Case of Rabbi Hershy Worch
(AKA: Hershey Worch, Hershy Worch, J. Hershel Worch, Jeremy Hershel Worch, Jeremy Hershy Worch, Reb Hershy, Moonish, Captain Shleck, Just Sir Will Do)
(Formerly known as the Case of the Unnamed Rabbi in West Rogers Park)
Manchester, England; Mbale, Uganda
Melbourne, Australia; Pawtucket, RI;
Chicago, IL; Istanbul, Turkey
1. CALL TO ACTION: Rabbi Hershy Worch and his new "Yeshiva"
The Awareness Center is DEMANDING the Orthodox Union (OU), the Rabbinic Council of America (RCA) and Alliance for Jewish Renewal (ALEPH) to make a public statements denouncing the actions and behavior of Rabbi Hershy Worch. By not doing so is condoning his behavior, and advocating for hto continue luring in nonobservant women into learning about his "Torah of Desire."
Hershy Worch received his rabbinic ordination from Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, who was considered to be an orthodox rabbi. Recently Worch created his own Yeshiva and is now planning on giving his students his own Rabbinic Ordination.
According to rabbinic resources, the only way to revoke an ordination is for the rabbi who granted the title to revoke it. Since Shlomo Carlebach passed way, it is said there is no way to have his rabbinic title removed. I've also been informed that once individual becomes a rabbi, halachicly he/she can ordain another individual.
In the past the alleged survivors of Rabbi Hershy Worch have spoken to rabbis at both the RCA (Rabbinical Council of America) and also to Rabbis at the CRC (Chicago Rabbinical Council).
Unfortunately because Rabbi Hershy Worch is not a member of either rabbinical organization , the survivors were told that nothing could be done.
Since Shlomo Carlebach gave Hershy Worch a rabbinic ordination, he is consider to be an orthodox rabbi, The Awareness Center is asking that the Orthodox Union, Rabbinical Counsel of America and Alliance for Jewish Renewal hire an agency suggested by The Awareness Center to do an investigation of the claims. Once the investigation is completed, The Awareness Center is demanding that a public statement on their web pages.
The allegations against Rabbi Hershy Worch include Rabbinical Sexual Misconduct and also the claims of his rewriting and misuse of Torah. These claims have been following Hershy Worch around the world for several years.
It is time for the three Jewish organizations to stop passing the buck and do the right thing!
Jeremy Hershy Worch was born in Manchester, England, on May 20, 1954.
He recieved his smicha (ordaination) from
Rabbi Shlomo
Carlebach in 1992.
There have been several serious allegations made claiming Reb
Hershy's behavior as being predatory, manipulative and sexually abusive.
Allegations have been made in while residing in Chicago; from a group
from the Hamakom Synagogue in Melbourne, Australia; and from other
locations.
Rabbi Worch has been accused of utilizing a mixture of kabbalah, hypno-eroticism and other manipulative techniques to enagage his potential victims prior to sexually assaulting them.
There have been allegations that Reb Hershy creates a cult-like devotion to himself utilizing trance-like-states, guided meditation, hypnosis; all under the guise of kabbalah teachings. Allegedly his MO (modus operandi) has been to use such techniques on women with histories of childhood abuse, so that he can lead them into BDSM (Bondage, Domination, Sadism, Masochism). activities with him.
Rabbi Worch has allegedly written a "BDSM-Kabbalah" and finds his "students" over the internet, primarily through his Livejournal "Kabbalah_101" community.
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.
