Case of Rabbi Elior Chen
Betar Illit, Israel
Jerusalem, Israel
Canada
This page is dedicated in honor of all children who were abused by the parents of those who followed Rabbi Elior Chen. May their healing journey go easy and they only know nonviolent - unconditional love the rest of their lives.
Rabbi Elior Chen, who fled to Canada shortly after one of his followers was charged with systematic child abuse including burning her toddlers, making them eat feces, and putting them in a suitcase for days. Chen was not charged with anything, but fled as news reports of the Jerusalem mother's detention were circulated, and it appeared she had committed the abuse following instructions from him on child disciplining techniques.
Chen is also accused of cult like practices.
Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation
or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet
their own personal needs.
Court denies bail to two moms in abuse cases (04/02/2008)
Jerusalem child abuser to be indicted next week (04/03/2008)
State helpless in face of skeletons in haredi closet (04/03/2008)
Jerusalem mother charged with child abuse (04/06/2008)
Police seek extradition of rabbi from Canada (04/06/2008)
Or Yehuda 'abusive' mother put under house arrest (04/07/2008)
Police to demand extradition of Rabbi believed behind child abuse sect (04/07/2008)
Police arrest man allegedly tied to Jerusalem child abuse case (04/07/2008)
Israeli cult rabbi flees to Canada (04/07/2008)
Israel seeks extradition of rabbi from Canada on suspicion of child abuse (04/07/2008)
Metzger: Abusive parents and rabbis should be 'excommunicated' (04/08/2008)
Calls for fugitive Israeli rabbi to contact police (04/09/2008)
Child-abuse case leaves investigators stunned; Israel seeks to prepare international warrant, extradite rabbi (04/09/2008)
Suspect in J'lem child abuse arrested (04/09/2008)
God Wasn't There (04/10/2008)
Don't politicize child abuse case (04/13/2008)
Rabbi Metzger: Abuse stems from distortion of Kabbalah (04/14/2008)
Also see:
Related Cases
Related Information:
Background Information and The History of Rabbinical Ordinations
Shimon Gabai / David Kugman / Rabbi Elior Chen / A. Masklatzi
Court denies bail to two moms in abuse cases
By Jonathan Lis and Ofra Edelman
Haaretz - April 2, 2008
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/971187.html
The Jerusalem District Court yesterday extended the remand of two women suspected of severely abusing their children.
In the case of the Jerusalem mother, whose two children aged three and four and a half were hospitalized in serious condition, an indictment is expected on Sunday. The Beit Shemesh woman was charged yesterday with abusing a minor, along with 25 charges of assault against six of her 12 children.
During the pre-trial hearings yesterday, new details were revealed about the case of the Jerusalem family.
Parents invited rabbi into home
According to the details of the investigation, the parents of the children invited Rabbi Elior Chen and several other men to their home in order to study Torah. The men, including David Kugman and Shimon Gabai, lived in the family's home. When the relationship between the mother and the father deteriorated, the men allegedly drove the father out of the house by force, and he moved elsewhere.
Rabbi Chen allegedly told Kugman and Gabai to discipline the children, but they failed to do so.
The police said that when the routine methods of discipline failed, Rabbi Chen ordered them to use violence, which allegedly included beatings, burnings, pushing, shaking and tying. Investigators also suspect that the two men placed the children in baths of hot and cold water, and broke their bones with hammers and blows.
In the case of the Beit Shemesh woman, the indictment states that she beat her children for years with a belt, a stick, a rolling pin and an electrical cable.
Jerusalem child abuser to be indicted next
week
Jerusalem Post - April 3, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207159746535&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A Jerusalem woman who immigrated from the US and her companion are expected to be indicted next week for allegedly abusing her two young children, police said Wednesday.
The woman's three-year-old child remains hospitalized in critical condition with severe head injuries, and is likely to remain in a vegetative state, officials said.
Police said that several months ago, the woman's relations with her husband broke down, and he was removed from their Jerusalem home by two men whom the couple had brought into their home to educate their children.
The mother told police that since they were unable to educate her children in the "standard" way because they were "mischievous," the two men "corrected" the children, a police representative told a Jerusalem court on Wednesday.
The "corrections," which took place in the mother's presence, included beatings, tying up the children, shaking them dozens of times, setting their fingers on fire, dousing them in hot and cold water, and breaking their bones by beating them with hammers and other tools, according to the testimony of the police representative.
A court order has prevented the release of the names of the woman and her companion, who on Wednesday were remanded in custody for an additional five days by the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court ahead of their planned arraignment next week.
The children's father, who has been released from custody, was allowed by the court to pray at his child's hospital bedside, in the presence of social workers.
The two key suspects in the child abuse case, identified by police as Shimon Gabbai and Rabbi Elior Chen, remain at large, and are wanted by police.
The Jerusalem abuse case is one of a series of grisly incidents of brutality against children that have recently come to light.
State helpless in face of skeletons in haredi
closet
By Yael Branovsky
YNet News - April 3, 2008
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3526809,00.html
In spite of efforts by welfare officials, local rabbis, state
authorities are unable to curb rampant child abuse in ultra-Orthodox
families.
One harrowing case after another, yet welfare officials stand by helpless: Faced with a string of heart wrenching cases of child abuse in the haredi community, even state officials now concede that they have only been able to reach this closed community on rare occasions, and often too late.
