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	Beth Din Issues Advisory on Inappropriate Touching Canadian Jewish News August 3, 2011 http://www.cjnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21800&Itemid=86 MONTREAL — A historic advisory issued earlier this summer by Montreal's Beth Din of the Vaad Ha'ir that parents should teach their kids about inappropriate touching was praised by some for bringing a usually taboo issue out in the open, but criticized by others for not going far enough. Issued before camp season, the rabbinical court advised parents to tell their children that it's an obligation to report such touching – no matter by whom – to a parent or rabbi. But critics said it didn't go far enough and that such incidents should also be reported to authorities such as youth protection officials and police. Rabbi Chaim Strauchler, of Toronto's Shaarei Shomayim Congregation, thinks the advisory, as well as statements by Orthodox groups Agudath Israel of America and the Rabbinical Council of America [RCA], are a step in the right direction. "Before, rabbis pretended this didn't exist in our community." He also noted that "they make no statement at all saying that authorities should not be called in when appropriate. "You have to make sure there is a degree of clarity [about what the allegation actually is] before you destroy a person's career." At the same time, he said, not going to the authorities could "destroy children's lives in terrible ways." Earlier this summer, U.S. sex abuse expert Amy Neustein said sex abuse in the haredi community continues to be swept under the rug, with individuals who dare to go outside its confines to report it invariably ostracized or even banished. But the Montreal advisory was also described as an unprecedented first step on the part of the haredi community to at least officially recognize that sex abuse does exist among its own and that the community had a duty to address it. Rabbi Saul Emanuel, the Vaad Ha'ir's executive director, defended the advisory by reportedly saying its intent was not to tell people what they "should do," only that victims should not remain silent. Meanwhile, the two American Orthodox bodies released statements attempting to clarify their positions on reporting child abuse. Agudath Israel and the RCA were responding to what the former called "misleading claims about our stance on reporting suspected child abusers to law enforcement agencies." The statements come in the wake of criticism over comments by a leading U.S. rabbi, Shmuel Kamenetsky, that abuse should be reported to rabbis rather than police. Rabbi Kamenetsky is vice-president of Agudah's Supreme Council of Rabbinic Sages. In its statement, Agudah referred to rabbinic arguments that authorities should be notified when a certain threshold of evidence is met, but "where the circumstances of the case do not rise to threshold level… the matter should not be reported to authorities." However, in order to distinguish whether the threshold has been met, the statement continued, "the individual shouldn't rely exclusively on their own judgment … rather, he should present the facts to a Rabbi." Survivors for Justice, an advocacy, educational and support organization for survivors of sexual abuse and their families from the Orthodox world, described the comments as "dangerous," and urged Agudah to issue a retraction. The RCA in its statement said that "Consistent with Torah obligations, if one becomes aware of an instance of child abuse or endangerment, one is obligated to refer the matter to the secular authorities immediately, as the prohibition of mesirah (i.e., referring an allegation against a fellow Jew to government authority) does not apply in such a case." It also says that "As always where the facts are uncertain, one should use common sense and consultations with experts, both lay and rabbinic, to determine how and when to report such matters to the authorities."
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