Monday, March 30, 2009

URGENT ACTION NEEDED NOW... PLEASE EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE... YOU CAN BE THE DIFFERENCE MAKER...


SAY 'NO' TO ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ’S ATTEMPT TO SNEAK HIS PREVIOUSLY DEFEATED BILL NUMBER A.05708A THROUGH THE ASSEMBLY CODES COMMITTEE.

(The Unorthodox Jew) http://theunorthodoxjew.blogspot.com/2009/03/urgent-message-to-our-community.html

URGENT MESSAGE TO OUR COMMUNITY!

PLEASE EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE AT ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ’S ATTEMPT TO SNEAK HIS PREVIOUSLY DEFEATED BILL NUMBER A.05708A THROUGH THE ASSEMBLY CODES COMMITTEE.
OUR COMMUNITY IS IN SHOCK OVER SEXUAL ABUSE CASES NOW BEING MADE PUBLIC ON AN ALMOST DAILY BASIS. UNFORTUNATELY LAWS CURRENTLY ON THE BOOKS PROTECT CHILD MOLESTERS.

THANKFULLY, ASSEMBLYWOMAN MARGARET MARKEY HAS SPONSORED ASSEMBLY BILL NUMBER A2596. THE “CHILD VICTIMS’ ACT OF NEW YORK” WHICH OPENS UP A “WINDOW” TO ALLOW VICTIMS OF SEXUAL ABUSE TO EXPOSE THEIR ATTACKERS AND BRING THEM TO JUSTICE. THE MARKEY BILL PASSED A CRUCIAL VOTE IN THE ASSEMBLY CODES COMMITTEE ON MARCH 17, 2009. MARKEY’S BILL WILL BE UP FOR A VOTE BEFORE THE ASSEMBLY IN THE COMING WEEKS AND HAS THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT OF THE ASSEMBLY. IT IS EXPECTED TO PASS.

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH AND A FEW ORTHODOX JEWISH ORGANIZATIONS WHO HAVE BEEN PROTECTING PEDOPHILES FOR MANY DECADES, ARE DESPERATELY TRYING TO PREVENT THE PASSAGE OF MARKEY’S BILL. THEY HAVE PERSUADED ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ TO SPONSOR A COMPETING BILL, THE “LOPEZ BILL,” WHICH PROTECTS PEDOPHILES AT THE EXPENSE OF OUR INNOCENT CHILDREN.

ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ’S BILL A.05708A IS BEING VOTED ON IN THE ASSEMBLY CODES COMMITTEE, TODAY, ON MARCH 31, 2009 AT 11:00. VITO LOPEZ’S BILL PROTECTS PEDOPHILES AND MUST NOT BE ALLOWED TO PASS

PLEASE CALL AND E-MAIL ALL OF THE ASSEMBLY CODES COMMITTEE MEMBERS LISTED BELOW AND TELL THEM THAT YOU ARE AN ORTHODOX JEW WHO OPPOSES ASSEMBLYMAN VITO LOPEZ’S BILL A.05708A AND THAT THEY MUST DO EVERYTHING IN THEIR POWER TO BLOCK THE LOPEZ BILL NUMBER A.05708A AND MAKE SURE IT IS NOT PASSED OUT OF COMMITTEE.

15 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME TODAY WILL HELP SAVE THE LIFE OF AN INNOCENT CHILD TOMORROW.

THE TIME TO ACT IS EARLY THIS MORNING. YOUR VOICE COUNTS MORE THAN YOU CAN POSSIBLY IMAGINE. EVERY SINGLE CALL AND E-MAIL COUNTS. PLEASE CALL AND E-MAIL AND ASK YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO DO THE SAME.
Assembly Codes Committee Members

Joseph Lentol, Chairman
Albany Office: 518-455-4477
District Office: 718-383-7474
LentolJ@assembly.state.ny.us

Robin Schimminger
Albany Office: 518-455-4767
District Office: 716-873-2540
SchimmR@assembly.state.ny.us

Helene Weinstein
Albany Office: 518-455-5462
District Office: 718-648-4700
WeinstH@assembly.state.ny.us

James Brennan
Albany Office: 518-455-5377
District Office 1: 718-940-0641
District Office 2: 718-788-7221
BrennaJ@assembly.state.ny.us