Timeline
1997
The Anonymous Haggadah (03/23/1997)
1998
2004
Serious allegations made against a Rabbi in Chicago (10/14/2004)
Past Contact information (10/14/2004)
Regarding Rabbi Jeremy Hershy Worch (12/06/2004)
2005
Newspaper publisher becomes the story before debate (07/15/2005)
2006
Also see:
Related Cases:
Hershy's Cartoons on Jewish Denial - JAC's web site
The Manipulation of Spiritual Experience: Unethical Hypnosis in Destructive Cults
Related Information:
Background Information and The History of Rabbinical Ordinations
Alleged and Convicted Sex Offenders Connected to Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach
Background Information - Rabbi Hershel
Worch
By Levi ben Avraham
Jeremy Hershy Worch was born in Manchester, England,
on May 20, 1954. He was ordained by R. Shlomo Carlebach in 1992. (One
report says Carlebach gave Worch semicha so that Worch would have a way to
make a living to support his family.) . Rabbi Worch has six adult
children from his first marriage and three young children from his second
marriage. Both ended in divorce. On November 11, 2004, rabbi
Worch
lost custody of his three young children.
Hershel Worch has gone through the 12-step program for drug and alcohol abuse and he has the lingo down pat (see, for example, his book The Kabbalist Haggadah). Twelve-step programs are a great way to get laid. Many people substitute sex addiction for drug and alcohol addiction.
Chicago Orthodox rabbi Jeremy Hershy Worch has numerous friends who say he's a righteous rabbi. Some say he's the only rabbi who understands them. Others say rabbi Worch is a sexual predator.
Some women who've known Rabbi Worch intimately allege that he uses kabbalah, hypno-eroticism and other manipulation techniques to have sex with women and to take their money.
Though he is into the BDSM (bondage - domination - sadism - masochism) scene, he principally seeks out (say critics of his) those who are not into BDSM and are therefore more susceptible to his influence and less likely to understand healthy boundaries.
Rabbi J. Hershy Worch didn't show up to his last court date (January, 2005) to challenge custody/visitation rights to his children that he lost a few months ago. The rumors are that he has moved out of his apartment and sold the contents. It is believed that he relocated to Istanbul, Turkey.
NOTE: Rabbi Hershy Worch is well known in the "twelve-step world" of Chicago.
Often women are warned to stay clear of him.
A Synthesis of The Passover Ritual and Liturgy With The Twelve Steps of Recovery
By Rabbi Hershy Worch
JCN18.com - 1997
Introduction
Why is this Haggadah different?
More than any Jewish book of prayer or study written since the close of the Bible 2,500 years ago, the Haggadah has resisted attempts to change its format or content.
The reasons are immediate and apparent to anyone who has enjoyed a Seder conducted by someone who knew what they were doing. The impression that remains is indelible and enriching beyond compare.
Seder night is a journey into another time and place. It is a swift glance at the darkest night of the human soul and a lingering dance with liberty and freedom. It is a long play with family and food and a short sharp reminder of the depths to which we may plummet when the framework and fabric of our life decays.
The Journey, more a procession, wends its stately way through fifteen points of interest. There are washing of hands and breaking of bread. There are stories and unfamiliar foods. There are roles for children and playful songs for adults. There is wonder and enchantment, heroes and wicked adversaries, stories of Revelation and Retribution. There is even time to partake of a full Festival meal. There must be time. In my father's house the Seder took upwards of six hours.
If the Seder is an adventure, the Haggadah is map, guide, directory and vehicle.
What is it?
Well, the main event of Pesach (Passover) and Seder night is the Exodus from Egypt, the miraculous birth and redemption of the Jewish People. One cannot be long in Recovery without becoming increasingly aware how close are the ideas of Exodus and Recovery. My understanding of the steps and process of Recovery has deepened my appreciation of the Seder. Now my Seder blossoms in the light of Recovery.
The Seder is not simply a description of the Exodus. It is an opportunity to scrutinize the real issue: our slavery. We were slaves and now we are free.
So what then is freedom? Does it mean we may now do whatever we want?
If we try that route we will soon find ourselves back on the road into Egypt. Freedom is not license. It is the absence of constraint and an awesome life-long struggle. We have learned this lesson, painfully, again and again. For when we became habituated to any self-destructive behavior we were no longer free. Furthermore, of all the destructive patterns of behavior to seduce a person, a "bad habit" is the most difficult to kick. Whether the habit is heroin, gambling or fixing people's lives. Whether it is self-denial, fasting, smoking or looking through people's windows.
