Will the Baltimore Jewish Times write a story about one of it's own? - The Case of Shmuel Juravel
Agents from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the FBI arrested Shmuel Juravel (Feb. 21, 2005) at a Birmingham hotel after he arranged to have sex with a minor.
Juravel is grew up in Baltimore, MD. Around fifteen years ago the first allegations were made against Shmuel of child sexual molestation. According to statements made on the various threads relating to this case on this blog, the survivors and their parents sought help from Rabbi Moshe Heinemann who said he would take care of things. Needless to say, nothing happened.
Shmuel is the son of Rabbi Moshe and Shulamis Juravel of Baltimore, MD. Rabbi Juravel is employeed as a teacher at the Torah Institute of Baltimore.
Juravel will be going before a Judge in Federal court at a hearing on Thursday, May 25, 2006 in Birmingham, AL.
Shmuel Juravel's case will go to trial sometime in early June. He faces 70 years in Federal prison without parole plus a $750,000.00 fine.
Due to the number of postings on Thread #4, the discussion of Shmuel Juravel will continue here on Thread #5.
Also read about some of the problems in Baltimore at:
posted by Jewish Survivors at Monday, May 22, 2006
34 Comments:
The following statement was posted by Rabbi Zev M. Shandalov in the networking group sponsored by The Awareness Center for rabbis. Rabbi Shandalov gave The Awareness Center permission to make the following statement public.
If you are a rabbi and would also like to make a public statement, please forward it to Vicki Polin at: vickipolin@aol.com
---------------------------------
Over the past few days, there have been a number of items that have been printed in the mainstream press and in the "Jewish" press regarding stories of sexual abuse of children and alleged cover-up of said abuse and the perpetrators. The purpose of this email is to address this situation.
Abuse: I am not going to discuss any of the allegations in the articles or those that are floating around on the Internet. I do wish though to comment in general terms.
ANY abuse perpetrated against a child no matter how "minor" or seemingly "insignificant" can be damaging for life for the child; is illegal; is assur (prohibited by Torah law) and can potentially be actionable in a court of law. In addition, anyone seeking to protect the abuser, including but not limited to rabbis, professionals, community leaders, institutions, etc. are themselves culpable in the crimes that the alleged perpetrator commits after discovering the crimes and seeking to cover them up. The covering up of such offenses not only is in itself a Chillul Hashem (a profanation of the name of Hashem) but also adds to the abuse of the victims after the fact. Delivering information to the police in order to remove the offender from the streets and to protect further abuse is a Mitzva incumbent upon all who have knowledge of abuse. Additionally, the Mitzvah of "Al ta'amod al dam re'acha" (One may not stand idly by while another is being injured) is found in the Torah to make it everyone's responsibility to help another in jeopardy.
I hope that this has helped to clarify a very disturbing issue.WE MAY NOT REMAIN SILENT WHEN ANYONE IS BEING ABUSED AND CERTAINLY NOT WHEN THE PERSON BEING ABUSED IS A CHILD!
Rabbi Zev M. Shandalov
Cong Kehilath Jacob Beth Samuel (KJBS)
Chicago, IL
Look what is there to publish?Everyone knows that the Rabbis dropped the ball and there is nobody in Baltimore who can handle this type of situation.The problem is that whatever credibility the Awareness Center has its has lost it ,because of Vicki Polin's trigger happy methods and disregard of discretion
I want to know what is being done with regards to the allegations against YK. What are we waiting for????
Hey there Brucie,
Sounds to me like you must be a supporter of an offender. Which one is it? Tendler? Worch? Gafni?
If it wasn't for Vicki Polin I would still consider myself a victim. I'm way past that point.
Vicki is hero!
She's saved my life, because of her I'm back in school, I found myself a great therapist, and my life has really turned around.
I'm so sorry you feel threatened by The Awareness Center. They are definately making a huge difference in the lives of many people just like me.
Thanks to the Rabbi from Chicago for his post. Fnally a Rabbi that has spoken out. Bravo !
Now, how about this person juravel's parents and associates from Baltimore. Did any of the family know or suspect about this person juravel ? Come'on parents, make a public statement..remaining
silent just leads the community to suspect that you knew about this person juravel. Did you know ?
This person juravel grew up in Baltimore, everyone knows about him and yet no one knows anything about this person juravel.I'm sorry, something just ain't right.
Did he in fact molest kids in the camp that he worked for. Was he sent away from Baltimore when there was a hint of scandle or hiom being accused or caught. Someone in the family or community must know something ; or on the other hand, perhaps studies got in your way of awareness..Hello,we do live in a real world. We all arn;t just waiting for the world to come.