Keith Wright
Albany Office: 518-455-4793
District Office: 212-866-5809
WrightK@assembly.state.ny.us

Mark Weprin
Albany Office: 518-455-5806
District Office: 718-428-7900
WeprinM@assembly.state.ny.us

Gary Pretlow
Albany Office: 518-455-5291
District Office 1: 914-375-0456
District Office 2: 914-667-0127
PretloJ@assembly.state.ny.us

Vivian Cook
Albany Office: 518-455-4203
District Office: 718-322-3975
CookV@assembly.state.ny.us


Steve Cymbrowitz
Albany Office: 518-455-5214
District Office: 718-743-4078
CymbroS@assembly.state.ny.us

Michele Titus
Albany Office: 518-455-5668
District Office: 718-327-1845
TitusM@assembly.state.ny.us

Danny O'Donnell
Albany Office: 518-455-5603
District Office: 212-866-3970
OdonnellD@assembly.state.ny.us

Chaarles Lavine
Albany Office: 518-455-5456
District Office: 516-676-0050
LavineC@assembly.state.ny.us

Nick Perry
Albany Office: 518-455-4166
District Office: 718-385-3336
PerryN@assembly.state.ny.us

Kenneth Zebrowski
Albany Office: 518-455-5735
District Office: 845-634-9791
ZebrowskiK@assembly.state.ny.us

David Townsend
Albany Office: 518-455-5334
District Office: 315-762-4383
TownseD@assembly.state.ny.us

Thomas Alfano
Albany Office: 518-455-4627
District Office: 516-437-5577
AlfanoT@assembly.state.ny.us

Dierdre Scozzafava
Albany Office: 518-455-5797
District Office: 315-287-2384
ScozzaD@assembly.state.ny.us

Philip Boyle
Albany Office: 518-455-4611
District Office: 631-647-9400
BoyleP@assembly.state.ny.us

George Amedore
Albany Office: 518-455-5197
District Office: 518-843-0227
AmedoreG@assembly.state.ny.us

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Hikind backpedals: Insists confrontational approach will turn Orthodox leaders against him


http://www.forward.com/articles/104261/

Hikind Retreating On Tough Tactics Against Molesters

By Rebecca Dube

Published March 25, 2009, issue of April 03, 2009.

Assemblyman Dov Hikind of Brooklyn, a leading voice in the fight to end child sexual abuse in Orthodox communities, is backing down from some of his previous claims and backing away from one of his most confrontational stands against an alleged pedophile.

In an interview with the Forward, Hikind dramatically scaled down a previously reported estimate of the number of abuse cases he knew about. He also said he could not keep a pledge to force a prominent yeshiva to remove an alleged pedophile from its staff.

Hikind said that he adjusted his tactics in order to be most effective. “Some people want me to yell and scream; they want me to burn the town down. I know how to do that, but I would lose the war immediately,” Hikind said in his office in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boro Park.

After Hikind first publicized the problem of child sexual abuse in religious communities on his weekly radio show, it was widely reported that he heard from 1,000 victims of past and current abuse. That figure was attributed to Hikind by The New York Times, the New York Post, the Forward and other Jewish media.

But the real figure is about 100, Hikind told the Forward. He said the often repeated 1,000 number may have come from his speculation about the possible number of cases, given what he has heard from therapists who treat sexual abuse victims.

“I think what we were saying to everybody was, my God, the numbers must be astronomical,” Hikind said. “We never said a thousand. It keeps on getting repeated; anybody who talks to me, I actually tell them what the facts are.”

In the same interview, Hikind retreated from his previous position with regard to one of the Orthodox community’s most prominent alleged abusers — Rabbi Avrohom Reichman, formerly principal of, and currently a teacher at, the United Talmudical Academy, located in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. Reichman, the UTA and the Satmar Bungalow Colony summer camp are all named as defendants in a lawsuit filed by Joel Engelman, 23, who says that he was sexually abused by Reichman when he was 8 years old and that the school covered up the abuse.

Since Engelman went public with his allegations, both his family and Hikind have heard from others who say they were also victimized by Reichman. Last summer, following those revelations, Hikind vowed publicly that Reichman would not return to his teaching job in the fall of 2008.

