$1 Million Donated to Jewish Community Watch

Jewish Community Watch (JCW), an organization dedicated to combating child sexual abuse in the orthodox Jewish community, has announced that Ben Nash, co-founder and CEO of PCS Wireless, has pledged $1 million to the organization. The funds will be used to expand JCW’s budget in line with the growing demands for its services and to set up JCW offices in Israel, the UK, and Australia.

JCW was founded in 2011 and operates under the motto of, “Educate, Prevent, Heal.” It works to offer therapy and support groups for survivors of child sexual abuse, educate parents and schools about the threat of abuse, and investigate and expose abusers within the Jewish orthodox and Haredi community.

A statement released by Ben Nash’s Arora Nash Charity Foundation (ANCF) described how the foundation generally prefers to remain obscure and anonymous in most of its endeavors. They continued, “However, there are certain times when one must take a stand or the failure to do so is in and of itself taking a stand for the wrong side.”

The statement went on to laud the work that JCW does by educating and raising awareness of abuse within the community and providing therapy and support for survivors. The statement also praised the rigorous process JCW goes through before exposing a molester on their website describing it, based off of firsthand information, as “stringent, tireless, and scrupulous.”

Over the past year, JCW has grown exponentially. Awareness events attended by thousands were held across the United States and Israel, while hundreds of thousands visited its website JewishCommunityWatch.org and watched many of its educational videos online. Throughout this time period, over 1,000 survivors have reached out to JCW and received help and support. With the expansion of services, JCW’s staff has grown from two people to a dozen, while the budget has grown to over $1 million annually. In 2016, JCW’s budget is expected to reach $3 million.

Meyer Seewald, the founder of JCW and victims advocate, said, “On behalf of Jewish abuse survivors around the world, I would like to thank Ben Nash for his friendship and generosity. Ben has been a partner to JCW and has been a critical part of our growth as an organization. Ben is just as passionate as us about our goal of making sure that not one more child is abused. There is not even the slightest doubt in my mind that this donation will save lives.”

Abe Pasternak, a spokesman for Arora Nash Charity Foundation, added, “While we are starting with a pledge of $1 million, let it be clear that we will do whatever necessary to bring peace to the lives of victims until this sickness of people abusing our children is eradicated from our communities and until everyone realizes the extent of the disease and the devastating toll it takes on our children.“

22 Comments

  • Yosef Kleinberger

    is this a private organization run by the Nash Brothers and one of the Seewald brothers.
    who oversees their activities.
    why are people who have not been tried in courts of law paraded on the wall of shame as if they have been all found guilty.
    Who gave these angry ex Lubavitchers the right to run around without being accountable, it has a vigilante element to it.
    I smell vendetta.

    • True and false

      they have the backing of many people in the community and even many rabbis. the difference is the backing is for the general idea. no rabbi signed off on the wall of shame but they did sign off on the fact that abuse needs to be stopped and if this is the way its being done then so be it.

      they say people should not go to rabbis but report it to the police in the meantime they stand as judge in all the cases and its not even with a public hearing.

      every good tree will have some bad apples. at the end of the day most of what they say is true and because of JCW people are talking about it. so is there room for improvement for sure but JCW is still needed

    • Agreed

      There is no Rov who (at least officially) sanctions their wall of shame.

      The majority of the people they have up there are not guilty by law which is why you will NEVER see a photo of someone with the means to sue them for libel, defamation etc.

    • Pedant

      No you are wrong and nothing has been debunked, the ‘old’ thing is the ‘new’ thing the new thing the old.

      Let’s take a look at this about section, shall we?

      BEGIN JCW:

      Q: Do you have criteria before posting someone to the Wall of Shame?

      A: Yes, JCW does have a criteria and a generalized policy that is known to both the Board of Advisors and the Investigative Committee. Unfortunately, due to the sensitivity of the issues involved, the criteria cannot be publicly published.

      END

      It isn’t more sensitive than having your face wrongly put up on a wall of shame. 2 of your 10 board members have to do with deciding halacha, and neither is world renown, or big in our circles, nor do we know the extent of their involvement in deliberation on or say in your life-ruining decision.

      Now you have money, find one and have him write that he has final word on and vouches for each and every decision. Then we know at least who is making the Halachic judgment if not the reasoning.

      Bottom line: an advisory board isn’t a Rov. Who is the Rov.

