Offensive US rabbi has history in Oz

THE American rabbi, currently at the centre of a media storm, for stating that sexual abuse, like diarrhoea, is an embarrassment that sufferers should keep private, and that victims of abuse are “not that damaged”, is no stranger to controversy.

The AJN has learnt that Rabbi Manis Friedman incurred the wrath of Shoah survivors during a trip to Melbourne in the 1980s, after implying the Holocaust was part of a Divine plan.

According to two prominent local rabbis, Rabbi Friedman made the comments during a talk he gave at a private home during a Chabad-sponsored speaking tour, and has not returned to Melbourne since.

Last Friday, he was forced to apologise for the content of a clip on YouTube in which he said, “There is hardly a student who comes to a yeshivah … that hasn’t been molested.”

In the clip, which has now been removed, he also said a perpetrator could be absolved of their sins by performing mitzvot, and that the onus is on the victim to get over their abuse. “You’ve learnt that not every uncle is your best friend, you’ve learnt an important lesson.”

Retracting his statements and branding sexual abuse as one of the “worst crimes imaginable”, Rabbi Friedman apologised for his “completely inappropriate use of language”, adding, “Perpetrators of molestation should be reported to the police and prosecuted.”

Despite fears his comments would deter victims from seeking justice, The AJN understands four Jewish victims have come forward over the last week – three from Melbourne and one from Sydney,

President of victims advocacy group Tzedek Manny Waks told The AJN one of the alleged victims said the “public campaign” against Rabbi Friedman was what motivated him to come forward. “There are a number of reasons why victims have chosen to speak up now,” Waks said.

“The fact that it’s being discussed so openly demonstrates to them that this topic is not as taboo as it once was.”

Waks welcomed Rabbi Friedman’s apology as “positive first-step in addressing his ignorant and deeply offensive remarks.”

After a phone conversation with Rabbi Friedman on Wednesday, Waks decided to withdraw action against him through the Battei Din of Sydney and Crown Heights.

TIMNA JACKS

Victim advocate Manny Waks.