Head Of Chabad Australia Allegedly Covered Up Sex Abuse, Allowed Perv To Escape

"The Kramer case provides a great opportunity to trace the failure of segments of the Jewish community to their source. If only the problem had been addressed in Australia … the victim in St Louis and countless others would have been spared suffering…any religious authorities who did not step forward enabled him to commit such crimes. To a degree, an individual who could prevent evil from happening is responsible when it occurs - that's a pretty heavy spiritual burden to carry.'' Teachers at Chabad Yeshiva College in Australia were divided over whether or not to report the accusations. Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner – the head of al of Chabad of Australia –  was the head of Yeshivah College at the time.

School's sex abuse secret probed
Jewel Topsfield • The Age

POLICE are trying to breach a wall of secrecy at a private boys school in St Kilda East over allegations of sex crimes by a former teacher who is now in jail in the United States.

David Kramer fled Australia in the early 1990s after accusations from parents that he had sexually abused boys at Yeshivah College, an Orthodox Jewish school. The school did not report the complaints to police.

Former students, who have spoken to The Age on condition of anonymity, said the allegations were covered up by the school. ''Parents were threatened they would be thrown out of the school if they told police,'' one said.

However, several alleged victims have come forward after Kramer, 50, was jailed for seven years in the US for molesting a 12-year-old boy while conducting a youth program at a synagogue in St Louis in 2007.

Kramer pleaded guilty to one count of sodomy of a child under 14 and one count of sexual misconduct. The Age understands Victoria Police hopes to extradite him when he is released, with the earliest parole date April next year.

Rabbi Ze'ev Smason, who alerted police in Missouri after the boy's family told him something inappropriate had occurred, said: ''The Kramer case provides a great opportunity to trace the failure of segments of the Jewish community to their source.

''If only the problem had been addressed in Australia … the victim in St Louis and countless others would have been spared suffering,'' he wrote in 2008.

Speaking from the US last night, Rabbi Smason said individuals had a religious, ethical and moral obligation to ensure a person who committed a crime could not do so again.

''If there were other victims, any religious authorities who did not step forward enabled him [Kramer] to commit such crimes,'' he said. ''To a degree, an individual who could prevent evil from happening is responsible when it occurs - that's a pretty heavy spiritual burden to carry.''

Police have written to former Yeshivah College students urging them to contact Crime Stoppers if they were assaulted or witnessed an assault between 1989 and 1993. ''Yeshivah College is aware of this request and are assisting Victoria Police in this investigation,'' the letter said.

However, parents said many alleged victims were still reluctant to speak out because they were afraid of being ostracised. ''If you are labelled an informer it gives the family a bad name and makes it hard for children to get married,'' a former Yeshivah College student told The Age. ''The issue is not just about the sexual abuse investigation, it is about the culture that enables it.''

Police officers are expected to meet Jewish community leaders this week and ask them to give their imprimatur for victims to speak to the police.

The Rabbinical Council of Victoria last year issued a statement affirming that the prohibitions of mesirah (reporting crimes to the civil authorities) did not apply in cases of abuse. Mesirah, which means to inform on a Jew to secular authorities, is proscribed under Jewish law.

But the Rabbinical Council of Victoria's immediate past president, Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant, said the council had said ''time and time again'' there were no prohibitions on reporting domestic violence or sexual abuse to the police.

In an email to members of the Jewish community, Yeshivah College parent Menachem Vorchheimer said many in the community had been aware of the allegations for an extended period. ''It is not time to judge the past errors, rather it is the time to set things right,'' Mr Vorchheimer wrote. ''As a community we must have the courage and dignity to unite and ensure a full, thorough and proper investigation is conducted, and those who took advantage of our community's children are held to account. Ongoing silence is not an option.''

The Age understands teachers at the school were divided at the time over whether to report the accusations. Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner was the head of Yeshivah College at the time.

Yeshivah College general manager Nechama Bendet said the school now ''absolutely'' encouraged victims or witnesses to come forward. She said the school fully complied with ''working with children'' checks and had protocols governing communications between students and teachers.

She said Yeshivah College had also implemented safety measures such as transparent classroom doors and taught resiliency programs where students were informed of their rights and told to report any inappropriate behaviour.

Asked why the claims had not been reported at the time, Ms Bendet said: ''My understanding is that it was prior to mandatory reporting. I can't speak for why the victims didn't step forward at the time.''

Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner, who passed away last year, headed Chabad in Australia. His brother was the close personal assistant of Menachem Mendel Schneersohn, the Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe.

As for the Rabbinical Council of Victoria, it was still telling Jews in 2008 that they needed to report allegations of child sexual abuse to the rabbis, not police. (Links: 1, 2.)

Related Posts:

Chabad Controlled Rabbinical Council Says Mesira, Prohibition Of Going To Secular Court, Do Not Apply To Child Sexual Abuse.

Police Need Your Help.

Why Are Mandatory Reporting Laws Necessary?

Australian Rabbis Warn of Another Predatory Religious Figure, Urge Jews to Speak Out – But Only to Rabbis.

 

Comments

[itchiemayer]

A serious question I have is if the head Shaliach of Chabad Lubavitch in St. Louis knew of this Kramer's past.

[seymour]

''If only the problem had been addressed in Australia … the victim in St Louis and countless others would have been spared suffering,'' he wrote in 2008.

Speaking from the US last night, Rabbi Smason said individuals had a religious, ethical and moral obligation to ensure a person who committed a crime could not do so again.

where did this rebbie come from, he speaks and thinks rational, more like him is needed

[jewishwhistleblower]

This was the standard operating procedure at chabad at the time.

1) don't report abuse to the authorities;
2) "deal" with it quietly, moving the abuser if necessary; and
3) protect the institution at all costs (that consideration being above any welfare of children concerns in the abuser's present or future communities).

It was also standard to write the Rebbe (before his death in 1994) for direction. Such requests were usually answered by one of his "lieutenants" and reflected the above procedures.

It would be interesting if Groner or others had written such letters at the time.

[seymour]

people do not want to be labeled an informer

Jews are misusing this word. an informer is one who was part on the criminal organization or involved in a crime and then turned around and informed the authorities.

If one robbed by someone or harassed by the mod and goes to the police then no one call that person an informer, they are filling a complaint or they are victims.

Unless Jews think Judaism is one big criminal organization

[jewishwhistleblower]

http://web.archive.org/web/20090101072230/http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Kramer_David.html

...
Instead of reporting the crimes to local law enforcement, Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner (acting head rabbi of Australia and also the Rosh Yeshiva/ Dean of Yeshivah Colleges) allegedly attempted to handle things on his own. Community members have stated that Groner was warned by a psychiatrist that David Kramer would harm himself. After a few days went by with no action, parents of the child victims warned Rabbi Groner that they would go to the police. It was at that point that Rabbi Yitzchok Dovid Groner allegedly purchased a plaine ticket and sent Kramer to Emanuel, Israel. Needless to say, there are rumors that David Kramer molested more children in Israel.
...

[jancsipista]

this rebbe or whatever he is looks like a perv himself no wonder he lets the real ones get away with their diabolocal acts.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Can anyone confirm whether convicted pedophile Mordechai Yomtov attended Yeshivah College as a student?

http://web.archive.org/web/20090625094705/http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/yomtov_mordechai.html

[jewishwhistleblower]

>no wonder he lets the real ones get
>away with their diabolocal acts.

It was standard operating procedure at Chabad at the time.

http://web.archive.org/web/20090622131322/http://theawarenesscenter.org/Bryks_Ephraim.html
...
Diane Keefler: What people didn't see, many didn't believe. Bryks counseled women, studied with teenage girls, all behind his closed office door. Orthodox Jewish law forbids men from touching or even being alone with a female over the age of three who isn't family. A 14-year-old complained the rabbi often sat on her lap, touched her, tickled her, and talked about sex. Once, she says, he even licked her face.

Additional women came forward, accusing Rabbi Bryks of making unwanted sexual advances. These women and the mother of the young girl took their allegations to Rabbi Avraham Altein, the leader of the local Lubavich community and a supporter of the positions Rabbi Bryks had taken in the past against the city's eruv and kosher food. After hearing their allegations, he counseled them not to go to the police or child family services. He told them to deal with the allegations internally with the synagogue board.

Keefler: The board didn't go to the police. Didn't contact child welfare agencies. Instead, board members set up their own private inquiry.

Judy Silver: We were trying to try him without it going public. We were trying to protect the synagogue.
...

[larry]

Everybody is well aware that the way we look at the issue of abuse today is very different then the way religious institutions looked at it 20-30 years ago.

At this point in time we are much more aware of the problem and dangers. Therefore schools deal with this heinous crime today much more seriously and with much more harshness then 20-30 years ago.

