Agudath Israel on Kolko Arrest
Asked to provide comment, R’ Avi Shafran replies in an e-mail:
Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual? Because he was an employee, more than 30 years ago, of one of the camps we run (that have had thousands of employees over the years)? I don’t think that requires comment on our part.
We are not even a party anymore to any lawsuit filed against the accused, as I understand it. The suit of the accuser who included Camp Agudah in his action (John Doe #1) has been dismissed (without prejudice, I believe, so it can still be refiled, but hasn’t been).
December 8th, 2006 at 12:15 pm
So now, the Agudah will pretend that this isn’t even happening. Really Really sad.
Now the real question is, if someone in Torah Temimah is going to try to buy this kid off and make him go away. Its going to get really ugly before it gets better.
Because remember, now they are checking for sexual predators, who knows when they might start checking the finances.
Another question to ask is, what does Kolko know about other shady stuff in Torah Temimah and elswhere, that they couldnt force him to leave (with a big settlement of course) when they found out years ago.
December 8th, 2006 at 12:26 pm
I am very disappointed by Rabbi Avi Shafran’s response to the Kolko arrest. No comment? Not part of a law suit? What about leadership and community responsibility? What about moral and halachic responsibility towards protecting the vulnerable in our community? What about the Torah’s obligation “uvi-arta ha-ra mikirbekha”- to uproot evil from the community? What about the Agudah’s claim at the convention that they care about victims of abuse and about human dignity? And they are not party to this case? All Jews are responsible for one another!
December 8th, 2006 at 1:04 pm
wow, avi shafran is a prick.
December 8th, 2006 at 1:56 pm
It’s a good thing Kolko was wearing his hat when they carted him away- must have made his rosh yeshiva proud. Shafran’s non-comment is no surprise. Has anyone asked R. Matisyahu Solomon for a comment?
December 8th, 2006 at 2:26 pm
I think that Avi Shafran is trying to split the Agudah into a few parts. There is the part that lobbies on Capitol Hill and submits Amicus Curiae to the Court claiming to represent all Orthodox Jews worldwide. There is the Agudah Convention, which affiliates itself with the Moetzes and claims sole ownership of the Moetzes. There is Am Echad. There is Avi Shafran. There is camp Agudah. Basically, Avi is trying to spin off responsibility from one Agudah arm to the next. Wasn’t it Avi Shafran who wrote the piece against Bob Kolker? Why would it interest the Agudah then, but not anymore? Avi needs to stop this game that he is playing. Be a Mensch. Oh, and while he’s at it, he should tell us all about the behind the scenes, under the carpet sweeping that took place in his hometown, Baltimore, this past Summer.
December 8th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
R Salamon spoke at the Aguda convention last week. He was a keynote speaker. He spoke about the carpet sweeping policy. This week we found out the adverse effects of this sordid policy. Of course the Agudah should respond, if only to defend their short-sighted plan.
December 8th, 2006 at 2:49 pm
There we have it. Agudah, which claims to represent the Torah community and should be at the forefront of developing a strategy for dealing with sexual abuse, has instead been reduced by its chief publicist to nothing more than a summer camp proprietor.
(taken from ...)
December 8th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
UOJ’s effects and success continue to wave across the haredi Jewish world. It is past time for the Canonist to acknowledge this, and to recognize that it is incorrect to evaluate UOJ as a reporter, but rather, as an advocate.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:00 pm
I remember when R. Avi Shafran commented in a full length article about Michael Jackson and Shmuely Boteach a couple of years ago. I suppose that was Agudah business.
December 8th, 2006 at 4:13 pm
DK - I intended to address this issue in a separate post. This and any future revelation doesn’t change the fact that UOJ went about this in a wrong way that was obviously harmful to the case’s credibility and for which he has no excuse. There remains no reason why UOJ had to maintain anonymity for his small role on this issue, and it remains quite clear that if he had chosen not to do so under his real name, and using credible and open methodologies, the case would have been better off.
I’m not evaluating UOJ as a reporter. Advocates should be bound by ethics, too. And what UOJ has done is unethical and unfair to all parties, including the victims.
December 8th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
Where is the comment to this arrest of the RCA? The OU? The Edah Charedis?
What Rabbi Shafran is saying, in plain English, is “get off my case, this isn’t an Agudah affair, it is a YTT one, and why the heck would we want to stick our heads into this mess.”
You want a general statement about Rabbi Shafran’s position on child abuse, I believe he wrote something in May.
