AUSTRALIA
Haaretz
Rabbi Zvi Telsner, the head of the Yeshivah Centre in Melbourne, Australia, resigned under pressure on Tuesday over his handling of a child sex abuse scandal, Australia’s ABC reported.
Telsner testified before a royal commission investigating the affair in February, and amongst other things told them he thought gay people and pedophiles could be cured through therapy, as well as counseling and spiritual guidance. The royal commission was examining how Jewish schools had responded to accusations of sexual abuse of children since the 1980s.
Telsner apologized to the Yeshivah community, as well as friends and supporters in a letter announcing his immediate resignation on Tuesday. He had allegedly called the sexual abuse victims “crazy.”
Telsner said he endorses the Yeshiva Centre’s values, policy and message of support and compassion for child sexual abuse victims and their families, according to Australian ABC. “I recognize that my conduct towards victims and their families did not demonstrate these values or behavior to the extent necessary of a rabbi in my position,” he said in the letter.
The royal commission uncovered a culture of ignoring issues within the Yeshiva Centre, a lack of knowledge about child abuse and of sympathy for victims assaulted between the 1980s and 2010. It also revealed a teacher and other men linked with the school who were known to be or suspected of being child abusers were allowed to make contact with children.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.