Culture, Politics, Religion

The Jewish Press Prepares Community for Child Molester Stonewalling Scandal at Prominent Brooklyn Yeshiva

The Jewish Press, the “largest Orthodox Anglo-Jewish weekly in the world,” lashed out at the mail campaign recently waged by Un-Orthodox Jew against Yeshiva Torah Temima.  
Alumni claiming molestation had already been mobilized under UOJ’s blog’s campaign to pressure the Yeshiva to fire the alleged child molester.  When that failed, UOJ hired a lawyer, Jeffrey Herman, to represent the former students who charge they were molested in a lawsuit, and when that still failed to impress the yeshiva’s administration, UOJ sent out a mail campaign of 22,000 letters alerting the community of the claims against the Rabbi and the yeshiva’s refusal not only to believe the claims but to demonstrate that they had ever been seriously considered.
Now the Jewish Press has its pulse on its readership, and the epicenter of its readership is the Black Hat Jewish community in Brooklyn.  If they thought this was a sick joke or merely a personal vendetta with no substance, they should not have addressed this mailing directly in any way shape or form.  In fact, if they addressed it at all, they should merely published a puff piece about how the yeshiva was the very best ever and all its faculty members are pillars of the community (there are no shortage of “pillars of the community” in these communities). 
Instead, the Jewish Press printed a statement from its Editorial Board about the letter, though it declined to mention UOJ by name, nor any of the subjects of the scandal. This suggests that behind the smoke is a raging fire worthy of a Lag B’Omer celebration in Har Meron. 
This Editorial Board statement is posted on their website.  What is remarkable is not what they said, but what they didn’t say. They are not disputing the claims against Torah Temima.  They are only attacking the process of the mail campaign being waged against the yeshiva. They smear the man leading the fight against the yeshiva, but they do not praise the people being accused. 
The fact that they printed this at all is startling. They must feel it is past the point of no return. 
The Jewish Press notes,

 “Anonymous accusers effectively destroying their targets’ reputations, even before the truthfulness of the accusations are ascertained, cannot be the way of Klal Yisrael – and indeed has never been. Certainly it accords neither with halacha nor with common sense. It is precisely for this reason that for millennia we have invariably insisted that those making claims against another take the accused to a bet din in order to determine the facts and, if necessary, the halacha.”

Keep in mind, allowing only for a “bet din” (a religious Jewish court) as a means to protest behavior would have kept OU’s scandal with Baruch Lanner from ever hitting the fan, in part because the accusers have to attend the hearing, and it would never have happened so easily or as intensely, as many of these former NCSY attendees lived outside the U.S.There may be an additional reason why the Jewish Press would prefer this remain in the Bet Din’s and not the media.  The Bet Din is considered a much better bet for a sympathetic and discreet process as well as a favorable decision for the yeshiva than a secular court, and it is also not likely to interest the former students as much as a lawsuit.  According to UOJ, “Many victims have come forward since they now believe that Jeff Herman Esq. has accepted the case. In a previous bais din, the kids that testified were painted as delusional and ill.”
For a full reading of the letter and UOJ’s mail campaign, you can go here, but you get a bunch of posts and need to scroll down, because a single post can no longer be accessed — today UOJ was hacked for the second time in as many months.  His attorney is in contact with google, the owner of blogger, over the repeated sabotage to his sites.
This is his new url.
Full Jewish Press Statement  
We’ll see if the editorial board statement stays up on their site through tomorrow!

14 thoughts on “The Jewish Press Prepares Community for Child Molester Stonewalling Scandal at Prominent Brooklyn Yeshiva

  1. “Numerous former anonymous alumni claiming molestation had already been mobilized and united under UOJ’s blog’s campaign to pressure the Yeshiva to fire the alleged child molester. When that failed, UOJ hired a lawyer, Jeffrey Herman, to represent the former students who charge they were molested in a lawsuit, and when that still failed to impress the yeshiva’s administration, UOJ sent out a mail campaign of 22,000 letters alerting the community”
    I dont get why they would do all this. Why not just go to the authorities or to beis din and just report the guy ? Dont you find it odd that someone would go through all this trouble to file a lawsuit and send out thousands of letters, but wouldnt even try to have charges brought against the guy? (unless im wrong and they did report him, which is not mentioned in the post).
    Also, has the judged ruled on any motions regarding the lawsuit yet?

