A new low. In Melbourne rabbis are threatening victims of child sex abuse in order to intimidate them out of reporting the abuse.
During a conversation with the victim the rabbi allegedly told him reporting the abuse now would do nothing but destroy the life of the alleged sexual perpetrator and his children.
“In cases like this, that are such a long time ago … the proper approach is to let him go,” he said.
Other shocking suggestions made by the rabbi included:
TELLING the victim he had invited the abuse because he wasn’t religious enough
SAYING children as young as five were abused because they were obsessed with sex, including with animals
ADMITTING he knew about allegations of abuse by the alleged perpetrator several years before the victim was allegedly abused.
Wow.
It is understood the alleged perpetrator continued to offend for several years before ultimately relocating overseas.
In defending his decision not to report the alleged assaults to authorities the rabbi said he believed the attacks were consensual.
“We are talking about very young boys and everyone is saying they agreed to this,” he said.
Godalmighty! Very young children and “they agreed” so…
Unbelievable.
Power. Mind control. Makes them drunk with it.
It’s just sickening. It’s not limited to Melbourne either. Jerusalem, London, Manchester, New York, New Jersey, Paris, etc.
This is what happens in closed, secretive cultures. Where three year old girls are considered to be sexual temptresses in need of whole-body coverings, where every act of sexual predation is the fault of the victim, where children are kept so deliberately ignorant that when they are molested, they can’t tell anyone. Not just because of their cult’s version of omerta, but because they don’t know what their body parts are called. To them, everything below the waist is “leg”.
The lid needs to be blown right off this. From secular authorities *cough*New York DA*cough* allowing rabbis to take care of punishing men who rape children, to communities openly promoting disgusting and dangerous practices like Metzitzah b’peh while health depts refuse to take real action, because they’ve been threatened with the promise of rioting black-hatters screaming “Anti-Semite!”
It’s got to stop. The rabbis are clamping down hard with threats, blackmail, banning internet, mobile phones, books, magazines, newspapers. They can get away with it, because those on the inside are terrified of both their leaders and the evil, licentious goyim, and outsiders are scared of being labelled as intolerant anti-Semites.
And all the while, women and children are being crushed.
It makes me ill.
This is horrific. So much so there’s simply nothing I can, or would want to say about it directly. But it did make me think about the opposite reaction to abuse revelations which is possible, but which I’ve never heard from a senior cleric of any religion.
Have I missed it?
How is it possible that, over the many years these things have been coming out no Bishop, Archbishop, Pope or senior Rabbi/Imam has ever said:
Of course this is damaging to our image as a religion, but more importantly children have had their entire lives ruined by people they, and we, trusted. It is an affront to God that innocent children have been abused by those working under his roof. We cannot change the past, but we can, and we must, do everything within our power to help these victims heal as far as they are able and to ensure there are no more victims in the future.
To achieve the former there must first be a full and thorough investigation by the proper authorities. If there are more victims out there, I encourage them to go to the police. You will not be ignored. You will not be blamed. These horrible things were done to you, not by you. Come forward and seek justice against these men who have defiled our religion.
To achieve the latter we must ensure there are no safe havens within our church for those who would prey on the weak and the vulnerable. Such monsters may exist anywhere in human society and we may never be totally rid of them, but every step should be taken to keep them out of the church and to root out any who remain. To this end I will work with any knowledgeable experts and all relevant civil authorities to implement safeguarding measures.
How can they not see that something along those lines is not just the only reasonable human response to such a widespread and apparently ingrained problem, but quite simply good PR? Not that I particularly want them to have good PR, but I could live with them gaining a few brownie points if the end result also produced a measure of justice and reduced sexual abuse by even a tiny bit.
@3:
I completely agree.
I’m surprised that no one has come forth and made such a statement.
Another thing I just don’t get–>how is it that adults bear no responsibility for their actions. Children or teens are the ones that led on the adult.
Children or teens flirted with the adult.
I don’t get victim blaming of any sort, but this takes the cake. You’re blaming a *child* for being raped or abused. What, the poor priest is the victim?? The child gets off scot free and gets to live their lives without taking responsibility for leading on the adult? Do idiots like this rabbi think this is how it works?
Gimme a fucking break.
If you rape someone or abuse someone it’s YOUR fault. FFS how is this that difficult to understand?
#3, yes you’ve missed at least one bishop:
@ABCReligion tweeted: RT @eleanorhall1: Listen 12:10 Bishop condemns #Pell, as “embarrassment” who shd no longer speak for Church on sex abuse @amworldtodaypm
#4, this isn’t about misunderstandings. This is about their church’s policies matching their catholic approach to morality.
Yes catholics misunderstand rape. Most australians misunderstand rape. Ignorance and denial are rife.
But in addition, australian clergy (like Pell) are trained to think of morality in terms of catholic fictions — including that their church rules are a moral authority above themselves. Hence their christianity is their defence for not reporting accused clergymen to the australian police.
