On Wednesday,  February 20, the community is invited to attend an evening focused on the issue of child molestation.
It is set for 8 p.m. at Congregation Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion, 6600 Park Heights Avenue.
The program is organized by the The Institute for Advanced Professional Training at the Ohel Children’s Home and Family Services.
It is called “How to Keep Our Children Safe.”
Rabbi Dovid Gottlieb, spiritual leader of Congregation Shomrei Emunah, and a person who is taking a leadership role in this issue, strongly advises that this event is not just an Orthodox event, but its benefits are available to the entire Jewish community.
The evening’s keynote speaker will be Dr. David Pelcovitz, who as Gwendolyn and Joseph Straus Chair in Jewish Education of Yeshiva University’s Azrieli School of Jewish Education, has publicly tackled these sensitive issues before.
According to Rabbi Gottlieb, there is no admission cost.
This is an opportunity for the community to come together. For some it could be an evening offering a pathway of healing.
For others it could be an evening of validation.
If anything, if this is an area of concern for you and your family, please make plans to attend.
A great deal of behind-the-scenes work went into putting this effort together.
It is a sincere step forward.
It is my hope and prayer that follow-through and follow-up suggestions and opportunities will be made available. And that we can all take steps, whatever they may be, towards a refuah (healing).

Emily - Kol Hakavod!  You should be extremely proud of your father.  History will show that he is a true Jewish hero for standing up for Jewish children, even as many very ill people in positions of great power in our community fought him every step of the way. 

1) Rabbi Heineman telling his congregation not to boycott the paper.

2) Orthodox business establishments being encouraged by rabbis to stop advertising in the BJT.

3) Personal and painful attacks by “chshuve” baal habatim in the community who, in their hlier than thou perspective are sticking up for kavod hatorah by trying to protect the reputations of rabbis who molest children, completely oblivious to the pain and suffering these rabbis have caused. 

The rabbis have blood on their hands, and their supporters are acting in an unconscionable way.  I wish your father continued success and strength as he shows us how to be like Mordechai in the time of Haman who was “Lo Yichreh V’lo Yishtachaveh”.  He did not bow or bend to power, money or evil.  He stood up for what was right!

Emily, your father should wear the verbal abuse he receives as a badge of honor.  The fact that he is villified by the Establishment and their ilk proves that he has made a tremendous impact.  The entire Jewish community owes your father a debt of gratitude, not only the Baltimore community.  His willingness to speak out on a subject that has been swept under the carpet for decades has given strength and support to countless victims.  You should be very proud of his accomplishments and you do not have to answer every demented molester apologist that appears on this blog.  These people are the ones that give molesters the freedom to pursue new victims.  Baruch Hashem we have people like your father and bloggers like UOJ who say “enough already” and that it’s time to put an end to this plague.

For those of you that say that Phil is writing these stories because of “personal revenge"and personal hatred towards a certain rabbi is absolutely ridiculous. Do you even know Phil Jacobs? How would you know if he has a personal problem with someone? YOU the ones that are COVERING UP the horrible people that have molested hundreds of innocent people should be ashamed of yourself. Just because someone is a rabbi does not mean they are a good person! It doesnt mean that it is impossible for them to commit a terrible act like sexual molestation. WAKE UP!!!!!!!!

“Is this a credible journalist? It’s a scandal and a disgrace and unfortunately a story just one would expect from the “Jewish” times and it’s editor Mr. Jacobs.” In response to this oh so brave man who didn’t even put his full name on this comment , it is not the Jewish Times you should be questioning but it is your own Judaism. How are you going to sit there and say that these stories aren’t factual? That Phil made them up? What reason would he have to do that? You are absolutely insane in thinking that Phil is a malicious person, take it from someone who knows him personally . You Shmuel are a disgrace to the jewish community, not Phil Jacobs.

“Phil, all you have been doing is wining and dining those you think you can manipulate or use in some way to promote yourself.

Phil, “your poor, poor, pitiful me act” will only take you so far. If you really want to be an advocate for those who have been sexually violated get up off your pity potty and start acting like a man.” 

Once again, why don’t you have the courage to put your name at the end of this comment? If you believe in this so strongly you why don’t you want everyone to know who you are? You are a coward that’s why. You say that Phil should start acting like a man? How about going up an entire community and doing what is right in uncovering these terrible acts and terrible people? You say Phil wants to promote himself? once again DO YOU KNOW PHIL JACOBS? obviously not because that is not the kind of person he is. In response to :
Phil, “your poor, poor, pitiful me act” will only take you so far”. Have YOU been sexually molested? Do you know what it is like for someone that has been sexually molested to be open about it? What kind of courage that takes? Do you know how many people these stories have helped heal?

