ISRAEL
Times of Israel

Israel’s Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi David Lau on Sunday said members of the ultra-Orthodox community had an “obligation” to treat cases of child abuse and said the issue must not “be swept under the rug.”

In an open letter, the chief rabbi implied that such crimes should be reported to the authorities, but stopped short of explicitly calling for police involvement.

“Under no circumstances may these awful matters be swept under the carpet or be ignored. If they are not stopped, they can cause damage to many other people,” Lau wrote.

“At this time, it is an obligation for all parents, teachers, family members and anyone working in education, to keep their eyes open and to offer as much help as possible to those in need. Burying one’s head in the sand is not the [correct] response to these difficult and painful topics,” Lau wrote.

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