Rabbi Barry Freundel Quits Post at Towson University
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Rabbi Barry Freundel, who pleaded guilty to voyeurism charges, has resigned as a professor at Towson University in Maryland.
Freundel submitted his letter of resignation to the suburban Baltimore university on Thursday, Towson spokesman Ray Feldmann told the Baltimore Sun.
His resignation is effective March 27. Freundel had taught ethics and religion since 2009 and was tenured. He was on paid leave since his arrest in October.
Last week, Freundel pleaded guilty to 52 counts of misdemeanor voyeurism for videotaping women undressing in the mikvah at his prominent Washington synagogue, Kesher Israel. He is facing a maximum penalty of 52 years in prison and tens of thousands of dollars in fines when he is sentenced in Washington Superior Court on May 15.
Investigators discovered secret cameras installed in the mikvah shower room and additional recording devices in his home.
Kesher Israel, an Orthodox congregation, has fired Freundel, 63, and ordered him to vacate its rabbinic residence. He reportedly will leave the home in early March.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news. All donations are still being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000 until April 24.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
