Friday, November 27, 2009

Agudath Israel Fraud Convention Highlights!








Rabbi Shlomo Mandel still employs and gives refuge to child molester Rabbi Yehuda Nussbaum - having no qualms in endangering boys attending Yeshiva Of Brooklyn. Total hypocrisy. No Shame!


The Borough Park Rebbe invoking the name of G-D.

Lipa Margulies featured in audio/visual presentation titled “when it will be a kiddush Hashem!”

Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominsker Rebbe and Rosh Agudas Yisroel, was the first of the evening’s speakers to address the session, which was entitled, “Yisroel Asher Becho Espo’or: Promoting K’vod Shomayim in Our Business and Interpersonal Dealings.”

He focused on a number of issues and ideas pertinent to that theme, which, in light of events both past and present, he called a “painful subject.” Noting the increased number of tragedies in the community over recent years and months, the Rebbe exhorted his listeners to introspect in light of the yesurim around them. We must not, he said, attribute sad circumstances to chance or nature but rather recognize that they demand
change of us - and that a “cloud” of chilul Hashem, the “most grave of all transgressions… hangs over us.”

Continue Reading HERE

79 comments:

yob sux said...

What turns me off is these Rabbis. These fakearoos have no charata & No boosha, dripping with the same repetitive mussar speeches each year, living in lala land as if child sexual abuse is not even an issue. The irony is that all the yenting about substance abuse, chilul hashem, yiras shomayim etc. is contradictory to the way they have handled abuse in their communities over a period of several decades and into the present. This hotel extravaganza getaway with all the amenities is all about a coral of brainwashed men feasting away and watching the junk at the podium tell them what to do and what not to do. Mandel has some chutzpah! This drek should be behind bars. He's no different then the catholics protecting pedophile priests. I can't take these mechutzfim anymore. I just hope justice will be served real soon.

Anonymous said...

Nussbaum MOLESTER
Nussbaum CHILD BEATER
Nussbaum SCUM

Mandel ENABLER OF ABUSE
Mandel EGOTISTIC
Mandel SMALL

Sholom Rubashkin said...

The topic of fraudulence brings me to the realization that not all forgery is equal.

Enablers of child predation receive royal treatment at the convention while and I am facing life sentences for less severe crimes (at least I didn't molest children).

bully said...

Shlomo Mandel is a bully. What a stupid little man.

Rabbi Shloime Mandel said...

bully- that was uncalled for. You can see in this snapshot I have a lot of friends.

zweibel shtick said...

"Rabbi Zwiebel’s remarks at first echoed those of Rabbi Leiff, as he, too, illustrated the greatness of Klal Yisroel in our day - and the need to not allow the “trees,” the problems that plague our community, to obscure the “forest” of its specialness and goodness. He extolled the “remarkable idealism” of the tzibbur,” the “beauty of Klal Yisroel.”

molester yudel nussbaum from yob said...

The trees outside my home are like forests.

Saul J. Kassin said...

The Syrian rabbi's shocked flock
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Joe Ryan
STAR-LEDGER STAFF

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-15/1259453707310040.xml&coll=1

yeshiva of brooklyn said...

A culture of denial, arrogance and cover-up

peace27 said...

It's time to protect the most vulnerable in our society. It's criminal to look away when such heinous crimes occur. People can no longer hide behind religion to cover up their heinous activities, especially when children are involved. We have to cut through the hypocrisy and demand that predators be turned over to the police. Praying in a synagogue, church , mosque doesn't relieve you of the responsibility to protect the victims. You are guilty of abetting and enabling these people who are sick . You are giving them permission to keep doing the same knowing that they will not have to pay for their crimes. APP-thank you for exposing these horrors and perhaps Lakewood will see the light and realize that their predators aren't above the law. The victims need the support of the community and should not be shunned. Provide them with the help they need. It's time for the Orthodox community to face reality..

NYRBlue said...

"Evidently, addressing child molestation in Orthodox communities is no longer a quiet process."

What? There is much evidence to contradict the quote above. A series of half-hearted measures is not the solution, but I guess it's better than completely ignoring the problem (which is not saying much).

So many examples.

pg1 - Man raped as a child feels "validated" for not being ignored or called a liar by the Jewish community.
pg1 (cont'd) - Jewish community leaders hold "closed-door" seminars to address the problem.
pg2 - Rabbinical court judge cancels in-house child sex abuse trial and doesn't respond to the APP's interview request.
pg2 (cont'd) - The appointment of "liaisons" between law enforcement and the synagogue is certainly not to protect victims, and in fact can be construed for quite the opposite purpose.
pg3 - Finally, you do not need to be a "modern thinker" to believe that child rape is wrong!!!

If you can't condemn the rape of a child, than what can you condemn?

misleading said...

On the contrary, there is no real effort being made to bring closure and end the silence. Was there even a blurb about this at the Hilton this weekend? NO!
*

MISLEADING HEADLINE
"Orthodox moves to end silence on sex abuse"

loshan hara said...

What is gained by all this loshan hara?

matt salamon said...

The theme this year was
'only two slipped through our fingers'

Anonymous said...

it is obvious mandel is corrupt and so too is the aguda movement. he is hiding the truth. for the life of me i cant understand how the jewish people are usually so good with chesed, tzedaka, but in the area of facing up to sexual abuse so terrible. why no pity? there is no good answer they can come up with other than sticking to their lies.

shlomo mandel of yob; resign! said...

“Hypocrisy, the lie, is the true sister of evil, intolerance, and cruelty.”

Yehuda Kolko said...

Leave Mandel alone. He let me proctor tests at yob while UOJ was causing me a lot of stress.
He feels we need to feed our families regardless of the fact we're dangerous to kids.
This leads me to believe he feels the same about Nussbaum.

Rabbi Ephraim Byrks said...

Rabbi Ephraim Boruch Bryks has a long documented history of serious allegations of sexual abuse of young children and sexual exploitation of women he counsels.

Motezes Resign said...

In many respects the Catholics are making progress. They are at least discussing (and admitting) child sex abuse (and coverup) took place, and are not rejecting pleas from survivors to meet face to face.

-

A Catholic bishop criticised for not investigating an allegation of child sex abuse says that in response to calls for his resignation he will be a guided by the priests and people of his diocese.

As pressure mounted Bishop of Limerick Donal Murray to step down, he said his greatest regret was if any of his actions contributed to the suffering of a child.

The shocking Murphy Report on child sex abuse found the bishop handled a number of complaints badly and described his failure to investigate one allegation as inexcusable.

shlomo mandel in this report said...

