UNITED STATES
Emes Ve-Emunah
Guest Post by Rabbi Yosef Blau
One of the strongest advocates for victims of sex abuse is Rabbi Yosef Blau, Mashgiach Ruchani of Yeshivas Rabbenu Yitzchok Elchanan (YU). I received the following a submission of a short post generated by the scandal in the seminaries owned and operated by sex abuser Elimelech Meisels. I am honored to do so. It follows:
Sexual abuse is criminal behavior and the police should be contacted. This does not imply that there is no role for the rabbinate and the community leaders in confronting abuse. In many cases the victims are unwilling to cooperate with the police often because of community pressures. Even when they do there is a need to remove an accused offender from a position where he is a potential danger before the slow process of a police investigation and prosecution is completed.
The recent case of the head of a seminary in Israel accused of sexual misconduct with students is an example of the need for rabbinic action. While according to Israeli law the behavior is illegal it is unlikely that American students, who have returned home and know little Hebrew, will go to the Israeli police. Only pressure from an external דין בית will cause the offender to resign his position.
Since he created the school and chose its staff a thorough investigation of the circumstances is necessary to determine if others were negligent and guilty of enabling the abuse or covering it up. This would require speaking first to all the students who were abused or witnessed any questionable behavior and to ascertain if they informed anyone on staff of their concerns.
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