Rosenblum is guilty of the same thing he points out the original author failed in - he did not ask Morris for his response.

JR does not seem to be dealing with any specific example, and is therefore not saying child abuse does not exist (in RBS). He is defending the Rabbonim and explaining why it does not make sense that they would defend the perps (alleged) rather than the children. Rather, they have their methods of dealing with the claims, quietly and not in the public eye, but they are not simply defending the perps.

The rabbis recognize that ultimately the only cure for child abuse is prevention, which means above all educating children as to what is impermissible touching and must be reported immediately, and alerting parents to signs of possible abuse. One rabbi told me of an upcoming meeting with Dr. Susan Schulman, a Boro Park physician and author of Understanding Your Child's Health, to discuss ways to improve community education.

I see this as the most important part of the whole article. When will we see such teaching and alerting and public discussion by the rabbis? If the correct way, as they believe, is to deal with it quietly, will we all of the sudden see this discussed publicly by the rabbonim involved?

I am waiting for the first notices of shiurim and drashas on this topic.

Trashing David Morris for protecting abused kids, while defending Rabbi Kornfeld (and two other Rabbonim who avoided being named)is Sick.

Rabbi Kornfeld's only policy (according to this article) is to keep alleged perpetrators in the classroom, while chasing others out of the neighborhood.

Lema'an Achai has the answers - practical programs for preventing and responding effectively to cases of child abuse in our community.

The Rabbis are not equipped to deal with this - and have a grim record of messing these up.

Kornfeld & Co have grossly misjudged this, by beating up on David Morris and Lema'an Achai - rather than welcoming & supporting Lema'an Achai's initiative.

he doesn't really attack David Morris, but he is still wrong. Everybody knows Morris is not a therapist. He simply got the Safe Kids program off the ground and employs therapists and others who actually deal with the cases. Morris does not need to be the alpha-omega on the topic, but he had the initiative to do something to help people who felt they were not being helped.

Why does Rosenblum insist on mentioning korenfeld by name is it becasue he has a close relationship with his father in law? I feel by attacking Lman Achai they are attacking a very prominent Rov who I know for over 30 years this Rov is a Tzaddik if he says there is an issue I have to trust him. Why did Rosenblum not call David Morris before he wrote this article the nthis article is no differenent the nthe other article which he dislikes?

David Morris did NOT Name & Shame any perps, victims, enablers or rabbis.

He did refer to an overall failure to deal with these cases effectively, mentioning (generic) community leaders, social services and police as overall being ineffective.

That the rabbis have now publicly slurred & defamed the good works of David Morris and Lema'an Achai (which helps THEIR communities so much!!) is self-defeating cowardice.

Kornfeld (+2) should RESIGN IN SHAME and join the molesters in whatever community they sent them off to...

Is it true that Rabbi Kornfeld refused to meet with a municipal social worker, to discuss improving the rabbinical response to child abuse - on the grounds the social worker is female?

And yet now Rav Kornfeld is now apparently willing to meet "Dr. Susan Schulman, a Boro Park physician and author of Understanding Your Child's Health, to discuss ways to improve community education."

Looks like David Morris's principled and courageous stand is starting to get SOME results.

Take a look at this...

Jonathan Rosenbloom "Jewish Media Resources" is backed by none other than:

Rabbi Nosson Scherman
Vice President and General Editor
Artscroll Publications.

Doesn't R. Malinowitz also get funded by Artscroll?

Looks to me like the American chareidi mafia is ganging up on our local hero David Morris - for daring to speak up for our kids.

Read the original article carefully.

David never mentioned the word "chareidi" at all. In fact he solely mentioned "rabbinical authorities" in the context of the schools.

The is NOT a Chareidi vs Modern battle.

It IS a battle for competent professional response to child abuse.

The community rabbis don't have that capability or authority, just as they can't deal with car theft and terror attacks.

The rabbis should back off and leave this to professionals.

The rabbis should quit claiming it's all to do with Chareidism vs Modern, and quit stirring up a partisan fight in our community.

That's just smoke in our eyes and doesn't fool anyone.

As a previous poster pointed out, Jonathan Rosenblum is EXTREMELY close to Rabbi Kornfeld's father-in-law and looks up to him for guidance and direction.

Doesn't R. Malinowitz also get funded by Artscroll?

If you knew R. Malinowitz at all, you would know that he would never, ever compromise himself for financial considerations. He always does what he considers to be the right thing and is never intimidated.

anon rbser - thanks. I am not sure what "take a look at this" was trying to imply. so they are both funded by artscroll? artscroll has some reason to fund a coverup in rbs and has set Jonathan Rosenblum on the case to protect Rabbi Malinowitz who is running the coverup? that makes no sense at all.

and so what if Jonathan Rosenblum is friendly with Rabbi Kornfeld's father in law? Who cares? That means Rabbi Kornfeld is running a coverup?
So Rosenblum defended him because they are friends, but what does that have to do with the initial claims?

lman achai has a rabbinical advisor how come the others rabbis do not speak with him. Why does Rosenblum write an article before consulting with the people in charge of Lman achai? I think the approach of lman achei is the correct one. We are dealing with precious souls here and they must be our first priority. There is an expression when there is spoke there is fire People do not make allegations out of the air. I think that the Rabbis of RBS should work together on these issues. We should share in good news.

"Ramat Beit Shemesh is not an established community with venerable institutions which there might be some impulse to shield. None of the communal rabbis have any interest beyond the well-being of their congregants. And they take that task very seriously."

If the original article was about abuse in Jerusalem or Bnei Brak would Rosenblum believe it, since they are 'established' communities?
Is his position that the Rabbis there DON'T have the same interest in the well-being of their congregants?