Hind sight is 20-20. To look back and criticize things from the past, when the public awareness of this very serious problem was much lower is….

I am making excuses for no one. I personally know several victims of abuse and know very well the long-term terrible effects it has on the young innocent victims.

[chabib]

Besides the spiriturial burden of enabling
a crime to take place, there exists legal
ramification for inaction in horrible
crimes of this nature.

[Repeated Failure]

As a former student, it was well known that the shule/school covered up under the direct order of the late and disgraced Rabbi Groner. The fact that the teachers tried to cover it up and not report it is an act for which they should be held legally responsible. Supposedly religious schools continue to cover up these acts and explain it away as being for any reason other than that they are cowards afraid of admitting that something has gone wrong in their little slice of heaven. They agreed to protect and educate children when they signed on to be educators, and they did nothing but protect themselves. How can one all themselves religious when they haven't a sense of morals and/or self respect?

As jewishwhistleblower stated "Community members have stated that Groner was warned by a psychiatrist that David Kramer would harm himself.......Needless to say, there are rumors that David Kramer molested more children in Israel." So what if he harms himself? Obviously neither he, nor Groner, cared if he harmed innocent children. Are they any better than the Church and Priest convicted of the same thing? No. It is a fact, and not just a 'rumor', that he was caught doing the same thing in Israel and then ran off to the USA where thankfully he was put behind bars, albeit after ruining more lives needlessly. Thank you Groner and fellow cronies.
The Chabad community in Melbourne should name and bring out into the open EVERY person who acted to cover up these crimes, irrespective of whether it was a legal responsibility at the time. It certainly was a MORAL and RELIGIOUS requirement.
Where was the Rabbinical Council of Victoria (RCV) at the time? From the reports it would appear that were prepared to protect him. Considering that a number of them also attended Yeshiva, they must certainly have something to say about it (and they most certainly knew about it at the time)........oh no.....wait....they would not have informed on their own families.....after all, it must be 'handled ' (covered up) internally of course.
Please challenge me someone. Explain how this was done for the common good and I will retract everything I claim.

[jewishwhistleblower]

>Everybody is well aware that the way
>we look at the issue of abuse today is
>very different then the way religious
>institutions looked at it 20-30 years
>ago.

Actually, no. Little has changed in much of the right spectrum of Orthodoxy.

1) Agudath Israel
http://www.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/news/jt/local_news/agudah_rabbis_talk_to_rabbi_not_police_about_molesters/25349
...
Rabbi Shlomo Gottesman of Agudath Israel of America, a leading national ultra-Orthodox organization, advised attendees of the May 15 Halacha (Jewish law) Conference for Professionals in Brooklyn, N.Y., to bring suspicions of child sexual abuse to their rabbis before contacting law enforcement authorities. The rabbi’s audience included professionals, such as social workers and teachers, who are mandated by law to report suspicions of child abuse to secular law enforcement authorities.
...
(When contacted by the Baltimore Jewish Times, Rabbi Moshe Heinemann, spiritual leader of Agudath Israel of Baltimore, declined to comment on the ruling.)
...

2) New Square
http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2010/04/new-square-appoints-committee-to-deal-with-sexual-abuse-456.html
...
Only when the residents of New Square realize that the only way to deal with the crime of sexual abuse is to report it directly to the sex crimes division of the police department, who are trained and equipped to investigate these crimes, will their community will be safe for their children.”
...

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2011/06/videos-harassment-against-fromowitz-family-678.html
...
(removed) starts crying at about 10 minutes into the recording. He cries and screams that his children are tortured and he can't pray in New Square synagogue because the Rebbe’s personal aide, Heshy Bryer,
molested the (removed) children.

etc.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Let's not forget that Chabad of Las Vegas is receiving legal support from the Catholic and Mormon churches in a lawsuit against a Chabad synagogue in which Chabad being sued by a woman who says she was molested by a cantor (Segelstein).

"The religious groups argue the First Amendment shields them from lawsuits over misconduct by employees."

"The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Catholic bishops of Reno and Nevada are supporting the position of Chabad of Summerlin and Chabad of Southern Nevada. Other organizations, including the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children and Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests or SNAP, have lined up on the other side.

Segelstein pleaded guilty to gross lewdness in 2002 and received a one-year suspended sentence.
...

