Benny posts on FB: Rabbinical authorities (and I can name many) have been at the forefront of dealing with this issue within the community. For the past 50 years, ideas like mesirah (informing to gentile authorities) and loshon horah (gossip) have prevented victims from coming forward and allowed predators to continue to roam free. Rabbis have failed to punish these predators and/or simply moved them around (akin to the Catholic church). As a result, many more individuals were harmed. I can sit down with you and name 50 rabbis and discuss their cover-ups and misdeeds in this arena.
As a result of their actions and inactions, hundreds of kids were harmed and continue to be harmed. In the past few years, advocates, including myself, have brought this issue to the forefront and created a massive change. As a result, we see the exposure and prosecution of more predators.
While this is going on, the same rabbis are either working behind the scenes to discredit any advocacy group, still encouraging silence and non-governmental reporting, and/or failing to take any actions to rectify the wrong. As a community leader, and THE legal authorities within our system, it is their responsibility to ensure the community is aware of the halachic issues and their attendant responsibilities. Furthermore, it is a rabbis responsibility if a child is harmed due to their action or inaction (please see eglah arufah for guidance on this subject).
Thus, Rabbis do deserve their condemnation generally and the comparison is totally appropriate. I completely am bewildered at your inability to recognize this comparison.
A simple local example. A predator [Mendy Tevel] was arrested and charged with molestation. Not one Chabad rabbi in the community uttered a single word about the issue. All were warned a year in advance about this person, yet not one spoke up. All are aware of the arrests, and not one spoke up. Almost all continue to allow this charged predator with access to their shuls. Yet, when Doheny market was found with non-kosher meat, classes were given, rabbis warned their community, discussions were had. Can you not see what’s going on here?
For many reasons, the criminal justice system cant get involved in many cases. Those cases are still areas where the rabbis have remained silent, while knowing the truth. Moreover, while I thoroughly trust convictions, it doesn’t limit my sense of truth. I can know and believe an allegation regardless of criminal conviction.
In Mendy Tevel’s case, a victim came forward publicly and stated his case, prior to any charges filed. 50 people heard his story. Not one rabbi spoke up.
Meyer Seewald: There is a video of this guy something Ben Borat of him dry humping a child, rabbis saw it yet no one did anything. And I don’t think it right to say if there was a video. It’s 1 out of thousands and thousands that are Caught On video.
If the guy was a no body in the community then they would’ve done something.
Yes, some banned him, but is that truly enough? Doing it privately does not do much.
What do I expect of them? That multiple victims would talk to the rabbis and for them to come out with a strong letter that parents should keep there children away from him and he is a danger etc.
And your last part I am kinda shocked by. Let’s take me and jcw out of the picture. Let’s talk about how rabbis work.
He was not in the court system? Hellooooo we are not allowed to call the police on a fellow Jew. Now all of a sudden we are leaving it up to the courts? Since when is this happening. This is a good excuse now for rabbis to give so they don’t have to be involved.
They first claim you have to go to a rabbi first, then they do nothing about it. Then the person gets arrested they say we will leave it up to the courts. And if the case gets dropped they say you see he was innocent, and if he gets convicted they will say we don’t have to do anythinf because it’s public knowledge or they pay money for pidyan shivoum. Like they did with
Yomtov.
Please tell me what about according to Halacha when witness came forward and wanted to talk they did not want to get involved?
Most rabbis are 2 faced. If Mendel was not related to that family and not have a name out there, then they wouldav done something. The fact is they did nothing and gave me all difference types of excuses that will one day bite them in the butt.
He will have his day in court and god willing justice will be served.
Tevel is accepted in every Chabad shul in the city. The only one where he isn’t is thanks to me and my efforts. Not due to anyone else’s. But the point is made. That rabbi made a decision and did not allow him in.
Luke Ford: “Courage is the rarest virtue. All close-knit communities are conformist by definition and only move on difficult issues when there is widespread agreement otherwise the nail who sticks out must be hammered down.”
