Throwaway Kids: Leading MO Rabbi Defends Alleged Abuser

"Why does The Jewish Week highlight the testimony of a few aggrieved students over the unstated but nevertheless very real testimony of the thousands of students who have studied with Rav Bina over the past 30 years or more? Is their testimony to be considered invalid, inaccurate or misguided? I hope the unspoken voice of these thousands will save the reputation of a man who has devoted his entire life to the education of American Jewish boys."

Rabbi Haskell Lookstein

Rabbi Aharon Bina is the rosh yeshiva of Netiv Aryeh in Jerusalem's Old City, a major school in Yeshiva University's year in Israel program that grants college credit for yeshiva studies. Students spend their freshman year in Israel studying in a YU-approved yeshiva. Those who chose to return to the US to begin actual university studies do so as sophomores.

Last week, The Jewish Week published an exposé on Rabbi Bina documenting abusive behavior which includes humiliating individual students in front of their peers, being emotionally and sometimes physically abusive, and expelling students without notice. Expelled students were thrown out of Netiv Aryeh without their parents being notified. They had nowhere to sleep. Some had no one to turn to for help. These students were used as public examples to scare the majority of students to keep them in line. Bina sacrificed a few students to 'save' the majority.

Bina also forced certain students and faculty to attend individual therapy sessions with psychologists hand picked by Bina. Bina then forced these psychologists to share the therapy notes from those sessions with him without permission from the patients. Bina then used content from those notes to publicly humiliate patients.

Bina is clearly a disturbed man.

But even though Bina's misbehavior was widely known throughout the Modern Orthodox rabbinic community and within YU's administration and rabbinate, nothing was done to stop Bina, and Netiv Aryeh remained on YU's list of approved schools.

This behavior mirrors the OU's behavior when its leaders and staffers covered up for Rabbi Baruch Lanner during the decades he physically, emotionally and sexually abused kids in the OU's National Council of Synagogue Youth (NCSY) program and at the day school he taught in.

The rationale for the OU's silence and it's failure to fire Lanner or report him to police is stunning.

When I investigated this several years ago one of the key figures in the restructuring of the OU that took place after the Lanner scandal was broken by The Jewish Week told me the reason for the OU's coverup was simple. Lanner did great kiruv (outreach), the man told me, and the rabbis and OU's lay leadership thought that outweighed the damage done to a few kids.

Enter Rabbi Haskell Lookstein, the rabbi of Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun in Manhattan and principal of the Modern Orthodox Ramaz day school.

Lookstein opposes The Jewish Week's reporting on Bina for the same exact reason rabbis covered up for Rabbi Baruch Lanner – the good Bina does for the majority of his students trumps the bad his does to a few:

In the article on Rav Bina, Gorsetman and Rosenblatt ask a rhetorical question: “But some are wondering why, indeed, Netiv Aryeh is so popular, with an estimated 110 first-year and 60 second-year American students … Why do families, deeply concerned about the emotional, educational and spiritual well-being of their children, continue to send their sons to study with Rav Bina when his controversial reputation is so well known?”

Perhaps the answer to that rhetorical question is not what the authors would have expected. Maybe the 170 who are voting with their feet are studying at that yeshiva because they and their parents regard Rav Bina as a wonderful educator who is not perfect. After all, who is?

Why does The Jewish Week highlight the testimony of a few aggrieved students over the unstated but nevertheless very real testimony of the thousands of students who have studied with Rav Bina over the past 30 years or more? Is their testimony to be considered invalid, inaccurate or misguided? I hope the unspoken voice of these thousands will save the reputation of a man who has devoted his entire life to the education of American Jewish boys.

In the ancient world, child sacrifice was done because the sacrifice of a small number of children was thought to appease the gods, and that meant that the deaths of those few children benefited the many. The ends justified the means.

That is essentially the same argument Rabbi Lookstein makes today, which is why Lookstein is unqualified to lead any Jewish organization which deals with children.

Related Post: MO Yeshiva Head Emotionally Abuses Students, Staff, Report Claims.

