Chicago Tribune An inaccurate and misleading version of the Seminary Scandal has just been published by the Chicago Tribune. It seems to have been deliberately leaked by supporters of the CBD to coincide with the release of the Letter of 5 American Gedolim which has been in the works for the last 2 weeks. The CBD has suffered a harsh body blow by this letter which in effect endorses the IBD over the CBD. The article falsely implies that the dispute between the IBD and the CBD is whether Meisels is guilty. It can be expected that the supporters of the CBD will peddle their version to other secular media in attempt to discredit the IBD.
A federal lawsuit alleging that an ultra-Orthodox rabbi who runs seminaries for girls in Israel is a sexual predator offers a rare look into the most traditional branch of Judaism, where a young woman's religious education can prove key to finding a good husband through a matchmaker.
The allegations raised in the lawsuit, filed this month in Chicago, have already been brought before rabbinical courts in Chicago and Israel. The courts —known as beis din — came to contradictory decisions on the accusations against Rabbi Elimelech Meisels.
The lawsuit was filed by parents of girls who want their tuition money back in light of allegations against Meisels. They say in the suit that the rabbi for 10 years recruited young women from Chicago and other cities to his seminaries in Israel "under the guise of educational and spiritual development."
Meisels is accused in the lawsuit of "developing mentor-mentee relationships with girls," taking them on late-night coffee meetings and sexually assaulting them. Meisels, who could not be reached for comment, does not face any criminal charges.
I received the following critical letter from Art Bader - which has been published by the Chicago Tribune as a comment.A few weeks before the suit was filed, a Chicago beis din heard the allegations against Meisels. The body ruled that, based on testimony (including from Meisels) and documents, it believed "students in these seminaries are at risk of harm and does not recommend that prospective students attend these seminaries at this time," according to the lawsuit. [...]According to the Israeli rabbis, "there is no cause for concern" at Meisels' seminaries. In addition, the Israeli court said that "it is absolutely forbidden" for other seminaries to offer Meisels' prospective students the opportunity "to switch to their institutions."
Dear Mr. Grossman,
I just read the above-referenced article and found some astonishing omissions. You note that: “According to the Israeli rabbis, ‘there is no cause for concern’ at Meisels' seminaries. In addition, the Israeli court said that ‘it is absolutely forbidden’ for other seminaries to offer Meisels' prospective students the opportunity ‘to switch to their institutions.’
What you fail to note is that Meisels was removed from any involvement with the seminaries several months ago, and the Israeli Beis Din wrote their ruling after the seminaries were sold to a new owner with no prior relationship to the schools or Meisels.
These facts are available online, extensively discussed on numerous blogs that have been dealing with this for the past many weeks.
Although those providing you with information may have withheld those facts because they have an agenda, I would think it the responsibility of a reporter to look into matters a bit more thoroughly.
Especially in the age of Google, I regret to say that your act of omission is reckless and irresponsible. I call upon you to rectify it immediately.
================This followup clarification was sent to the Tribune by Mr. Bader======Art Bader
I serve on the board of an organization that offers educational scholarships that is subsidizing tuitions for underprivileged girls going to these schools (among others) and my daughter has numerous friends who are going/were intending to go to seminaries impacted by this case.This involvement had brought me to follow the story from the time it first broke with a letter issued by a Chicago Beis Din on July 10. I am also a friend of one of the Rabbis on the Beis Din in Israel, which, as that July 10 letter made clear, was the Rabbinic authority on the case from that point onward.Numerous blogs in the community have been pontificating on the issue, but some facts remain clear, including that
- Meisels had been removed from any direct involvement with educational matters and was barred from entering the schools or interacting with students
- that the Israeli Beis Din NEVER in any way vindicated Meisels [in fact, they never directly addressed any issues involving him at all, because of his removal, it was irrelevant]
- and that – by the time the July 25 letter -- the schools were under completely new ownership and had agreed that the Israeli Beis Din was completely empowered to institute policy and staff changes at the schools as they see fit.
This being the case, some of the assertions made in the article regarding the stand of that Rabbinic Court are blatant lies, while others are misleading and defamatory half-truths.Furthermore, the July 25 ruling from the Israeli Beis Din does not state, as your “reporter” claims, “that ‘it is absolutely forbidden’ for other seminaries to offer Meisels' prospective students the opportunity ‘to switch to their institutions.’”
What it does say (in #4) is that “No other seminary (existing or newly established) may reach out in any way – directly or indirectly – to students who had been accepted...” It essentially forbids predatory recruitment.
I am attaching the July 25 ruling below so you can have an independent translator verify what I wrote here. I am also posting the text on af email sent by one of the schools on July 24. Both of these are available online, by doing a search.
Mr. Grossman essentially wrote a PR piece for those who are suing the schools, defaming a prominent Beis Din in the process. It is shameful that The Tribune has allowed this to remain on your site as-is.
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