But the accused rabbi is still teaching, and Hikind has not publicly pressed the issue further. The assemblyman told the Forward that his confrontation with Satmar leaders has been “a rather huge learning experience for me.”

Hikind stated that he has “been extremely clear publicly that I believe Rabbi Reichman has done some terrible things, and he should be out. We tried a lot of things behind the scenes to get [Satmar leaders and school officials] to remove this guy, but at the end of the day, for whatever reason — and I think it has something to do with his family being very prominent and having a lot of money — they were not going to remove this guy willingly. Period. End of story.”

The UTA did not return a phone message seeking a response to the allegations.

Hikind said that he could have raised more of a ruckus — for example, by protesting in front of the school — but he believed that such tactics would ultimately hurt the cause by turning other Orthodox leaders against him, which in turn would discourage other victims from speaking out.

“I made a decision that for me to go to war with Satmar, war meaning going into the streets and fighting them publicly and protesting outside the school… it would just destroy everything I’m trying to do,” Hikind said. “I felt without doubt that I would jeopardize everything else that I’m doing. I’ve had to walk on eggs.”

Pearl Engelman, Joel’s mother, has lashed out at Hikind in the past. But at a recent public forum on child sexual abuse, she seemed more sad than angry with Hikind — though still furious at her son’s alleged molester. “The school is stronger than Dov Hikind,” she said quietly. She said people often ask her why Reichman is still teaching children.

“Honestly, I have no answer, and it needs to be asked of the community and the school that is harboring him,” she said, adding that many UTA parents don’t even know about the abuse allegations, despite widespread publicity. “Our community is so secluded that people actually don’t know the news.”

While he has been trying to work cooperatively with religious leaders, Hikind said he is supplying the district attorney’s office with the names of accused molesters. He steadfastly refuses to disclose the names of victims or to publicly name accused pedophiles, but he said giving information about suspected molesters to the authorities is something different altogether.

“We have always worked with the DA,” Hikind said. “We don’t go out and publicize it, because that would destroy everything that I’m doing. But when we have situations where there’s a danger, we constantly give that information to the proper authorities.”

He would not disclose the number of names he has passed along to the district attorney, saying only that it was “many, many, many.” The Brooklyn district attorney’s office confirmed that Hikind has been sharing information, but the office declined to specify how many names the assemblyman has passed along. Overall, the D.A. now has 19 open cases involving allegations of sexual abuse in Orthodox communities in Brooklyn, said Jonah Bruno, a spokesman for Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.

Advocates for abuse survivors say they understand that Hikind has to tread cautiously, and they appreciate his efforts.

“The fact that 100 victims came forward is significant. Think about how hard it is for a survivor to come forward in the face of the stigma in their communities. These people are really courageous,” said Lonnie Soury, who is a spokesman for Survivors for Justice, a group of Jewish sexual abuse survivors.

Elliot Pasik, the attorney handling Engelman’s lawsuit, confirmed that Hikind has been communicating with law enforcement.

“People need to recognize that the sex abuse problem has been brewing in the Orthodox community for 30 years, and an overnight solution is simply not feasible,” said Pasik, president of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, a group he founded last year. “I understand there are advocates clamoring for Mr. Hikind to publicly release the names of the alleged molesters, but we shouldn’t pursue vigilantism…. There is a validity to the path Mr. Hikind has pursued.”

In addition to civil lawsuits and criminal investigations, the third front in the fight against sex abuse is unfolding in Albany, where lawmakers are considering two bills that could permanently change the way religious communities deal with sexual abuse.

One would require background checks and fingerprinting for all private school employees — something that is already mandated for public schools. Sponsored by Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg and co-sponsored by Hikind, among others, the fingerprinting bill is awaiting a hearing in the Assembly education committee.

The second bill, sponsored by Assemblywoman Margaret Markey and also co-sponsored by Hikind, would extend the statute of limitations by five years for criminal and civil cases of child sex abuse and would create a one-year window during which people could sue over old cases of sexual abuse. That bill, which would expose churches, religious schools and synagogues to possible litigation from abuses stretching back many years, may get a vote in the Assembly in the next few weeks.

