Brooklyn, NY – As reported by VIN News earlier this week, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind is continuing his focus on the issue of sexual abuse and molestation. His newest expression of commitment to solutions will come in the form of a second interview with abuse professionals on his radio show.
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The first radio-show interview, as reported, triggered a massive community response.
Besides interviewing professionals Yoni Hikind, LMSW and Asher Lipner, Ph.D., Hikind will also discuss his initiative to highlight this important issue.
The show is entitled “We’re Only as Sick as Our Secrets—Sexual Abuse: Breaking the Silence and Healing the Shame, Part II,” will be heard on WMCA 570 AM on Saturday night at 11:00 p.m. Call in with all your questions at 718-436-1700.
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Chazak Va’amatz, but be careful. Or else, the rabbonim will find a way to kill you.
Does a radio show cure any of our issues? We need action, finding ways to remove any suspicious educators in the brooklyn Hikind district.
Unfortunately our privatly owned schools have no interest in following any guidance from outsiders.
i will start off with a praise that yes he is doing great work especially in this touchy subject… but now i will say my criticism how can he write only his son and lipner!!!!!!!!!!! there were 2 other PROFESSIONALS with lots more knowledge and experience but of course he decided to leave them out this isnt about publicizing or getting his sons name out there… this is just outrageous i am sorry dov but this isnt correct its a disgrace….. i am c”v not putting down your son but how much years experience does your son yoni have lets not kid ourselves……
Anonymous Says:
Chazak Va’amatz, but be careful. Or else, the rabbonim will find a way to kill you.
08-01-2008 – 11:20 AM
former victim says:
i think (and know) that the “RAA-BONIM” who have “shut up ” other victims in the past (& present)in this case however being that dov is an advocate who doesn’t take sides, he’s safe from they’re “gutzskeit” and doesn’t really care if he gets a “m’shiberach”
1 more thing, i think that his son yoni gets all the credit 4 convincing his dad 2 push the inyan up 2 the front burner
Since when is Dov or any of his guest’s – Daas Torah? Who are they to Paskin? Dov should go back to train platform safety!
Dov keep up the good work …..
I will join you on shabbos nachmu….
we are allowed to listen radio
i really hope he will start by thanking Rabbi rosenberg that bought this to public attantion after all Mr rosenburg sacrafised his life for this he was shamed banned from all shuls in williamsburg his family is suffering being abused he was degraded in th eyiddsih news papers so he desrves that much to acknlodge that he deserves credit
Are there really so much abuses or people just like to listen and discuss this issue
Hope it will be done in a way that Rosenberg is not mentioned at all. The main thing is dealing witht the problems on the air but not the details of the problem. the details are not relevant and does more damage then good.
Do you get that??? Keep in line and together we will prevail.
Since when is Dov or any of his guest’s – Daas Torah?>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Here we go again with the dumb “daas torah” statement. Do you understand what the job of a Rav is? A rav is not a dentist , not a doctor but is there to paskin and do other stuff which hopefully you understand.
Rabanim got involved in the hashgocha business years ago and screwed that up instead of leaving the issues of kashrus to experts who went to college and are scientists and understand ingredients and how machines work.
Rabanim got involved in the music business recently and screwed that up too.
Now you want Rabanim to get involved with becoing experts on the issue of Rabbis that molest kids?
Go-d help us all if this is what your advocating.
Rabanim should stick to Rabanus and paskening shailos and dinei torah and guiding us on the right path of torah but when it comes to these issues get the police invovled, get lawyers involved because rabanim are inept on this issue.
Rabanim SHOULD get involved when there are FACTS and UNBIASED truths leading to people in our community that do harmful things to our children and others.
Let the EXPERTS come to their conclusions and then BEG and PLEAD for Rabanim to care.
Just remember if there is no money involved for the Rabanim they won’t give a damn about people molesting our kids.
Good luck to Dov because he is finally getting invovled with something that others simply did not care about until it was THEIR OWN KID.
I hope people do not threaten Dov the way other parents werre threatened by others for opening thier mouth on this subject.
Yes there really are that many abuses and it just keeps getting worse.
Not every child who is abused will come to abuse others; but every abuser (molester or otherwise) was abused. This is a documented fact. So instead of one abuser in 10 years you have many more.
Also children, who are good and do as they are told, and are told to keep it quiet will, as an adult, continue to hold their silence.
Facts are a women who was abused by her father will hold down her children for her husband or look the other way. A women who was not, or was taught through therapy and leaders intervening as well as public opinion that it’s wrong, will behave differently.
This is why it is so important to bring this issue to the forefront. There are many agencies that deal with abused men, women, and children in a confidential manner. We just need to let them know that it’s not their fault and that help is there and very necessary.
Talking about it definitly helps.
Hersh, maybe you should go back to reading ABC.The rabonim have never spoken out on this issue. Thats why scores of kids have been ruined and neglected. If they don’t speak out, someone must and that someone is Hikind. Let your child be molested and I want to see you sweep it under the rug. Not everything the rabonim do is 100 % correct. They make mistakes too because they are human and this is one of them
her hersh:
how many boys have u touched?
the reason y i don’t come out swinging & identify the person who molested me is because he sits on the dais of every aguda convention & i have kids 2 marry off,thanx 2 people like u who r so concerned with “DAAS TORA” these molesters get away with what they do and become daas tora themselves
these people who abuse children need to be punished no matter who they are,,,,,, these are not Rabbanim they are chayas …… i do not who they are or what tital they hold who they know if they do such things they need to suffer and suffer badly.
