"This is a pedophile defined by the US authorities danger to the public. Since coming to the neighborhood we live in constant fear and take care of our children. He must not [be allowed] to exploit his Jewishness to get citizenship.”
Above: Yona Weinberg
Local Haredim Up In Arms Over American Child Molester’s Move To Jerusalem
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
"This is a pedophile defined by the US authorities danger to the public. Since coming to the neighborhood we live in constant fear and take care of our children. He must not [be allowed] to exploit his Jewishness to get citizenship.”
That, Ynet reports, is what residents of the Jerusalem haredi neighborhood of Har Nof are saying about Yona Weinberg, the 37-year-old convicted pedophile who left the US last year just before police in Brooklyn came to arrest him on new abuse charges. But because the new charges are only misdemeanors, Weinberg apparently cannot be extradited to the US, because misdemeanor offenses are not covered under the extradition treaty between the two countries.
Weinberg – a social worker and bar mitzvah tutor – sexually abused two 13-year-old boys. He served 13 months in prison and is officially designated a Level 3 Sex Offender, the most dangerous class of sex criminal most likely to re-offend.
Weinberg’s wife and children later made aliyah with help of the Orthodox-run Nefesh B’Nefesh aliyah organization, which gave them financial and other assistance. Nefesh B’Nefesh does a form of a background check before deciding whether to help people, a source told FailedMessiah.com earlier this week, meaning Nefesh B’Nefesh likely knew who it was it was helping.
Weinberg himself has reportedly filed a request with the Israeli government for citizenship and the benefits – including a housing subsidy – that comes with it.
"This is a man whose actions are well-known in the Jewish community in New York, and the thought that he went to live near my children [here in Israel] is shocking. Every time I send the kids to school I tremble at the thought that he is hanging around the neighborhood schools. It is inconceivable that a person who committed such crimes would benefit from [official] immigrant status just because he is Jewish.…,” Isaac, a recent immigrant from New York, told Ynet.
Two weeks ago, Isaac reportedly went to the police station in the Talpiot neighborhood of Jerusalem and asked to take action against Weinberg, but was told that there is no suspicion Weinberg committed offenses in the country. Police reportedly said they do not have the legal authority to investigate crimes committed in the United States. Ministry of Justice said that US authorities had not submitted an extradition request regarding Weinberg.
"We know his story very well,” another neighbor said. It is really shocking to think that he lives right here in the building. The picture of him on the American sex offender registry doesn’t leave me. It is scary to know that such a person lives near my children, and we will do everything [in our power] so he will not become a citizen [of Israel]," another neighbor reportedly said.
David Morris, who heads the Magen anti-child-sex-abuse organization, is working to try to stop Weinberg from getting Israeli citizenship.
"The question of what you do to make it right is complex. We are also working with the authorities in the United States…and with the authorities in [Israel] to not accept [him for] new immigrant status,” Morris reportedly said.
Weinberg’s attorney, Eitan Lehman, said this week that legally there are no new accusations or charges against Weinberg. He said Weinberg has paid his debt to society.
When told that there were new criminal charges filed against Weinberg in New York, Lehman dismissed that out of hand.
"This is a false claim. There are no new complaints and new acts. If there was any complaint against him, they would not allow him to leave the United States. He did not run away, he did not fake anything and the claims are fraudulent. He left New York with his American passport. The stirred up illegitimate motives [against him]. It probably easily provoked hysteria and panic. This is a man who wanted to come to Israel for Zionist reasons and to start over," Lehman claimed - even though the assault charge against Weinberg is in fact real and the documentation of it is publicly available.
Lehman insisted the world was persecuting Weinberg.
“…[H]e served his sentence quite a few years ago, and the matter behind us. We are a nation of laws, once a person has served his sentence and paid his debt to society, there is nothing to do [to him] anymore," Lehman said.
But in fact, Weinberg was convicted in 2009 and his appeals process ended in 2010. The newer alleged physical assault of an 11-year-old boy in Brooklyn synagogue took place in August 2014.
Lehman insisted Israel should give Weinberg citizenship.
"He is a Jew. Legally there is no real reason not to give [him citizenship], but like everyone who comes to Israel, he will be examined at the Interior Ministry,” Lehman said.
He also claimed the sex assaults against the two boys were relatively minor and that Weinberg really shouldn’t be classified as a Level 3 Sex Offender. There are legal procedures to change this, Lehman said.
Jerusalem Police refused to comment on Weinberg when asked by Ynet.
"We do not give out data about citizens, let alone about the alleged investigation files managed by overseas enforcement authorities,” a police spokesman reportedly said.
Israel has a long history of weak prosecution – and no prosecution – of haredim who sexually abuse children within the haredi community. However, that has recently begun to slowly change.
Related Posts:
Convicted Child Sex Abuser Yona Weinberg Flees To Israel.
[Hat Tip: Jonny.]