US Haredi Rabbis Join Forces to Tackle Child Abuse

UNITED STATES
Arutz Sheva

Over one hundred prominent haredi rabbis and Jewish educators from across the United States have signed a landmark public pronouncement, urging the public to help combat the scourge of sexual abuse.

The kol koreh (public pronouncement) has already garnered 108 signatures, affirming the obligation under Jewish law to immediately report and notify secular law enforcement when a reasonable suspicion of child abuse exists.

While there is no indication of higher levels of abuse within the haredi Jewish community than among the wider public, victims rights activists and victims of abuse themselves have long complained that too often cases are not dealt with properly, due in part to some community leaders preferring to deal with abuse themselves instead of reporting it to police.

In some cases, abusers have even been encouraged to leave the country on a self-imposed “exile,” thus evading police while remaining free to carry out their crimes elsewhere.

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