'Peversion of power and trust' exposed in Dublin archdiocese handling of sex-abuse complaints

"The report leaves us in no doubt that clerical child sexual abuse was tolerated and covered up by the Archdiocese of Dublin and other Church authorities," the Irish government noted in a statement released in conjunction with the report's publication. The government saw a "systematic, calculated perversion of power and trust." Justice Minister Dermot Ahern noted "the cruel irony that the Church, partly motivated by a desire to avoid scandal, in fact created a scandal on an astonishing scale."

SHAQ to Agudah said...

How u know were I'm at, when u haven't been where I been, understand were I'm coming from

Yaakov Menken said...

Menken, an admitted sex abuser, was quietly sent off to Baltimore with Reb Shmuel Kamenetzkey's blessings.

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/faith/2009/12/rabbi_yaakov_menken_is_the.html

Elior Chen said...

'Abusive rabbi' trial to open February

Self proclaimed rabbi Elior Chen, charged with abuse, assault of minors, given one month to respond to charges brought against him. Victims' mother to testify against him

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3813400,00.html

Shlomo Mandel the putz said...

APP must have it in for me. This was written bemazid to further aggravate me. I will repeat the same threats I used against victims and their parents back in the 1990's, and that is -- I will turn the names of those responsible for besmirching me and my yeshiva into mud!


http://www.app.com/article/20091201/OPINION01/912020320/1029/OPINION/Don+t+negotiate+on+child+abuse

Statistics show that child molestation is no more common in Orthodox communities than elsewhere. But when sexual abuse is covered up or seen as unworthy of reporting to secular authorities, the damage to the child and to the credibility of the faithful is incalculable.

Doesn't the voice of God thunder down in the Torah? "What hast thou done? The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me," God says to Cain after he murdered Abel. Surely the cries of the sexually abused in the Orthodox community do so as well.

Let justice come. Now.

penetration schinberg said...

And what about if there was no penetration?

"And it must be made clear by the Prosecutor's Office that failure to report it in itself constitutes a crime"

margo said...

Yudi Kolko told me he never put his zach inside.

yaakov applecrap said...

YTT is innocent of all charges. The John Does' are lying.

Effy Wachsman said...

Boiler rooms have no video cameras.
How they proving their case?

Reb Matis Salomon said...

I'm too busy replacing carpets in Lakewood. Could someone tell APP I have no time for interviews.

Israel Belsky said...

Matis,

Get me the editor's name and home address. Bothering the Mashgiach on his personal time is no way to treat a human. Time for one of my FedEx Hazmanas.

The Noviminsker Tush said...

I'm not getting involved in Boro park matters anymore. You see, during the convention I tried to chap some of the leftover kishke from the cholent when a piece of pastrami inadvertently hit me in the face, getting my hat and bechisher dirty, not to mention my beard had an odor all shabbos. I knew it was a boro park yid who flung it across to his chaver, because flatbushers aren't so smart to know the tricks of when the meat runs out. But when i confronted him he refused to tell me the emes. He told me it was the fat Monsey ferd from the other table.

Aron Twerski said...

Pastrami is honorable for its rich taste.

"Why, God - Why Me?" said...

Child Sexual Abuse: TRUE Stories

This film is for adults. It is very powerful to watch. Only God knows how many of our young people have lived through the pain and the confusion of child sexual abuse.

"Why, God - Why Me?" dramatizes a true life account with the actual voice of a single woman survivor. Her incredibly frank revelations help others to see a world where traditional comforts of home and family are threatening and dehumanizing.

While "Why, God - Why Me?" is emotionally compelling, there are no graphic, sexual or violent scenes. The sensitivity of this program results, in part, from the fact that it was researched and produced by high school students.

"Why, God - Why Me?" is a powerful program to watch and offers a common ground for discussion and understanding. It ends on a positive note, helping to demonstrate that the nightmare realities of childhood can be stopped and survivors can establish new, loving relationships.


Reviews:

"'Why God' does a superb job of presenting the personal emotional trauma experienced by the victims of childhood sexual abuse." Karl R. Kunkel, Teaching Sociology, Vol. 18, No. 3

"This exceptionally dramatic and poignant program introduces the topic of child sexual abuse and serves as a discussion tool for families, abused and abusers as well. As one survivor tells her story, the viewer comes to feel such common reactions as guilt, self-hatred, shame, detachment, fear, numbness and denial."
Catherine Gray Deering, RN, MSN, CS, Lecturer, Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Program, Yale University School of Nursing

Awards:

American Film & Video Festival, Top Prize- Blue Ribbon Award
National Council on Family Relations, Top Prize First Place Award
Columbus International Film Festival, Chris Award
International Film & Television Festival of New York, Finalist Certificate
USA Film Festival, Finalist Certificate
Chicago International Film Festival, Certificate of Merit


Title #204552
Format: DVD-R

Anonymous said...

exposemolesters, i happen to know some yob victims who were abused. i spoke to them. There is no question in my mind abuse took place and still does. When i say abuse i mean of a sexual nature. Physical, emotional, physiological is a given. i saw it with my own two eyes and they did not hesitate to tell me incidents. The conflict inside their minds is a)they are yeshivish & scared to open up publicly, and b) shidduchwise too afraid of risking exposure and everything that goes along with it. c) questioning themselves if it is worth opening a can of worms when theyd rather just forget it ever happened and move on with their lives. This dilemma is the deciding factor and may explain why it is so difficult to capture pedophiles. Enablers know it too, explaining their indifference to human life. if they have the sol saving them, why should they care. i wish it was easier than this. My gut tells me unless we can overturn the stature of limitations there won't be justice. that's my experience and conclusion from speaking to them. i heartily wish for some method to trap those responsible, both the abusers and enablers. Hiding is one way to elude justice, but as they say you can run but cannot hide.

shlomo mandel in this report said...

http://www.app.com/article/20091201/OPINION01/912020320/1029/OPINION/Don+t+negotiate+on+child+abuse

molester yehuda nussbaum said...

Facebook and MySpace have terminated the accounts of 3,533 convicted sex offenders in the state of New York after they submitted their account information to the state under 2008’s Electronic Security and Targeting of Online Predators Act (e-STOP) law, the New York Daily News reports.

The law requires the state’s 30,000 convicted sex offenders to file their home, e-mail and social networking addresses with the state. Out of that pool, only about 27 percent revealed e-mail addresses or social-networking usernames to authorities, and only 10 percent divulged a Facebook or MySpace username.

The remaining 22,000 or so registered sex offenders who did not supply online identity information are either in prison or homeless, lack computer access or simply chose not to respond, an unidentified state Division of Criminal Justice Services representative told the New York Daily News.

