New York – The Rabbinical Council of America has today reaffirmed its position that those with reasonable suspicion or first hand knowledge of abuse or endangerment have a religious obligation to report that abuse to the secular legal authorities without delay.
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One of the unique features of Jewish law is that it imposes upon every member of the community an obligation to help others avoid danger. The biblical verse “do not stand by while your neighbor’s blood is shed” is understood by Jewish Law to mandate that one must do all in one’s power to prevent harm to others – even if monetary harm, but certainly physical harm.
Consistent with that Torah obligation, if one becomes aware of an instance of child abuse or endangerment, one is obligated to refer the matter to the secular authorities immediately, as the prohibition of mesirah (i.e., referring an allegation against a fellow Jew to government authority) does not apply in such a case.
As always where the facts are uncertain one should use common sense and consultations with experts, both lay and rabbinic, to determine how and when to report such matters to the authorities. False accusations are harmful to those falsely accused – but unreported abuse or endangerment can be life-threatening, as we have recently been tragically reminded.
In addition and as a separate matter, those within the Jewish community whom secular law deem to be “mandated reporters,” must certainly obey the particular reporting requirements, which vary from state to state in the United States. A person covered by mandatory reporter laws must comply with those laws, even in a case in which Jewish law might otherwise not require a person to report such child abuse or endangerment.
Finally someone putting our kids safety first!!!!!!!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!
Does this mean we can also report to the police those who obstruct justice for the victims and intimidate witnesses into keeping silent?
That’s why the RCA is more normal than the Agudah.
Hear that, Agudah?
Power to the RCA !!! Now if only Agudah, Hisachdus, Igud, and Moetzes would follow suit. I believe the Igud is pretty much on the side of reporting.
Agudah should take note on what it truly means to be “clear” and “precise” with your wording. The RCA has made it clear using words such as “common sense” and explaining why one should use caution by spelling out the concept that if one is falsely accused it can be harmful…. And that if one is uncertain the consultation should be both Rav and “lay” professionals. Also they have worded, precisely that mandated reporters are to follow the law of the land “even if Jewish law might otherwise not require a person to report…..” If one reads RCA’s proclamation on the matter vs Agudah’s it is hard to dispute that Agudah still lacks “clarification”…
BenH, you see all Rabbis as coverups for molesters & thats where your problems lay. agudath Israel did clarify their position and it’s a terrible thing to malign Rabbanim & yiddishkeit as being reposnsible for child abuse. these are your own personal issues to work thru. stop blaming our heilige gedolim and Torah.
finally common sense combined with halachcha will put safety of children before protecting the perpetrators
hopefully they will have more influence in the community then Agudah and others who put the perpetrators ahead of the children
There is one thing I have never understood: if a Jew has incontrovertible evidence of a crime having been committed by another Jew, why does he/she have to run to a rabbi for permission to lodge a complaint with the police? From where I am sitting, it has always seemed to be a massive cover-up.
?מה נשתנה העם הזה מכל העמים – בכל הקשור לפשע ודיווחו
BTW, Who is RCA? I don’t disagree with them on this one, but who are they.
Look. I also think it should be reported. Is anyone going to say now Anonymous Says child abuse shoud be reported?
I don’t understand????
Why is this even a discussion???
Shouldn’t this be obvious? when it comes to everything else… I would say go to Rav/Bais din first, but when it comes to the abuse of a child? I say you go straight to the cops (or straight to his TEETH!) 😀
To Chaim Ben Yehuda, poster #9 : It IS a massive cover-up. Of epic proportions.
I worked in a yeshiva elementary school where a molester was actually ARRESTED and put in JAIL, only to be reinstated in his position for another ten years plus.
The principal and board members were responsible for this travesty, and I hold them ALL accountable. So will a Higher Power.
The molester victimized countless kids, R”L. These boys are now seeing therapists to deal with the anger, depression, betrayal, trust issues, etc. The molester remains active in the community. Can you believe it?
Parents of victims were intimidated into silence. Massive cover-up.
you will never have clarification w Agudah, it is a political party, there’s no clarification in on politics, just look what’s going on in washington, when they say something its for sure not what they say, if they would say what they truly blv, no 1 would be voting for them, although there’s no voting or demacracy in the “yidishe velt” if agudah wants they can fis this, but a lot of bigshots would suffer & they would loose a lot of money, that’s why they can’t be honest about the problem.
The RCA statement is clear, concise, and leaves no room for ambiguity. It is simply an excellent and cogent summary of the halachic and legal obligations binding upon every Jew, on the subject of child abuse. Well done, RCA.
Would you trust “RCA” for your חייבי כריתות questions over your local Rebbi, then use their ruling for this matter.
“you can’t pick and chose”
The Moetzei Gedolei HaTorah disagrees with this RCA organization. The Gedolim directed the Agudah to inform that it is ONLY permissible to report after speaking to a posek.
Where does mesireh have its limits..? Why are you allowed to report abuse and you are not allowed to report tax invasion,money laundering,fraud, and all criminal activities.
I do understand that endangering a kids life has priority over theft and criminal activities but the Torah is still alive and it is up to the Rabunim and Dayunim to judge every case on its own…I rather see a Bes Din set up by all Rabunim and communities who will handle only Molesting and Abuse cases and those Rabunim shold be aware of every single case and will decide which offender has to be reported..
You can NOT allow every parent who believes his son is a victim to RUN to authorities.
Shomrim of BP, Flatbush.Wmsbg. have been very succesful to bring alot of molesters to justice without getting involved the NYPD or DA office.
I will continue to stick to the Gedolim (i.e. Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah) rather than this modern group.
What the Agudah said was pretty clear.
They, in effect, said that if you SEE (raglayim ledovor) child molestation, you MUST report it to the police.
