Jewish ‘Conversion Therapy” Group JONAH May Be Liable For Damages It Allegedly Caused Gay Men, Judge Rules

The judge, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr., ruled Friday that Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) and its co-defendants may be liable for three times the amounts of money the the four men paid for therapy to repair the psychological damage JONAH allegedly caused. JONAH’s program reportedly included nude sessions with counselors and mock “father-son holding” and was a favorite of haredi rabbis, a surprising number of whom referred gay Jewish men to it to be "cured.'

 

Jewish ‘Conversion Therapy” Group JONAH May Be Liable For Damages It Allegedly Caused Gay Men, Judge Rules
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com

A New Jersey judge has reportedly ruled that a New Jersey-based Jewish conversion therapy organization that claims to ‘convert’ gay men into heterosexuals may be liable for the damage it allegedly inflicted on four gay men while trying to ‘cure’ them.

The judge, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Peter F. Bariso Jr., ruled Friday that Jews Offering New Alternatives for Healing (JONAH) and its co-defendants may be liable for three times the amounts of money the the four men paid for therapy to repair the psychological damage JONAH allegedly caused, rejecting a motion from JONAH seeking to drastically limit those damages.

JONAH’s program reportedly included nude sessions with counselors and mock “father-son holding” and was a favorite of haredi rabbis, a surprising number of whom referred gay Jewish men to it to be "cured.'

The lawsuit against JONAH – which is scheduled to go to trial early next year – was filed by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2012. It alleges that JONAH; JONAH’s founder, Arthur Goldberg; and JONAH’s counselor Alan Downing violated New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act by misrepresenting what JONAH was able to achieve, including falsely claiming that JONAH’s program could cure homosexuals.

“These self-proclaimed experts inflicted grave damage upon our clients, who believed JONAH’s claims that it could ‘cure’ them of being gay. These young men were left with guilt, shame and frustration. No amount of money can fix the damage JONAH caused, but recognizing that JONAH can be held accountable for the cost of repairing that damage is an important step,” David Dinielli, SPLC’s deputy legal director, said.

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, has been “discredited or highly criticized by all major American medical, psychiatric, psychological and professional counseling organizations,” LGBTQNation reported.

Comments

[anuran]

Good. I hope every one of those pious frauds is bankrupted to the seventh generation.