CALL TO ACTION: All Rabbis and Rabbinical Organizations - Rabbi Marc Gafni (AKA: Rabbi Mordechai Winyartz)

Once again a newspaper in Israel is publishing articles written by a rabbi who admitted to having sexual relations with a minor. Once again The Awareness Center, Inc. is going to ask everyone to contact the paper -- asking them to stop promoting an alleged sexual predator as a Torah scholar.

As we all know, sexual offenses have nothing to do with religion. This is NOT an Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Traditional or Jewish Renewal problem. Alleged and convicted sex offenders is everyone's problem.

QUESTION: Does someone who admits to having sexual relations with a minor have a right to be teaching Torah?

Marc Gafni has been hopping around in all movements of Judaism. For this reason we ask ALL rabbis and rabbinical organizations to make a public statement denouncing Marc Gafni (AKA: Mordechai Winartz) behavior. We do NOT want one more person to be manipulated or violated by this man.

Remember the article "Post-Orthodoxy Journey" that was published in Ha'aretz? Marc Gafni said that his community in Israel "aspires to be a new stream in Judaism, and, in his words, "to restore the spark of holy paganism."

I'm sure you would agree with me that Judaism should never be considered to be any form of "holy paganism".

Is Marc Winiarz (Mordechai Gafni) trying to create his own new religion, and then call it Judaism? We all need to ask ourselves if Mordechai Winyartz is nothing more then a modern day Jacob Frank or Shabbetai Zevii?

What will it take for the rabbunim of the world to take action?

Please contact all rabbis you know and every rabbinical organizations and demand they make a public statement regarding this man.

Please call and write (in alphabetical order):

Agudath Israel of America - Orthodox
Rabbi Avi Shafran - Program Director
42 Broadway
New York, NY 10004
212-797-9000
FAX: 646-254-1610
E-MAIL: shafran@amechad.com

Aleph : Alliance for Jewish Renewal
Debra Kolodny - Executive Director
7000 Lincoln Drive #B2
Philadelphia, PA 19119-3046
215-247-0210
E-Mail: debrarth@mac.com
(Please note that one of the Jewish Renewal Teachers on thier site is Marc Gafni)

Central Conference of American Rabbis
Rabbi Harry K. Danziger - President
355 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10017
(212) 972-3636
info@ccarnet.org

Jewish Reconstructionist Federation - Reconstructionist
Daniel G. Cedarbaum - President
7804 Montgomery Ave., Ste. 9
Elkins Park, PA 19027
212-782-8500
Fax: 215-782-8805

Rabbinical Council of America - Orthodox
Rabbi Basil Herring - Executive Vice President
Phone: 212-807-7888 x 105
Fax: 212-727-8452
email: bherring@rabbis.org

Rabbinic Assembly - Conservative Rabbis
Rabbi Joel H. Meyers - Executive Vice President
3080 Broadway
New York, NY 10027
Ph: (212) 280-6000
Fax: (212) 749-9166
jmeyers@rabbinicalassembly.org

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
Rabbi Brant Rosen - President
1299 Church Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
215-576-5210
Fax: 215-576-8051
info@TheRRA.org

Please send a note to Ynet News, and let your voice be heard!
Here is the "Torah Portion" written by Gafni and published by ynet news: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3199899,00.html

Ynetnews Editorial Department: news@ynetnews.com
Editor-in-chief, Ynet: editor-in-chief@y-i.co.il