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New harassment claims against Rabbi Elon
Kobi Nahshoni
Published: 16.02.10, 20:24
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20 Talkbacks for this article
1. Just as I predicted!
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (02.16.10)
Watch as a multitude of abuse claims come out of the woodwork, I have always maintained that child abuse is rampant among ultra-orthodox Jews, every week we have seen a growing amount of reports outlining all sorts of neglect and sexual abuse. Like the Roman Catholic sex abuse scandals the ultra-orthodox community will be ripped apart by confirmation that Rabbis have been abusing children for years. Of course we will see supporters of these Rabbis defend their vile deeds just like the Catholic Church rallied behind the paedophile priests and protected them from inquiry. My preference would be for Rabbi Elon to be incarcerated among the Palestinian terrorists in Israeli jails; that would be fitting justice.
2. 1 - oh come on!
mike ,   israel (formerly usa   (02.16.10)
isn't it the job of all of us talkbackers to show that no matter what happens we were right all along? as a matter of fact, i predicted this, too. and what happens next i've got a pretty good idea, but i'll discuss that when the time comes.
3. Sara B.
Sammy ,   Chicago   (02.16.10)
Dear Sara B., In your passionate quest of justice, you forget that Rabbi Elon has neither been indicted, tried, or found guilty of anything. If and when he is (which I do not believe will happen because I do not believe a word of all this garbage), it will be time enough to incarcerate him. So before you rush to kill him off, catch your breath or you may just choke on your foul tongue (rabbis have been abusing children for years.... etc.). Those rabbis said long long ago, a robber thinks everyone steals; a murderer thinks everyone kills. We see the world in our own image. It makes me wonder just who this Sara B. is who sees child molestation all over the orthodox community. Is she protesting just a bit too much???
4. #1
(02.16.10)
Sexual crimes in the Jewish world will NEVER come close to the Church. Very simple reason...for some reason the church does not allow a man to have a wife. Something so unatural. Take a man who has no physical contact with a women and put him in a room full of boys... Jewish Men have wives and have no need to go the the dark depths which the church has been seen to do. I want to make something clear...There are sick people out there which has nothing to do with religion. What I am saying here is that the church creates an environment which lends itself to sexual crimes.
5. #3 you can be sure it is worse
Noa   (02.16.10)
We are talking about a prominent Rav here. You can be sure that this Takana group double checked everything. Because in our orthodox society we tend to hush things up and deligitimize accusers in order to seem clean to to the outside world. Which is actually not a good thing to do. Anyway, if Takana comes up with that accusation the case is probably even worse than we think.
6. To No. 3
Sarah B ,   U.S.A. / Israel   (02.16.10)
Sammy, here's a news flash: you are entitled to your opinions and I am entitled to mine. What gives you the right to assume that whatever or whomever I might or might not seek justice is wrong? Is it because it is not the view you have, and is therefore necessarily incorrect? You have had one set of experiences; I have had a different set of experiences. You are free to express your opinions. I am free to express mine. It doesn't make one or the other of us incorrect; it just means that we interpret issues and events differently. Despite your ‘polite’ comments, sir, you are one of the most petty and immature people it has ever been my severe displeasure to encounter. Like all narcissistic individuals, when the facts do not serve your purpose, you deflect attention by resorting to name-calling and vitriolic attacks. Mark my words; in the coming weeks, months and years Rabbi Elon and many other ultra-orthodox Jews will be found to be guilty of unbridled child abuse. Such despicable evil will not stay hidden forever.
7. The Rabbi
Oren ,   Or Yehuda   (02.16.10)
Remember that this is a so-called Rabbi. He is not a pillar of the community, just a Rabbi. Very few people respect Rabbis today
8. look, No 3
Jacob ,   B7, IL   (02.16.10)
this "garbage" is spread by rabbis Lichtenstein, Sherlow and Ariel (among others) - you might know them if you know Elon.
9. For once I agree with Sarah B.
Marco ,   Spain   (02.16.10)
This Rabbi should learn to keep his pants on in the presence of children. Shame on you Rabbi.
10. Sarah B
Yerach ,   Jerusalem,Israel   (02.16.10)
FYI,Rabbi Elon is not Ultra-Orthodox but Dati Leumi/Modern Orthodox. See the knitted kipa? If he was Ultra-Orthodox he would be wearing a black velvet or black cloth kipa an a black hat. Get your story straight. I am not saying it does not go on but it goes on less in either Dati Leumi/Mordern Orthodox & Ultra Orthodox than it does amongst seculars or Catholic priests. If guilty he should be punished. But remember innocent until proven guilty!!!!
