WARNING: Rabbi Tsvi (Harlan) David Kilstein, 48, was hard at work smearing the survivors of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler and Victim Advocates

Rabbi Harlan Kilstein
PLEASE NOTE: There are NO allegations of sexual misconduct against Tsvi Kilstein Yet there are serious allegations of professional misconduct, unethical behavior, and misrepresentation himself as a mental health professional.

At one time Harlan was the principal of a yeshiva in Flordia. He also has past connections with the JDL.

If you or anyone you know feel that you have been victimized by this man, please send me an email, which will be kept confidential.

Statement from a friend of an invidual who went to Rabbi Tsvi Kilstein for assistance (The individual requested their identity be kept confidential):

According to ethics of all mental health professionals, when an individual contacts someone for professional help, for themselves or someone they care about, the conversation are bound by the laws of confidentiality.

When someone impersonates a mental health professional, they can be brought up on criminal charges. I believe that Tsvi Kilstein has been very fortunate that this has not occurred yet.

I’ve known (Name Removed) for many years. I even know how she met Rabbis Tovia and Tsvi Kilstein.

There were a few of us who volunteered on AOL as counter-missionaries trying to protect Jews with little education from being manipulated by those who were really Hebrew Christians.

We often referred individuals to both Jews For Judaism and Outreach Judaism (Tovia Singer’s organization).

(Name Removed) was one of the people we feared was being proselytized to. She had a relative mixed up with one of the groups. As time went on she became educated on the problems, and wanted to help her relative get out of the group. I myself made a huge mistake of encouraging her to contact Tovia Singer. Some time after (Name Removed) contacted Tovia, he referred her to Tsvi Kilstein.

Both presented themselves to (Name Removed) as experienced working with individuals involved in cults. Both Singer and Kilstein were aware that (Name Removed) never had any sort of normal Jewish education.

Their response was to arrange for (Name Removed) to have a full scholarship to a prestigious women’s yeshiva in Jerusalem. Is this something you would do to someone you have deemed insane?

Considering both Kilstein and Singer both told (Name Removed) they had degrees in the mental health field, I really have to question their motives of the recent attacks against her.

There were several of us encouraging (Name Removed) to call Tovia Singer for some time (I believe this was back in 1997 or 1998). We made the mistake of thinking Tovia would be the best person to help her and help her cousin.

Singer told several of us that he had a social work degree, and shared that he was better qualified to deal with cases, since the other organization’s director, had no degree.

I wish we would have verified Tovia Singer’s degree prior to referring anyone to him. Looking back he made us all into fools. We blindly trusted him because he was a “rabbi.”

I remember (Name Removed) telling me that Singer referred her to another rabbi in Florida. She was very apprehensive in communicating with someone else. Again, I feel responsible for not checking him out, and blindly encouraging her to contact him. This “rabbi” was Tsvi Kilstein.

I clearly remember every time (Name Removed) spoke to me regarding her relative or herself, she would state “what I’m going to say is confidential.” I am not a mental health professional, only someone dedicated to keeping Jews Jewish. I understood that what was said -- must be kept private, and would never violate this sacred trust.

I will not go into the details of the issues she struggled with, nor the issues her relative struggled with. I believe when someone shares personal details of themselves with another it is vitally important to honor their request.

It appears quite clear that Tsvi Kilstein, who states he’s an ordained rabbi, and also claimed to be a mental health professional who was dedicated to helping those involved with cults break free; has no problem in breaking confidentiality between someone who came to him for help (for a relative and or themselves).

Tsvi Kilstein goes much beyond violating the sacred trust between a self described “cult expert,” (who claimed to be a mental health professional) to someone reaching out for help.

Over the years (Name Removed) has shared a great deal of her life with me. It’s interesting to hear the difference in what Kilstein is saying, and what (Name Removed) has shared with me.

I wonder how many other individuals have gone to Harlan Kilstein (AKA: Tsvi Kilstein) or Tovia Singer for help, and had confidential conversations embellished over the Internet?

There were several different individuals we assisted (in the Jewish Chat rooms on AOL) over the years who got involved with various Hebrew Christian cults.

There was a fear for some of the individuals we helped that kept coming up. When it came to meeting a counter-missionaries in person; several of them stated they heard that there were times that counter-missionaries would use physical force as a method to “deprogram” them. There was also the fear for a few of the women that they would be raped.

At the time, I thought that these were fears instilled by those trying to keep them from leaving the various groups. The more I learn about Tsvi Kilstein, Tovia Singer and Yori Yanover, and the cast of characters these men associate themselves with, I have to sit back and wonder if there was some truth to these rumors.

The more I’ve been learning about sexual abuse and those who commit these sorts of crimes, I begin to realize how much sense it makes for an offender to pick a career doing Jewish outreach to those who get involved in cults.

When someone is leaving a group where free thought is looked down upon, it makes the individuals an easy target for a criminal mind.

Most individuals don’t know that you can’t automatically trust someone who is a member of the clergy (rabbis, priests, ministers, pastors, etc.). When someone is in need of help they can be manipulated so easily by someone who carries a title, stating they are an ordained clergy member. It’s really scary. It’s as if they go from one cult leader to another.

This is true for those who have gotten involved with any religious group, including survivors of both Aron and Mordecai Tendler, Gafni, Worch, Carlebach, Lipman, etc.

Example:

Quote from RebTsvi on various blogs (Please Note: names have been removed):
____ contacted me about her cousin ______. Our initial discussions were only about ______.

If someone comes to a “professional” for help, does that grant the “professional” permission to post conversations on the Internet (conversations that are true or untrue)?

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Also See:

• ABUSIVE RABBI THREATENS ADVOCATES
• Rabbis, Confidentiality and Other Ethical Issues