December 9th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
R’ Shafran’s defiant, legalistic reply is remarkably tone deaf. There were so many more compassionate ways to respond, with regret and hope for the future - even without accepting any responsibility or expressing an apology – that would have been more appropriate.
December 9th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
Steve, I think that its important that you compare the Shafran statements on Kolko now to the ones about lanner a few years back in when he could hardly hide his glee that someone in the ou was caught doing such a thing, and how it would never happen with agudah. One also needs to investigate if kolko ever spoke by any agudah function or any agudah convention, to solidify the connection.
December 9th, 2006 at 10:39 pm
I suppose El Al airlines WAS an Agudah employee
December 9th, 2006 at 10:56 pm
“One also needs to investigate if kolko ever spoke by any agudah function or any agudah convention, to solidify the connection. ”
from rumous I heard, the Camp Agudah head counselor is very nervous / rueful about his role in keeping Kolko on after multiple complaints. Could be shafran still has Agudah to protect here, so is just doing his job.
December 10th, 2006 at 12:04 am
Did you really expect to get a real answer from Rav Shafran? Remember anything he says can and will be used in a court of law.
December 10th, 2006 at 1:01 am
zalman:
you said it best
bari:
i’m sure if the ou and rca were to criticize ytt now you would:
a) accuse them of being hypocrites because of their own sorid pasts
b) condemn them for coming down so hard on a rw institution and further dividing the orthodox community.
the point is that ytt’s people are agudah people, not rca or ou people.
that having been said, the rca and ou should be addressing the wider problem.
December 10th, 2006 at 3:46 am
Would you mind providing for us here the exact email you sent to R’ Shafran?
December 10th, 2006 at 4:15 am
Bryce -
December 10th, 2006 at 12:27 pm
I personally don’t care who makes the statement, but the time has come to institute a centralized database and methods for filing complaints if we plan to deal with any personal issues internally.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
>I personally don’t care who makes the statement,
>but the time has come to institute a centralized
>database and methods for filing complaints if we
>plan to deal with any personal issues internally.
There is none and no organization in Judaism, outside the Awareness Center, is interested in creating one. Even at the RCA and OU, all one has to do is resign to avoid an investigation or action.
Unless there is cooperation between all denominations of Judaism no such solution will be developed. At this time, no one denomination wants to create a system, they all pass the buck.
December 10th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
I’ve posted proof as to Agudath Israel’s cpmplicity in cooperaring with the Cathloic Church in blocking legislation which would have required rabbonim to report the allegations against Kolko to the proper authorities and investigators.
Agudath Israel is responsible for the abuse of the latest survivor to come forward, a 6 year old boy (now 9).
...
December 10th, 2006 at 3:15 pm
JWB: My message to the leadership of Agudath Israel do public teshuvah now or resign.
For the past decades, Agudath Israel has blocked laws that would have directly protected our children. They have worked with the Catholic Church to this end. This has left our children vulnerable and protected the sexual predators in our community. I have included Agudath Israel’s own legal memo and several articles below.
I hold them directly responsible for creating the environment in which the latest survivor of sexual abuse (who has come forward in the Rabbi Kolko case) was sexually assaulted at age 6.
The leadership of Agudath Israel must immediately do public teshuvah and require all rabbonim nationwide to immediately turn over ALL allegations of sexual abuse over the past decades to the secular authorities and allow them to properly investigate. Let the skilled professionals assess and investigate the allegations. Rabbonim do not have the skills or background to do so. Nor does any Yeshiva background provide such skills
If they cannot do so, it is time for them to step aside, resign and leave communal leadership. If they are not prepared to provide moral leadership, it is time for a regime change.
(for articles and legal memo see link in last post)
December 10th, 2006 at 5:16 pm
That should have read personnel issues, not personal issues.
December 10th, 2006 at 5:40 pm
My short term solution since no one or organization appears interested in “institut(ing) a centralized database and methods for filing complaints”.
1) Make rabbis mandatory reporters of abuse. Thus, all allegations MUST be reported to the police. Make more serious penalties for failure to report (mandatory jail time)
2) Expand the mechanisms that exist in the public system to our private schools system. For example, in NY, we need a professional system to investigate serious allegations. I suggest simply expanding the NY Board of Education’s jurisdiction to include investigations into the moral character of people working with children in private schools and camps.
3) Continue support of the Awareness Center. The only database of sexual predators today in the Jewish community.