      BEGIN JCW:

      A: Cases that resulted in criminal conviction and/or those that were publicly known via various news organizations are not subject to review. The information will immediately be published on the Wall of Shame or on JCW’s newsblog. However, in the past, all the offenders that have been exposed, specifically through JCW’s efforts and investigations, have been reviewed by the Investigative Committee and they unanimously approved to expose the abuser.

      END

      ‘or’ those that were publicly known via various news organizations are not subject to review.

      That’s sketchy. What constitutes a news organization but more importantly THERE SHOULD NEVER BE ‘NOT SUBJECT TO REVIEW’

      Your debunking probably consists in the FAQ claims to the effect that you’ve never ever made a mistake.

      There is a lot talk about the board decides, but only 2 of 10 deal with deciding Halacha so what precisely is the role of the other 8.

      Sach Hakol, you wield a lot of power to destroy and your methodology is more than opaque so you will never be rid of skeptical comments such as the one you shot down here until you subject yourselves to a higher authority.

    • Yisroel To#1

      Why do people need to be found guilty in a court of law in order to be guilty.
      We need to know who is dangerous.
      They are not perfect, but they are doing aazing work to help the victims (regardless of their motives – which neither of us can really know)

    • big red

      Yosef Kleinberger these “ex lubavitchers” have done more to bring moshiach than you. that is a fact. Child abuse is not ok. Protecting abusers is worse than child abuse.

      Never will the Rebbe be ok with child molesters teaching in his moisdos.

  • Yosef Kleinberger

    stopping sex abuse is very important, it is bad very bad.
    The JCW are not open and transparent,the ex Lubavitchers who run it are ironically acting like the community they left, running things like a private business with a stooge unelected board.

  • Pedant

    Oh boy Yosef, you did not get the memo: This for the children. For. The. Children.

    Seriously, Yosef, in case you were wondering who this if for, it is for the children.

    You opened a can of worms, because everyone knows that you can’t be concerned about vendettas and false accusations unless you are guilty because only guilty people are ever falsely accused, with the guilt proportional to the falsity of the accusation and not inversely.

    Besides, Mr. Nash said himself that this organization, which, let me remind you, is for the children, prosecutes and punishes with procedures that are “stringent, tireless, and scrupulous.”

    And if Mr. Nash said that, then you know that it is true because he gave a million dollars and he also cares very much for the children.

  • Shimon Shak

    Thank you soooo much!! Just wish they ran this as a matching campaign so the community can participate.

  • agree with Mr Kleinberger

    I agree with Mr Kleinberger,
    who oversees their activities? It is not like my local chabad house, that has stick oversight.
    and why are they posting people on a wall with out a trial of their peers, (ie. a jury composed of only lubabitchers, or better yet chabad rabbis).
    and who gave these guys the right to run around and try and do good deeds. Its not like they are chabad bochrum that run around doing mitzoyim.
    of course stopping sex abuse is very important, thats why chabad has many other organizations that deal with this, we obviously do not need JCW.
    they do not have a transparent operation, unlike my local chabad house in which their finances are transparent. who gave them the right to run around and do what they do with out being accountable, also completely opposite to the way my local chabad house is run. and finally why dont they have an elected board, also like most chabd houses.
    this is an outrage!!!!

    • Pedant

      This is very clever, so very clever. Just like Chabad houses what post pictures and names that never get forgotten that ruin people’s lives forever and ever and ever. Just a good deed like putting tefillin on yidden at the airport. It just silly, so so silly, that people demand that this type of good deed be governed by and held within the context of halacha. This is for the children, after all, so it is kosher ipso facto.

  • Yitzchok

    Thank you for your generous donation. You couldn’t have spent this money any wiser.
    כל המקיים נפש אחת מישראל כאלו קיים עולם מלא

  • Black Ops

    That site can’t be trusted!!!
    This Meyer Seewald is acting from unclear any very suspicious motives.
    Bad smell Roomers going around about this site and the people behind it….

    The power of taking someone and completely destroying his and his family life is reserved to a curt of law – or either bis-din!
    No guy and no meir seewald should have that power!

  • TO NUMBER 6

    Are you insane???? Mr. Nash was either brainwashed by these hoodlums or threatened and gave the money to save his name. Did they threaten to expose him as a child molester and are blackmailing him this way? I would not doubt this to be the case for a second! The trash that is running this libel site are ex cons themselves and frustrated at their own miserable upbringings and so release their frustrations at people they don’t like. without a care in the world about the welfare of children! it’s all about personal vendetta’s.

  • Anonymous

    From personal experience I can assure you that JCW is very diligent in who they will put on the wall of shame. I have personal knowledge about an abusive family but unless victims will come forward, their hands are tied.