One recent, disturbing case, for instance, in which a Netivot mother had sexually abused her son, only came to light when the son began to attend boarding school and molested a fellow pupil. The social workers who handled his case quickly realized that the child had no idea that what he was doing was wrong.
Dalia Lev-Sade, director of community services at the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, stated in an interview with Ynet that seeing as the haredi community is so sequestered, haredi children enjoy less exposure to societal conventions of right and wrong.
"This is a group that is extremely closed off from the rest of the world, and so many times we are unaware of problems within the community and cannot intervene."
"The case in Beit Shemesh is a classic example," recounts Lev- Sade. "Even though the family was monitored by welfare services, the social workers involved could not fully understand the family, nor the essence of the problems it was facing, because they kept such closely guarded family secrets. Only when something drastic occurs can we actually begin to take action."
The ultra-Orthodox community, however, is slowly becoming more open, according to Lev-Sade. "The haredi community is slowly opening up and coming to realize that you can't keep the skeletons in the closet forever."
Orlet Moyal, director of welfare services at the Bnei Brak Municipality, tends to haredi families on a daily basis and knows all too well that that road to reaching this clandestine community is long and torturous. "It was nearly impossible to reach the haredi community just a few years ago, but we began to come up with creative means of reaching this community without offending its sensibilities.
"We wanted to be able to reach the haredi community before things became disastrous," says Moyal, "and so we contacted local rabbis and rabbinical councils and urged them to mediate and intervene when families were reluctant to accept help."
'More willingness to report abuse'
Dr. Yitzhak Kadman, head of the National Council for the Child, believes that it is the closed and reticent nature of the haredi community that in many instances precludes intervention by state authorities in child abuse cases.
"The haredi community firmly opposes airing its dirty laundry out in public, like we saw with many kibbutz communities in the past. The haredi community is extremely concerned about its public images, and in many cases rabbis did not allow families to go to the police and report abuse."
Kadman noted, however, that this trend is mercifully changing. "In recent years there is more willingness among haredi families to report abuse. In our council alone, 30% of individuals involved in a project tending to victims of sexual abuse are haredi."
Doron Aggasi, director of the Shlom Banecha foundation, which aids victims of sexual abuse and violence in the haredi community, stated that the recent public cases of child abuse within the haredi community indicate that the haredi world is changing for the better when it comes to reporting such crimes.
"These kinds of cases were often stifled in the past, because the haredi community was unwilling to disclose anything. Now however, people are far more aware of issues such as sexual abuse and familial violence, be it through exposure to the internet or other sources."
Aggasi maintains that it is rabbis that are at the forefront of these positive changes in the haredi community.
"Rabbis have asked me about the best treatment options for pedophilia and sexual deviance, and we are currently training social workers to treat both victims and perpetrators.
"In this respect, the haredi community has bypassed its secular counterpart by far, because this is a very motivated, obedient society that has taken heavy handed measures to help curb such phenomenon."
Roi Mandel contributed to this article
Jerusalem mother charged with child
abuse
By Aviram Zino
YNet News - April 6, 2008
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3528332,00.html
Indictment reveals rabbi instructed woman to 'repair' her
children through 'beating, tying, burning organs and feeding them with
faeces'
As her three-and-a-half-year-old comatose son continued to lie in his hospital bed, a Jerusalem woman was indicted Sunday by the Jerusalem District Court of abusing him and his four-and-a-half-year-old brother.
The court also indicted a family friend accused of conducting a "tikkun" (exorcism) on the children under the influence of a rabbi who fled to Canada.
Shortly after the indictment was submitted, the remand of another suspect involved in the affair was extended. The man, a acquaintance of the mother, allegedly took part in the abuse.
According to the indictment, "During the months of February and March, the accused and her children moved to her mother's apartment in Jerusalem. During this period, the mother found it difficult to cope with the burden of raining her small children, and particularly with their education.
"The defendant turned to a rabbi and asked for his advice in terms of his children's education. The rabbi concluded that the children were 'possessed' with evil spirits and advised the defendant and other suspects to carry out 'tikkunim' on the children in order to help them get rid of those demons."
The indictment went on to say that the rabbi instructed the mother to conduct "tikkunim" on the children – "meaning, jolting, beating, tying, burning organs, feeding them with faeces, and more.
"Two of the suspects were put in charge of educating the children, and systematically abused them and the defendant's other children in a large number of cases, for a long time, claiming that these 'tikkunim' were aimed at removing these evil spirits from the children."
Some of the acts of abuse were also described in the indictment. "The defendant, who knew about the abuse, continued to desert her children."
The mother was accused of "cooperating with some of the other suspects in forcibly jolting the children in at least 40 cases, grasping them in the back or shoulders, or grasping them in their hands and legs and shaking them with their heads moving back and forth and from side to side.
"The defendant and the other suspects also used to tie the children's hands and legs with plastic restraints and ropes for many hours, as well as hit one of the children in the face and bend his hands behind his back, throwing him in the air."
'Police veterans were shocked'
In one of her remand hearings, the police representative presented the judge with a photo album containing shocking pictures of the children.
