Los Angeles Has Its Own Barry Freundel

The Modern Orthodox rabbi arrested in Washington DC yesterday on charges of voyeurism has a long history of accusations reported to rabbinic organizations about his improper behavior with women, similar to Rabbi Abner Weiss in Westwood. Rabbi Weiss is still a member in good standing with the RCA. He was a well-known philanderer while he presided over Beth Jacob, enjoying good times with the ladies in his private shul office.

Jerusalem has womanizer Rabbi Tovia Singer.

There were first-person accusations against Rabbi Aron Tendler for more than a decade in Los Angeles and he was simply moved around different rabbinic positions, all the while the RCC maintained it had a zero tolerance policy for sexual abuse.

The RCA and other Orthodox rabbinic bodies only act in these matters when they have no other choice.

If a woman wants to convert to Judaism, there’s a good chance some rabbi connected with her conversion will try to pork her.

A few years ago, I blogged: “Los Angeles Jewish Film Festival Rejects Important New Documentary About Rabbinic Sexual Abuse

On Feb. 9, 2012, I blogged: “Los Angeles Has A Predatory Rabbi Doing Orthodox Conversions To Judaism

A rabbi presided over Chabad Bais Bezalel for more than a decade though he was known for being arrested for soliciting a prostitute and was a regular at strip clubs.

How many illicit plooks does a rabbi get before he’s out of a job?

About 2002, Rabbi Simcha Weinberg (brother of Rabbi Matis Weinberg) lost his job with Lincoln Square Synagogue for having an affair with a congregant. Rabbi Simcha Weinberg is still going strong offering spiritual counseling and talking in shuls all over the world.

There’s the long complicated story of Rabbi Marc Gafni.

The Forward reports today:

A national Orthodox rabbinic association recently investigated allegations of sexual impropriety made against the rabbi accused of videotaping women at his mikvah, the Forward has learned.
Rabbi Barry Freundel, spiritual leader of the Washington, D.C. congregation Kesher Israel, will be charged with voyeurism after a witness allegedly saw him installing a hidden camera above a shower stall at his synagogue’s mikvah.
The president of the Rabbinical Council of America, Rabbi Leonard Matanky, confirmed that the RCA received allegations over the summer of “ethical issues that came up regarding an issue with a woman.” The allegations were investigated, but no action was taken.
A person who works in the travel industry told the Forward that they had informed the RCA that Freundel, who is married, made reservations to stay overnight in a hotel with a woman converting to Judaism who was not his wife. The person declined to be identified, citing confidentiality rules…
Matanky also said that unrelated accusations were made against Freundel “a number of years ago” related to the administration of conversions. Matanky declined to describe those allegations, citing confidentialities related to the conversion process. He said the allegations were not sexual in nature.
“There was nothing illegal or criminal in the activities, and at the time, we did look into it, there were conversations, there were discussions regarding that,” Matanky said.
“It wasn’t that a person’s conversion was done wrong, it was regarding the administration of conversion, not the halacha.”

About Luke Ford

I've written five books (see Amazon.com). My work has been covered in the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and on 60 Minutes. I teach Alexander Technique in Beverly Hills (Alexander90210.com).
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