Rabbis, RCA Want Child Sex Abusers Brought Before Religious Court, Police To Be Called Only If Rabbis Approve

Beit dins allow “for an investigation to see if there’s substance, and if there is, it’s immediately referred” to civil authorities, RCA head rabbi says.

Rabbis Still Want Role in Abuse Cases

By Josh Nathan-Kazis • The Forward

Despite a New York judge’s recent condemnation of the practice, several national rabbinic leaders said they thought Orthodox rabbinic courts should continue to screen allegations of sexual abuse and decide whether they should be forwarded to law enforcement for prosecution.

“Sometimes, unfortunately, people make allegations which have no substance because they have an agenda,” said Rabbi Moshe Kletenik, president of the Rabbinical Council of America, the organizing body of Modern Orthodox rabbis.

He said the rabbinic courts, or beit dins, are useful because they allow “for an investigation to see if there’s substance, and if there is, it’s immediately referred” to civil authorities.

David Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel of America, a leading umbrella group of ultra-traditional Orthodox organizations, agreed that religious courts can play a positive role in sexual-abuse cases.

“I think there are people in the community who are concerned about certain things that the secular authorities might not be concerned about,” Zweibel said. “If a child has to be removed from a family, if you are not sensitive to religious concerns of the family, they might be placed in a home setting that would not facilitate the child’s observance of religion.”

During the September 29 sentencing of a 31-year-old Orthodox bar mitzvah tutor convicted of sexually abusing two boys, New York State Supreme Court Justice Gustin Reichbach lashed out at the Orthodox community for “a communal attitude that seems to impose greater opprobrium on the victims than the perpetrator.” He termed the role played by such rabbinic courts in particular “inappropriate,” saying that these courts were “incapable” of dealing with criminal matters.

Reichbach’s statements come at a time when victims’ rights advocates say that at the grass-roots level, the Orthodox community’s attitude toward sexual abuse is changing rapidly. The volume of prosecutions in secular courts has grown dramatically, as Orthodox victims increasingly appear to be bypassing their rabbis.

An October 13 New York Times article reported that the office of Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes has brought 26 sexual abuse cases against members of Brooklyn’s ultra-Orthodox community in the past year, compared with previous years in which it has prosecuted only one or two cases. Of the 26 cases, involving yeshiva teachers, rabbis, camp counselors and others, eight have resulted in convictions and 18 others are awaiting trial.

Hynes has insisted that rabbinical courts should have no role in handling criminal cases. In a video interview with the ultra-Orthodox news service Vos Iz Neias, posted online June 11, Hynes said: “If a crime is to be committed in my county, I have primary and exclusive jurisdiction. I do not want to have interference from the beit din. You are not going to solve problems by keeping it away from me.”

Hynes’s position presents a challenge for some leaders of the Orthodox community, as victims and their family members often go first to their rabbis with reports of sexual abuse. Some rabbis immediately send victims to law enforcement, but others advocate different approaches.

Rabbi Moshe Zev Weisberg, president of the Lakewood (N.J.) Community Service Corporation, said that a religious court investigating sexual assault is active in his community. The group includes rabbis alongside social workers, therapists and medical professionals, he said.

According to Weisberg, the beit din calls in law enforcement when the law requires it to, or when a victim asks it to. But, he said, “Sometimes the evidence is just not there, especially when you’re dealing with children.

“There are all kind of tools that are available to a community and a beit din that are not available to a judge. If there are enough reasonable facts that responsible people can make a reasonable decision that there might be something going on here, they can really lay it out to that person” by threatening to kick perpetrators out of their religious congregations and taking other measures.

“The last thing we would want to do is cover something up or put it under the carpet,” Weisberg said.

But Rabbi Yosef Blau, the mashgiach ruchani, or spiritual guidance counselor, at Yeshiva University’s rabbinical seminary, said he was keenly aware of the limitations a beit din faces in investigating sexual abuse. Blau served on a 1989 beit din that exonerated Rabbi Baruch Lanner, the charismatic leader of the Orthodox youth group NCSY, formerly known as the National Conference of Synagogue Youth. Lanner, who was also a high school principal, was convicted in 2002 of sexually abusing two teenage girls. Rabbi Mordechai Willig, who also sat on that beit din, apologized later on behalf of that body for being too lenient in its treatment of Lanner.