"The Jerusalem Police veterans found it difficult to listen to such a shocking story," a police representative said during the previous hearing.The mother admitted to the suspicions and went back on her confession, while the father and another person arrested denied the allegations.
"Evidence submitted to the court testifies to a long and harsh abuse," a police representative said during the hearing.
The small son, who was hospitalized at the Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital's intensive care unit, suffers from brain damage which has left him in a vegetative state.
Efrat Weiss contributed to this report
Police seek extradition of rabbi from
Canada
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS AND HILARY LEILA KRIEGER/TORONTO
Jerusalem Post - April 6, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1207486207691&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The police will issue an international arrest warrant this week
against an extremist rabbi who fled to Canada and is a key suspect in one
of the worst child abuse cases in the nation's history.
Israel demands rabbi's extradition from Canada
Police said Monday that Rabbi Elior Chen and his followers are suspected of severely abusing two children, aged 3 and 4, who were savagely and systematically beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments for months until the younger child lost consciousness last month.
The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the systematic and brutal abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother and her companions, according to an indictment filed against his mother this week in a Jerusalem court.
He is expected to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
Chen, who served as a spiritual mentor to the abusive mother and who provided explicit written instruction on how to abuse the children, fled to Canada last month after the case came to light to avoid arrest, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said. He apparently does not have Canadian citizenship, Ben-Ruby said.
According to the charge sheet, the woman's relationship with her husband broke down last year, and she expressed her desire to divorce her husband, who subsequently left their Jerusalem home, leaving his eight children in the care of his wife and two men who were charged with educating her children.
The men, who allegedly carried out the abuse with the mother, received instruction from Chen on how to "fix" the children's behavior, and "cleanse" them of their Satanic possession, the indictment says.
During a search of Chen's Betar Illit home, police found evidence that appears to link the rabbi to the abuse, including notebooks that document the violence, police said.
"Put stones on a [Shabbat] hot plate . . . when they are boiling, put them on the bodies of the children and then they will be cleansed," the instructions read.
Chen also instructs his followers how to tie up the children, and to prepare alcoholic drinks made of salt water and turpentine, which, he writes, should be given to the children in order to "vomit out the devil from themselves." Among the items police discovered at Chen's home were hammers, iron bars, turpentine, sticks, and handcuffs.
The other key suspect in the child abuse case, identified as Shimon Gabbai, remains at large and is also wanted by police.
Meanwhile, another suspect arrested by police late Sunday night was remanded in custody on Monday for five days by a Jerusalem court.
The suspect, Avraham Maskalchi, a yeshiva student who twice tried to flee arrest and was nabbed after a police chase, allegedly took part in the abuse of the children, a police representative told the court.
One of the woman's eight children identified him as taking part in the abuse as well, the police representative testified in court.
The charge sheet in the gruesome child abuse case recounts that the mother allegedly forced her children to eat feces, locked them in a suitcase for three days - letting them out only for brief periods of time - repeatedly beat, whipped, and shook them, burned their hands with a lighter and a heater, and gave them freezing showers.
The abusive mother and "educators" are also suspected of pouring salt on the burn wounds of the child, stuffing his mouth with a skullcap and sealing his mouth with masking tape, and giving the children alcoholic drinks until they vomited.
The woman remains in police custody.
Since her arrest last month, the mother was repeatedly shown pictures of her children's injuries, but on most of the days she was in remand, she did not inquire about the children nor did she ask who was taking care of them, the police said.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police would not confirm whether they were working with Israeli police to track down Chen, saying that releasing that type of information could harm the investigation if one were ongoing.
The Canadian Justice Ministry also declined to confirm whether it had received requests from Israel for Chen's arrest and extradition, citing the confidentiality of communications between countries.
But should Chen be found in Canada under an international arrest warrant and Israel requests extradition, a Canadian judge will determine whether the suspect can be deported under the extradition treaty existing between the two countries, followed by a review of the attorney-general, a Justice Ministry spokesman said.
According to the extradition agreement between Canada and Israel, for extradition to go forward the suspect must be accused of having committed an act that is considered a crime in both countries - as child abuse is. Extradition would also be held up if there was concern that the suspect was being prosecuted for political motives or could face the death penalty, the latter of which has sometimes complicated extradition from Canada to the United States but shouldn't affect deportation to Israel.
The main issue from Canada's perspective is "are we respecting the person's rights and the [Canadian] charter's rights," explained an aide to MP Irwin Cotler, who served as attorney-general and justice minister in the last government and has argued cases before the Israeli Supreme Court.
A Haaretz report quoted an associated of Chen's as saying that he chose to flee to Canada because "the extradition law is tough." But observers say that assertion might not jibe with the reality, though extradition from Canada can take a long time because of protections including the right to appeal at different points in the process.
"He's going to be in for a surprise," said Canadian Jewish News editor Mordechai Ben-Dat.
"This is a more law-and-order government than other governments," he said of the current Canadian leadership, meaning the attorney-general was unlikely to stay an extradition judgment.
Ben-Dat said that while the Canadian Jewish community is a tight-knit one, it also has many different haredi groups, groups which might be sufficiently cut off from the outside world and media to know that Chen is accused of committing serious crimes.
Chen might be able to take advantage of these enclaves, Ben-Dat said, "if he wants to disappear."
