Rabbi Barry Freundel Fired by Kesher Israel
Rabbi Barry Freundel has officially been fired from his post at Kesher Israel over sensational charges he used a hidden camera to peep on women in the Washington D.C. synagogue’s mikveh.
Freundel was arrested in mid-October and had been suspended from the Congregation without pay ever since.
Due to the decision, Freundel and his family are also being asked to leave the rabbinic residence by the end of the year.
The congregation board of directors announced on Sunday it terminated the rabbi’s contract. The announcement, that was sent by email, also stated that the “alleged acts were a gross violation of law, privacy, Halakha, and trust. They breached the high moral and ethical standards we set for ourselves and for our leadership.”
The decision, according to the statement, was made by the board last week, “under extraordinary difficult and unfortunate circumstances.”
The 62-year-old Freundel was charged in October after police found footage of six different naked women, as well as images Freundel himself setting up the camera. He was charged with six counts of misdemeanor voyeurism and is now awaiting trial.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Right now, we’re in the middle of our Passover Pledge Drive and we need 500 people to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Our Goal: 500 gifts during our Passover Pledge Drive!
