FailedMessiah.com

Is It Time For The Australian Government And The Jewish Community To Overthrow Chabad Leadership?

"…I believe the time has come where serious consideration needs to be given by the broader Jewish community and government as to whether it is appropriate for [Chabad] Yeshivah to continue under its current administration and in its current form. It is easy to forget amid all this chaos that victims are still hurting and seeking justice by way of holding to account those trustees who remain in power, and that the safety of children within the school is paramount. I concur with another [Chabad] Yeshivah victim who recently said publicly that he does not believe that safety can be guaranteed in the environment that currently exists. I would urge the community to give serious consideration to forcing the trustees to hand the [Chabad] Yeshivah Centre over to capable and independent trustees who can administer the Centre professionally until such time as the community has developed the appropriate structures to have it back. Ultimately it’s the safety and wellbeing of our children – past and present – that we are dealing with. And this must always come first."

Chabad's International Leadership Tells Local Chabad Leaders In Melbourne That Democracy And True Power Sharing Are Forbidden

Did you believe Chabad's frequent claims to the press that each official Chabad center is a truly independent franchise? A new letter written to Chabad trustees in Melbourne, Australia by Chabad's organizational head Rabbi Yehuda Krinsky and the 1973 memo from his predecessor included with it should dispel that notion. But perhaps more importantly, the new Krinsky letter refers to the ongoing Chabad child sex abuse scandal in Melbourne this way: "We also acknowledge the severe difficulties you [Chabad trustees] have been going through for over a year and the aggravation and turmoil that have engulfed the entire Chabad community of Melbourne." There is not one word of consolation for the victims of the child sex abuse and not one word or regret for how the original complaints of child sex abuse were handled.

 

Brooklyn Judge Gives Man 5-Day Sentence In Child Porn Case

A Brooklyn man who watched kiddie porn on his home computer and conducted video chats with underage girls was sentenced to 7 years of supervised release plus time served – all five days of it.

Breslov Hasidim Issue Death Threat Against South Africa’s Chief Rabbi

“The police were sent in an attempt to arrest Rabbi Berland on Shabbat [sabbath] night. This is a very serious crime. [Jewish law] speaks extensively on the rodef, a person who goes and tries to imprison his fellow in the hands of non-Jews. There is a commandment to stop him at all costs. And the law refers to a simple Jew…whereas we are dealing with a great Rabbi, a great Torah Sage [Berland].”

NY Man Arrested On Child Sex Abuse Charges

The New York State Police in Haverstraw arrested Yehoshua Nachison, age 32, of Pomona for subjecting a female child to sexual contact.

Don't Report Child Sex Abuse To Police, Leading Haredi Rabbi Says

Rabbi Nochum Eisenstein, who was the late supreme haredi leader Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv's point man on conversion to Judaism, says Elyashiv did not want most cases of child sex abuse to be reported to police – even though Elyashiv ruled in writing that credible suspicions of child sex abuse ("raglayim l'davar") must in fact be reported to police.

Today, You Are Not Quite A Man: Haredi Rabbi Arrested And Charged With Bar Mitzvah-Based Child Sexual Abuse

The alleged victims are three boys aged 13 to 14. The sexual abuse took place repeatedly over an extended period of time, and was based on misleading them about their halakhic (Jewish legal) status immediately after their bar mitzvahs.

Profile Of A Haredi Cult

Lev Tahor fled Canada for Guatemala in 2014 as a Canadian provincial government moved to take children out of the cult's care due to alleged child abuse and neglect. Now America's premier foreign affairs publication has a long profile of the cult that details the widespread allegations against it.

South African Cops Try But Fail To Arrest “Sex-Pest” Hasidic Rabbi

The third time was not a charm for South African police, who reportedly tried – and failed – to arrest Breslov hasidic Rabbi Eliezer Berland on Shabbat. But what really upset Berland and his followers is that the police had the help of Hebrew-speaking Jews who violated Shabbat in a bid to arrest him.

