 |
DAVID MANDEL
CEO OF OHEL |
MR David Mandel CEO of Ohel Children's Home and Dr. David Pelcovitz, spoke last
night on the Zev Brenner Show, But still continue to refuse to educate our community that one must report sex abuse of our precious children to the police.Ohel"s
record on enforcing the laws of new york state are a
sad chapter in the history of Ohel childrens home
 |
DR DAVID PELCOWITZ
CHARGES NON PROFITSTHOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TO SPEAK ON CHILD ABUSE |
AUDIO OF RADIO SHOW AS MANDEL AND PELCOVITZ DANCE AROUND THE ISSUES
Ohel"s History of Covering Up Child Abuse
This paper presents an overview of the allegations (mostly documented, some from witnesses) that
have already been or are soon to be publicized regarding Ohel's three decade long involvement in
covering up sexual abuse problems in the Orthodox community.
Obviously, a thorough investigation of all of these problems, and of the inner workings of
Ohel, its management, its relationship with the community leadership establishment, the rabbis, Child
Protective Services, Kol Tzedek and the Brooklyn District Attorney, Agudas Yisroel, etc. is well beyond
The purpose of the paper is not to convict Ohel. I do not intend to be judge jury and executioner. It is
merely an indictment that I believe any honest grand jury would agree to, that clearly raises enough
questions to warrant further investigation and clarification. When it comes to the crime of child sexual
abuse, there is too much at risk for the community to allow the problems in Ohel's history to simply be
swept under the carpet because of the need to "protect an organization that has done so much good."
Furthermore, it is unlikely that the whole story will ever be told. Hundreds of employees and thousands
of clients have passed through Ohel's doors and very few have been willing to speak openly to reporters
trying to investigate Ohel for years. However, what is hoped is that an honest examination by the
community, an open discussion, and an attempt to figure out what has gone wrong, can lead to
recommendations for changes that can set the communal organization back on track, with new
oversight and checks and balances in place so that the community can regain its confidence that
children are being protected to the best of our ability.
Covering up for therapists, employees and consultants who molest children:
1. In 1985, Ohel covered up its knowledge of Avraham Mondrowitz molesting scores of Jewish and non-
Jewish children. Ohel was more concerned with the prospect of being sued for having referred
vulnerable foster care children to "Dr. Mondrowitz" for therapy, than they were about warning the
community of his danger. He fled from justice to Israel, where he remains a free man until this day. 1
2. When, over 20 years later, survivors of Mondrowitz's abuse and advocates finally convinced the
Brooklyn DA (who also had helped in the cover up) 2 to extradite him, Ohel was silent about it for a long
time. Finally, after being hounded by a respected news blog, they took a position which was according
to their own press release, "not opposed" to his extradition. 3 They offered zero support to any of the
survivors or to any of the advocates who argued publicly for his extradition, 4 and of course no apology
for the role they played in sending kids to him or in covering it up twenty years earlier.
Vosizneias.com. Brooklyn, NY - Zev Brenner: COJO Told Me Not to Report Mondrowitz Two Decades Ago
Newsday, 5/28/03. Tripping Up the Prosecution / Social pressure, refuge in Israel thwart sex-abuse cases
Vosizneias. OHEL Clarification: Mondrowitz Never Employed By Us, We Don't Oppose His Extradition, We Are Here To Help .
Jerusalem Post: Why Avrohom Mondrowitz must be extradited Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=128305
3. In 1992 Simcha Adler, a counselor at Ohel molested and sodomized two brothers and in 1999 it was
exposed that Ohel had not helped them prosecute, and therefore Adler walked free. The brothers,
Michael and Robert, would like to be able to sue Ohel, but because of statute of limitations they can't.
Ohel, of course, has vigorously opposed the Child Victims Act/Markey bill which would open a one year
window for victims of abuse to go back and sue their molesters, and has offered "compromise bills." 6
4. In September of 2010, when Andrew Goodman was arrested for molesting children in Brooklyn, and it
was discovered that he was currently working at Ohel, although he was immediately fired, 7 Ohel did no
internal investigation about his activities while working there with a vulnerable population, and did not
even send out letters to those he worked with to ask if he had acted in a harmful manner with them.
Instead, they once again, chose to sweep the issue under the carpet, and we may never know if and how
many people under his care at Ohel were abused by Goodman.
Covering up for rabbis and veshivas who cover-up:
5. In 2000, Ohel proudly announced its new treatment program for child molesters, which was before it
offered any treatment program for victims of abuse. The molesters were referred by community
members, mostly rabbis, including after 2006, the Beis Din that Ohel helped found in Lakewood, NJ.