The e-STOP system only works if criminals volunteer their social networking identities, as they are required to do within 10 days of creating a new account under penalty of new felony charges. Proponents of the law have declared it a success.

“Before e-STOP, sexual predators freely lurked in social networking sites trolling for innocent victims,” said executive director of Parents for Megan’s Law and the Crime Victims Center Laura Ahearn to the Daily News. “With e-STOP, Attorney General Cuomo has sent a clear message that there is a new sheriff in the cyberworld protecting our most vulnerable.”

New York State supplied the account names to Facebook and MySpace over the past two months as part of the first stage of the e-STOP sweep. The next step is to check whether any of the offenders violated the terms of their early release from prison by setting up a profile on the sites.

Incidentally, sex offenders — like many others — appear to favor Facebook over MySpace. Out of the 3,533 offenders whose accounts were terminated, 79 percent were on Facebook and 51 percent were on MySpace. Many had accounts on both networks, while 21 percent used MySpace exclusively and 49 percent used Facebook exclusively.

NY Church Stonewalled on Sex Abuse--But Fought Marriage Equality said...

http://www.edgeboston.com/index.php?ch=news&sc=&sc2=news&sc3=&id=99683
-----------------------------------

The Dec. 2 defeat in the New York State Senate of a bill that would have extended marriage equality to the state’s gay and lesbian families was promoted--and celebrated--by New York’s Catholic leadership.

But questions still linger about the role one New York church official in particular played in the clerical sex abuse scandal.

A statement released by the New York State Catholic Conference on the day of the Dec. 2 vote, which saw the measure lose 38-24, declared that, "it has become clear that Americans continue to understand marriage the way it has always been understood, and New York is not different in that regard," reported a New York Times article from that same day. Added the statement, "This is a victory for the basic building block of our society."

another chen said...

A Beit Shemesh man, 45, was arrested yesterday for allegedly abusing three of his 12 children repeatedly, at times pressing a burning hot knife to their tongues. The man was arrested following a complaint issued by the town's social services, in contact with the family after the mother was indicted last month for child abuse. Labeled "Taliban mother" in the media due to the severe nature of the abuse, she was sentenced to four years in prison and six months suspended sentence for abusing her 12 children. The father allegedly only abused three children.

Parents must safeguard children’s safety By Asher Lipner said...

Could we get some quotes from the convention that this article referenced?

http://thejewishstar.wordpress.com/2009/12/01/opinion-why-wait-for-agudah/

Riskin Children's Center said...

Art used to heal children
Friday, December 4, 2009
Clifton Journal
STAFF WRITER

CLIFTON – It's often said art imitates life.

In a unique City classroom, however, life initiates art in a sophisticated yet natural release of emotion.

Founded in 2003, the Riskin Children's Center is the mental health arm of the Jewish Family Services facility on Scoles Avenue.

Its programs are designed to create a high quality, accessible and affordable environment for Passaic County children, agency director Esther East said. The center is non-sectarian and is open to all children in need of help.

Its staff of child psychologists and therapists offer a wide variety of options for children.

P.A.L.S. (Peace, A Learned Solution), one of the center's premier programs, is designed to interrupt the cycle of domestic violence experienced or witnessed by children by providing intervention services as well as therapeutic art courses.

"The program serves 120 children each year, 60 for each six month cycle," East said. "Children range in age from 2 to 12 and the majority are from Spanish-speaking families. Central to the service provided is creative arts therapies - movement, music, play and art."

Continued...

http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/78492882.html

exposemolesters said...

"i happen to know some yob victims who were abused."

Arrangements are in place. Check your email.. Shabbat Shalom!

Zwiebel a weasel said...

David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, a group representing many haredi factions, offered the moderate view. “A broad consensus has emerged in the last few years,” he said, “that many of these issues are beyond the ability of the community to handle internally.”

But he added that prosecutors should recognize “religious sensitivities” by seeking alternatives to prison, to avoid depriving a family of its breadwinner, or by finding appropriate Orthodox homes for children removed from abusive families.

“The district attorney should be careful not to be seen as making a power grab from rabbinic authority,” Mr. Zwiebel said.

Trust and Repentance said...

An excellent well written article.

http://www.jewishmag.com/89mag/abuse/abuse.htm

Henry said...

This is one of the main reasons it's so hard to prosecute sex crimes. Without victims' testimony perpetrators have free reign.

child molester enabler shlomo mandel said...

2 clergymen who hid abuse still working
As the Bridgeport Diocese tries to move beyond the priest sex abuse scandal, the release of 12,000 documents has revealed the roles key diocesan leaders played in the cover-up.

http://www.connpost.com/ci_13936153?source=most_viewed

child molester enabler shlomo mandel said...

Authorities: Coverage of sex-abuse scandals could impact survivors

http://www.thehour.com/story/479013

Fake Jews said...

Nothing devoted to sexual abuse of children by the clergy.

The second half of the Sunday morning session at the convention addressed the devastating impact of substance abuse and other kinds of addiction on individuals, families and the Orthodox community. Entitled, “We are Not Immune: Facing Up to the Reality of Substance Abuse and Compulsive Behaviors,” it featured Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski MD, the founder of Gateway Rehabilitation Center and an internationally renowned expert in treating addictions; and Rabbi Yisroel Reisman, Rav, Agudath Israel of Madison.

"rabbi"shlomo mandel of yob; RESIGN NOW! said...

An Irish bishop flew to Rome yesterday to hand in his resignation after days of angry and intense pressure over his handling of cases of child sexual abuse within the Catholic Church.

Donal Murray, Bishop of Limerick (pictured), gave every sign of acting with great reluctance, after spending some days apparently playing for time in the hope of keeping his post. But the wave of shock and horror which followed publication of a damning report, which revealed a systematic high-level church cover-up of the abuse of children by priests, is in effect sweeping him from office.

The report revealed that archbishops of Dublin had over a quarter of a century ensured that the activities of paedophile priests were kept secret. The result was that in many cases priests were left free to continue their abuse. The report concluded, and the Irish public has accepted, with dismay and sustained rage, that the church routinely placed its own image ahead of the protection of vulnerable children. In the case of Bishop Murray, pictured, the report concluded that he had acted "inexcusably" in one case, and that he had handled other complaints and suspicions badly.

India warning said...

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

Israelis urged to avoid Jewish sites, tourist spots throughout India
Dec. 8, 2009
YAAKOV KATZ , THE JERUSALEM POST

The Counter-Terrorism Bureau is recommending that Israeli tourists refrain from congregating at Jewish sites in India because terrorists may be planning attacks similar to those carried out in Mumbai on 26/11, with a focus on Israeli tourists.