"None of the community’s rabbis come from a generation that might have believed sex-abuse problems do not exist among religious people."

If some of the Rabbis were older, would Rosenblum then be more likely to write as if he believed that there was a problem?

Somehow, I don't think so. Rosenblum is an excellent writer, but he has a very strong bias, and it's obvious.

I am waiting for the first notices of shiurim and drashas on this topic.

June 13, 2009 10:46 PM
-------------------------------

The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers.

I'm not kidding. Good way to break into the subject with small children.

Shalom, Cherry Hill, NJ

I agree with what you wrote he does have a strong bias in favor of so called Charedim he is still considered by many to be there spokesperson. I am not sure why this has to be a Charedi issue. The Rov who is the halachic authority is a very respectable Rov and if he were considered Chardei no one would take issue with Lman Achai. I have great respect for this Rov and he is equAL or greater than the other rabonim in RBS. This Rov should go from strength to strength and should continue to be fearless and do and say what has to be done whether it is popular or not

Iwas referring to the Rov of Lman Achai in my previous post

I am at a loss here. Is Jonathan Rosenblum responding to the same article that Rafi posted?

JR seems to have read about David Morris vs Charedi rabbonim, David claiming he knows more than rabbonim about child abuse and the insinuation that Davi considers himself the "alpha-omega"?

What is this "alpha-omega" by the way? A breakfast cereal? A super hero?

In the original article I read that a problem exists here in the community, parents have turned to Lema'an Achai and in many cases where the school has a rabbinic authority the perp is believed over the victim. No where did David mention rabbonim or charedi.

Nothing incredulous or damning of all RBS rabbonim from this.

I think that Jonathan (and some of his rabbi friends here in RBS) are just a tad bit paranoid.

Just a reminder....

When it comes to abuse --- forget the rabbis. Go right to the Police!! Don't pass go. Dont collest $200. Go right to the police!

Make no misktake-- If you are unsure how to kasher your pots, or whether velcro shoes may be worn on Shabbos --- GO To YOUR RABBIS! DONT GO TO THE POLICE!

If you are unser how to conduct yourselves during the three weeks -- go to your rabbi -- NOT THE POLICE!

If the POLICE tell you which Heschshers to use -- DONT LISTEN TO THEM! Go directly to your rabbi!!


But for questions of abuse -- go right to the Police. P-O-L-I-C-E.
Dont bother your rabbi with issues he is incompetent and uncertified to preside over.

Rabbi Kornfeld's father-in-law is not Rosenblum's "friend," but his Rav and mentor.

As to whether Rosenblum is a "hired gun" here, who knows?

But his specialty is as a spin meister.

It's OK Jonathan...they're not out to get you, wrote:

"What is this "alpha-omega" by the way? A breakfast cereal? A super hero?"

The alpha-omega term is out of the "New Testament", Revelations 1:8.

There is dispute amongst X-tian scholars as to whether Alpha-Omega (first and last letters of the Greek Alpabet - like "from A-Z") is referring to G-d or JC, or neither.

see; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpha_and_omega

Seems a peculiar term for a frum yid to accuse David Morris of "not being" the alpha-omega...

At least implying David is (chas veshalom) Korach (R.Malinowitz) is a Jewish slur.

Just for the record, David Morris is the first to tell you he's not a professional social worker - which is why he set up Lema'an Achai, a professional organization, including five on-staff social workers.

Perhaps these rabbis (R.Kornfeld + 2), who DO feel themselves qualified (alpha-omegas)to deal with child abuse cases, could learn an important lesson from David. These issues require professional handling within the context of the law of the land.

It sounds like going to the police is the first step Rafi? No?

Apparently, this is not new news:
http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Story?id=7376057&page=1 From May 2009.

Rav Malinowitz is telling the kehilla to read the Jonathan Rosenblum article..almost in a gloating fashion.

I would have been more impressed with my rav if he would have shown us concrete ways that he and the other "nifgeh" rabbonim are really dealing with issue.

Having an aplogist like Jonathan Rosenblum spin the truth will not make the problem go away.

It is my understanding in Har Nof where there is a case of abuse the Rabbonim instructed the people to go to the police. Of Course most people people have been trained to think that it is assur to go the police. The case in Har Nof the person is in jail now but the people must come forward so that it can be proved that the person is a serial abuser.

I don't live in RBS but I would like to know why a number of Rabbonim feel it is not an issue and that we should trust them. A number of years ago so big talmdei chachim relied on a certain |Rabbi that is now in RBS and later was srroy that he did and wrote that he regretted signing something without investigating it. My wife had thoughts of moving to RBS and I am glad we decided not to not because there is no abuse elsewhere but it is shameful that the Rabbonim exclude sertain rabbonim out and that bothers me.

To the anonymous commenter above, you must be smoking something if you think there is no abuse in your community. I don't care if you live in the north pole. There is sexual abuse everywhere.

It is a fact. A fact that we all would believe wasn't true, but it is.

I wrote that there is abuse where I live but at least there is no dispute between the Rabbis on how to deal with it. I do not smoke.

JR Wrote: "where adequate grounds for suspicion exist, one should go to the police."

Aye, there's the rub.

That may be what the rabbonim & JR think is the correct procedure, but it is NOT what the Laws of the State of Israel demand.

The Law (Child Protection Law) demands immediate reporting of ANY suspicion to either the police or the social services child protection officer.

THEY decide if "adequate grounds for suspicion exist".

It is not within the rabbis authority AT ALL to take that call.