This program was never seen by the rabbis as working in conjunction and cooperation with law
enforcement, but rather as a way for the rabbis to avoid having to report molesters to the police even
though in New Jersey, all adults are mandated reporters of child abuse. 8
In 2009 the Jewish Week exposed the problem that this scenario left zero safeguards in place for the
children of the community. 9 Serial molesters like Stephan Colmer, Emanuel Yegutkin and dozens others
were free to drop out of therapy at any time. Colmer did so, after local rabbis promised to give him
"Torah therapy", and went on to abuse many more boys. While Ohel hides behind HIPPA regulations
that shield the "patients'" confidentiality in defending why they have not warned the community of any
of the predators they have treated, 10 there is clearly no such legal justification for not warning the
community about the rabbis who know about the molesters and do not report them to the police or
warn the community. Instead, Ohel has honored and "worked closely" with these rabbis to gain
referrals and to assist and abet in the illegal Beis Dins that cover up for the molesters.
When it was suggested to Ohel that they have molesters sign waivers to release information in cases
where they do not comply with treatment and safety plans, CEO Mandel said that this information could
then be subpoenaed, and therefore nobody would want to come to treatment. 11 In fact a judge in
Lakewood ruled that otherwise privileged information contained in a clinical report by a therapist about
an alleged child rapist would be admitted as evidence because the confessed molester had signed a
waiver saying that the therapist could show the report to the Bais Din. 12 Why Ohel sees this highly
desirable outcome as a bad thing is as mysterious as why the rabbis on the Bais Din, when seeing the
report of the confession of rape, did not report it to the police themselves.
5 New York Post: news/item o47zOBb0Fkmv8FD42yqgUL#.ThCXPmi5flU
Vosizneias.com April 30th, 2009 CEO Of Ohel: Compromise On Markey Bill Should Offer 1 Year Amnesty Plan For Perpetrators
Former Ohel Employee's Bond Set At $1 Million - FailedMessiah.com
Asbury Park Press Editorial: Sex abuse cases must be reported to law enforcement. 8/23/09. Asbury Park Press Editorial: No
exemptions for sex abuse. 9/14/09
g
Jewish Week, May 2009, A Suspected Pedophile Eludes The System
www.Ohelfamily.org. Child Sexual Abuse ,
unpublished Jewish Week interview
Asbury Park Press, 5/18/11: Judge: Comments made by teacher charged with sex abuse admissible in court
6. Meanwhile, after the second expose by the Jewish Week in as many years about Ohel's sex offender
treatment program 13 and its criticism in a front page article in the New York Times, 14 Ohel now finally
admits that it has closed its treatment program down, and does not take referrals of child sexual abusers
in search of therapy. But instead of advising rabbis that they should report to the authorities, according
to an on the record (unpublished) Jewish Week interview now refers the rabbis to "private practitioners
in the community," the very therapists told by Agudah rabbis to consult a rabbi before reporting. 15
7. The Beis Din system that Ohel helped to create in Lakewood in the early part of the 2000' s, has since
closed in disgrace, but that has not stopped Ohel from promoting the "Rabbinic Vaad" idea as the way
to handle child abuse in the community as opposed to recommending people call the police. In New
Square, Ohel has helped set up such a Vaad. 16 After recent violent criminal events in that community
have brought it into the media spotlight and under federal investigation, there is reason to hope that
the cover-ups perpetrated by this committee will finally be exposed. 17
8. In 2006, when Yeshiva Torah Temima was exposed as having knowingly harbored a child molesting
rebbe, Rabbi Yehudah Kolko, for decades, 18 Ohel stood by the Yeshiva even as the DA did bring criminal
charges against Rabbi Kolko, and the Yeshiva was sued for millions (the case is still pending). 19 David
Framowitz, the victim who first blew the whistle, placed multiple calls from Israel to David Mandel
asking him not to allow Ohel to be used to cover for Rabbi Margulies, and clinicians at Ohel expressed
deep reservations that it would be a bad idea, but to no avail, as CEO Mandel spoke about the issue of
molestation in camps at YTT on an evening in which Professor Aaron Twerski defended Rabbi Margulies
as an "honorable man," and not a word was spoken about the horrific abuse and cover-up recently
exposed that had taken place in the same building. Mandel stated publicly that "An individual who
abuses children and who participates in treatment can lead a successful life and be believed that they
would no longer hurt children." When asked, in an interview the following day, whether such people
could work with children again, Mandel evaded the question. 20 This, despite experts on child
molestation maintaining that "sexual abuse is a learned, habituated behavior and is not curable." 21
Covering up in foster care and clinical cases
9. Contrary to popular belief that Lieby Kletzky was the first Jewish child to be murdered by a Jewish
adult, in 1992, Shulamis Riegler plead guilty to murdering her young son Yaakov, and was sentenced to
eight years in jail. 22 Her history of severe physical abuse of her children was well known to the
community, and she had been forced to give up her children to foster care for years. However, Ohel,
under communal pressure, and the child's pediatrician, agreed to let them go home to their mother
despite the fact that she had stopped seeing her psychiatrist. When ACS was called yet again by the
boy's school that was worried about serious physical injuries, they claimed they had referred the case to
13
The Jewish Week. Abuse Case Tests Ohel's Adherence To Reporting Laws
14
New York Times. October, 2009 Orthodox Jews Rely More on Sex Abuse Prosecution
The Forward 5/2/11 Ultra-Orthodox Group Affirms Abuse Cases Go First To Rabbi .
