The Assault on Rabbi Rosenberg: Ignoring Sex Abuse

Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg is a refreshingly bold advocate against child sexual abuse which occurs in the ultra-Orthodox world. He works within his own Satmar Hasidic and other communities across the ultra-Orthodox spectrum, publicizing claims of sexual abuse and providing victims with the strength and support to speak out about what was done to them. This brave and courageous man was recently a victim himself – of an attack in which “>unlicensed therapist who was ““>On July 11, 2011, in a separate Hasidic community in Brooklyn, 8-year-old Leiby Kletzky was abducted, drugged, and suffocated to death by Levi Aron, another member of the same community; pieces of Kletzky’s dismembered body were found by the police in Aron’s freezer and a nearby trash bin. In spite of their having been “all sorts of rumors about” Aron, the community was in shock that “one of their own” had committed the murder. Poor Leiby paid the price for his community members’ failure to act on their suspicions.

Whereas rumors about Aron had floated about for years, the New York Police Department acted with considerably greater speed: Within 36 hours of Kletzky’s disappearance, Aron was identified as the kidnapper, tracked down, and arrested; he confessed on the spot to Kletzky’s murder. There have been times in Jewish history when Jews had good reason to distrust, or even fear, secular legal, judicial, and police authorities. But this is America in the year 2012; there are no Cossacks coming to attack us, or KGB agents coming to arrest us. We can trust in, and should cooperate with, the police and local authorities. Indeed, when there is greater cooperation between police forces and various communities, the more trust they build between each other, and the effectiveness of policing increases as well.

The recent allegations of past sexual abuse against Yeshiva University (“>The statement by Yeshiva’s current president, and the spirit behind it, is impressive and important, but it is only the beginning of the sea change we must see in our communities.

May we, as American Jews, do all we can to eradicate abuse in our communities, and may we make clear to all that Judaism is against all abuse, is in favor of attacking this ill with all fervor; and sees those who commit or cover up such as crimes as going against the laws and spirit of the Torah. May Rabbi Rosenberg be speedily and completely healed and continue his fight for justice with success and in peace; and may he find many to join him in his holy quest.

Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz is the Founder and President of “>Jewish Ethics & Social Justice: A Guide for the 21st Century.” Newsweek named Rav Shmuly