Canonist Blog on Marc Gafni

Mordechai Gafni/Winiarz Accused of Rape

Tags: Jew

One of the most-tailed alleged abusers in the Jewish community, he has had a sort of reprieve for a while now, as various Jewish Renewal and Modern Orthodox leaders have defended him, to the point of threatening lawsuits against those who maintained profiles of his alleged abuses.

Then there was Gary Rosenblatt’s apologetic for the man, despite essentially confirming two separate acts of molesting underaged women.

And now, Jewschool’s Dan Sieradski writes, Gafni/Winiarz “has been oustered from his position at Bayit Chadash, the spiritual community in Tel Aviv-Yaffo, amidst five distinct allegations of sexual harrassment and one charge of rape.” Sieradski declares:

I hate to say it, because it’s a bridge I so don’t want to burn, but I think it is high time to demand accountability from Renewal leaders for brushing off previous charges and giving a predator the space and the legitimacy he needed to strike again. They have a responsibility to act, and if they do not act accordingly this time, they will have lost one of their biggest and most vocal young supporters — me.

Good, strong words from a young fellow who really does stand to lose a lot if the Renewal community turns against him on this.
Let the shame of these acts rain down upon those who chose to keep this man in positions of power and influence, and enabled him to continue:
Rabbi Saul Berman;
Joseph Telushkin;
Rabbi Arthur Waskow;
Rabbi Zalman Schechter-Shalomi;
Rabbi Avraham Infeld;
Gary Rosenblatt.