Comments

[Joe]

Shmarya - your "investigations" are as invalid as the article against rav bina was. You've never met Rav Bina, You've never seen him, you've never been to Netiv and you're creating something from nothing and throwing lanner into this doesn't make this article any more professional or valid.

the article in the jewish week not only brought attention to Netiv but it has increased its registration more than ever before...thanks! keep it up!

[Joseph]

Joe, you are lying or delusional (or both). I know for a fact that not only has registration not gone up but that a number of MO high schools are considering cutting off Netiv Aryeh from their Israel Night programs.

[Yaakov]

Shmarya:

Your analogy is startlingly apt. I hadn't considered it, but it's quite deep. In Yermiyahu (7:31) we find:

They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I did not command, nor did it enter my mind.

Rashi comments on this:

Tophet is Moloch, which was made of brass; and they heated him from his lower parts; and his hands being stretched out, and made hot, they put the child between his hands, and it was burnt; when it vehemently cried out; but the priests beat a drum, that the father might not hear the voice of his son, and his heart might not be moved.

Thanks for that insight.

[Daniel Bukingolts]

TO JOSEF- This current year, Netiv Aryeh saw its largest student enrollment since it started. I am in the kollel there currently and an extremely proud alumnus of NA and tremendous supporter of the Rosh Yeshiva. May his success continue beyond anyone's wildest imagination!

[Malka Gittel]

As usual, "I had a great experience so anyone who didn't lies.". Pathetic, but among certain groups it seems to be a credible argument.

Enrollment is up? How nice - the victim pool has more fresh meat in it?

[im]

I know someone who went to Hakotel when Bina was there and he had the experience of Bina having humiliated him and telling him he hopes he gets Cancer.The only reason Bina has gotten away with his shenanigans is because he is good friends with Rich people like Ira Rennert and other Manhattan 0.1 percenters whose children get all the attention they need.

[Rebitzman]

There are two sides to every story, and unless I am missing something here it would seem that Shmarya just presented both sides.

What's the problem?

[Joseph]

Daniel Bukingolts, thanks for the retort, however, you either did not read anything but your own words and/or you are feeble minded.

The current school year began about 4/5 months ago which means 4-5 months before the expose' was published. Rav Bina is probably the only human possessing the magic power of going back in time and being able to change history but in this case I imagine he did not use that power.

Also, Daniel, with inane posts like yours you are doing a major DISSERVICE to the yeshiva you love-- an objective onlooker will think that the boys enrolled there are as weak minded as you which does not reflect well on the school. Tip: proofread.

[anuran]

The problem, Rebitzman, is that he didn't come to the conclusion they wanted.

[Rebitzman]

@anuaran

And?

He's expressed HIS opinion and thrown the door own for everyone to express theirs - without censorship.

FWIW the rabbi raises an interesting issue. That there would be two (given what we know about other similar cases) - and only two victims out of 30,000 opportunities does not pass the smell test. THAT said - I would not be a bit shocked were a boatload of other kids and adults to step forward now that the cork is out of the barrel, and were that to happen I would expect this defending rabbi to back off - quickly.

[מרדכי סטמר]

When dealing with children ,parents or teachers, there's a one "klal". That has to be at the forefront of the educators eyes, ימין דוחה ושמאל מקרבת with the right hand you are tough and pushy, and with left hand you embrace and "show" your passion and love for the kid,

If you just use your left hand only, than the children will sense weakness in you, and you will lose respect and by definition your ability to educate them,

When you use only your right hand, it might "look" to you that everything in your class/home runs smoothly,because the children are terrorized from you, and follow your orders without a second thought, but in the long run you "lose" everything! and bitterness and resentment will eventually be on display for everyone to see, and you will wonder from where this is coming.

A child must at all times see a father/rabbi with both hands.
If not, he sees an "invalid", like he "sees" an invalid when someone is "physically" missing a hand.

In my humble opinion, the "right hand" is always considered the working hand, so toughness is the way to deal on a regular basis, BUT your left hand MUST be visible at the "same time".

