Some people are never happy unless Jews are centre stage, preferably when the spotlight shows them in a less than flattering light.

And so we were treated to a new theory by one of the Guardian’s CiF newer in-house Jews, Rosa Freedman, (any relation to the  anti-Israel Seth?), to demonstrate that in matters of child sex abuse, the ultra orthodox Jewish community is no better than the Catholic church, and in its treatment of sex offenders within its ranks,  goes to all lengths to cover up these crimes and to ensure that the victims are silenced, whilst the perpetrators are protected.

In other words, why give all the attention to the Catholics, when exactly the same situation obtains in the Jewish community, albeit in the ultra orthodox wing?

To support her assertions, she invoked a little-known Talmudic law, mesira, which forbade a Jew from reporting another Jew to the gentile authorities, which she goes on to expain, correctly in this instance, that this law was formulated at a time when courts of gentile governments were staffed by antisemites, who looked for any excuse to find against a Jew. She would have us believe that today’s leaders of these communities still use mesira as a way of keeping a tight grip on them, and then goes on to say that as in the Catholic church, “things are starting to change in the ultra-orthodox world.Top rabbis, such as Rav Elyashiv, have come out in support of reporting abuse to the police. Clearly, the ultra- orthodox word is learning from the Catholic church’s experience, and listening to the victims”. Thus she displays her monumental ignorance, in that she thinks that an intellectual giant of the calibre of Rav Elyashiv, held in the highest regard by diverse Jewish communities worldwide, would play follow my leader to the Catholic church.

Of course, the glaring omission in her piece is any support of her theory by way of statistics or reference sources.

Indeed, below the line Jubilation 1 asked “Do you have any statistics for haredim as against the others? This is the second article published in comment is free without statistics and without stating reference sources.”

To which she responded:-



We’re still waiting!

The truth of the matter is that in all communities, secular or religious, across different creeds and religions, there are and always will be instances of sexual abuse, where the powerful prey on the vulnerable, sadly.

Ms.Freedman provides no evidence whatsoever that the scale of sexual abuse in the haredi world in any way mirrors that in the Catholic church, or that it is tolerated, let alone covered, up by those in authority.

The scandal in the Catholic church is that the protection of the abusers, and the facilitiation of these priests to continue their nefarious activities in other locations for years, once their guilt was discovered, went to the very top. The head of the Catholic church in Ireland admitted as much, and the Pope himself held that it was not in the interest of the church that these crimes should be made public.

Sexual abuse of minors by priests is endemic in this institution.

Let the commenter, Santa Moniker, give the final verdict on this shoddy piece of sensationalism:-