December 11th, 2006 at 2:21 pm
Resolution Regarding Members Accused of Improprieties
Adopted by the Rabbinical Council of America
May 28, 2003
...
WHEREAS, in recent years there have been reported a number of incidents of sexual, physical and/or emotional abuse perpetrated by rabbis and teachers, including members of the Rabbinical Council of America, against members of the communities that they serve and others, adults and children, in violation of Torah law and of civil law; and
WHEREAS, failure to respond to such cases is a violation of the verse, “Thou shalt not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor” (Lev. 19:16; see Hilkhot Rotseiach 1: 14); and
WHEREAS, it is the duty of the Rabbinical Council of America to protect the integrity and welfare of the members of the community that its members serve; to serve and help its members in times of crisis; to represent to the community the best of Torah values; and to protect the dignity of Torah and Orthodox Judaism; and
WHEREAS, events of the past have proven, to our great dismay, that organizations and individuals have not always dealt with these incidents in the best possible way; and
WHEREAS, rabbis must conduct themselves in ways that are exemplary in their religious, moral and interpersonal conduct, not only because of their personal obligations that are governed by the Torah and the Halachah, but in fulfillment of the ideal of ahavat Hashem, “And you shall love the Lord your God: that the Name of Heaven be beloved because of you” (Yoma 86a)., an obligation that calls upon each Jew to conduct himself/herself in ways that reflect nobly on the Torah and God, and to refrain from any improper conduct in all areas including, but not limited to, sexual, personal, and economic behaviors; and
WHEREAS, the verse, “And you shall be guiltless before the Lord and before Israel.”(Numbers 32:22) extends the concerns of conduct to mar’it ayin and heshad, suspicious behaviors, and places a higher responsibility on personal and professional conduct of all Jews, especially rabbis; and
WHEREAS, improper behavior can cause a hillul Hashem, a desecration of God’s Name, a transgression that it is more difficult to atone for than for any other sin, so that not even repentance, the atonement of Yom Kippur, and personal suffering can absolve one of this offense (Yoma 86a); and
WHEREAS, the Halachah recognizes that an adam hashuv (a prominent person) is held to a standard of behavior and morality higher than that to which others are held and must refrain from any improper behavior, even if not explicitly prohibited or illegal, lest he cause a hillul Hashem, a desecration of God’s Name. An adam hashuv, a well-known and well-respected person, and a talmid hakham, a pious, learned scholar, are expected by others to live according to strict moral standards-therefore, the greater the desecration when they fail to live up to these expectations. Their failures reflect negatively not only upon their personal reputations, but upon the Torah that they claim to uphold and upon the God they represent. Among others, these behaviors include embarrassing one’s colleagues due to the nature of the rumors that are spread about him (Yoma 86a), embarrassing one’s colleagues by the less-than-dignified activities in which he engages (Rosh to Moed Katan, ch. 3, no. 11) and degrading the honor of Torah (Pesahim 49a); and
WHEREAS, the Mishnah, Avot 4:4, reminds us that sequestering a hillul Hashem will always be unsuccessful: “Whoever desecrates the name of Heaven in private will ultimately be punished in public, whether the desecration was committed unintentionally or intentionally.” Hence, a conspiracy to conceal information about abuse will ultimately be made public, creating an even greater hillul Hashem; and
WHEREAS, the Talmud, Berakhot 19b, posits, “Wherever a profanation of God’s Name is involved no respect is paid to a rabbi”; and
WHEREAS, R. Akiva explained the biblical verse, “And you shall love your friend as yourself (Lev. 19:18)” by positing, “What is hateful to you, do not do to your friend.” (Shabbat 31a), we are obligated to respect and protect the integrity, welfare and dignity (kevod ha-beriyot) of our fellow humans;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT:
The Rabbinical Council of America condemns in the strongest terms any act of sexual, physical or emotional violence, abuse or impropriety, perpetrated by any of its members against any child or adult and declares to all victims that the abuse is the responsibility and sin of the abuser and is not the responsibility or sin of the victim; and
The Rabbinical Council of America recommits itself to fulfilling its responsibility for the welfare of the members of the Jewish community at large and the general community as well, especially to those who have been victims or who claim to be victims of an act of sexual, physical or emotional violence, abuse or impropriety; and
The Rabbinical Council of America commits itself to reevaluating its policies and procedures in cases of accusations of acts of violence, abuse or impropriety made against any of its members and to develop and enact, in a timely manner but no later than June 30, 2004, those policies and procedures that will effectively and responsibly respond to accusations made against any of its members including:
• a reevaluation of the role and function of the Vaad Hakavod;
• the adoption of standards, policies and procedures for the reprimand and censure of members of the Rabbinical Council of America, as well as provisions and procedures for the suspension and revocation of membership;