[Garnel Ironheart]

If what is said about Rav Bina is correct then it is odd that Rav Lookstein would defend him. After all, one of Rav Bina's favourite targets is Modern Orthodoxy and Rav Lookstein, being on the left side of that community, would probably not be seen favourably by Bina.

[DBSesq]

So now Shmarya knows better than R. Lookstein, someone who has spent the better part of 50 (or is it already 60?) years in Jewish education, who has built one of the top MO educational institutions in the country, if not the world. And from whence does Shmarya derive such erudition? Has he built a school on par with RAMAZ? Has he ever taught children? Has he ever raised a child? Has he ever been to Netiv Aryeh or once met R. Bina? No to all those. Shmarya makes his conclusion about the venerable R. Lookstein based upon an article in the Jewish Week. The Jewish Week is a fine publication. I'm sure however that even Gary Rosenblatt would agree that one article in his newspaper is insufficient to justify Shamrya's conclusion. And I point out, this is the same R. Lookstein Shmarya chose to feature as praisworthy here: http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2009/12/the-orthodox-rabbis-sex-ed-class-789.html for his pedagogy.

The fact is some students relate better or worse to certain educators. The fact also is if an educator teaches many students, mistakes are bound to happen, and the results can be catastrophic. the fact also is that teenagers who feel hurt or embarrassed or are angry at such teachers exaggerate and even lie about their experiences. It's part of growing up. Shmarya might not appreciate this because he, as far as I know, has no children of his own, and has never had to contend with this phenomena. He's never had to decide if he can completely believe everything his child is telling him because he knows the child, while a good and honest kid, is still immature and still in the narcissistic period of his development. Shmarya, and apparently Hella Winston (who also has no children) lack that bit of insight that comes from raising kids and therefore automatically believe the kids because the story they tell is what they, on some level, want to hear. But R. Lookstein has that insight; a lot of it. He's raised his family and presided over the educations of probably tens of thousands of children and has himself taught many of them. He has all the benefits of that experience. Quite frankly, I'd defer to his judgment over Shmarya's or Hella Winston's any day. I don't know R. Bina and I have no interest in his school. I have no idea if he's a saint or a scoundrel. Friends of mine who did study under him, generally have positive things to say about him. But given the laws of probability, I'm sure he's alienated a fair share of students (just as the rosh yeshiva of the yeshiva in Israel where I learned alienated me). I'm also certain that over the years, this rabbi has made mistakes; he's human. But someone I know has earned the communities respect stands by him. And that means for more to me that the bloviations made here.

Shmarya's reliance on the Lanner scandal is a red herring. It assumes that the MO establishment has learned nothing from that episode; something Shmarya cannot prove, and is indeed not true. I's say quite the opposite. The fact that people as august as R. Lookstein defend R. Bina, in the wake of the Lanner scandal, gives them added credibility. After all, it would be far easier to cut him loose than defend him. Throwing R. Bina under the bus would earn R. Lookstein the praises of the Shmaryas, the Hella Winstons and the JWBs (who we can expect to attack me via R. Bryks) of the world. In the current witch hunt atmosphere, one fomented by blogs such as this one, it's far more convenient to abandon anyone about whom some dissatisfied student complains and assume any allegation of abuse is true. That he doesn't is very telling indeed.

[Yochanan]

Mordechai Satmar

Tellingly, you have it backwards. It is Yamin Mekareves V'Smol Docheh.

See Sanhedrin 107b.

[the lion]

if renenr wasnt backing rabbi bina then looksteoin would be sileent just as he has for all the other incidents

i didnt hear him speak of the preganancies in his school or the fact that one ramaz class is composed of 80 percent ramaz former students who are the parents and are divorced now

[Enlightened Ortho]

Is this the same Lookstein who converted Ivanka?

I would trust Springsteen more with my Kids or Klal Yisroel's Yiddishkeit

[Enlightened Ortho]

Maybe Reb Yochanan Lavie can do a rewrite of the Boss's "We take care of our own" >

[Joe Field]

This argument is pure illogical, how is it possible that this is a Rabbi; he does not know shit from Shinola.

[Fact]

Rennert supported Dovid Wax big time in his Taryag Mitzvos.