Every single person in the Baltimore Jewish Community should be thanking Phil Jacobs, not calling him a lier or shunning him. He has had the courage to write the truth. The fact that you are so blind and brain washed that you can’t admit these things have happened is appalling. For those of you that do support my father in every thing he is doing, it is wonderful that there are people out there that know the truth. Let’s keep supporting such a wonderful man.

I found a recording of the gathering here - http://www.torahmedia.com/catalog_profile.php?pid=2726

For parents who would like to learn more about the problem of abuse in the Jewish community, a good resource can be found at Rabbihorowitz.com.  Rabbi Yaakov Horowitz is the director of Project Yes of the Agudas Yisroel of America, an organization that has helped hundreds of at-risk teens.  He has published several articles about sexual abuse in our community including most recently in Mishpacha magazine.  On his website, there is a comment section in which a fascinating discussion has been taking place bringing together proffessionals including Dr. Bentzion Twersky, rabbis like Rabbi Yosef Blau and Rabbi Horowitz, parents of victims and adult survivors of abuse, and attorneys such as Elliot Passik who are involved in legislative efforts to protect children.  I work as a psychotherapist in the frum community specializing in treating both victims and perpetrators of abuse.  I have found the conversation on Rabbi Horowitz’s website enlightening and leading to many interesting and helpful ideas for parents, clinicians and people who care about the issue.

What’s the big need for an educational evening?  Parents should call the police, and rabbis who know about it should do likewise instead of covering up.  This was covered in the letter they sent out.  Did you not get the memo?  Or what part of “No more coverups!” didn’t you understand?

What we need is for an evening training the rabbis on how to listen to victims and not sweep their stories under the carpet like in the past. Parents know what to do, but the community does not let them do it.  Parents and children complained about Rabbi Eiseman, and about Rabbi Eisgrau and about others and were shushed.  Phil informs the public and is ostracized.  There is not such a big need to teach parents about sexual abuse.  There is a HUGE need to teach our leaders common sense and common decency.

Yahser Koach for outing me!(Maybe?) As if it matters if I am a survivor or have just heard from them their terrible stories.  Now how about answering the question I asked?  I think it is reasonable, no? 

Everyone has attacked Phil Jacobs for writing a story without interviewing real victims.  Question:  For the sake of argument, lets say Rabbi Eismenan did molest.  Or any other rabbi.  Or anyone else esteemed in the community.  I think we all agree that this does happen at times.  The upcoming extradition from Israel, and the arrest of a rabbi in Brooklyn, and the arrest of Y. Shapiro in Baltimore, show that this could happen, right?

OK.  So lets say Eiseman did it, just for argument.  How exactly could his victims talk to Phil Jacobs?  They know they would get tarred and feathered by the Baltimore community and the Yeshivah.  They know that Rabbi Hopfer and the Yeshiva, and the Vaad Harabanim have decided to cover it up and if they want to publicize it to protect the bochurim and children of Baltimore, they will be going against Daas Torah the cardinal sin of , well…kool-aid drinkers.  They cannot simply say the truth that the emperor has no clothes and the community is being lied to by Rabbi Eiseman, the yeshiva, and the rabbanim, because they will be attacked. 

EVEN if they go to Phil ANONYMOUSLY, the yeshiva will know who they are and try to hurt them as has been proven time and again.  And if they don’t give their names, peopl will say Phil made it up.  If they do give their names, they are risking even worse.  The community will begin to scrutinize them, their charachter, etc.  Of course, the simplest thing would be when in doubt, to have Rabbi Eiseman be given an evaluation by a forensic psychologist to see if he has a problem and has done anything harmful. But that is not what the community does.  It attacks the victims and does not hear the cries of their pain. 

So, again, I ask, what should they do?  Don’t say go to Rabbi Hopfer or the yeshiva again, because they’ve tried that.  Don’t say go to other rabbis, the other rabbis know and don’t want to get involved.  They have attacked Phil privately and publicly for trying to warn the community.  How many parents have even bothered to pick up the phone and ask the yeshiva if they are investigating and how?  How many asked if they have procedures in place for how to handle this kind of problem, like those instituted at T.A.?  Or those suggested by the RCA?  Or even the meager efforts at a procedure offered by Torah Umesorah?  How many Baltimore frum people who are rachmanim, bnei rachmanim, have done the simple act of asking the yeshiva if they care enough to have R. Eiseman evaluated and treated, and if it is true would they inform the parents of the yeshiva boys? 