In the meantime, survivors of sexual abuse say they will continue to speak out, and Hikind says he will continue advocating on their behalf — in his own way.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

The Jewish Week Reports: Sex-Abuse Statute Of Limitations May Be Extended




http://www.thejewishweek.com/viewArticle/c36_a15146/News/New_York.html

Sex-Abuse Statute Of Limitations May Be Extended

“Numerous studies have shown that victims of childhood sexual abuse typically cannot come forward for decades after the abuse occurred,” said Marci Hamilton, a professor at Cardozo Law School and the author of “Justice Denied.” She supports legislation to extend the statute of limitations.
“Numerous studies have shown that victims of childhood sexual abuse typically cannot come forward for decades after the abuse occurred,” said Marci Hamilton, a professor at Cardozo Law School and the author of “Justice Denied.” She supports legislation to extend the statute of limitations.

by Hella Winston
Special To The Jewish Week

Survivors for Justice, a support and advocacy organization formed by victims of child sexual abuse in the fervently Orthodox world, traveled to Albany this week to educate legislators about the problem of child sexual abuse in their communities and to discuss legislative efforts to help curb it and aid victims in seeking redress.
Legislation is currently pending in both the State Assembly and Senate to extend the criminal and civil statute of limitations on these claims, and to open a one-year “window” in which previously time-barred victims can file civil suits.
“We believe this legislation is crucial,” said Lonnie Soury, a spokesman for the group. “[Many] of the cases that SJF has been involved in are perfect examples of the need for this legislation.”

One such case is that of David Framowitz, a founding member of Survivors for Justice, who alleges he was abused by a yeshiva teacher when he was 12 but found himself unable to come forward until his 40s. This is not uncommon, according to Marci Hamilton, a professor at Cardozo Law School and the author of “Justice Denied.”
“Numerous studies have shown that victims of childhood sexual abuse typically cannot come forward for decades after the abuse occurred,” Hamilton said. “They are literally disabled from getting to court. It is simply a scientific fact that it is difficult for them to understand the magnitude of the harm, that they lost their childhood and that their current problems were caused by the abuse until much later in life,” Hamilton said.
In addition to the psychological issues that can prevent many victims from coming forward within the current time limit, intimidation by abusers and their protectors is also a significant factor in the delay.
“Usually these institutions that allow these predators to remain, and have historically allowed them to remain, work very hard to keep the victims quiet,” said Michael Dowd, an attorney who has successfully represented victims of child sexual abuse by Catholic clergy. “That, in addition to the shame and embarrassment, is a very powerful and compelling force.”
According to Dowd, the current statute of limitations has served not only to protect predators but allowed them to continue molesting unhindered, thereby victimizing what often amounts to “hundreds” of children over the course of a lifetime.
Currently in New York State, there is a five-year statute of limitations past the age of majority (18) for people to bring civil suits based on sexual abuse claims. The proposed legislation would extend that maximum age another five years, to the age of 28. More significantly, the bill would allow for a one-year “window” in which people who allege they were sexually abused can file civil actions, regardless of when the abuse took place.
The new bill is sponsored in the Assembly by Margaret Markey and in the Senate by Tom Duane.
An alternative bill was filed in the Assembly on Feb. 19 by Assemblyman Vito J. Lopez (D-Brooklyn). This measure would add only two years to the statute-of-limitations period and contains no window for filing retroactive suits for past abuse. Lopez’s bill does not contain provisions for raising the criminal statute of limitations from age 23 to 28 and does not currently have a Senate sponsor, a significant obstacle to its passage.
The Assembly Codes Committee is expected to consider Markey’s bill early next week, according to a spokesman for her office.
Some of the main opposition to the Markey-Duane bill is coming from the New York State Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the Catholic Church in New York State. The group’s bishops met with Gov. David Paterson on Monday and legislators, including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, on Tuesday as part of their annual lobbying day in Albany. A spokesman for the Conference, Dennis Poust, told The Jewish Week, that the Conference does not support the Markey bill because of the one-year window.
“We can’t support a bill that has a look-back because frankly the ramifications that we saw in California were disastrous. It cost the church a billion dollars in settlements. People [came forward] from 50-60 years ago,” Poust said. While he also argued that the bill “is designed to devastate the Church, but leave public institutions unscathed,” he did concede, however, that even if it were amended to include provisions for suing public institutions, the Conference would not support it.
Poust also said that his organization has “been working with Jewish organizations, though not terribly closely. I think we’ve had conversations with different representatives of the major Orthodox organizations, the [Orthodox Union] and the Agudath Israel. I’m not sure that any of them have taken positions yet,” he added.
David Zwiebel, executive vice president for government and public affairs at Agudath Israel told The Jewish Week that the group is “studying” both the Markey and Lopez bills, but does not “have anything definitive to report [on the statute-of-limitations issue]. He also added that he “imagine[s] we will have a formal position within the next two weeks or so, unless we hear that the legislation is on a fast track and requires a more immediate statement.”
Survivors for Justice is hoping that Agudath Israel will come out in favor of Markey’s bill.
“SFJ does not accept the possibility that an organization as influential as the Agudath Israel would work with the element of the Catholic Church that seeks to continue to deny justice to past victims and protection to our children. The Agudath and the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages) stands for a much higher ideal and we have every hope and belief that they will abide by established halacha, which does not recognize the existence of any statue of limitations but rather relies upon the validity of the evidence presented in each case and be vocal supporters of the Markey bill,” said spokesman Soury.
For Joel Engelman, another founding member of the organization who told his story first to The Jewish Week last summer, opening a window in the statute of limitations is his “last hope.” Engelman, who filed a $5 million lawsuit against the yeshiva that employs a teacher he alleges molested him when he was 8 years old, believed he had reached an agreement with the school not to go public with the allegations if they agreed to remove the teacher from the classroom. While the teacher, Avrohom Reichman, was let go for a time, he was reinstated several weeks after Engelman’s 23rd birthday. Because Engelman’s age puts the alleged acts beyond the statute of limitations for criminal prosecution or civil suit, Engelman’s lawyer is seeking entrée to the court with a novel legal theory involving a claim of fraudulent inducement, the success of which is uncertain. While Engleman has become aware of other allegations against the teacher, Reichman remains employed by the school to this day, something that infuriates Engelman particularly because he believes other children remain in harm’s way.
“If the school won’t do anything and the community won’t do anything, and the criminal statute doesn’t apply, this is my last hope [to make sure no other children are hurt].”
==================================================================