This then is what the Haggadah is about. Long before the 12 Steps were formalized, enlightened people knew a Way. The Haggadah describes the Recovery process of an entire people, hundreds of thousands, adults and children. The distilled essence of their experience boils down to this:
1. They were powerless, they admitted it
2. They came to believe in a Higher Power
3. They turned their lives and will over to It.
The Meaning of Chometz
It is a very ancient custom (dating back to around 1300 Before the Common Era) to begin preparing for Pesach 30 days in advance.
We do this primarily by learning about Pesach and cleaning our dwelling houses and other properties of all Chometz (leavened foods).
On the evening before Pesach begins, we search by the light of a candle all the nooks and crannies where conceivably Chometz may have been carried and forgotten. We remove all cooking pots, crockery and cutlery that have been used throughout the year and prepare food for Pesach using Pesach foodstuffs and utensils.
The climax of all this frenetic activity is the Seder Night when we join with our families and enjoy the ritual and tradition of the festival itself.
For those of us familiar with the Twelve Steps and terminology of Recovery, the essence of our preparations for Pesach are a thorough First Step, wherein we examine in great detail all the manifestations of the disease and all the forms which it may be taking control of our lives.
What is Chometz (leavening)? Technically, it is the action of particular enzymes in the flour which are activated only by the presence of water. It is what transforms a lump of pasta into the fluffy aerated palatable staple we know as dough which bakes into bread and cakes.
No one in their right mind would sit down to a meal of raw yeast, though it may indeed be the secret, the essence of the goodness of bread. The fact that yeast makes the dough rise and taste good, is not a reason to make a meal of it. Gorging on yeast or sour dough would make anyone very ill. This has been the experience of those of us who have gorged ourselves on "yeast." We have been abusing something or someone in our lives. A relationship that might have been nourishing in the right circumstances or proportions has turned toxic because we are extreme. We have lost the balance of sufficiency and health. We are incapable of controlling the manner or frequency of our obsession or the nature of our compulsion.
The First Step is an admission of powerlessness and recognition of the unmanageability of our lives. Strangely, though, the longer we work at recovery, the trickier and subtler grow the incidents of craziness. Here is an example:
Once there was a man who vowed to himself that he would have the perfectly Pesach-cleaned house. Towards the end of winter he began in the attic, and working his way downwards he took the house apart stick by stick. Three weeks before Pesach there was no bread or Chometz in the house. People entering had to examine their clothing and pockets for crumbs, wiping their shoes on a special mat. He was satisfied that the house was completely free of Chometz. He had achieved a spiritual asepsis, so to speak, and sat down to enjoy his Seder with a clear mind.
Now a bird flew over the house with a biscuit in its mouth. The biscuit fell down the chimney into the soup cooking over the fire and appeared in the man's plate as he was about to eat. He was aghast. He looked for a reason to explain this obvious act-of-God.
We in the Program do not have to look far for an explanation. The man was obviously a control freak. His whole Pesach was the antithesis of surrender. The reality is that we are powerless over even such a relatively simple thing as cleaning for Pesach.
Unless we receive the help of a Higher Power we are doomed to struggle in vain. If we find the task of cleaning for Pesach daunting it is because we are supposed to find it so. None of us has achieved a clear picture of the nature of our disease without simultaneously being overwhelmed at the task of Recovery. That is why the Second Step follows the first full recognition: "A power greater than ourselves."
In the history of Creation described in the Book of Genesis, the unfolding of evolution is depicted over a series of six days, beginning with the creation of Light. Each day's progress is accompanied by the comment "And the Creator saw that it was good."
Upon completion of the sixth day of creation, it is observed "And behold it was very good." The Talmud asks, "What happened on the sixth day that merited the superlative description Very Good?" The answer, says the Talmud, is this: there was an addition of a certain ingredient to the stew of Creation, meriting that title. A final magic ingredient, the yeast that makes the dough rise. Sometimes we call it the Evil Inclination, sometimes we refer to it as Satan, sometimes we refer to it as the Angel of Death. It makes the world "Very Good."