“We didn’t have the tools to deal with it whatsoever,” Blau said of the Lanner case.

Blau said there are technical and legal issues that prevent a beit din from handling cases of sexual abuse adequately. Besides the rabbinical courts’ lack of investigative authority or ability to enforce their decisions, Blau pointed out that generally, under traditional Jewish law, neither women nor children under 13 are allowed to testify in front of a *beit din.

In the Lanner case, Blau said that the beit din decided to investigate incidents that had occurred only in the previous 10 years. That turned out to be a serious error, as it happens that older victims are generally more willing to come forward about abuse. “That was certainly not clear to us,” Blau said. “Therapists now [know better], but I don’t think the rabbis know much better. Rabbis are not trained to do this. This isn’t the kind of training they get in rabbinic school.”

With literally dozens of years of experience with beit dins failing, with child sexual abusers being allowed to walk free and with victims demonized, Orthodoxy has still not learned. How sad.

Comments

[neshama]

too little, too late

[seymour]

“The last thing we would want to do is cover something up or put it under the carpet,” Weisberg said.

History has proven otherwise.
also I wonder if Weisberg ever call the police in, my guess would be never

[maven]

It is amusing to read of R. Kletenik's view on this matter, since he got his job because the Rabbi in Seattle had to resign over just this type of incident and R. Kletenik was brought in as his replacement...

[Nigritude Ultramarine]

“If a child has to be removed from a family, if you are not sensitive to religious concerns of the family, they might be placed in a home setting that would not facilitate the child’s observance of religion.”

I think what Zweibel is trying to say is that if the kid is transferred to the "wrong" kind of home, the community won't have a chance to "debrief" him and put out the right kind of spin on the situation.

[seymour]

“If a child has to be removed from a family, if you are not sensitive to religious concerns of the family, they might be placed in a home setting that would not facilitate the child’s observance of religion.”

I think what Zweibel is trying to say is that if the kid is transferred to the "wrong" kind of home, the community won't have a chance to "debrief" him and put out the right kind of spin on the situation.

Posted by: Nigritude Ultramarine | October 14, 2009 at 07:59 PM

makes sense since they can ask the court to put the children in an orthodox family

[effie]

Zweibel said. “If a child has to be removed from a family, if you are not sensitive to religious concerns of the family, they might be placed in a home setting that would not facilitate the child’s observance of religion.”

And exactly why does this require going to a religious court first instead of going immediately to the police? Just more b.s. in order to protect child rapists.

[effie]

“I think there are people in the community who are concerned about certain things that the secular authorities might not be concerned about,” Zweibel said.

And people in the secular community are concerned with certain things the religious are not concerned about: Protect children from sexual abuse and prosecuting their abusers. All the religious community wants to do is protect child rapists.

[effie]

“We didn’t have the tools to deal with it whatsoever,” Blau said of the Lanner case.

Which is one of the many reasons why you should not have accepted to hear these type of case. But, you're real goal, whether you admit it or not, is to protect the child rapists.

[Ben]

No Effie orthodox community leaders are not interested in protecting child rapists. They are interested in preserving image and thus integrity of orthodox community at any cost. Don't make them worse then they really are. In business of moral teaching image is everything and the haredim, just like Catholic church, are aware of it. This is why they try to keep things quiet at any price.

[Shlomo]

I believe Rabbi Blau learnt through bitter experience that a Modern day Bait Din is not where you deal with pedophiles. He may be upset that they got it so wrong with Lanner

[effie]

In order to preserve their image they have to protect child rapists, so indeed that is their interest. Now, their image is that of a community that will ignore child victims and protect child molesters and enable them to molest more children. I hope they like that image because they certainly deserve it.

You say "quiet at any price." Well the price is the children. They don't give a damn about them at all.

[effie]

Shlomo: I believe that Blau was more upset for all the criticism he received and not the fact that Lanner was a sex abuser and went on to molest again.

[Shmarya]

Rabbi Blau has worked very had since then to help abuse victims. I know this for a fact.

Mordechai Willig – the head of that beit din and a man who did much more damage than Rabbi Blau – was forced to apologize for what her personally did to Lanner victims and their families.

But Willig has never lifted a finger since then to help victims or stop abuse. He's the villain you're looking for.