[jewishwhistleblower]

Chabad of Las Vegas

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2007/06/chabad-motto-if.html
...
"Immediately after the arrest, Rabbi Harlig falsely claimed this victim – who worked in the synagogue's kitchen – was not Jewish. She went to the RCA's beit din. They investigated and found Rabbi Harlig's claim false. The woman is the daughter of a Jewish holocaust survivor from Vienna, Austria. The beit din issued her a document verifying her Jewishness. But, during the time the beit din was investigating Rabbi Harlig's false claims, this woman's teenage son – a very active synagogue goer and participant – was forced to sit in the back of the synagogue. He was banned from receiving aliyot or leading services. And he was shunned by other members, as was his mother, apparently at the direction of Rabbi Harlig. And the man who attempted to rape this woman? He is a proud member of Chabad to this day, leading services and fully participating in synagogue life."

So Larry, what has changed?

see also:
http://web.archive.org/web/20090628013544/http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/Segelstein_Michael.html

[jewishwhistleblower]

standard operating procedure at Chabad:
Chabad/Segelstein case
I've added names in brackets.

In jurisdictional jungle, where does the buck stop in misconduct cases?
By Richard Greenberg
JTA - January 10, 2006
...
In one instance, a woman who was interviewed by JTA, reported being sexually assaulted by her (Chabad)cantor (Segelstein) several years ago in a parking lot following a communal event. The woman, who asked that neither her name nor the name of her assailant (Segelstein) be used, said she initially did not report the incident to the police after being advised by an acquaintance "to keep it quiet, and keep it in the community."

But as word of the incident spread, the woman said she and her son were soon ostracized by members of the religious community (Chabad) that had once embraced them. They became the targets of a (Chabad) harassment campaign, according to the woman, that included pointed intimations (Chabad/Rabbi Harlig) that she and her son might not be Jewish.

"They destroyed my son spiritually," said the woman, now in her mid-40s, her voice breaking. "They ripped the heart of Jerusalem from him and I had to watch it."

Eventually the woman's Jewish bona fides and those of her son were confirmed by an Orthodox beit din (RCA), a rabbinic court, sitting in New York, which also advised her to report the sexual assault to the police.

"They did everything right," she said of the beit din (RCA).

Felony charges were filed against the cantor (Segelstein), who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count, according to authorities. He was given a one-year suspended sentence, three years probation and was ordered to undergo domestic violence counseling.
...

[jewishwhistleblower]

standard operating procedure at Chabad:

Don't report abuse to police. Let the molesters move to a new community.

http://www.vosizneias.com/21063/2008/10/05/postville-ia-yeshiva-had-cases-of-child-abuse-in-2003-to-2005-and-in-1990s/
...
Two people who lived in Postville and later filed for divorce and then argued over custody of their children. In their custody battle, information on what appears to be at least two separate rabbi-on-boy molestation 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.…
...

So Larry, what has changed?

[jewishwhistleblower]

standard operating procedure at Chabad:

Don't report abuse to police. Let the molesters move to a new community.

Postville Yeshiva case
http://www.vosizneias.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/pages_courtpdf.pdf
...
On learning that her three youngest sons were also abused, *********
immediately removed them from the Postville yeshiva for three to four weeks. ********* was told of the abuse two weeks after ********* learned of it. He stated he looked into it; the children told ********* that ********* insisted they would need to return to the yeshiva.
...
We are convinced ********* had compelling reasons for removing the three youngest children from schools in 2005. The first removal in Postville was to protect them from claimed sex abuse by a teacher; the teacher was later removed and sent to New York for counseling.
...

So Larry, Chabad continues to protect the molesters as we see from court documents just a few years ago. What has changed?

[Desi]

As a Melbournian, and ex Sydney-ite.... let me tell you that in Sydney several pedophiles were sacked from their jobs at Yeshiva Sydney. They all left town, they all continued to find work elsewhere (America). The head of Yeshiva Sydney Pinchus Feldman used to say "Let the dogs lie" when confronted with the issue.

[Do tell]

Yomtov the sicko did indeed attend yeshiva college many years before Kramer was a teacher

[Yoel]

See also jewishcolonie.info for more on this.
Btw as a rule these kind of cases were always dealt with on a local level.

[Repeated Failure]

In response to Yoel, regarding his comment "Btw as a rule these kind of cases were always dealt with on a local level.", could you please explain how these complaints were actually dealt with? As these complaints were not dealt with when they first appeared, it would seem that only once they became known outside the community, was something done about it- or the appearance of something being done (probably a better description).