Gush Katif Rabbis, Teachers, Political Leaders Alleged Covered Up String Of Child Sex Abuse Cases In The Run-Up To The Disengagement From Gaza

As the Gaza Jewish settlement bloc of Gush Katif was about to be forcibly evacuated by Israel just over a decade ago, settlement leaders, teachers and rabbis were allegedly doing something other than simply fighting the evacuation – they were allegedly actively covering up a string of child sex abuse complaints and harassing the alleged victims.

Alleged Victim Of Malka Leifer Speaks Out For The First Time

"…It has been 18 months since Malka Leifer was arrested!! Where is Justice? Where is the court system that is on the victim’s side? Where is Malka Leifer? Why is she allowed to hide behind her supposed panic attacks? Is rape not considered crime enough to be trialled?? Where is justice?…"

Top Haredi Backer Of NYC Mayor Fails To Show Up To Serve Prison Sentence For Sex Abuse, Arrest Warrant Issued

A top haredi backer of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio failed to show up today to begin serving a prison sentence for a sex abuse conviction.

Chabad In Melbourne Announces New Organization Scheme

Chabad in Melbourne, Australia has released what it says will be its new organizational structure and the methods of electing or appointing the people who will be the lay leaders of Chabad institutions there. A close look seems to show that the disgraced old guard will still easily be able to control everything behind a razor thin veneer of very limited democracy.

Israeli Court Refuses To Move Forward On Extradition Of Alleged Child Sex Abuser Malka Leifer Over Leifer’s Extreme “Panic Attacks”

Malka Leifer, wanted in Australia for 74 counts of indecent acts and abuse at the haredi Adass school in Melbourne, is still safe in Israel avoiding extradition because of her alleged frequent “psychotic episodes” that are better described by the professionals who examined her as severe panic attacks.

Former Defense Ministry Security Guard Arrested For String Of Alleged Child Sex Assaults

A former security guard for Israel’s Defense Ministry was arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting dozens of 6- to 10-year-old children of both genders.

Members Of Marc Gafni's Former Havurah Community Come Out Against Him

Members of ex-rabbi Marc Gafni's Elat Chayyim community come out in support of the change.org petition called Stop Marc Gafni from Abusing Again.

Alleged Child Victim Of Rabbi Marc Gafni Says She Wrote To Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Decades Ago To Tell Him About The Abuse, But Riskin Did Not Respond

"…I am the woman [Marc] Gafni molested when she was 13 years old. This is the first time I am telling my story in my own name. If …[abused] children are lucky, someone will notice there is something wrong. But too often, the police are not involved, and these children are unlikely to be protected. I wasn’t.…"

 

Alleged Sex Abuser Hasidic Rabbi Allegedly Given South African Citizenship, Diplomatic Immunity

Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the head of the Shuvu Banim Breslov hasidic sect, likely now has “a kind of diplomatic status, making him criminally immune" and is holed up in the sect’s secret compound “somewhere between Midrand and Pretoria." Berland is wanted in Israel for a string of alleged sex assaults against female followers, at least one of whom was only 15 when the alleged assault took place.

Haredi Man Arrested For More Than 100 Alleged Sexual Assaults Against Young Female Relative

An 50-year-old haredi resident of Beit Shemesh, Israel was indicted today in the Jerusalem District Court for allegedly committing a string of more than 100 sexual assaults over a four-plus-year period against his young female relative.

Ex-Rabbi Marc Gafni Talks With Advisors About Suing The Forward For Defamation

Ex-rabbi Marc Gafni's alleged affairs (clergy abuse, according to some observers) and his earlier predatory sexual behavior toward two teen girls have put him in the hot seat again after the New York Times published an exposé on Gafni. But now Gafni and his team are talking about suing a publication for defamation to essentially warn other media outlets that writing anything but a fluff piece or praise of Gafni will cost you dearly. How do we know this? Gafni's team mistakenly sent a recording of Gafni's conversation with advisors, including his attorney, to the Forward. And that quickly led to a threat from Gafni's attorney to sue the Forward if it published the recording. The Forward published it anyway.