[shmuel]

"He said the rabbinic courts, or beit dins, are useful because they allow “for an investigation to see if there’s substance, and if there is, it’s immediately referred” to civil authorities."

Really? How? Children are not allowed to testify. You want proof?

"Blau pointed out that generally, under traditional Jewish law, neither women nor children under 13 are allowed to testify in front of a *beit din."

The deck is stacked against the victim in these circles:

"According to Weisberg, the beit din calls in law enforcement when the law requires it to, or when a victim asks it to. But, he said, “Sometimes the evidence is just not there, especially when you’re dealing with children."

But you're very, very often dealing with children. Indeed, most of the time. So the "evidence" will never be there. Pity. Too bad for the children. Raped and raped again.

“There are all kind of tools that are available to a community and a beit din that are not available to a judge. If there are enough reasonable facts that responsible people can make a reasonable decision that there might be something going on here, they can really lay it out to that person” by threatening to kick perpetrators out of their religious congregations and taking other measures."

Don't believe a word of this.

The last word:

"Blau said there are technical and legal issues that prevent a beit din from handling cases of sexual abuse adequately. Besides the rabbinical courts’ lack of investigative authority or ability to enforce their decisions..."
“We didn’t have the tools to deal with it whatsoever,” Blau said of the Lanner case.

They never did. They still don't. THEY NEVER WILL. That's all you need to know.

[Mr. Apikoros]

Religious courts have no place in this country, except as arbitrators in civil matters (the same as any other arbitrator).

These are matters for the criminal justice system. All religious courts do is throw a monkey wrench into the engine of justice.

[critical_minyan]

if the rabbis are approached about a sexual abuse case and they keep it quiet instead of reporting it to the police they should be considered accessories to the crime.
i would like to see them go back and make one or two arrests of the rabbis who kept quiet. the chicken shits will then fall all over themselves turning in all the old cases.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Richard Belzer was interviewed Tuesday on The Howard Stern Show about the sexual abuse he suffered at the hands of his rabbi. He has previously spoken out about this.

[Fed up from FL!]

Beit Dins should have nothing to do with any investigations. If an allegation is made or suspected, it should immediately be turned over to law enforcement to investigate properly. Everyone involved with these beit dins should be arrested and charged with obstruction of justice and child endangement!

[effie]

"According to Weisberg, the beit din calls in law enforcement when the law requires it to, or when a victim asks it to. But, he said, “Sometimes the evidence is just not there, especially when you’re dealing with children."

How would they know? They have no special training in interviewing child victims. They do not know the rules of evidence and what is necessary to prove the elements of a crime. Just another way to protect the abuser.

[soso]

No. Don´t. Involve. Rabbincal courts.

Involve abuse specialists.

[A. Nuran]

If that is "Torah Judaism", then any decent person must reject Torah because it is evil. It really is that simple.

[Honestly Frum]

Rabbi Blau is still the only voice of reason in this whole debate. How, after everything that our community has witnessed over the past few years, can rabbonim still claim that they should play an active roll in this. It's time for them to step aside and let the police handle these cretins.

[Insider]

Plainly, as Rabbi Yosef Blau stated, rabbis are not trained to deal with detecting esxual abuse. This was also stated by Rabbi Abraham hecht, president of the Rabbinical Alliance. Most rabbis will readily admit that they have never been advised of any sexual abuse, nor are they able to respond to such reports. Brooklyn DA Hynes has assembled an experienced staff is dealing with sexual abuse in the general community and has developed the sensitivity to deal with complaints of sexual abuse within the observant Jewish community. Any contrived interdicting entity is doomed to fail. Does all this have to be belabored?

[Al]

I think these guys are taking the idea of judgement from a jury of your peers a little too literally !

RCA: If anyone from your porganization reads this just know... You are judged by your actions ! and your actions are frankly embarrassing.

[shneerhere]

If somebody robs your store or steals your car, do we haul them in front of a Beit Din first or do we just call the cops? Why should sex abuse be any different?

[Rabbi Mark Dratch]

I strongly disagree with Rabbi Kletenik. Reporting to a Bet Din first has not worked. One prominent posek compared a child molestor to a rodef running through the streets with a loaded gun-- and said anyone with such information must run immediately to the authorities. An RCA resolution from 1993 stated: "The Rabbinical Council of America maintains that reporting acts or suspicions of child
abuse is not mesirah and commits itself and its members to reporting
acts or suspicions of child abuse as required by civil law;"

This is the consensus of poskim associated with the RCA as well.