If any of you know anything,come forward.STOP protecting this person juravel.
And for those interested… Yossi WAS considered the “shadchan” for Shmuely. And for further clarity I was the one they flew in for the engagement party in Savannah, as a token of appreciation to Yossi. I did hear rumors from TI in regards to this fellow Shmuely, and told Yossi about them. He told me he heard them but he knows Shmuely and that I shouldn’t believe such things. Furthermore, I shouldn’t dare ruin this for Janie. Its all hearsay, I must keep silent.
I finally had the guts to walk away from the” matrimonial union” I had with Yossi when I found out he was also having inappropriate relationships with young girls. One of whom happened to be my 14 year old babysitter. I received a “get” immediately and also got sole custody of my daughter.
According to very reliable sources, he recently liquidated his assets and planned with his already pregnant young wife to move to another country.
Furthermore, he swore to me that if any of this comes out, he will ruin my life and take my daughter away from me.
I also wonder... what is being done in regards to the allegations against YK...
And to Janie, I am so so sorry I didn't come forward and say anything to you. I heard stuff that I should have told you. I could have saved you years of pain of aggravation. I hope you find in your heart a place to forgive me for my silence. You are a wonderful person and deserve only good things in your life.
I promise, even though its not easy, I will no longer keep quiet.
If you were “groomed” as people have been putting it, by YK you are NOT alone! And he does not just “groom” (he even became groom in both incidents.)
Please file a report with the police. You have the power to save others.
I know you are scared. So am I. I have been scared for the past 10 years. I am still scared of him. I know his tactics. I know how slick and sick he is. I know how he “grooms” and then takes advantage. I know how self-centered he is. I know how he smiles; I know his pitiful eyes when he tries to buy you with his stories. I know how he can’t “perform” properly and that is why he is so intimidated by women and has to go to young innocent girls and “educate” them. I know how he rationalizes his actions (she is 14 going on 25, so mature you wouldn’t believe, she needs help someone has to be there for her) I know how sadistic he can become when he doesn’t get what he wants. I know how he sets his hand on your leg, late at night in the car, and tells you how much he cares. I know how he hugs you tight and kisses you lightly so even though it’s wrong, the way he presses against you, it almost feels right. I know he makes you feel like you are the only one and how you should keep this perfect relationship quiet. I know he also doesn’t stop reminding you incase you start doubting his sincerity and see boundaries crossed with decadent actions. I know how he turns you against everyone you were taught to trust leaving him as your only confidant, and ultimately your only “savior”. I know how trapped you feel. Trapped for years… trapped with wrong and right… trapped within the silence of your pain that knows no boundaries… You are not alone. You are not the only one…
Yes, I know you are scared. So am I. Keep in mind, to prey on young, innocent, religious (and therefore extremely naïve) girls, only a coward can behave that way.
If you were/is a victim of YK or know any young children that may be in harm's way, PLEASE find the strength within yourselves. Reach out. There is awareness out there today. There is support. Again, I know you are scared. So am I. It took a lot for me to write this. But we have to show these predators, which have the audacity to shield themselves behind Torah and Rabbis, that this behavior is absolutely unacceptable. File a report. Take action. Make our community a safe place for our children.
did you watch this video?
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/offender/brykslq.rm
Can we start a new thread for the "wonderful" YK. It seems that the allegations against him are true. Lets stop him now before he moves. We have the power to bring him down if we want. It's easy to blame other people but if we don't do something then are we any better??????????
Ex wife of YK. I commend you for the enourmous courage it took you to post this. YK is the one who should be afraid. You have done nothing wrong. Thank you for warning the community. People like you who are willing to speak out is what will prevent more victims. Stay strong!
People on this blog:
I am extremely concerned if the allegations posted by the ex-wife of YK are true. However, we insisted that Janie confirm whether the letter she posted was authentic. I think that we should also make sure that the person posting as "YK's ex-wife" do the same. YK's ex-wife, Please get in touch with "Jewish Survivor's of Sexual Violence" so that the blog editor can confirm that you are really YK's ex-wife.
This person juravel has a hearing this coming Thursday, May 25th in Birmingham,Ala., at which time he will either plead guild or not guilty. His trial date is coming up in June.
Again, why haven't the people in Baltimore, including his parents spoken up about this person juravel. Why ? How can the frum community NOT come forth. How can they continue to turn their combined heads away from what's right. By not speaking, they all share in his guilt. Can't get away from Hashem..by not speaking, you all are as guilty as this person juravel.
