Australian Chabad Rabbi Resigns Over Sex Abuse Scandal
The chief rabbi at Chabad headquarters in Melbourne resigned, apologizing for his conduct toward victims of child sexual abuse and their families.
“I recognize that my conduct towards victims and their families did not demonstrate … behavior to the extent necessary of a rabbi in my position,” Rabbi Tzvi Telsner wrote in an open letter Tuesday. “We all must be aware of how our words and actions impact on others and therefore would like to take this opportunity to apologize for my conduct and urge everyone to show compassion and support towards victims and their families throughout the moised [institution] and broader community.”
Telsner had been under mounting pressure to resign following his testimony in February at the Royal Commission, a government inquiry into how Chabad responded to the child sex abuse scandal in Sydney and Melbourne.
During the hearing, Telsner was accused of orchestrating the shunning of whistleblowers and their families, having warned his flock against speaking to police or the media without the permission of a rabbi. He also claimed pedophiles and gays could be cured.
Last week, Telsner was embroiled in a heated exchange with a victim of child sexual abuse, which is understood to have triggered his resignation.
Manny Waks, the only Jewish victim in Australia to go public, posted Tuesday on Facebook, “Finally. The news we have all been awaiting … We feel vindicated. We feel that justice has prevailed.”
Telsner is the fourth rabbi to resign in the wake of the Royal Commission. Three men associated with Chabad in Sydney and Melbourne were convicted of child sex crimes dating back to the late 1980s.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
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 the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
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.