[C-G]

Thanks, Rabbi Dratch for weighing in here. The obvious question to ask is why, if the consensus of RCA poskim believe that these cases must be handled according to civil law, Rabbi Kletenik has come out and contradicted them. Is there a lack of consensus, these poskim aside, within the RCA? Does Kletenik, in fact, speak for the RCA in ostensibly reversing the position stated in the resolution you posted?

And why is there no outcry here against Agudath and the RCA? There's an awful lot of hand-wringing going on in the comments section, but no one has made the leap to condemning the institutions on whose behalf these outrageous statements have been made.

Every congregation with an RCA or Agudath affiliated rabbi has its own "union rep". Bring this article to his attention and let him know how angry you are. These institutions only have such strength because the majority of their constituents are sheep. Things will only change if people are not afraid to speak out. Cut off their money, cut off their access to your community. What in the world are people so afraid of that they continue to live with this insanity?

[Y. Aharon]

I agree that a clarification by the RCA is needed. Is the current president empowered to apparently revoke a prior official RCA policy regarding alerting the authorities with regard to child molestation without any prior authorization by some rabbinic body? Besides, his statement makes little sense. The rabbis in a bet-din don't have the training or investigative authority to probe the facts regarding a molestation accusation. If they insist on normal evidentiary procedures in a bet-din, then the child can't testify. As to the fear of false accusations, that is a rather remote concern given the social repercussions that, unfortunately, face an accusing family in today's OJ world.

A strong case can also be made against the argument of the Lakewood spokesman. That community has experienced at least one recent suicide of a young victim of sexual abuse. Yet, they still insist that their community is capable of policing themselves. If the local secular authorities aren't considered up to the job, then their recourse should be to elect more responsible officials and provide them with an adequate budget, rather than making do with some amateur frum investigators.

Y. Aharon

[Yerachmiel Lopin]

1. Blau is a good guy. He screwed up once big time with Lanner because of his naivite. But he has truly, in front of everyone at YU said I have sinned. He has provided clear support for going to the civil authorities, He cites the limits of a bet din to explain why people should not go to them for child abuse. He was also on the board of the awareness center for several years, I believe with Rabbi Dratch. The Awareness Center (Vicky Polin) is really the the person who started the change in the Jewish community on these issues.

From how he has subsequently responded I think he cared about the kids and he just made a mistake.

But most of these other guys are just flacks for molesters. They care more about appearances than the kids.

As for foster placements. You dont need a Bet Din for that. I am sure CPS will be glad to put those kids in foster care with relgious households if appropriate ones can be found.

[A. Nuran]

A Police investigation is where you get the facts.

A Grand Jury is the correct body to decide if a case goes to trial.

A Judge and Jury are the ones who decide if a crime has been committed.

There is no place for a religious court with no expertise in the law or investigating crime in any of this.

[Rabbi Mark Dratch]

RCA Resolution Regarding Allegations of Sexual Abuse by Rabbis
Adopted May 28, 2003

http://www.rabbis.org/news/article.cfm?id=105491



May 28, 2003 -- WHEREAS, in recent years there have been reported a number of incidents of sexual, physical and/or emotional abuse perpetrated by rabbis and teachers, including members of the Rabbinical Council of America, against members of the communities that they serve and others, adults and children, in violation of Torah law and of civil law; and

WHEREAS, failure to respond to such cases is a violation of the verse, "Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor" (Lev. 19:16; see Hilkhot Rotseiach 1: 14); and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of the Rabbinical Council of America to protect the integrity and welfare of the members of the community that its members serve; to serve and help its members in times of crisis; to represent to the community the best of Torah values; and to protect the dignity of Torah and Orthodox Judaism; and

WHEREAS, events of the past have proven, to our great dismay, that organizations and individuals have not always dealt with these incidents in the best possible way; and