If a professional, such as a community rabbi, DOES NOT immediatey report a suspicion of child abuse to the authorities,they face a six month jail sentence.

I appreciate that the Rabonim may be unaware of this (clearly they are - judging by them coming out with this nonsense, in writing, in public), but JR - an ex lawyer and expert on all things??!

By the way, for a non-professional (like most of us) the requirement to report child abuse also is obligatory. The only difference is that we face a three month sentence for non-reporting.

This from the JPost Feedback:

As a Charedi professional dealing with abused/molested children I take serious issue with Mr. Rosenblum. While there are rabbonim in RBS who cooperate for the best interest of the children I have seen too many instances where the rabbonim are more concerned with containment and "damage control". Yes, Mr. Rosenblum, even some of your "young, energetic and worldy" rabbis have tried to interfere with the proper treatment and legal recourse due to these molestation victims.
SW in BS - (06/14/2009 10:30)

I must admit, I have not been in the loop on this whole "abuse cover-up" discussion. But I agree with anonymous, that it would seem to me that Rosenblum is guilty of the same failings of which he accuses the original author of. In his accusatory tone toward Lema'an Achai's David Morris, there seems that something is politically amiss and suspicious in Rosenblum's apparent selective commentary.

Why does Rosenblum mention only Lema'an Achai's chesed to toward expelled former Gush Katif residents or the chesed toward those in the north during the Lebanon conflict? Why does Rosenblum not say a word about the vital social, economic and other services which Lema'an Achai performs for the EMTIRE RBS "A" community -- INCLUDING hundreds, if not more Chareidi families.

In my view, Rosenblum has unfairly and unjustiably maligned a valuable organization and it's founder.

David Morris is one of the true pillars of our community. If he sees a problem, I gotta believe in his ahavas Yisrael and his integrity, and that if he sees a problem that the problem exists.

Rosenblum's mention that one Rabbi will be having an upcoming meeting with Susan Shulman is especially disingenuous, as it makes it sound like he is going out of his way to do so.

I assume that Dr. Shulman will be in town to visit her daughter

The fact that Rosenblum points to this as sign of the Rabbis' sincerity and their working to do something about the problem would seem to indicate that nothing at all is being done.

While I normally like the way Johnathon Rosenblum thinks, there is something off in this article.

He mentions that there are always two sides to every story. He then goes on to immediately dismiss David Morris and his side of the story as if it doesnt exist. It seems there are two sides to every story unless the Rabbonim say there is only one side.

In any case even if he is right that the Rabbonim should take care of this , they should immediately remove the teacher from the school and then worry about everything else later. They can be on paid leave.

The NY City Public school system has an empty school that all of the accused teachers sit and do nothing all day until their cases are resolved. A lot of them eventually get bored and go on to other things. Its expensive, but at least the kids are safer that way. These Rabbonim could easily adopt a similar model so that these people are separated from the kids and do not lose Parnossa until they are proven guilty. They choose not to.

That is what is most upsetting to normal thinking people. They are placing some ideal of secrecy/ Rabbinic Power/ Parnossa over the physical and mental well being of our children.

They need to get with the program or get out of the way. They are playing with lives. I do not respect these people and I have a feeling that, on a daily basis, fewer and fewer people do.

P.S. JR lost my respect as well.

I phoned Rabbi Malinowitz last year to ask him how he handles issues of abuse, when he became the Rav of Torat Moshe. I was considering sending my children to the school and wanted to make sure it was a safe place. I asked him how he would handle an allegation of abuse if and when it came up. Would he go to the police? R' M. told me that he would consider it usser to go to the police until he investigated the case himself and found it to be credible. I asked him how he would investigate a case. He told me that he would send the child to someone who he trusts. I asked him who he trusts in these matters, and he told me that he had no idea because it hadn't come up yet. I also asked him to respectfully explain to me why he wouldn't go to the police, considering that according to the law schools are required to report suspicions of abuse. He told me that the reason it is assur to go to the police is because the police start with an assumption of guilt. I investigated this claim and found it to be untrue. The police's role in an investigations is to collect evidence and turn it over to the states attorney who decides if there is enough evidence to take the alleged person to court.

The former director of the Religious Men's Hotline told me that in his experience the police were fair and did not harass chareidim more than anyone else accused. Usually in these cases their isn't sufficient evidence to prosecute, as children are very reluctant to testify, and the crime is usually committed in secret.

I decided not to send my children to Torat Moshe after this conversation. I don't understand why charaidi children are less deserving of protection than any other children!! If the three schools in RBS that I know of, who are currently harboring alleged child molesters were under Misrad Hachinuch these teachers would NOT be in the classroom. I left my conversation with the Rav feeling that his number one priority was NOT the safety of our precious children but that his number one priority is to protect the image of his community, and the image of his school at all costs. ,
I believe that it is a HUGE CHILLUL HASHEM to protect the image of the community at the expense of our children's safety.
I was told by the principal of Torat Eliyahu that if R' Kornfeld and R' Malonowitz would tell him to get rid of the alleged molester/teacher he would...Because he would lose too many students if he wouldn't comply. Why haven't the Rabbonim made this phone call? Why can't the community support alleged child abusers in some other way? Why do they have to continue to keep someone in a classroom who may present such a great risk to our precious children?
R' Malinowitz when I E-mailed you about this you did not respond to me. If you truly care about this issue, then instead of critisizing people who dare to question Rabbonim I suggest that you deal with the reason that people went to the press in the first place. They don't feel that you, the Rabbonim care. If you do care then you would find some way to show it to the people who have been hurt and have lost trust in you! Telling our children that we care and that they should trust us is not enough. They need to experience our caring and our love. I imagine it is the same with a rav and his kehilla. Real trust is earned not demanded. Real caring is not counting up the hours that you worked on these cases and were not paid ( as you said in shul). Real caring is experienced.
With hope for healing in our community and in klal yisroel.

