AUSTRALIA
The Jewish Press
Australian Holocaust survivors are furious with US-based Rabbi Manis Freidman for apologizing for comparing sexual abuse with diarrhea but not for expressing regret for remarks he made around 30 years ago that the Nazis should not be blamed for the Holocaust because it was part of a Divine plan.
Rabbi Friedman recently posted a YouTube, which since has been removed, in which he stated that that sexual abuse, like diarrhea, “should be kept private and that victims of abuse are that damaged.”
He had said in the clip that anyone who abuses others sexually can do mitzvot to atone for his acts and that the victim must get over the abuse. “[If} You’ve learned that not every uncle is your best friend, you’ve learned an important lesson,” according to him.
Rabbi Friedman apologized for his “completely inappropriate use of language,” called sexual abuse one of the “worst crimes imaginable” and added that perpetrators of molestation should be prosecuted by the police.
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