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:

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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
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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

After taking  a break to allow this episode's guest to recover from COVID, and for us to discuss the dangers of letting abuse enablers like Leslie Wexner and others off the hook too easy, we're finally please to invite Detective Rory Forrestal on the podcast to discuss the law-enforcement side of CSAM cases. Detective Forrestal has decades of experience in the field, both working within and running departments across New York State focused on bringing people who produce, possess, and distribute Child Sexual Abuse Materials to justice.

In this episode we do a deep dive with Detective Forrestal on what CSAM is, and bust a number of common misconceptions about it and the people who engage in its production, possession, and distribution. We also discuss the various kinds of scenarios that can be considered CSAM, how people engaging in CSAM are caught, and what avenues to justice are available to to CSAM survivors.

Banter ends at 9:15.

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.linkedin.com/in/rory-forrestal-983b3833

https://nypost.com/2006/03/07/undercover-with-online-perv-patrol-sex-predators-are-suffolk-cops-prey/

https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nys/capital-region/capital-tonight-interviews/2018/06/06/polenberg--forrestal--child-victims-act

Last episode we said we would be bringing on a law enforcement expert in Child Sexual Abuse Materials cases to answer questions about the Belitz, Steen, and Keil cases, and that's still going to happen, but unfortunately he came down with COVID and we had to push his interview off to next episode. This week we invited Sara Rosenberg, founder of the Jewish Survivors Forum, on to discuss the issue of abuse enabling, rape apologism, and rape culture in the frum community and what we can do to combat it.

In this episode we discuss the response to the flashing incident that happened this past Sunday on Flatbushgirl's Instagram Live, and then we get into a discussion about abuse enablers like Leslie Wexner, why people shouldn't take money from the Wexner foundation and other dirty-money donors like Michael Steinhardt, and discuss the issue of abuse enablers in our community. This might be an uncomfortable discussion for some who have accepted money from the people we discuss in this episode, but the only way we'll ever rid our community of abuse is if we contend with the people who protect the abusers.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH 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.amazon.com/When-Rabbis-Abuse-Dynamics-Culture-ebook/dp/B0B15QQ3DX

In last week's episode we began discussing the case against Leo Keil, a Philadelphia-based pedophile who was arrested and convicted for possessing and distributing hundreds of horrific images and videos of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) over IRC chats. Aside from just sharing these materials, Keil would hang around in chatrooms dedicated to sharing and discussing CSAM, and would actively encourage other people to sexually abuse children.

This week we pick up with the prosecution's descriptions of how Keil tried covering his tracks, how he tried blaming his crimes on a brand new autism diagnosis, and how he tried to hoodwink the experts brought in to evaluate him. We also get into the community's response to his arrest and conviction, and how they failed to adequately warn their members about Keil even after his conviction.

Banter ends at 8:05

To learn more about ZA'AKAH 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.facebook.com/zaakah/posts/pfbid02SsBmAueswf6681RtG9nU3STCj6QXiPKwRJh4PwuQQSTP9TwLsMEpsNZm6Zdcfm19l

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rory-forrestal-983b3833

In the wake of the case in Baltimore involving former TAG director and Bnos Yisroel STEM teacher, Zev Steen, being arrested for possession, distribution, and possibly creation of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), we'll be covering a similar case involving Leo Keil, a member of the Philadelphia Jewish community who was arrested and plead guilty to possession and distribution of CSAM.

Keil wasn't just a pedophile downloading and uploading CSAM, he was a real pedophile's pedophile, providing advice to other pedophiles who wanted tips on how to abuse children, support to people on the fence about pedophilia, encouraging them to consume CSAM and act on their desires, and even sending CSAM to people who identified as children online.

This episode is disturbing, so it comes with a big trigger warning for CSAM and some graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse.

Banter ends at 4:20

To learn more about ZA'AKAH 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.facebook.com/zaakah/posts/d41d8cd9/4718624724911726/

Nechemia Weberman is one of the most well-known sexual abusers in the history of the Orthodox Jewish community. His trial helped start ZA'AKAH and for many was the first time they were forced to contend with the reality and prevalence of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. Following his conviction on 87 counts of sexual abuse for repeatedly sexually assaulting his 12 year old client, Weberman and his legal team began filing appeals.

In our last episode we covered the more technical aspects of his appeal. In this episodes we get into the alternate theories his appellate team presented to counter the facts and narrative of the case that resulted in his conviction. Many of these arguments were asinine, offensive, and deliberately ignorant, and we break them down and offer background and context on why they were so ridiculous.

This is the final episode in the Weberman series.

Banter ends at 14:26.

To learn more about ZA'AKAH 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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TikTok: @zaakahny