The apology was indirect, forced and not completely factual. Meanwhile, an anonymous blog that specialized in publishing attacks on anti-abuse advocate Manny Waks and his family has been traced by FailedMessiah.com to a powerful Melbourne Chabad family business.
Senior Chabad Rebbetzin ‘Apologizes' To Abuse Victim – But Only Under Pressure And Only Indirectly
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
Rebbetzin Pnina Feldman ‘apologized’ today to anti-child-sex-abuse activist Manny Waks, a co-founder of the anti-child-sex-abuse nonprofit organization Tzedek.
But Feldman’s ‘apology’ was issued to the Australian Jewish News, not to Waks directly, and was only issued after she was pressured by several unidentified Melbourne rabbis who apparently wanted to make this latest embarrassment go away.
“In my robust and emotional email I employed offensive language which I remorsefully regret and unreservedly apologise for. I also want to apologise for my perceived trivialization of the impact of child abuse on victims,” Feldman reportedly said. “The intent of the email was that I agree with all efforts to prosecute pedophiles but take issue with some aspects of Manny’s crusade against Melbourne Yeshivah, one example being the trumped up and ludicrous accusations levelled against Rabbi Avrohom Glick, which Manny ultimately apologised for,” Feldman concluded.
Glick has come under sharp criticism from police and the courts for allegedly lying to them about the child sex abuse at Chabad’s Yeshivah College in Melbourne, and is implicated in covering up that abuse and protecting pedophiles. Glick denies this.
Waks accepted Feldman’s apology even though she failed to contact him directly and was somewhat untruthful in her apology.
Meanwhile, FailedMessiah.com has seen proof that the notorious (and now closed) FifthChelek blog, which posted many attacks on Manny Waks and on Waks’ father Zephania, was run out of an IP address exclusively used by Objectiveware Pty Ltd – a company owned by multimillionaire Nathan Werdiger and his son David.
Stop-press.com.au is Melbourne Chabad’s Yeshivah community email service run by Emmanuel Althaus. Althaus uses the same IP address that FifthChelek used. Althaus and David Werdiger are close friends. Both are vocal attackers of Manny and Zephania Waks, and both have brothers - Shlomo Werdiger and Benjamin Althaus – who are trustees of the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne.
Shlomo Werdiger’s wife, Shyrla Pakula Werdiger, is the woman who attacked Manny Waks and child sex abuse victims on Facebook earlier this week, writing:
“I don't defend the Grand Most High Pooh-bah Rebbetzin in any way but I do believe that this was a private email to Lord High Executioner waks, which he chose to publicize. They are all damaged deranged and generally vindictive and destructive individuals who all bring a chilul hashem [desecration of God’s name] to the name of Judaism in general, Orthodox Judaism in particular. I could go on but I won't. And yes, poor timing perhaps. But so what.”
Pakula Werdiger later claimed she only meant to personally attack Manny Waks and Rebbetzin Pnina Feldman, but not abuse victims generally.
So what email did Rebbetzin Pnina Feldman ‘apologize’ for? This email:
Hi Manny,
Why do you keep highlighting Yeshiva?! Before the pedophile issues you went running to The Age re BER issues. There's always something with you and Yeshiva. Get over it already- whatever it is that makes you think that attacking Yeshiva justifies your not being frum. There is something very ugly and personal about your antiYeshiva campaign. Just because a security guard molested you don't blame Yeshiva! A principal in Moriah College ( not Jewish) once molested nearly half the girls in the school! NONE of whom have ever blamed the school! Get over it! You need counselling! I haven't met a person yet with one nice word to say about you. Most people consider you a lowlife- not because of any molestation,which wasn't your fault, but because of your malicious blame game which is unjust, unwarranted, undeserved and wicked. The person you hurt most by that is yourself and your own psyche and spiritual and emotional wellbeing. I realise you may go on hate campaign against me now, but like yourself, I have no fear in saying it as it is when I feel passionate about something.
Erev Yom Kippur. Get the pedophiles. That's fine. But get the hate out of your heart or at least try to control it. That hate is very bad for you personally as it doesn't allow you peace of mind or any form of internal harmony or happiness.
Words from the heart.
A Gmar Tov to you and yours,
Rebzn Pnina Feldman
Despite the convictions of Chabad pedophiles in Melbourne and Sydney, and despite the clear proof that very many children were raped and abused by men who were protected by Chabad leaders, Chabad still continues to lash out at and try to damage victims, their families and advocates.
Manny Waks is both a victim of that Chabad child sex abuse and the lead advocate in fighting to stop it and to get all the known pedophiles in the Australian Chabad community put in prison. As such, as the public face of a movement, Chabad singles him and his family out for attacks, as has been documented here over the past several years.
No matter how good Chabad’s child sex abuse policy looks on paper, in reality victims are often harassed and even terrorized by leaders of the Chabad community. Rabbis speak out against victims advocates in shul, victims and advocates are shunned and Internet smear campaigns are launched by leading Chabad members.
Chabad’s international leadership has never condemned any of this harassment.
Related Posts:
How Chabad Really Treats Abuse Victims.