We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish - By A Member of the Baltimore Community
From The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter:
We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish
By Member of the Baltimore Community
© (2008) The Awareness Center
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer of Baltimore writes in this week's shul bulletin for Parshas VaYikra: "We must feel the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of these eight young Bnai Torah who were brutally murdered [in Eretz Yisroel]."
It is human to ask WHY and know that there is no ultimate answer in this world, but there are ways of analyzing world events to learn lessons.
These events unfortunately parallel the current community topic of sexual abuse and child molestation. We must connect to the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of the many young B'nai Torah (both boys and girls) who have been sexually molested and are then coerced to keep silent.
The parallel continues: the perpetrators of murder in Eretz Yisroel are the Arabs. Yet the Israeli government leaders give the enemy Arabs political power, lethal weapons and international support. Our Rabbinic leaders enable the perpetrators and molesters to hide under the cover of victim silence. This cover up allows the perpetrators to continue their destruction of the physical, emotional and spiritual lives of more Jewish victims, families and future generations of Klal Yisroel.
So now we have a hint of one of the deep dark reasons WHY tragedy has hit our people at this time and this place. In the holy of holies, Yerushalayim, and with our holy kinderlach.
We Must Feel The Pain And Anguish
By Member of the Baltimore Community
© (2008) The Awareness Center
Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer of Baltimore writes in this week's shul bulletin for Parshas VaYikra: "We must feel the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of these eight young Bnai Torah who were brutally murdered [in Eretz Yisroel]." It is human to ask WHY and know that there is no ultimate answer in this world, but there are ways of analyzing world events to learn lessons.
These events unfortunately parallel the current community topic of sexual abuse and child molestation. We must connect to the pain and anguish of the parents, siblings, families, and friends of the many young B'nai Torah (both boys and girls) who have been sexually molested and are then coerced to keep silent.
The parallel continues: the perpetrators of murder in Eretz Yisroel are the Arabs. Yet the Israeli government leaders give the enemy Arabs political power, lethal weapons and international support. Our Rabbinic leaders enable the perpetrators and molesters to hide under the cover of victim silence. This cover up allows the perpetrators to continue their destruction of the physical, emotional and spiritual lives of more Jewish victims, families and future generations of Klal Yisroel.
So now we have a hint of one of the deep dark reasons WHY tragedy has hit our people at this time and this place. In the holy of holies, Yerushalayim, and with our holy kinderlach.
According to national statistics a child molester will criminally sexually violate between 117 - 120 times prior to law enforcement being notified.Last month at a community meeting, David Mandel of Ohel Children Home (NYC) and Rabbi Yaakov Hopfer instructed community members not to report alleged sex crimes to the police. Instead to report the crimes to the rabbonim. Considering the fact that this policy has been endorsed by the president of the Vaad of Baltimore (Jewish Religious Court), one has to wonder if the number of victims left by a sexual predator within the Eruv would be double the national norm? -- Vicki Polin, Director - The Awareness Center
For more information on various alleged and convicted sex offenders living in the Baltimore orthodox community click below (alphabetical order):
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor" (Leviticus 19:16).
- Case of Stanley Ashman
- Case of Aron Goldberger
- Case of Rabbi Moshe Eisemann
- Case of Rabbi Eliezer Eisgrau
- Case of Rabbi Benyamin Yaakov Fleischman
- Case of Cantor Stuart Friedman
- Case of Shmuel Juravel
- Case of Martin Kaufman
- Case of Rabbi Yaakov Menken
- Case of Ephraim Ohana
- Case of Rabbi Ephraim Shapiro
- Case of Rabbi Yisroel Shapiro
- Case of Rabbi Aron Tendler
Those who are no longer living or moved out of the Eruv of Baltimore
- Case of Brad Hames
- Case of Judge Robert I.H. Hammerman
- Case of the Student Offenders of Ner Israel Yeshiva in the 1950's
- Case of Steven Howard Oken
- Case of Rabbi Matis Weinberg
- Case of Wayne Stephen Young
if any cases are missing please forward them to The Awareness Center
posted by Jewish Survivors at Sunday, March 16, 2008
8 Comments:
Thank you to who ever wrote this piece. I agree with you 100%.