WHEREAS, rabbis must conduct themselves in ways that are exemplary in their religious, moral and interpersonal conduct, not only because of their personal obligations that are governed by the Torah and the Halachah, but in fulfillment of the ideal of ahavat Hashem, "And you shall love the Lord your God: that the Name of Heaven be beloved because of you" (Yoma 86a)., an obligation that calls upon each Jew to conduct himself/herself in ways that reflect nobly on the Torah and God, and to refrain from any improper conduct in all areas including, but not limited to, sexual, personal, and economic behaviors; and

WHEREAS, the verse, "And you shall be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel." (Numbers 32:22) extends the concerns of conduct to mar’it ayin and heshad, suspicious behaviors, and places a higher responsibility on personal and professional conduct of all Jews, especially rabbis; and

WHEREAS, improper behavior can cause a hillul Hashem, a desecration of God's Name, a transgression that it is more difficult to atone for than for any other sin, so that not even repentance, the atonement of Yom Kippur, and personal suffering can absolve one of this offense (Yoma 86a); and

WHEREAS, the Halachah recognizes that an adam hashuv (a prominent person) is held to a standard of behavior and morality higher than that to which others are held and must refrain from any improper behavior, even if not explicitly prohibited or illegal, lest he cause a hillul Hashem, a desecration of God's Name. An adam hashuv, a well-known and well-respected person, and a talmid hakham, a pious, learned scholar, are expected by others to live according to strict moral standards—therefore, the greater the desecration when they fail to live up to these expectations. Their failures reflect negatively not only upon their personal reputations, but upon the Torah that they claim to uphold and upon the God they represent. Among others, these behaviors include embarrassing one’s colleagues due to the nature of the rumors that are spread about him(Yoma 86a), embarrassing one’s colleagues by the less-than-dignified activities in which he engages (Rosh to Moed Katan, ch. 3, no. 11) and degrading the honor of Torah (Pesahim 49a); and

WHEREAS, the Mishnah, Avot 4:4, reminds us that sequestering a hillul Hashem will always be unsuccessful: "Whoever desecrates the name of Heaven in private will ultimately be punished in public, whether the desecration was committed unintentionally or intentionally." Hence, a conspiracy to conceal information about abuse will ultimately be made public, creating an even greater hillul Hashem; and

WHEREAS, the Talmud, Berakhot 19b, posits, "Wherever a profanation of God's Name is involved no respect is paid to a rabbi"; and

WHEREAS, R. Akiva explained the biblical verse, “And you shall love your friend as yourself (Lev. 19:18)” by positing, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your friend.” (Shabbat 31a), we are obligated to respect and protect the integrity, welfare and dignity (kevod ha-beriyot) of our fellow humans;

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:

The Rabbinical Council of America condemns in the strongest terms any act of sexual, physical or emotional violence, abuse or impropriety, perpetrated by any of its members against any child or adult and declares to all victims that the abuse is the responsibility and sin of the abuser and is not the responsibility or sin of the victim; and

The Rabbinical Council of America recommits itself to fulfilling its responsibility for the welfare of the members of the Jewish community at large and the general community as well, especially to those who have been victims or who claim to be victims of an act of sexual, physical or emotional violence, abuse or impropriety; and

The Rabbinical Council of America commits itself to reevaluating its policies and procedures in cases of accusations of acts of violence, abuse or impropriety made against any of its members and to develop and enact, in a timely manner but no later than June 30, 2004, those policies and procedures that will effectively and responsibly respond to accusations made against any of its members including:
• a reevaluation of the role and function of the Vaad Hakavod;
• the adoption of standards, policies and procedures for the reprimand and censure of members of the Rabbinical Council of America, as well as provisions and procedures for the suspension and revocation of membership;
• the adoption of provisions for reporting convicted or admitted abusers to the Placement Committee so that they will be prevented from assuming positions that will place others in possibly harmful situations as well as to develop responsible means to identify abusers to those communities or institutions to which they may move;
• the development of plans to help members who have been involved in improper behavior find appropriate therapeutic support, as well as the development of procedures to help the families and congregants of these members deal with the very trying circumstances they face;
• the education of rabbis in proper conduct in interacting with others as well as in ways to being falsely accused of improper behavior. We are also concerned about the possibility of a false accusation made against a member and commit ourselves to develop means to evaluate the veracity of an accusation and to help and support a rabbi who is falsely accused. We recognize the great difficulties involved in evaluating an accusation and in determining its veracity. The Rabbinical Council of America commits itself, in developing these new procedures, to proceed with careful and responsible deliberation in developing guidelines for investigating and trying to determine the validity of accusations; to take into account the issues of confidentiality as it applies both to the accuser and the accused; to respect the need for integrity and timeliness in the investigative process; and to consult with such professionals as lawyers and psychologists, as well as with victims and their families who can contribute in many significant and important ways in formulating and executing these policies.

