Brooklyn, NY – A well known anti-child abuse crusader who was doused with bleach by a Williamsburg resident filed court papers, suing his assailant for unspecified damages following the December, 2012 incident.
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As previously reported on VIN News, Meilich Schnitzler received five years probation in a plea deal for throwing bleach in the face of well known advocate for child abuse victims, Rabbi Nuchum Rosenberg, just days after a jury found Nechemya Weberman guilty on all 59 counts he was charged with.
Schnitzler had originally pled guilty in the attack but changed his plea after being offered a deal by the district attorney’s office, who agreed to let Schnitzler off without jail time since it was his first offense and Rosenberg’s injuries were not permanent.
But in the lawsuit filed Wednesday Rosenberg claims that he suffered severe and permanent damages to his eye, leaving with constant pain and rendering him substantially disabled. According to the complaint filed in Supreme Court in Brooklyn, Rosenberg has needed both medication and physical therapy, has become “substantially disabled,” and has experienced severe mental anguish as a result of the attack.
Rosenberg is seeking actual and punitive damages and hopes to also recover court costs from the 2012 jury trial.
In 2008 Rosenberg was ostracized by ultra-Orthodox Jewish communal authorities because he maintains a telephone number that features his lectures in Yiddish and he has publicly identified perpetrators of sexual abuse.
The case is being presented by attorney Robert Tolchin of The Berkman Law Office. it was not immediately known the name of the attorney representing Schnitzler.
Can some one explain why “mesirah” is halachigly allowed according to this Rosenberg guy.
The facts in this article are mostly inaccurate. Let’s examine some of them.
1. Rosenberg is not an advocate for anyone. He makes his career of activism to destroy anyone he wants. Accused perpetrators who may be completely innocent have been destroyed by this “activist”. He has never participated or contributed to any efforts to expand prevention in the community. He interacts with the media regularly to cause as much public damage and chilul Hashem as possible.
2. The DA office had documentation about the status of the injuries as temporary, not permanent. This new claim is frivolous, and will be found as such in this new trip to arka’os. Anyone with a heter for this?
3. Mental anguish? What about all the mental anguish he has caused to countless innocent people? So many people attacked on his “hotline” are innocent, just having disagreed with him. Hypocrisy.
4. “lectures in Yiddish and he has publicly identified perpetrators”. His hotline is defamatory against many who were never perpetrators (rechilus). It is also brazenly pornographic, which is why rabbonim banned it several times. He continues to poison children’s mind with schmutz.
Elul. Nu?
Arefuah shlama. Bleach is very dangerous and harmful
It’s chodesh Elul. the Chofetz Chaim’s yartzeit will be on 24 of Elul. let’s learn about the prohibition of slander. lets not write about anyone. loshon horah is prohibited. it causes hatred, nothing positive is the outcome.
a ksiva vchasima tova through the zchus of shmiras haloshon
Thanks #2
People do not realize that he is not what the media portrays him to be.
I highly commend people who have brought awareness to child se-xual abuse. But he is not the one that has done it. Most people doing it are behind the scenes, trying to get help for kids, talking to parents on how to teach their kids on the subjectm and getting the perpetrators to pay for their deeds.
NONE OF THEM are in the media or interested to be in the media. They are doing all of this to protect our children, L’shem Shamayim.
Mr. Rosenberg likes to stir the media up and he’s found the perfect method. Trying to present himself as the one that is the Nachshon in the molestation issue. He has brought awareness and I give him credit for that, but he’s definitely not having the children in mind.
I know, because I am part of a group of activists behind the scene. He sometimes creates more issues by running to the media. There are child activists that mean the children, & there are people who take on an issue because it will put them in the media. This is the difference between him and the real child activists.
May we be zoche to Moshiach who will be the ultimate protection for our kids
#2 Awesome. I couldn’t of said it better. However,you said too little.
We cant even begin to think how much damage Rosenberg did and is continuing to do to Klal Yisroel in general and to kids in particular.
If anyone listens to his hotline you will hear the the most inflammatory schmutz he spews on anyone and everything.
He wants people to think that every Rebbe,Rav,Dyan,teacher,parents grandparents, and just basically every frum looking Jew is a child abuser.
He can file suit as much as he wants.He wont get anywhere.Law enforcement by now know already his true agenda.
The Rabbonim did an excellent job in making people aware about his danger and therefore he has no were to daven. In fact how can the same mouth that spews profanity Daven.
#17 Would you not defend yourself if someone threatened you with your life?????
It was self defense in the spur of the moment, but the media doesn’t like to say that.
“And it is outrageous for you to try to justify what happened to him”
Calm down. Nobody said that it was OK for him to have bleach thrown on his face? Of course that wasn’t OK.