The Jewish Star http://www.thejewishstar.com/detail.html7sub id=1682 ).
FBI said to join New Square arson investigation - News 12 . www.newsl2.com . June 12, 2011
New York Magazine: On the Rabbi's Knee
NY yeshiva sued over 'sexual abuse' Michal Lando, the Jerusalem Post, New York 04/02/2008
Jewish Week, June 16, 2006, Jennifer Friedlin: Yeshiva In Sex Scandal Pledges More Protection
Carich, M. Mussac, S. (Eds.), (2001). Handbook for Sexual Abuser Assessment and Treatment, Safer Society Press, Brandon,
Vermont, (pp. 2-3)
Abuse Turns Fatal: How the System Failed -- www.nytimes.com 2/10/92
Ohel, but there was never any follow up or oversight, resulting in the tragic loss of life of the young
boy. 23
10. Shlomo Weiss went public with his story in an Emmy-award winning news segment on Channel 12
News. 24 Shlomo was regularly molested by his father as a child over the course of years. When he got
divorced from his wife in 2001, and she got custody of their children, Shlomo wanted to make sure that
his father would not have any access to them, and he went to court to protect the children from their
grandfather. He wanted support in this endeavor and went to Ohel for help. The therapist who
interviewed him told him that they had no services for survivors and that there was nothing that they
could do for him. The therapist did not call the authorities, nor did they recommend he do so.
11. Rivkie K. was molested for years by somebody known to her family. She went to Ohel for services.
Coming from Lakewood, her molester had been referred to Ohel for therapy and nobody had ever
reported him to the police. She herself did go to the police but had trouble getting them to investigate
her case because in Lakewood the police are slow to act against Orthodox child molesters. Her therapist
did not advise her or support her in going to the police, and her molester eventually "escaped to Israel."
12. Sara Rosenberg grew up in Pennsylvania in a family that fostered and adopted children through
Ohel. Her parents, adopted two children with Down's Syndrome through Ohel. Sara and her two
siblings were all abused by her parents. She moved out of the house 15 years ago but her mentally
retarded siblings, now adults, are still in the home, and Sara has reason to believe they are still being
abused. In addition, her parents were given several other foster care children by Ohel over the years.
About 4-5 years ago Sara informed Ohel about the abuse. She was told that there was nothing Ohel
could do because the family is outside of NY (though the children were placed by Ohel for adoption
outside of NY). She was also told that her brother's file could not be located, and she was asked if she
was sure that he was adopted through Ohel. She found this an odd question since her brother had been
used in several full page advertisements of Ohel in the Jewish Press. She contacted David Mandel again
in 2010 about the situation, after Ohel's failures to protect children had begun to become more public.
She received a response from Ohel's lawyer by email that Ohel takes the allegations seriously and would
investigate. She heard nothing further, so she emailed him again and received a response that Ohel was
following up and will provide information to her to the extent permitted by federal and state
confidentiality laws. This was the last she heard from anyone at Ohel about the situation. While the
people involved are all adults and Ohel was only recently informed of the abuse, Sara believes that
their apparent complete abdication of responsibility and lack of any offer to help her deal with law
enforcement, etc. is illustrative of how they treat these kinds of situations more generally.
13. In 2009, a woman being treated at Ohel for emotional problems resulting from a history of child
sexual abuse disclosed that she was molesting her young son. Therapists at first worked with her on a
treatment "safety plan" to keep her child safe, but when that did not work, decided that child protective
services needed to be called. However, their supervisor after consultation with Ohel's lawyer, decided
to tell the therapists not to report the mother. Within days, the mother had a breakdown that lead to a
psychiatric hospitalization, in which she disclosed to the hospital workers, who did report it to ACS, that
she had been molesting her son. When an investigation began, Ohel's therapists were told not to
cooperate with the investigators, but to refer all questions to their supervisors and Ohel's lawyer. 25 The
investigation lead to the finding that the boy was not safe living with the mother and he was removed
23 School Feared Borough Park Boy Was Victim of Abuse - New York Times 11/14/90
Channel 12 News. www. newsl2.com/article Detail. isp?articleld=260126&position=l&news type=news
Jewish Week Abuse Case Tests Ohel's Adherence To Reporting Laws
from the house, the mother lost custody and parental rights, and she is only allowed supervised
visitation with her son. 26
Covering up in speeches to the community:
14. Brooklyn - In September 2000 at a forum titled "Let's Talk About What Never Happened, But It Did",
Ohel claims they brought the issue of sexual abuse "out from under the rug". However, most of the
survivors of abuse in the audience felt that this was just one more opportunity squandered to be open
and honest with the community. First of all, there were no actual survivors to give testimony to "what
never happened". There were no professionals with any experience in treating them or hearing their
stories. The speakers were rabbis who knew nothing about the issue. Rabbi Yisroel Reisman admitted
as much, but said that he did know firsthand of two cases of abuse, which he emphatically pointed out
were committed on "frum" Jews by "non-frum" neighbors and relatives, implying that frum jews don't
molest, effectively negating the experience of many of the survivors in the audience. Rabbi Reisman
spoke about sexual molestation in terms of an evil inclination comparable to the Biblical story of
Joseph's temptation by his bosses wife. He answered questions about the victims' sense of betrayal by
saying there is no reason to feel this way, because bad things happen to good people.
Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky told victims that they should not feel any shame about what happened to
them because it was not their fault. However, when asked by a woman in an anonymously written
question if she should reveal her childhood abuse to her husband of thirty, the Rosh Yeshiva said in no
uncertain terms that she should not, because he would not understand it, and she should only talk to a
therapist about it. At no point was there any discussion of prevention, of the communal safety that
victims need in order to fully heal, of justice, or of reporting molesters to the authorities.
David Mandel, who is neither a licensed clinician or a trained psychotherapist, also stated that the
majority of children molested go on to lead normal happy lives with no intervention. He said "It is the
minority that end up needing some intervention," a statement that contradicts most current research. 27
There were many survivors who were retraumatized by feeling that these remarks were insensitive,
lacking compassion, and even denying their experience. Some approached Mandel directly in tears and
demanded an audience with the rabbis to "explain what really did happen." One woman who is an
incest survivor was crying and said she could not believe she had witnessed a gathering of Rabbis, whose
goal was to address the issue of sexual abuse in our community, and in fact it was hardly discussed at all.
"I feel betrayed and abandoned, by the very people who are supposed to support me", she said.
15. Passaic - In 2008, Ohel was asked to address the community about child sexual abuse problems.
On their own website they mention that this meeting was in response to the fact that a molester known
to them, Stephan Colmer, had moved into the neighborhood. Nevertheless, they only told parents in
the audience to talk to their children about good touch and bad touch. Indeed, only the rabbi of the
synagogue where the event took place was responsible and professional and concerned enough about
child safety to take the opportunity that night to publicly call on anyone who knows anything about any
Jewish Week Ohel Says Jewish Week Accusations 'Unfounded'
Association between self-reported childhood sexual abuse and adverse psychosocial outcomes: Results from a Twin Study
Elliot C Nelson; Andrew C Heath; Pamela A F Madden; M Lynne Cooper; et al Archives of General Psychiatry; Feb 2002; 59, 2;
Research Library, pg. 139 Childhood sexual abuse and psychiatric disorder in young adulthood: II. Psychiatric outcomes of
childhood sexual abuse DM Fergusson, L Horwood... - Journal of the American ..., 1996
Aggression and Violent Behavior Volume 7, Issue 6 , November-December 2002, Pages 567-589 KA Tyler - Aggression and
Violent Behavior, 2002
Childhood Sexual Abuse and Adult Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders in Women An Epidemiological and Cotwin Control
Analysis Kenneth S. Kendler, MD; Cynthia M. Bulik, PhD; Judy Silberg, PhD; John M. Hettema, PhD, MD; John Myers, MS; Carol
A. Prescott, PhD Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2000;57:953-959.
case of molestation to go directly to the police. However, not only were Ohel professionals caught off
guard by this statement that they themselves should have made, but they continue to intentionally
exclude any mention of it in their reporting of the event on their website. 28
16. Baltimore - In April of 2007, the Vaad Harrabanim of Baltimore published a letter signed by almost
all the Orthodox rabbis in the city about the problem of sexual abuse. In it they said "that an abuser is
to be considered a Rodef (literally a 'pursuer'), effectively poised to destroy innocent lives and,
therefore, virtually all means may be used to stop him and bring him to justice," and they encouraged
"the reporting of these crimes to the local authorities, who are most equipped to investigate and
prosecute these complex claims." 29
However, in February of 2008, the same rabbis hired Ohel as consultants to come and teach the
community about keeping children safe. At a community meeting attended by over 500 parents and
concerned adults, Ohel's representatives once again refused to discuss the issue of child sexual abuse
being a crime against children, and they did not make mention of law enforcement, child protective
services, or criminal prosecution. 30
Furthermore, a "bootlegged" video that was publicized on YouTube shows CEO David Mandel talking
about the need for parents to be careful not to always believe their children, and not to publicize
allegations because there needs to be care taken not to "peer into shadows". He talks about ways to
get around the mandated reporting laws by making sure the perpetrator in cases of incest moves out of
the house. He also ignores a question from the audience asking about reporting abuse to authorities in
order to protect children. 31
17. Woodmere and Lakewood. In 2010 Ohel was hosted at the Aish Kodesh Shul in Woodmere by Rabbi
Moshe Weinberger, and a social worker gave a talk on protecting children from abuse, that in cases of
abuse people should go to the police. The Jewish Star noted that Ohel's announcement marked a
change from their previous position of only one year earlier in an interview in the Jewish Press where
they said that "there should be guidelines in place for those in the community to decide "when to use
therapy and when to call in law enforcement." 32
But in Lakewood, New Jersey, in the last year and a half, Ohel has had two programs to teach parents
how to keep their children safe, and not only do they continue to avoid talking about the importance of
reporting all crimes against children to the proper authorities, but they have an even greater
impediment to child safety in that community. Instead of teaching parents to talk to their children
about "good touch-bad touch" Ohel agreed to the rabbi's insistence that only family pediatricians be in
charge of having this talk with the children, because of the assumption that parents will find it too
immodest to do so. At a recent meeting between with child advocates, Mandel boasted that this was
huge progress for such a sheltered community as Lakewood.
