Hasidic Jews say: “Me too!” to Pedophilia

In an act of solidarity with the now under investigation (really?  Only just now??) Cardinal Mahony, who has been alleged to be actively involved in protecting pedophile priests all across Catholic America, apparently rabbis and others (it is unclear who the other perpetrators were) have been committing widespread sexual abuse of children in the New York Hasidic Jewish community.

Mind-numbingly shocking quote:

“But a few weeks later, a religious leader from the school approached [one of the victim's] Engelman’s mother, Pearl. He posed an astonishing question: On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad was the molestation?

She was speechless. Then she says, the man continued, ” ‘We found out there was no skin-to-skin contact, that it was through clothing.’ So he’s telling me, ‘On a scale of 1 to 10, this was maybe a 2 or a 3, so what’s the big fuss?’ “”

The Hasidic Jewish community has their own Cardinal Mahony.

The NPR article makes it clear that the two victims’ stories they share are far from isolated instances:

“Four ultra-Orthodox rabbis in Brooklyn have been sued or arrested for abusing boys in the past three years. That’s a tiny fraction of the actual abuse, says Hella Winston, author of Unchosen: The Hidden Lives of Hasidic Rebels. She says that in researching her book, she encountered dozens of alleged victims who told her sexual abuse is an open secret in the Hasidic community. But the community is so insulated and the rabbis are so powerful that few dare to come forward.

…

But more and more accusations against rabbis have begun to circulate. Last August, politician and radio talk show host Dov Hikind devoted an hourlong program to sexual abuse. He interviewed Pearl Engelman, who spoke under an alias, about her son’s case.

The calls flooded in. Hikind, who is an Orthodox Jew himself, represents this area in the New York Assembly. He says after the show, people started showing up at his office with their stories.

“Fifty, 60, 70 people,” he says, “but you got to remember for each person who comes forward, God only knows how many people are not coming forward.”"

As much as I hate to stoke further paranoia and fear, but really:  Can anyone who shows interest in children be trusted not to be a pedophile?  It seems like every opportunity that presents itself is taken for the sexual abuse of a child.

When a community lends itself to isolation and opacity, does it merely allow years of abuse to continue undetected and unpunished, or does it encourage the entrance into the community by parties seeking to engage in such acts?

[The NPR article was originally found as a link from Exiled Online]

… and the cow goes moo