In response to Larry's comment that "....schools deal with this heinous crime today much more seriously and with much more harshness then 20-30 years ago....To look back and criticize things from the past, when the public awareness of this very serious problem was much lower is…", did they not know that this was wrong morally and religiously? Why were the students not treated (Yeshiva has made no claims YET that anything was done to help those abused (raped is a much better work)? Why was the guilty party mailed off to Israel, both then (Yeshiva) and now (Adass), rather than punish them as they deserve? Why are the cowards at Yeshiva not informing us of other cases 'treated internally', and how they were dealt with? A meeting should be held and all organisations should present this information to the community for the sake of our kids. If they can come begging for our money and still charge in excess of $20,000/year for an education, then they can answer what should be some straight forward questions with some painful, yet straight forward answers. Those in power at the time are still around, and I am sure the facts are not something they would have forgotten in a hurry.

In my discussions with others regarding the cover up (let us not embarrass ourselves by using the term "alleged") by Yeshiva College and Shule (same people, same place, same organisation,and same criminal acts), they have found every excuse to excuse those involved with comments (predominantly) that things were different then, no- one knew how to deal with it as they do now (someone should have told that to Adass School). However, Yeshiva has not apologised, or admitted to anything. They obviously have a great deal to lose. I envisage a great many court cases in which they will be sued- and rightfully so. Adass had been faced with a similar situation in the not too distant past and history had repeated itself, even though 'we now know better'. The vile person 'stole' a great deal of money and ran off to Israel just in time. She is now involved again with teaching children and the school is protecting her (in Israel definitely and here obviously).

For the good of the children who were let down but our disgraced community so many times, I again call for the community to bring it all out into the open, and for those who were directly involved in the cover up to be named and excommunicated (maybe that should be changed....we wouldn't want to make any 'hasty' descisions).

Pinchas Feldman, Yeshiva Sydney Head has proven he is of the lowest standards time and again, but is protected by having married into the right family. I hope though that it does not rub off onto the good name of his brother-in-law and so forth. His response is a typical response from someone involved in the running of the community.

Mordechai Yomtov attended Yeshivah College as a student. As someone who knows his family and studied with one of the brothers, it is a great shame and certainly an eternal shame for the family. He should be caught and sentenced to the maximum penalty. Was he abused too? Perhaps. Did Yeshiva do anything to protect him? Unlikely.

If Chabad either cannot or chooses not to protect the souls of those in its own community, what gives them the right to go out and try to save the lost souls of others? Charity starts at home.

[Repeated Failure]

Back in the early 90's, was it not Leibler- Yavneh College that hired a Rabbi to be Head of Jewish Studies that had a record in the US for abusing children sexually? He was fired and sent back once it became public, but this would not have happened if the basic checking was done, even in the pre- internet days.

[SpeakOutAboutAbusers]

Such a terrible chilel h'shem. Anyone that knew about the abuse and did nothing - you have shamed yourself and G-d.

To think that he went on to abuse others - the Blame is on all those that knew and did nothing!

A message to those that were abused...please speak out - be strong and know that you are not alone. I would happily stand beside anyone to give them support to speak up. I understand the shame, but its misplaced and belongs in the lost souls of the abuser and those that kept it quiet.

"Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented." – Elie Weisel.

"The seal of G-d is Truth." – Rabbi Hanina, Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 64a.

[Repeated Failure]

To add to my response of June 21, 2011:

I believe the Rabbi in question was Rabbi Lanner. For a history of this pig, refer to http://www.scribd.com/doc/58137361/Rabbi-Baruch-Lanner-Convicted-of-Child-Sexual-Abuse

[Was There]

I concur. I was a student at the school and my family are long-standing members of the community. Rabbi Groner was no saint and willingly and very generously availed himself of the benefits that his position bestowed on him. To the best of my memory, the police were in fact about to arrest Kramer but Yeshiva hustled him out of the country. Additionally, many students at a Yeshiva school camp were abused by one of the camp staff but it is unclear what, if any, action was taken. Drug and alcohol abuse at the school was rampant and some teachers were violent. There were some good and generous teachers but many others were close to Groner and his cronies. The school is wealthy and should do everything to reveal the truth and compensate the victims. I was fortunate not to have been a victim of Kramer but he definitely wasn't the worst. And Groner, no halachic heavyweight, should have done the human thing and modestly contact the relevant authorities - the police.