That “special” approach to insiders has evidently made bible-based organisations uniquely problematic. (Catholics six times more likely…).
Does this rabbi have any clue what Royal Commission investigators can do to him?
I think he’ll find out. And if he nicks off overseas to avoid them, I’m pretty sure that the Commission’s emphasis on systemic and institutional responsibilities will put the other senior synagogue and school officials under intense scrutiny.
They knew the rumours. They knew some details. They knew.
And they did nothing. Couldn’t happen to a better bunch of b*****ds in my view.
#6 doesn’t that depend on the agreed Terms of Reference?
And twitter informs me that religious organisations are already being consulted to help draft that. For better or worse.
From wikipedia…
“A Royal Commissioner has considerable powers, generally greater even than those of a judge but restricted to the Terms of Reference of the Commission.
…
In practice—unlike lesser forms of inquiry—once a Commission has started the government cannot stop it. Consequently governments are usually very careful about framing the Terms of Reference and generally include in them a date by which the commission must finish.
…
Many Royal Commissions last many years and, often, a different government is left to respond to the findings.
In Australia—and particularly New South Wales—Royal Commissions have been investigations into police and government corruption and organised crime using the very broad coercive powers of the Royal Commissioner to defeat the protective systems that powerful, but corrupt, public officials had used to shield themselves from conventional investigation.
Royal Commissions are usually chaired by one or more notable figures. Because of their quasi-judicial powers the Commissioners are often retired senior judges.
…
The results of Royal Commissions are published in, often, massive reports of findings containing policy recommendations. (Due to the verbose nature of the titles of these formal documents – for example, the Royal commission into whether there has been corrupt or criminal conduct by any Western Australian Police Officer – they are commonly known by the name of the principal Commissioner.) While these reports are often quite influential, with the government enacting some or all recommendations into law, the work of some Commissions have been almost completely ignored by the government.
In other cases, where the Commissioner has departed from the Warranted terms, the commission has been dissolved by a superior court.“
@4. The more powerful almost always try to shift the blame onto the less powerful. As in, “It’s teeh rich wot gets the pleasure, it’s the poor wot get’s the blame,” and, “A woman’s place is in the wrong.” This is a particularly sickening example, but it’s the same basic dynamic.
“SAYING children as young as five were abused because they were obsessed with sex, including with animals”
That’s called ‘projection’ isn’t it?
AsqJames #3, that’s the only response a decent human being could make, and the only one that any decent human being could respect.
Rarer than hen’s teeth, apparently. Abusers and their protectors, in any religion (or other powerful clique), all lower than pond scum.
@No Light
And that doesn’t even begin to make sense unless the story is all about the abusers. Are the children that law enforcement is charged with protecting not Jewish?
Jesus fucking christ.
This certainly justifies insisting that the commission NOT limit itself to the Catholic church.
There is something reflexive about the way institutions defend themselves against inconvenient truth. I think this is another example of the same tendency we have seen around elevatorgate. People simply refuse to see evil in their midst.
@11:
First, very briefly, as you’ll see in the post, yes. It’s all about the abusers, who are the victims of sex-obsessed children.
Nothing else matters except their reputation. Reputation is everything in the frum world.
If you admit to being raped or abused, that’s it for you. You’ll never marry, your siblings will never marry, if any of your female relatives work (men typically don’t work) then they’ll probably lose their jobs. If you have school-aged siblings or children of your own, they’ll be thrown out of their school. Meanwhile, posters will be put up around the neighbourhood denouncing you as an evil pervert who’s intent on destroying the life, marriage and reputation of an ehrliche yid (a good Jew).
Fundraisers will be organised to help him, parties will be thrown in his honour, and if you show any outward sign of being affected by this? It’s your guilt. If you look like you’re not affected? Proof that you’re a liar.
Google “Nechemya Weberman”
OK, onto accusations of anti-Semitism,
To the frum, that’s a magical incantation that can make any secular authorities run away. Jewish children being abused by Jewish men? Why can’t these anti-Semitic Goyim stop meddling in our business? Non-Jewish child being molested by a Jewish man? It’s a frame-up by anti-Semites!
Babies dying of genital herpes, or becoming irreparably brain-damaged after contracting it from the Metzitzah b’peh performed at their circumcision., and you’re a health dept official who wants to investigate it? Evil anti-Semite, twisting our beautiful traditions, blood libel! Holocaust!
The spectre of Abe Foxman can be summoned with a click of the fingers.
It’ll go the same way in Australia. They’ll scream, riot, dress their kids up in striped pyjamas with yellow stars on them, in the sure and certain hope that people will cough, turn away, and go back to looking at. the catholics.
I mean, who ever heard of a network of abusive religious Jews being protected by their rabbis?
See also “Islamophobe”
“Reporting the abuse now would do nothing but destroy the life of the alleged sexual perpetrator”
This would be bad why?
As for destroying the lives of his children, it’s possible that he has sexually abused them or will in the future so reporting could do those kids some good. Even if he doesn’t harm his own children he might still reoffend with others.