Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Saul Berman Ride To The Rescue Of Sexual Predators - By Luke Ford

I think it's important that we all thank Luke for writing this. I agree with him on this.

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Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, Saul Berman Ride To The Rescue Of Sexual Predators
By Luke Ford
http://www.lukeford.net

We live in a dark and crazy world where rabbis who confess to committing rape are sometimes exposed by members of the Jewish community such as The Awareness Center.

But fear not. Rabbis Telushkin and Berman (on the Left end of the Orthodox spectrum) have been working hard over the past eight months to see to it that Jewish clergy who use their religious office to sexually abuse the underage and vulnerable are no longer humiliated publicly by having their picture and stories told on the Internet.

I for one don't want to live in a world where a rabbi can't diddle kids to his heart's content without fear that somebody might write about them.

Kudos to Telushkin and Berman for supporting sexual predator Marc Gafni and doing everything in their power to see to it that future Gafnis do not have to face the humiliation of having their actions exposed to the world.

Kudos to Telushkin and Berman on behalf of sexual predators everywhere.

Kudos to Telushkin and Berman for protecting the powerful and seeking to rip away the last bit of protection for those abused by Telushkin and Berman's rabbinic peers.

Won't somebody please think of the children? What kind of example are we grown-ups? We have evil gossip in our community. The reputations of sexual predators are being smeared right and left. Let us all make common cause with rabbis Telushkin and Berman so that their fellow rabbis can f--- kids for free.

Whenever I feel discouraged about the priorities of our rabbinic leaders, I like to reread this letter in The Jewish Week following its mild and partial expose of that wild and crazy guy Marc Gafni:

To the Editor,

Words can elevate and words can destroy.

There was a time when the Jewish community too glibly and carelessly disregarded words of accusation of sexual abuse against clergy. That was clearly wrong, and Gary Rosenblatt of The Jewish Week helped to correct that. The pendulum has now swung to the opposite extreme, as evidenced in Rosenblatt’s column (The Re-Invented Rabbi, 9/24/04).

The column reports an allegation concerning a relationship from twenty-five years ago – when Rabbi Mordechai Gafni was 19 and 20 and not yet a rabbi – in a situation where he had no pastoral relationship with the person in question. Rabbi Gafni has a completely different account of what happened which was not clearly related in the article (including the fact that nothing even vaguely resembling sexual relations took place).

Furthermore, we can attest first hand that several years ago Rabbi Gafni made serious attempts to contact this woman in a therapeutically-mediated context—to clarify the huge gulf in their understandings of what happened and, if necessary, to apologize for any way in which she felt hurt. This offer was rejected and the decision was apparently made that the press was a more appropriate vehicle for conversation.

The story also reports unsubstantiated allegations which are twenty-years old. The story critically omits the fact that the professional to whom Rabbi Gafni (then Winiarz) was responsible at the time conducted an investigation, and drew the following conclusions in a formal report which was accepted by his superiors:

“I’ve known Rabbi Winiarz for the past six years, and I believe I speak of his character from a position of knowledge and reliability… In his work as director of Jewish Public School Youth, allegations were made as to his improper conduct with a teenage girl and a young female adult [referred to in the article as Judy and Susan]… For several months, in the spring and summer of 1986, I delved into the accusations and had numerous conversations with a number of people who were associated with Rabbi Winiarz both professionally and personally. I also talked to the accusing parties as well as members of their families, rabbis close to them and agency personnel involved in the work of JPSY. I also, of course, spoke at length to Rabbi Winiarz about these matters. It was my conclusion, based on clear and compelling reasons, that the accusations were not true and were not substantiated. I might add that this was also the view of a clinical psychologist who interviewed Rabbi Winiarz and the teenager after the alleged incident.”

We have collectively looked at this issue again in the last six months, and come to a similar conclusion. Further, Rabbi Gafni has long expressed his desire to meet with any of the parties who feel he has wronged them—even when he has a completely different account of the situation.

We, like Gary Rosenblatt, have struggled with the question of what gravity to assign to persistent rumors. Our conclusion differs from that of Mr. Rosenblatt. We have collectively, over many years, spoken to virtually everyone who would speak to us who was directly involved in order to examine the accusations against Rabbi Gafni. We have found them totally not convincing. Further, there is simply no evidence that Rabbi Gafni’s public role constitutes a risk to Jewish women, or to anyone for that matter.

We pray that this unfair scandalous moment will soon be forgotten and that Rabbi Gafni will be able to free his spiritual energy and formidable intellect in order to help build Jewish consciousness and commitment.

Rabbi Saul J. Berman, Director of Edah
Rabbi Joseph Telushkin, author of Jewish Literacy and The Book of Jewish Values
Rabbi Tirzah Firestone, Congregation Nevei Kodesh, author of With Roots in Heaven and
The Receiving

Curious about the exact number of kids a rabbi like Gafni should be allowed to rape before he loses his position as a Jewish leader, I left messages October 21, 2004, with rabbis Berman and Telushkin on their home phone numbers to talk about their defense of Gafni and their attacks on The Awareness Center. They've yet to return my call.

(I favor the number four. That way you don't jump all over a good guy like Gafni who's had a few indiscretions.)

But don't think for a second I feel neglected. No, I get warm and fuzzy when I treasure the rabbis' kind and thoughtful comments behind my back about my journalistic techniques.

It is important in these troubled times that we neither expose sexual predators nor assist their victims. No, we should follow the example of Telushkin and Berman (mavens of media studies) and focus our energies on a careful analysis on the background of a blogger in Los Angeles who allows victims of sex abuse to tell their stories (after fact-checking them).

I'm glad to know Berman and Telushkin are going to shut me down. It's only right. Who wants somebody writing without permission, without the proper credentials, without the proper servility to those with power and money?

Words That Hurt, Words That Heal: How to Choose Words Wisely and Well.

Please stop me before I expose another rabbi-predator. The reputation you save, dear rabbinic reader caught in the cross currents of truth, might be your own. Best to join forces with your peers and preserve your privileges.