Thread by @wordpaley

It’s now been more than 3 days since this news broke. And the only people talking about it here are the people who always call out abuse.

I want to be shocked, but I’m used to it already.

A thread on how the institutional structure of the Orthodox community perpetuates abuse:

https://twitter.com/avitalrachel/status/1459157090065424385

First I’ll lay out the 3 problems with Orthodox infrastructure that perpetuate abuse, then I’ll explain each one by one in separate threads.

1. There’s no check on men in power.
2. Teacher is a lowly, unglamorous job so no one cares to properly evaluate their suitability to teach kids.
3. The well-being and right to self-determination of Orthodox children is not prioritized over their staying within the Orthodox fold.

1. There’s no check on men in power.

In the Orthodox world, and especially the Charedi world, men run the show. They lead shuls, schools (even girls’ schools), charitable organizations. Even in Modern Orthodoxy, there are no large institutions with a woman at the helm.

It’s especially evident in the Charedi world, where women in power, w few exceptions, must have a man supervising. The result is a boys club in which girls are literally not allowed. Do you really think they’re not gonna cover for each other if a woman accuses them of wrongdoing?

OK, some background: If you’re not familiar, Chaim Walder wrote a series of children’s books called Kids Speak about the real stories of Orthodox children. Read and loved by tens of thousands of kids, they’re probably among the most popular Orthodox children’s books of all time.

The stories aren’t just feel-good stories; they delve into the heavier parts of being a kid. There are plenty of stories of illness, loss, bullying, and more recently, mental health struggles. The kids who told these stories to Walder were surely in places of great vulnerability.

But just as importantly, Walder was always in a position of tremendous power. He received a prize from the prime minister in 2003 called “Guardian for Children” for his work with at-risk youth. He oversees the Center for Child and Family in the Charedi city of Bnei Brak.

It goes on. He has a running column in one of Israel’s foremost Charedi newspapers, Yated Neeman, for 30 years. He has a popular radio show. He travels around Israel signing books for kids. He’s close with Charedi leaders in the rabbinic, political, media, and economic arenas.

The Haaretz article details the testimony of 3 young women (20+ more have since come forward), all of whom Walder slowly groomed until he could molest them in his apartment, 2 he raped in hotels. He said things like “I am God” and “You’re giving me energy to write for the kids.”

He even justified sex with a married woman because he said if you do it with a condom it doesn’t count. Obviously that’s completely nonsensical in Jewish law. But the point is when you’re a man in power, you can do whatever you want because you know your boys will cover for you.

But here’s the kicker. He actually said to one of the girls he raped, when she distanced herself from him: “No one will believe you.” You don’t say that unless you’re very confident that your power and connections will protect you. Walder knowingly used this power to intimidate.

And what do you know? 1 by 1, Charedi leaders are coming out of the woodwork to defend Walder, including sitting member of Knesset Yitzchok Pindrus. The Charedi news outlets are silent. I’m certain that others offered their support in private. Exactly as Walder planned.

The Modern Orthodox community is no better. Since 3 Child Victims Act lawsuits against @OHELFamily (led by a man, natch) employees (2 still work there) have come to light, including one that says Ohel covered up the abuse, the org (or other community leaders) has said nothing.

Employees of 3 NY-area MO day schools were named in CVA lawsuits. In 2 cases, TABC and HALB, the school hired “independent” investigators that did not even attempt to contact plaintiffs or their attorneys. Now the abusers are back in school, even though the lawsuits are ongoing.

Current @NefeshBNefesh COO Ari Schuchman was also named. The organization has said nothing. The list goes on and on.

Guess what all these schools and organizations have in common? Yep, you guessed it. They’re all led by men.

Before you call me a sexist: The problem here is not the gender of Orthodox leaders. The problem is the culture of silencing that’s created by a homogeneous, exclusive group of leaders. They become more devoted to each other than to the people they’re supposed to serve.

When a group is diverse, it means it’s at least willing to tolerate perspectives that are different from that of the majority (whether it is in practice is another story). When not, groupthink creates an implicit understanding that when one member is under attack, they all are.

So they all stand up for each other, because they know it could’ve been them and because the groupthink is so strong it implies that anything less than standing up is full-on betrayal. This is like rule number 1 of the “bro code.” And it rules the day in institutional Orthodoxy.

There’s also the issue of reputation. If the reaction of these institutions can reach us anything, is that there’s nothing they fear more than even the slightest mark on their reputation. Even if it means risking the safety and well-being of the kids they’re supposed to care for.

They’ll panic and hire “independent” investigators (that are also working for the defendant) to clear them even though it makes zero sense to reach a conclusion by investigating only one side, and the investigator has zero credibility when they’re also representing the defendant.

And of course, the money. Another important reason cover-up is the default is because institutions are so desperate for funding they’ll basically take it from anyone. That means they could, and do, face donor pressure from unsavory people who don’t really care about child abuse.

You know who also did stuff like this? The people who covered up for Jeffrey Epstein (I just finished watching Filthy Rich on Netflix). The lawyers and federal agents who let him off for molesting, raping, and trafficking 100s of teen girls by smearing the girls as prostitutes.

I have virtually no doubt that Epstein paid off these people to get a better deal. Or the other powerful people implicated in Epstein’s crimes (Alan Dershowitz, Bill Clinton etc.) made a few phone calls. Bros covering for bros. Money covering for money.

You’re probably shocked by this comparison. Epstein? Really? Consider this: Both are situations in which powerful men put their own reputations and money before the safety of children. Both involve laundering sex abuse that left lifelong trauma. Do the differences really matter?

If you’re wondering why I only allowed people I follow to reply to this thread, it’s not because I’m afraid that the reply guys who deny the experiences of the victims will poke holes in their claims. It’s because people who deny the trauma of abuse victims don’t deserve a voice.

And of course, an immense thank you from the bottom of my heart to @HareianiBlog, @ariella_kay, and all @ZAAKAHNY volunteers for being a literal lifeline for victims and holding Orthodox institutions accountable. You are among the few people who give me hope in these dark days.

Testimonies of more Walder victims:

https://twitter.com/yehudisfletcher/status/1459937357264785418

Another testimony:

https://twitter.com/aronrabino1/status/1460490818033225731

A network of fake Facebook profiles created to defend Walder and smear victims:

https://twitter.com/avitalrachel/status/1460023506096336900