The Rabbinical Council of America maintains that reporting acts or suspicions of child abuse is not mesirah (see footnotes below) and commits itself and its members to reporting acts or suspicions of child abuse as required by civil law; and

The Rabbinical Council of America recommits itself and its members:
• to assert responsible leadership in publicly condemning acts of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety and in formulating
• to execute educational materials and programs that will educate its rabbis and lay persons in the areas of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety,
• to execute procedures and policies that will safely, sensitively and effectively protect the members of the community from violence, abuse and impropriety,
• to deal appropriately with its members who have perpetrated such violence, abuse or impropriety; and

The Rabbinical Council of America urges its members to assert responsible leadership in their individual synagogues, schools, organizations and communities in publicly condemning acts of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety and
• in formulating and executing educational materials and programs in their synagogues, schools, organizations and communities that that will educate the members of their institutions and organizations in the areas of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety.
• to establish and execute procedures and policies in their individual communities that will safely, sensitively and effectively protect the members of those communities, synagogues and schools from violence, abuse and impropriety, including the proper training and education of all staff members and the publishing of guidelines for acceptable behavior as well as guidelines for the reporting of suspicions and acts of inappropriate behavior, and guidelines for effectively dealing with those reports; and

The Rabbinical Council of America commends those organizations and individuals that have raised these important issues in our community; that have developed programs that have helped victims of violence and abuse to acquire therapeutic, psychological and legal help; that have furthered public awareness of these issues; and that have furthered the physical safety, emotionally integrity and spiritual well-being of individuals and of our community at large.
____________________________

1) Arukh HaShulhan maintains that mesirah was prohibited because of the nature of autocratic governments under which Jews lived throughout much of our history. Such informing often led to dangerous persecution of the entire Jewish Community. He posits that this injunction no longer applies in those communities in which the government is generally fair and non-discriminatory. ( Arukh HaShulhan, Hoshen Mishpat 388:7. This source is cited authoritatively by Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz in "The Abused Child: Halakhic Insights." Ten Da'at, Sivan 5748. p. 12). Accordingly, it is obligatory in the Western world today to inform the civil authorities about individuals who abuse others.

2) The prohibition of mesirah applies only when testimony assists civil authorities in illegally obtaining the money of another Jew, not when it aids a non-Jewish government in fulfilling such rightful duties as collecting taxes and punishing criminals. When, however, the information concerns the criminal activities of a fellow Jew-- as long as the Jewish criminal has also violated a Torah law, and even if the punishment will be more severe than the Torah prescribes (RaN to Sanhedrin 46a) -- the ban of mesirah does not apply. (Rabbi Herschel Schachter, "Dina deMalchuso, Dina,"Journal of Halachah and Contemporary Society, I, p. 118.)

3) Even should one hold that the prohibition of mesirah is relevant today, reporting child abusers to civil authorities is nevertheless mandatory. According to Rema, even when the prohibition of mesirah is in force, "a person who attacks others should be punished. If the Jewish authorities do not have the power to punish him, he must be punished by the civil authorities." (Hoshen Mishpat 338:7 and Shakh, no. 45. See also Gloss of Rema to Hoshen Mishpat 338:9.) Our Batei Din today have neither the power nor the authority to handle such matters.

4) Shulhan Arukh rules that the prohibition of mesirah restricts an individual who is being harassed from making a report to the civil authorities. However, when there is a meitzar hatzibbur (public menace), mesirah is permissible.(Hoshen Mishpat 338:12, see Shakh, no. 59 and Gra no. 71.) Child abusers and molesters clearly endanger the welfare of many children with whom they have contact. (Rabbi Waldenberg quoted in Nishmat Avraham, Vol. IV, p. 209.)

5) See Rabbi Michael Broyde, “Mesirat Meida al Avaryanim lidei ha-Shiltonot be-Artzot ha-Berit,” Hadarom, vol. 72-73, Elu8l 5762, pp. 7-38; p. 37, note 90.