This concept that the impulse to indulge our desires for comfort, sex and prestige is the source of all that is excellent in the Universe is thematic through Rabbinical literature. The disease model of addiction simply examines the effects of these desires when they become ruling passions. Another theme that runs through the literature is the reference to the Evil Inclination as the yeast in the dough.
The full realization of how we have turned our lives into problems through the misappropriation of funds, as it were, must be clear to us before we can recover.
In order to keep it simple, let us explore those three areas of life where ancient sages and modern scholars agree we need to look.
Step four in the "Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of AA" contains the following quote: "If men and women didn't exert themselves to be secure in their persons, made no effort to harvest food or construct shelter, there would be no survival. If they didn't reproduce, the earth wouldn't be populated. If there were no social instinct, if men cared nothing for the society of one another, there would be no society."
So these desires - for sex relations, for material and emotional security and for companionship - are perfectly necessary and right, and surely God-given. Yet these instincts, so necessary for our existence, often far exceed their proper functions. Powerfully, blindly, many times subtly, they drive us, dominate us, and insist upon ruling our lives. Our desires for sex, for material and emotional security, and for an important place in society often tyrannize us. When thus out of joint, man's natural desires cause him great trouble, practically all the trouble there is."
Compare the above with a much older quote, dating back around 150 CE. Rabbi Eliezer is quoted in the Mishna as saying:
"Envy, greed and pride take a man out of the world."
It is clear that the Evil Inclination hasn't managed since the dawn of time to invent even one simple human pleasure. This stands at the crux of our understanding. Good and Evil are not the same as right and wrong.
Now can we apply all this knowledge to the cleaning of the house before Pesach?
Can we see it as the opportunity to survey our possessions and take stock of every single item in our lives? Can we bear to scrutinize them clearly and plainly?; ask ourselves how we are meeting our basic human needs?; are we obtaining our supplies in a spiritual way? Are we now living the excellence?
Spirituality
We will be in difficulty if we try arriving at a clear consensus of the meaning of Spirituality. Though there are no perfect definitions of the word, certain aspects are self-explanatory. Spirit means breath, the stuff of life. Whatever is dead cannot be spiritual. The more we celebrate the life we enjoy, the more we live inside our
bodies in the here and now, the more we are reaching towards a spiritual existence. For many of us, simply dwelling inside our skin has been the most difficult task in Recovery.
A Note on the Anonymous Haggadah
Because of undeniable and inalienable Rights to a Higher Power of my own understanding, and because the Right to a Higher Power of my own understanding is total and without any exceptions, I have not used the word "God" in this Haggadah. For me it carries baggage, has connotations and brings associations which would deny me the right of free association.
Instead I have used the Hebrew word (translit.) Hashem, which means "The Name." I know of no scholarly treatise on the meaning of the word Hashem. You may use whatever name you have for your Higher Power. For me the name changes as my knowledge changes, even as my mood changes.
"Hashem" seems the least tyrannical of all choices, under these circumstances.
If I have referred to Hashem as "Him" it is only because I find "Her" equally arbitrary, "It" inappropriate, and I am still hopelessly bound by literary convention and too timid to invent something new.
The Anonymous Haggadah
It is interesting to note that the Haggadah does not mention Moses who was central in the dramatic events described in the Exodus from Egypt.
The reason is pointedly an application of the fundamental rule of "principles before personalities." Whilst Moses may have been the most important person to carry the message to us, we slaves in Egypt were the real cause of events. We mattered in ways that Moses didn't.
We were the people in trouble, enslaved and in need. The Haggadah reminds us that we did not embark upon the Exodus brimming with goodwill and fellowship. We were physically, emotionally and spiritually bankrupt. All of us (excepting perhaps a few women), were totally enmeshed in the spiraling insanity of life in Egypt.
