Rockland County, NY – An ultra-Orthodox teen from New Square has broken his silence, relating from beginning to end his ordeal as a sexual abuse victim within the tightly-knit ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
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HUDSON VALLEY NEWS 12 (http://bit.ly/15lqvWH) reports that, in an exclusive interview, the New Square teen known only as, “Yossi,” tells his compelling story of escalating abuse at the hands of an ultra-Orthodox teacher, through the stonewalling and deception employed by ultra-Orthodox leaders, his ostracization, and ultimately his frustration with the legal system.
Throughout, Yossi insists that his reasons for speaking publicly stem solely from hopes that his broken silence will encourage other victims to come forward.
Yossi’s relates how his ordeal began innocently through teaching sessions with New Square ultra-Orthodox teacher, Herschel Taubenfeld, whose sessions with Yossi progressed from “palm reading” to full-blown sexual abuse over a four-month period.
Yossi relates how he entrusted his situation to ultra-Orthodox rabbis and their crimes unit, VAAD, who told him to seek therapy.
Frustrated, Yossi then went to the Ramapo police, who in turn obtained a confession from Herschel Taubenfeld.
Yossi says that after he went to the police, his friends stopped talking to him, treating him “like he didn’t exist.”
Shortly after Yossi went to police, ultra-Orthodox leaders saw fit to send Herschel Taubenfeld to Israel for his rabbinical ordination, while offering Yossi $100,000 for his silence, which Yossi refused.
Taubenfeld turned himself in upon his return from Israel, agreeing to a plea arrangement of six years of probation on 30 misdemeanor counts of forcible touching, endangering the welfare of a child, and third-degree sex abuse.
According to sources, Taubenfeld has been reinstated and is back teaching at the same New Square school.
While still confused, alienated, and frustrated, Yossi says that breaking his silence is worth it if it helps others come forward with their own stories of abuse.
“Palm Reading” sessions? Parents are also guilty!!!
This is absolutely atrocious. The damage Zugibe did to future abuse victims is unfathomable. Why bother coming forward when the abuser only gets a slap on the wrist? What is this nonsense that 6 years probation lets his Department keep track of the abuser? Absolute bullsh#t! Isn’t incarceration a better way to keep track of him? Also, why wouldn’t the judge ban him from access to children? He is still teaching!
Justice served by the DA, I think not. Votes garnered by the DA at the expense of our kinder, you “betcha.”
Luke.
why the big deal of someone being molested. unfortunately, this is something not uncommon so what makes this news besides the intention of smearing the frum community?
molestation happens everywhere there are healthy humans. and yes I wrote “healthy humans”. it’s normal for people to have an urge for intimacy, yet one needs to control himselve.
don’t get me wrong, I truly believe that anyone molesting a child should be harshly punished (perhaps his hand or …. chopped off), but the story of a teen getting molested is nothing news worthy.
Kol hakovod, Yossi! Thank you for your bravery and selflessness. Your actions will help prevent future victims from enduring what you went through.
That said, I urge you to continue what you have started, and name the names of the Rabbonim and community leaders who ignored, stonewalled, or dissuaded you from reporting the abuse or getting the help and support you need. It’s going to take repeated publicity for attitudes to change.
This is where posters come forward & call this poor victim all sorts of disgusting names. He went to the police & he no longer looks like a Skvere Chasid, a bum, he’s a liar, a troubled kid etc. Don’t listen to the tape, will you???
Did you see the pain in his eyes when he spoke? How he could hardly get the words out? I want to cry. Kol Hakovod to him AND his parents. And to to the parents who still let their kids in Taubenfeld’s class or his home, shame on you. You are endangering your own kids! As for the powers that be in New Skvere, there are no words to describe you.
I believe in second chances, but the teacher should find another line of work away from children.
This VAAD should be dissolved and sued by all new victims that come out now. If you can’t trust the Vaad, who can you trust?
I wish more young boys and girls would come out with their stories so we can expose those that ruined many lives.
May I know which ruv or dayen gave him the hatter to speak out to the media??? this pure CHILUL SHEM SHEMAYIM!!! there is no hatter in any poisek since Moshe Rabainu who alouds you to be machalel shem shumayim EVEN YOU WHERE ABUSED!!!
That’s a man a courage! May all oppressors be uncovered!
I feel sorry for yossi, without going into the question if the abuse ever happened, cause who knows we weren’t there, lets get the facts straight..
#1 “According to sources, Taubenfeld has been reinstated and is back teaching at the same New Square school.” Herschel Taubenfeld is NOT and was NEVER a teacher in New Square school. He is a private tutor and is self employed. Check your sources…. The Taubenfeld the kids are referring too, is his nephew a wonderful young man. Total mix up
#2 NONE of the leaders “s saw fit to send Herschel Taubenfeld to Israel for his rabbinical ordination”, no one sends people… HE LEFT ON HIS OWN! Once the rumors were out he couldn’t face it.