Covering up through legislative initiatives:
18. Virtually all child advocacy groups supported The Child Victims Act, aka. The Markey Bill, that would
extend the statutes of limitations on both criminal and civil cases of child abuse, and would open a one
year window for old claims to be brought. Most religious groups supported giving victims of abuse their
day in court and helping them expose molesters who are not known to the justice system. In the
www.Ohelfamily.org, Child Sexual Abuse ,
Baltimore Jewish Times, May 21, 2007: Abuse in Our Community
Baltimore Jewish Times 2/29/08 /index. php/jewishtimes/article/analysis anti child molestation meeting fails/
VOutube,com/watch?v=Soo67uqrseE
Jewish Star 6/17/10 "Call the cops: Ohel recommends alerting the authorities" thejewishstar, com/detail. htm l?sub id=1800
Orthodox Jewish community, The Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, Survivors for Justice, The
Voice of Justice, and JSAFE, were joined by The OU, the RCA and the Iggud Harrabanim. Opposition to
the bill that would hold institutions responsible for aiding and abetting child molesters, was led by the
Agudath Israel, Torah Umesorah and the Catholic Church.
Ohel, as the organization that deals daily with vulnerable children should have been expected to fully
support victims of child abuse and their advocates in vociferously lobbying with all its political weight for
this important piece of legislation. However, once again Ohel took the side of the rabbis of the Agudah
and Torah Umesorah over the safety of children. While it denied opposing the bill, 33 David Mandel
wrote an op-ed offering a strange "compromise" that would give child molesters amnesty for their
crimes if they confessed within one year (comparable to returning library books late) and would cap the
amount of money that a victim of abuse could sue for no matter how badly he or she was damaged. 34
These ideas lead one leading advocate to remark that Mandel has no understanding of the pain suffered
by a survivor of abuse or how much money is often spent on therapy bills alone. 35
19. One of the legal loopholes that Ohel continuously hides behind is the fact that in cases where they
are not mandated to report, they claim they are not allowed to because of the confidentiality they owes
to the sexual predators. The limitations of this protection have been debated by professionals. 36 To
show good faith on the issue, Ohel published an ad in which aside from applauding itself for the work it
has done to educate the community it insisted that it would like to be able to report more and it "would
welcome expanded mandatory reporting laws". 37
However, in another apparent contradiction, Ohel supported Agudath Israel as the only religious group
to oppose a law in New York that would extend the mandated reporting law to include clergy as
mandated reporters. Muslims, Protestants, Reform and Conservative Jews, Modern Orthodox Jews, and
yes, even the Catholic Church supported changing existing laws to require clergy to report suspicions of
child abuse to the authorities. But David Mandel warned that it is "premature" for our community to be
expected to protect children in this way, and that most rabbis would probably break the law any way.
He did not express the slightest outrage or did not "welcome" the prosecution of those rabbis who
would break the law, perhaps because then Ohel would also be held accountable in the same way. 38
20. On the initiative of the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children's Position Paper 39 that calls on the
state legislature to mandate Jewish and other private schools to do fingerprinting and background
checks and institute other safety protocols, Ohel has taken no position. Not one employee of Ohel has
signed onto either the Yom Kippur Resolution or the online petition in favor of the position paper.
Covering up in educational materials:
21. As part of its mission to protect children in the community, Ohel spent thousands of dollars on an
educational videotape that it proudly announced would help teach the community about child sexual
abuse and give guidance about what needs to be done. The video described the psychological impact of
the problem, and repeatedly noted the importance of awareness and treatment, but it never mentioned
Jewish Star, 4/26/09 Ohel denies it will oppose bill to allow victims in old cases to name abusers (UPDATE)
Five Towns Jewish Times. Mandel, D. (April 29, 2009) Sexual Abuse Legislation: A Proposed Strategy for Reform.