This then is the story of our Recovery. The principles that become apparent through the story and rituals of Seder Night are germane to our life tonight - Moses our teacher is not.
Who, then, is the Author of the Haggadah?
There is another anonymous character whose presence pervades the seder. If you both should chance to meet, consider yourself fortunate. But remember what was said: "You may say You were there, but you may not say whom you met there. You may repeat what you heard there without attaching names to it."
Knowing our selves as well as we do, we know our penchant for evading the obvious opportunity for self-examination. It is also fairly certain that any mention of Moses would have been the launching point for innumerable anecdotes and commentaries about his role. We try and keep the focus on ourselves, where it belongs.
Many question dismissal of rabbi at Hillel
foundation
Published Online March 23, 1998
By LYNDA ZIMMER News-Gazette Staff Writer
www.news-gazette.com/ngsearch/story.cfm?number=2425
CHAMPAIGN
- Rabbi Hershy Worch, director of Hillel Foundation during the 1997-98 school
year, has lost his job. The foundation - at 503 E. John St., C - serves Jewish
students on the University of Illinois campus. It was the first Hillel
established in the country.
Worch supporters describe him as an exceptional teacher who got a raw deal. Critics acknowledge his teaching talents but say he was no administrator. Portia Shah, a Muslim student, said she was one of about 15 students and community members who went to a Hillel board meeting last week to support Worch because he had welcomed Muslim, Hindu and Christian students to Hillel.
English born, Worch took rabbinical training in his teen-age years and 20s; moved to Israel and New York to become what he called "a starving artist" in his early and mid-30s; then became a rabbi who worked with a congregation in Rhode Island and students in Australia before taking the Champaign job.
Worch and his wife have 4-year-old and 2-year-old sons and a third child due by early May.
Serious allegations made against a Rabbi in
Chicago
By Vicki Polin
The Awareness Center - October 14, 2004
Dear Friends:
There have been some serious allegations made regarding a rabbi
who resides in (West Rogers Park) Chicago, IL.
The alleged offender originally meets his victims on line, and then after time connects with them in person. The allegations that have been made include the rabbi using a form of hypnosis and then sexually assaulting his alleged victims.
If you or anyone you or anyone you know has been victimized by this man, please call the Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline and let them know your story. Tell them that The Awareness Center suggested you call. The Rape Crisis Hotline is being made aware of the situation and are extremely sensitive to the issues that are involved in this case.
The Chicago Rape Crisis Hotline's phone number is: 1(888) 293-2080.
Sincerely,
Vicki Polin, MA, ATR, LCPC
Executive Director - The Awareness Center
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org
The Awareness Center - October 14, 2004
If you have information on this case please contact the following people (Tell them that The Awareness Center suggested you call):
Rape Victim Advocates (RVA)
(888) 293-2080 or (312) 663-6303
228 S. Wabash Ave., Suite 240, Chicago, IL 60604
http://www.rapevictimadvocates.org
Rabbi Mark Dratch -JSafe
mdratch@jsafe.org (203) 358-2200
Rabbi Josef Ozarowski -Chicago Rabbinical council
ravjoeo@crcweb.org (773) 465-3900
Regarding Rabbi Jeremy Hershy Worch - While in
Melbourne, Australia
From a group of men and women in Melbourne Australia who wish to remain anonymous - December 6, 2004
Hershy Worch came to Melbourne, Australia with his
wife and young family in 1995. He was initially employed by the
Hillel Foundation. As rabbi of the
Hamakom
Synagogue, he was then financially supported by members of his community
from the years 1995-1997.
During this time both his behaviour and demeanour with his female students were consistently predatory, manipulative and abusive. He proactively sought 'romantic' and sexual relationships wtih many many women, specifically targeting those who were emotionally vulnerable and fostering acute dependency. He consistently used his role as counselor to make sexual advances towards those who came to him in need. He had 'romantic' sexual relationships with married and unmarried women who ranged in age from 20 to 50.