On Sunday, the team of FBI agents heading the investigation into two Chicago men allegedly involved in planning last year's attacks that killed 166 people, including the Chabad emissary to Mumbai and his wife, arrived in India for talks with security agencies there.

David Headley was arrested in October on charges that he was working for the Pakistani terror group Lashkar e-Taiba and was plotting a fresh series of attacks in India with a focus on synagogues and Chabad centers.

According to reports in the Indian press, the FBI team will share crucial data with Indian security forces regarding Headley's plans. Israeli officials said Monday that there were in direct contact with the FBI and the Indian security services and were receiving regular updates regarding the investigation.

"The threat against Israelis is still real," one official explained, referring to the travel advisory that the Israeli CBT issued in October, according to which the threat against Israelis was "concrete." The advisory recommended that Israelis refrain from congregating in synagogues, Chabad centers and other popular tourist spots.

Meanwhile Monday, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi continued his tour of India, where he met with his Indian counterpart, Gen. Deepak Kapoor.

Ashkenazi is also scheduled to hold talks with the Indian Navy chief, national security adviser and head of the air force. According to Indian media reports, one of the topics on Ashkenazi's agenda is the possibility of holding joint Israeli-Indian counter-insurgency and counter-terror military exercises.

This article can also be read at http://www.jpost.com /servlet/Satellite?cid=1260181014334&pagename=JPArticle%2FShowFull

Qur’an teaches ant-semitism said...

Recommended reading material for anyone, especially for a Jew. If there was any doubt as to the hatred the Koran-loving wackos exhibit this should leave none.

http://frontpagemag.com/2009/12/08/the-persistence-of-islamic-anti-semitism-by-robert-spencer/

"in reality there is a strong native strain of anti-Semitism in Islam, which is rooted in the Qur’an. The Muslim holy book contains a great deal of material that forms the foundation for a hatred of Jews that exists independently of the Christian variety. It is also, in many ways, more virulent and harder to eradicate. The Qur’an portrays the Jews as the craftiest, most persistent, and most implacable enemies of the Muslims—and there is no Muslim equivalent of the Second Vatican Council to mitigate against destructive interpretations. The Qur’anic material on the Jews remains the prism through which far too many Muslims see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—and Jews in general—to this day."

Lee Tucker Jr said...

A 39-year-old Lakewood man on Monday pleaded guilty to aggravated assault in a random baseball-bat attack on a rabbi that sparked widespread attention in Lakewood's Orthodox Jewish community.

Lee Tucker Jr. of Ventura Drive admitted to Superior Court Judge Francis R. Hodgson that he attacked Rabbi Mordechai Moskowitz with an aluminum baseball bat on Oct. 9, 2007, in Lakewood.

Responding to questions posed by his attorney, Glenn Kassman, Tucker acknowledged that he struck Mordechai, a stranger, three to six times on the head with the bat. Questioned further by Assistant Ocean County Prosecutor Michael Weatherstone, Tucker conceded the action was an attempt to cause serious bodily injury to the victim.

Moskowitz, a third-grade teacher at Lakewood Cheder School, was walking to synagogue to pray when he was attacked just after dark at Princeton Avenue and Carey Street in Lakewood. Authorities said Moskowitz, then 53 and a Lakewood resident, required hospitalization at a rehabilitation center for severe injuries to his face and head.

Tucker had been charged in an indictment with attempted murder and weapons offenses, but the prosecution, in a plea bargain, agreed to dismiss the weapons charges and to downgrade the attempted murder charge to second-degree aggravated assault, which is punishable by five to 10 years in prison.

The victim, who was not in court, approved of the plea bargain, he said.

Weatherstone said he will ask for a 10-year prison term for Tucker when he is sentenced on Jan. 29, although Kassman said he will argue for a shorter term. Tucker will have to serve 85 percent of any prison term he does receive before he can be considered for release on parole, under the state's No Early Release Act for violent criminals.

If he had been convicted of attempted murder, Tucker would have faced up to 20 years in prison.

The attack on Moskowitz received widespread attention in the Orthdox community. The Vaad, Lakewood's council of Orthodox leaders, and the Anti-Defamation League offered a $25,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case.

An intensive investigation by Lakewood Detective Steven Wexler and prosecutor's Detective Carlos Trujillo-Tovar led to Tucker's arrest 15 days after the assault and eight blocks away from where it took place.

agudas israel senior citizens division said...

They're going to bankrupt churches as they want to do to yeshivas. Aren't these cases ancient history already?
______________________________________

A lawsuit filed in St. Cloud Tuesday accuses the Benedictine Order of covering up sex-abuse allegations that were made against 11 clerics working at St. John's University in Collegeville in the 1960s, '70s and '80s.

Jeramiah McCarthy filed the suit, which alleges that he was molested in 1971 by the late Rev. Bruce Wollmering, an academic counselor. In 2006, investigators determined that similar accusations against Wollmering by a different student were credible.

McCarthy's suit follows a legal tactic used in six other cases filed in Minnesota and two in North Dakota. Those suits involved the Christian Brothers. This is the first for the Benedictine Order.

Instead of suing for the alleged abuses, for which the statute of limitations has expired, the suits charge the orders with concealing the reports of abuse and, thus, putting other potential victims at risk. A judge has yet to rule on the merit of this argument.

McCarthy's suit names Wollmering and 10 others who purportedly abused St. John's students from the early 1960s to 1985. The names of the accused are on a list compiled by a review board that was created at St. John's Abbey in 2002.

The abbey released a statement saying it had been informed of the suit, "which we plan to carefully review." It added that its "policies are clear and long-standing: We do not tolerate sexual misconduct in any form."

duvid said...

My story of abuse is like many. I was groomed for months by a respected member of the Brooklyn community. It then escalated into touching and full blown seduction.

By now I am of free will and mind, and not a day goes back without flashbacks. I feel worthless at times. Only with the help of therapy am I able to move on. My tormentor has eluded justice, thanks to close-knit ties he maintains with rabbinic forces and their refusal to believe me all along.

Now Years later I want to press charges, but unable to, because stature of limitations prohibit due cause.

Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes said...

The Forward is a bullish paper. I wouldn't believe even one rubbish word they print.

http://www.forward.com/articles/120598/

Brooklyn’s district attorney has lost a key fight in his effort to keep the lid on details of how he has dealt with a high-profile sex-abuse case in the Orthodox Jewish community.

