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HomeRead, Watch, ListenIsrael
Israel

As Haredis break silence over abuse, activists warn of danger from rabbis

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Published: 7 January 2022

Last updated: 4 March 2024

Suicide of author Chaim Walder, suspected of sexual abuse, prompts ultra-Orthodox schools to warn students: 'Harm can come from anyone, even the rabbi'

Israeli ultra-Orthodox society breaks silence on sexual abuse (Al-Monitor)
The apparent suicide of popular writer Chaim Walder, suspected of years-long sexual abuse, may generate a real change inside the ultra-Orthodox society and break the code of silence

The Haredi leadership: Crime and its punishment – YEDIDIA STERN (Times of Israel)
The ultra-Orthodox self-segregate from Israeli society, but the Walder affair is revealing major cracks in the 'wall of holiness.' A day of reckoning is coming

'Harm can come from anyone, even the rabbi': how Haredi schools are talking to kids about Chaim Walder (Haaretz)
One teacher likened the suicide of the children's author amid sexual assault allegations to 9/11: 'When America the great instantly turned into dust and rubble, that’s what happened to us with Walder. And we had to talk to the children about that'

Challenging rabbis, Orthodox activists hand out fliers after Walder victim’s suicide (Times of Israel)
150 volunteers promote grassroots campaign rejecting ultra-Orthodox leadership’s silence in face of massive abuse scandal

After attending shiva of accused abuser Chaim Walder, Israel’s chief rabbi calls for victims of abuse to come forward (JTA)

Photo: The site of Chaim Walder's suicide in central Israel last week (Moti Milrod)

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