Community leaders slammed for absence
THE first three days of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse at Yeshivah in Melbourne and Yeshiva in Sydney have been heartbreaking, horrifying and, critically, have presented a harsh reality that the community must hear.
But notably, only two rabbis in the Australian Jewish community attended, Sydney’s Rabbi Moshe Gutnick, immediate past president of the Organisation of Rabbis of Australasia who has previously lamented not taking more action when he was made aware of abuse allegations in the past, and Rabbi Yehoshua Smukler, current principal of Yeshivah College.
Other rabbis, who it is claimed were aware of abuse and who had helped cover it up, or who had tried to discourage victims going public, were absent. There were also no representatives from community roof bodies present.
Manny Waks, who was sexually assaulted by convicted child abuser and rapist David Cyprys and who testified on Monday, described this week as “one of the most significant milestones in the history of the Australian Jewish community”.
However, he said on Tuesday evening that he was astounded that not a single representative of any of the Jewish community’s peak bodies has attended the hearing or published a public comment.
“I would’ve thought they wanted to send out a strong and clear message to both the Yeshivah Centre and the broader community,” Waks said.
“I suspect that, had the Royal Commission been on the topic of Israel, anti-Semitism or security, they (understandably) would’ve been the first ones in the door.”
He said this highlights the lack of leadership within the community when it comes to child sexual abuse.
“Not only is this an affront to the many victims/survivors, it also sends out the wrong message.”
Responding to Waks’s claim, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) Robert Goot told The AJN, “The ECAJ has been cooperating fully and closely with the Royal Commission since it was established and will continue to do so. We were informed that the ECAJ would not be required to attend or be represented at the current hearings.”
The sentiment was echoed by Vic Alhadeff, chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies. “We categorically support the work of the Royal Commission and have been following proceedings extremely closely,” said Alhadeff.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria, meanwhile, issued a statement stressing the child protection training programs it ran for community organisations and schools. “We are following the proceedings of the Royal Commission closely by livestream and we are all devastated by any and every case of child abuse.”
Full coverage in this week’s AJN.
JOSHUA LEVI
Manny Waks took the stand at the Royal Commission on Monday.
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