[Was There]

Let us also not forget that Rabbi Meir Shlomo Kluwgant, the Rabbinical Council of Victoria's immediate past president, quoted above is nephew of Rabbi Avrohom Glick, the-then principal of Yeshiva College and Kramer's direct employer.

[dor hashvi 'nik]

meir shlomo is a good guy and not out to protect anyone. he is his own man and a mentsch. he has been clear and outspoken at all times saying that going to the police to report these crimes is 100% ok and NOT against any halacha.

dont make this an 'attack groner fest' he did what he thought was best back then. he would not do this today. you need to remember that back then no one talked about any of this... especially the victims. it was a diff time. groners good far outweighed his bad (no pun)

[Was There]

This was not a one-off event and there were various other problems. Groner was a politician and did what was good for himself. For example, he transferred the title of his million-dollar residence on Hotham Street from the ownership of the synagogue to his provenance. Similarly, according to the article, the cover-up is ongoing - and many staffers are still employed by the organization. Regarding Meir Shlomo - even if he is a very decent guy (and I remember him as such), he did NOTHING (at least publicly) to address his this issue to light and take action - which is exactly the problem.

[A. E. ANDERSON]

This doesn't surprise. In the early 1990s, it was still standard operating procedure almost across religious boundaries for a cleric accused of molesting to be transferred in hopes he would repent of his peculiar predilection and resume life as an upstanding member of the religious community. Judaism and Christianity both accept that people sin and are capable of repentance, תשובה.

By the millennium, this had begun to change. Religious denominations and orders had increasingly become subject to mandatory (compulsory) reporting laws, and increasingly lost the discretion to handle such cases internally, curiously, just as multi-million dollar lawsuits led by a hungry plantiff's bar became more and more common.

In a sense, one really has to understand this problem not only as perpetrator vs. victim, but as hungry tort lawyers seeking clients to cash in. Else, the matter would have died years ago, and the best outcome would be not reparations but placement in appropriate counseling for offenders.

In Australia, the issue takes on new colorations with that country's large Roman Catholic population base, and the seemingly just as large cohort of Catholic haters bent on revenge against the Church, indeed all churches. Much glee was had by Aussie leftists with the forced resignation of former Governor General Peter Hollingworth, whose only misdeed, as Anglican Archbishop of Brisbane, was to exercise Christian clemency in the case of an offending cleric at that diocese rather than throw the body to the howling wolves.

[dor hashvi 'nik]

was there ....

i was there as well. we may even know each other... your scraping the bottom of the barrel on the groner angle..... you must not have been to groners house of late even with melb house prices rocketing his place may only fetch 1mil. where did you want his rebetzin to live? at o.c? he lived a simple life without all the trappings ... v'hameyvin yovin ..... in any case he worked hard enough to deserve to own his house ... and the shule gave it to him ... there was no dispute.... he lived with very little materialism ... i spent much time in his house ... just like you would have, so you know what i mean.

[never to late]

The Adass israel school in melbourne are very luck from keeping out he education deparment because rabbi avraham tzvi beck and rabbi shimon opman aloud every kind of abuse
,staring from viscous dangerous hitting and slapping to sexual abuse,the worst and most dangerous abuser was rabbi josef goldberg ,who is still teaching there because his uncle mr greenfeld is the principle .although
mr greenfeld deserves credit he tried to put a stop to all of these

[xyz]

What about the best (or worst) kept secret in Melbourne?

The principal of Bialik College Joseph Gerassi an unashamed homosexual who was imported by those fools in that school from South Africa - together with his male boyfriend/spouse/partner.

It's bad enough if you discover that your son's teacher happens to be gay. But undertake an international search for a headmaster and come up with this is preposterous!

How many of us would allow our young kids near such a person?

(I don't think Gerassi is charedi - so some of the muckrakers here would no doubt have no issue siwth this)

[mr ozi]

the Adass israel school in melbourne are very luck from keeping out the education deparment because rabbi avraham tzvi beck and rabbi shimon opman aloud every kind of abuse
,starting from viscous dangerous hitting and slapping to sexual abuse,the worst and most dangerous abuser was rabbi josef goldberg ,who is still teaching there because his uncle mr greenfeld is the principle .although
mr greenfeld deserves credit he tried to put a stop to all of the

[out there]

dear shamarya
sorry to dissapoint you ,but you haven't even touched the tip of the ice about the Melbourne Australian Jewish community,an abuser can easily get away with any thing because the parents are very dum and would never believe any thing
and the abusers know that

[itchiemayer]

Could a guy like this slip into a community without the Chabad Shluchim in the new community knowing?

