Child welfare officials have substantiated allegations of sexual abuse of children at a prominent Washington, D.C., synagogue, according to a report from CNN. CNN obtained a cease-and-desist letter from the superintendent of schools for D.C. through a Freedom of Information Act request. The letter says that officials from the Child and Family Services Agency for…
A major Reform temple in Washington, D.C. and its preschool principal have been sued by eight families who allege that a preschool teacher there sexually abused their children. The 239-page lawsuit was filed Monday against Washington Hebrew Congregation, one of the biggest synagogues in the United States. (Full disclosure: I worked at their Sunday school…
In fewer than 6 months, God willing, I will be ordained as an Orthodox rabbi. I am becoming a rabbi because I believe that rabbis play an important role in empowering and building strong Jewish communities. It is for this reason that I am ashamed and angry when rabbis of my denomination undermine that mission…
A German former member of a Nazi pedophile sect, who was convicted in Chile, will not be sent to jail for complicity in child sex abuse because of the countries’ differing judicial standards, the Guardian reported. Hartmut Hopp, 74, will not be sentenced because the evidence provided in the Chilean court wasn’t strong enough by…
(JTA) — Police in Washington, D.C., are investigating allegations of child sexual abuse at a synagogue preschool. The Washington Hebrew Congregation sent a letter on Aug. 19 informing parents that a staff member had been placed on administrative leave over allegations that the employee at the Edlavitch-Tyser Early Childhood Center “may have engaged in inappropriate…
In recent years, some horrible stories of child sexual abuse in Orthodox settings, such as schools and summer camps, have rocked the religious Jewish community. A phenomenon that used to be underreported and largely taboo has come to light, and the fact that people are now speaking and writing about it more and more in…
Almost exactly two years ago, I basically left my local Jewish community. I removed myself from every Facebook group and stopped attending local events, playgroups and more. The reason? A local rabbi, Aryeh Goodman, had been released from prison, after he served time for inappropriately touching a minor while working at a summer camp in…
While learning in the Mir Yeshiva in Jerusalem, my study partner and I attended a lecture from the great Jewish thinker, Rabbi Moshe Shapiro. Later that week, we saw him at the Western Wall praying with the sunrise. My friend asked him a question on the lecture he had given earlier in the week. Rabbi…
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