Vosizneias.com April 30th, 2009 CEO Of Ohel: Compromise On Markev Bill Should Offer 1 Year Amnesty Plan For Perpetrators
35 Five Towns Jewish Times April 29, 2009 The Abuse Debate
Jewish Week, May 2009, A Suspected Pedophile Eludes The System
Failedmessiah.com, May 13, 2009, Ohel Calls For 'Collective Action' On Pedophile Problem
Jewish Week, April 5, 2002, Haredi Group Balks At Clergy Law , Jewish Week, Orthodox Rabbis To Report Abuse .
POSITION PAPER www.iewishadvocates.blogspot.com
that sexual abuse is a crime and should be reported to law enforcement. 40 Professor Twerski defended
this omission, saying "It's a complex question of who has to report, and who is a mandated reporter. I'm
not sure we could do it in that video."
But it is hard to see how it would have taken so much time from the other important information for
somebody to tell parents to call the police when their child is abused. The fact that one of the stars of
the video is Rabbi Shmuel Kaminetsky whose stated public opinion as a member of the Moetzes Gedolie
Yisroel of the Agudah is that abuse should be reported to rabbis and not to the police 41 and that Jewish
sex offenders should not have to go to jail, 42 appears to have stopped Ohel from directly contradicting
the rabbi and alienating his constituency.
22. In an article in an Agudath Israel publication, David Mandel minimized the problem of abuse in our
community by falsely stating that it happens "at a much smaller number relative to the general
population." 43 In fact, there is no research to support this claim, and there is a mountain of research
suggesting that child sexual abuse occurs with relatively similar frequency across a broad range of
socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial segments of the general population. 44 The only study published thus
far on the prevalence among Orthodox Jews actually shows that the statistics are in line with that of all
other groups. 45 Mandel again minimized the problem by stating that the "overwhelming majority of
children who are molested" will not need any professional help in coping with it, and will have no long
term effects," and "only ...a small percentage of children and adolescents are so traumatized they will
need psychological treatment." 46 He then promoted the myth that "girls who are molested as
adolescents are especially vulnerable," when current research strongly suggests that boys have their
own unique psychological vulnerabilities when sexually abused, and are no less likely to be harmed. 47
While Mandel recommended "inculcating... a zero tolerance mindset into our community," he boasted
that he and Law Professor Aaron Twerski have helped Rabbanim in major Jewish communities across
the country to establish 'Batei Dinim' to "deal specifically with allegations of child and adolescent
molestation," as opposed to advocating jail terms and probation for molesters. He argues instead, for
"community supervision and treatment" done with no law enforcement involvement: "It is most
important to keep the perpetrator in the community under a watchful eye, not to push them out so they
can move to another community or another city and continue their horrible acts." This, according to
Mandel, rather than criminal prosecution and punishment, gives the perpetrator the best chance not to
reoffend. "My colleagues and I at OHEL.. .[have been]. ..led by a ...vision and sense of communal
responsibility ... [that] has enabled us to develop services in this sensitive area." 48
The Forward: htt p://www, forward. com/a rticles/107113/#ixzzlRSMiol_5i
The Forward 5/2/11 Ultra-Orthodox Group Affirms Abuse Cases Go First To Rabbi
42
New York Times. October, 2009 Orthodox Jews Rely More on Sex Abuse Prosecution
Jewish Observer Child Molestation in the Jewish Community, by David Mandel. September, 2007 David Mandel ofOhel /
Jewish Observer - Poos Torah
44
D. Finkelhor, The international epidemiology of child sexual abuse. Child Abuse & Neglect Volume 18, Issue 5 , May 1994,
Pages 409-417. 2008 by the National Center for Victims of Crime. Child Sexual Abuse, www.ncvc.org .
45 Rachel Yehuda, Ph. D.Michelle Friedman, M.D.Talli Y. Rosenbaum, P.T.Ellen Labinsky, Ph. D.James Schmeidler, Ph.D. History of
Past Sexual Abuse in Married Observant Jewish Women . American Journal of Psychiatry 164:11, November 2007
46 Jewish Observer (ibid.)
47 Hunter, M. (1990). Abused Boys: The Neglected Victims of Sexual Abuse. Fawcett Books, New York. Gartner, R. (1999).
Betrayed as Boys: Psychodynamic Treatment of Sexually Abused Men. Guilford Press,