This is what drives us bloggers crazy.  Where are the Jewish parents who love their children?  Do they love their rabbis and yeshiva more?  How can that be.  klal yisroel has existed for thousands of years without any particular rabbi or yeshiva.  But when our society stops caring about our children, we are in DEEP trouble.

So instead of trying to “out” us bloggers, like so many before you, why not come up with some answers to some difficult questions.  Thanks everyone.

The link got corrupted - just go to http://www.google.com and put this in instead:

kool-aid site:unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com

Thank you UOJ. Labeling yourself as an “Eisemann Victim” doesn’t lend any truth to this either. Maybe use a new metaphor and we might even believe you for a second -

Not proof, but telling -
http://www.google.com/search?&q=kool-aid+site:unorthodoxjew.blogspot.com

Did it ever occur to any of you Baltimore “kool-aid drinkers” (as in Jim Jones, following the rabbis blindldy, that the reason us survivors have not come forward is because the Baltimore community does not really care about child abuse, and is more interested in protecting its rabbis and institutions and the image of the community then they are about protecting its helpless children.  Achzarius, sheayn Kamohu.  So, if any victim anounces his story, he will not only be disbelieved and called a liar, he will be threatened, humiliated, blamed, ostracized, all the things you would think would happen in a normal society to a child molester.  In Baltimore, the parents and rabbis would rather do this to the victims.  So why exactly should a victim come forward and risk his neck to save YOUR children?  We already saw how you treated Phil for his article trying to protect you.  Did even ONE of you parents think to call Rabbi Eiseman yourself and ask him what this is all about?  Did anybody call R’ Sheftel or R’ Berrel, or Rabbi Hopfer?  Did you ask your own rabbi to find out for you?  How many parents of Ner Yisroel students did ANY kind of investigation after the allegations were made.  NOT too many.  I know because if they had, the truth would have come out on its own.  There is just so much coverup and lying that could go on.  So…nobody wants to know the truth.  Its too painful.  So instead, the kinderlach are left to their own devices.  The parents at the event will be told to talk to their children about how to keep safe, but if a child complains of a rebby molesting him, what will be done if NOBODY wants to believe it?  What is the point of teaching your children what to do, if when they do it, you won’t stand up for them and do something?  You won’t even make sure that the schools you send them too are safe?  Until the community DEMANDS to hear from the victims of Eiseman, and DEMANDS to have their children protected by the powers that be, you will have accomplished nothing.  Maybe when Mashiach comes….

The reason you need to make a call to get survivors of R’ Eisemann is because they don’t exist. They haven’t come forward because they’re just a figment of someone’s imagination. Your calls to invite them to come out of the closet don’t make them any more real. Just give up on it already. Phil already embarassed himself with the empty R’ Eisemann article. He’s clean. Admit it and go on with life.

I want to encourage all of the survivors of rav Eisemann to do the right thing.  There is no statute of limitations on sex crimes against children in the state of Maryland.  This means that you are some of the few adult survivors who might actually have the opportunity to see your offender tried in a criminal court.

Prior to going to the news media it is critical for you to make a police report.  We do not want any of your evidence to be tampered with.

If you need help making a police report call TurnAround or the Awareness Center. I believe either organization will either walk you through the process or go with you to make sure your rights are protected.

If you really want to do something to protect other children from being harmed by this alleged sexual preditor do the right thing and report his crimes to the police. Once you make a police report the vaad will have to make serious changes in the way things are handled.

Remember you are NOT alone.  You do not have to file a police report alone.

I know you guys are out there and trying to figure out what to do.  I know you are afraid of the repercussions of stating you were molested by this very powerful and highly protected rav.  We need you to do the right thing and file a police report.  Believe it or not it will help you with your childhood depression and fears.  You no longer have to keep your secret.  You no longer have to feel shame.  Please, I beg of you make a police report today!!!!

Stop With Rabbi Eisemann, He is innocent. Didn’t you read Phil’s ridiculous attempt to accuse him almost a year ago. Phil is both sick with revenge and blinded by his personal hatred for Rabbi Eisemann.