http://forward.com/articles/103834/

Protect the Children

Editorial

Published March 11, 2009, issue of March 20, 2009.

New York State Assemblywoman Marge Markey’s introduction to what has become a cause in her legislative life occurred a few years ago, when someone arrived at her home to ask for assistance from her and her husband, a judge. The person said he was sexually abused as a child, and Markey discovered that the more she tried to help him seek some justice, the more she was stymied by the state’s statutes of limitations. Then, she said, she realized “that’s my job” to change the law. And for four years, she has tried.

For three of those years, the Child Victims’ Act has handily passed the State Assembly, only to be held up in the Republican-controlled Senate. Now that the Senate Democrats are in power, its chances have improved, and Markey is “cautiously optimistic” about the chances for her legislation extending the statute of limitations by five years and creating a one-year “open window” for sexual abuse claims.

The political shifts in Albany are not the only reason for this optimism. A small but increasingly vocal group of Jewish survivors of sexual abuse are lobbying for passage of this worthy bill, and their bravery is welcome. For years, Catholic Church leaders have argued that this reform is targeted against only them. When the former yeshiva bochers roamed the halls of Albany recently to talk to lawmakers, that argument was put to rest.

No religious group ought to feel stigmatized by this legislation, for sadly enough the vast majority of cases of child sexual abuse occur within the family. Wherever it happens, predators nefariously take warped advantage of a child’s need for safety and security. The victim may suffer few, if any, physical injuries, but the emotional and psychological scars are painful and deep and often don’t surface for years.

That is why extending the statute of limitations is necessary. Who among us, as a child, is willing and able to accuse a parent, coach, priest or rabbi of unspeakable acts? It can take decades for a victim to have the fortitude to come forward and face the authority figure he or she once trusted. And, as evidenced by the massive cover-up in the Catholic Church, institutions and tight-knit communities are adept at stalling, silencing and protecting their own instead of the public good.

