Israel Rabbinate Backtracks on Decision to Review "Peeping" Rabbi's Conversions

By Judy Maltz
Haaretz
October 21, 2014

http://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-news/.premium-1.621990

Responding to strong international condemnation, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel has backtracked on its decision to review conversions performed by Rabbi Barry Freundel, the American rabbi charged with secretly filming women in his synagogue’s ritual bath.

In a statement published Tuesday afternoon, the Chief Rabbinate spokesman Ziv Maor announced: “After a thorough reviewing of the various aspects of Jewish law on the issue, the Chief Rabbinate of Israel now announces that past conversions of Rabbi Freundel will not be affected by recent events. Anyone with a conversion certificate from Rabbi Freundel will not face special problems when approaching the Chief Rabbinate with questions of marriage or any other questions.”

On Monday, Haaretz reported that the Chief Rabbinate of Israel was looking into conversions performed during the period when Freundel allegedly had hidden cameras installed in the shower stalls near the synagogue’s mikveh. It had no intention, though, of reviewing conversions overseen by Freundel prior to then. The first accusations against Freundel began to surface in 2012.

The Rabbinical Council of America (RCA) – an umbrella organization for the Modern Orthodox movement in the United States – announced on Monday that all conversions ever performed by Freundel were valid. The announcement created intense pressure on the Chief Rabbinate to back down and not interfere with decisions taken by the religious Jewish establishment abroad.