Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Join the 2% of readers!SUPPORT OUR WORK!
Fast Forward

Connecticut Yeshiva Embroiled In Sexual Abuse Controversy Is Not Certified

(JTA) — A Connecticut yeshiva whose founding rabbi was ordered to pay $20 million to a former student who claimed he was raped by the rabbi is operating without proper certification, the state said.

The school came under additional scrutiny from state regulatory agencies last month after a federal jury ordered Rabbi Daniel Greer and the Yeshiva of New Haven to pay Eliyahu Mirlis $15 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages in a civil lawsuit filed last year.

The yeshiva has not filed any paperwork with the state since 2011 and never received permission to operate as a boarding school, the New Haven Independent reported.

The newspaper reported that the school lost most of its students in 2016 when news of Greer’s alleged molestation became public. Today the students come from outside the state and the school is under new management.

Mirlis claimed the sexual abuse occurred for three years when he was a student at the yeshiva from 2001 to 2005. He said it took place on school grounds and in Greer’s home.

Are you one of our 2%?

Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.

But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses  —  take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.

Don’t just read the Forward — invest in it. Support our work today!

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:

  • Credit the Forward
  • Retain our pixel
  • Preserve our canonical link in Google search
  • Add a noindex tag in Google search

See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.