A New York Supreme Court judge ruled November 23 that Kings County District Attorney Charles Hynes must release documents related to the case of Avrohom Mondrowitz, who fled to Israel in 1984 after being charged with sexually abusing boys at a Jewish religious school.

Hynes has been criticized for allegedly bowing to pressure from Orthodox rabbis and not doing enough to push for Mondrowitz’s extradition from Israel. Since the United States demanded Mondrowitz’s extradition last year — a quarter-century after the indictment — Hynes has taken some credit for the move, part of a larger campaign to emphasize his office’s commitment to prosecuting sex-abuse cases in the Orthodox community. Michael Lesher, a lawyer for abuse victims and a longtime critic of Hynes, has requested that Hynes release any documents that could prove his stepped-up role in the Mondrowitz case.

In his affidavit, Lesher wrote: “If the District Attorney has been telling the truth about his role in the attempted Mondrowitz extradition, he has nothing to hide; if he has not been telling the truth, he has no right to hide.”

The judge agreed that Hynes should release the documents, but a spokesman for Hynes, Jerry Schmetterer, said that the district attorney’s office will appeal the decision. Hynes’s office has argued that the documents are part of the ongoing prosecution of Mondrowitz and that releasing them would divulge sensitive information about victims.

Mondrowitz currently sits in an Israeli jail; his extradition to the United States has not been authorized thus far by Israeli courts.

The argument over the documents reflects a broader debate about whether Hynes and Orthodox leaders have indeed become more committed to the prosecution of sex offenders in that community. In the past, Orthodox rabbis have said that sex-abuse cases should be dealt with by religious authorities rather than by secular law enforcement; Lesher and other advocates for sex-abuse victims say that Hynes dropped cases and generally went soft on Orthodox offenders due to pressure from the politically powerful Orthodox community.

Recently, though, after extensive public attention on the issue, Hynes and a number of Brooklyn Orthodox rabbis have said that they want to see more action on sex abuse. An article in The New York Times earlier this fall reported that Hynes’s office was responsible for a spate of new prosecutions of Orthodox offenders. One of the centerpieces of Hynes’s new work has been the move to extradite Mondrowitz. Schmetterer said that Hynes advocated for the U.S.-Israel extradition treaty to be changed so that Mondrowitz could be brought back for trial.

But Lesher said he is skeptical that Hynes, in fact, played such an active role. He said that he believes the documents he is seeking will likely affirm his view. More broadly, Lesher said that in his work with sex-abuse victims, he has not seen a great change in Hynes’s handling of such cases.

“People I know who come to me with complaints about having been abuse victims are not really seeing a sea change in the way they are being treated,” Lesher said.

Ben Hirsch, the founder of the group Survivors for Justice, said that Hynes has become more active on sex abuse in the Orthodox community recently. But Hirsch said that the documents Lesher is requesting will likely reveal that Hynes acted differently in the past.

“Our hope is we will all learn from past errors and make sure they are never repeated,” Hirsch said.

Contact Nathaniel Popper at popper@forward.com

Lipa Brenner said...

I just want to thank Mr. Hynes for letting me walk without any jail time.

Solomon Hafner said...

Mr. Hynes, I owe you one too!

Yudi Kolko said...

As my hakoras hatoiv, Charles Hynes will lead the boys bathing suit contest this motzei shabbos at the New Brunswick, NJ Hilton. I will be one of the judges.

Margo the slapper said...

only yingerlach mit guteh middos vil go.

Lesher is great said...

I really admire Michael Lesher for his superlative efforts, determination and grit. He is aggressively pursuing justice for all, and he has been doing it for a long time.

As Mondrowitz rots in an Israeli jail cell, Hynes is being exposed as a disingenuous prosecutor who didn't relish the opportunity of prosecuting orthodox Jews, probably due to his election bid and fear of rousing the wrath of prominent community leaders whose support he desperately sought.

The Mondrowitz case is coming back to haunt him, and he has only himself to blame. Go Michael go!
--------------------------------------
Rabbis' Ruling May Nix Bid To Indict Suspect in Kid-Sex Rap

by Al Guart

New York Post - Saturday, March 11, 2000 (p. 10)

A panel of Orthodox rabbis cleared a Brooklyn rabbi of molesting a 7-year-old boy -- a move that might keep witnesses from the grand jury probing him, The Post has learned.

The panel, reportedly headed by Manhattan Rabbi David Feinstein and two rabbis from Brooklyn and two from upstate Monsey, cleared Bobover Rabbi Solomon Hafner on Thursday evening of any wrongdoing, sources said.

Hafner, 40, was charged last January with sexually abusing a developmentally disabled boy. A grand jury is hearing evidence in the case.

Leading Bobover Rabbi Chaim Tauber was caught on tape yesterday discussing the panel's ruling and predicting it might have an impact on Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes' grand-jury probe of the charges.

"They came out with a resolution that Rabbi Hafner is clean as a whistle," Tauber said on a tape reviewed by the Post.

Asked about the effect the ruling would have on potential witnesses, Tauber said, "They have nothing to cooperate with. They have nothing to say. There is no one coming forward to blame."

Tauber could not be reached yesterday. His wife confirmed such a conversation took place but was surprised it had been taped.

The ruling of a Beit Din -- a rabbinical court -- holds sway over members of Orthodox and Hasidic Jewish communities, even more than secular authorities.

It is also seen by some as a means of trying to influence Hynes, who has been under fire from parts of the Jewish community for charging another rabbi with witness-tampering.

Last week, Hynes' office lost the case against Bernard Freilich, who was charged with threatening a couple to drop sexual-abuse charges.

"My concern is that actions like this might put a damper on rabbis and others in the community from coming forward with allegations such as this," said lawyer Michael Lesher, who revealed the rabbinical court's ruling to The Post.

"I would like to know what evidence they had and what significance this is supposed to have while a grand jury is pending," Lesher said.

"I am not at liberty to talk about this," Rabbi Feinstein said.

Hynes said...

Tripping Up The Prosecution

By Stephanie Saul - Staff Writer

Newsday - May 28, 2003

Last in a series.

http://www.nynewsday.com/templates/misc/printstory.jsp?slug=nyc%2Dpros0529&section=%2Fnews%2Flocal%2Fqueens

Former New Yorker Avrohom Mondrowitz has built a quiet, comfortable life as a college professor in Jerusalem.

The syllabus for his business administration course at Jerusalem College of Engineering is posted on the Web, along with his phone number.

Mondrowitz is living so openly, it's hard to believe the psychologist and self-styled rabbi is wanted for allegedly sexually abusing four Brooklyn boys, ages 10 to 16. The charges against him include sodomy.

