Washington – A prominent Washington rabbi whose congregation includes leading political figures was arrested on Tuesday on a charge of voyeurism, police said.
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Rabbi Barry Freundel, 62, was taken into custody by police at his home in the U.S. capital’s upscale Georgetown district, a few blocks from his synagogue, Kesher Israel Congregation.
Washington’s NBC TV affiliate NBC4 reported that Freundel allegedly installed a hidden camera inside the women’s showers at the Orthodox synagogue.
The voyeurism charge is a misdemeanor and police spokesman Paul Metcalf declined to provide details on the arrest.
Kesher Israel said in a statement on its website that its board had suspended Freundel without pay. “At this challenging time, we draw strength from our faith, our tradition, and our fellow congregants,” it said.
Telephone calls to Freundel’s home went unanswered. Washingtonian magazine said Kesher Israel’s congregation included Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and former Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman.
Freundel has headed the synagogue for 25 years. He also teaches at the University of Maryland and Georgetown Law School.
Anyone who knew Barry will find this hard to believe but we also didn’t expect to read several days ago that the rav of the closet shul to Kesher Israel (Adas Israel) in Washington announced to the world (via email to his 2,000 congregants on motzi yom yippur) that he was leaving his wife Batya and kids because he was gay and would join his to-be partner. Not a great week for traditional yiddeshkeit in D.C.
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”, Humphrey Bogart, playing Rick Blaine in the movie ‘Casablanca’.
The Georgetown mikva would be on any layman’s list of mikvaot most likely to be frequented by ‘types super-sensitive to international intrigue and super-power grade surveillance’. To plant there some budget consumer-grade device openly hawked on sites like amazon.com is just (warning: approaching understatement) not well thought out. I’m at a loss for words. I remember when he was hired; I know some of the people who originally hired him; and I can assure you that before he was hired he was fully informed of the range of personalities to expect to be in the membership and to be regularly passing through the shul.
This is why, at this point, I don’t believe he’s guilty. The story, as currently being reported, makes him out to be too indescribably incompetent.
I’ll raise the ante, in the man’s defense: — but it will have to be another post because I ran out of characters —
(continuation post)
“Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine”, Humphrey Bogart, playing Rick Blaine in the movie ‘Casablanca’.
In defense of the accused, I’ll raise the ante in a way no local congregant would publicly say, though I’m sure many are thinking this. We know for certain, טענת ברי, that the accused knows very well of specific women who would use that mikva, that their jobs (and more) have depended upon being able to spot devices much more sophisticated.
I don’t know the details of how this device was discovered, but I would be very very surprised if it was there for more than one veset cycle.
עיר שושן נבוכה
Kol Hakuvod to you for reporting on this story, its very important that people know that in todays age you cannot trust ANYONE!
How does one accused of such a crime establish his or her innocence?
Another trusted news source reported he was caught putting a camera in a clock radio, and said he was fixing ventilation. It was reported to the Shul board who alerted the police who investigated, got a warrant and made the arrest and confiscation of computer equipment. The Shul board suspended him without pay.
To No. 3 and 4
Your rambling and incoherent “defense” of Freundel is an insult to the many well known Jewish women like Hadassah Lieberman and others who are members of Kesher Israel. The suggestion that he was “set up” in some conspiracy and these chashuve women were somehow complicit in this disgusting affair is bizarre beyond belief.
At least this story, whatever its outcome, involves only adult women–not little boys or girls. Oy lanu!
I can’t believe that this crime is only a misdemeanor; in any event, if this charge is true, the man is a pervert, who should be fired; he should not only face criminal charges, but also civil lawsuits from his victims.
This is funny, a few years ago I traveled through the entire east coast with a friend, we davened in that shul in DC, as chasidim we asked Rabbi Barry if they have a mikva for us to use in the morning, he said no we have for woman only. Most states we visited, the rabbi allowed us to use the woman’s mikva but he was very adamant about it, guess he didn’t want us to ruin his nude woman collection album with naked men….
Now seriously speaking, he seemed to be a very sweet person and these allegations are shocking to me. I pray that if the charges aren’t true, the real truth should come out.
It is one thing to expect that some Reform or Deformed rabbi will declare himself to be gay, but an Orthodox rabbi watching ladies? That is a Chilul HaShem, which is really a terrible avairah.
Humans can be gay, declare it, give into weaknesses, etc…no comparison.
The issue here is that the man is not only voyeuristic, but stupid.
Intelligent, 62 yo educated men don’t plant cameras at work and hope to get away with it……Yes, young adolescent men may joke about “putting a camera in the mikve”….but for someone of his stature to go ahead and actually do it…Beyond stupidity, likely indicating a true mental issue…..The only curious thing to me is…How did he get to 62 and not do anything this stupid before or not give any indication to close friends that he had a screw loose? Ain Chadash Tachat HaShemesh and someone must have known this guy was a little weird..
To #18 - Stop being so naive, and assume that these perverted acts occur only among the Reform. There are hundreds of frum prisoners in federal prisons and in some state prisons (NY, Florida), who are in jail for a host of offenses. Perverted acts and other criminal acts occur among all ethnic groups. I agree that it is a horrible thing when it occurs in our own community, but such events are a fact of life. Incidentally, I wish that Mr. “Besides the Point” would sign off already, as I’m sure that everyone on this board has had enough of his rambling postings!
He was being a mashgiach…..
In a Sept. 18 article in Washington Jewish Week about the state of the Orthodox movement, Rabbi Freundel is quoted about the leading reasons for divorce. “The lack of sexual morality that pervades this society is all over the place, and the Orthodox community, no matter how traditional, is not immune from this, and it creates terrible problems,” said Freundel. “Pornography and its accessibility is wrecking marriages.
“It’s two keystrokes away. You get on the computer, you hit the button twice and you’re there. I have not counseled a couple in any level of relationship in the last five years where pornography hasn’t been an issue,” the rabbi was quoted as saying.
This is not going to be an easy case to defend with mindless allegations (aka a Perry-Mason like assertion that “the mikvah lady did it”). This is a growing problem with MO rabbonim not only in the D.C. area but nationwide. You don’t read about this happening in chassideshe shuls (where the rav wouldn’t have any incentive to install a monitoring camera in the varbeshe mikvah.
Too disgusting if true. He can look these women in face after he humiliated them so? Beneath contempt to do this with modest women who are spiritually elevating themselves with holy thoughts at a mikva. Illness? Nope. Sinful and criminal. Let him wear that silly grin in the jail, he needs a smacking upside his head..