Outcry

The Weberman trial ended 10 years ago with a conviction and sentence to over 100 years in prison, but within the Satmar community, Nechemya Weberman is still considered not only innocent, but a sainted martyr. He has had articles published in local Satmar newspaper, the community still fundraises for him, and the Satmar Rebbe himself even visited him last year in Riker's Island.

Recently the husband of the survivor who put Weberman in prison, Boorey Deutsch, went on a tweet storm about the community's attitudes toward Weberman, the lengths to which they've been going to free him and convince people of his innocence, and the pain and suffering they've been inflicting upon his survivors and their families. We discuss Boorey's tweets, and revisit the case through the lens of the modern day crusade within Satmar to clear his name and make the people who put him in prison pay for putting him there.

We also discuss the Yanky Daskal case, and the former Shomrim head's recent guilty plea. Daskal plead guilty to transporting a teenage girl who lived in his home across state lines for sexual purposes. The case has many similarities to the Weberman case, including a community fundraiser which was thankfully thwarted.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

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SHOW NOTES: 

https://twitter.com/booreydeutsch

https://www.csis.org/blogs/new-perspectives-asia/social-media-misinformation-and-2022-philippine-elections

https://www.jta.org/2023/07/16/ny/former-head-of-jewish-security-patrol-in-brooklyn-pleads-guilty-to-sex-crime-involving-a-teenager

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/former-head-boro-park-shomrim-society-pleads-guilty-transporting-15-year-old-girl

In our last episode we covered how Camp Shoresh, Beth Tfiloh, and Suburban Orthodox responded to the allegations of sexual abuse against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky. Rabbi Krawatsky was allegedly strongly supported by the leadership at all 3 institutions, including by alleged financial contributions and fundraising toward his legal fees.

In this episode we wrap up our coverage of this case. Obviously this is an ongoing case, and as there's more news we'll revisit it in future episodes. In this episode we cover some of the details we missed in previous episodes, as well as details of how Rabbi Krawatsky's defamation cases were filed and against whom, and we get into the summary judgment ruling issued in favor of Hannah Dreyfus and the Jewish Week.

Banter ends at 4:30.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
TikTok: @zaakahny

SHOW NOTES: 

https://www.jta.org/2018/09/27/ny/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-filed-by-baltimore-rabbi

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/19/ny/update-rabbi-accused-of-sexual-abuse-at-camp-terminated-from-baltimore-day-school

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/17/ny/did-baltimores-orthodox-community-turn-a-blind-eye-to-child-sexual-abuse

https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/rabbi-fired-from-baltimore-school-after-sex-abuse-allegations/

In our last episode we discussed the allegations of sexual abuse against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky, a former director at Camp Shoresh in Baltimore. We discussed the three children who came forward with allegations and the particulars of their claims.

This week we get into the Child Protective Services investigations, the appeals of those decisions, and what Shoresh, Beth Tfiloh, and Suburban Orthodox did in response to these allegations, from allegedly telling Krawatsky that they supported him essentially unconditionally, to even allegedly helping him fundraise for his CPS appeals and defamation case against the alleged victims' parents through a nonprofit that was supposed to be providing charity to families in Israel.

Banter ends at 3:14.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
TikTok: @zaakahny

SHOW NOTES: 

https://www.jta.org/2018/09/27/ny/judge-dismisses-lawsuit-filed-by-baltimore-rabbi

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/19/ny/update-rabbi-accused-of-sexual-abuse-at-camp-terminated-from-baltimore-day-school

https://www.jta.org/2018/01/17/ny/did-baltimores-orthodox-community-turn-a-blind-eye-to-child-sexual-abuse

https://www.washingtonjewishweek.com/rabbi-fired-from-baltimore-school-after-sex-abuse-allegations/

We've discussed the Orthodox community in Baltimore many times on this podcast. We've detailed the various ways in which that community is uniquely dangerous to survivors of sexual abuse and children in general. From the numerous coverups that have happened over the years, to the numerous accused and convicted pedophiles who are allowed to attend community shuls, to general attitudes toward sexual abuse, Baltimore is a less than ideal place for child safety.

In this episode we get into one of the most contentious cases the community has faced in recent years: the case against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky. Krawatsky was accused by three families of sexually abusing their children in Camp Shoresh, where Krawatsky was a division head. We discuss the allegations themselves, the alleged coverup by the camp director Rabbi David Finkelstein, and the community's response to the allegations.