"That the rabbis have now publicly slurred & defamed the good works of David Morris and Lema'an Achai..." - Call to Resign

I have never heard R' Malinowitz mention anything negative about LA or DM, or call on his congregants to stop supporting LA. Who where and when did anyone publicly slur and defame DM or LA?

This alone is responsible for all kinds of LHara that has taken place over the last week and has lead to some vicious comments against some rabbis that are just totally out of line. You wouldn't speak to anyone that way in person, I hope.

Would everyone just said:

"I have never heard R' Malinowitz mention anything negative about LA or DM, or call on his congregants to stop supporting LA. Who where and when did anyone publicly slur and defame DM or LA?"

I have seen a copy of an email sent by Rabbi Malinowitz to Lema'an Achai and members of the BT board saying that:

"Until there is a public apology from David Morris (speaking for L.A. )...there will be no collections for L.A, allowed at BTYA"

That seems pretty clear to me.

former - yet Rabbi M never publicized that demand, nor did he end up acting on it, so it can be seen, I think, as though he retracted that demand...

Rafi, can you please check out the latest article at:
Unorthodoxjewblogspot.com

You might want to post it - Thanks

J. Rosenblum’s response to the article on the chareidi response to molestation contains several misleading comments.


Rosenbum mentions the work of Lmaan Achai only in connection with the Gush Katif refugees and those from the north. This gives the impression it is a narrow ‘Dati Leumi’ organization. That is not true. L’maan Achai is a tzedakah and chesed organization that serves the entire RBS community (not only the refugees from Gush Katif and the north). MOST OF THE FAMILIES HELPED BY LMAAN ACHAI ARE CHAREIDI (despite the fact that several leading chareidi rabbonim do not encourage supporting lmaan achai.) So David Morris certainly has no anti chareidi agenda. Most of the community, chareidi and nonchareidi supports Morris’ efforts.


Rosenblum refers to the case against the cheder rebbe being closed (the police decided not to pursue further investigation), and this is not the outcome Morris wanted. Rosenblum misses the point entirely. The case was closed due to lack of sufficient evidence to indict and prosecute, which (as Rosenblum, as a lawyer, knows) often happens in these cases since the primary claimants are minors. The facts in that particular case are very disturbing (there is more than one complaint against that particular rebbe), and yet this teacher is presently teaching young children in the same position he held previously with the agreement of some (not all) of the chareidi rabbonim in the neighborhood. This is exactly the indifference on which the article is focusing, and this is exactly the indifference that many chareidi and non chareidi residents alike are concerned about.


Morris is not a professional, nor does he claim to be. However, his organization has many professionals on staff, and he consults them on all of these issues. Rosenblum knows this and it’s very unclear why he chose to give a different impression.


Rosenblum is correct that the RBS neighborhood is generally well educated etc… (His description of RBS being ‘very large percentage ba’al teshuva’ is completely false.) However, many residents feel that the rabbonim are ‘behind’ the community on this issue. That is exactly the point of the article. Roesnblum points out that the chareidi community in general has approached this issue more aggressively in recent times. It is a hot topic. However, the RBS chareidi community lags behind Yerushalayim in this area. Since the article was published, public awareness has been raised. Several professionals have pointed out that the Yerushalayim chareidi community seems to be ahead of the RBS one.

continued
Rosenblum writes



These are not people with no knowledge of the outside world, who have never heard of sexual perversions, or whose every behavior is shaped by generations-old social mores. Few of them would silently endure the sexual abuse of their children, or tolerate rabbis they viewed as passive in the face of such abuse.





Exactly! That is what is happening. The community, both chareidi and nonchareidi, are not standing by and being silent. That is why there has been so much pressure put on rabbonim in recent weeks, and that is exactly one point of the article.




Rosenblum pits Morris against the rabbis. Morris consults with rabbinic leadership consistently and several rabbonim in the neighborhood fully support his efforts to raise awareness in this issue. (Rosenblum could have easily checked this out)



7. Rosenblum writes

In addition, publicity can lead to hysteria in which parents become convinced that their children are at great risk in school. (In fact, more abuse takes place within families or involves older children as perpetrators.)





This line completely baffles me. Is Rosenblum saying that since most abuse takes place at home, we should be less careful and less concerned about abuse in school?! Is that how he would (not) react if he heard about abuse in his child’s school? When parents hear about abuse in their children’s school, a certain amount of extra concern (yes even hysteria) is warranted. And that is exactly what happened in this case. Since the article, there has been a LOT of discussion about the other case refered to in the article. Some parents after consulting professionals, have taken their kids out of gan, and others, after also consulting professionals, have left their kids there but they are more aware and are in more contact with the school involved. Many (I assume and hope all) have consulted professionals and their rabbonim. That is what is supposed to happen in cases like these. The article with the publicity has been a catalyst for better protection of our children. Thank you, David.



In the 2 cases refered to in the article, the article has had exactly the right effect in adding protection to our kids in the neighborhood



7.

Ironically. many English speaking chareidim support Morris’ efforts. They feel that the rabbinic leadership has been slow to respond in cases like this.

Since the article was published, awareness has been raised regarding the 2 particular cases refered to and in general. The upcoming meetings on educating the public (which Rosenbum refers to) and the general focus on this issue are happening primarily due to the article and the efforts of Morris and Lmaan Achai in general to raise awareness.