[Enlightened Ortho]

Rennert in French means fox. He's a sly one.

[Althelion]

"I would trust Springsteen more with my Kids or Klal Yisroel's Yiddishkeit"

Without a doubt, I too would trust "The Boss" with my kinder. Springsteen is a mentsh. Bina, Lanner, and Lookstein are pompous assholes.

[jewishwhistleblower]

It's clear that Danny Boy hasn't learned anything from his previous public defence of Tendler or his defence of Bryks here. You have no credibility. I hope others note your lie of a "witch hunt".

[BiF]

DBSesq, great post. There is no evidence against Bina and Lookstein is entitled to defend him, which he did.

If anything it has been proven that Bina is guilty of bad judgment and nothing more. Meaning he's human.

Netiv, which is part and parcel of Bina, is a great yeshiva.

Shmarya does a disservice to the world by jumping on every single bandwagon and proclaiming everyone guilty just because someone lodged a complaint. Like if I came on this blog and claimed I have pictures of Shmarya getting felatio from a ten year old - which I could doctor up in 10 minutes - would that make him a child molestor? In two hours I could have a website up called shmaryaisamolestor.com loaded with testimonial letters from aggrieved parents who only have first names and a last initial saying how every time their kid went near Shmarya they came back with a bleeding rectum. Would that make it true?

In my humble opinion, the boys that complained about R' Bina are gay porn addicted faggots with authority issues who were afraid of being outed. I have no proof of that claim, but they have no proof that Bina did anything wrong either.

[Enlightened Ortho]

Actually what was I saying. A rewrite is not necessary.

The song could have been written about the state of some of our Rabbinate

I've been knockin' on the door that holds the throne
I've been lookin' for the map that leads me home
I've been stumblin' on good hearts turned to stone
The road of good intentions has gone dry as bone
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

From Chicago to New Orleans
From the muscle to the bone
From the shotgun shack to the Superdome
We yelled "help" but the cavalry stayed home
There ain't no-one hearing the bugle blown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own

Where the eyes, the eyes with the will to see
Where the hearts, that run over with mercy
Where's the love that has not forsaken me
Where's the work that set my hands, my soul free
Where's the spirit that'll reign, reign over me
Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea
Where's the promise, from sea to shining sea
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown
Wherever this flag is flown

We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
We take care of our own
Wherever this flag's flown
We take care of our own
[ Lyrics from:

[Leo Weingarten]

Posted by: DBSesq | February 10, 2012 at 10:08 AM

From time to time when I write about sexual molestation I use my full real name to make it clear that I have a better understanding of the victims, because unfortunately I was a victim. My older brother molested me for years.
My brother was not a crazed individual, who would hang out in the playgrounds and offer candies to unsuspecting children, alternatively, expose himself at the schools fences. He was a beloved Rosh Yeshiva, and when he came to the Rebbe’s tish he usually sat up front on the dais.
To make a story short, I never looked back, but I attributed the molestation to kids exploring their sexuality. Thirty years later my nice came forward and claimed that her father was for years molesting her. Without any hesitation, I told our family that I was a victim and therefore I most take her side.
Understanding, that he had the full pectrum of Rabbis who supported him based on your argument that nobody else came forward. In the end, he was convicted in a Federal court for transporting a minor between countries for the purpose to have sex.
After the trial and sentencing four other nieces and nephews came forward and admitted that he molested them too. Even after the of the case and all the information came out in a court room, the Rabbis supported him, without any wavering.
As a lawyer and if you don’t work for him, than you should understand that what you wrote is pure rubbish, felons will always find some excuse (the victim is crazy)or mitigation I was just showing love for a other Jew but no way did I do this act for sexual gratification.
So come to your senses and understand if there is smoke, there must be a hotspot somewhere.

[Bas Melech]

To all you defenders and apologists,

Do you know what is the profile of an abuser, especially sex abuser? It is not the social misfit. It is a normal looking, well adjusted individual, respected, and polite. The abuser knows whom to target, an individual whose credibility may be suspect.