• the adoption of provisions for reporting convicted or admitted abusers to the Placement Committee so that they will be prevented from assuming positions that will place others in possibly harmful situations as well as to develop responsible means to identify abusers to those communities or institutions to which they may move;
• the development of plans to help members who have been involved in improper behavior find appropriate therapeutic support, as well as the development of procedures to help the families and congregants of these members deal with the very trying circumstances they face;
• the education of rabbis in proper conduct in interacting with others as well as in ways to being falsely accused of improper behavior. We are also concerned about the possibility of a false accusation made against a member and commit ourselves to develop means to evaluate the veracity of an accusation and to help and support a rabbi who is falsely accused. We recognize the great difficulties involved in evaluating an accusation and in determining its veracity. The Rabbinical Council of America commits itself, in developing these new procedures, to proceed with careful and responsible deliberation in developing guidelines for investigating and trying to determine the validity of accusations; to take into account the issues of confidentiality as it applies both to the accuser and the accused; to respect the need for integrity and timeliness in the investigative process; and to consult with such professionals as lawyers and psychologists, as well as with victims and their families who can contribute in many significant and important ways in formulating and executing these policies.
• The Rabbinical Council of America maintains that reporting acts or suspicions of child abuse is not mesirah* and commits itself and its members to reporting acts or suspicions of child abuse as required by civil law; and
The Rabbinical Council of America recommits itself and its members:
• to assert responsible leadership in publicly condemning acts of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety and in formulating
• * to execute educational materials and programs that will educate its rabbis and lay persons in the areas of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety,
• to execute procedures and policies that will safely, sensitively and effectively protect the members of the community from violence, abuse and impropriety,
• to deal appropriately with its members who have perpetrated such violence, abuse or impropriety; and
The Rabbinical Council of America urges its members to assert responsible leadership in their individual synagogues, schools, organizations and communities in publicly condemning acts of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety and
• in formulating and executing educational materials and programs in their synagogues, schools, organizations and communities that that will educate the members of their institutions and organizations in the areas of sexual, physical and emotional violence, abuse and impropriety.
• to establish and execute procedures and policies in their individual communities that will safely, sensitively and effectively protect the members of those communities, synagogues and schools from violence, abuse and impropriety, including the proper training and education of all staff members and the publishing of guidelines for acceptable behavior as well as guidelines for the reporting of suspicions and acts of inappropriate behavior, and guidelines for effectively dealing with those reports; and
• The Rabbinical Council of America commends those organizations and individuals that have raised these important issues in our community; that have developed programs that have helped victims of violence and abuse to acquire therapeutic, psychological and legal help; that have furthered public awareness of these issues; and that have furthered the physical safety, emotionally integrity and spiritual well-being of individuals and of our community at large.
————————————————————————
Endnote:
1. Arukh HaShulhan maintains that mesirah was prohibited because of the nature of autocratic governments under which Jews lived throughout much of our history. Such informing often led to dangerous persecution of the entire Jewish Community. He posits that this injunction no longer applies in those communities in which the government is generally fair and non-discriminatory. (Arukh HaShulhan, Hoshen Mishpat 388:7. This source is cited authoritatively by Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz in “The Abused Child: Halakhic Insights.” Ten Da’at, Sivan 5748. p. 12). Accordingly, it is obligatory in the Western world today to inform the civil authorities about individuals who abuse others.
2. The prohibition of mesirah applies only when testimony assists civil authorities in illegally obtaining the money of another Jew, not when it aids a non-Jewish government in fulfilling such rightful duties as collecting taxes and punishing criminals. When, however, the information concerns the criminal activities of a fellow Jew - as long as the Jewish criminal has also violated a Torah law, and even if the punishment will be more severe than the Torah prescribes (RaN to Sanhedrin 46a) - the ban of mesirah does not apply. (Rabbi Herschel Schachter, “Dina deMalchuso, Dina,”Journal of Halachah and Contemporary Society, I, p. 118.)