I did find a quote from it in one of the comments.( http://blogs.jewishtimes.com/index.php/jewishtimes/philjacobs_comments/4621/ )

In case the link gets deleted it is a quote from a comment from September 2007, There Was A Time,

PHIL, I REALLY THINK YOU THINK YOU ARE PROTECTING PPLE FROM ABUSERS. BUT YOU HAVE LOST YOUR WAY IMMENSELY AND HAVE BECOME A TRUE ABUSER YOURSELF, JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PERSONAL VENDETTA AGAINST RAV EISEMANN FOR THIS: (QUOTED FROM YOUR BLOG ENTRY ON)
�I chair a once-a-year shul function. I am directed each year by my rabbi to call an individual of his choosing. That individual receives an $800-$1,000 honoraria from the Pearlstone Foundation through the Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore. The scholar-in-residence comes to shul, usually speaks on a Friday night and a Shabbat afternoon.
Years ago when this program was in its infancy I invited a respected yeshiva rabbi to be our speaker.
When he got up to speak, instead of first addressing the issue of the day, he went off on a tangent, attacking me by name and my rabbi by name. Why? Because on the Associated�s Pearlstone brochure publicizing the various scholar-in-residence programs, his name was listed along side a noted lesbian feminist, who was performing at a nearby synagogue.
The rabbi absolutely attacked us, insisting that had known he would be on the same list as the woman, he never would have accepted the gig at our shul.�

Guess who the Rabbi is? Rabbi E.

Is this a credible journalist? It’s a scandal and a disgrace and unfortunately a story just one would expect from the “Jewish” times and it’s editor Mr. Jacobs.

Poor Phil. . .
He’s been going around for months to various people letting them know how difficult it has been for him ever since started publishing the series on sexual abuse within the eruv of Baltimore.

I can’t buy into his horror that he didn’t realize that those with power and affluence wouldn’t like it?

For years he’s been spoon fed various stories, yet refused to write about them. He was too afraid. He knew what the ramifications would be.

Phil Jacobs knew exactly what would happen. He knew he would be shunned. I say this because he’s heard over and over again what happened to those who were molested and tried to do something about it. The survivors lost everything. So has all of those who attempted to advocate for them.

Phil, all you have been doing is wining and dining those you think you can manipulate or use in some way to promote yourself.

Phil, “your poor, poor, pitiful me act” will only take you so far. If you really want to be an advocate for those who have been sexually violated get up off your pity potty and start acting like a man.

Don’t enable those who cover up crimes. Start working with those who are really doing the work. It’s not those connected to Elaine Witman, Esther Giller, JFS, the Associated or Ner Yisroel. Have you forgotten—they are part of the problem.

Phil,
Instead of deleting the link to the JS site and the call to action, why not answer the questions?

Phil, why not let us all know where you are coming from? Stop playing game!

You are part of the planning committee who is brining in a sex offender friendly crowd. It is obvious you are chumming up with those who cover up sexual abuse in our community.

Phil, can you let us all know where the funds came from for the documentary you are putting together. My bet it’s nothing more then a PR piece for the vaad and JFS of Baltimore.

Phil, you did such a great job of publicizing the probelm of child sexual abuse in the jewish community.  Why would you participate now in an event that is just a fig leaf to make the community leaders look good, like they care about the children, when in reality, they are still harboring molesters?  It is just going against everything you worked for?  Did the rabbis get to you with a huge guilt trip about “Chillul Hashem”?  Gary Rosenblatt also backed down from the issue after the community bombarded him with abuse for exposing the NCSY molester.  He deserved awards and praise for his heroic act that saved many children.  So do you.  But instead they condemn those who really speak out on the issue, and instead run these phony events which are worse than paying lip service.  They are asking the community to trust and believe in the rabbinic leaders.  The same rabbis, Gottlieb, Hauer, Hopfer, etc.  that know about other rabbis in the community who molest, and do not even lift a finger to stop them.  And, what’s worse, they attack the people like you who try to protect THEIR children!  How can you support it?  Please don’t give in to their pressure, they are hypocrites and need for you to expose them all.  It is the only way the community can be changed from the satus quo.  Sure, many will say, “give them time, look how BRAVE they are for having this evening to address such a controversial topic.”  Well it wouldn’t BE so controversial if they really cared about the children.  What is so damn controversial about protecting children from being used as sexual toys?  Why is this considered such a big accomplishment in our Jewish community of Baltimore? Every other community, the Catholics (after a billion dollars in law suits), the public schools, the government, etc.  has been talking about this for years, and enacting safeguards, publicizing offenders, etc.  Why is it such a big deal that Jewish children deserve no less?  Why do these rabbis continue to cover up for one another in their abusing?  What could be a kiddush hashem if the leaders would act, is turning into a chillul hashem, since the leaders are only talking and not acting.  They are doing NOTHING to protect the children.  Teachers and principals and other frum adults are still allowed to roam freely in our community, and nobody calls the cops, “chas, v’shalom” on another “frumme yid”.  And when someone like you, Phil writes about it, you are villified by THE SAME RABBIS that now, like Esav, pretend to be kosher.  It is really a shame, on our community.  A big shame.

