2-3 cases of sick orthodox parents and you go besmirch the entire chareidi community??? How can you compare these few cases of abuse to the many abuse cases in the corrupt secular communities where there are no moral values whatsoever? Just look at the difference of the chareidi schools and the secular schools and you'll see where the "harrowing cases" are. Typical Ynet jealousy of the beautiful lives the chareidim are running.

They are CLUELESS about everything. They claim to commit themselves to living by Torah law when in fact they just want to appear ‘’religious’’. Probably because it saves them going out and getting a job. Every day stories emerge about child abuse, both sexual and mental, wife beating, stealing, lying and cheating. These atrocities are not in within the laws of the Torah and is unacceptable in Judaism.

If I am correct, in nearly all the cases mentioned, the parents had come to being "religious" (I shudder to use the word in their cases), from a previously secular lifestyle. The vast majority of Baalei Teshuvah (newly religious) are fine people, but unfortunately, as in the case of Ramat Beit Shemesh and the burka story, the religious community does tend to attract people with psychological problems. If you look at the "old school" of rabbinical families, the figure of abuse is negligible, if existant at all. What we are faced with here, are nutcases giving the entire hareidi world a name as child abusers, perverts etc. Yes, there are problems in every society, but understand that many of these problems are from people joining the society to escape their own pasts.

Thats the thing about people like you, Instead of addmiting there is a problem here you try to down play it and deny the facts. As research shows the case numbers are low because their rabbis instruct them not to report this to the police. So these rabbis are actually responsible for hiding and encouraging child sex abuse . Well dear miriam as a gay man and father of 2 i shall protect my children with every last breath in my body from religious perverts that you seem so keen to defend.

The Rabbis who advise and instrct people not to report cases of child abuse and sexual molestation are equally guilty as those that commit such horrendous crimes. It seems that this is much more widespread than was assumed. What does their Torah say about such things?

This cries out before the Throne of G-d Almighty! Even one case is too many! children are to be protected and assisted not hidden, hurt and injured as in these cases. This is all very sad indeed.

Simon TA and Talula are describing what in their world is the worst thing ever. Well, for the religious, the secular who break shabbat etc are much worse, and in God eyes, they are probably right. This stuff is bad but people like gay Simon and seuclar Talula are just on a totally different planet when it comes to commenting on haredim

I like the positive way the article was written. In the other hand, I wish the serious problems the secular society is also suffering are going to come to light too in order to be positively resolved as well. The secular society is suffering from a serious lack of proper education;a serious lack of human values;a serious distancement from their spiritual lives-what is ineherent to life as eating,sleeping,etc-,and can not be negligenciated and must be restored. I guess the "kibbutz mentality ",although bringing positive things,brought also a "materializing"of the soul that is very pernicious and dangerous for the the individual soul and for the soul of the socity too. This is only one of the aspects that should be analized and corrected. Nowadays,the sick secular society has caused ,maybe,more harm to Israel than the Hareidi community has. The fact is that no one should be negligenciated,and the same way the secular society is trying to the resolv the problems of Hareidi community,the haredi community should be called to help the seculars too.Healthy minds from both sides should participate. How seculars see religious and vice-versa should be part of the equation.

at least they don't come in contact with believing christians who might soil their innocent ears with something other than the approved indoctrination. that would be worth rioting or bombing over.

Incest and sexual abuse are strictly forbidden by the Torah, on punishment of death. So why is this such a problem for Orthodoxy? Well, the rabbis added many new laws, even tho the Torah prohibits new additions or substractions. They have thus created a Frankenstein religion, which is not what G-d originally intended. This new religion of the Talmud and Rabbinic laws, is a perversion of the true Torah. Its adherents are hence also perverted, and the repression from all the new laws can only lead to evil.

"believing christians"air their own indoctrinations.We just don't care about what you feel,in the religious aspect. You have Vatican and all over the world to do it,NOT HERE!. Israel is for Jews to live the way WE chose,and not the way YOU chose.Put this in your mind! If you like to live among us,it means AMONG US ,the way we want,not the way YOU want. We don't try to convert anybody,have you noticed?But we don't want to be bothered by anybody too,understand?! Go to live where you are among your owns ,and let us Jews ALONE! Go complain anywhere else,NOT HERE!

They think religious humans are angels cloaked in flesh and blood. Will they ever get it? Just beacuse people keep kosher and shabbat doesn't mean their temptation to sin just goes away. What religion does is try to curb bad behaviour, and if people fall it is not their religious belifes that is to blame. Religious people also have the same temtations and pulls as non-religious, however, they should feel more guilt when sucumbing. Someone is not going to become secular just beacuse they find it hard to stop themselevs touching their kids indecently. There is this view that all religious people are expected to be 100% good rolemodels and not falter in anything. This could not be further from the truth. Religious people are supposed to be constantly working on themselves to overcome their basic instincts. Can the secular be so sure of themselves?

YOU, will NEVER decide for ME how to live my life in Israel. You will never tell me what I can and cannot do, eat, when to drive or what to read. So you had better give it your all out best to learn tolerance for others as well as to live and let live. And while you’re trying, I suggest you keep your beliefs and your inherently warped sense of decency between you and your own four walls.

