Bnei Brak Israel's "Capital Of Pedophilia," Advocate Claims

Advocate: Haredi communities provide safe haven for pedophiles because rabbis won't let victims call police.

Yitzhak Kadman, head of Israel's National Council for the Child, created a stir in Israel yesterday when he labeled haredi city Bnei Brak as the country's capital of pedophilia. Kadman echoes Dov Hikind's famous remark about Borough Park, Williamsburg, Flatbush and other American haredi communities:

"Pedophiles go to Bnei Brak from all over the country because they know they can hurt children without anyone telling. Even if children tell it to someone, it is likely that parents will not complain," he said. "In haredi society, there is a very heavy silence, for fear among those involved may be unable to find a match. Other reasons for silence include media coverage because there is apprehension and fear that it would make the haredi community look bad."

Bnei Brak's mayor Rabbi Yaakov Asher was incensed, and accused Kadman of speaking without having the facts to backup his allegations.

But at a recent conference of the National Council for the Child in Beer Sheva, data was presented showing haredim call police or child protection far less often than do non-haredim, meaning that sex abuse is very under-reported by the haredi community:

The national average is 1.8% of abuse cases and the average among Jewish communities is 2.1%, the average among haredi and religious communities is only 0.8%.

Kadman said parents and victims want to report the abuse but haredi rabbis won't let them. And then he gave an example:

A year ago a doctor called Kadman from a health maintenance organization located in a haredi town. A patient came to her with her little daughter and told her [the little girl had been raped], and testing proved that the girl was attacked sexually. But the little girl's mother refused to complain to the police, since the rabbi forbade her to do so.

Sad.