obtained. Of course though, the victims are at the end of the day free to do as they wish. Should they choose to sue YOB/Nussbaum, then that is their prerogative and their choice to make. They are afterall the ones who continue to suffer and have suffered al these years.

However, all that, is not going to happen, because so far, we have no deal or agreement in place, and therefore, we will continue this Blog, and we will continue to proceed with preparations for a lawsuit/trial. YOB, also did not want me to PUBLICIZE the agreement, of course, the reason again being that of fearing bad publicity and embarressment. I'm sorry, but that is tough luck YOB. The nature of the circumstances, will not allow this to simply dissappear, and the public have a right to know about an agreement that will ultimatley, benefit the community at large, and the victims in particular. Take as it is, there will 100% be bad publicity. How bad it will be, depends on if this goes to court or not. Right now, but not for too much longer, YOB has a chance to right what was wronged. The have an opportunity to rise to the occasion, and set a good example, and to help tremendously in the process of saving jewish lives, no matter how much it will hurt them to do so.

In closing, I want to thank the many good folks out there, who have been a tremendous source of support and inspiration, throughout this painful process. It has not been easy, but it definitely has been very worthwhile. Thank You!