His inappropriate behaviour towards female students included:
Physical sexual interactions
Predatory behavior in the pursuit of women: e.g. late night phone calls and invitations to teach women privately.
Using the teaching of Torah as a tool of seduction.
Using group situations with himself at the centre - that utilized his musical, vocal and narrative 'talents' - to manipulate individuals and create a cultic environment around 'Kabbalah' classes.
Using his relationships with students to influence them to 'rescue' him by financially and publically supporting and defending him.
His abuse of his position as rabbi, chazzan and counselor traumatized this community leaving wounds that took and are still taking many years to heal. Reputations were publicly compromised and personal lives were taken over.
Those who have followed his career since he left Australia and returned to the United States have observed a repetition of these patterns. We trust that with our testimony and others you will do everything within your power to expose Hershy Worch and warn individuals and communities who may be vulnerable to his 'teachings' and promises of insight and enlightenment.
Newspaper publisher becomes the story before
debate
Yori Yanover, publisher of the Grand Street News
By Ronda Kaysen
Volume 75, Number 8 | June 13- 20, 2005
http://www.thevillager.com/villager_115/newspaperpublisher.html
http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_114/newspaperpublisher.html
Much thought isn't usually given to moderators. By definition,
they are thought to be moderate, but Yori Yanover, who was tapped to facilitate
Tuesday night's City Council District 2 debate, has some strong opinions
about the feminist, gay rights and psychoanalytic movements and isn't afraid
to blog them.
On Tuesday morning, hours before 12 of the candidates vying to fill Margarita Lopez's City Council seat gathered at the Henry Street Settlement for their first public debate, an anonymous e-mail circulated among the candidates, urging them to boycott the event, which was to include three panelists asking questions in addition to Yanover, who was to moderate. The writer, identifying himself only as Constitution Man of the Committee to Boycott LoHo Realty and their Grand Street News, pointed to a private Web blog penned by the debate's moderator as cause for a candidate-wide boycott.
The blog, www.usajewish.com, was written by Yanover, the publisher of Grand Street News, a booklet-size community newspaper sponsored by LoHo Realty. The entries in question address an ongoing dispute within the Jewish community about a handful of rabbis accused of sexual impropriety.
In one entry, Yanover responds to sexual allegations against the late Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach lodged by several women after Carlebach's death. The allegations were never brought to court. In response to the unsubstantiated allegations, Yanover, in his blog, blamed the "homosexual movement, the feminist movement and the psychoanalytical movement. All three movements have politicized the sexual, and with that, robbed us of the carefree availability of our sexual expression," he wrote.
"The gay rights, feminist and psychological movements have changed how society approached sex in worrisome ways," Yanover told The Villager. "Making a sexual mistake in this society is the most dangerous thing that can happen to you. The boss who 10 years ago may have said something cheeky to a secretary or a female underling, now he's going in the other direction. This is part of the anxiety of our culture."
One candidate, Brian Kavanagh, withdrew his name from the debate after learning about Yanover's statements. "The moderator of a debate is not merely a bystander, but controls the forum and has a public presence and I think that choosing this particular person under the present circumstances shows some insensitivity both to the gay and lesbian community and also to victims of rape," said Kavanagh, describing the blog entries as "reprehensible."
"Is she concerned? I'm sure she would be concerned with anything that's homophobic or anti-women," said Roberto Caballero, who is gay and is the campaign manager for Reverend Joan Brightharp, the only member of the clergy in the race. Brightharp, however, planned to attend the debate, which occurred as The Villager went to press.
Yanover is a strong presence in the Lower East Side community. In fact, Grand Street News approached Henry Street Settlement several months ago to co-sponsor the debate along with LoHo Realty. Some local figures have jumped to his defense in the wake of the Tuesday morning e-mail. "I believe in supporting good people," said Susan Stetzer, district manager of Community Board 3. "He is not homophobic, he is not anti-feminist. He and his wife are feminists and they're raising their daughter to be a feminist." Stetzer and David McWater, C.B. 3 chairperson, were profiled by Grand Street News within the past year and their photo appeared on its cover.