The most controversial clause in the legislation would create a one-year window allowing victims of any age to seek civil damages for past instances of child sexual abuse. Understandably, there’s concern this will lead to false claims and slanderous accusations that can ruin a person’s reputation and bankrupt a defense. But the evidence says otherwise. One veteran prosecutor said that she’s seen only a “handful” of false claims over more than two decades. Instead, what states such as California and Delaware have learned as they’ve opened such windows is that hundreds of victims emerge after years of crouching in darkness.

With the proper safeguards, allowing abuse victims to face their tormentors will not only confront personal demons. It removes predators from their prey and puts those who enable them on notice that a compassionate society won’t tolerate abuse, especially of its young.

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

http://www.survivorsforjustice.org/Gui/Content.aspx?Page=Home

Survivors for Justice

We are survivors of childhood sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community and their advocates who are committed to offering guidance and support to victims seeking justice through the criminal and civil legal system.

We also advocate for legislation to extend the statute of limitations and open a one year window to offer all abuse victims the ability to file civil lawsuits against their abusers and their protectors.

You can reach us at info@SurvivorsForJustice.org

Late-breaking media coverage

NPR

Joel Engleman

Brooklyn Hasidic Community Grapples With Scandal

by Barbara Bradley Hagerty

PIX Exclusive: Man Confronts Rabbi He Says Molested Him

PIX Exclusive: Hasidic Sex Abuses Claims Continued

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Tuesday, March 03, 2009

The Case of Rabbi Israel Weingarten

















Rabbi Israel Weingarten listens as his daughter testifies during his federal trial for allegedly sexually abusing her starting when she was 9.

Rabbi Israel Weingarten cross examined his own daughter, whom he is accused of molesting, bringing the now 27-year-old to tears.

The ex-wife of a rabbi accused of molesting his daughter testified Thursday that she found them together in bed, and the teen revealed that she had been sexually abused.

Faige Weingarten recalled a Friday night about nine years ago when they were living in Belgium. She had slept in another room after arguing with her husband. She heard their infant crying and went to the bedroom, where she found Weingarten and their then-16-year-old daughter in bed.

"He said, 'Look, we are dressed,' but with the covers half down, I saw the middle of his body was naked," she said in Brooklyn Federal Court through a Yiddish translator.

A few days later, the daughter confided to her she had been sodomized, according to Faige Weingarten.

"She became disgusted for the rest of her life - he made her life disgusting," she said.

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

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/03/05/2009-03-05_exwife_rabbi_israel_weingarten_halfnude_.html

Ex-wife: Rabbi Israel Weingarten half-nude with our daughter

Friday, March 6th 2009, 8:53 AM

Jane Rosenberg

Rabbi Israel Weingarten cross-examined his daugther in court Tuesday.

The ex-wife of a rabbi accused of molesting his daughter testified Thursday that she found them together in bed, and the teen revealed that she had been sexually abused.

Before she began answering the prosecutor's questions, Faige Weingarten waived her spousal privilege and told the judge she wanted to testify against her ex-husband, Israel Weingarten, who prosecutors say began abusing the girl in 1990 when she was 9.

The case is being heard in Brooklyn because Weingarten is accused of passing through JFK Airport on the family's frequent travels to Belgium.

Faige Weingarten recalled a Friday night about nine years ago when they were living in Belgium. She had slept in another room after arguing with her husband. She heard their infant crying and went to the bedroom, where she found Weingarten and their then-16-year-old daughter in bed.

"He said, 'Look, we are dressed,' but with the covers half down, I saw the middle of his body was naked," she said in Brooklyn Federal Court through a Yiddish translator.

A few days later, the daughter confided to her she had been sodomized, according to Faige Weingarten.

"She became disgusted for the rest of her life - he made her life disgusting," she said.

The rabbi, who is representing himself in the case, complained to Judge John Gleeson that the translator misunderstood Faige's answer about his father's ailing health at the time of the alleged sexual abuse.

Gleeson was incredulous. "And you think that was the important part?" he shot back.

Earlier, the rabbi reduced his son to tears during a bizarre cross-examination about a suicide letter the boy had written.

"Is it possible it could get any worse than this?" said the defendant's legal adviser, Barry Rhodes.