"I don't want this hydra to lift its head again," said Mondrowitz, declining to discuss his 1985 indictment on 13 counts. Once the host of a radio program in Brooklyn, Mondrowitz will be arrested should he ever re-enter the United States, according to the office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes.

But according to U.S. Justice and State department documents, Hynes' office approved a decision in 1993 to drop efforts to extradite Mondrowitz, a U.S. citizen who has been sheltered by the Israeli government since he fled the United States in 1985.

Michael Lesher, a New Jersey attorney who obtained the federal documents after years of research on the Mondrowitz case, said the decision to drop efforts to return Mondrowitz to the United States is an embarrassing one, considering the severity of the charges.

A spokesman for Hynes, Jerry Schmetterer, was at a loss to explain the decision.

"We don't know anything about the State Department closing its file," said Schmetterer, calling the federal records a "mystery."

"We have nothing in our files to indicate we ever made that decision," said Schemetterer, emphasizing that the Mondrowitz file is still kept in a prosecutor's desk in the event Mondrowitz ever returns from Jerusalem.

Escape to Israel is merely one of the factors that can hamper prosecution of alleged sex abuse in the Orthodox community.

Police and prosecutors find that victims of alleged sexual abuse in those communities are discouraged from coming forward.

http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Hafner_Solomon.html#Nix

Avraham M. Leizerowitz said...

I love these stories. It looks like this Geary D. Oakes guy didn't use his brains and escape to a place like Israel.

http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_13962968
Boarding school employee charged with sex abuse of boys

By Lindsay Whitehurst

The Salt Lake Tribune
Updated: 12/09/2009 06:44:23 PM MST

A therapeutic boarding school employee was charged this week with sexually abusing two 15-year-old students.

Geary D. Oakes, 57, worked at Cedar Ridge Academy in Roosevelt for 10 years as director of social services, arranging off-site medical trips and phone calls to parents, among other jobs, said Sean Haggerty, director of admissions.

Last month, he gave a 15-year-old boy cigarettes in exchange for oral sex, once at a school building and once at his house, according to charges filed last week in 8th District Court.

He allegedly abused a second boy, also 15, once after checking him out of school to for medical treatment, and later gave him two Vicodin pills, according to the charges.

One boy reported the abuse to school administrators, and the other told his parents, who then told school officials, Haggerty said. When interviewed by police, Oakes admitted to some of the abuse, according to charging documents. He was charged with two counts of forcible sodomy, first-degree felonies, and two counts of sexual abuse of a minor, second-degree felonies.

He was fired on Nov. 30. Administrators at the school for troubled youth are contacting alumni to find out if there have been other victims, but none has come forward so far.

"We're very surprised, it's hard to believe just looking back at the history of all the good things he's done," Haggerty said. "It was difficult to see, but we followed through with the
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investigation anyway."

yanky horowitz said...

I'm against Markey's bill because it will bankrupt our yeshivos - not to mention - I am an extension of Agudah.

Case in point.

Church agrees to $200,000 settlement of sex abuse lawsuit


St. John's TelegramDecember 9, 2009



ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — A man who was sexually abused by a Newfoundland priest 30 years ago has won a $200,000 settlement of his lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Church.

On Tuesday, the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corp. agreed to the settlement with the man, who was abused by the late Father James Hickey in the 1970s.

Hickey, a prominent priest, died in 1992. He was convicted in the late 1980s of numerous counts of sexual abuse.

Eight other men, who were also abused by Hickey, are seeking compensation from the church, which a judge ruled earlier this year is liable for the abuse.

Since then lawyers have been trying to work out how much will be paid in damages.

around the blogs said...

Asher Lipner has a very nice write-up posted on "The Unorthodox Jew" blog
Visit UOJ

Ynet said...

Rabbis take on haredi websites

Dozens of religious authority figures sign document declaring de facto war over ultra-Orthodox websites that 'defame our public.' Haredi reporter warns move means 'Armageddon is upon us'

Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 12.11.09, 15:41 / Israel Jewish Scene

The ultra-Orthodox community's senior rabbis have declared war on haredi websites, saying they contribute to corruption within the community.


Is a harsh document obtained by Ynet Thursday, the rabbis denounce the websites – the majority of which are daily news publications unsanctioned by the ultra-Orthodox establishment – on grounds that they "pursue all manners of news and gossip that defame our public" and "spread slander, lies and impurities to thousands."


Monitoring
Haredim asked to report yeshiva students with internet connection / Kobi Nahshoni
Jerusalem 'modesty squad' says computers containing 'abominations' found in apartments rented by yeshiva students, calls on capital's residents to 'stand guard'
Full story
Ironically, the document was leaked and posted on the "Haredim" website – one of the sites denounced by the rabbis.



"We already know that many souls in Israel have been lost to the dangers of the Internet, which has been banned by the strictest (halachic) orders from every home," it said.



The rabbis further stated that it is the ultra-Orthodox websites "which impeach a public tempted to (surf) the vilest of places, which have already caused so many in Israel to breach Torah laws about things best kept private."


The document was signed by dozens of the ultra-Orthodox public's most prominent rabbis, including Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, Rabbi Aharon Yehuda Leib Shteinman and Rabbi Chaim Kanievsky.


The rabbis also demanded advertisers cease their dealings with the websites named in the list "To those who cooperate with them – we hereby warn you… individuals, groups and companies are not to advertise with them."


A haredi journalist told Ynet that the rabbis' position "is a very dramatic, historic thing, since they have so far refrained from taking such steps in their fight against the Internet."


This move, he added, "Is a direct war on the websites and it will be a fierce battle. It will start with the personal persecution of Internet personnel and who knows where it will end. This move may very well mean Armageddon is upon

child molester yehuda nussbaum said...

Cardinal Egan reminds me of Shlomo Mandel in that each enables molestation and stands up for abusers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/nyregion/03egan.html

Since 2002, when he moved to New York and nationwide attention focused on the church hierarchy’s handling of abuse complaints, Cardinal Egan has faced troubling accusations about his tenure in Bridgeport: that he allowed priests facing multiple sex abuse allegations to continue working; that he did not refer complaints to criminal authorities; and that he showed little interest in meeting with accusers.

Anonymous said...

A frelichin Chanukah to you, EM. You are a super human being. I was blessed to have known your chushuvah father. Bischus of his neshama - may we all merit the berochos for a happy and fulfilling life.

The yob people have a din vecheshbon that must be answered. They will not go unpunished. Good Voch and may we recite the al annisim again when the enablers are no longer able to hide.

