Postville Cheder And Yeshiva Had Cases Of Child Sexual Abuse in 2003 to 2005, And In 1990s – Police Not Called

Two Chabadniks filed for divorce and then argued over custody of their children. The husband, a rabbi and schochet, worked for Agriprocessors, first as a schochet and then…

…as a computer systems analyst.

In their custody battle, information on what appears to be at least two separate rabbi-on-boy sexual abusers surfaced. Both apparently taught at the Postville Cheder / Yeshiva.

One moved from Postville to Crown Heights, and the husband argued his ex-wife should not be able to have custody of her children because she now also lived in Crown Heights. The abuser, the husband said, lived three blocks from his ex-wife.

It seems neither of these abusers were reported to police in Postville. In part, here's what the court record states:

…In January 2005, the three youngest boys told [the wife] that one of the teachers at the Postville yeshiva sexually abused them. This revelation was not the first of its kind. Years earlier, [the mother] discovered that one of her now adult sons was molested by “an older boy who was under the wing of the people who” ran the school. She did not report the incident for fear of jeopardizing her husband’s position in Postville. Instead, she took the son to Montreal for counseling.

On learning that her three youngest sons were also abused, [the wife] immediately removed them from the Postville yeshiva for three to four weeks. [the husband] was told of the abuse two weeks after {[he wife] learned of it. He stated he looked into it; the children told [the wife] that [the husband] insisted they would need to return to the yeshiva.…

The couple married in 1980, so their oldest child would now be at most 27 or 28. That first incident of abuse may have happened as far back as the early 1990s.

Comments

[Friend]

How dare you do such a horrible thing?? This is a horrible story and one that needs to be spoken about - but to put names??? Who is the criminal here? The name of the molester, the real criminal is still unkown to us but the vicitms who are innocent vicitms have there names and personal information plastered here - THIS IS CRIMINAL AND VICIOUS. These children as well as the whole family still have to have a life and get married. How evil and vicious it is to publicize this and deprive this family of their best chances in the future. The father is equally guilty for not believing his children and insisting they go back to school.
Leave innocent people alone and get rid of these criminals so that our children can be safe and learn in a safe environment

[Yoni]

I'll second Friend's shock at Shmarya's publishing this with names and breaching the privacy of minors. Despicable.

[Jake]

I was only able to read the first page of the court document.

However,it seems to me that this is a document of public record unless it was sealed by the judge.

[rebitzman]

++but to put names???++

Yes - how dare he post something that is PART OF THE PUBLIC RECORD. The people THEMSELVES made the decision that such "exposure" was worth it when they came forward and made this a public issue.

[WoolSIlkCotton]

What Friend and Yoni are asking is that the matter be reported here like VIN did today with this story, and such an opinion has merit. Perhaps Shmarya could have posted the pdf document with the names blacked out. If someone wants to know the names, they can research it at the courthouse. It might have been more decent for FM to blacken the names.

Court proceedings, including such matrimonial disputes, are a matter of public record.
The husband and wife both decided to enter the child molestation matter on the public record, knowing that it could become known to the public, because it was a vital part of the dispute involving what each thought was in the best interests of the children. However, the public, or in this case, FM, should have exercised some discretion.

It is most unfortunate that neither parent felt that the police should be contacted, or that the perpetrator should be named.

There must be thousands of frum Jewish homes that are in crisis when they discover that their child is being sexually molested at the yeshiva, and yet they are not allowed to go to the police, because the community seems more interested in protecting the 'rights' of the perpetrator to make a living.

How many more such families will there be, until the religious Jewish community says "enough is enough, our rabbis cannot handle this, we must go to the police".

Meanwhile, families are being destroyed, and the criminals are thus emboldened to commit more such acts.

Eventually, more and more families will be affected until a critical mass is reached. Then there will be a huge march of people to police headquarters, with lists of criminals' names and people willing to be testify. Then and only then, will the Jewish community be cured of this cancer.

[Shmarya]

I took down the pdf – which is a public record.

You can see the actual post i wrote has no names.

I only posted the pdf because people deny the truth. Without the document to back me up, it's my word against theirs.

My printer is not working. A friend will print the document for me and I'll cross out the names in it. Then I'll scan it and repost.

This should happen tomorrow or Tuesday.

[Tom Klein]

This is why the Orthodox are responsible for Anti-Semitism. This article was on Foxnews.
JERUSALEM — In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law sometimes takes a back seat to the rule of God, zealots are on a campaign to stamp out behavior they consider unchaste.

They hurl stones at women for such "sins" as wearing a red blouse and attack stores selling devices that can access the Internet.

In recent weeks, self-styled "modesty patrols" have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem woman and beating her for allegedly consorting with men. They have torched a store that sells MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography.