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

===============================================================
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--rabbiontrial0303mar03,0,5891609.story

Rabbi cross-examines daughter at NY sex trial

By TOM HAYS

Associated Press Writer

March 3, 2009

A woman who says her ultra-orthodox rabbi father molested her for much of her youth confronted him Tuesday under tense circumstances: as he cross-examined her at his own sex-abuse trial.

The defendant, Israel Weingarten, decided to be his own defense lawyer, setting up what a frustrated judge called an "awkward" and "fairly untenable" situation once he got the chance to directly question the government's star witness.

The woman, now 27, initially turned her head and wept when her father stepped up to a podium normally used by lawyers in a Brooklyn courtroom. But she slowly regained her composure, even lashing out at him when he questioned why she didn't come forward as a teenager with the shocking allegations.

"My feeling from your molesting me was utmost fear and blackmail and years of torture because you hit me, because I told my mother," she said. "Didn't I get hit enough?"

Weingarten, 59, a member of the Satmar community in Monsey, N.Y., was arrested and jailed without bail last year on charges he traveled outside the country to have sex with a minor. In a rambling opening statement, he said he had been falsely accused by a daughter who rebelled against a strict upbringing, and suggested that a neighbor was the actual abuser.

The daughter, one of eight children, told the FBI in 2003 that she was victimized since age 9 while living with her family in Hasidic communities in Belgium, and on trips to England and Israel. Prosecutors allege Weingarten sexually abused her, sometimes on a daily basis, and moved the family around to help conceal his crimes.

The accuser has since changed her name, but came forward and identified herself in open court as the daughter of the rabbi on Monday when she first took the witness stand to detail the accusations. She has appeared in court wearing an orange scarf and pants suit, and with her hair down _ a mainstream look she said her father had scorned.

She told jurors on Tuesday that once she grew up, she left the faith and hoped "to forget everything that happened to me," mindful that her father had warned her she "would never be able to prove it." But she went public with her charges at the urging of her mother, who was embroiled in a custody dispute with her father.

Weingarten, though assisted by two lawyers, struggled with his cross-examination. His questions meandered, and he often interrupted his daughter's answers by scolding her, which visibly angering U.S. District Judge Gleeson.

"I'm not sure where this cross is going, but I do know this: You are not going to lecture this witness," the judge told him.

The father peppered his daughter with questions about her admission that as a teen she briefly fell in love with an older man living next door in Belgium. Though she claimed she never had sex with him, she testified she was thrilled "that I finally got to be with another guy besides my father."

Her father reminded her that the neighbor was married with children, asking, "Didn't you feel that was wrong?"

"I didn't do much thinking," she responded. "I went with my heart."

The woman was to resume testifying on Wednesday.

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

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/03/02/2009-03-02_daughter_of_orthodox_rabbi_tells_court_o.html

Daughter of Orthodox rabbi tells court of father's sexual abuse

Tuesday, March 3rd 2009, 12:03 AM

The 27-year-old daughter of an Orthodox rabbi tearfully described in Brooklyn Federal Court the day 18 years ago when her father began sexually abusing her.

"I felt alone, scared, confused," the woman said as her gray-bearded father sat on the other side of the cavernous courtroom shaking his head.

She said her mother was heating chicken soup and the family was gathering in the kitchen when her father, Israel Weingarten, called the girl to a bedroom and assaulted her.

She said she felt "confusion, deafening silence" after the initial incident, which she says was followed by years of abuse.

Wearing a bright orange scarf and a pants suit, the woman said music, books and long dresses were forbidden in the home and the tight-knit community she has now left.

Weingarten, defending himself against charges that he brought his eldest daughter between homes in Belgium and New York for sex, wore the traditional black leggings and long jacket of a Satmar as he gave a rambling and bizarre opening statement.

"I'm not used to talk to people like you," he said in heavily accented English. He praised his daughter, but said she changed after an alleged affair with a neighbor.

And he repeatedly tried to show that religious Jews are not that different, once even parting his jacket and exposing leggings he said are similar to those worn by George Washington.

"You see these pants, it remind you of something?" he said holding his jacket open during what was surely one of the strangest sights seen in a federal courtroom. "I'm not that much different when it comes to our forefathers ... the only thing is, we didn't want to change."

