ISRAEL
Jerusalem Post
In the national-religious sector, as in any other closed, faith-based community, scandal – particularly sexual scandal – is often dealt with in accordance with a warped and ultimately self-destructive dynamic.
Community leaders expend much energy maintaining secrecy and protecting reputations. Victims of sexual harassment are not only denied justice, they are often placed under extraordinary social pressure to discourage them from filing police charges – particularly when the suspected sexual offender happens to be a high-profile community leader.
Matters are often settled behind closed doors because the victim has been intimidated into remaining quiet or because the wider community wishes to prevent the publication of a scandal that might besmirch the entire national-religious sector.
The Takana Forum was created within the religious-Zionist community to combat this self-destructive pattern.
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