In Sydney, Despite Horrific Child Sex Abuse Scandal, It's Business As Usual for Chabad – and for a Local Politician

Failed Messiah
April 6, 2015

http://failedmessiah.typepad.com/failed_messiahcom/2015/04/in-sydney-despite-horrific-child-sex-abuse-scandal-its-business-as-usual-for-chabad-and-for-a-local-234.html


After the Australian Royal Commission hearings into widespread coverups of child sex abuse in Chabad institutions, including those Chabad institutions that Rabbi Pinchus Feldman heads in Sydney, exposed horrific behavior by Chabad rabbis – including Feldman himself – one might think politicians would be loathe to be seen with Feldman and the other Chabad rabbis – but you would be wrong.

After the Australian Royal Commission hearings into widespread coverups of child sex abuse in Chabad institutions, including those Chabad institutions that Rabbi Pinchus Feldman heads in Sydney, exposed horrific behavior by Chabad rabbis – including Feldman himself – one might think politicians would be loathe to be seen with Feldman and the other Chabad rabbis (some of whom may be indicted after the Royal Commission releases its official findings in May).

But if you thought that, you would be wrong.

If you thought politicians were anything more than their caricature as craven, self-serving, power- and money-hungry creatures, think again. Because here is a PR photo released by Rabbi Pinchus Feldman Chabad organization based in Sydney, Australia. The caption is his own. Note the smiling, beaming face of the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice for the Australian state of New South Wales (the state Sydney is in, like Los Angeles is in California):

Rabbi Pinchus Feldman OAM, Regional Director of Chabad NSW, sells the Chametz to The Hon. David Clarke MLC, NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, in the presence of Rabbi Eli Feldman, Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of NSW. (Caption and photo as published by Shturem.org.)

What do you think the child sex abuse victims whose lives were made immeasurably worse by Rabbi Pinchus Feldman's coverups/errors think about this?

Feldman could very well be indicted. Why is the Parliamentary Secretary for Justice (of all people) standing next to him and happily smiling? Isn't that problematic?

What this shows is, despite the best intentions of the Royal Commission, politicians will be politicians and kids are vulnerable and will be hurt. And once they are hurt, the men like Feldman who ignored or covered up the abuse won't suffer because of it.

If Australia wants its fight against child sex abuse and its coverups to be taken serious, men like David Clarke MLC, the NSW Parliamentary Secretary for Justice, have be drummed out of public life once and for all.