This way the abuser and his defenders can always ask, "Whose word is more credible, a rabbi's (teacher or another respected, accomplished individual) or the maladjusted accuser?

It seems that the charges of receiving confidential information from psychologist could be easier to prove than individual cases of abuse.

[DBSesq]

"You have no credibility."

Just yesterday JWB you said I am credible. Make up your mind you moron

[jewishwhistleblower]

Wrong again. Go back and re-read my comments Danny Boy.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Paul Shaviv (formerly of CHAT and reader of this blog) is joining Ramaz staff as head of the school replacing Judith Fagin. He will not be commenting here.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Schools like Ramaz, Chat and others are seen as the last resort of families from the Yeshiva world with at-risk kids (many who suffered abuse) and have been blacklisted in the Yeshiva world. These are desperate families who just want their kids to remain Orthodox/Jewish. The stories I'm familiar with as to how these at-risk kids are treated is a scandal in itself.

[jewishwhistleblower]

The Modern Orthodox educational institutions have thrown away at-risk Jewish children for many decades, particularly those without money and connections. This is more of the same. Bina and his supporters have juice. The at-risk kids coming forward do not.

[Dovid]

The Rabbis' view here seems to be that if the alleged victimizer did not abuse the majority of his charges (or the majority was not aware of any abuse, then the claims of the minority that he did abuse some people cannot be true.

What a crock!

[מרדכי סטמר]

Mordechai Satmar

Tellingly, you have it backwards. It is Yamin Mekareves V'Smol Docheh.

See Sanhedrin 107b.

Posted by: Yochanan | February 10, 2012 at 10:29 AM --------

ומודים דרבנן היינו שבחייהו....

You are right!

But, I find it thru my experiences that most educators use either hand, because of their "natural" born instincts.

And my point,that BOTH hands "must" be visible at "all times" is still valid. no matter which one you use,out of your instincts

[Abe]

I do hope even those defending MR. Bina realize he is psychologically unfit to hold an unchecked position of leadership.

[jewishwhistleblower]

It's worse that. The Rabbi and others have no problem with throwing away a few at-risk kids because Rabbis like Bina and Lanner (at the time) have many supporters with juice. So what if we lose a few children from Judaism or they a few children kill themselves? They wouldn't have paid full tuition anyway.

[jancsipista]

Leo Weingarteyou are 100 per cent right i wrote a few times here about our shoihet and moel molesting me in a mikva this happened over 50 years ago in a european city i was 10 years old i never told my parents it was in a communist country those days we we didnt have indoor plumbing and in the summer we had a mikva that was prewar there i could shower in the mikva,he the shohet was the towns respected learned man he was 62 at the time even my father was only in his 30 s anyway no one can understand how it feels to be helpless and on top of that youre word against his is an impossible task almost today we have so many different organization and it is public about what is going on it should be much much easier to bear or helped but it is not that is because of the power theese rabbis are weilding

[steve]

The same argument was used for Kolko at YTT and Reichman at UTA Satmar. So what if Kolko molested children spanning parts of five decades and several institutions? The overwhelming majority of his students loved him and he was a wonderful wonderful rebbe. As for Reichman, UTA is claiming that they have a waiting list of kids wanting to get into his class. Never mind that he is a serial molester. All of his accusers have zero credibility because the majority feel he is a wonderful wonderful rebbe. As Dovid correctly states, the ridiculous argument is if the abuser wasn't accused by the majority of his students, then he can't be an abuser.

[jewishwhistleblower]

http://blogs.forward.com/sisterhood-blog/150533/
...
Facebook this week has been inundated with conversations about how this has been a barely guarded secret in Orthodoxy. My husband was a student at Bina’s Hakotel in 1988, and witnessed Bina’s mood swings, erratic behavior, and constant verbal jabs at certain students. He also watched how two groups of students received different treatment: kids with status and kids without. One of Bina’s favorite pastimes, he related to me, was to play “who’s who” with students. The ones from “well-known” families received different treatment from those who were deemed nobodys, he said.
..

[who knows]

Jancsipista, it is hard to believe that in a good old times, good old rabbis could possibly molest children and in a mikva out of old places.

