Credit where it's due. Well done to the Parents and Friends of Yeshivah Melbourne (PFYM) for criticising the Yeshivah Centre for its recently announced proposed governance restructure. It's critical that the Yeshivah community itself addresses these issues, and it's good to see that at least some of them are indeed doing so. Below is the letter the PFYM sent its members (I cancelled my membership in February 2016). 

Earlier this month I wrote briefly about some of my thoughts regarding the proposed restructure and its impact.

PFYM letter:

BSD
28.4.16
Chol Hamoed Pesach, 20 Nissan 5776.
 
Dear Members,
 
On 20 April, 2016, two days prior to Pesach, the Trustees of the Yeshivah Centre released to the community, documentation detailing the latest version of the proposed restructure of the Yeshivah Centre.
 
That documentation comprised (i) the proposed structure and (ii) explanatory notes, both of which can be found at the following links on the Governance Review Panel website, www.ycgrp.com.au:
 
Proposed Structure: http://media.wix.com/ugd/67a5f5_7bccdef946f74698bd001912bef0a8c5.pdf
 
Explanatory comments on amendments to proposed structure: http://media.wix.com/ugd/67a5f5_1b992be55cdf489697a9a5c0166a8099.pdf
 
Significantly, the Trustees are not inviting comments from the community in response to this latest version of the proposed structure.
 
This latest proposed structure does not adequately or appropriately address a number of fundamental matters critical to the structure and future of the Yeshivah Centre, including but not limited to:

• The Preamble – does not adequately address the objectives of the Yeshivah organization, Halacha and Chabad Chassidus, as exemplified and defined by the Rebbeim of Chabad. That is, to establish a Chabad Chassidic community and offer Jewish education of the highest standard.

• Rabbinic oversight – there remains a critical absence of a Rabbinic Jewish Law compliance committee, of senior qualified Rabbonim (not merely vocational rabbis) to ensure Halachic and Chassidic compliance, and an appropriate mechanism for dispute resolution. The community request for a Rabbinic body has been ignored. The mere presence of some Rabbis on the Boards of the entities in the proposed structures, simply does not address the fundamental requirements in this regard.

• Accountability of the Principal- an educational subcommittee chaired by the Principal, does not provide for accountability of the Principal.

• Conflicts of interest- presented by the permanent presence of an employee and current Trustee on all the boards of YCL, YBRSL, and CIVL, who has been given life tenure. There are fundamental governance and accountability issues with this situation.

• Transparency and clarity- in the election process and the order of appointments of theseboards. For example, the board of YCL is to have three members appointed by CIVL and the board of CIVL is to have three members appointed by YCL – which is to come first? It is a conundrum incapable of resolution according to the latest documentation.

• Lack of democratic election process

• Ongoing involvement and influence of the current Trustees

• A mandatory, documented dispute resolution policy/process should be detailed in documentation evidencing the proposed structure

• Financial accountability and commerciality – eg. the ongoing role of the proposed administration entity, Yeshivah Administration Services -YAS Pty Ltd, is contrary to commerciality principles.

• No delineation between religious and secular arms of the school- The current structure includes a clear structural delineation between the religious (ie Chabad Institutions) and secular educational arms of the school (Yeshivah- Beth Rivkah Colleges). The proposed structure does not stipulate the religious arm of the schools. This could lead to governance and transparency issues. Also, the proposed structure obliges the entity of Chabad Institutions of Victoria Ltd (CIVL) to resource Yeshivah Beth Rivkah Schools Ltd (YBRSL), and this is inappropriate.

• Mandated, specified professions of board members, and named subcommittees- this is inappropriate as specific expertise can be accessed externally as required.

• The document is not signed by the Governance Review Panel (GRP).

• The Trustees’ role in the election process- the Trustees have announced they have that they “will be seeking the written consent of the people who wish to become members of the future incorporated companies shortly in preparation for the elections”. This is contrary to their undertaking that “the management and conduct of the up-coming elections and the tabulation and reporting of the election outcomes will be outsourced to an independent company...”

 
It is most disappointing that the Trustees have chosen to release the documents just prior to Pesach, well aware that the community was preoccupied with Yom Tov preparations and was not in a position to appropriately focus attention to this important document.
 