Activity on Child Molestation in the Jewish Community: Overblown or Barely Existent?

The Jewish Observer recently published an article by David Mandel, CEO of OHEL Children’s Home and Family Services, regarding developments on child abuse in the Agudath Israel of America’s community . The bottom line is: very little.

I’m no expert on this area but I’ve done some poking around and asking questions. What I’ve learned was best described by King Shlomo in Koheles (1:18):  “he who increases knowledge increases sorrow” ). There is almost nothing being done when so much can be accomplished with relatively little effort.

Agudath Israel and Torah U’Mesorah have some non-binding guidelines that leave everything up to a school’s principal and involve no transparency.

Mandel writes: “Several yeshivas that wanted to hold seminars on safety and prevention from unwanted touch were reluctant to do so lest they be perceived as engaging in sex education or worse, stigmatizing themselves as a school with a problem.” That is precisely where Agudath Israel can make a substantial difference. It is certainly true that the organization has little real power and that the yeshivas do not need to listen to a word that the organization or its Council of Torah Sages says. However, a public announcement in the form of a “Kol Koreh” signed by leading Torah scholars will greatly help yeshivas who want to hold seminars on safety etc. They will be able to point to the “Kol Koreh”, wrap themselves in a mantle of religiosity and say, “Of course we are doing this. The question is why any other school isn’t?”

According to Mandel’s article, there are adult education workshops but where? How many? Why are they only publicized after the fact in self-congratulatory articles?

Mandel writes: “Several Batei Dinim have been established in major Jewish communities across the country to deal specifically with allegations of child and adolescent molestation.” One would think that it would be in the public’s best interest to know the names of the batei dinim so that when and if a situation arises the public can go to those batei dinim that have been properly trained for this issue. Specifically, which dayanim were trained and what did this training consist of? I strongly suspect that the training given to members of these batei dinim is woefully inadequate. Not to mention the key question: did those who trained these dayanim have adequate training themselves? A vague statement like Mandel’s only yields less confidence that adequate steps are being taken.

You wouldn’t know this from reading the article but there is now a central database of yeshiva offenders so that a teacher who abuses children cannot simply move to another community and abuse other children. But do many people know about it? Is there any transparency in how it is being managed? Once again, a central organization is telling us to trust them because they have everything under control. However, once you’ve dropped the ball you have to provide assurances that you are doing things the right way. A major part of that is transparency.

Not only does this article signify Agudath Israel’s unwillingness to do anything significant about this issue, it has stymied other efforts. What principal will adopt someone else’s proposals when he can simply take Torah U’Mesorah’s policies, that leave him entirely in control, and say that he’s simply following the Gedolim? The Jewish Observer article has essentially ended all independent work on this issue in the Yeshiva community. All so that they can say that they’ve done something without actually doing anything

Additionally, Agudath Israel had an issue that energized young adults and could have been used to mobilize them and get them involved in trying to help. The graying movement could use some young blood but, by doing nothing to solve this problem, they’ve alienated an entire generation. It is beyond me how anyone who is willing to take the time to learn about the community and get involved, can read this Jewish Observer article and be satisfied. What this article tells people like me is simple: the three-initial blogger is right that our community is incapable of responsibly handling this issue. And is there any issue that can possibly be more important? We are talking about the physical safety of our children (the grandchildren of the aging Agudath Israel population)! If we can’t take the relatively simple steps that are necessary, what’s the point of the existence of these organizations? Filing another legal brief about gay marriage? Is that supposed to get us excited enough to get involved?

How can the Baltimore Vaad, Rabbi Gotlib, Rabbi Hauer, Rabbi Hopfer, etc. get up in front of the community, and teach how to keep kids safe, when they continue to cover up for the yeshivah which is covering up for Rabbi Eiseman?  Is Rabbi Eiseman going to come out of “retirement” to add his opinion on this matter?  I actually think he would have the most relevant information to impart on how to keep kids safe from people like him.  But these Vaad rabbis are MUCH better at speaking on how to keep molesters safe.  They know how to keep the yeshiva’s reputation safe.  They know how to keep their own jobs safe.  But I don’t see why anyone would believe that they know how to keep children safe.  And anybody who works with them, under the circumstances, is giving the wrong message.  That you can talk about protecting children while simutaneously actively protect a molester.  It is what the Gemorah calls “Chucha V’Tlula”...a joke.