Yosef Kolko Loses Appeal, Will Stay In Prison Until At Least 2026

Rabbi Yosef Kolko will remain in prison. The former haredi camp counselor from Lakewood, New Jersey will serve the rest of 15-year sentence in state prison after a two-judge appellate court panel rejected his claim that he was coerced by members of the haredi community to falsely plead guilty to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old child in his care at the camp.

How Alleged Sexual Predator Rabbis Gain And Keep Community Support

Based on recent reporting about ex-rabbi Marc Gafni and the people who still support him despite his history of predatory behavior, the founder of the Center for Jewish Feminism, writes about how guys like Gafni, especially rabbis still in the Orthodox community who are like Gafni, get and maintain community support despite allegations of sexual abuse.

To Catch A Rapist

The New York Times Magazine has a long profile of the New Haven, Connecticut Police Special Victims Unit (SVU) that deals with abuse of children and similar crimes.

Chabad Rabbi Aryeh Leib “Larry” Dudovitz Gets 8 Years For Child Sex Assault

Dudovitz has struggled with “fighting homosexual urges — not sexual predator urges,” his attorney told the court, echoing – perhaps unknowingly – the position of the late Chabad-Lubavitch Rebbe Menachem Mendel Schneerson, who allegedly attributed cases of child sex abuse to latent homosexual tendencies and told at least some Chabad rabbis not to report child sex abusers to police.

Parents And Their Supporters Ask Chabad Leaders For Transparency In Open Letter Made Necessary By Chabad's Refusal To Honor Its Promise Of Same

The independent group of parents and their supporters that helped bring resignations of many Chabad lay and rabbinic leaders who covered up child sex abuse (or supported those leaders who did so) have asked Chabad's Melbourne Yeshivah Centre trustees for transparency, transparency Chabad promised months ago. But the group, PFYM, had to ask for this transparency in an open letter to the entire local Chabad community because Chabad leadership has consistently refused to answer private correspondence from PFYM or provide any real transparency at all. That stonewalling began in earnest just after lead abuse victim Manny Wax agreed to promote Chabad's efforts at 'reconciliation' with abuse victims – efforts that do not include reconciliation with the advocates, supporters (like PFYM) parents and other family members of those victims.

Video: Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi On Rape

You 'wanton' women who walk around in short skirts and painted faces bring rape on yourselves, and every time you entice men by your dress or your actions you will be tortured in hell for it, Sefardi haredi kiruv (outreach) Rabbi Yosef Mizrachi (also spelled: "Mizrahi") says.

Rabbi Barry Freundel's Haredi Voyeurism Victim

One of Rabbi Barry Freundel's self-made voyeurism videos was unlike the other 51. Rather than being taken in the mikvah (women's ritual bath), it had the backdrop of an apartment. Who was this woman? Whose apartment was this? And how did Freundel have the access to secretly video record her naked in her most private intimate moments?

Chabad's Melbourne Yeshivah Centre's Board Of Trustees Explains Why 6 Months Wasn't Long Enough To Hold New Elections

It's almost a year since the Royal Commission exposed decades of child sex abuse and coverups at Chabad's Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, Australia. Chabad promised Yeshivah Centre restructuring, which was due to be completed by last week at the latest. But it still isn't finished. And that may be because some of the worst offenders – at least in terms of nepotism and abuse coverups – are still in power, as a new letter from the centre's board of trustees shows.

Still Hiding From The Law, Rabbi Eliezer Berland Celebrates 79th Birthday, Allegedly In South African Exile

On the lam for more than two years, fugitive from justice Rabbi Eliezer Berland, the head of Breslov’s Shuvu Banim hasidic sect, celebrated his 79th birthday with 79 balloons given to him by a small subgroup of his followers who allegedly came from Israel to South Africa to celebrate with him.