"These breaches of purity and modesty endanger our community," said 38-year-old Elchanan Blau, defending the bearded, black-robed zealots. "If it takes fire to get them to stop, then so be it."

Many ultra-Orthodox Jews are dismayed by the violence, but the enforcers often enjoy quiet approval from rabbis eager to protect their own reputations as guardians of the faith, community members say. And while some welcome anything that keeps secular culture out of their cloistered world, others feel terrorized, knowing that the mere perception of impropriety could ruin their lives.

"There are eyes and ears all over the place, very similar to what you hear about in countries like Iran," says Israeli-American novelist Naomi Ragen, an observant Jew who has chronicled the troubles that confront some women living in the ultra-Orthodox world.

The violence has already deepened the antagonism between the 600,000 haredim, or God-fearing, and the secular majority, which resents having religious rules dictated to them.

Religious vigilantes operate in a society that has granted their community influence well beyond its numbers — partly out of a commitment to revive the great centers of Jewish scholarship destroyed in the Holocaust, but also because the Orthodox are perennial king-makers in Israeli coalition politics.

Thus public transport is grounded for the Jewish Sabbath each Saturday, and the rabbis control all Jewish marriage and divorce in Israel.

In recent years, however, the haredim have eased up on their long campaign to impose their rules on secular areas, and nowadays many restaurants and suburban shopping centers are open on the Sabbath.

These days, most vigilante attacks take place in the zealots' own neighborhoods.

Israel police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the modesty police are not an organized phenomenon, just rogue enforcers carrying out isolated attacks. But Israel's Justice Ministry used the term "modesty patrols" in an indictment against a man accused of assaulting the Jerusalem woman.

The unidentified, 31-year-old woman had left the ultra-Orthodox fold after getting divorced, according to the indictment filed by the Jerusalem district attorney's office. The indictment said her assailant tried to get her to leave her apartment in a haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem by gagging, beating and threatening to kill her. He was paid $2,000 for the attack, it said.

A 17-year-old who moved to Israel from New York five years ago said she was hospitalized after being attacked with pepper spray by a crowd of men outraged that she was walking down a Jerusalem street with boys.

"They can burn in hell," said the girl, who would identify herself only as Rivka.

She lives in Beit Shemesh, a town outside Jerusalem where the vigilantism has been particularly violent. Zealots there have thrown rocks and spat at women, and set fire to trash bins to protest impiety. Walls of the neighborhood are plastered with signs exhorting women to dress modestly — spelled out as closed-necked, long-sleeved blouses and long skirts.

[WoolSIlkCotton]

Shmarya 11:58
+++I only posted the pdf because people deny the truth. Without the document to back me up, it's my word against theirs+++

I agree with you.

You are also doing the right thing by reposting without the names.

[Archie Bunker]

Tom Klein the pretender is back.

He's obviously a Nazi posing as a disgruntled secular Jew. Vicky Polin has had the same problem on her blogs with some Nazis & Muslims putting on the same act.

[Rachel Batya]

--This is why the Orthodox are responsible for Anti-Semitism. This article was on Foxnews. --

Tom, a few things:

1. It's the anti-semites who are responsible for anti-semitism. To be sure, we Jews have a responsibility to not inflame it, but we're hardly the cause of the problem.

2. The Orthodox are a pretty varied group.

3. This particular article refers to a particular group of ultra-Orthodox zealots who aren't supported by all the ultra-Orthodox.

4. The news you've just posted is not new. There have been several articles on this issue on FM.

5. You don't gain any credibility by using Foxnews as your source.

[tom Klein]

Let me ask a question. There was a Black Hat guy on a United airlines flight several months ago. The plane was pushing back from the gate and the man was in the back davening. He refused to take his seat when the cabin attendent asked him. He was removed from the plane by the suthorities. He broke the law which say you must obey the flight crew. Was this Anti-semitism? There is nothing more to the story than that.

[WoolSIlkCotton]

Tom 01:28
It wasn't anti-semitism, but it was poor timing and judgement on the part of the Jewish guy who should have done the davening either before boarding, or else waited until in flight and you are allowed to stand. He could have also briefly interrupted his prayer to politely explain what he was doing, or perhaps said the prayer faster to finish up. G-d would have forgiven the interruption or the faster recital.
It was also a lack of sensitivity on the part of the flight crew. I'm sure plenty of religious Jews have done the afternoon service on flights, just as they do on commuter trains and buses.
More time was spent removing him from the plane than if they had just let him finish the brief afternoon prayer. They could have continued the preparations for takeoff with him still standing for another couple of minutes.

