STAMFORD (CT)
The Jewish Ledger
By Judie Jacobson
STAMFORD —- Rabbi Mark Dratch, who has served for the past eight years as spiritual leader of Congregation Agudath Sholom in Stamford, will leave that post in June to head up The Jewish Institute Supporting an Abuse-Free Environment (JSafe), a new non-profit educational institution that aims to address the issue of domestic and sexual abuse within the Jewish community.
Headquartered in New York, JSafe's mission is to create an environment in which every institution and organization across the entire spectrum of the Jewish community conducts itself responsibly and effectively in addressing the wrongs of domestic violence, child abuse and professional improprieties, whenever and by whomever they are perpetrated.
"The purpose is create a systemic change in the Jewish community n to hold everyone and every institution and organization responsible in these areas. To make sure they have the proper training, the proper policies and can never sweep a problem under the rug," explains Dratch, who is a member of the Jewish Advisory Board of Faith Trust Institute, and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Religion and Abuse, and as chair of the Task Force on Rabbinic Improprieties for the Rabbinical Council of America (RCA).