NEW YORK
Jewish Link
THURSDAY, 11 JUNE 2015 06:28 BY PHIL JACOBS
It’s been a week of emails, petitions, articles, comments and more emails.
Riverdale Jewish Center members have experienced any number of statements concerning Rabbi Jonathan Rosenblatt and his very future as the shul’s spiritual leader.
First came the May 31 New York Times article covering the rabbi’s practice of playing squash, showering and then sitting in the sauna with youths to young men over the years.
RJC’s Executive Committee released a letter June 2 to its membership directed at the Times article.
“As you know, Rabbi Rosenblatt is a highly respected member of the community who has given decades of devoted service to the Riverdale Jewish Center and its members,” reads a paragraph from the statement. “That said, we take any allegations of impropriety very seriously. Years ago when RJC leadership heard rumors about the Rabbi’s alleged interactions surrounding athletic activities, the details were assessed and no evidence of misconduct was found. In order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety as to such activities, in the 2011 time frame the Rabbinical Council of America issued explicit guidelines regarding participation in athletic activities by clergy. The RJC has followed those guidelines.
“It bears emphasis that as far as we are aware, Rabbi Rosenblatt has fully complied with the guidelines, and there is nothing in The New York Times article that indicates otherwise. Significantly, if we ever saw evidence to the contrary, we would of course take appropriate measures.”
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