The testimony continues Tuesday, to be followed by Weingarten's eldest son and his ex-wife.

sshifrel@nydailynews.com

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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--rabbiontrial0302mar02,0,5432855.story

Newsday.com

Daughter accuses NY rabbi father of sex abuse

By TOM HAYS

Associated Press Writer

March 2, 2009

The daughter of an ultra-orthodox Jewish rabbi tearfully testified Monday how her father molested her for the first time at age 9, starting a pattern of abuse that prosecutors say lasted several years.

Afterward, "I felt alone, scared and confused," the woman, now 27, told a jury at her father's sex abuse trial.

The testimony was part of an unusual scene in federal court in Brooklyn, where the rabbi, Israel Weingarten, has chosen to represent himself and could end up cross-examining his own daughter.

In a rambling opening statement, the jailed Weingarten said he had been falsely accused by a daughter who rebelled against a strict upbringing, and suggested that a neighbor was the actual abuser. He also asked jurors not to judge him by his conservative black clothing, comparing it to that worn by George Washington.

"I'm not that different when it comes to our forefathers who were fighting for freedom," he said.

Weingarten, 59, a member of the Satmar community in upstate Monroe, N.Y., was arrested last year on charges he traveled outside the country to have sex with a minor. Prosecutors have said that if convicted, he faces up to 210 months in prison under sentencing guidelines.

The daughter, the second of eight children, first told the FBI in 2003 that she was victimized while living with her family in Hasidic communities in Belgium, and on trips to England and Israel.

"For at least seven years, the defendant sexually abused his daughter on a weekly, and sometimes daily basis," court papers said. "He moved her to different countries in order to continue the abuse and to escape any threat he would be apprehended as word of his abuse began to spread."

The daughter took the stand as the government's first witness wearing an orange scarf and pants suit, and with her hair down _ a mainstream look she said Weingarten forbade while growing up. She claimed her father had told that wearing red, orange or purple was wrong because it "reminds you of a woman's period."

She testified he first violated her one Sunday night after dinner, when he called her into his bedroom.

The daughter was to resume testifying on Tuesday.
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http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/03/09/2009-03-09_rabbi_israel_weingartens_daughter_claims.html

Rabbi Israel Weingarten's daughter claims mother was sexual abuser in trial

Monday, March 9th 2009, 9:33 PM

Jane Rosenberg

Rabbi Israel Weingarten cross examines his daughter Chaneh, during his molestation trial on Monday in Brooklyn.

Enough already.

A federal judge refused Monday to allow a rabbi charged with molesting his daughter to turn the courtroom into the "Jerry Springer" show.

The defendant, Israel Weingarten, who is acting as his own attorney, called two grown daughters Monday to testify that it was their mother who was the child molester, not him.

When Weingarten said he planned to call three more children, ages 13 to 18, to take the stand in Brooklyn Federal Court, the judge had enough.

"Your 13-year-old son is going to testify about sexual abuse by your wife?" Judge John Gleeson asked.

Weingarten replied that the boy would testify to physical abuse by his mother.

"I'm not going to permit it," Gleeson snapped.

Earlier the judge had allowed Weingarten's daughters Chayeh, 23, and Chaneh, 20, to testify that their mother had sexually abused their older sister, who claims she was repeatedly sodomized by her father starting in 1990 when she was 9 and continuing until she was 18.

Chayeh Weingarten testified her mother had sexually abused the victim and that she was warned by the victim that the Mafia would get her if she came forward.

The defendant is charged with transporting his daughter across international borders for the purpose of committing sexual crimes against her.

In her closing argument, prosecutor Rachel Nash asked the jury to consider the humiliation and embarrassment the victim endured by speaking publicly of the abuse.

The rabbi and his wife are divorced and he has claimed that she fabricated the abuse allegations as part of the bitter breakup.

jmarzulli@nydailynews.com

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It is unfortunate that it has come to this. It is a big darn shame it has come to this. It is very hurtful that it has come to this. But yet, IT HAS COME TO THIS. It has come at the price of a GREAT CHILUL HASHEM. It has come to Hashem having to allow his holy name to be DESECRATED so that his CHILDREN remain SAFE. Shame on all those responsible for enabling and permitting Hashem's name to be desecrated! When you save children you save the future. You save the future you save generations. You save generations you save lives. You save lives you have saved the world!!!!!!!