I was wondering about the statistics of the number of times a child molester with offend. Does that mean he/she will molest the same person 117 - 120 times, 117-120 different victims? Or does it mean a combination of the two?
Dr. Weisbord made the point in a letter to the editor in the newest Where What When that predators should be reported to the local authorities who are most equipped to deal with this crime. She reminded everyone that it was mentioned in the Vaad's letter, but she felt it was not emphasized enough at the Abuse lecture.
Dr. Pelcovitz mentioned it at the lecture and all the Rabbonim there nodded their heads in agreement. Mr. Mandel would also agree to reporting to authorities and he was only discussing the first steps when one has a personal suspicion of a abuser, not any form of knowledge. I believe that is being misrepresented on this blog.
and Aviva Weisbord should be reporting herself for breach of confidentiality. She should loose her license to practice. No one should refer to her has "Dr."
which authorities is she suggesting survivors report to? It is not the criminal justice system. She's an advocate of reporting sex crimes to the vaad. That way her family feels they can have control over their subjects. Aviva Weisbord is a part of the system that promotes sex offenders and destroys victims.
Mandel waited for Pelcovitz to leave before he went on and on about reporting to the rabbonim and not law enforcement.
Pelcovitz is a class act. Mandel should be sued for allowing his buddies to continue to molest children. Actually I think Mandel should be put in prison so he can experience first hand what survivors go through. My bet is that's the only thing that will help him to wake up to the reality of the crimes he allows to continue.
I bet he would have a great time with uncle buba.
I have brought this up once before but everybody seems to be avoiding the issue. I have heard serious allegations that Lanner was steered toward Hillel Yeshiva in Deal NJ after higher ups learned of his dalliances wih teenage girls in NCSY. THE REASON HE WAS STEERED TO DEAL IS BECAUSE the Hillel Yeshiva there is composed of mostly Sephardim and they couldn't care less if he molested Sephardic girls as long as he stayed away from the pure fairskinned blue eyed, blonde aryan Jewish girls. Can anyone confirm or refute this?
(as an aside, a smiliar situation can be observed with the other ashkenazic pervert 'rabbi' efraim bryks who today has free reign in the bukharian community in queens including free access to their young children).
Actually Dr. Weisbord said in her letter to report cases to the Police and Child Protection.
Great that Aviva the non-trustworthy psychologist did something correct for a change. I don't advocate anyone reading the Where, What,When. It's a cult newspaper.
It's BS about Lanner and Hillel.
Lanner was a charismatic guy, a great teacher and a scholar. Hillel was looking for someone to energize the school. Lanner was a huge commodity in Jersey because of his years as Regional Director. He was a celebrity.
Even as Principal of Hillel he still had a hand in NCSY and ran the Regions. I interviewed with him at Hillel in 1989 for a position in NCSY. Remember, it was during his time as Jersey Regional Director that many of the incidents of abuse occured. When he left that job he went to work for the OU NCSY as "Director of Regions" as overseer of all the Regional Directors (his "minions" of loyal worshippers).
He still had access to kids and I can remember strolling with him through the lobby of a hotel at a Shabbaton and stopping with him as he paused to talk to a rather well-endowed young girl. He didn't really talk to the "lesser endowed" girls.
I think in those later years he kind of backed off the same types of behaviors that led to so many of the accusations. His energies were into ruling over his empire of little Lanner wanna-be Regional Directors (Wanna-be as in charismatic, not necessarily molestors). Those guys wish they could hold an audience even 1 tenth of what Lanner could do.
Anyway, he left Hillel in 1997 I think.
That's all folks.
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