***HALB Principal, Rabbi Adam Englander, Wrote Letter for Judah Karkowsky, Penner Letter Made Public***

After Judah Karkowsky was accused of sexually abusing a child on an EMT call, the charges were dropped on a technicality. Despite Karkowsky had been suspended from the Young Israel of Woodmere following his arrest, and was not allowed back even after the charges were dropped.

*** @COLLiveNews Publishes Picture of Convicted Child Molester, Mendel Tewel, Hanging Out with Rabbi @ManisFriedman at Ohel*** In a shocking photo collection published by @COLLiveNews on the 30th anniversary of Gimmel Tammuz, Mendel Tewel convicted for molesting several boys was seen milling about at the Ohel among crowds of adults and children, and talking to renowned rabbi and speaker, @ManisFriedman.

***Child Victims Act Lawsuit Against Yeshiva University Clears Motion to Dismiss, Will Proceed***

Yeshiva University's motion to dismiss in the Child Victims Act lawsuit filed against it by more than 50 plaintiffs was mostly denied by Judge Alexander Tisch. Below is a press release by the legal team representing one of the lead plaintiffs, Mordechai Twersky.

Boro Park resident Fishel Sherman, previously charged with sexual abuse and let free through a diversion program, has been re-arrested for child sexual abuse.


In May of 2014, Boro Park resident, Fishel Sherman, was arrested and charged with two counts of course of sexual conduct with a child under the age of 13. Sherman got about as lucky as a pedophile can get in his case.

Regarding the Arie Crown letter I posted yesterday, it seems the disclaimer at the top stating that sharing the letter outside of the alumni or parent bodies was assur was put there because the Pomerantz is already dead and "nothing can be done." There are many reasons this is misguided and harmful, but chief among them is the fact that transparency encourages further disclosures, both about that case and other cases.

The following statement was sent to parents and alumni of Arie Crown Hebrew Day School.

A few things are glaringly wrong with this letter. First is the opening statement saying that sharing the statement is a violation of Halacha. This idea that discussing sexual abuse is Lashon Hara is not only wrong but dangerous. Even if the abuser is dead it needs to be discussed.

What's so sick about what @YUNews and @AriBermanYU are doing is that (not that this would excuse it at all) they know the cost of coming out as LGBT in the Orthodox world, even in the MO world. They know how hard it is and how much adversity LGBTQ kids face in the community. More than that, they know the increased mental health risks posed by the community backlash and discrimination LGBTQ people experience because they have access to this information even if they refuse to actually meet with LGBTQ students and hear their experiences.

In response to yesterday’s Washington Post article about the allegations of sexual abuse against a former teacher at Washington Hebrew Congregation, WHC sent this letter to parents and the community.

washingtonpost.com/education/2022… For those who may not have read it the article WHC asserted that when parents signed a basic waiver disclaiming liability for accidents that may happen during school activities they were also disclaiming their ability to sue if the school allowed their kids to be sexually abused.

This is the actual argument made by Washington Hebrew Congregation in response to a suit filed by parents alleging former teacher Jordan Silverman sexually abused their kids: By signing a waiver for school activities, parents disclaimed liability for sexual abuse. Basically their argument is, if you're saying that sexual abuse isn't a school activity, why are you suing us? And if you're saying it is a school activity, you signed a waiver indemnifying us.

For everyone complaining about the fact that the New York Times got involved in the issue of frum education, let me ask you, where else should people concerned about this issue in the community go? Der Yid? Der Blatt? Yated? Ami? Mishpacha? YWN? Hamodia? None of them will publish opposing viewpoints on anything, certainly not this issue. I get the same complaints about my anti abuse advocacy, "why spread our dirty laundry everywhere?" Because I can't actually discuss the issue frankly in the frum media. They won't allow it.

I've had a bunch of discussions with a bunch of people over tge last few days about the New York Times article on yeshiva education (or lack thereof) and there's one point that keeps coming up that I feel is important to address. Critics of the article and of the movement to expand secular education in yeshivas in general will say that "the community" doesn't want it so it's wrong to force them to comply.

Williamsburg based family services and special needs residence agency and it's manager, Israel Tropper, sued for sexual harassment and retaliation, but suit later dropped after vicious fighting in court. Alleged victim claims Tropper bragged about women being attracted to him and wanting him to perform hypnosis on them at his previous job, and asked to hypnotize her and assured her that if he asked her to take off her clothes the hypnosis would stop working.

In the current issue of @Tzarich_Iyun_en Rabbi Tzvi Vinter published a truly reprehensible article defending Charedi indifference to sexual abuse. Not trying to pretend the community isn't indifferent, mind you, actually defending it.

hareiani.com/2022/06/20/wha… In the @Tzarich_Iyun_en Rabbi Vinter claims that Charedi are less affected by sexual abuse because they value sexuality as a whole differently than the secular world does and therefore don't "See the big deal" about it."

hareiani.com/2022/06/20/wha…

Therapist David J. Nyer put together this kol koreh of 200 rabbonim who endorse direct reporting of sexual abuse to authorities. This list was originally published in 2015, and was re-published this past Pesach in the special Pesach issue of Mishpacha q/ additional signatures. Notably absent from this kol koreh are the signatures of any one of the members of the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah of Agudath Israel of America @AgudahNews.

I've been getting calls for years about a certain doctor in Boro Park who has sexually assaulted more women than I can count. It's something of an open secret that he's a sexual abuser and yet no one in power does anything about it. The victims I talk to are all scared to report. A few years ago one victim posted on FB about being abused by him and looked into pursuing a case. She had aged out of the statute of limitations. Another woman who saw the post tried coming forward to the DA but after a former NY assembly member got involved the case fell apart.

Spring Valley LCSW Daniel Dresdner is being sued for allegedly sexually abusing 2 patients. Dresdner allegedly forcibly touched them and rubbed his penis against them to completion, and with one of them while she was incapacitated due to seizure/dissociation. He also allegedly engaged in violence against one of them, punching her in the mouth so hard she required a bone graft and replacement tooth impact.

Link to full complaint: iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDoc…

Internal reporting doesn't work, and if you need any evidence of that I'll send you the list of CVA cases against Agudah, Camp Agudah, Torah Temimah, Ger Yeshiva, Bobov, Satmar, Mogen Av, Ohel, Ohel, Ohel, Chai Lifeline, Hamaspik, Kranczer, etc. All it does is lead to coverup. In 2013 Yossi Kolko, nephew of prolific child rapist Yiddy Kolko, started raping a child in lakewood. He raped him in camp then came back to Lakewood and raped him for a few more months. The kid finally disclosed to his father who being a good Lakewood man went to beis din.

Shifra Yocheved Horowitz, a victim of Chaim Walder's, was found dead in her apartment of an apparent suicide. She reportedly was extremely affected by Walder's suicide and took her own life. After two days out of contact with her friends she was found dead. This is the consequences of not believing survivors and taking their allegations seriously. This is what happens when a community fights so hard on behalf of an abuser and ignores the consequences to their victims. Her death is not only a tragedy but a crime.