48 Jewish Observer (ibid.)
Rabbinic endorsement of cover ups:
23. Ohel took out a full page ad in both the Jewish Week and the Jewish Press in March of 2011 in which
they proclaimed that they are "not an 'ultra-orthodox' agency." 49 But this seems to depend on which
audience they are speaking to. In Agudas Yisroel's publication Mandel wrote that "Ohel has been
fortunate to have Harav Dovid Cohen, shlita, as our Morah D'asra. Our ability to speak with Gedolei
Hatorah throughout the country provides hadracha." 50 Mandel has also credited the "outspoken
position of ...rabbinical authorities like ....Rabbi Yaakov Perlow, the Novominkser Rebbe" for bringing
about change in the communities handling of sexual abuse. 51 The Rebbe, who is "Nossi" or President of
Agudah's Council of Torah Sages, is viewed as public enemy number one by most survivors of abuse and
their advocates because of his obstructionist policies and lack of action to promote change of any kind. 52
This discrepancy is a smokescreen that protects Ohel from some of the more heated criticism aimed at
leaders in the Orthodox community. For example, spokesmen for Agudath Israel were roundly
condemned by advocates and law enforcement officials for telling professionals who are mandated to
report suspicion of child abuse to the authorities that they should first consult with a rabbi. 53 However,
Ohel's Rov, Rabbi Dovid Cohen wrote the same exact ruling in his chapter in Ohel's book called
"Breaking the Silence". After a long discussion of why the involvement of law enforcement is necessary
to protect children, Rabbi Cohen opines that the Jewish laws of Mesira, Chillul Hashem, and Lashon
Hara, are "complex," and when there is a question about reporting abuse, "a competent halachic
authority" should always be consulted. And in practice, this is exactly what Ohel staff, who follow his
rulings, does on a regular basis. 54
24. Furthermore, at a conference of NEFESH, the International Network of Orthodox Mental Health
Professionals, in the mid 2000's Ohel's Rabbi, Dovid Cohen spoke about child sexual abuse, and declared
that according to halacha, a girl who is 12 and a boy who is 13 are above the age of consent and
therefore in a sexual relationship with an adult, both sexual partners are sinning. There was a room full
of witnesses, including Dr. Carol Nadelson, MD, the past president of the American Psychiatric
Association, expert on clergy sexual abuse, and a co-lecturer/panelist.
At an Ohel training for "top level therapists" in 2009 at which Dr. Reed Johnson, Ph.D. the Clinical
Director of the Yale University Trauma Center lectured, Rabbi Cohen advised mandated reporters that if
there is suspicion of child sexual abuse professionals should report the suspicion to a Bais Din. A clinical
social worker asked a question about a case in which the head of the Bais Din was the alleged molester.
Rabbi Cohen replied that he is tired of people talking about Rabbis who molest, when in fact many other
people molest as well. He further stated that he is tired of hearing complaints about Rabbis who cover
up for each other, because this kind of behavior is endemic to every profession. For example, it is very
difficult to get a physician to testify as an expert witness against another doctor in a malpractice case.
At a recent conference in May 2011 of Agudas Yisroel for professionals, Rabbi Cohen spoke to mental
health professionals about the issue of speaking lashon hara in therapy. While he allowed for patients
to describe their abuse and other interpersonal problems in individual therapy, he forbade doing so in
Ohelfamily.org: OHEL Responds to Jewish Week Article , Jewish Week, March 2, 2011, Ohel Says Jewish Week Accusations
'Unfounded'
Jewish Observer (ibid.)
The Jewish Star, 10/28/2010. Has The Silence Been Broken: New book has some answers, but doubts linger. M. Orbach.
New York Post, July 17, 2011. Orthodox Jews require victims to call rabbis instead of police about molestation
The Forward 5/2/11 Ultra-Orthodox Group Affirms Abuse Cases Go First To Rabbi . Survivors for Justice Newsletter 6/13/11:
Message from Elliot Pasik to David Zwiebel:"Resign From the New York State Bar. 1
Jewish Week 5/31/11 Ohel Carr
Ph.D., 3/15/11 Admires Lipner
Jewish Week 5/31/11 Ohel Campaign To Bolster Image Questioned, Jewish Week Letter to the Editor by Dr. Brian Leggiere,
group therapy. It was pointed out to him that group therapy is a modality frequently used at frum
clinics especially with survivors of abuse, and that there is evidence that group therapy is sometimes the
most beneficial aspect of treatment for some patients who are faced with overwhelming shame about
what they have experienced. Rabbi Cohen nevertheless responded that it would be against halacha for
people to talk about other people's wrongdoing in such a "public" forum, effectively forbidding
disclosure of abuse in a group therapy.