A local rav sent out a letter publicly supporting education in the area of abuse. Has that ever happened before? I think the answer is no. I am sure Rav Kornfeld (who is mentioned by name in the article several times) has never before been quoted publicly supporting education in the area of sexual abuse. So again ironically, Morris has achieved his goal. Because of the article, awareness has been raised and things are happening in the ‘chareidi’ world which weren’t happening and would not have been happening before. (Even Rosenblum’s article, which is way off the mark, is part of the solution. Awareness has been raised and people are asking questions and encouraging more action.)



Thank you to David Morris for being the catalyst for this. He is the real ‘alpha-omega’ hero of this story.





A concerned RBS resident

Former BT Member,
Welcome to the club.

Re. R.M.'s approach to investigating etc.
He might be right IF rabbis were capable of investigating. They aren't. Good luck finding someone R.M. trusts.

Jonathan Rosenblum never addresses the very specific problem of unwillingness of haredi rabbis in RBS to rely on clear psychological reports which demonstrate that an alleged predator has really done what he or she is accused of. I understand that in the case of the accused ganenet such a psychological report was not taken seriously-that is to say that Rabbi Malinowitz did not feel that the psychologist's report was enought to wanrrant the immediate removal of the the ganenet from the classroom.

Btw, other authoritative figures in the neighborhood who have seen the psychologist's report are in shock that this psychologist's report was not enough for these rabbis to call for the immediate dismissal of the ganenet.

Jonathan Rosenblum avoids dealing with the possibility that Rav Malinowitz and others are using a faulty evidentiary method when it comes to decision-making whether to suspend an alleged abuser.

Shmuel is right-why doesn't Jonathan Rosenblum investigate further and check out exactly what happened in the case of the ganenet and the psychologist's report.

Mr.Rosenblum-why is this ganenet still teaching potential victims?

Another question-if Mr. Rosenblum is such an objective journalist why did he not interview David Morris and Rav Chaim Soloveichik from whom he would see an entirely different angle on these issues.( and other rabbis as well!)

Gevalt!

Jonathan Rosenblum, far from refuting the previous J Post article has merely proven that he is a haredi apologist and will tend to defend anything that smells haredi in a knee-jerk manner, at least in the J Post.

Here are some of the comments "defending" the Gannenet:

But she is sooo charismatic

But she is sooo amazing with children


But her kids are sooo normal

But her husband has so much political clout

But its soo hard for me to come to terms with this

But I'd rather be in denial

But a frum yiddishe mommy could not have done this

But this would mean that the children in gan were in danger for the last three years

But I'd rather just make believe along with most of Rabbanim that this doesn't happen in RBS


Anybody who knows anything about perpetrators is familiar with these lines. The reality is that these people are very professional at what they do. They put on the act, they walk the walk and they talk the talk. So start thinking deeper.

HaRav Chaim, HaRav Chaim Solo, HaRav Chaim Soloveichik!

The song that gains more popularity in RBS with every new revelation!

Would everybody just shut up said

"Who where and when did anyone publicly slur and defame DM or LA?"


Jonathan Rosenblum resorted to cheap point-scoring against DM and LA:

1. Misquoting the original article
The original article said

"under the auspices of the Beit Shemesh-based community organization Lema'an Achai to brainstorm ways to tackle the issue."

JR said "who promoted his organization's efforts to assist haredi parents versus the rabbinic authorities"

2. Stabs at DM's authority
a. Ridiculing the point DM made that the overwhelming number of actual abuse cases out there never reach court/conviction (who cares what the actual statistic is - anyone know?)

b. Misquoting "epidemic of child abuse" as being stated by DM, whereas in the article it was actually a quote from Zahava (the mother of an allegedly abused child).

3. Damning by faint praise: only mentioning LA's work for Gush Katif and the Lebanon war as meritorious - leaving a major gap of ALL LA's regular work helping hundreds of families in RBS. An unforgivable omission, since Mrs Rosenblum is a therapist for LA and knows exactly what LA does. And how many hareidi families LA helps (the majority of LA families are hareidi) - which of course would rather take the wind out of JR's case that DM is motivated by anti-hareidism - rather than by his genuine concern for the safety of kids.

4 Cheap Jibe: "And no doubt he [DM] feels he knows better than the rabbis".
That's the kind of thing kids say at each other in the playground.

5. Casting aspertions: "the five or 10 calls that Lema'an Achai's Safe Kids hot line claims to have received,"
Claims? Why did JR add that?

6. Undermining credentials: "Morris (who is not a professional therapist)"
DM has never claimed to be a therapist, just as neither has Rosenblum. However DM does run a very effective community social services organization, with first hand exerience dealing with abuse cases.

7. Ridiculing DM: "do not assume that Morris... is the alpha-omega on the topic."
nah nah nah nah-nah.

8. "But I don't believe Morris thinks the rabbis are clueless about the issue or routinely believe accused perpetrators over children." Actualy, I think that's precisely what DM thinks - and I'm confident he has good reason.

Add all that together with the approbration of the three local rabbonim for the JR article, and it amounts to a public slur by community rabbonim of DM and LA.

Building themselves up, by hiring JR Rotweiller to knock the other guy down.

Shame on the rabbonim....











ot a social worker; not the alpha-The three rabbis who are refered to in the JR article - only R.Kornfeld by name - u

To A Concerned RBS Resident:

I am in complete agreement. However, you probably don't know that a few months ago, when a known molestor from England made an appearance at Avi Ezri impersonating a Hatzala medic (complete with flashing lights on his car and stethescope around his neck) the cheder, which is under the guidance of Rav Kornfeld (no, I do not daven at the Gra) sent letters home to all the parents informing them of this man, describing him and his car, and encouraging them to speak to their children about personal safety, etc. So, yes, Rav Kornfeld has called publicly for education on this issue.