In a comprehensive evaluation, Nachum Rosenberg is a true hero. The whole issue of child abuse within the Orthodox community, always swept under the rug, has come to public scrutiny only because of Nachum Rosenberg and not, as inferred, by super-secret and super-silent askonim. Yes, Nachum Rosenberg may have overstepped certain red lines. Nevertheless, he would not have the community otherwise. Everyone supported Weberman – before the conviction. However, now that support has totally evaporated. No one contributed to his appeal. Oh yes, there was a rally for support – but no one showed up nor gave a penny. While the dust of child abuse has not yet settled within the frum community, it was Nachum Rosenberg that generated the fight against it. His methods were most unconventional, emotionally unwelcome, and he is paying the price for the agitation. He is a hero and will be Heavenly rewarded.
There is no such thing as truth; there is only narrative. Ask Hillary if you don’t believe me. The following is also a narrative:
Rosenberg entered Meilich Schnitzler’s fish store shop and began berating the customers in the store for patronizing Schnitzler’s business. He shouted that Schnitzler’s father is a child molester (unproven) and therefore everyone must boycott his son’s store.
Schnitzler, who was outraged by Rosenberg’s behavior, was at that time cleaning his store window with Windex spray. Schnitzler ordered Rosenberg out of his store, pursued him into the street and sprayed Rosenberg in the face using the Windex spray that was in his hand.
#17, if you were the judge and the facts were presented to you as above, how would you rule? In Texas, if you verbally attack someone as Rosenberg did, you can expect to get what Rosenberg got. True, Rosenberg was merely using words, but in Texas them’s fightin’ words.
There you have it: Much ado about nothing; a barroom brawl that just got out of hand.
While I don’t agree that anyone should be throwing bleach or anything else at someone else. I also don’t believe he can collect because his assailant probably doesn’t have assets to pay. Even if he currently has assets to pay he can dispose of them prior to the end of the trial. Also the statute of limitation gives you only one year to file a claim for assault and if it happened in 2012 it’s over 3 years.
Reb nuchem is the only person who showed up in court to support the victims for many years.
thanks to him we have a safer community
I know someone whose daughter was “bleached” in Yerushalayim…. she was dressed properly, but some thought that she didn’t have the right to walk on their street. She got over it, but I am still outraged. What kind of people have we become?
The fact is, that many rabbonim including both Satmar Rebbes knew good and well about Nechemya Weberman. All the charges that were brought forth in court, were first told over to these rabbonim. Now, what did they do about it??????? We all know the answer!!!!!
While all these rabbonim were hosting massive fundraisers for Weberman, and defaming the victim (including Aaron Teitelbaum calling her a “zoinne” in a public speech), Nuchem Rosenberg gave them the emotional support and courage they so desperately needed.
Some might say that Nuchem is a bit crazy or extreme. That might be true, but the truth is, Nuchem shouldn’t have to be doing this. He’s spoken to, written letters to, and even gone down to many rabbonim before acting on his own. He’s doing the work that the rabbonim should be doing. Had the rabbonim acted, then I can hear people saying that he’s a bit radical. Being that he had no choice but to act on his own, no one could complain.
Unless the defendant is stupid he is going to transfer his money and assets to a spouse or relative prior to the trial. Also he will reduce his salary so that even if the plaintiff wins and garnishes his salary and has topays 10% of his salary for the next 20 years if all he makes on the books is $100.00 per week all he pays is $10.00 a week for the next 20 years assuming he continues to work.
Goetz was in the subway in 1984 and thought he was being attacked by four black youths and shot them. He was sued by the victims who won a $43 million judgement, but have never collected a dime. They were represented by Ron Kuby a famous civil rights attorney, while Goetz who is not a lawyer, represented himself in the case.
Rosenberg is going to need a lawyer to win the case which will cost at least $ 100,000.00 probably more, so as far as actually going through with this the chances are small. All this is more harassment by Rosenberg.
1. People are spouting amaratzus about mesirah here. They should be talking about arcaos since this is a civil lawsuit.
2. Rabbi Rosenberg has high quality smichah from Rav Yechiel Epstein Z”L, a highly respected dayan on the beis din of the eidah charedis. He is capable of paskening a heter arcaos because the other party refused to go to beis din, which is in fact the case.
3. I believe r. Rosenberg has accomplished a lot of good though could wish for a different style. But we have no one else directly educating the public about ugly realities that must be stopped.
4. Even if you think he is a bad influence, who ever heard of a Jew defending trying to blind another Jew. He was harmed and he is entitled to damages. Have none of you learned about nezek, tzar, ripui, sheves and boishes. Read your nezikin.
I wish this good man luck and success in his case against these vile rashim. I would love to be on the jury.
PS- any Brooklyn jury will side with him. The string of abuse claims and bad behavior by “frum” residents makes them side with what they consider the lesser of two evils. Same thing in Lakewood and Deal, NJ. that is why Jewish perps plead guilty – they know that their neighbors will send them up the river.