Da’as Torah is busy banning ipods this week – they are too busy with such an “important” issue like cha’as veshalom using the ipod to watch something that they cannot be expected to deal with “trivial” issues like children being touched.
Does a radio show cure any of our issues?>>>>>
Absolutely YES. This topic creates PUBLIC AWARENESS. And public awareness is the fist thing you do before anything and then you start uncovering the coverup.
I will say that there is information out there which has not been made public but if go-d forbid it does get public in which will probably will in the long run anyway, this subject many will see is bigger than the church scandal of two years ago.
You should only realize how big this coverup is and how school administrators sat and did nothing about it. Mr. Rosenberg should get credit and just because he is being dragged by idiots in Williamsburg means nothing. When hatzolah was started more than 30 years ago the founders were dragged and basically spit at in the Williamsburg community and this is FACT and documented.
People who coverup these type of crimes will go straight to hell after they die and they should not have any rachmanus. A person can do teshuvah on just about any type of an avairah if he is sincere but this subject is important and nobody should get in the way of Dov Hikind who is finally getting involved.
Dov Hikind explicitley stated that if things are not corrected immediately he will mention names and if need be go in front of yeshivos with media involvement and make sure these “teachers” or also known as child molestors will not be permitted to be around children ever again.
My only question is why people are not getting the police involved? We are dealing with criminal behavior and covering up such acts is criminal and not reporting this to the police is also criminal.
Some people say get the rabanim involved! Rabanim did not do a damn thing but Dov Hikind jumped in and is doing something about it! Kudos to Dov and we all hope that Dov puts an end to this horrible mess and chilul hashem.
Some of the comments here are a bit upsetting.
1 – The concept of “Daas Torah” is being thrown around frivolously. True Daas Torah is difficult to find. That is not because we do not have great talmidei chachomim. It is because the criteria to be Daas Torah is that there is no other input to the statement other than vast Torah knowledge. If there is the slightest negiyah of any kind, the statement does not qualify as Daas Torah. It does not matter whether there is a money issue, friendship, connection with a school or family, or any other connection.
2 – The publicity of the topic, airing in on the radio as public media has a degree of benefit. Awareness has a significant role in this issue as well as others. Some who comment against it are keenly aware that the real movement that will ultimately change things and provide a safer environment will emanate from discussions with certain individuals in positions of power and leadership, not the microphone and radio. Let’s maintain the perspective of what is accomplished where and with whom.
3 – I am not involved in the choices of professionals to go on the radio, and I do not know whether there was any nepotism in Yoni Hikind being chosen as one to go on the show. However, he is specializing in working with teens, and he has gotten way too much insight into what happens in yeshivos that prepares him well for discussing the subject with authority. And if he was easier to access for a radio appearance on Motzoei Shabbos when most others are otherwise busy or away from town, gezunterheit. Go Yoni!
4 – Rabbonim, despite many great things that they have done, have done the community a great disservice in failing to address this problem in a manner that would result in increased safety. They have trivialized the problem, or chose to avoid it because it was too big to handle. Regardless, what we needed from our gedolim has not been provided. We will not achieve that with a radio show. We stand much better chances with some carefully arranged and organized meetings and discussions. Go Dov!
The reason Agudath Israel turns the other cheek is as follows:
There’s an unwritten shitah mekubal from moreinu R’Moshe Sherer zt”l that dictates- chilul hashem’s doicheh ahless – even if there are korbonos suffering and people getting away with harming others, if a chilul hashem MIGHT occur, then we must turn the other cheek.
Case closed
there was a certain yeshiva in Ohio which was the breeding ground for future molesters the rosh yeshiva swept the problem under the carpet he was supposedly daas torah moetzes member.
dov your doing a great job.my 2 kids were moleasted by a cousin and it is so hard to get across to the ”REBBE”the go to that this boy needs major help.we are living in denial,how can use say turn the other way,this dors so…. much damage to the victims.if it would happen to their kids they would not look away.a chillul hashem is when these victims go off and do things not befetting ‘DAS TORAH” if no action is done this sickness will continue. GO DOV and staff ! if i could be of any help let me know
To former victim…I understand your reluctance to say anything, but there must be some way you can expose this “Rabbi” & protect yourself & your family? Obviously this has never happened to me or mine so forgive me if I’m really naive, but why haven’t you gone to the police or the DA? Do you really need a Psak Din Halacha to do that?
If this “Rabbi” is so prominent he really needs to be brought down. He may be involved in a whole pedophile Rabbi ring that’s still doing this. Who’s to say not?
Good luck to you.
To 8:10
You asked a great question. Why don’t you go to the police? As I said yesterday when I called in to the Dov Hikind show a sexual abuse victim is not only a victim of sexual abuse the abuser which is in most cases a Rabbi, Teacher, family member or someone who is very close to you does not wake up one day and decides he is going to abuse you they prepare a defense first by turning you against others and make you think that they are your only hope and after they abuse you they threaten you with your life (in my case I was taken out far away from camp deep in the woods and I was threatened to be killed right there and nobody will ever find me) if anybody will ever find out about this abuse and then they give the whole shenanigan about nobody will believe you and you will be kicked out of here and you will never find a place in our community for making up such a vicious lie. After being so hurt you can not go to police, your parents there is nowhere a victim can go after knowing that nobody is going to believe him/her and they will be severely punished for putting out such a lie on an incent skunk.
I am a victim no more! I am a survivor and a fighter. And we will fight back. Dov Hikind and Asher Lipner are the greatest weapon in this fight they already begun knocking down every closed door and every concrete wall that’s in the way and they are doing it without disrespecting the Rabunim.