Ex-Rabbi Marc Gafni Exposed – Again

“He’s still out there,” said the woman who made the first charge. “And he’s still the same guy who molested a 13-year-old. He’s not a different person.”

Haredi Sex Abuser Loses Sex Offender Appeal

Martin Vegh wanted his sex offender status ranking reduced from the Level 2 status he was given. A New York State appellate court ruled against Vegh's appeal today. Vegh's case is perhaps best known because it was allegedly discussed on an illegal recording made by a PI working for haredi child sex abuser Baruch Lebovits. The recording was allegedly heavily and deceptively edited and spliced with other recordings in order to falsely incriminate hasidic anti-child-sex-abuse advocate Sam Kellner.

OU Asks People To Pray For Ailing Rabbi Yisroel Belsky

Rabbi Yisroel Belsky, one of the Orthodox Union's (OU) top two decisors of kosher food halakha, is seriously ill. Belsky is as well known here for his often negative role played in child sex abuse cases – a role that has sometimes bordered on witness intimidation and obstruction of justice.

Who Supports Accused Child Sex Abuser Marc Gafni? These People Do

“I can tell you from my own experience that the fire of Eros is a real thing. In recent years I have myself developed a capacity to experience and channel this energy in a series of tantric relationships. I have no doubt that it is real, that it has been experienced and described by many great poets and mystics, and that Marc himself is a powerful receiver and transmitter of it. I also have no trouble believing that in his early life he had little understanding or control over this powerful gift … Anyone who has gifts of this kind needs to learn to handle them responsibly and ethically. This can take some time, and even in the best of circumstances, people can get burned.”

Chabad’s Leaders, Due To Resign Over Child Sex Abuse Scandal, Now Say They’re Not Ready To Go

In the wake of the Royal Commission’s investigation into the decades-long child sex abuse scandal at Chabad’s Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, Australia, Chabad announced in June that new constitution for the center and its related organizations would be written and that all trustees and members of the center’s interim committee of management (ICOM) would down by December 31. But now they won’t.

Rabbi Marc Gafni Exposed

The New York Times has a exposé of Rabbi Marc Gafni, who has been accused of child sex abuse and of having affairs with multiple women at the same time, all often his students.

Silent No More: Video Of Chabad's Melbourne Meeting Held To Respond To Its Child Sex Abuse Scandal

Complete video of a community event hosted by Chabad's Melbourne, Australia Yeshivah Centre in response to its child sexual abuse scandal. Speakers included former Yeshivah College Principal Rabbi Avrohom Glick, Yeshivah victim turned Victim Advocate Manny Waks, ASCA President Dr Cathy Kezelman, US-based Rabbi YY Jacobson and two other Yeshivah victims/survivors.

Israeli Haredim And Zionist Orthodox Still Struggle With Reporting Child Sex Abuse

One of the members of a large Hebrew language Facebook group for haredi and Zionist Orthodox women said she had seen a well-known man in her neighborhood patting a girl on a playground in a suspicious manner. She thought he may be a pedophile and asked the other group members whether she should expose the story or just warn the children and carry on.…

Hasidic School That Threatened To Expel Students Whose Mothers Drive Automobiles Rapped By Government For Having Insufficient Child Protection Policy

A surprise snap inspection by British government education inspectors has found the Beis Malka Belz hasidic girls school in the Stamford Hill neighborhood of London – the same school that threatened to expel students whose mothers drive an automobile – has an insufficient child protection policy.

Former Top British Jewish Leader Accused Of Child Sex Abuse Dies

Lord Greville Janner, at one time arguably the most prominent Jewish community leader in the UK, died today at age 87 after a long illness. Janner was eventually suspended from the Labour Party after multiple allegations of child sex abuse were made against him.

