Top Zionist Orthodox Rabbi Refuses To Explain His Troubling Stance On Child Sex Abuse

In a national radio interview in Israel yesterday, Rabbi Haim Druckman – the most senior Zionist Orthodox rabbi in Israel and worldwide – refuses to explain his (arguably illegal) decision to invite recently convicted child sex abuser Rabbi Mordechai Elon to continue teaching at Druckman’s publicly funded yeshiva. Elon received a no-prison community service only sentence from an Israeli court last month.

Rabbi Haim Druckman

In a national radio interview in Israel yesterday, Israel Prize winner Rabbi Haim Druckman – the most senior Zionist Orthodox rabbi in Israel and worldwide – refuses to explain his (arguably illegal) decision to invite recently convicted child sex abuser Rabbi Mordechai Elon to continue teaching at Druckman’s publicly funded yeshiva. (Elon received a no-prison community service only sentence from an Israeli court last month.)

Here is a rough translation of that part of the interview courtesy of Tzedek:

Interviewer: I would like to ask you regarding a matter that has bothered many people, your decision to permit Rabbi Motti Elon to continue teaching in your Yeshivah, despite his conviction of child sexual abuse offences. We would be pleased if you were prepared to explain what is behind this decision.

Rabbi Druckman: I am not prepared to explain. Not prepared to explain.

Interviewer: Why?

Rabbi Druckman: Because.

Interviewer: Nevertheless, “Yeshivah Tichonit” (a Yeshivah that combines religious and general studies)…centralized B’nei Akivah Yeshivot, it’s a public body.

Rabbi Druckman: It’s not a “Yeshivah Tichonit”, you’re distorting. It has no relevance to a “Yeshivah Tichonit”.

Interviewer: I’ll amend, my apologies. A “Higher Yeshivah” (a Yeshivah that focuses on religious studies) that belongs to a public body. There is no need to explain to the public such a move?

Rabbi Druckman: No. It’s not a public body and there is no need to explain to the public such a move.

Tzedek has a petition that calls for Elon to banned from teaching in Druckman's yeshiva.

But perhaps a better petition would call on the government of Israel to revoke Druckman's Israel Prize and call on Bnei Akiva to fire him. Neither call will be heeded, but it is unlikely the call to ban Elon – who is already arguably banned by law from teaching in Druckman's yeshiva – is also unlikely to succeed.

Druckman has a long history of enabling and covering up for pedophiles.

Here is the entire Galei Yisrael interview in Hebrew:

 

Comments

[Jeff]

>>Rabbi Druckman: I am not prepared to explain. Not prepared to explain.

>>Interviewer: Why?

What is he, six years old? This is a Torah giant?

[Jeff]

>>Rabbi Druckman: I am not prepared to explain. Not prepared to explain.

>>Interviewer: Why?

>>Rabbi Druckman: Because.

What is he, six years old? This is a Torah giant?

[Reese]

Perhaps the good rabbi would feel comfortable having the convicted sex offender give private lessons to his grandchildren.

[Rodin]

Drickman is easy on pedophiles. Sort of like: an Agnostic is someone who is easy on Atheists

[jancsibacsi]

Theese rabbis should be ashamed of themselfs but they dont have the intelligence of being ashamed anymore with their all day learning toyreh they are bereft of all shame.

[Rodin]

Jancsi-- They are intelligent, but they must maintain this illusion that they are the ones that 'know best' in every situation. Since they are infallible (like the Pope) they cannot be questioned. Especially not by outsiders.

[Alter Kocker]

Druckman, like most of the orthodox world seems bent on demonizing the victim while supporting the perpetrator. There is a twisted mentality to this, and it is based, I believe in their twisted views of halacha, wherein women, children and goyim are lesser beings and therefore playthings for their immature libidos.

As with all else in Israel, the orthodox have free reign. They do as they please and the Netanyahu government praises their foibles and follies. The body of Judaism is willfully ignorant of the crimes being committed and wants to see the orthodox as their "Zaide's frummes". They are not. The decades and re-interpretation of halacha have led to a situation where these people are no longer Jews. The sooner the call goes out to excise this cancer from Judaism the better.

[jancsibacsi]

Alter Kocker--The reason they cannot ackowledge molestation is if they do that their whole existance is negated,they think they are superior to non frummies and the goyim, in the meantime they are destroying themselfs by not dealing with it and trying to protect the molesters,in short they are their own worst enemy .