Banter ends at 4:30

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
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SHOW NOTES: 


https://www.jta.org/2018/01/17/ny/did-baltimores-orthodox-community-turn-a-blind-eye-to-child-sexual-abuse

https://digitaledition.baltimoresun.com/tribune/article_popover.aspx?guid=38d68a71-5c91-4867-a9b5-b4c2da7528b8

https://www.jewishtimes.com/parents-of-boys-allegedly-abused-by-rabbi-krawatsky-file-countersuit/

In our previous episodes about the Child Victims Act case against Yeshiva University for decades of sexual abuse allegedly committed during the 1960s 70s and 80s by Macy Gordon, Richard Andron, George Finkelstein, Elan Adler, Richard Ehrlich, and Marc Gafni, we discussed the history of the case, how the cases evolved over the years, the passage of the Child Victims Act, and the filing of the latest case.

In this episode we complete this series by detailing the mechanics of the coverup of the abuse allegedly committed by George Finkelstein, not only at Yeshiva University, but also at his next job as principal at Scheck Hillel Community School in Miami, as well as his following job at The Great Synagogue in Jerusalem. Over and over this notorious alleged abuser was given positions of respect and authority over children, aided directly by the very administration at YU that had known about his many alleged abuses.

Banter ends at 9:52.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
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SHOW NOTES: 

https://forward.com/news/171993/yeshiva-u-rabbi-george-finkelstein-acted-inappropr/

https://forward.com/opinion/172204/no-limitations-on-pain/

https://forward.com/news/169470/yeshiva-claims-abuse-probe-has-wide-mandate/

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2013-03-01/ty-article/yeshiva-u-s-rabbi-george-finkelstein-acted-inappropriately-even-after-ouster/0000017f-f581-d044-adff-f7f9474a0000

https://yucommentator.org/2022/01/yu-wins-appeal-challenging-anonymity-of-32-plaintiffs-in-sex-abuse-lawsuit/

In our previous episode we covered the case against Richard Andron, the martial arts teacher at YUHS who allegedly molested a number of his students and was covered up for by the administration and his alleged child molester colleague George Finkelstein.

In this episode of Outcry we cover the case against Macy Gordon, described by some as the most sadistic of the child sexual abusers at YUHS during this period, and the sexual abuse he committed against his students, including one alleged incident which took place in front of a class full of children. Macy Gordon died without ever facing any consequences for his alleged abuses. He was allowed to quietly resign from YUHS and relocate to Israel where he was rehired by the Yeshiva University Israel Center. We also discuss the scholarship endowed in his name at Yeshiva University in 2002, and the honors he received at B'nei Yeshurun in Teaneck.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
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SHOW NOTES:

https://forward.com/opinion/168094/yeshiva-victim-overcomes-shame-to-speak-out/

https://images.shulcloud.com/1268/uploads/Bulletin/2021/5-November.pdf 

https://www.yeshiva.co/rabbi/102

In our last episode about the child sexual abuse allegations against Yeshiva University, we covered the filing of the 2019 Child Victims Act lawsuit against Yeshiva University outlining allegations against all the named defendants, and the people involved in covering it up.

In this episode we start our series of deep dives into the individual alleged abusers starting with Richard Andron. Andron was a martial arts teacher at Yeshiva University who was friends with George Finkelstein and allegedly sexually abused multiple children during his time there. We follow the course of the allegations against him, his eventual departure from YU, his time in Boca Raton, and eventually his move to Efrat in Israel. Along the way we uncover some surprising connections between Andron's case and a number of other alleged abusers, enablers, and key figures in Modern Orthodox leadership.

Banter ends at 3:32.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
TikTok: @zaakahny

SHOW NOTES:

https://forward.com/news/180727/boca-raton-synagogue-demands-answers-on-accused-yu/

https://blogs.yu.edu/news/paying-tribute-to-a-karate-king-and-torah-legend/ 

In our last episode about the prolific sexual abuse committed and covered up at Yeshiva University we laid out the history of the case, previously filed lawsuits, Yeshiva University's sham investigation into these historical allegations of sexual abuse, and why the previous cases were unsuccessful. With the passage of the Child Victims Act in 2019, however, the alleged victims of Macy Gordon, George Finkelstein, Richard Andron, and others, were finally able to file their cases against Yeshiva University for knowingly enabling their abuse.