If your child tells you in detail (raglayim ledovor) that he/she was molested, you MUST report it to the police.
If you suspect (no raglayim ledovor) molestation, you must speak to your Rav.
If you hear about (rno aglayim ledovor) molestation, you must speak to your Rav.
It’s really that simple.
It is against the halachah.
There are several cases in my practice that I have come across, where the patient I worked with, has previously been victimized by a therapist/rabbi with “stellar” community reputations leading double lives and seducing their patients. In these cases, it cannot be reported to the authorities, as the victims are adults (vulnerable ones) and the “grooming process” is very effective. The problem is that these victims are both afraid and embarressed to come forward, which only further emboldens these menuvalim, who take full advantage of their patient’s vulnerability. Keep in mind that these rabbi/therapists know a lot of personal information about their “patients” and their patients can feel very threatened by that. As they get away with each of their victims, they get better at their craft over time. Some of them even use “Torah” sources to rationalize why this is “mutar” for them. Typically they know how to pick their victims and once these victims realize how they’ve been exploited, they feel extremely embarressed, fearful and betrayed. As the next treating therapist, all I can do to prevent further abuse is to encourage them to step forward and tell their story.
Please someone explain to me what is the difference between the way the Aguda wants to handle this problem and the way the Catholic Church tried to handle this problem?
Let me share an oppossing view with you. Having been involved in these matters the last 10 yrs. When it comes to shalos of chilul shabbos and kashrus we ask a rov. But when it comes to questions of bein adam lchvero unfortunetly we tend to rely on our own judgement. I am saying that if time allows and it could speedily be done a rov should first be consulted. We should not rely on our own own judgement even if we think we know it all. Especially in such seriuos topics as this the repucusssions can be devastating to all involved. People always tend to think they know it all….ask first when possible before going to the police…its no different than any other shalos. Todays rabbonim are more in the know about these topics. The agudah is right!
When abuse also involves that of husband and wife, report that tool
The RCA is a more Modern Orthodox organization. It doesn’t have much sway in Haredi communities in Brooklyn.
If you don’t trust RCA rabbis you’d better stop eating anything but food you grow on your own.
Virtually all hashgachos today are tied into relying on the OU.
Or do you think the OU does not rely on any RCA rabbis?
And so, once again the real issue is forgotten and we begin the side shows of Aguda vs RCA and “my Gadol is better than your Gadol”.
Kudos to Agudath Israel of America and to the Rabbinical Council of America for clarifying their positions and encouraging prompt reporting of child abuse to the proper authorities.
In some locales (e.g. New Jersey), any adult is a mandated reporter. In most locales, many professionals are mandated reporters. It is a crime for them not to report cases wherein there is a “reasonable” chance that child abuse has occurred.
Once a case is reported, the authorities investigate. If they determine that child abuse has occurred, they may remove the child victim from the home (if the parents were negligent), arrest someone (e.g., a predator), or take other measures. In many cases, allegations are “unfounded,” i.e. the investigators do not find enough evidence to confirm the suspicion of abuse.
In my experience, outside of custody battles and the like, it is quite rare that a child would “make up” a story consistent with child abuse.
We all have to balance the safety of the hundreds of potential victims from an abuser against the small chance that an innocent person has been falsely accused.
It is imperative that our rabbis receive training in the recognition of abuse.
The Chinuch writes by the mitzvah of “Lo susir yemin usmol you shal not turn right or left from what the chazal/poskim hold, only stay with what they say” that we should follow our rabumim evan when they make mistakes, since if every one will be their own rav then the torah will be splitered, and there is a chance that we will all go wrong, if we follow the rabanim than evan if they make mistakes, at least most of the time we go in the right direction.. It is self understood what we need to do, Ask your local rav!
Just out of curiosity — how are the parents of victims of molestation “intimidated” from reporting the abuse to the authorities? I’m interested in knowing because if r”l I was the parent of such a child victim, NOTHING would keep me from reporting it to every law enforcement authority with jurisdiction. And I would also swiftly take action against the sicko myself.
This is a welcome change. Going to rabbis in these cases is the wrong thing to do.
1) They are not qualified to do criminal investigations
2) They are not qualified to do psychological or physical evaluations
3) Like other non-police investigators they will muddy the evidence and complicate the real investigations
4) They have a consistent history of acting like the Catholic church. Cover it up. Hide it from the police. Protect the rapists, and move abusive rabbis and teachers to other places
5) Mandated reporters are committing crimes if they fail to report
6) A rabbinical inquiry will tip off a suspect allowing him to flee
To all the BIG chachomim here who say its wrong to go to the police, I have one question….
What are you going to do when its you child??? Will it still be wrong then?
Who said that if you go to rabanim they won’t let you go to the authorities, sometimes the molester will get a din as a “Rodef” which then according to halacha we “must” give over the molester to the authorities, but we must first get such a psak from a rav.
Perhaps there has been progress, but perhaps it’s too little too late. Too many people have had too many bad experiences to be able to fully trust the rabbinical leadership in this area.
There is a tendency in charedi communities to ask a rabbi about all sorts of questions, even when not halachic, and this is rooted in our history, and reaction to enlightenment thinking and the modern idea of personal autonomy.
Our understanding of child abuse and domestic violence has developed mainly over the last 30 years or so. We now know how damaging they are, in a way that we didn’t understand earlier. Many people also understand now that these situations need to be handled by professionally trained people, in the same way as health problems need doctors. However, some people still don’t understand this and think they can help/be helped without professionals. Rabbis have a powerful position in the community, especially when people turn to them for guidance. Unless they have specialised understanding of these situations, perhaps through personal experience, or training, they can cause a lot of pain and damage.
The question is do we wait for the rabbis to change or do we change?