Marc Gafni

By Ari Feldman August 23, 2019

Yeshiva University is being sued for employing Rabbi Marc Gafni, a spiritual leader accused of sexual abuse of a minor, in a civil suit filed in New York this month.

The suit is being brought under the Child Victims Act, a law passed earlier this year which extends the statute of limitations on civil suits for sexual abuse and opened a year-long look back period earlier this month during which suits that were dismissed because they exceeded the statute of limitations can be refiled.

Gafni, who is also named as a defendant in the suit, has been followed by accusations of sexual abuse of minors for years. He has been defended by his employers and supporters, and has received positive media attention, despite repeated accusations of abuse against him. In 2018 he appeared on the TV show “Dr. Phil.”

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

In an affidavit filed with the suit, the anonymous plaintiff alleges that, when she was 16, Gafni repeatedly fondled her genitalia and forced her to perform sex acts for him, while performing “acts of stalking, intimidation and sexual harassment.” The plaintiff alleges that as a result of the abuse she continues to suffer significant psychological turmoil.

Yeshiva University allegedly employed Gafni in the 1980s as a youth group teacher in its Jewish Public School Youth Program.

This week, 38 people filed a civil suit against Yeshiva University for alleged sexual abuse suffered by teachers and administrators employed by Yeshiva University over a period of several decades.

Ari Feldman is a staff writer at the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @aefeldman

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

2X match on all Passover gifts!

$90 → $180 $180 → $360

$360 → $720

Other amount