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	Israeli Kids Sexually Abused by NJ Rabbi: Prosecutors By Mary Murphy Wpix August 18, 2011 http://www.wpix.com/news/wpix-teaneck-rabbi-molestation,0,3188584.story TEANECK, NJ (PIX11)— Rabbi Uzi Rivlin of Teaneck, New Jersey was running a scholarship program that brought impoverished, Israeli boys and girls to the United States for a summer respite from strife at home. But Bergen County prosecutors say the 63-year-old married father betrayed the children's trust, sexually abusing at least two, 13-year-old Israeli boys at his Teaneck home, when they came here to spend recent summers. "We're all pretty shocked, because it's totally inconsistent with what we know about him," said Rabbi David Holtz, director of Congregation Beth Abraham in Tarrytown, New York, where Rivlin has worked for many years teaching fifth graders about Israel. "His life's work is to help kids; He cares very deeply for the kids, has saved kids' lives in Israel," said Holtz. But two boys filed separate reports with Israeli authorities, claiming Rivlin had "touched them in a sexual manner" when they stayed at his home on Lindbergh Boulevard in Teaneck. One boy was here in the summer of 2009 and the other stayed in the house during the summer of 2010. The FBI was notified and turned the information over to the Teaneck Police Department. Rivlin was arrested Tuesday and charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual contact and endangering the welfare of a child. The boys were brought here as part of a program called the Scholarship Fund for the Advancement of Children in Israel, which Rivlin partly sponsored. Another Teaneck rabbi, Moshe Jordan Yasgur, did some work with the program several years ago. "I find it difficult to believe the accusations," Yasgur told PIX 11. "He has done a lot of good work. He's helped victims of terror -- clothed them, fed them, been their advocate." Rabbi Holtz from Beth Abraham told PIX 11 some of the children came to the U.S. for respite from the Israeli town of Sderot, which was frequently getting shelled during conflicts with Palestinian-controlled Gaza. The children stayed with local families and also enjoyed fun at summer camps here. But now Bergen County prosecutors say at least two of the boys were further traumatized here in the U.S. by sexual abuse. Rivlin was being held at the Bergen County Jail on $175,000 bail. No one answered the door at his house on Lindbergh Boulevard Wednesday. One associate told PIX 11 Rivlin has a number of grown children. Now, investigators are working to determine if Uzi Rivlin victimized any other young people--under the guise of helping them.
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