I'm sorry, but I can not shake off a feeling that things like this did not happen then.

[jancsipista]

jewishwhistleblowe-You hit the nail on its head the kids who commit suicide are korbens they are the thorw away kids for the many its exactly the way it is who cares about those who cant take the heat they are only concerned for the rest, coudlnt care less for sacrificed children,this is the attitude its like a dog eats dog world the weak one are thorwn away this is the mindset of our holy rabbis as long as they have a good life they couldnt care less

[BiF]

Anyone who compares Bina to Lanner is an antisemite or selfhating Jew who might as well take a piss on the graves of our families in Churban Europe. Lanner was openly abusive, a megalomaniac pig who assaulted physically and seually - probably to compensate for his hypertiny penis - there is word out there from those that have seen him attesting that paint on a wall is thicker than Lanner's pipe.

So Bina disciplined rough. Message to the complainers - grow a pair of balls, act like a man and move on. If the Lord wanted you to act like pussies he'd have given you a viginya.

[jancsipista]

who knows-its not 50 its 52 years ago in 1960 when i was 10 years old not only this but i can tell you other instances not only molestation but physiccal violently hitting ,one instance was on yom kippur our as i wrote shohet and moel who was over 60 years old somehow he managed to survive the holocaust he was the bal tefilah out of nowhere he left his bima and came towards me mind my father was right next to me he the shohey picked me up violently and threw me down in front of all the congregants i could not move or stand up i had to be carried out of the synagouge and examined if my back was broken or not luckily it wasnt after attacking me he just slowly went back to be the bal tefileh like nothing happened my father told me just 45 years later he wanted to attack him but it was yom kippur and could not do it,what i am saying about all theese rabbis ,they actually think they are god and get away with everything they are above us all this is their mentality no shame no humanity after you reach that holy state of being what a cruel world we live in

[Shmarya]

Shmarya - your "investigations" are as invalid as the article against rav bina was. You've never met Rav Bina, You've never seen him, you've never been to Netiv and you're creating something from nothing…

Posted by: Joe | February 10, 2012 at 06:24 AM

Please.

You don't have to know the man personally to say that the behavior he is accused of by many different people, and which is verified by some who support him, is bad, and that anyone exhibiting such behavior cannot lead or work for or with any program, school, synagogue, etc.

But past that very obvious point, you're wrong.

Bina lived next door to a close friend of mine and I saw him many times.

You see, I lived in the Old City for a couple years and I worked there, as well.

[anuran]

The apologists sound like Herman Cain. "So what if I had a few affairs. Think of all the thousands of women I didn't screw."

"So what if I violated medical privacy, threw kids out into the cold with nowhere to go, humiliated children and physically abused others. There are billions of children I didn't do this to."

[Shmarya]

…Shmarya does a disservice to the world by jumping on every single bandwagon and proclaiming everyone guilty just because someone lodged a complaint.…In my humble opinion, the boys that complained about R' Bina are gay porn addicted faggots with authority issues who were afraid of being outed. I have no proof of that claim, but they have no proof that Bina did anything wrong either.

Posted by: BiF | February 10, 2012 at 11:25 AM

Yes, they do have proof.

Read the JW piece again.

And when you do, read my first post about the JW piece – where you'll see that I had this story a few years ago, but I didn't have the level of proof the JW has, SO I DID NOT PUBLISH IT.

Past all this, what you're doing is halakhicly wrong.

At your best, minimizing the evidence against Bina, you don't KNOW these accusers are lying. You want to BELIEVE they are lying.

That means that halakhicly you have to be concerned that the accusers are telling the truth.

You have to be concerned that the Bina doesn't hurt other kids, and that the kids who say they were hurt are treated with respect.

Instead, you try to smear and shame people who the evidence shows are victims.

That makes you a criminal in the eyes of halakha.

If the only way you can defend Bina is to threaten, smear and shame alleged victims, you don't really have any defense of Bina at all.

[EileenK]

I've been following this story and first from what I've read, we are NOT dealing with abused children:

"Netiv Aryeh in Jerusalem's Old City, a major school in Yeshiva University's year in Israel program that grants college credit for yeshiva studies..."

