Angry Rabbi threatens legal action against Jewish leaders
ABC
Simon Santow
12 February 2015
Transcript
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: A senior Sydney Rabbi has accused Jewish community leaders of defaming him and misrepresenting his views.
Rabbi Yosef Feldman yesterday resigned as a director on the board of management of The Yeshiva Centre in the city's Eastern Suburbs.
He was described as holding repugnant views out of step with most Jews after he gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse.
At the commission he spoke at length about being lenient towards "inactive" or reformed paedophiles.
But the Rabbi has told AM he only resigned to save the reputation of the Yeshiva, and that he's done very little if anything wrong.
Rabbi Yosef Feldman is speaking here to AM's Simon Santow.
YOSEF FELDMAN: I believe that everyone has just been carried away by the hype without really knowing the facts and I've notified everyone about that, that I think there's a great defamation of myself. I plan to take action.
SIMON SANTOW: What do you mean by a defamation?
YOSEF FELDMAN: Because it was reported that I held that it's not wrong to touch genitals, for example, for adults to touch genitals towards kids and that's simply false. I said clearly it's very, very wrong even just to massage - not talking about backs, lying down and massaging -which is outrageous and it just suited the Jewish organisation to be able to go out against me to make themselves look good.
It came out as though I'm lenient on paedophiles, which is simply false.
I'm certainly not lenient on paedophiles. I was just... the way they understood it was, because I spoke at the royal commission with regard to a certain person that I felt he shouldn't be jailed because he had repented and I feel that someone who repented, the sentence should be different - not that he shouldn't be punished. And actually, the judge agreed with me and didn't jail him so everyone's making a whole, because of that.
SIMON SANTOW: Rabbi, you told the royal commission that publicity about child sex abuse encourages people who may not be real victims or may want to be considered heroes to go to the police. Do you regret saying that?
YOSEF FELDMAN: No, I have that opinion, that hype isn't necessarily good. I do really have that opinion and I know that a colleague rabbi of mine was accused because of all this hype and ultimately, ultimately he wasn't charged and the police decided not to charge him. He was acquitted.
But I have seen that sometimes there could be exaggerations amongst people who are abused, and especially when there's a whole hype, I think it doesn't really do it much good even with regards to the victims who are prepared to come forward.
SIMON SANTOW: The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies is just one organisation that has had a big go at you over the last couple of days. They said that you are unfit to hold any position of authority within the community.
YOSEF FELDMAN: Yeah, that's what they say. I feel that the leaders of these organisations that came out against me are unfit to be leaders. They haven't read the transcripts but they only came out after they gave the pronouncement. My lawyers say it's full on defamation.
I think every single one of them that came out with an announcement is unfit to be the leader of that organisation.
SIMON SANTOW: It's not just one body that said this. I mean, I can run through all the different people who have said it.
YOSEF FELDMAN: They all got caught by the hype, you know, it's very easy especially in this controversial issue to want to make a sacrificial lamb, sort of thing, because they would stand good in the eyes of the community - both the Jewish and secular community.
And that's very unfortunate from Jewish leaders. You would think that they would be a bit more professional and proper and especially when you're attacking someone else. And I hope they retract very soon and if they don't we'll be taking action to ensure that this happens because it really is outrageous defamation of myself. There's been unbelievable, terrible abuse hurled at me in social media and all sorts of places, even with threats and death threats and all sorts of things based really on rubbish.
SIMON SANTOW: Well, if it is rubbish, if it is a misrepresentation, why did you resign from your position as a director on the board of management of the Yeshiva Centre in Sydney?
YOSEF FELDMAN: Because perception by the public is unfortunately more important than the truth. So you know, people perceive things, and until my name is cleared by - either any of these media outlets retracting which I'm trying to get them to, even, you know, these heads of organisations. It's very hard for people to come out with something to retract unless they're forced to and that's why I'll have to take legal action. People just won't believe me and it's not good for the Yeshiva organisation, you know, that I'm still there.
People want to see blood, you know, when such things happen so I did it really for the sake of the organisation, for the Jewish community, for the perception that's out there.
SIMON SANTOW: Did they ask you to resign?
YOSEF FELDMAN: No one asked me to resign.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: That's Rabbi Yosef Feldman speaking there to AM's Simon Santow.