Governor Schwarzenegger: said...

Governor Schwarzenegger:
Thank you very much. Thank you. Well, thank you very much, we really appreciate that. And Rabbi Cunin, thank you very much for this wonderful gift. We have been doing this now and celebrating Hanukkah for many years, since I have become governor of the great state of California. And I remember the first year I got those candles and they said, "Take this menorah and put it in your office." And I put it in my office. And then the second year they said, "Here is one, take it in your office." So now I have all the rooms in my office filled with Menorah candles. (Applause) And you can never have enough, you can never have enough of the Menorah lights, because as we always say that it should light around the globe, we should light the whole globe. So thank you so much for your generosity and for the great work that you are doing.

And it is great to have all of you back here again, because it is always so much fun to celebrate here with all of you and to celebrate Hanukkah. And so I want to say shalom and happy Hanukkah go everybody here today and also to the whole state of California, to all the people. (Applause) This is such a wonderful moment.

YouTube said...

100-Year-Old Child Molester Freed
Pedophile is still a threat to kids, say officials

The oldest sex offender in New York state and possibly the world is on his way to a halfway house. Authorities warn that Theodore Sypnier, 100, is still sprightly enough to pose a serious danger to children. His last arrest was 10 years ago for raping and sodomizing two girls aged 4 and 7. Sypnier uses his grandfatherly charm to snare his young victims, according to investigators.

"Mr. Sypnier is the personification of evil and should be removed from civilized society permanently, until the day he dies," a district attorney tells the Buffalo News. "He is an unrepentant child molester who has been doing this or trying to do this for 60 years. He can't be cured. He's not sick. He's evil. He's not old. He's evil." Sypnier says he wants to meet the great-grandchildren he's never seen, but family members want nothing to do with him.

Fat Margo said...

A 400 pound-plus pedophile church elder has been released from custody in Northern Ireland because he was too fat to serve a two-and-a-half--year jail term in prison.

John William McConaghy was sentenced to 30 months in prison last Ocotber by an Antrim Crown Court for sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl more than 30 years ago.

The court found him guilty of 20 counts of sexual assault, and he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.

However, Judge David Smyth freed McConaghy because of the "exceptional circumstances" regarding his obesity. He said that the "extent of the arrangements that would have to be made to accommodate" McConaghy forced the judge to release the pedophile.

The Sunday school teacher has denied ever abusing the now 44-year-old woman as a child. When faced with the allegations during his trial, he said they were "completely false" and "totally untrue."

The pedophile has not once shown remorse for his crimes, nor has he ever admitted them. The victim said the abuse stopped when she was 18. She scraped the man in the face and he never touched her again.

The woman said that over the eight-year period of abuse, she had "a better than even chance of being touched on my boobs or a hand put up my skirt."

The pedophile was ordered to pay $16,600 in compenstaion to the victim.

SOL said...

The wealth of information regarding abusive orthodox Jews made its way into the national media, this after intense pressure by activists who until recently were swatted away like flies.

As massive cover-ups were in the works, survivors became extremely frustrated. They were not believed, but their accused assailants were. Of course, this double standard was a front, meant to throw off and defuse reality.

There have been cracks, movement, and glimpses of hope that perhaps - just maybe - the forces of evil are beginning to crumble under intense firepower by the blogging world, media and lay people.

Thank you to all those special individuals who made this happen. Being that Hanukkah is a miraculous celebration, it is fitting to pose the miracle question. When will the stature of limitations be overturned?

night three of chanukka said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeRFuPOsfjk

Rabbi Yossi Yaffe from Chabad-Lubavitch of the Shoreline explained Hanukkah, showed us some traditions of the Jewish holiday, and told us how we can celebrate at some upcoming events.

Meir said...

Asher Lipner has provided warm encouragement and tips for survivors of sexual abuse, and has been a shining light on these issues.

I'm curious to know what led to his moment of outing his abuser (Rabbi Moshe Eisenmann), and what factors made him withhold his name until when he did?

Happy Chanukah!

trying to stay frum said...

"what led to his moment..."

I would email Dr. Lipner.

lipnera@gmail.com

yudi koklo said...

What a great cover for abuse, "private school gardener" is almost as good as boiler maintenance control.
--------------------------------------


Private school gardener jailed over child sex abuse

John Gallagher lured a girl to his shed before carrying out horrific sex act, and was caught with stash of child porn.

A private school gardener who sexually abused a child in the school grounds and collected horrific child porn was given an extended sentence of almost six years on Monday.

Glenalmond College groundsman John Gallagher lured a nine-year-old girl - not a pupil at the school - to his works shed to abuse her and had a large stash of pictures and video clips of children being abused.

Gallagher was jailed for two years and eight months, and had a further three year extended supervision period added to his sentence upon his release from prison.

Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told Gallagher the extended period was necessary to ensure the public - and particularly children - were adequately protected from him.

Perth Sheriff Court was told that Gallagher had videos of children being abused by both men and women and he was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for an indefinite period.

The court heard how Gallagher had been working at Glenalmond College for several years when he carried out a serious sex attack on the girl within the school grounds.

The 41-year-old later confessed to the police that it was his fantasy to have sex with under-age girls.

However, the court was told that Gallagher had also been secretly using his mobile phone camera to take pictures of female pupils at the prestigious Perthshire school.

Gallagher was also caught with hundreds of child porn images and more than 100 video clips - lasting over two hours - which had been downloaded from the internet.

During a police interview, Gallagher said: "I sexually assaulted a little girl today and it is kind of hard to accept." He told officers they would find indecent images of children on his computer at home.

Gallagher, of St Catherine's Square, Perth, admitted using lewd and libidinous conduct on a nine-year-old girl in The Gardeners Shed at Glenalmond College on 16 June this year. He also admitted possessing child pornography at his former home, Chapelhill Farm Cottage, Logiealmond, Perthshire, on 17 June.

The school's Warden, Gordon Woods, said: "Mr Gallagher was employed as a groundsman at Glenalmond College. He had been checked through Disclosure Scotland at an enhanced level.

"All checks were current and up-to-date. Because of the seriousness of the allegations he was immediately suspended from his post and prohibited from entering the college grounds. He subsequently resigned his post."

It is time for Hynes to go said...

Disingenuous and corrupt. Why isn't he providing Lesher with the Mondrowitz documents?

http://www.forward.com/articles/120598/

kolko wanted in said...

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/79363102.html


MINFORD, Ohio (WSAZ) -- A Scioto County woman said she saw no warning signs that her 3-year-old son was being sexually abused.