"Brucie,
I know you are posting items to this thread with this name, yacov and also as anonymous. We have exchanged a few e-mail's with each other.
As I stated before I do not feel comfortable promoting the work you are doing as long your efforts are connected with Aviva and Chana."
Sorry you got the wrong guy, I post under Brucie witch is my name.
I take issue with your baseless accusation.I feel that Aviva and Chana are incompetent and in over their heads.All I am saying is that there are those who have agendas and axes to grind,so they feel that discretion is unnecessary in these cases
i agree. this thread is about shmuel. baltimore-get your own thread.
"this thread is about shmuel..."
what more can be said about shmuel? this thread is for survivors of sexual violence who need to speak out. this is about the BJT and why the communities are not talking about this stuff openly. If you feel you have something specific to add to the Shmuel case - by all means - why don't you let it out already?
What more can be said about this person juravel ? A lot.
Thursday, May 22,2006 this person juravel will go before a federal judge to offer his plea, guilty or not guilty. Being caught,red handed as he was, I can't believe that he will plead not guilty. His best chance for survival is to plead guilty,and perhaps the court will have "mercy" on him and rather than give him 70 years confinement, just perhaps he will only get 30 years confinement.
We will wait and see tomorrow.
Wait until the bubba's in prison get their combined hands and -----
on him , although it won't even begin to repair the hurt, the damanged lives to children that he mananged to ruin. He didn't doven when he went to shul ; I wonder if he's dovening now !
He is probably davening to die...
What about his parents? His family? Did they even try to make a "public" statement? Any comments from any Rabbis? Are they really just being TOTALLY silent? Not even an apology or any kind of recognition regarding this matter?
The silence from the family and the Rabbis is deafening. This is horrible and the Rabbis do not yet understand how bad it looks for them. I know that many people, including myself, are losing all faith in the Rabbis. Although I know that every single Rabbi is not to blame, many of these Rabbis who I used to consider gedolim- I now considet shagetzes. This is really affecting my faith in all Rabbis.
I do have one comment for the poster who continues posting about the fact that Shmuel did not daven. I do not think this blog is about whether Shmuel davened and I really do not care if he did not do so. There is no crime against sucking up to powerful people- it is actually good business. Shul might not be the best time to do this, but many people at shuls all around the world do it anyways. You can keep writing about how the Savannah Rabbi was told that Shmuel doesn't daven. So what? What is the Rabbi going to do? A majority of your shul does not daven. Many of them do not know how to. A majority of your shul talks during davening- and about business. I KNOW THIS FOR A FACT. While I agree that this is not a good thing to do, it has absolutely nothing to do with this case. Shmuel is one #$%$ed up individual and he deserves to be put away for a long time. But talking in shul has nothing to do with this. Every time you post about Shmuel not davening and how he was such a big-shot you only sound jealous that you are not that big-shot and that noone discusses business with you. Shmuel DID DO many good things for the community. These good things do not make up for the horrible act that he committed and they are certainly outweighed by such acts. Even so, Shmuel's davening is irrelevant on this blog.
Some comments for the poster about talkers in shul:
1) It takes a person of great perception to know if a majority of people in a Shul are not davening. I doubt anyone is on that level. I am confident that someone that thinks he is must not be on the level to know. (After all, if he is paying attention to others, that person is not davening either.)
I am deeply offended by your statement that most in the Savannah shul talk instead of daven. That statement is the worst deragratory speech that is damaging and has no rationalization. If you have any character, you will apologize as soon as possible.
2) People that may not be reading the Hebrew but are experiencing inspiration are praying. I personally believe that their sincere intentions may make their inspiration more effective than the davening of some.
Some who talk are asking questions and getting answers from others attempting to help them.
One of the things that makes the Savannah shul a truly special congregation is the mix of people in shul. The ones that you are implying may be the bad talkers, may be the sincerely devout and observant of the future.
3) Often, the Rabbi in Savannah gives people an opportunity to do things because it encourages them to grow. I have also seen this done with those who come from "frum" backgrounds and may be at risk.
4) I have been to many shuls, and there is far less talking in the Savannah shul than many others.
5) There is way too much talking in almost all shuls I have been to. I have been to a lot of them. All of us, including myself, should recommit ourselves to davening with more sincerity, focus, and understanding.