Or Yehuda 'abusive' mother put under house
arrest
Jerusalem Post - April 7, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1207486210667&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The mother suspected of severely abusing her infant son, who was admitted to a hospital two weeks ago with cranial hemorrhages and fractured ribs, was released to house arrest with restraints on Monday.
[The mother from Or Yehuda...] The
mother from Or Yehuda accused of abusing her son leaves court Monday. Photo:
Channel 2
The Tel Aviv Magistrate's Court thereby approved the request of the woman's lawyers, citing insufficient evidence. Nevertheless, she is forbidden from contacting her husband, who is also suspected of abusing their son.
During her five-day house arrest, the mother is set to stay at a relative in the North. The boy's father was released to house arrest last week after paying a NIS 3,000 bail.
Earlier Monday, Army Radio reported that the couple would probably not stand trial after a pathology report asserted that their "behavior... falls inside the gray area."
When the baby arrived in the hospital and the story broke, the Israeli media had branded them "the abusive parents from Or Yehuda." Doctors had claimed that "the combination of cranial hemorrhaging, clouded consciousness and fractures are very typical of the 'abused baby syndrome,' hence this is a classic case of infant abuse."
Nonetheless, sources involved in the investigation assessed that it was impossible to prove that the parents had abused their child. "The pathology report does not supply any incontrovertible findings, and it now seems that the mother will not be indicted," they said.
"It could be that they are not especially good parents, but the gap between that and a criminal offense is substantial," the sources added.
The police admitted that the case was complicated but insisted that they would pursue an indictment. "I am not willing to give up in this situation, when a two-month-old baby is hospitalized in serious condition and the person who did this doesn't stand trial," a policeman working on the case told Army Radio.
The baby is still in the hospital in stable condition. However, the extent of the harm caused to him is as yet unknown.
Police to demand extradition of Rabbi believed behind child
abuse sect
By Uri Blau, Yair Ettinger, Jonathan Lis and Ofra Edelman, Haaretz Correspondents and AP
Haaretz/Associated Press - Apirl 7, 2008
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/972226.html
Israel Police said Monday they will begin extradition proceedings against Rabbi Elior Chen, who fled to Canada shortly after one of his followers was charged with systematic child abuse including burning her toddlers, making them eat feces, and putting them in a suitcase for days.
Chen was not charged with anything, but fled as news reports of the Jerusalem mother's detention were circulated, and it appeared she had committed the abuse following instructions from him on child disciplining techniques.
During a search of his home Thursday, police found evidence that appears to link the rabbi to the abuse, including journals that document the violence.
Chen may be meeting other members of the sect in Canada, where the family of one of the members lives, according to a friend of Chen's who is familiar with the group but doesn't belong to it. The friend said Chen fled with Joseph Fisher, whose name was not mentioned in an indictment filed yesterday against the mother of the children suspected of being abused by Chen's followers. The remand of the mother was extended Sunday until April 14.
Two of the family's eight children, aged 4 and 5, were hospitalized in serious condition two weeks ago, after Chen allegedly ordered two of his followers to discipline the children by beating, burning, pushing and shaking them, and tying them up as a way of "correcting" their behavior.
The 4-year-old remains in a coma. Police suspect that Chen's supporters also doused the children in hot and cold water and broke their bones with hammers and blows. The mother was charged with forcing the children to eat feces, beating them unconscious and locking them up in a suitcase for three days.
Jerusalem police also arrested an additional suspect in the case, and have issued a gag order regarding his identity. The Magistrate's Court extended his remand by five days.
Chen and three of his supporters allegedly began providing the family with "educational lessons" several months ago. They allegedly kicked the father out of his home and began abusing several of the family's eight children, especially the two youngest.
Chen and Fisher left the country legally, and their exit was registered at border control. Afterward, their wives and children went into hiding. The Fisher apartment has been cleared out and its contents have been placed in storage.
Police said they do not know the location of Chen's and Fisher's families, but Chen's friend said they were hoping to go to Canada as well and may have already left the country.
Chen and his supporters chose Canada in part, the source said, because "the extradition law is tough" there. "Only in very exceptional cases does Canada extradite," he said.
Elior Chen's father, Yaakov Chen, told Haaretz he did not know where his son or his son's family was hiding. "I didn't see him, I don't know where he is," he said. "The last time I saw him was three weeks ago, after he had a girl. I went to his home in Upper Betar, gave him a present and that's it. I haven't seen him since. I'm sitting at home and eating my heart out."
Israel seeks extradition of rabbi from Canada on suspicion of child
abuse
Canadian Press - April 7, 2008
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5i1YBiS9Da1SSnKOGnub-Bt7DAUuQ
JERUSALEM — Israeli police say they have begun extradition proceedings against an Israeli rabbi who went to Canada after being suspected of abusing the children of one of his followers.
A police spokesman says two children, aged three and four, were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments.
The three-year-old suffered brain damage, he added.
The children's mother has been charged with abuse.
Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says the rabbi hasn't been charged with a crime.
But police have identified the suspect being sought as Rabbi Elior Chen.
Rosenfeld says the rabbi had travelled to Canada in the past few days.
Officials at the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv were not immediately available for comment Monday.