3. Even should one hold that the prohibition of mesirah is relevant today, reporting child abusers to civil authorities is nevertheless mandatory. According to Rema, even when the prohibition of mesirah is in force, “a person who attacks others should be punished. If the Jewish authorities do not have the power to punish him, he must be punished by the civil authorities.” (Hoshen Mishpat 338:7 and Shakh, no. 45. See also Gloss of Rema to Hoshen Mishpat 338:9.) Our Batei Din today have neither the power nor the authority to handle such matters.
4. Shulhan Arukh rules that the prohibition of mesirah restricts an individual who is being harassed from making a report to the civil authorities. However, when there is a meitzar hatzibbur (public menace), mesirah is permissible. (Hoshen Mishpat 338:12, see Shakh, no. 59 and Gra no. 71.) Child abusers and molesters clearly endanger the welfare of many children with whom they have contact. (Rabbi Waldenberg quoted in Nishmat Avraham, Vol. IV, p. 209.)
5. See Rabbi Michael Broyde, “Mesirat Meida al Avaryanim lidei ha-Shiltonot be-Artzot ha-Berit,” Hadarom, vol. 72-73, Elul 5762, pp. 7-38; p. 37, note 90.
December 11th, 2006 at 10:31 pm
SIW,
didn’t you leave out the end of shafran’s email where he says, “if you want me to comment on the decadence of the conservative movement, for that i have plenty of time”?
December 11th, 2006 at 10:53 pm
Just for you Tzvee, quotes from Shafran’s book about the reform and conservative movements that was online just a few years ago. It has since been removed:
“These people are not so much meant to be hated as enemies and wished dead for the sake of ‘revenge’ or to see them dead. The way we hate such people is not like the ‘cat hates the mouse,’ but rather like the ’storekeeper hates the vermin’ which infest his store, not hating the vermin themselves but wanting them gone in order to arrest the damage they are causing. We resent their existence. So, in lieu of the fact that we are not allowed to physically harm these people today, we should still treat them with utter contempt and disrespect, avoiding contact with them as one would with any destructive fiend.”
Shafran writes about Conservative and Reform leaders that there is “a law which orders loyal Jews to kill these types of people if at all possible,” a law which was declared inapplicable today by the Chazon Ish but which “remains valuable for the light it sheds on the way Real Judaism” regards such people.
He states that Conservative and Reform leaders “qualify for the infamous titles of min and apikoros” and “are the followers of Korach;” Shafran states that “these man-made ‘religions’ [Conservative and Reform] are the most destructive forces in the history of the Jewish people and all those who seek to spread their noxious heresies are mesisim, instigators whose aim is to lead astray the masses;”
December 11th, 2006 at 10:58 pm
And yet what does the spokesperson for an organization that has blocked laws that would have directly protected our children, an organization that has worked with the Catholic Church to this end, an orgaganization that has left our children vulnerable and protected the sexual predators in our community, have to say about the sexual predator they protected for decades?
Shafran: “Why would we have comment about the arrest of an individual?”
Typical.
December 11th, 2006 at 11:04 pm
ITS ONLY A REPEAT OF 1942 WHEN THE GEDOLIM TOLD STEPHEN WEISS NOT TO DEMONSTRATE IN WASHINSHGTON………..SEE EPHRAIM ZUROFF BOOK SHERER YMS AND AGUDA BY NOT COMMENTING ON A SERIOUS AND HEINOUS CRIME LIKE THIS JUST PROVES THE FACT THAT SCHECTER AGUDA OU ARE CRIMINALS AND NOT WORTHY OF BEING IN KLAL YISROEL. FUCK THEM
December 12th, 2006 at 12:08 pm
Wow, Mark, you’re really twisted. It was Wise (not “Weiss”) who told the rabbis (there were no “gedolim” then) not to protest, not the other way around.
Oh, and Sherer is long dead.
December 13th, 2006 at 7:52 am
nachum………………………………… the facts in 1943 the rabbis decided to march wise position was it was not helpfull then, in 1942 one year earlier the america jewish congress and the zionits begged for demostrations against the nazis but were rebffed by the vaad hazola u can call me names but thats the fact
December 13th, 2006 at 7:57 am
TO ALL………..ANY AGUDA ROV WHO HELPED AGUDAT ISRAEALS SUPPORT A BILL NOT REQUIRING MANDATORY TEPORTING OF SEX ABUSE IS GUILTY OF THE MOST HENNIOUS CRIME WHILE BRODT WAS SINGING AT THE AGUDA TURKEY SHOW KIDS WERE BEING MOLESTED