NEW YORK
The New York Times
By ANDY NEWMAN
JUNE 11, 2015
The prominent rabbi of a Bronx synagogue who has been the focus of attention for having taken boys and young men to the sauna naked is negotiating a buyout and expects to reach an agreement to step down “in the near future,” his lawyer said on Thursday.
The rabbi, Jonathan Rosenblatt of the Riverdale Jewish Center, anticipates a “very fair” settlement that recognizes his 30 years as the leader of the 700-member Modern Orthodox synagogue, his lawyer Benjamin Brafman said in a statement.
The synagogue board told congregation members on Tuesday that it had voted to try to “achieve an amicable resolution with Rabbi Rosenblatt.”
Rabbi Rosenblatt, 58, has three years left on his contract, Mr. Brafman said. He and synagogue officials declined to say how much the rabbi’s salary is.
For at least 25 years, Rabbi Rosenblatt would take younger male members of his congregation, other young men and rabbinical interns to play squash and then to the shower and sauna where, often naked, he would engage them in long talks that he described as critical to his mentoring process.
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