That said, once again, I agree with your critique of JR's article.

Dear Rafi,
Thank you for posting the article from Jonathan Rosenblum on your blog. When LA is attacked it is attack on their Rov as well. LA consults with their Rov and they act in accordance with what their Rov tells them.

A while ago there was an author who lives in RBS and his books were attacked. One of the issues was can you say that Chazal can make a mistake in terms of science and I believe that a prominent Rabbi in RBS defended a lot of what this author said. I would like to say that if one says that Chazal can err then certainly Rabbis now a days can be mistaken as well. I feel the approach of some of the Rabbonim is a mistaked approach this does not make them bad but they should realize the mistake and do something about it.

Sincerely,

BJ

I find it quite ironic that some local rabbonim have chosen Jonathan Rosenblum as their mouthpiece about David Morris and Lema'an Achai.

These rabbonim (one named and 2 not) claim that David (aka Lema'an Achai) are bashing haredi rabbonim through his statements in a previous JP article.

All of us who have read the original article see clearly that there was no bashing or even mention of charedi rabbonim on the part of David Morris.

The rabbonim, through the medium of Jonathan Rosenblum, take shots at David and Lema'an Achai by questioning their capabilities and motives. Mr. Rosenblum even hints that its a "David vs the haredi rabbonim".

The irony here hit me while I was shopping at the Merkaz. Some stores have Lema'an Achai pushkos and some don't. Even in the ones that do have them people seem to push them "out of the way".

Then I thought about shuls. I daven during the week at Massas Mordechai. I never see Lema'an Achai posters or flyers there. Nor in the Gra or several other shuls. I never see the names of certain rabbonim endorsing Lema'an Achai. Many of my friends won't give to them.

And yet...

Lema'an Achai seems to help everyone. I'm certain that they have families in the shuls whose rabbonim won't endorse them. I'll be willing to bet that they assist people who would never give them a dime if they were in better circumstances.

It makes me think..who is really bashing whom?

To anonymous from a concerned RBS resident.

Thank you for the info. I am happy the school was active in that case.

However, there is a difference. In that case, the danger was clearly present without a question and the school responded. Here we are discussing prophylactic education on a general scale which definitely has not been done until now, post the article.

Rafi - this is an important and hot topic - and there is a lot of contructive discussion here - please could you bump it back up the page? (Who knows, maybe you'll beat the previous record!).

I am happy to bump it up. It looked like conversation was light - I suspected people already said everything they had to say on it... I'll bump it up and we'll see what happens...

Monday, June 15, 2009
Ultra-Religious Catholic Journalist Interviews Three Priests About The Catholic Church's Involvement Of Child Sexual Abuse!
by John O'Futzyutz

When I sat down with these three American priests who are well versed in the English language, I was really taken in by their knowledge of Scripture as it relates to the "in-topic" of today, child molestation by the Catholic clergy. The focus quickly shifted to their "older cousins", the Jews, particularly rabbis, for reasons unknown to them, covered up child sexual abuse in their Hebrew schools, summer camps, and houses of worship.

Now I know these three priests well, they would have no reason to change the subject; they are smart, they grew up in orthodox Catholic homes, and clearly believe the Pope as the infallible messenger of god and the other two parts of god's cosmic makeup, Spirit and Son. The pope would never, for example, apologize for child-abuse by thousands of priests, if he was not really sorry. He is so sorry that he moved the "Lipa Margulies" of the Church, Cardinal Bernard Law, to the Vatican, as one of the pope's right hand people. In matter of fact, my Catholic antennae was pricked by this bold decision, borrowing this phrase with permission from my friend, a Jewish journalist in the Jerusalem Post, Jonathan Rosenblum.

The English speaking priests certainly convinced me that they have no reason at all to go against the pope's unambiguous message; if you are ever in doubt about the sexual proclivities of a priest, or about a Cardinal moving priests around from parish to parish; rather than call the police, send him to Rome, they have a great job for him with a lot of different multi-colored hats and shmattes. If you are dumb enough to get caught, deny that any priest ever molested a child, if pressed really hard by an "Enlightened one", say, "yeah, we found out about one who slipped through our fingers, and no we do not sweep or sell rugs, we are not merchants -- but if another child molester does exist, the police may be called."

So that's that, the Pope Hador speaks, the priests listen, we know all that, right?

Wondering what was going on with the Jews, now that I got the alleged priest problem out of the way, I contacted my fellow Yale schoolmate, Jonathan Rosenblum, who I understand became the drugged mouthpiece for ultra-orthodox Jews, especially in Israel.

Jonathan tells me a very similar kind of strange goings-on in the Ramat Bet Shemesh town, a suburb of Jerusalem. He spoke as well to three rabbis (something the Jews and Catholics have in common the number three as in Trinity, as in upsherin, as in moving on Tuesday - yom shlishi (ki tov twice plus one on yom rishon) three portions of cholent at kiddush, three main dishes at Pesach hotels, three dunks in the mikve) --- in that town, and was assured that these parents who claim to have had their child molested in a Hebrew school, was a bunch of cholent poop. Why would these English speaking rabbis lie? What do they have to gain? They care only about the well-being of their congregants and the Jewish community, just like the English speaking rabbis in the U.S.A. They even remember that they asked people to leave town, they can't be sure why, but probably because they molested someone. They even invited an Ohel employee, Dr. Schulman, to address the community on how to mitigate damages from families whose children were allegedly abused by rabbis in schools. "It is well known that these accusing parents just hate rabbis and don't care about their children's welfare at all, and would destroy their own kids and drag their families through the mud just for the fun of it", according to Rosenblum's sources in the ultra-orthodox Jewish community.