Study: PTSD Resources For US Sex Abuse Victims Lacking

A new review study shows what almost every victim of child sex abuse and rape already knows: information and resources regarding effective therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are not easily available.

Former Teacher In Toronto Jewish Schools Busted On Child Porn Charges

On December 16 police executed a search warrant at 55-year-old Stephen Joseph Schacter’s home and arrested Schacter for possession of child pornography.

NYPD Cop Busted For Alleged Child Sex Abuse

33-year-old Jacob Sabbagh allegedly began molesting the girl in June 2005 when she was 10 years old. He allegedly touched the girl’s breasts, vagina and buttocks and raped her.

Chabad Continues To Stonewall Parents Group

Parents and Friends of Chabad's] Yeshivah Melbourne (PFYM) is the group of parents and supporters who helped force change in Chabad leadership in Melbourne, Australia as Chabad's misbehavior and its coverups of child sex abuse were made public in the Royal Commission. But despite promises of transparency and cooperation, Chabad is now completely stonewalling (PFYM), as this latest example shows.

"Sex Pest" Breslov Hasidic Leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland Set Up By Shady Israeli Politicians, Angry Former Followers, Attorney Claims

Berland, the head of the Shuvu Banim Breslov hasidic sect, has been fleeing Israeli justice for two years. He is wanted in Israel on rape and abuse charges. Most of his alleged victims are young married women who were his followers, but at least one of the victims was a minor at the time the alleged sexual assault against her took place.

Rabbi Steve Karro Gets No-Jail Plea Deal In Child Molestation Case

Prosecutors made that deal against the victim’s mother’s wishes after they reportedly determined there was not enough evidence to take the case to trial – even though Karro admitted to hugging, kissing and fondling the girl in an attempt to show her love and spiritually cleanse her. 

Haredi Rabbinical Student Acquitted Of Child Sex Abuse Charges

Haim Boukris, a 29-year-old haredi rabbinical student and teacher, was acquitted on child sex abuse charges today in Sullivan County, New York.

Nechmya Weberman Loses Appeal

All of the charges Nechemya Weberman – a former driver of the Satmar rebbe and a major player in Williamsburg's hasidic modesty squad – was convicted of stand, except for two lesser charges of second degree sex abuse. The net impact is that Weberman's 50-year sentence remains the same.

Chabad's Child Sex Abuse "Redress" Doesn't Include Victims' Families And Supporters Harassed And Ostracized By Chabad

Chabad in Melbourne, Australia launched a "redress scheme" this week to help and compensate the many victims of child sex abuse at its Yeshivah Centre. But it turns out this attempt to apologize, help and compensate the victims of child sex abuse does not include apologizing to, helping or compensating those victims' families and the activists who fought to have the victims heard. These secondary victims were ostracized, harassed and even threatened, but Chabad is doing absolutely nothing to provide them with redress.

Melbourne Chabad Redress Plan For Its Child Sex Abuse Victims Launches

"…It is to the victims, those known to us and those we may never know, I say this: 'You were each entrusted to the care of The Yeshivah Centre. All of you were blameless. All of you were just children. Each and every one of you had the right to be protected and cared for. You had a right to feel safe. You had a right to be educated in an environment that enabled you to reach your full potential. In each of these respects, we let you down, in ways that we can never fully make up for. For the abuse you suffered while you were in our care, on behalf of myself personally and The Yeshivah Centre management and staff, both past and present, I am profoundly sorry.'”

Chabad Of Melbourne's Redress "Scheme" For Child Sex Abuse Victims Formally Announced

"…The Scheme has engaged Jewish Care Victoria to operate a confidential 1800 contact number for victims of abuse. This line will be operated by skilled social welfare professionals. A separate email address has also been established. All identifying information will remain strictly confidential to the Panel, the Jewish Care Victoria contact point and the third party administering payments. Details of any assessments or determinations made under the Scheme will not be provided to the Yeshivah Centre unless specifically requested by the applicant.…"