11. Please check your facts before you speak
(02.17.10)
To all of you who are just making your voices heard, you obviously do not know Rav Elon as I do personally and do not know the details. Rav Elon is the most incredibly kind, caring and affectionate Rabbi. I have seen the way he is with his students - he purely strengthens them with love and care. Rav Elon mentioned that this all due to a student who is not all there - and one can understand how someone who is a bit messed up or just plain stupid would misinterpret Rav Elon's affection. Think about it - any main figure sitting in the public eye always has enemis unfortunately as people are just plain stupid and jelous. So please dont go beleiving accusations when you don't know the full story and any of the details and don't know this man personally. I hope that oneday you have the opportunity to meet this wonderful individual and you will discover how misguided you were by the media
12. As a psychologist (now retired), I have
Robert Haymond ,   Ashdod, Israel   (02.17.10)
worked with sexually abused children and teenagers as well as with many adult sex abusers (pedophiles) and my experience ranges from counselling to forensic reports. I do not know anything more about the case under consideration other than what I have read (same as other readers). I can say it is too early to make a judgement. On the one hand, pedophiles are notorious for hiding behind whatever protective mask they may have at their disposal, i.e., professional prominence or clerical position, etc.; as well, they are superb rationalizers and excellent at deception. As to complainants, there are a number of reasons for accusations of sexual abuse other than the fact that an illicit act actually took place, i.e., memory confusion or being convinced by an older authority figure that an illicit act took place when, in fact it didn't, etc. When an innocent person is accused of sexual abuse, his life becomes a nightmare and no official declaration of innocence will ever completely vindicate the accused. In Saskatchewan in Canada, there was a very famous case in which a whole community of people, including professionals, were indicted for sexual abuse of children in a local daycare only to be exonerated after several harrowing years. So I would implore the reader not to make hasty judgements about this situation and allow a thorough investigation to take place. Although I disagree with Sarah B. on her main thesis, it is also true that sexual abuse most often occurs behind closed doors when the children are isolated from the community-at-large and when perpetrators can utilize their personal or professional prominence as a bulkhead against disclosure. In a sense, this is what occurred in the Catholic world in the West with such disastrous results. Priests and Brothers committed atrocious acts but the children were isolated, they were too fearful to disclose, nobody would have believed them anyway and the body of the Church protected the assailants. In the case of religious Jews, the communities, especially the Charedim, are quite closed, not altogether unlike the body of the clergy from the Catholic church. As a result, by banding together, they are more able than most groups to fend off public disclosures and investigations. There is a psychological element here as well: Most parents to whom disclosure is made would not believe it any way and the child would be chastized, disbelieved and forced to shut up. On the other hand, chastity for religious figures is not considered a virtue by Jews (read I. B. Singer's "The Magician of Lublin")unlike the tenets of the Catholic church. So, by comparison, sexual activity amongst the Jewish clergy is more natural than it is for Catholic clergy and, as a result, pedophilia is significantly less likely to occur. Having said that, pedophiles can be found in all walks of life and in all social and economic classes.
13. What kind of sexual harassment?
Talula ,   Israel   (02.17.10)
Was it a pinch on the bum or something more sinister? How old are the victims? There's normally no smoke without fire, and after all, he is a 'rabbi' he wouldn't be the first to be involved in sexual harassment, stealing, cheating, wife beating, child abuse. I'm beginning to think that the word 'rabbi' should be redefined in the dictionary.
14. to all you defenders of the rabbi...
Yitzchak ,   Tel Aviv, Israel   (02.17.10)
No point in wasting your breath responding to people like sarah b #1. These are avowed jewish anti-semites who hate torah and religion with a fire in their soul and look for any reason to bash away at torah and religion. Innocent until proven guilty? Not for these people. Their hatred of real Judaism clouds their brains to any common sense or adherence to the law. They accuse a rabbi of breaking the law but they themselves would break the law to castigate him. Such is blind hatred. So don't bother responding. It's a waste of time.
15. Thank you Takanah
R. Kuhr ,   Modiin   (02.17.10)
We owe a great debt of gratitude to the leaders who comprise Takanah. They have created an entity that puts a check on those in a position of power (as they are) in order to protect the community. They realize that every individual is flawed. This is an incredably noble idea and these people put great time and anguish into doing there jobs at the highest level despite no remuniration. The fact that they have caused the greatly respected and dynamic Rav to stop working has cushioned the blow to the religous community significantly. He has not been a leader for 3 years now despite the fact that we thought he was. The leaders of Takanah are bold leaders and make me proud to be a part of the religious national movement.
16. Robert at # 12
Charles ,   Petach Tikva   (02.17.10)
Don't you think that if there are MANY complaints , it can be true ? Even a married person can have pedophile inclinations , and if he is in a "dominant" position , he can abuse those who come to him .
17. Sarah , he is not proven guilty yet
Charles ,   Petach Tikva   (02.17.10)
And you know it . There are , as far as i , and you , know , only "harassment claims" against him . If he will be found guilty , i say IF , then he shouild be harshly punished . No punishment is hard enough for child abusers .
18. Innocent until proven guilty?
conspiracy theorist ,   Essex, UK   (02.17.10)
For those who are in denial, and defend the Rav Motti, and say Innocent until proven guilty - do you accept that a Beth Din has already proven him guilty, or do u only accept secualr Israeli Law? Make you mind up which system you follow. Do not pretend to be followers of Torah, if the Takanah Beth Din has already made its pronouncement, and has his signed confession.
19. Are all of these "young people" 19 years old?
sk ,   USA   (02.18.10)
20. The rabbi needs to come out of the closet.
dave ,   uk   (02.18.10)
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