[Alter Kocker]

Jancs
They have proven beyond a doubt that they are totally irrelevant except to themselves and to a degree the Israeli government at present (due to their voting bloc). To the rest of the Jewish world, they are a cancer. They no longer practice a recognizable form of Judaism. They prey upon the rest of the Jewish world for funding. They prey upon the weaker members of their society, children and women as they are lesser beings. Finally they regard the peoples who make up the majority of this planet as something slightly higher calibre than a dog, which means they are there to serve, be robbed, cheated and hated. Druckman's and Elon's tenure in any position of authority should be terminated immediately.

[plus.google.com/105365650738687784925]

Whenever a frum person is accused of a crime and is found not guilty by an Israeli court this blog is quick to remind everyone that Israel's justice system is incredibly corrupt and unreliable.
Perhaps Rav Druckman has come to the same conclusion but in the opposite direction.

[Rodin]

plus.google.com/105365650738687784925--

Are you agreeing with Druckman, that he has no obligation to explain himself?

BTW, get a screen name, like everyone else.

[jancsibacsi]

Alter Kocker----"They prey upon the rest of the Jewish world for funding"
I see you are very knowledgeble about them, but i can tell you maybee i am wrong that you dont know the half of it,the tragedy is that we non hassidim let this get out of hand for so long now they truly beleive that we must give them money here in bp every night they ring at my door in the synagouge they come in the morning in droves streching their hands out it is insane what they are doing,i know you are talking about the big one who ask for thousands or hundreds of thousands from the very rich,they are tottaly shameless non whatsoever

[plus.google.com/105365650738687784925]

Rodin, I've tried to get a screen name. I sign into Google under the screen name I want. This comes up anyway.
Now I just think all those numbers add a degree of sophistication

[EGAR]

How shameful...all I read about is being "soft" on child molesters. What do these ORTHODOX halacha followers belong to? A porn ring?

[Jeff]

"Rodin, I've tried to get a screen name. I sign into Google under the screen name I want. This comes up anyway."

Sign up for a Typepad account (the platform on which the blog is based). It's easier.

[Jeff]

I don't understand all the fuss. He doesn't have to explain away the abuse because no abuse occurred. It was only a rabbi diddling little boys. According to Toyreh, it's perfectly acceptable.

Now, if he'd been caught masturbating because some shameless six year-old harlot was wearing a skirt above her ankles, THAT would have been unforgivable.

You people need to get your priorities straight.

[Rodin]

plus.google.com/105365650738687784925--

I noticed that due to your sophistication, you never answered my original question.
(Are you agreeing with Druckman, that he has no obligation to explain himself?)
Freudian slip perhaps.

[Rodin]

In the humor department, it's interesting to note that the German 'Druckman' translates in Yiddish to 'Shtupman'. LOL

[David]

As I have said before I don't believe the frumma are against child molestation because there is no specific Halacha against it and nobody has been able to tell me that there is despite my numerous questions. There are plenty of human, Jewish moral, logical and legal reasons against it, of course, but these don't translate to frumkeit.

And yes, not mentioned above, but the fact that some male children attend the mikvah with or without their father is a very concerning concept to me.

[plus.google.com/105365650738687784925]

Sorry Rodin, missed that.
I do think that Rav Druckman should explain himself. The halacha is very clear that a person should not just be justified before God but also before people. If he has taken a controversial position, given his prestige and influence, he needs to explain it.

[Rodin]

plus.google.com/105365650738687784925--
Which begets the question, since Schtupman must know the Halacha, why is he not explaining himself? Well, I guess no answer is also an answer (shtika khadoa).

[Jake]

What is "arguably illegal" ?

[Observist]

Why is it that no one appears willing to state the obvious?

1) The only person who would support a child molester is........... correct, another child molestor.

2) Tolerance of a crime is tantamount to participation in a crime

3) All those baby factori... excuse me, MOTHERS, who are "too busy" to walk their child to school a few blocks, are guilty.

4) Every mother in an Orthodox community who does not gather up other mothers to take to the streets and demand an arrest, a firing, or at least SOME measure of accountability, is as complicit as the teachers, and a majority of rosh yeshivim who gorge themselves on young boys. Ugh, such a group of filthy whores, playing pretend at Judaism while thousands and thousands of kids are G U A R A N T E E D to grow up into mal-developed adults.

Silence in these cases is a crime. What have YOU done lately to fight back?

This Shtupman, thank Heavens, will surely get shtupped by the Devil when they eventually meet up. May the Devil wrap it in sandpaper first.

[percherondad]

When did pedophelia become a Jewish tradition? Mothers and fathers need to come forward. They need to shun Rabbis like this who promote and support the molestation of children... It makes me ashamed to say that I am Jew.

[SimonF]

Jeff - Druckman is not a "Torah giant." Nor would he pronounce it "Toyreh."

He's a Zionist, not Haredi.