I'm secular, and a decent human being. I don't need any perverted Rabbi to tell me anything and I don't need to read the Torah to know how to behave. I’m doing very well without it. However, it seems that even those that 'do' try to abide by the Torah just seem to go off the path of ‘righteous’ and down Abuse, Theft and Debauched Avenue and then use God and the Torah as their safety net. It's a pity that not one religious person here has the balls to come out and say that such vile behaviour among them is unacceptable instead of trying to find excuses for it. It’s even worse that they say these are isolated cases. I find it desperately sad that these children are considered isolated cases; does that mean it’s OK? Not one person here has given a thought to these sexually abused children and their sad and violated childhood.

Well Jo Jo my friend you see for those of us that actually live in Israel and not in London our lives are affected on a daily basis by the "praise the lord" crowd dishing out their so called morals , judging and slandering others according to their religious beliefs, and living off our tax money. Just this week it was revealed the extent of the criminal activities of Mr Morals him self Benizri from Shas ! So if you are not going to serve in the army , milk us dry for every last sheckel , spew venom and hatred and preach morality the very least you can do is look in your own house first!

I've worked in the Haredi community. Unfortunately these cases are present in irreligious and religious communities, baalai teshuva and established religious, black and white, Jew and Christian. This is a universal problem irrespective of race religion or colour and no community is immune from this. Once this is recognised it can be dealt with.

If, according to you, it's true that an ultra-Orthodox Jew sexually molesting a child isn't as bad as a secular Jew desecrating the Sabbath, then I'm glad I'm an atheist.

OK? The *state* hasn't done a thing for families filled with social problems, economic issues, let along domestic violence. What a crock. I can give you names, dates and circumstances right now of the COUNTLESS - count them 1000's upon 1000's of individuals, families and entire communities suffering as is from life - who were DYING for someone to help them from becoming a statistic, starving, going homeless and the Ministry of Welfare did NOTHING. Absolutely - NOTHING. Charadi shmaradi. This has zero to do with anyone's RELIGIOUS outlook. This is, once again the government looking for patsies and scapegoats to cover their own lame as*ses. Nothing more and nothing less. And the numbers of victims of the government continue to rise. Meanwhile go into ANY welfare office in this country - and you'll see very satisfied, well-fed and taken care of *social workers* and their bosses with manicured nails who when you dare ask them what they do all day - they can't for the life of them come up with an answer and how dare the lowly subject dare to interfere with their daily schedule of nails, tea, internet and cellphone chat. Welcome to the state of Israel, Passover - 2008. as this is being written another family goes beserk and another MK just bought another new car and a baby was just dropped on its head and a little girl scrounges for something to eat in an empty cupboard. Chag sameach.

The penalty for desecrating the sabbath is DEATH. I think there is no penalty for molesting a child. Be an athiest and enjoy your time here. However, your future, after the maggots start eating away at your flesh, looks bleak. Athiest's are dropouts. They don't use their God given brain to understand there purpose on earth and instead use it to comment on things as they view it - as if we should take seriouly the view of something which was once a one-cell ameoba.

You can use it to dig a deeper hole for you to hide your head in the sand and ignore the real world.

Money will insulate you, rendering you numb and oblivious. Money will buy you freedom and it will buy you distractions just so you don't have to know about the Other Side of Israel. How the poverty-stricken, the mentally ill, the ghettos, the families within dysfunctional communities actually exist amongst you. But you who lead such sheltered lives are suddenly brought crashing into their world - and worlds collide - if only briefly - because you and I both know dear sheltered ones, that once the hoopla dies down, it's back to business as usual, and there's that lovely dress you need to worry about or that toy that will distract you and keep you from ever having to think about the Other Side of Israel for a while. At least till the next horror story hits and shakes up your cushy world. Don't worry about the poverty-stricken, right? The government will take care of them. Shyeah right. Keep dreaming.

or did you all stop in the middle, when your steroetypes became justified. and I quote: "In recent years there is more willingness among haredi families to report abuse. " "Aggasi maintains that it is rabbis that are at the forefront of these positive changes in the haredi community." "In this respect, the haredi community has bypassed its secular counterpart by far, because this is a very motivated, obedient society that has taken heavy handed measures to help curb such phenomenon.” hmmm...

I urge you to stop - you are touching on dangerous grounds. I know you are not, but it looks like you are condoning child molesting. This is a terrible sin.

Here, remarkable progress has been made in tackling abuse issues. Sad to say, mostly in the mainstream population. Among any minority or subculture, forget it. So, what sort of solution is needed? Until you have an adequate number of both police and social workers who come from any of these minorities, you will make little progress. It is always hard to report abuse; doubly so when you are reporting same to a mainstream authority figure.

...and what is it doing outside a mental ward?

Ahhhhhh.... those Jewish values ! Harrassed women, beaten childs....Excess of religion, within Judaism just like within Islam, can be damaging for one's health....as demonstrated times and again on both sides...