London – The Chief Rabbi of the Commonwealth of England Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis is telling Jewish communities that they need to be vocal about sexual abuse in light of the Australian sex abuse scandal involving two Chabad institutions.
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According to TheJC.com (http://bit.ly/17wZYqM) Mirvis said no matter how embarrassing to Jewish communities, pedophiles must be sought after and brought before the law.
“Nobody is above the law and no institution is greater than its members or followers. The impact of bringing sexual predators to light, however embarrassing for our communities, pales into insignificance when the alternative would result in the shame of protecting criminals, abandoning victims and risking the safety of so many others,” said Mirvis.
The Australian Royal Commission is investigating two yeshivas in Melbourne and Sydney over claims that the schools ignored reports of sexual abuse in the 1980s and 90s.
About time – in today’s world of forensics, including forensic psychology and techniques for interviewing children, only experienced, trained professionals in law enforcement are properly equipped to investigate allegations of abuse. Rabbis simply are not.
Unfortunately it is not a matter of shaming our community anymore, since protecting pedophiles shames us much more. It is about victims being scared of the blowback from deniers and gossip loving haters. Therefore it is upon each and every one of us to publicly support the unfortunate victims, thus enabling us to root out heinous and vicious pedophiles that seek to hide and gain protection from our community