Police arrest man allegedly tied to Jerusalem child
abuse case
Jerusalem Post - April 7, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207486209452&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Police have arrested a man on suspicion of being connected to the case of a Jerusalem mother of eight who allegedly abused her children, officials said Sunday overnight.
On Sunday, the 38-year-old mother was indicted in a Jerusalem court.
The woman was arrested last month after the two children were taken to the hospital, the three-year-old in an unconscious state. The child remains hospitalized in critical condition with severe head injuries, and is likely to remain in a vegetative state.
Israeli cult rabbi flees to
Canada
JTA - April 8, 2008
http://www.jta.org/cgi-bin/iowa/breaking/107964.html
A radical rabbi alleged to have counseled followers to commit horrific acts of child abuse has fled Israel for Canada.
Officials in Israel have issued an international arrest warrant for Rabbi Elior Chen, who is alleged to have counseled his followers to severely beat and burn children in order to rid them of the devil. Other children were allegedly forced to drink alcohol and turpentine until they vomited. Some of the abuses have resulted in serious and life threatening injuries. One child remains in a vegetative state.
Israeli authorities plan to ask Canada to extradite him.
"He left Ben Gurion Airport. He flew to Canada. We know that he's in Canada at the moment," police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told the Globe and Mail newspaper.
Chen was once linked to a plot to fire a missile at Jerusalem's Temple Mount.
The Canadian Jewish Congress has called on Chen, if he is indeed hiding in Canada, to turn himself in.
"Canadian Jewish Congress is willing to assist in facilitating his surrender to Canadian authorities," said Rabbi Reuven Bulka, co-president of CJC. "If Rabbi Chen so desires, we encourage him to contact our offices."
Israel seeks extradition of rabbi from
Canada
Associated Press - April 8, 2008
http://www.pr-inside.com/israel-seeks-extradition-of-rabbi-from-r523769.htm
JERUSALEM (AP) - Israeli police have started extradition proceedings against an Israeli rabbi who fled to Canada after being suspected of abusing the children of one of his followers, a police spokesman said Monday.
Rabbi Elior Chen and his followers are suspected of abusing two children, aged 3 and 4, who were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said. The 3-year-old suffered permanent brain damage, he added.
Rosenfeld called Chen «one of the main suspects» in the case. Though he has not been charged with a specific crime, «He's definitely connected to the abuse,» Rosenfeld said.
He said Chen had fled to Canada in recent days. The children's mother was charged with abuse last week and remains in jail.
Although police said they were still investigating the motive behind the abuse, Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot reported that Rabbi Chen was trying to cleanse the children of Satanic possession.
In journals describing the abuse, the rabbi wrote, «Put stones on a hot plate . . . when they are boiling, put them on the bodies of the children and then they will be cleansed,» Yediot reported.
The Haaretz daily quoted an unidentified friend of Chen's who said the rabbi chose Canada because «the extradition law is tough» there. It was not known whether Chen holds Canadian citizenship, and the Canadian Embassy did not return messages seeking comment.
In a similar case, complicated extradition laws helped New York Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz evade extradition for 23 years when he fled the United States for Israel in 1984 after being charged with sexually abusing children. Mondrowitz was finally arrested last fall and remains in jail in Israel.
Metzger: Abusive parents and rabbis should be
'excommunicated'
Jerusalem Post - April 9, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649968071&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Following a spate of allegations of child abuse in the religious community, Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger called on rabbis to "unhesitatingly renounce" such violent acts.
In a statement released Tuesday night, Metzger said that abusive parents and rabbis must be "condemned" and "excommunicated."
He told community rabbis to express their disapproval and the disapproval of the Torah for such "acts of brutality."
Rabbi Yona Metzger on Child Abuse and The Case of
Rabbi Elior Chen
by Vicki Polin, MA, NCC, LCPC
The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter - April 8, 2008
It seems strange that Rabbi Yona Metzger would be making the following statement, especially since he was accused of sexual misconduct/clergy sexual abuse (with four men) several years ago.
I strongly disagree with the statement Rabbi Metzger made regarding excommunicating the parents of the children who were so horrendously abused. Even though the actions came from their own hands, I believe that they were being manipulated and were acting under the explicit directions of their spiritual leader/cult leader, Rabbi Elior Chen.
Many individuals who get involved with cults, often have histories of child abuse and or neglect. From past experience in working with ex-cult members, I found that women who have left abusive relationships are also more susceptible to getting involved in cult like groups.
The basic issue is that adult survivors of child abuse (emotional, physical and sexual abuse) and those battered as adults are looking for unconditional love. What happens is they get manipulated in believing that their leader represents "the truth." They no longer are able to access their ability to use deductive reasoning / critical thinking.
Though I do believe these parents should no longer have custody of their children, I do not believe that we should make blanket statements stating they should all be excommunicated. We need to look at each situation on a case by case basis. I also have mixed feelings about the parents and the criminal cases that will be brought up against them. If these parents were unable to access their critical thinking, would they then be considered mentally ill? Were they at the time of each act unable to discern right from wrong? I'm not trying to make excuses for their behavior, it's just that I think there is much more to the story then what we are reading in the newspapers. The parents psychiatric help and exit counseling. This can occur either in a prison or a psychiatric facility. I believe that the parents are most likely individuals who most likely have the potential for rehabilitation.