Henry Street Settlement, which hosted the event, had no intentions of canceling or changing moderators on Tuesday afternoon. "At this point, we're not making any changes," said Kathleen Gupta, a chief administrator for the Henry Street Settlement, two hours before the event. "We're just moving forward and hoping it'll be a productive evening."
Rosie Mendez, the only openly gay candidate in the race, had not read the e-mail when she spoke to The Villager on Tuesday afternoon and was reluctant to take a position. "I have to ask myself, `Why today, a couple of hours before the debate, is this coming to light?' " she said. "This has been planned a long time ago. It's interesting that this has come out now." Mendez planned to attend the event.
The author of the e-mail that pointed candidates and The Villager to the blog did not return requests for comment, nor did he respond to requests to identify himself.
Bias is often subjective and, according to Yanover, the comments on his blog — all of which were removed on Tuesday afternoon — were part of a larger dialogue within the Jewish community. The blog entries in question were written last winter, he said, in response to comments made last October by an organization, the Awareness Center, about his close friend Rabbi Jeremy Hershy Worch.
The Awareness Center, a Maryland-based organization, is "dedicated to addressing sexual violence in Jewish communities around the world," according to its Web site. Among the alleged perpetrators of sexual violence accused on the Web site is Yanover's friend Worch.
"Every time you Google the guy's name, every time he applies for a job," the link to the Awareness Center Web site appears at the top of the search engine, said Yanover. "His name is destroyed. What can you do about this? All you can do is cower away or you can fight this."
And so Yanover printed the full name, address and telephone number of the woman who made the accusations against Worch, removing the "the shelter of anonymity" that protected her.
"This woman destroyed the life of a man, she accused him of despicable things and hid behind a veil of anonymity and she did not deserve it [anonymity]," said Yanover in a telephone interview, pointing out that no charges were ever brought against Worch.
Ironically, the Internet and the infinite memory of Google may now have turned on Yanover, thrusting his online ramblings into the political arena. "A friend of mine last October was destroyed by sinister people and it's been my business to defend his good name," he said. "And if I get skewered by that then that's the way it has to be."
Call To Action:URGENT - Gafni and Worch
Speaking in Chicago?
The Awareness Center's Daily Newsletter - April 20, 2006 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Halacha-SexualVictimization/message/915
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people;
neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbor" (Leviticus
19:16).
According to a blog ran by Yori Yanover, Marc Gafni and Hershy Worch are planing on speaking at a cafe in Chicago. I have not been able to verify that this is true, yet due to the shortage of time I thought I would make sure you are aware of this possible situation. I've tried calling the "No Exit Cafe," yet no one answered.
I understand that the majority of people in the conservative or orthodox community would not attend this function, the problem is that many unsuspecting Jew's and non-Jews may attend.
Please calll the "No Exit Cafe" to help verify that Marc Winiarz (AKA: Mordechai Gafni, and Hershy Worch are speaking. If they are, please WARN the owners of the cafe that both of these individuals have serious allegations of sexual violence made against them.
No Exit Cafe:
(773) 743-3355
To remind you about Gafni and Worch, please read the following two web pages:
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/gafni_mordechai.html
http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/worch_hershy.html
_____________________________________
USAJEWISH
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Mordechai Gafni and Hershy Worch in Open Dscussion of the Izbicer
A gig for Chicagoans... There will be a Symposium at the No Exit Cafe 6970 N. Glenwood, Chicago this coming Sunday afternoon with Rabbi Gafni and J. Hershy Worch and friends - between 3:00 pm and 4:30 pm. If you'd like to come and meet some of the other local Chevrah, you'd be most welcome. Bring your questions and curiosity... Yours truly will be listening online via Skype and might get into the discussion if they'll let me...
posted by Yori Yanover at Thursday, April 20, 2006
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Last Updated: 06/23/2006
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