Editorial, July 29, 2011

Shame of Sydney’s rabbinate

LET us make two things abundantly clear. The AJN did not go digging around for the email exchange between the Sydney rabbinate on whether those suspected of paedophilia should be reported to the police. Such was the level of disgust and disdain at the opinions being expressed by the president of the Rabbinical Council of New South Wales that other members of the rabbinate felt his views should be known by the community at large and hence contacted us.

Further, The AJN did not need to dig around for the reaction of other rabbis and communal leaders. Again, many contacted us to share their thoughts on the matter. The line taken by the president, they feared, was more akin to the Taliban than the Torah, and for that reason he should not only step down but should also be censured. The public should be left in absolutely no doubt about where Judaism stood on child abuse and on ensuring those accused of such crimes were brought to justice.

In the wake of the recent revelations regarding the way the matter was allegedly dealt with by Melbourne’s Yeshivah College in years gone by, all communal authorities have spoken unequivocally and without hesitation with one voice. There can be no cover-ups, there can be no question of enabling those responsible to escape justice. Their position, and the halachic position, was that such crimes must be reported to, and dealt with by, the relevant civil authorities, namely the police and the courts.

The email exchange saw the president of the council, Rabbi Yosef Feldman, effectively challenge that stance. Taking into consideration among other issues the likelihood of the offender reoffending, the chance the offender may himself be abused in jail and the idea that simply shaming him in the eyes of the community may be enough to stop him committing the crime again, Rabbi Feldman contended that it should be left up to rabbis to decide whether child abusers should be reported to the proper authorities.

He later said that in the wake of a council vote, he had fallen into line. However, in a subsequent conversation with The AJN, he quite clearly stood by his original opinions

Contradictory statements aside, a fear has been expressed in some quarters, that if Rabbi Feldman’s comments became public, it would reflect negatively on the community and be highly damaging. That being the case The AJN has been asked by some individuals not to report the story.

If the views though are so offensive and abhorrent to society at large that they could be detrimental, is the correct course of action to cover them up – just as some wish to cover up the child abuse – or is the correct course of action for the community to demonstrate categorically that it does not hold with such views, that they in no way reflect the community’s position and that under no circumstances will they be tolerated?

It is no secret that in recent months The AJN has had one or two run-ins with Rabbi Feldman. But that’s inevitable given the nature of the newspaper business and the clashes that can result with those in authority.

Despite our occasional spats though, The AJN and Rabbi Feldman have always managed to put our differences behind us and have enjoyed a relationship that is friendly, professional and respectful. And we certainly hope that will continue in the future. There is no animosity on our part.

However, under the circumstances, we firmly believe that for the sake of our community’s reputation and for the council to retain its authority, we must add our voice to the those that have called for Rabbi Feldman to stand down, and for the council to not just brush off the views he expressed but to publicly denounce them.

It is bad enough to discover that this debate even occurred in the first place. We are not talking about the finer points of halachah regarding eruvs, Shabbat elevators or kashrut. We are talking about children scarred for life, evil or sick individuals who commit heinous crimes and the proper pursuit of justice.

The Sydney rabbis cannot simply issue a bland statement, saying merely they agree with their counterparts in Melbourne – indeed in the very same breath, but far more passionately, condeming ‘unreservedly’ the leaking of correspondence to the press.

They must make it clear beyond any doubt that they will not countenance the views expressed by Rabbi Feldman and must affirm the following: Child abuse is child abuse whatever form it takes; as rabbis, they not only stand squarely behind those who report it to the proper authorities, but encourage people to do so immediately; and that they believe unreservedly that the police and the courts are the only institutions that should be charged with conducting investigations and ensuring justice is carried out.