I do not believe this is true when talking about Rabbi Elior Chen. I do agree with Rabbi Metzger that Chen should loose his rabbinical title and believe he should spend the rest of his life in a prison. I do not believe he will ever be safe to be out with the rest of our society.
For more information on Destructive Cults:
Calls for fugitive Israeli rabbi to contact
police
By Neco Cockburn
Canwest News Service Tuesday, April 08, 2008
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=07977297-c2af-436e-9e05-1819d9a599ca&k=12781
OTTAWA - Ottawa Rabbi Reuven Bulka is calling on an Israeli rabbi to turn himself in to authorities after police uncovered a "horrific" case of child abuse.
Israeli authorities have accused Rabbi Elior Chen of playing a role in the alleged abuse suffered over several months by two of a woman's eight children. Chen is believed to have fled to Canada.
Media reports of the abuse, which describe the children, aged three and four, being burned and beaten with hammers, have shaken the country.
The three-year-old boy suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the abuse, according to police, who reportedly found hammers, knives and other objects believed to have been used during the abuse in Chen's apartment. Reports say Chen served as a "spiritual mentor" to the woman.
"It's one of the worst case we've had to deal with in the last few years," Israel police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld said in an interview Tuesday.
Rosenfeld said police are in the process of alerting Canadian authorities and starting extradition proceedings regarding Chen, who fled the country after the children's mother was arrested more than a week ago.
Rosenfeld said it is unknown where in Canada Chen may be, but most flights from Israel would have landed in Montreal or Toronto, with a connection through the U.S.
Bulka, co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, called on Chen to turn himself in to authorities and said the Canadian Jewish Congress could arrange his surrender.
"I'm just hoping that somehow or other he'll listen to reason," he said.
"It's something that hits home, obviously, because it's a member of the Jewish community. We had to make clear that we're on the side of the law. We're not convicting him of anything, but if there are charges, he should face them."
Kingston Whig-Standard - April 9, 2008
http://www.thewhig.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=978454
Israeli authorities have started extradition proceedings against an Israeli rabbi who went to Canada after being suspected in a case involving harsh abuse of the children of one of his followers, a police spokesman said Monday.
Two children, aged three and four, were burned and severely beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments, police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said.
The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage, Rosenfeld said. The police spokesman said Rabbi Elior Chen was "one of the main suspects" in the case and definitely connected with the abuse, although he has not been charged with a specific crime.
He said Chen had travelled to Canada in recent days.
Israeli authorities are preparing an international warrant for his arrest.
In Ottawa, Chris Girouard, a spokesman for Canada's Department of Justice, said that "due to the confidentiality of state to state communications, I cannot confirm nor deny any requests for extradition."
The children's mother, whose name has been withheld, was charged with abuse last week and remains in jail.
Graphic photographs were reported found in the police investigation. The Israeli newspaper, Yediot Ahronot, reported that journals recovered by police allegedly had writings such as: "Put stones on a hot plate ... when they are boiling, put them on the bodies of the children and then they will be cleansed."
Local media reports said the case has left veteran police investigators and welfare workers stunned by the horrific treatment allegedly handed out to the young children.
It was not clear what connection the rabbi has with Canada, nor whether he holds Canadian citizenship or residency.
The Canadian Embassy in Israel did not return messages seeking comment.
The Haaretz daily quoted an unidentified friend of Chen's who said the rabbi chose Canada because "the extradition law is tough" there. It was not known whether Chen holds Canadian citizenship.
Israeli media reports say one member of Chen's group has family living in Canada.
The Haaretz daily reported that Chen's father said he had last seen his son three weeks ago at his home of Beta Illit, a community south of Jerusalem.
The father said he didn't know the whereabouts of his son or his family.
In a similar case, complicated extradition laws helped New York Rabbi Avrohom Mondrowitz evade extradition for 23 years when he fled the United States for Israel in 1984 after being charged with sexually abusing children.
Mondrowitz was finally arrested last fall and remains in jail in Israel.
Suspect in J'lem child abuse
arrested
By Etgar Lefkovitz
Jerusalem Post - April 9, 2008
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1207649970155&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
A
key suspect in a gruesome Jerusalem child abuse case was arrested Wednesday
in a forest on the outskirts of the city, police said.
Shimon Gabai was in police custody after the father of the abused children turned him in to police.
Gabai, who was wanted by police, was hiding in a forest near the capital, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
He will be brought to a Jerusalem court late Wednesday for a remand hearing.
Meanwhile, police planned to issue an international arrest warrant this week against an extremist Israeli rabbi who fled to Canada and was one of the main suspects in one of the worst child abuse cases in Israeli history.
Rabbi Elior Chen and his followers were suspected of severely abusing two children, aged 3 and 4, who were savagely and systematically beaten with hammers, knives and other instruments for months until the youngest lapsed into a coma last month.
The three-year-old suffered permanent brain damage as a result of the systematic and brutal abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother and her companions, according to an indictment filed against his mother this week in a Jerusalem court.
He was expected to remain in a vegetative state for the rest of his life.
Chen, who served as a spiritual mentor to the abusive mother and who provided explicit written instructions on how to abuse the children, fled to Canada in order to avoid arrest after the case came to light last month, Jerusalem police spokesman Shmuel Ben-Ruby said.