This message is it Yossi, i hope your reading this, my heart breaks for you you have been violated once and now a 2nd time, you did great, stay strong.
This young man has guts. Hopefully he will be supported by his community and be called a liar or something worse.
This story brought tears to my eyes.
Yossi you are not alone!!
According to sources, Taubenfeld has been reinstated and is back teaching at the same New Square school.
shocking, insane, how could any parent send a child to that school? Then again nobody took their kids out of other schools so why should this be different?
C’mon- the guy turned himself in and the school STILL hired him back?????
terrible!!!! i hope yossi will get the righ therapyt to help him overcome this horrible episode in his life and he will be able to lead a normal life.
now if only the parents in this chaider would actually protest at this injustice. and demand taubenfeld be fired….there will def be other vicitms. u cant “cure” a sick person like this. and of course if nobody says anything why would the school do anything????
This Is Old News. What Is The Purpose Of Bringing This Up Again and Again? is There a Hidden Agenda Here?
KUDOS to this brave young man for telling his true story.
I see it’s business as usual here, blaming the victim or his parents. Who is protecting our kinder? Surely not the DA, the VAAD or any other of our leaders. We are sending our little boys out in a blizzard with no coats. Disgusting!
The menuval pleaded guilty and got off with an incredibly light sentence. And still is apparently surrounded daily by hundreds of young boys. This is a travesty. But commenters here attack the victim for doing the right thing and causing a chilul
Wow, Yossi! You are an amazing young man with IYH a very bright future. You are courageous and truly an inspiration for standing up and serve as a warning to potential abusers as well as saving other potential victims. One who saves one neshama saves a world! I pray you have the strength to carry on with your life all bisimcha with the knowledge that through your courage you have most probably had the impact of helping others like yourself. I hope you are getting proper advice as how to move on with your life. My humble opinion is to go to a good out of town yeshiva or school and get away from all the reminders of the trauma you experienced in your young life. Remember how beloved you are in Hashems eyes and respected by thousands of people as myself. A kesiva vichasima tova and a good sweet year!!!
How is this different then the Arabs who killed their daughters for being raped?
According to prominent rabbanim, if you cover up abuse, you are just as guilty as the abuser.
Switch abuse to another crime like murder-would you feel any differently? New headline: child speaks up that he witnessed his rebbe killing a classmate “it was no playground accident”. Rebbe continues to teach.
This is just like murder-except the victim lives with it forever.
Why is it alawys the off the derech guys coming out with these accusations. Noone still frum was molested and has the guts to go against their surrondings while staying frum?
Provided everything alleged in this story is true, and it certainly looks like at least good deal of it is true, then I can’t understand…
Presumably the boy has a father. Unless his father has his own doubts about his son’s story, why is the accused still unharmed? I know, if anything like this c”v happened to me or any other farther worthy of the name, the perpetrator’s memory of his deed, provided he survives the confrontation with me, would be very, very painful. So why no extrajudicial justice was ever administered to the alleged perpetrator in this case?
That, more than anything else, make me wonder if there isn’t more to this story.
According to the research I did, he runs a play group for little boys in Monsey from his house. Since the parents probably are forbidden to read the newspaper or have a computer, they would not be aware of his molesting history. Shanda.
And I bet if the little boys are abused, the parents would go to the VAAD as instructed and the VAAD would cover it up as usual. Why does the DA still allow this Rabbi to run a private play group alone in his house?????
yossi,you are awe inspiring! i’m sure most of us don’t have this kind of courage. Hashem should bless you for beginning to break down the wall of silence in ns.
I respect you even with a different opinion. But The fact is there is more education and awareness all around. There has been many cases where kids didn’t fall into the trap like they would back in the days because of simple education. You are right that this case in Ramapo was not handled correctly Which is really disgusting (And very dangerous) However many others did end up behind bars and they cannot strike more victims. There is still a lot of work. But look at the big picture.
Some say this is not even news. Others say it is wrong to publish as it causes anti Semitism. Still others blame the victim, saying he is OTD. Listen up. This is an older man, a Rabbi, who betrayed the trust given to him by causing a younger boy to allow himself to be the object of his perverted lifestyle. Yet this is nothing compared to what is really going on there. I know of a woman who is an Obstetrician/ Gynecologist and worked in New Square’s medical center but was fired because she refused to disobey the law that requires her to report rape of young girls! She said it was commonly covered up and if a doctor wanted to report it they were fired. This is a frum modern Orthodox doctor seeing rape victims who are shattered because they have no voice and no one will support their claims. New Square how can you call yourself a frum community and turn such a blind eye? This case makes the Rabbi seem not so bad as he only touched, and did less than other molesters. This is good PR for them. They appear like on the low end of molesters, and that it is rare. But that is not so, nebech, Hashem yirachem.