The Coalition for Justice in the Hawaiin Gardens and Jerusalem
Rav Mordecai Elon, head of Yeshivat HaKotel
The name of the Lubavitcher rebbetzin
Knesset panel okays penal code change giving minors who were sexually abused until age of 28 to press charges.
The return of Yori Yanover's USA Jewish. He used to write the best daily compendium of Jewish news.
Shmarya writes:
Simcha has this post on the rape of Dinah. Note that he focuses on SOCIETAL CONFORMITY, and the need to follow rules.
I posted this in response:
The story seems to be teaching that the shame associated with abuse makes it difficult for the abused to do things – like leave Shechem – that acknowledge the abuse. Many if not the vast majority of abuse victims feel responsible for the abuse and blame themselves, not the abuser. Dina seems to have been paralyzed by shame. A proof of this is a midrash that notes that, after Shechem had been killed and the town routed, Dina refused to leave with Levi and Shimon. She only left after Shimon promised to marry her. What amazes me is the way rabbis seem to miss the major point of the incident, and concentrate instead on the midrashim that focus on what Dina did to 'cause' the rape. Worse yet, this clear lesson on the psychology of abuse is lost on these rabbis, rabbis who, at least in theory, may be called upon to poskin for and counsel the abused. Think of the rabbinic response to Lanner's victims, for example.
Shmarya | Homepage | 11.24.04 - 12:25 pm | #
And then, this:
Shmarya: "What amazes me is the way rabbis seem to miss the major point of the incident..."
Simcha: "1. You mean like the rabbis who wrote the midrash you just quoted?"
No. I "mean like" many of the rabbis who teach at YU, with one particular rabbi first in my thoughts, along with most of the rabbis of the haredi world.
Shmarya | Homepage | 11.24.04 - 1:53 pm | #
Simcha then responds:
No. I "mean like" many of the rabbis who teach at YU, with one particular rabbi first in my thoughts, along with most of the rabbis of the haredi world.
It's easy to condemn people you've never met and know almost nothing about. Do it elsewhere because from where I'm standing, he's miles above you in every possible way.
Simcha | Email | Homepage | 11.24.04 - 2:03 pm | #
I then wrote, "Tell that to Lanner's victims" and also noted that my criticism extended to "the former leaders of NCSY and the OU, except for Dr. Granchrow." I did not name any rabbis.
Simcha deleted the comment.
Keep in mind that Simcha is very close to Rabbi Mordechai Willig, who, if you recall, covered up for Lanner and verbally attacked at least one of Lanner's victims. Much later and under tremendous pressure, Rabbi Willig apologized. Lately, as you have heard, R. Willig has been critical of R. Blau's involvement with the Awareness Center. While I too have serious questions about how the Awareness Center is functioning, for R. Willig – with his record of covering for Lanner and his apparent inaction on the issues related to abuse in the Orthodox community – to criticize R. Blau without offering any solution to the problem is a tremendous chutzpah.
What's wrong with YU? Just that.
Polin goes too far. But with leaders like R. Willig, Orthodoxy provides no alternative to her. And, as always, it's the victims and those falsely accused who suffer for it.
Jeanette Friedman writes:
I am trying to collect as many emails of survivors and their descendants as humanly possible, and they need to be sent to the Amgathtogether@aol.com.
An important survivor, who was impoverished by nasty circumstances, died last week because he didn't have proper health care. We want to start a campaign to channel survivor funds to the survivors, and we need to do it via email, because we can't afford any other way of doing it.
Could you please post a notice that all computer literate survivors and their descendants are to please send their email addresses to the above email address? Here's what I sent out to my friends and colleagues:
After we learned how terribly Fred Diament, z"l, died last week, there were discussions with Holocaust survivor leaders in the U.S. and Israel, the American Gathering of Jewish Holocaust Survivors in NY and the Association of Holocaust Survivors' Organizations in Israel (Roman Kent, Noah Flug and others). These leaders are starting a campaign to mobilize the grassroots on health care issues for survivors.
All computer literate survivors, 2Gs, 3Gs and even 4Gs are asked to send their email addresses and those of any descendants and survivors that they know to amgathtogether@aol.com so these organizations can save thousands upon thousands of dollars in snail mail costs, money the American Gathering and the Israeli survivor organizations do not have.
Fred's call for better health care for dying survivors will not be ignored, so that we will try to prevent any other survivors from dying as ignominiously as he did. May his untimely and unecessary death not be in vain.