He apparently did not have Canadian citizenship, Ben-Ruby added.
According to the charge sheet, the woman's relationship with her husband broke down last year, and she expressed her desire to divorce him. The husband subsequently left their Jerusalem home, leaving his eight children in the care of his wife, as well as two other men who were charged with educating them.
The men, who allegedly carried out the abuse along with the mother, received instructions from Chen on how to "fix" the children's behavior, and "cleanse" them of their satanic possession, the indictment states.
During a search of Chen's Betar Illit home, police found evidence that appears to link the rabbi to the abuse, including notebooks that document the violence, police said.
"Put stones on a [Sabbath] hot plate...when they are boiling, put them on the bodies of the children and then they will be cleansed," the instructions read.
Chen also instructs his followers on how to tie up the children, and to prepare alcoholic drinks made of salt water and turpentine. These, he writes, should be given to the children in order to "vomit out the devil from themselves."
Among the items police discovered at Chen's home were hammers, iron bars, turpentine, sticks, and handcuffs.
Meanwhile, a Jerusalem court on Monday extended the remand of another suspect arrested by police late Sunday night by five days.
The suspect, Avraham Maskalchi, a yeshiva student who twice tried to flee arrest and was nabbed after a police chase, allegedly took part in the abuse of the children, a police representative told the court.
One of the woman's eight children also identified him as taking part in the abuse, the police representative testified in court.
The charge sheet recounts that the mother allegedly forced her children to eat feces, locked them in a suitcase for three days - letting them out only for brief periods of time - repeatedly beat, whipped and shook them, burnt their hands with a lighter and a heater, and gave them freezing showers.
The abusive mother and 'educators' were also suspected of pouring salt on the burn wounds of one of the children, stuffing his mouth with a skullcap and sealing his mouth with masking tape.
The woman remains in police custody.
Since her arrest last month, the mother has repeatedly been shown pictures of her children's injuries, but for the most part has not inquired about the children nor asked who was taking care of them, the police said.
How and when have we stopped hearing the cries of children?
By Sima Kadmon
YNET NEWS - April 11, 2008
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3529162,00.html
The photos received by the Yedioth Ahronoth newsroom could not be publish.
They are too difficult to watch, even if the horror revealed in them had been the result of a horrible accident. Or of a terror attack. But the feeling rushing through one's body while looking at them is not one of shock. It's a feeling of great anger. It's hard to believe that the dreadful bubbles and the scorched skin on this child's thin legs were caused by a human being. And not any human being. A mother.
Another picture: Tiny feet, with no skin, covered with festers. Someone took great effort in hurting this child. Someone? Not just anyone. A mother. Had one been told that these photos document the torture of hostages by particularly cruel investigators, one would find it hard to believe that as well. But a mother?
The indictment filed to the Jerusalem District Court on Sunday only intensifies the horror: Burning organs, pouring alcohol and scattering salt over wounds, feeding children with faeces, tying them with ropes and plastic restraints, stroking them with a hammer, breaking their teeth, locking them up in a suitcase for several days – all these charges against a mother of eight guided by a rabbi in Israel to conduct a "tikkun" on her children. Seeing the tools the mother used to abuse her children takes one's breath away. Less brutal means are needed in order to destroy concrete, in order to crack iron, than the ones used on a five-year-old boy and his three-and-a-half-year-old brother.
Who did he cry out to for help, the three-year-old child, when his legs were attached to a heater for several long minutes? When they poured alcohol on his burns? When they hit his hand with a wooden schnitzel hammer? When they scorched his little fingers with a lighter? What was the five-year-old child thinking about while being locked up in a suitcase for three whole days? He couldn't cry out. His mouth was blocked with a skullcap. It is safe to say, however, that God wasn't in there with him.
Where was everyone?
These two small children who underwent incomprehensible acts of abuse are probably not the only ones. A cult headed by Rabbi Elior Chen has recently been uncovered. This spiritual leader even issued a manual to the parents, a sort of Guide to the Perplexed, which teaches God-fearing Jews education methods. Let's hope that this same rabbi won't have to wait for the next world in order to be compensated for his deeds in this world.
Because we are talking about ultra-Orthodox people, it's easy – even tempting – to blame everything on the haredi community. That won't be fair. There are mental patients, sadists and perverts everywhere. Child abuse takes place, unfortunately, among secular people as well. The disturbing thing is that such acts are only revealed when children arrive at hospitals, sometimes in critical condition, sometimes when it's too late.
And the question is where was everyone? Relatives. Neighbors. The welfare services. The social organizations. The teachers. The kindergarteners. Entire circles these children grow up in.
Could it be that such acts are taking place in a nearby house and no one knows about it? How can an entire society shut its heart and ears to voices of distress? How and when have we stopped hearing the cries of children?
Don't politicize child abuse
case
Horrific story of rabbi-inspired abuse must not be used to stigmatize haredi society
by Rabbi Levi Brackman
YNET NEWS - April 13, 2008
This week a horrific story of child abuse came to light in Jerusalem. Child abuse is always terrible and leaves psychological scars on its victims. Tragically in this case, one of the children involved has been severely and irreversibly physically injured as well.