Netiv Aryeh serves adults! This is a game changer. The program is only one year, and adults are free to leave.

That said, the few souls who have come forward indicate that the program is probably BLAZINGLY DYSFUNCTIONAL. Here is why...when an adult is expelled or walks away or suffers for a year etc..., he or she puts the experience behind him or her. We even have very convenient language for all of this: "It didn't work out." "It was a bad fit." "So and so was away in Israel for a year."

There is not even a "hole in the resume." Students for whom Netiv Aryeh "did not work out" can easily bury the experience and go on with their lives. If they discuss it privately they get the same sympathy an adult with a bad boss gets.
These things happen. It's over. The dysfunctional operation stays in business.

I don't know if the courts are too busy, or if it is perfectly legal to run a dysfunctional business or institution. I suspect the latter is true, because they are all over the place. Let the prospective student beware.

[BiF]

My defense of Bina is that he has not been charged, tried and convicted. I need not prove a negative. To assert that I do reaches beyond the limits of reason.

[Shmarya]

My defense of Bina is that he has not been charged, tried and convicted. I need not prove a negative. To assert that I do reaches beyond the limits of reason.

Posted by: BiF | February 10, 2012 at 03:29 PM

Please.

You have multiple accusers spanning decades and Bina's defense, if you want to call it that, is that I did bad, just not as bad as the accusers say.

If you actually knew halakha, you'd know that what exists is far more than raglayim l'davar against Bina.

But you don't care about that just like you don't care about Bina's alleged victims.

And as for reason, US law, legal theory, etc. – and halakha – you do not wait for a conviction in court (or beit din) to act to protect potential victims from being victimized.

Perhaps if Bina had taught you accurately and well, you would know that.

[Skeptical]

Mr. Weingarten - thank you for coming forward with your story and thank you for sticking up for your niece. It cannot have been easy for you to do so, especially against an older brother. Your point is correct that probably there are many others who could testify who were intimidated and shamed into silence. That's the reason some people choose children to victimize, because its easy to manipulate them and they know many people will not believe them.

[KoKo]

So a whole bunch of students decided to get together and spread a whole load of lies about this guy? I don't think so.
Logically, that would not make sense.
Therefore, I say this guy is guilty until proven innocent.

[Dovid]

My defense of Bina is that he has not been charged, tried and convicted. I need not prove a negative. To assert that I do reaches beyond the limits of reason.

Posted by: BiF | February 10, 2012 at 03:29 PM

Your defense of Bina here has been that his victims are "porn-addicted faggots" who need to "grow a pair."

You are a a reprehensible individual, and if you are in shul this shabbos masquerading as an observant Jew, I hope you will take some time from your charade to think about how someone who could utter such disgusting things is not actually a religious Jew in the least.

You need to change your ways. You come across as a miserable and toxic individual and it will make you and those around you happier if you try hard to become a decent person.

Good Shabbos.

[Leo Weingarten]

Posted by: Skeptical | February 10, 2012 at 03:54 PM

Thank you and Jancsipista, for the support you displayed, although, my reason for inking that post was not to gather any understanding or sympathy. I am from the few strong willed personality, who was able to shake off the molestation, without any lingering effect.

What propelled me to write, is the mere fact that DBS ends with Esq., with the understanding that under our Constitution every person no matter how despicable his or her action is, deserves a defense lawyer. Nevertheless, to come on a blog and try to defend this alleged molester when he is not this person’s advocate with arguments that does not have any real logic, or any facts to advance his argument. Moreover, all this is done under the Esq. banner. DBS needs to be reminded that pedophiles are stalkers, who know how and when to jump on their pray, and finally in the overwhelming cases the charges is eventually substantiated.

What is so perplexing is how an educated man who should understand that the human nature is to hide bad traits and only expose what he wants you to see. As I said before my brother got thirty years confinement in a federal prison, nevertheless, after the sentencing a delegation of Rabbis went to visit him in prison and proclaimed him an innocent person. Am I mad at them? No, he is in jail and he cannot hurt other children, so who cares,what a few old Rabbis say, but in this case, this Rabbi is still doing his day-to-day work, which brings him to close proximity to young adults, which must be stopped.