25. In 1990, Rabbi Solomon Haffner was accused of sexually abusing a learning disabled boy he was
tutoring, and he was arrested by the police. However a Beis Din convinced the grand jury that he "could
not possibly have been guilty" and there were no charges filed. Ohel's Rabbi Dovid Cohen, who had
originally supported the boy and his family, completely gave into community pressure, dropped his
support, and actually agreed to publicly sign an apology to the Rabbi for the "false accusation". The case
was written up in a peer reviewed journal as an example of corruption in law enforcement in Brooklyn's
Orthodox community that puts children at risk. 55
Sins of omission
26. Two years ago a judge in Brooklyn chastised the Orthodox community for showing strong support
to alleged molesters but none to the alleged victims of abuse. 56 Since that time, advocates and adult
survivors from the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, Survivors for Justice, the Voice of Justice,
Yasher Koach, the Jewish Survivors Network, Sacred Lives, Jewish Parents for Safe Yeshivas and the
Awareness Center, have attended dozens of court dates to show support for those who are courageous
enough to come forward and name their abusers. In part because of this change, many more Orthodox
Jews are feeling safer to report their abuse, in spite of the fact that rabbis and powerful communal
interests are still against them doing so.
Where has Ohel been while all this has been taking place? Nowhere to be found. Total radio silence.
Not a single Ohel representative, not a board member, not one of their hundreds of volunteers, not a
single employee has come to a single court session to help support the victims of abuse. 57 Survivors of
abuse have a difficult enough time trusting therapists in their own community where everybody knows
each other. When they have reason to suspect that the agency that is supposed to be helping them
does not want their abuse to be prosecuted, the conflict of interest makes it all but impossible for
survivors to fully trust Ohel therapists.
27. In of 2011, a book was published co-edited by David Mandel and Dr. David Pelcovitz called
"Breaking the Silence: Sexual Abuse in the Jewish Community". 58 It received much fanfare, but also
attracted more media attention to some of the contradictions of Ohel's positions about the issue of
silence regarding sexual abuse. 59
In the chapter on "Prevention and Intervention Programs," highly trained professionals give advice to
parents that that "although there is no halachic problem of reporting abuse to the authorities, it is
understandable that orthodox professionals who are mandated reporters nevertheless feel hindered by
cultural taboo from doing so." They also admonish parents not to tell other parents in their child's
school if molestation occurs, because it is a "private matter."
Neustien, A. and Lesher, M. (October 2008) A single-case of Rabbinic sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community.
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, Vol. 17:3-4, pp. 270-289
Jewish Week Judge Lashes Out At Orthodox Community In Sex-Abuse Case; Says It Protects Abusers, Not Victims
57 Jewish Star Letters to the Editor "Angry at Ohel" October 26, 2010
Breaking the Silence: Sexual Abuse and the Jewish Community (Ktav) edited by David Mandel and David Pelcovitz, Ph.D.
Speaking Volumes About 'Hush' Of Sexual Abuse Tuesday, December 14, 2010 Hella Winston. Has The Silence Been Broken:
New book has some answers, but doubts linger. M. Orbach. The Jewish Star, October 28, 2010
In the chapter on treating sexual predators, the authors ignore the experts who advocate that courts
and probation departments play a particularly important role both as a motivating force, and an integral
part of therapy. 60 The Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers guidelines also insist that
agencies that treat offenders work closely with victim advocacy organizations to ensure that their
policies do not re-traumatize victims of sexual assault," 61 an idea that is neither recommended in the
book, nor practiced by Ohel.
Ohel's misguided philosophy on dealing with abusers is rooted in this book to their stated belief in a
"diversity of values and ends" that can create conflict among "reasonably rational, well intentioned
persons... involved with sex offenders." The "relevant stakeholders" that in Ohel's opinion can
"reasonably disagree on the ordering of priorities", seem to include (based on Ohel's history) the
molester who has concern for his confidentiality, the molester's family who needs their breadwinner not
to go to jail, the community whose image is tarnished by revelations of criminality and deviancy, and the
institutions that harbor molesters who want to protect their reputations and finances from lawsuits.
This ideology of complex, relative moral values completely flies in the face of both Jewish and secular
law 62 and best clinical practices 63 that give simple, straightforward and unequivocal directives that
protection of past and future victims must be the primary value and consideration.
Nowhere in "Breaking the Silence" is the silence broken about the history of communal cover-ups in
Yeshivas, youth groups and the community at large. While discussing "openly" abuse in the community,
Ohel's book neglects to mention the real betrayal experienced by survivors whose victimhood has been
denied, minimized, and silenced by establishment leaders for so long with threats and intimidation.
Most survivors of abuse agree that the community response to child sexual abuse is often a worse
trauma than the abuse. The parents who have had their children thrown out of yeshivas for the "crime"
of disclosing abuse, the families that were literally run out of town, the children who were slapped in the
face for daring to name their molester, will read this book and think "Here we go again."
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers; (2005). Practice standards and guidelines for the evaluation, treatment and
management of adult male sexual abusers. Beaverton, Oregon. www.atsa.com/pubSoT.html
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers; (2005). (ibid.)
Eidensohn, Rabbi D. Child and Domestic Abuse; Torah, Psychological and Legal Perspectives, (2011). Emunah Press. New York
Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers; (2005). (ibid.)