However, what makes this case even more disturbing, if such a thing were possible, is the fact that the person who inspired and advised this abuse called himself a rabbi. Elior Chen, together with some of his students, is suspected of beating two children aged three and four with hammers and knives and other instruments over many months. The three-year-old finally fell into a coma last month, and is not expected to recover.
Any normal human being finds it difficult to read the horrific details of the abuse in this case. How a parent could allow this to be done to his or her child and even participate in it is beyond comprehension.
Violence less common in haredi society
Unfortunately, religion has its share of crazies and phonies that use a religious façade for their own nefarious and narcissistic purposes. The so-called rabbi involved in this case was such a person. Clearly he had tremendous influence over his followers, and sadly they trusted in him completely.
Lamentably, however, as is happening with the tragic Kolko case in the United Sates, some in Israel have politicized this horrific case and used it to bash the haredi community as a whole. Some have claimed, falsely, in my opinion, that abuse is commonplace within the haredi community and for appearance's sake is just brushed under the carpet.
Of course there are psychopathic people in every society, but anecdotal evidence and my experience—having lived among both groups of people—tells me that family and domestic problems are far less common in Orthodox and haredi communities. The following incident will illustrate this.
Nearly 10 years ago I had the distinct honor and privilege of accompanying one of Israel's senior rabbis to a meeting with Rebbe Moshe Yehoshua Hager of Vizhnitz, who currently resides in the Israeli town of Bnei Brak. During the meeting, Rebbe Hager related that he had just been visited by the Israeli Chief of Police who told him that there was, at the time, a serious problem with juvenile criminals in Israel. Rabbi Hager told us that he asked the police chief how many of these juvenile criminals were haredi. "None," the police chief replied.
Don't stigmatize entire community
Whatever problems and difficulties the haredi community has—and it has its fair share—they seem to have their domestic arrangements figured out rather better than secular society does.
This dreadful case of abuse must not be used as a reason to stereotype haredi rabbis either. What we now know about Elior Chen demonstrates that he is a person with serious mental health problems and the case should be seen as such rather than as a general community issue.
Most haredi rabbis I know are good, well-intentioned people, who not only have a deep knowledge of the Torah and Judaism but also a lot of wisdom in other areas, including the rearing of children. It is therefore perfectly normal for religious parents to go to their rabbi for advice on how to deal with a difficult child. It is equally obvious that psychologically healthy parents would never listen to the advice of any person—no matter how spiritual or divine he seemed—if he told them to hurt their own child.
The perpetrators in this case need to be brought to justice and feel the full weight of the law. It is, however, mistaken and in horribly bad taste to use this heartbreaking and horrific case, as some have, to attack and stigmatize an entire community of good and decent people, the overwhelming majority of whom manage to bring up their children in an enviable manner.
Rabbi Levi Brackman (www.levibrackman.com) is executive director of Judaism in the Foothills (www.jitf.org). His upcoming book, about Jewish Business Success, is set to be published in late 2008.
Rabbi Metzger: Abuse stems from distortion of
Kabbalah
By Neta Sela
YNET News - April 14, 2008
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3531419,00.html
Chief rabbi addresses child abuse affair in Jerusalem, says 'this is horrifying proof of what unsupervised Kabbalah studies can lead to'
The disastrous results of unsupervised Kabbalah studies have reportedly led to a series of child abuse cases, Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger said Saturday.
Speaking during a Great Shabbat (the Shabbat which immediately precedes Passover) sermon in Jerusalem, Rabbi Metzger noted that Kabbalah studies by those who have yet to fully internalize the six books of the Mishnah and have yet to turn 40 years old have not been prohibited for nothing.
Even then, he said, this must only be done under the guidance of a famous rabbi with superior knowledge in mysticism.
"If, as a result of studying practical Kabbalah, this person's mind has been disrupted, and if it is true that this 'rabbi' (Elior Chen) explained this acts of abuse as a repair of the soul, this is horrifying proof of what can happen when Kabbalah is studied without being supervised and guided by the greatest sages of Israel who are known to all as having superior knowledge of Kabbalah's wisdom."
'Court has crushed symbol of freedom'
Rabbi Metzger went on to speak about his visit to the IDF base in Tze'elim last week.
"This week I met IDF regiment commanders who told me painfully about the constant drop in the number of officers and commanders enlisting to reserve duty. When we tried to understand the main cause for this phenomenon, there was an agreement that the reservists' value system is worn out, leading to a drop in the motivation for reserve duty.
"And I tell you, gentlemen, when the court crushes with its own hands a sacred Jewish value like prohibiting leavened food during Passover, this crushes the symbol of Jewish freedom.
"The 'matza' we eat in Pesach has served as a symbol of the Jewish people's freedom for 3,000 years. With it we left Egypt with the goal to immigrate to the fatherland. If we trample the flag of Jewish freedom with our own hands, we are to blame for the results. I was sorry to hear that officers refuse to serve because they don't want to miss work days...
"When I served in the IDF, an officer would be ashamed to raise such an option, but when he sees that the values sacred to the Jewish people are being crushed, including those symbolizing the hasty Exodus in order to reach the Land of Israel which he is asked to fight for, unfortunately he does not feel the duty."
Metzger added, "I am not a legalist, and it is possible that the ruling includes different arguments explaining it, but I am puzzled by the timing of its delivery, just before the Passover holiday."
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Updated Last: 04/15/2008
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