There was absolutely no lack of sensitivity on the part of the flight crew. The man interefered with airline crew. The plane was ready to push from the gate every other passenger was seated with their seatbelts on. This gentleman will be getting a federal probation sentence of 6 months. All that he deserves. ALL people are created equal. I am Jewish and tired of the orthodox treating other like inferior citizens. You should all learn that every person on this earth is equal. Orthodox Jews use the system to benfit them then cry and complain of anti-semitism when it suits them. How many orthodox Jews who are 18 have registered for the selective service? None I promise. Remember your Americans First

[Rachel Batya]

Tom, are the comments at 1:53 yours?

[Jake]

Would you like to make , lets say a $250,000 bet on that? ( I'd ask for more but I have rachmunis)

" How many orthodox Jews who are 18 have registered for the selective service? None I promise."

I would love to bet on that. I walk around New york and go over to Brooklyn sometimes. These black Hat assholes are the wimpiest people i have ever seen. i spent 9 years with the teams and I am Jewish. The ultra-Orthodox do more to hurt mainstream Jews than anyone else. You can't think for yourselves and some of you molest little children. Horrible. There is a place called Colonia Dignidad in South America. I would be happy to take every Black Hat and other Ultra- Orthodox in America and buy them a one-way ticket they could all live with each other. If you think about it all Chabad woman have to marry other chabad so technically it's insest

[Rachel Batya]

It's interesting, Tom, that in your posts you keep switching between "you" and "Orthodox/Ultra-Orthodox" Jews, as in:

"The ultra-Orthodox do more to hurt mainstream Jews than anyone else. You can't think for yourselves and some of you molest little children."

So, I draw some conclusions from this:

1. You can't keep the subject of your sentences straight. This feature of your prose makes it highly unlikely that you are a writer.

2. You think that ultra-Orthodox Jews are the main ones posting to this blog. This misconception means that, in addition to not being a writer, you're not much of a reader, either.

All you've done here is ask a group of Jews several leading questions to which you apparently think you already have the answers, all the while asserting that you are a Jew.

Might you be the gate-crashing "Tom Klein" mentioned here:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/09042008/gossip/pagesix/crasher_alert_127358.htm

September 4, 2008 --

WARNING to name-checkers posted at the entrance to Fashion Week events - there is a new crasher in town. A man calling himself "Tom Klein" has been infiltrating chic soirees, claiming he works for Women's Wear Daily. This Klein character got caught when he tried to get on the list for last night's "Gossip Girl" party at the Empire Hotel, hosted by Dior Beauty, a source said. The crasher, claiming to be a senior editor at Fairchild Media, sends e-mails from a fake address. A WWD spokeswoman told Page Six, "He is not an employee of Fairchild or Condé Nast."

And here:

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2008/09/yep_jamie-lynn_spears_has_alre.html

A guy named "Tom Klein" has been crashing Fashion Week events, telling people he's an editor for WWD. (Aren't we all, Tom.)

Or did you just get the idea from him?

[WoolSIlkCotton]

I seem to remember a Tom Klein from the Lubavitcher Yeshiva in Morristown (the wacky ba'al teshuva side), circa 1978. He was a member of the JDL.
That would make him about age 50 today.
Maybe you, Tom?

[Un-Orthodox and Unimpressed]

Wow. Looks like Haraidim are not the only ones with pedophiles in teaching positions dan denial in the school offices. Chabad (and the rest of the world) has the same problem.

[formely frum]

there was a recent article about a religious Jew in the army who was harassed and beaten up, and the commander was reprimanded

[Wanna Bet]

I am Frum and registered with selective service at 18. Touche

To Wanna Bet, Bullshit

All male U.S. citizens who turned 18 1980or later had to register. I'm not sure when this ended.

[jar head]

To October 5th, 2008, 2:39PM....

I dare you to call my husband and brother-ilaw the "wimpiest asshole" you have ever met to their faces and walk away unharmed and on your own 2 pathetic legs. In fact, I double dare you anytime, anyplace.

Listen Jar Head, I spent years with the teams and believe me your husband and brother-in-law are whimps. They might even be from the same blood family. Probably

[Jar Head]

talk gets you no where and thats what all you are.............. full of talk :)

[Jar Head]

is your team the retarded platoon???
talk is cheap and so are you.

Jar head anytime anyplace!

[The Other DK]

The yeshiva high school my son graduated from wanted to make sure that all of the boys complied with the Selective Service registration requirements. In order to facilitate this, one of the administrators had became a volunteer Selective Service registrar so he could help the boys register. Many public high schools do the same thing.

My son is registered with Selective Service. However, if he performs military service, it is more likely to be in Hesder than with the US military.

Dk It is my firm opinion that if any united States Citizen enlists or performs in any capacity for a foreign military that he immediately lose his US citizenship.

[A. Nuran]

Not necessarily. There are American citizens who have served in the IDF, the French Foreign Legion and the Turkish Army without endangering their citizenship. Special cases. Special laws. Consult a lawyer with expertise in the field.