In this episode we get into a little more detail about all the people named in the lawsuit, and discuss some of the disgusting tactics that have been used so far to try and intimidate the victims into silence. Among other tactics, Yeshiva University has attempted to forcibly identify the names of the John Doe plaintiffs in this case in an attempt to scare them away from suing. This is a particularly disgusting tactic especially given how much the victims have already suffered and how widely known Yeshiva University's culpability is in these cases. This case is not a question of if something happened, but how much Yeshiva University will be made to pay. They just want to make the victims suffer as much as possible before paying them what they're owed.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
TikTok: @zaakahny

SHOW NOTES: 

https://www.nytimes.com/1979/12/08/archives/sidney-b-hoenig-72-historian-and-expert-on-dead-sea-scrolls.html 

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=Rj4gNvwSPDdmkfAMbm8Agw== 

https://yucommentator.org/2019/03/sex-abuse-lawsuit-yu-resurfaces-passing-child-victims-act/

https://yucommentator.org/2013/08/report-confirms-expands-abuse-allegations/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/pesach-kremen-69001648?original_referer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

https://www.linkedin.com/in/neal-harris-83639928

https://www.herrick.com/sheldon-chanales/ 

https://tunein.com/podcasts/Jewish-Talk/Israel-National-Radio---Rabbi-Elan-Adler-p282173/ 

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=IYggMgnkNAGip7glV5WG7w== 

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=VvvA3ZT8fzETeqI3s/hdGg== 

Due to incredibly selfish reasons by Asher for bring unprepared for today's episode (namely, being busy in the process of getting engaged), the Yeshiva University case is temporarily out on hold while we instead provide some updates to 5 cases we've been getting a lot of questions about.

In this episode we cover updates about the cases against former TABC principal Rabbi Shlomo Adelman, Mesivta of Long Beach, Michelle Masliansky of West Hempstead, Hayim Nissim Cohen of Our Unique Family, and Chevi Garfinkel. These cases tend to take a long time, but we want to make sure y'all stay up to date on the latest and understand the process of a civil case and why it takes as long as it does.

Banter ends at 2:40.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
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SHOW NOTES:

https://hareiani.com/2022/01/20/hayim-nissim-cohen-father-of-our-unique-family-sued-charged-with-sexual-abuse-of-child/

https://www.facebook.com/zaakah/posts/pfbid0tXryHLKXwxB1zUtYgeqTQp1uK8mQM9aZ2vnixgHAsj4GfsQCwui6ZKqN8XUBgnsAl

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=rfNRr0t0CwYDpCXxBiDahA==&display=all&courtType=Kings%20County%20Supreme%20Court&resultsPageNum=1

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=0PmGJNpdDiObefpwubCQNg==&display=all&courtType=Nassau%20County%20Supreme%20Court&resultsPageNum=2

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=GrTLI4dlhJdLYpjJPCs1SA==&display=all

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/DocumentList?docketId=yq9KLuXchx8LvqmSRHDMqw==&display=all&courtType=Nassau%20County%20Supreme%20Court&resultsPageNum=1

In this episode we begin our series on the decades of sexual abuse committed and covered up at Yeshiva University. Over the course of this series we'll be covering the many the abusers named in the currently active Child Victims Act lawsuits, of which there are over a dozen, and the many people who were responsible for covering it all up. Among the people named as enablers, we'll be discussing Norman Lamm, Herschel Schachter, Michael Broyde, and other higher-ups in Yeshiva University administration. 

In discussing this case we'll be focusing not only on the abuse and the MOs of the abusers, but on the particulars of the coverups. Abusers seek to abuse, and they seek to do so in environments and communities where they can assume they'll get away with it. The enablers are the real reason the abuse is happening because they provide a setting for abusers in which they feel comfortable abusing knowing they'll probably get away with it. That's what Yeshiva University was from the 1960s to the late 2010s - a haven for sexual abusers like George Finkelstein, Macy Gordon, Richard Andron, and others. We'll be covering what they did and how they got away with it for so many decades.

Banter ends at 5:42.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH or to donate, visit our website at https://zaakah.org

To get in touch with questions, comments, or any other concerns related to Outcry, email us at [email protected]

Follow us on our socials to stay informed:

Facebook: https://facebook.com/zaakah
Twitter: @zaakahny
Instagram: @zaakahig
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SHOW NOTES: 

https://www.haaretz.com/jewish/2012-12-13/ty-article/yeshiva-u-dealt-with-sex-abuse-charges-privately/0000017f-f0fe-df98-a5ff-f3ff60670000

https://ecf.nysd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show_multidocs.pl?caseid=414489&arr_de_seq_nums=46&magic_num=&pdf_header=&hdr=&pdf_toggle_possible=1&caseid=414489&zipit=&magic_num=&arr_de_seq_nums=46&got_warning=&create_roa=&create_appendix=&bates_format=&dkt=&got_receipt=1 (You'll need a PACER account for this)

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=bf_PLUS_PCrQDkyYQfc_PLUS_Xi8_PLUS_miw==

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=Rj4gNvwSPDdmkfAMbm8Agw==

https://verdict.justia.com/2013/09/05/sullivan-cromwell-and-yeshiva-university-issue-a-disappointing-report-on-child-sex-abuse-that-is-short-on-facts-and-long-on-public-relations