Hasidic Rabbi Advocate for Sex Abuse Victims Attacked in Brooklyn

The Jta
December 12, 2012

http://www.jta.org/news/article/2012/12/12/3114271/hasidic-rabbi-advocate-for-sex-abuse-victims-attacked-in-brooklyn

(JTA) -- A Chasidic rabbi who advocates for victims of sexual abuse in the haredi Orthodox community was injured when a chemical was thrown in his face.

Rabbi Nuchem Rosenberg on Tuesday was walking down the street in the Williamsburg neighborhood of Brooklyn, where he lives, when a man approached him from behind, tapped him on his shoulder and then threw a chemical believed to be bleach in his face, according to reports.

Rosenberg, 62, was treated for burns on his face, around his eyes and in his left eye. He is expected to make a full recovery.

The rabbi runs a website and blog for sex-abuse victims, as well as a telephone hot line.

Rosenberg told New York media that he believes the attack was in retaliation for his support of the now 18-year-old female victim of Nechemya Weberman, a prominent member of the local Satmar Chasidic community who was convicted on Monday of 59 counts of sexual abuse. The woman said that she was abused when she was between the ages of 12 and 15 and went to Weberman for counseling.

Police have not yet caught Rosenberg's attacker, though they reportedly have identified a suspect.

On Monday, Rosenberg had accused another rabbi of abusing young boys in a blog post on his website, according to the New York Post.