In matter of fact Jonathan said, the Jewish pope, so to speak, the greatest rabbi of the generation (96 years young and even remembers his name without a teleprompter), who is schooled in every single area of humanity, decreed that only if rabbis believe child molestation took place, after many meetings by the local rabbis, and a unanimous decision by all the rabbis and zonas in town, and the child is screened by their handpicked Orthodox therapists, with a degree or not, then if none of these people ever used a cell-phone without a hechsher, or shopped in a store without a kosher certificate on all the women's clothing, or sat on a bus where women and men are not separated by a shower curtain, then one may be permitted to go to a shomer Shabbos police station, where every police person eats Rubashkin glatt kosher meat that is not cooked in a Heinemann Kitchen Aid kosher Yom-Tov oven and whose wives do not wear wigs from India.

Now, Jonathan and I go back a long way; I felt ashamed that I would have to ask him this question, but a good journalist must be thorough.

"Jonathan, and when you met with the alleged molested children and their parents, what exactly did they tell you?"

"Well John", he said, "after taking to the three rabbis, why would I need to talk to the victims and their parents?"

In fact Rosenblum permitted me to use his quote in the Jerusalem Post as the new "gospel" for the Jewish community.....

"The rabbis' preference for working behind the scenes derives not from a desire to sweep problems under the rug, but from a considered philosophy about what is best for victims, their families and the community. The knowledge that incidents will be publicized can keep victims or their parents from coming forward. In addition, publicity can lead to hysteria in which parents become convinced that their children are at great risk in school. (In fact, more abuse takes place within families or involves older children as perpetrators.)"

Now, even me being a "Goy" knows this is new lying Shafran-Schick-Salomon limerick coming from the Torah Giants of America, certainly expected to make a huge splash to the English and Yiddish speaking members of the Jewish community worldwide. Perhaps it may even wind up in a radio commercial.

Jonathan, even the Goyim are ashamed of you!

The Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation is a newly formed nonprofit with a mission to help heal and support adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse worldwide. We are actively seeking adult survivors who would be willing to post a childhood photo and caption, their story, or their creative expressions to our website www.letgoletpeacecomein.org. By uniting survivors from across the globe we can help provide a stronger and more powerful voice to those survivors who have not yet found the courage to speak out. Together we can; together we should; together we NEED to stand up and be counted. Prevention lies not only with educating the children it also lies with educating the parents and breaking the cycle that abuse so often takes. Please visit our site for more details on how you can send us your submissions.

Thank you for everything you do!

Gretchen Paules
Administrative Director
Let Go...Let Peace Come In Foundation
111 Presidential Blvd., Suite 212
Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004

With all respect, the three local rabbis who employed Rosenblum's services to attack David Morris and Lemaan Achai - made a major error in judgement by so doing.

And it only adds credence to the original report in the JPost which cast serious doubts on community leaders competence in handling these cases (along with the social services, police and court system who were also criticised for poor effectiveness in the article).

These three rabonim should issue an apology for any damage they have caused to the good names of David Morris and Lemaan Achai.

The rabbonim should immediately make amends, by working with Lemaan Achai to introduce more SafeKids type programs. These programs aim to protect kids better.

Other communities (particularly in the USA) have already done this. Sometimes after a major scandal - increasingly before there is cause for any scandal.

Rabbis - please drop the witch-hunt on David Morris (the messenger) which seems only to be a means to bolster your kovod, and please work instead to encourage the community child protection programs LA has launched.

2 points
1-If Rosenblum's point was that the original article only left out the rabbanim's point of view, all he had to do was get the rabbanim's words out there. He didn't need to go over what
was already out there and re-interview them. He was a complement to the original article.
Whether he misinterpreted that other article is a different issue.

2-I am unclear what the Rabbanim should be doing.There seems to be a double standard with the complaints and facts I've seen on this blog.
People complained that the Rabbanim didn't go to the police.
Yet the police don't accomplish anything when they do get a case.

The psychologist's report should be enough it's claimed.
So why isn't it enough for the police to get these teachers out of class.
If the police get to investigate , fail to prove anything and we don't blame them.
Why can't the Rabbanim who wish to investigate get the same respect. If it's difficult to rely on kid's testimony, or to get them to testify, or whatever the reason is.

We're told to go to the police first because they're uniquely qualified to deal with this. That it's a crime not a shaila.
"P-O-L-I-C-E" etc. Fine.
Then the complaint is that the police need multiple complaints,etc. and the teacher is still teaching. And that the law forbids firing without proof only observation.
I don't see the police accused of protecting molesters because of this.
So what now: The Rabbonim we are not supposed to go to for crimes are supposed to illegally fire these teachers because of a standard of proof that the police can't use?
In at least 1 case the Chareidi rabbanim said to go to the police and nothing happened.
The article claims that the Rabbonim forced some (illegally) to leave town. Commenters didn't think this was enough.
What is?
Post script-
I could be combining 2 groups of complainers who want different things.
I based my facts on what people commented, which could be wrong.

Anonymous people claim that the Rabbonim pressured parents and families to be quiet,period.
( I don't include in this telling families to speak to specific therapists.That's still dealing with it)
If true, this is a legitimate complaint.
I've seen suggestions for an action plan for schools.
That is something that rabbonim could do.
But they probably have one already, they just didn't publicize it.


Trying for Clarity.