Finally, all the statistics prove that pedophiles gravitate to work, which brings them close to children, e.g. Boys Scouts, teachers, priest, and child charities and yes Rabbis.

[ghottistyx]

@Garnel, yes it's true. Rav Bina has said "If Ramaz is a Yeshiva, I am a woman." He does not approve of Lookstein's yeshiva.

There is a long list of yeshivot he does not approve of. Ohr Yerushalayim (OJ) is "Show Jay". This is because after shana aleph they now dress in black and white but are still the same assholes they were at the beginning of the year (cf. "Flippin Out" by Blue Fringe).

And of course, there's Rabbi Riskin; he calls him "Stevie Wonder" because his first name is Steve, and because it's a wonder how anyone can be so blind to Torah!

And oh yeah, Reishit Yerushalayim, aka "The Institute" (short for Genesis Jerusalem Institute, Reishit's English name). His hatred for them started when Reishit first started in 1994 in the Old City. Rav Bina accused them of Hasagat G'vul. Of course, Hasagat G'vul does not apply to Yeshivot: I forgot which posek (Feinstein?) was asked about Brooklyn, which has hundreds (thousands?) of Yeshivot, and the ruling was that it's not Hasagat G'vul because (a) Yeshivot should not be run like businesses, and (b) the more Yeshivot, the more Torah learning, the better. So he tried taking them to a Beit Din, but they didn't show up. So during the 5 years Reishit was in the Old City, he would say things like "If you daven at 'The Institute', you have to daven again!" Now that they're in Bet Shemesh, it's more a running joke with him, i.e. "[Netiv Aryeh] is a serious institute of learning; if you don't like learning, there is a country club in Bet Shemesh..."

[A E ANDERSON]

Who cares if the snivelly little brat got a blow job?! Get on with your pathetic little lives already, and stop annoying everyone else by beating this dead sex abuse horse to death!

[jancsipista]

A E ANDERSON-Youre truly mentally disturbed if it bothers you that much to comment in such an idotic way,maybee youre a pedophile also you sure act like one writing that it should be forggotten its not youre life so you couldnt care less but tell others what to do the leat you can do is keep quiet.

[adams]

I am glad my son wants no part of these 1 year Yeshiva programs.

[an unnamed source]

I wonder if DBSEsq is the same blowhard who I heard daven musaf in a NJ shul about fifteen years ago.

It sure sounds like him. No one wanted to hear him because he sounded hollow but he was sure every sound he ever utterred was pure brilliance. What an ego!

He was very kind and generous though - he thought everyone was entitled to his opinion. On the other hand, he might have been the only person in shul who refused to to contribute at all to the kiddush they wanted to throw when he announced that he was leaving town.

Global warming could have been caused by a pinprick to his head letting out a small fraction of the hot air he had stored up there.
If there really is

[yudel]

Th A E ANDERSON guy just might have been abused himself. His response to allegations of abuse are like others who hide what might have happened to them. It is tough to pity someone like him but he lives alone in his heart alongside his anger and hatred and probably grew up helpless to what he endured himself.

This is why you often get people that allegedly seem like nut cases or blow hards when in fact they are victims themselves. They hurt so badly they scream at the innocent.
This is how it goes. Sad but true. Anyone who knows him should reach out to him and show him a way to heal.

If bad can come out of the mouth so too can come the antidote --good.

[MS]

Shmarya- I have heard many rumors that Rabbi John Krug (who is also a practicing psychologist and an administrator at Frisch Yeshiva High School in NJ) served as a character witness FOR Baruch Lanner at his trial. Now he is in the Jewish Week article supporting Rav Bina. Can you investigate and confirm the rumors about the testimony?

[jewishwhistleblower]

Rabbi John Krug was quoted in the original Rosenblatt Lanner article as a "self-described defender" of Lanner.

[jewishwhistleblower]

Copy of article quoting Krug:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/clergy/clergy99.html