  2. Brilliant, just brilliant David!
    Since this is now being handled by Jeffrey Herman Esq. I can no longer comment on the particulars of this case.
    Press releases from Mr. Herman’s office will probably be forthcoming once the parties are served.

  3. Joe,
    Your conspiracy theories are hysterical! I put my name on everything I write. But if you are going to insist that I have multiple identities, could you also spead a rumor that I am also Mobius, EV, Failed Messiah, Ernest Hemingway, I.B. Singer, Agnon, and especially Hillel Halkin?

  4. Its not that I believe that you and he are the same person, its more that I find it unbelievable that anyone would find you brilliant.
    Care to answer why this hasnt been taken to the authorities, or are you and unorthodox jew just gonna continue stroking eachothers cocks?

  5. Numerous former anonymous alumni claiming molestation had already been mobilized and united under UOJ’s blog’s campaign to pressure the Yeshiva to fire the alleged child molester.

    A purely pedantic point, but wouldn’t this have been better as “Claiming molestation, numerous anonymous alumni…”
    The idea of UOJ mobilizing and uniting molestation was briefly amusing, though. Also, I don’t think you can be ‘former’ alumni, unless perhaps your degree is revoked. Or did you mean ‘formerly anonymous alumni?’

  6. “Joe,
    Contact the lawyers shmuck, since when do we announce to the enemy what we’re doing? Whadddya think this is the U.N.? ”
    If you didnt want to tip off the “enemy” why didnt you start by contacting the authorities? If anything, all this grandstanding with the letters and lawsuit, allows this guy to better prepare for his actual legal defense. Either way, this still leaves the original question unanswered: Why didnt, or havent you yet contacted the authorities. If this is as serious as you claim, shouldnt you contact the authorities immediately?
    And btw, the criminal charge almost always gets filed before the civil charge.

  7. Jeez. If you have never been part of the physically, psychically, emotionally and spiritually abused members of the Orthodox Jewish Community in Crooklyn, you couldn’t possibly understand, especially if you are male, that you don’t drop a dime on the tribe. Legitimate or not, that’s how they brainwash you from day one…Teacher is hitting you with a stick ’cause you don’t know your place in chumash? Who is an 8-year-old gonna call if no one notices his black and blue marks? Had your ears twisted? Your parents, when you were little and went to complain, were told by the principles of the little two-bit child molesters that they would never find a yeshiva willing to take their kids if they “moisered.” Ten years ago, I ripped the lid off of this can of worms, and interestingly, todays’s Jewish Standard has an article on this very topic.
    The toughest thing to teach Orthodox women to do, some of them beaten bloody, was to get them to call 911. And then there’s the statute of limitations, too. Someone should ASAP call Ed Gluck in BP and get hold of the persons in Hyne’s office who handled the three boys from Bobov who gang raped a kid who then committed suicide. They should be able to put this on the criminal track–and BTW, this menuval’s name popped up years ago, but no one would come forward. Do you guys know who to call for publicity? I do.

  8. What’s the problem? Child molestation is justified in the Talmud, why is this a problem? All the Sages say it’s OK!
    Sanhedrin 55b
    Sanhedrin 69a-69b
    Yebamoth 57b
    Yebamoth 60b
    Niddah 44b
    Yebamoth 12b
    If you are a “religious” Jew this shouldn’t be an issue.

  9. I’m sorry, what sefer are these from?
    No actually let me guess orthodox paradox, you either:
    A. found statistics about the Talmud from some orthodox bashing website, and used them without even reading them.
    or
    B. Actually read certain parts of the Talmud out of context, and didn’t go to any authority on the subject to try to get a deeper understanding of the issue.
    without even study the different dafs you gave, i already know that you have no real understanding of the issue and probly just jumped to conclusions because you are an obnoxious douche bag (or atleast give off that vibe at an incredible rate). oh, and btw fuck orthodox bashers in general…
    G-d, i fucking hate Abikorsim sometimes…
    Well, i have to go throw rocks at women now! So i’ll see you all later!

  10. What’s the problem? Child molestation is justified in the Talmud, why is this a problem? All the Sages say it’s OK!
    Yep. Project Schoolyard is all over it. Renew America is on board. The Christian Party fully cognizant, and Mission Islam hasn’t missed out.
    It all seems to come from a book called The Jewish Religion: Its Influence Today by an Elizabeth Dilling. All available online, courtesy of one Carol A. Valentine. Of Let’s Discuss Mass Expulsion of Jews from US fame.

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