Posted to Chabad News on
ABC
Rabbi Moshe Gutnick

Australian Chabad Rabbi Apologizes for ‘Culture of Cover Up’ of Child Abuse

Australia’s most senior orthodox rabbi, Moshe Gutnick, has formally apologized for child abuse within the Jewish community. In a written apology on the eve of Yom Kippur, he said the issue has been handled inappropriately with a culture of covering up abuse.

Rabbi Gutnick asked victims of abuse for forgiveness and urged them to come forward to ensure police can prosecute the perpetrators.

“We need to empower ourselves and victims to help to bring this scourge to an end,” he said.

Talking to reporters, the rabbi addressed what he called a “cultural cover-up,” with those inside the Jewish organizations refusing to contact the proper authorities in the belief that abuse was an internal issue, not a criminal one.

“I’m not talking about any specific incident or case. I’m talking about there was this idea of keeping the problem in house,” he said.

“For something that was part of much of our thought processes and that again was completely wrong and we have to now be very open about what takes place.”

He also acknowledged how a case he handled in 1987 has remained with him over the decades since.

“I received an anonymous phone call from a very young person telling me that they had been abused,” he said.

“At the time I reported it to the people involved but I didn’t take it very seriously.”

Rabbi Gutnick said he now regrets not taking action at the the time to catch and punish the perpetrator.

“If I would have done more, if I would have followed it up, if the perpetrator would have then been identified and caught, then there are many victims after that that would have been saved,” he said.

In addition to the apology, the letter also addressed the behavior of those inside the community, calling upon the majority of rabbis to adopt a culture of forgiveness and reconciliation.

Tzedek, a group advocating for Jewish victims of child abuse, has welcomed the letter, describing it as a ground breaking milestone for the Jewish community.

The founder and chief of Tzedek, Manny Waks, says an apology is an important step in the healing process for victims.

“I don’t necessarily think that it is all of a sudden going to change overnight,” he said.

“But it certainly does send out a very strong message that the peak body of the rabbinate and the orthodox community in Australia has taken an unequivocal position on this matter.

“It leaves no ambiguity on how they need to respond to this issue.”

Related Articles

15 Comments

  • BH

    This is a good start but we need other leaders to come forward.

    Unfortunately, here in Chicago there remains a culture of corruption that permeates the Jewish leadership. They have said absolutely nothing concerning the cover up of a very serious criminal abuse case that made national headlines this summer. It is well known here that the deliberate inaction and forceful restraint of victims by certain “leaders” ultimately led to further abuse. This is unacceptable and we should demand that these “rabbis” and others who have silenced victims and their families be prosecuted under the civil law for their complicity.

    • Yanks

      The Chicago Chabad “protectors” know who they are and can’t hide forever. Not living there I can’t say what exactly happened but I’ve heard the state is already investigating several big names who had knowledge of this case.

  • Australian

    Manny Waks, a fryed out Lubavitcher should STOP making tzoros for lubavitch and should stop trying to come up with FICTION-NOUS stories which fit his agenda in order to put Chabad organisations around Australia in a bad light on the front page of papers. Manny, stop the lies.

  • BH

    Did anyone notice how hot it was in Chicago this year….Gd sees it all and Gd is dealing with all of it! It is only a matter of time before these boyz come clean the easy way or the hard way. That is the only choice remaining!

  • Benny Forer

    Thank you to Rav Gutnick for acknowledging the issue and for taking the appropriate steps to deal with it. Im’H, all of our Chabad Rabbonim should follow in Rav Gutnick’s footsteps and stop insisting on arcane ideas such as eidim and hasroah. Lets stop the bloodshed of children.

  • Another Australian writes

    #2 don’t stand in judgment of Manny Waks whose childhood was robed from him! Just before Yom Kippur you have the chutzpah to Judge, strange you are not judging these evil pedophiles. Just where and for how long can these pedophiles hide… In Los Angeles or maybe Florida?? No where to hide anymore

  • Citizen Berel

    Very good. Real Rabbonim leading. One hundred measures of Rabbonim leading to 1 measure of wild vigilantism. If Rav Gutnik would oversee the the wild website, I’d support it.

  • Chicago

    BH, what Jewish leadership are you talking about? The Chabad community here is void of any. Their opinion has zero impact on the community at large. One individual admitted guilt and the legal authorities are handling it.

  • Citizen Berel

    Hello, Mr. Chicago:

    Rabbinic leadership in our time often means taking an unequivocal and detailed stand, where the Rov put his name on the line, giving assurance from ‘above’ that a given direction is the good way to go forward.

    But it usually comes down to individuals to actually move things along and make things happen. So Rabbonim do not have to actually have any temporal power to provide leadership.

    The wild website is exception to this rule, where missteps and over-zealousness ruin lives — there you need actual named Rabbonim overseeing and putting their names on and taking responsibility for what is and what is not published.

    I don’t know anything about Chicago, but I won’t easily believe that there aren’t any Rabbonim who do not weigh there words and fear G-d, who are worthy of being taken seriously.

    Make for yourself a Rav. Don’t rely on your understanding. It’s the Jewish thing to do.

  • Yanks

    The de factor leadership (i.e. Anash Rav, head shaliach etc) had explicit knowledge of this case and all its sordid details since 2006! The fact that it took nearly seven years to prosecute speaks volumes about their unwillingness to defend the vicitms and their families. Point being that if you’re in any position of “leadership” you have a direct obligation to protect and defend those victimized by abuse. These people did not and, according to those involved with the case, were largely responsible for coercing the victims and their families into not pursuing charges. Consequently, the alleged perp went on to abuse more children. There is no excuse for this type of behavior. The fact that Chicago is “void” of leadership is irrelevant since those who serve in such roles, if only in name, are entrusted with our children’s safety on a daily basis (not to mention our money and spiritual well-being). If we can’t trust them to report abuse then they ought to be fired. If we find out that they threatened or otherwise silenced an abuse victim then we must demand accountability in the form of civil prosecution. We appear to be headed in the direction of the latter…