The Jewish Star has an erroneous report on Agudath Israel of America's recent conference that misrepresents Agudah's position on reporting child sexual abuse to police.
The Jewish Star reports as follows:
On the topic of abuse, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel, spoke in support of reporting abuse to authorities. “The Torah approves reporting abuse to authorities,” said Rabbi Flink. “It’s about preventing opportunities for abuse from happening.”
While this seems straightforward, it is a complete misrepresentation of Agudah's position and of what Rabbi Zwiebel actually said.
How do I know this?
I have it on tape, and I posted that tape on Wednesday so you could hear it.
Agudah had Rabbi Gottesman give a one hour class – for CLE credit, I'm told – for mandatory reporters on reporting child sexual abuse.
Rabbi Gottesman's conlusion was that reporting is often difficult under Jewish law, even though it is also very often necessary.
And therefore, according to Gottesman and Agudah the decision to report abuse to police is not straightforward.
Gottesman's and Agudah's guidelines for reporting child sexual abuse are as follows:
• In cases of absolute knowledge of the sexual abuse – you come home early, say, and walk in on Mr. X performing fellatio on a 7 year old boy – you can in theory (but are not absolutely mandated to in practice) report the abuse directly to police or the government's child welfare agency.
• In all other cases – for example, cases where there are no witnesses or where the only witness is a young victim child– you must go to a senior rabbi (or better yet, he said, a bit din, religious court, made up of senior rabbis knowledgeable in these issues) to get permission to report the alleged abuse to police.
Going to a rabbi or beit din first before reporting suspected child sexual abuse – or the abuse of vulnerable adults, and all other types of abuse covered under mandatory reporting laws – violates mandatory reporting laws in many, if not all, states. Therefore, Agudah was telling its members to violate the law, no matter Agudah's spin is.
And what is Agudah's spin?
After Gottesman finished he turned the microphone over to Agudah's executive vice president Rabbi Chaim David Zwiebel, who briefly discussed differences in definitions of suspected abuse. In effect, the definition of suspected abuse sets the standard for when a report must be made.
States have their definitions of suspected abuse codified with their mandatory reporting laws, and professional associations amd boards also have their own definitions.
Zwiebel attempted to use the slight differences between these definitions to justify Agudah's position that in most cases of abuse, 'Da'as Torah,' a senior rabbi or a rabbinic cournt made up of senior rabbis, must be consulted before suspected abuse is reported. These rabbis are often the same rabbis who have erred in (or covered up) previous cases of child sexual abuse.
You can hear the enitre lecture and Zwiebel's remarks here.
The Jewish Star's erroneous report:
Agudath professionals conference draws hundreds
By Sergey Kadinsky • The Jewish Star
Seeking to balance their professions alongside Torah guidelines, hundreds of participants attended Agudath Israel’s Halacha Conference for Professionals and the Business Community on May 15 in Brooklyn.
Topics such as wills and estates, organ donation, taxation and accounting, and abuse reporting were addressed in pairs with Agudath rabbis presenting alongside moderators accredited in medicine, law, family therapy, and accounting.
Noting the contrast that sometimes appears between Torah views and conventional judgment, Agudath Israel board chairman Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger quoted an example from famed prewar rosh yeshiva Rabbi Chaim Ozer Grodzinski, who argued that in certain life-saving situations, an older person would receive precedence over someone younger. ““We have to make our community aware of the rulings of da’as Torah on those issues that impact on our daily lives,” Rabbi Weinberger said.
Speaking on end-of-life care, Rabbi Gedaliah Weinberger described the unprecedented legal challenges of following Torah guidelines in medical treatment of the elderly. “The conference addressed on how you and your loved ones should be treated according to Torah and not be left to languish and die,” said Rabbi Chaim Flink of Kew Gardens, who attended the conference. “Death should not be hastened.”
On the topic of abuse, Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel, executive vice president of Agudath Israel, spoke in support of reporting abuse to authorities. “The Torah approves reporting abuse to authorities,” said Rabbi Flink. “It’s about preventing opportunities for abuse from happening.”
Agudath Israel of America Says Ask Your Rabbi Before Reporting Child Sexual Abuse To Police.