I understand and support the need for survivors to talk and help each other heal. I encourage real survivors to speak out. This is not my attempt to dicredit or discourage real victims. This is my attempt to let people know of the truth. I believe convicted sex offenders should receive harsh punishments. The term is convictect - as in had a trial or is in the process of one. It is my understanding this is the case of SJ. NOT the case of YK. Since there IS NO CASE against YK. Now, a logical person will now ask what is all this talk about YK. The answer is pretty simple. All these accusations against YK are made by one person. That person is YK's Ex wife. She has orchestrated and manipulated the conversation so you will focus on YK and not SJ. Remember, this is about SJ. These false statements made with deliberate intent to deceive are all made by YK's Ex wife. People like her are the one who make it hard for true victims to get the help and support they need. I ask you to question her accusations the same way you question and attack any one who tries to defend YK and his wife. I do not expect K's Ex wife to stop, all I can ask is for you to seek the truth. The divorce fight between YK and K's Ex wife should be fought in court - where he is taking it. This web site is intended to help true victims, please focus on the real offenders so we can bring them to justice. I have alot to say about K's Ex wife, however will not stoop to her level of slander. No doubt her malicious, false, and defamatory statemets will continue, however, the truth will prevail.
We all know the post above was created by YK's mother.
My guess is that you and the rest of your family must be in such great pain. I'm sure everyone who is reading this blog also feel bad for what you must being going through. It's very difficult to admit that there is a serious problem with one of your children. Of course you would do anything to defend him.
It's easy to put all the blame on YK's ex-wife. It's important that you pay attention to what the vast majority of people are saying on this blog who know your son. They don't trust your son. They see him as being a charming manipulator.
Do you really believe that all the postings are coming from your ex-daughter-in-law?
Your family is in an obvious crisis. It's time to make sure your son (YK) gets the helps he needs. It's been said over and over again on this blog that your son needs to be in treatment with someone who specializes in working with sex addictions. There are NO therapists in the frum community of Baltimore that has this type of education, experience and training. It's imperative for this to happen today, before there's another victim.
Rabbi Neuberger needs to stop covering for YK. If he doesn't and there's another victim he will most likely be named in a civil suit.
yes, "the truth will prevail..." You sound like YK when he spoke about Juravel 8.5 years ago... and look, the truth finally prevailed in regards to Juravel. Its unfortunate so many children had to suffer. I think its important for us to recognize the allegations against YK and be forewarned. You want to stick to facts at this point? fine. Do you think its normal he married his former babysitter and she was pregnant before the marriage and she is only 18 and he is 29 and people knew she was coming to his house at age 14 even when she no longer needed to babysit (along with some others...) and why is he going to court, by the way? To fight the allegations that have already been reported to the police?
Anna C. Salter is a respected psychologist. She is an expert in the field of child sexual maltreatment, and she spells it out:
"The establishment (and eventual betrayal) of affection and trust occupies a central role in the child molester's interactions with children....The grooming process often seems similar from offender to offender, largely because it takes little to discover that emotional seduction is the most effective way to manipulate children."
These men are convicted child molesters. They, too, are experts in the field of child maltreatment, and they also spell it out:
"[P]arents are so naive—they're worried about strangers and should be worried about their brother-in-law. They just don't realize how devious we can be. I used to abuse children in the same room with their parents and they couldn't see it or didn't seem to know it was happening."
"I was disabled and spent months grooming the parents, so they would tell their children to take me out and help me. No one thought that disabled people could be abusers."
"[P]arents are partly to blame if they don't tell their children about [sexual matters]—I used it to my advantage by teaching the child myself."
"[P]arents shouldn't be embarrassed to talk about things like this—it's harder to abuse or trick a child who knows what you're up to."
Does anyone know if a police report has been filed against YK? Remember there is no staute of limitations on sex crimes in the state of Maryland.
I think that YK's current wife is a victim along with her family. She deserves to be respected. She di not do anything wrong. Remember she was manipulated by a pro.
Does it matter if YK's current wife was pregnant before or after she was married? I don't think it does. What matters is that she's going to need a lot of support from our community. She's a very young woman who has gotten manipulated by a man who is expert at grooming his victims.
Think about it, both YK's past and current wives are victims. I also think his immediate family has also been manipulated by him.
So what's the solution? We all need to assure that if YK has done the things mentioned on this blog, that law enforcement is made aware of the situation. It's also vitally important that we as a community escort YK to and from therapy sessions with someone who is qualified to deal with his issues. He needs to be escorted when ever he's out in public to assure nothing like this happens again.
If he's not in prison then he's out in the community. Chasing him out of town won't do any good. Because we are responsible for him no matter where he lives.
Will our rabbis do anything to help? I doubt it. They like to keep these sorts of matters hushed up.
Remember just because the police take a report doesn't mean anything will happen. Also just because the police didn't feel there was enough evidence to take a report, doesn't mean that the alleged sex offender isn't guilty.