Originally published at ABC.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: A senior Sydney Rabbi has accused Jewish community leaders of defaming him and misrepresenting his views.
Rabbi Yosef Feldman yesterday resigned as a director on the board of management of The Yeshiva Centre in the city's Eastern Suburbs.
He was described as holding repugnant views out of step with most Jews after he gave evidence at the Royal Commission into Child Sex Abuse.
At the commission he spoke at length about being lenient towards "inactive" or reformed paedophiles.
But the Rabbi has told AM he only resigned to save the reputation of the Yeshiva, and that he's done very little if anything wrong.
Rabbi Yosef Feldman is speaking here to AM's Simon Santow.
YOSEF FELDMAN: I believe that everyone has just been carried away by the hype without really knowing the facts and I've notified everyone about that, that I think there's a great defamation of myself. I plan to take action.
SIMON SANTOW: What do you mean by a defamation?
YOSEF FELDMAN: Because it was reported that I held that it's not wrong to touch genitals, for example, for adults to touch genitals towards kids and that's simply false. I said clearly it's very, very wrong even just to massage - not talking about backs, lying down and massaging -which is outrageous and it just suited the Jewish organisation to be able to go out against me to make themselves look good.
It came out as though I'm lenient on paedophiles, which is simply false.
I'm certainly not lenient on paedophiles. I was just... the way they understood it was, because I spoke at the royal commission with regard to a certain person that I felt he shouldn't be jailed because he had repented and I feel that someone who repented, the sentence should be different - not that he shouldn't be punished. And actually, the judge agreed with me and didn't jail him so everyone's making a whole, because of that.
SIMON SANTOW: Rabbi, you told the royal commission that publicity about child sex abuse encourages people who may not be real victims or may want to be considered heroes to go to the police. Do you regret saying that?
YOSEF FELDMAN: No, I have that opinion, that hype isn't necessarily good. I do really have that opinion and I know that a colleague rabbi of mine was accused because of all this hype and ultimately, ultimately he wasn't charged and the police decided not to charge him. He was acquitted.
But I have seen that sometimes there could be exaggerations amongst people who are abused, and especially when there's a whole hype, I think it doesn't really do it much good even with regards to the victims who are prepared to come forward.
SIMON SANTOW: The New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies is just one organisation that has had a big go at you over the last couple of days. They said that you are unfit to hold any position of authority within the community.
YOSEF FELDMAN: Yeah, that's what they say. I feel that the leaders of these organisations that came out against me are unfit to be leaders. They haven't read the transcripts but they only came out after they gave the pronouncement. My lawyers say it's full on defamation.
I think every single one of them that came out with an announcement is unfit to be the leader of that organisation.
SIMON SANTOW: It's not just one body that said this. I mean, I can run through all the different people who have said it.
YOSEF FELDMAN: They all got caught by the hype, you know, it's very easy especially in this controversial issue to want to make a sacrificial lamb, sort of thing, because they would stand good in the eyes of the community - both the Jewish and secular community.
And that's very unfortunate from Jewish leaders. You would think that they would be a bit more professional and proper and especially when you're attacking someone else. And I hope they retract very soon and if they don't we'll be taking action to ensure that this happens because it really is outrageous defamation of myself. There's been unbelievable, terrible abuse hurled at me in social media and all sorts of places, even with threats and death threats and all sorts of things based really on rubbish.
SIMON SANTOW: Well, if it is rubbish, if it is a misrepresentation, why did you resign from your position as a director on the board of management of the Yeshiva Centre in Sydney?
YOSEF FELDMAN: Because perception by the public is unfortunately more important than the truth. So you know, people perceive things, and until my name is cleared by - either any of these media outlets retracting which I'm trying to get them to, even, you know, these heads of organisations. It's very hard for people to come out with something to retract unless they're forced to and that's why I'll have to take legal action. People just won't believe me and it's not good for the Yeshiva organisation, you know, that I'm still there.
People want to see blood, you know, when such things happen so I did it really for the sake of the organisation, for the Jewish community, for the perception that's out there.
SIMON SANTOW: Did they ask you to resign?
YOSEF FELDMAN: No one asked me to resign.
MICHAEL BRISSENDEN: That's Rabbi Yosef Feldman speaking there to AM's Simon Santow.
Originally published at ABC.