Posted on Vos Is Neis
Rabbi Abraham Twerski

As we witness with alarming frequency, even in the Orthodox community, there are predators who molest children. Some of the predators appear to be fine people—they could even be one’s relatives—whom no one would ever suspect of doing anything wrong. Moreover, children may trust them. But the majority of molestation cases remain hidden. Most children never report these incidents to their parents; they feel guilty about them and are afraid they will be punished. Sometimes the predator threatens the child, making him fearful of divulging what happened

and the latest article

I think you should start a new post...

I attended an engaging shiur by Rav David Bar-Hayim last night in which he addressed the issue of child abuse (and other issues).

He provided support to the need to take psychologist's reports with the utmost seriousness.

I and my wife have talked to several rabbis 1 on 1, many of them here, and the police dept, and social services, and many victims, david morris, and professional psychologists, and at least one organization in the frum community that does their own investigations

IT is clear to us that rabbis sadly can not help very much on this issue, even if there intentions are good, and that the frum community has no ability to investigate claims. There are no procedures and policies in the chareidi community.

The best the rabbis can do is tell you to go to the professionals. the schools in the chareidi system have not been seeking professional help. But now some parents and leman achai have. All these rabbis can do is get in the way or stand aside and encourage people to do the right thing. they are not qualified to help. The beit din system and halacha do not have adequate systems for this. This is what the biggest rabbanim who are the most knowledgeable have said over and over: Go to the police and child protective services.

and as far as protecting the community goes, going to the authorities will guarantee you much more privacy than trusting the frum community.

Please start a new post on the latest Haaretz article.

we have not all run out of what to say on the subject?

Absolutely not. Until the truth comes out we need to keep this topic at the top.

Is it because Beis Shalom is mentioned that the Haaretz Article is not posted?

For several weeks in April last year, the seven-year-old son of residents of the ultra-Orthodox Ramat Beit Shemesh neighborhood insisted on staying at home. "This was odd, because he always loved to go to school," relates his mother. "All of a sudden he looked scared and tried to find excuses not to go."

Then one day the boy suddenly told his elder brother: "The rabbi touched me."

"The rabbi" is a teacher at the ultra-Orthodox Yishrei Lev school for boys, which the boy attended. "When his brother asked, 'Where did he touch you?'" relates the father, "the boy pointed to his intimate parts."
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The parents, who immigrated to Israel from the United States about 10 years ago, are very active in the ultra-Orthodox "Anglo-Saxon" (English-speaking) community in Ramat Beit Shemesh. As soon as the incident became known they received phone calls from rabbis and community functionaries who tried to dissuade them from continuing to investigate, and pressure them to deal with the incident with the help of the Mishmeret Hatzniut modesty patrol from Mea She'arim in Jerusalem.

The parents, who initially submitted to the pressure, ultimately took courage and in August 2008 they filed a complaint with the police. From the questioning of the boy by the police it emerged that ostensibly innocent tickling descended into indecent acts every day during recess over a long period. Parallel to the investigation the parents turned to the school directors, and the teacher was fired. During the following months three other boys from the class also filed complaints against the rabbi with the police.

However, at the start of the current school year the suspect had no difficulty in finding another educational institution in Ramat Beit Shemesh, and has been teaching there ever since.

This week the Jerusalem District Attorney's Office decided to close the case against the teacher for lack of evidence. The boy's parents have appealed this decision. They complain that the case was dealt with in a flawed way after several investigators were replaced during the course of the investigation. Beit Shemesh police dismiss these claims.

Ever since the affair was revealed, the parents have been vulnerable and exposed to a community that is condemning them for having laundered their dirty linen in public, and especially for complaining to the authorities. Later on their names were made public, and rumors were circulated to the effect that it was one of their sons who molested his brother. The father of the family has had to leave his synagogue because of the alienating way he was treated by the congregation.

See Ha'aretz, today's paper, Protecting The Pedophiles

slow down. the post is coming. I am parsing the article still. I also have other things to do, so it takes a little time. it will be up soon.

Oh please! J. Rosenblum is so full of it in this article. He is just the Agudah mouthpiece. What do you expect? He falls in line with the establishment of the society he has joined. Part and parcel of that society is that the 'rabbanim' 'gedoylim' and especially those w/ centralized power like the agudah are infallible. And so he takes their line of argument, which they also parrot through other means, as they join hands with the Catholic Church to put down the uprising of molestation victims against the perpetrators and their enablers/protectors. They are covering their own behinds. His article is full of anecdotal hogwash and innuendos that do nothing but DENY THAT THERE IS A PROBLEM WHEN WE ALL KNOW THEIR IS ONE.

Yanky Friedman wrote: " Rather, they have their methods of dealing with the claims, quietly and not in the public eye, but they are not simply defending the perps."

Yeah, right. And I have a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn. Just like the Jewish establishment was handling things "quietly" while 6 million of our brothers and sisters were murdered in Europe and American "leaders" did nothing. Just like all our great "leaders" told people "we're using quiet diplomacy" while for DECADES nothing was done about the Soviet Jews until Rabbi Kahane ZT"L forced them to take real action. And pc-haredi rabbis squirmed and fought against him because in their minds Jews don't take action they sit in the study hall.

Whenever people say they "have their methods, you just don't know about it" these methods amount to "quietly" doing nothing.

There is a reason Agudah opposes the markey bill in congress. Their yeshivot will go bankrupt for all the molestors they have protected. What is more important? Prestige and money or protecting the children?

This is scary. I used to go to avi ezri. When the mephakeach was there. I can't believe this stuff is going on. How do people stand for this?