[itchiemayer]

Knowing of his background.

[Sarah]

Okay, here is my account of what occurred.

In 1989, Rabbi Kramer, who had been living in the Chabad community in Safed, Israel with his wife, Nechama and children was caught in the act of molesting a Lubavitch. pre- adolescent boy.

There had been numerous accounts from children in the community to their parents until that point that Kramer had been sexually assaulting them, but until he was caught in the act, no decisive action was taken.

I cannot say for certain if the decision that Kramer should be sent to the Chabad community in Melbourne, Australia to ‘start anew’ and work as a teacher in the Chabad boys school Yeshiva College, was initiated by the then leader of Chabad, Menachem Schneerson, but I know for certain that he was informed of it and gave it his blessing.

The entire adult community of Chabad in Safed knew that Kramer was a Pedophile, and not one of them amongst the few thousand informed any kind of legal authority.

For the exact details of at least one of the conversations where Rabbi Y D Groner, head Rabbi of Chabad in Melbourne, was informed of the entire circumstance of Kramer’s having been caught committing an act of Pedophilia in Safed, just ask his niece Mrs Breiny Popak who is currently living in Kiryat Chabad in Safed, I’m sure she will happily tell you all about it.

If you are shocked by the thought that Rabbi Y D Groner would consciously hire a Pedophile to teach pre- adolescent boys in his school, your reaction is entirely justified.

The fact that he did so is not only shocking, it is a heinous act of evil.

I myself am only less shocked, because by this point in my life, having grown up in the Chabad community in Melbourne, I know of so many instances of child abuse, I just can’t count them anymore.

By 1990 several of Kramer’s students in Yeshiva College in Melbourne had already reported accounts of sexual assault to their parents.

After four years of numerous complaints from parents of Kramer’s students detailing accounts of sexual assault, Kramer was caught in the act of molesting one of his students.

In 1993 Rabbi Groner told Kramer to leave Australia and not return while never reporting any of the instances of molestation to the police.

Some of the names of Chabad emissaries in Safed, Israel and in Melbourne, Australia that knew the identity of an unreported repeat sex offender and never contacted the police are:

Mrs Devorah Groner, Rabbi A E and Mrs Ceitlin, Mrs S Kaplan, Rabbi J and Mrs Rosenfeld, Rabbi E and Mrs C L Friedman, Rabbi A and Mrs Glick, Rabbi Yaakov and Mrs Winner, Mr J and S Gutnick, Rabbi M and Mrs C Shusterman, Rabbi B and Mrs R Cohen, Rabbi S and Mrs C Gurewicz, Rabbi A and Mrs E Blesofsky, Rabbi E and Mrs Gorelik, Rabbi Y and Mrs M Gordon, Rabbi M and Mrs R Szmerling…. need I go on?

Actually, I can’t go on because I feel nauseated in the extreme as it is.

Why be so pedantic about each person’s initials? I hear you ask.

Because in Melbourne, Australia, home to a general atmosphere of civility and sanity, the instance of a teacher knowing the identity of a man trained in the teaching profession and known for certain to be a Pedophile while not reporting him to the police is a serious crime.

Almost all of the above mentioned Chabad emissaries have worked in the past or are currently working in senior positions as educators in Chabad run schools, colleges or seminaries, most of them in Melbourne, Australia.

[Was There]

http://fifthchelek.wordpress.com/2011/06/18/abuse-what-abuse/#comments

[jewishwhistleblower]

1) http://www.jewishnews.net.au/police-investigate-abuse-allegations-at-jewish-school/21512
...
However, there have been allegations, particularly prevalent in the Chabad blogosphere, that Yeshivah dayan Rabbi Zvi Telsner was discouraging witnesses from stepping forward. Rabbi Telsner told The AJN this rumour was “absolute rubbish”.

The dayan delivered a sermon last Shabbat, which some congregants claimed was intended to persuade former Yeshivah students not to make statements to the police. “If people are conjuring out of that that I said they shouldn’t go to the police, there is something wrong with them,” he said.

Rabbi Telsner called on the Yeshivah community to unite and help each other, rather than “sending emails around and making trouble”.
...

2) Leave criminal matters to police
http://www.theage.com.au/national/letters/leave-criminal-matters-to-police-20110622-1gfdd.html