Questions for Agudath Israel of America and Some Rabbis At Ner Israel
The following was comment was posted on hirhurim blog. I thought it was relevant.
I was just going over the list of rabbis who signed the letter from Baltimore. I noticed that rabbi Aharon Feldman and rabbi Beryl Weisbord didn't sign the letter. Considering they are key players at Ner Israel I'm surprised.
I am also curious if Rabbi Avi Shafran will make a public statement regarding the letter his father signed. If I remember correctly he stated in the JTA article that came out a few months ago:
Salomon, a dean of Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, N.J., one of the world's largest yeshivas, said, according to an Agudath Israel spokesman, that haredim are indeed guilty of "sweeping things under the carpet."The article continued with:
What he meant was open to interpretation. Salomon declined comment, but according to the Agudath Israel spokesman, Rabbi Avi Shafran, Salomon meant that rather than ignoring or covering up sexual misconduct, as detractors maintain, haredi officials deal with it discreetly to protect the dignity of the families of perpetrators and victims.
The response to Salomon's remarks was swift and often heated, with several Web site and blog contributors arguing that the rabbi's comments should be taken literally that is, haredi officials often look the other way when clergy sex abuse takes place in their midst.
Shafran, who accused the online detractors of making glib and sweeping generalizations without corroborating evidence, termed the comments "abhorrent.
Shafran said he doubts that clergy sex abuse is more prevalent in the fervently Orthodox world than elsewhere. Asked whether victims there are afraid to report abuse, he said, "I hope it's not true. But it's easy to see how someone would be reluctant to publicly report such an issue."
He said modesty, which is prized by many haredim, might preclude the open discussion of matters "that are part of the average radio talk show agenda.
posted by Jewish Survivors at Sunday, April 15, 2007
3 Comments:
http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=7893
Agudath Israel has not dealt with the issue of rabbinical sexual abuse directly at a convention and is less inclined to institute any kind of centralized body to deal with the problem, according to spokesman Rabbi Avi Shafran. Complainants would be encouraged to "go to the rebbe or community rabbi" on an individual basis, he said. (Rabbi Kaminetsky, one of the three rabbis on the Rabbi Weinberg bet din, is a member of the Council of Torah Sages of Agudah, and Rabbi Cohen, also serving on the ad hoc bet din, is a member of Agudah as well.)
Torah Umesorah, the national network of yeshivas and Hebrew day schools, is holding its annual convention next week and for the first time will distribute formal guidelines for dealing with abuse, according to executive vice president Rabbi Joshua Fishman. He noted that the organization has dealt with the problem for a number of years and will include a closed-door session this year.
Dr. Aviva Weisbord, a psychologist in Baltimore and sister of Rabbi Weinberg, said she and other members of her family are working toward establishing a two-tiered mechanism to deal with sexual abuse in the Orthodox community. Allegations would be addressed to a group of distinguished rabbis, she said, who then would appoint trained professionals to investigate and make recommendations, which the rabbinic body would then act on.
As a form of "checks and balances," Weisbord said, " it would be understood that if people were not satisfied with the results, they could go to the civil courts or the press."
Weisbord acknowledged that there was "ingrained resistance" from some of the rabbis who have been approached. "They recognize the need but have been reluctant to sign on," she noted. "It will have to be done one by one.
http://www.registercitizen.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18198882&BRD=1652&PAG=461&dept_id=572371&rfi=6
By TRACY KENNEDY
Register Citizen Staff
BANTAM - A New York man formerly employed as a sushi chef at a Salisbury restaurant was ordered held on $200,000 bond Wednesday in Bantam Superior Court.
Tsering Dorjee, 44, 5311 90th St., Apt. 4L, was arrested in Queens, N.Y. Dorjee was charged with attempt to commit first-degree sexual assault and third-degree sexual assault.
Dorjee, who currently works as a chef in Lakewood, N.J., is married with two children, according to court documents.
Ask the summer camps why they don't report everything immediately as they should?
Is every camper and every parent going to be given the state number to call regarding possible abuse?
Why should it first be reported to the camp?
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