The mother, who agreed to talk with us by using her first name only, is still in shock after her cousin was arrested this week and charged with sexually abusing her child.

Jodi says it was just before Thanksgiving when her family was happy and excited by a visit from someone they hadn't seen or heard from in more than 10 years -- her 18-year-old cousin Tyler Burchett.

Jodi says Tyler was a welcome guest until her 3-year-old child told her what Uncle Tyler had done.

"He sexually assaulted him," Jodi said. "He did something I would never dream of someone doing to any child -- to my baby."

Burchett was arrested on a change of felony gross sexual imposition following an investigation when Jodi learned for the first time that her cousin was previously jailed. He also had been living as a registered sex offender after abusing other nephews. Jodi says her divided family lied about what had happened.

"Breaking and entering -- that's was I was told before," she said.

Then, there was another revelation from Burchett's past. He had been sexually molested at age 3 or 4 by his stepmother, and nothing had been done about it.

Jodi's son is now beginning what will be years of intense counseling -- treatment that Jodi says Tyler should have, but never received.

"This could have been prevented if he had treatment," she said. "He never would have done this to the others or to mine."

Jodi says her hope is that when her cousin gets out of prison, he gets the help he so desperately needs.

Burchett remains jailed on a $15,000 cash bond. Jodi says her son's counselor believes with five years of proper treatment, the little boy can recover.

Sex abuse must be talked about said...

I would like to comment on the very moving article in the Citizen (December 2) about the woman who suffered 14 years of abuse at the hands of her stepfather.
Jane, not her real name, was just seven when her abuse started, and despite telling her mother and other relatives about what was happening, it continued until she was 21.

In that time Jane, who is in her forties and lives in March, had three children by her abuser.

She finally had enough after being deserted by her mother and left to live with her abusing stepfather – she pulled a knife on him.

Her abuser was so frightened about what Jane might say that he left. But it took Jane nearly 20 years more to summon up the courage to go to the police and report her abuser.

It took over two years for the case to finally get to court. Her abuser was given six-and-a-half years, which was reduced to four-and-a-half years. But in fact he served just 18 months.

Child sex abuse needs to be talked about and not kept as a taboo subject; because the more it is talked about the easier it will be for victims and survivors to come forward.

I hope that Jane will one day meet an understanding gentleman, who will take care of her, bring her some happiness, and love her for the very brave woman she is.

By having the courage to let readers of the Citizen know about her traumatic abuse at the hands of her stepfather, Jane deserves a medal.

JOHN SMITHEE
Kingsley Avenue
Wisbech

Maurice Strong a fraud said...

Jewish sex abuse scandals and cover ups, the # 1 reason many Rabbis are exposed as phony as Maurice Strong.
----------------------------------

Billionaire industrialist Maurice Strong is a fraud who uses the environment as a tool to instill anxiety and fear of an ecological breakdown for his own personal gain and profit. So does Al Gore.

Many scientists believe global warming is caused by the sun.

This is a plot to take over and control the world. Saving the country from carbon dioxide is just a front.

The fear of the environment collapsing myth. Money and power!
-''-
Quotes
"Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsiblity to bring that about?"
- Maurice Strong, founder of the UN Environment Programme

"If we don't change, our species will not survive... Frankly, we may get to the point where the only way of saving the world will be for industrial civilization to collapse." -Maurice Strong quoted in the September 1, 1997 edition of National Review magazine.

Leib Tropper Resigns said...

New York 'tight conversions' rabbi resigns
By Paul Berger
Created 17 Dec 2009 - 2:57pm

* World news
* Conversion
* USA

The founder of a powerful American group that seeks to enforce a tough stance on conversions has abruptly resigned.

Leib Tropper, a strictly Orthodox rabbi who founded the New York-based Eternal Jewish Family, said he was stepping down last weekend to “pursue a variety of other interests”.

In the past week, images appeared on several Jewish blogs showing posters on display in Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem accusing him of indiscretions.

The posters demanded that Rabbi Tropper resign from the EJF or photographs and videos of “his disgrace” would be published. No evidence has been produced. An EJF spokesman did not return calls for comment.

However, EJF did release a statement from Rabbi Tropper, which read: “As a founder of EJF, I am proud of my role of being an architect of a very dynamic and important movement in our community. I will in the coming months do my utmost to be of service to the Jewish community in any way I can.”

The EJF focuses on the halachic conversion of non-Jewish spouses. Since its inception about five years ago, it has played a muscular role in the battle over Orthodox conversion, advocating one accepted standard for Orthodox conversion in North America.

By refusing to recognise many members of the Rabbinical Council of America, the largest Orthodox rabbinical organisation in the world, it has cast doubt on numerous conversions.

Rabbi Seth Farber, the director of ITIM, an Israeli-based organisation that supports people going through conversion, said: “Rabbi Tropper was an important force because he got the ultra Orthodox community to recognise that conversion is a legitimate way of addressing the challenges of intermarriage and assimilation in the US. For that, he will be missed.

“But at the same time, a lot of Rabbi Tropper’s tactics were negative in orientation. The EJF often felt the need to delegitimise other Orthodox rabbis and their conversions and this endangered the identity, or threw into question the identity, of thousands of Orthodox converts in North America.”

Rabbi Tropper has been a controversial figure for some time. In 2005, he allegedly played a key role in getting the books of Rabbi Natan Slifkin banned by leading strictly Orthodox rabbis. The Manchester-born rabbi’s works reconcile scripture and science.

In 2006, he nullified the conversion of a married woman — which he had overseen — after he learned she had occasionally worn trousers and left her hair uncovered in public.

More recently, he has been embroiled in a legal battle and a war of words with Israeli energy billionaire Guma Aguiar.

Mr Aguiar claims he gave the rabbi millions of dollars to donate to other rabbis and to Jewish causes. But he says the money was not passed on to all of its intended recipients — a claim Rabbi Tropper denies — and in October, reportedly filed suit in the Jerusalem Rabbinical Court.

Rabbi Tropper claims Mr Aguiar confronted him at a Jerusalem hotel earlier this year and threatened to throw him out of a window. Mr Aguiar denies the claim.

It is unclear what effect Rabbi Tropper’s resignation, and the manner of his departure, will have on the EJF’s conversion policy or its power.

Said Rabbi Farber: “I am hoping the leadership will enter into a dialogue with various brands of Orthodoxy in America, so that there is greater accountability and understanding and a more positive conversation can emerge.”
Source URL: http://www.thejc.com/news/world-news/25155/new-york-tight-conversions-rabbi-resigns

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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!!!!!!!