If you think someone is a danger to kids, then we have to work as a community to get them help, and also help them stay away from their addiction.
does anyone know what happened at the hearing today?
Haven't heard a thing. Does anyone in Savannah know how it went? Did Juravel plead guilty? Or is there going to be a trial?
I just went to the fbi's web page. Typed in Juravel's name, and the only thing that came up was this:
http://birmingham.fbi.gov/dojpressrel/pressrel06/bh032906b.htm
It's from when he was first arrested.
where did you get the information that the court date would be today?
I'm a bit confused. I'm not saying I don't believe all these accusations againsts YK, but I just realized some things: first of all, how do you know that his wife was pregnant before the wedding?? I saw her the other day by herself in shoppers and she's barely showing! i wasn't sure she was pregnant at all! and they got married over 5 months ago. Also, I happen to know the class she graduated -03-(I checked out the yearbook) which would make her either 21 already or about to turn 21. now just some quick easy math. that would make her 17 at the time of YK and limor's divorce. which would mean that when she was 14 their daughter wasn't even born yet!!!
am I missing something or are things just not adding up? and furthermore, she left for Israel right after she graduated-same year they seperated.
either I'm missing something or we're saying a lot of things that aren't true.
you want to check it out for yourself? I think her school even has stuff online-yeshiva of greater washington, check it out, do the math.
I do think your math is off or you don't know how old these people are...
The kid is 7 and the sitter is now 20. and how do you know when they separated anyway? but who cares about that... so the kid was 1 when she babysat. 20-6=14
Just a break down for the one who knows no math... 20 year old pregnant sitter take away 6 years ago equals 14. the sitter was 14. they were separated when sitter was 14.5 and she left to israel when she was 17.
before you post get your facts straight "mrs. annonymous!"
Savannah is a great city. But it sounds really desperate every time someone makes some comment about Savannah and there is a long diatribe about how great the city is. You are making the city sound desperate and paranoid. There is plenty of talking in the Savannah shul and everyone is not sitting around asking for help davening. If two people are sitting togethor with nobody else near them and both of them do not know how to pray, but they are jabbering the whole time- they are probably discussing current events, business, sport or gossip- and not vehemently arguing about the correct pronunciation of ashrei and yishtabach. This occurs in Savannah, and yes this happens everywhere else as well. The idea in my prior post was not to attack Savannah's shul. In fact, I defended the Rabbi from the person that claimed the Rabbi put Shmuel in a power position. Rather, I was pointing out that many shuls have people discussing business, including Savannah, and while that is wrong, it is not the reason that Shmuel or anybody else is a bad person. The person who keeps posting about how Shmuel continually talked to powerful business people during shul, keeps posting rants that have nothing to do with child molestation!
YOU OBVIOUSLY GOT THE WRONG GIRL. EITHER THE WRONG FAMILY OR THE WRONG SISTER.
That is the Savannah mentality-"we are the most wonderful Jewish community in the whole world". Everything there is idyllic and wonderful. The shul is wonderful, the rabbi is wonderful, the JEA is wonderful, the Kollel and Day School are wonderful,all the best.
True, scandals have been minimum but it's small town.
So don't make insinuations about our community because after all, it's wonderful!
Oh...on of our native daughters got suckered by a deviant?
Maybe things aren't so wonderful?
Did you know that in Savannah they would jokingly refer to Baltimore as "Ir Hakodesh"?
On this blog it should be referred to as an "Ir Hanidachat" (condemned city) as there are clearly people who would like to burn at least a segment of Baltimore to the ground.
Those Savannahians who think that the BBJ (really a nice old shul with nice people) is perfect are far from correct, but it's in line with the "wonderful" mentality. And besides, people on this blog have been unduly tough on a community that has never dealt with this kind of thing before and is now undergoing a trial by fire. You know how many "machers" have showed up in shul and shmooze, etc etc? Plenty. And how many people who raise money become bigger machers in shuls all over the world?
Plenty.
Cut Savannah a break, but Savannahians, please, to think that your community is so full of "wonderful" is just unrealistic.
The fact that the rabbi may have disregarded an anonymous tip about SJ doesn't surprise me either. But do we know here on the blog that he in fact totally disregarded it? Or was it perhaps so bizarre that he didn't know what to do with the information until it was too late.
He's a good man and a scholar who is also streetwise. But he is also a victim, I think, of the "wonderful" mentality.
He did not plead guilty (which in itself is a crime!!!) and now his court date is set for July 10th
<< Home