[Shmarya]

The problem is the implementation.

It's a lot easier to pass these resolutions than it is to enforce them.

[Shmarya]

And, I might add, you don't see Rabbi Kletenik retracting what he said and citing that resolution.

You also do not see any public outcry by the RCA, any call to live up to the resolution, any distancing from Rabbi Kletenik's words.

There is nothing on the RCA website in the news and press release area doing the above or referencing the resolution.

Resolutions are cheap. It's the actions that count. (Ask R. David Berger, for example.)

[shmuel]

How the RCA can speak out of both sides of its mouth, and none of its members are willing to stand up and shout about this wrongheaded man and his statement..I am speechless. The frum community is lost. Really. If you can't protect children, you don't deserve to have any. Let us all rise up as one and urge the RCA to remove this man from his position.

[Rabbi Mark Dratch]

THis is a letter to the editor sent by Rabbi Kletenik to the Forward. The article, apparently, misrepresented his position.

October 16, 2009
To the Editor of The Forward:

I am writing this letter to set the record straight and to correct any misimpressions that may arise from a quote attributed to me in the article "Rabbis Still Want Role In Sex Abuse Cases" by Josh Nathan-Kazis. The quote is out of context and therefore may be totally misconstrued. In my conversation with the reporter, I emphasized that in cases of allegations of sexual abuse "protecting the victim is of paramount importance." I also spoke of special Batei Din or Rabbinical Courts, which exist in some communities such as Chicago and Los Angeles, in which rabbis work together with appropriate professionals, including psychologists, social workers and legal counsel, who are equipped to deal with such cases. In response to a question as to the value of such special Batei Din, I explained that they assure that the appropriate steps be taken internally within the Jewish community, such as immediate suspension of someone who is working at a school, until the matter is clarified. They also follow up to assure that any steps mandated by the civil court, such as therapy, are in fact pursued. In addition, they afford the opportunity to investigate allegations, and if there is any hint of substance, to immediately refer the case to appropriate government authorities. Unfortunately, most Jewish communities do not yet have the benefit of such special religious courts. In the absence of such a court, suspicion of abuse, especially as related to minors, must immediately be reported to the appropriate governmental agencies for action to protect any potential victims. This is consistent with resolutions and policies of the Rabbinical Council of America concerning such issues.

I again emphasize that protecting potential victims is of the utmost importance, and all necessary steps must be taken immediately. I invite readers to visit the website of the Rabbinical Council of America at http://www.rabbis.org/ for statements of policy concerning allegations of abuse including clergy abuse.

Rabbi Moshe Kletenik
President

[Shmarya]

Unfortunately, most Jewish communities do not yet have the benefit of such special religious courts. In the absence of such a court, suspicion of abuse, especially as related to minors, must immediately be reported to the appropriate governmental agencies for action to protect any potential victims.

Rabbi Dratch, Rabbi Kletenik is saying exactly what he said in the article – go to a beis din first, if your community has one set up to deal with these types of crimes.

Is this also your position?

[the Monsey Tzadik]

The RCA does not lift a finger when prominent members like Rabbi Bomzer and rabbi Lookstein are being attacked by haredis like Eisenstein and Tropper. Why do you think they would lift finger when a child is being raped by a community member.?

Let Basil Herring and the rest of the RCA continue write admiration letters to Tropper.

From: Basil Herring
To: Rabbi Leib Tropper
Sent: Mon May 11 16:03:42 2009
Subject: RE: EJF - E-News - May 2009
Dear Rav Tropper:
This is a most helpful statement and clarification, and I thank you for issuing it. You are indeed a man of your word, and I look forward to the additional public clarifications, as discussed.
Kol tuv, and be’hatzlachah in all of your work on behalf of the Klal.
Basil Herring

[Rabbi Mark Dratch]

Shmarya asked about my position regarding going to Bet Din before reporting an abuser-- the lengthy answer is found in my article posted at http://jsafe.org/pdfs/mesirah.pdf. The short answer, is that is a person has knowledge of or reasonable suspicion of abuse he/she should "run, not walk," to the authorities. as in cases of pikuach nefesh or rodef, this is not a time for sheilos or delay.