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Columbus Dispatch

Columbus Jewish Film Festival

As he sat in a synagogue listening to sexual-abuse survivors pour out their hearts, Phil Jacobs was moved.

As an observant Orthodox Jew, he was shocked to hear, in 2006, tales of people being abused by rabbis, friends and camp counselors.

As a journalist, he knew he had an important story.

As the survivor of a sexual assault by a camp counselor at age 14, his heart went out to the victims. Then came his turn to speak.

“I heard myself tell them for 10 minutes what had happened to me,” said Jacobs, 59. “There was one particular guy in the group who got up and said, ‘It doesn’t matter what we say or do here, but nobody’s going to listen to us and nothing’s going to change. It will all be covered up.’

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