It is also unacceptable for the Trustees to have ignored the respectful request of 213 people who signed a community petition, requesting the opportunity for further community consultation and comment of the GRP documentation and draft constitution, for the restructuring of the Yeshivah Centre. This documentation needs to be released to the community in the interests of transparency and good governance.
 
Wishing you a Good Yomtov,
 
Lisa de Winter
Elke Goldberg
Cheski New
Avremy Raskin
 
www.parentsandfriendsofyeshivahmelbourne.com

​​I am writing this post having just completed one of the four weekly therapy sessions which I am currently undergoing in Israel.

Earlier this morning I read an article in The Guardian entitled “What does depression feel like? Trust me – you really don’t want to know”. Much of it resonated with me, perhaps more than any other article I’ve read about depression. I set off for my therapy session feeling empowered, positive and happy.

Just before entering my session, a friend forwarded me an email from the Board of Trustees of Yeshivah, which included the updated recommendations of their Governance Review Panel (GRP) and the proposed governance restructure at Yeshivah. I couldn’t get myself to read it at that stage; I preferred to push it off a little. I’ve become accustomed to the negative impact these emails have on me so I try to read them when I’m in a safe space.
​
As I lay on the treatment bed and commenced my session, I spoke to my therapist about how uplifted I had felt this morning, mainly as a result of reading The Guardian article. I then mentioned the Yeshivah email. What happened next was quite unexpected. My heart started beating uncontrollably, my legs were shaking and I was overcome with emotion. All indications had been that the GRP were going to recommend the ongoing involvement of the Trustees in the new governance structure and I knew when I got this email that my worst fears were being confirmed. My body reacted involuntarily to the realisation that after everything that had happened over the last few years, and despite the pleas of so many victims, the seven remaining Trustees of Yeshivah are still refusing to simply go. Rather, they are proposing to formally embed themselves in the running of the Yeshivah Centre for the next few years, and in the case of Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner, for life (as per the previous GRP recommendations, which I didn’t expect would change).

As the session continued I found myself needing to get up, sit on the bed and then walk around to try to calm down. Despite arriving the most relaxed I’ve ever come to any therapy session, this was the most stressed I had ever become. Eventually I returned to the sitting position, the way I sat when I first started these sessions, and I continued talking. Before long I said that I needed to face my fears and I lay down again. My therapist asked why I felt like lying down and instinctively, I said that “I don’t want to let them win”. “They’ve caused me enough pain and suffering that I wanted to fight it and do things on my terms”. I stayed lying down for the rest of the session. I forced myself to proceed the way I wanted to do things as opposed to being emotionally influenced by their actions.

This (re)traumatising experience prompted me to think about and then discuss with my therapist the Redress Scheme that Yeshivah had introduced for victims and the words spoken at the launch of the Scheme which I attended only a few months ago – the words ‘we are sorry’ which victims had waited so long to hear.

I recounted how I had received some of the token ex gratia payment offered under the Redress Scheme and a few months of therapy paid for by Yeshivah but that they had failed to deliver the third important element of redress which they had offered to me and which I had gratefully accepted, namely to provide a personal apology from a member of the Board of Trustees. It struck me that the Yeshivah leadership was happy to give the appearance of addressing the issues exposed at the Royal Commission but this now seems that it was for show. This does not mean that the person reading the apology – or that some of the Yeshivah leaders – didn’t mean what they said. However, when it came to saying sorry without the media watching, the fact is that the Yeshivah leadership (yet again) did not follow through on its commitment. The last I heard about my personal apology was around six weeks ago; that they’d be in touch. Since then, and as noted above, I have received two modest payments but heard nothing about the apology.

After the session I read the Yeshivah email and my intuition was right: the Trustees will continue to play a leadership role at Yeshivah by appointing board members (including conceivably themselves) for the next few years. I suspect that three of the Trustees who currently employ themselves in senior management positions at the Centre plan to continue in those roles too where, as has always been the case, they will account to themselves and their nominees.  

I am writing this difficult, very personal piece, not only to demonstrate the trauma which the Trustees continue to cause me as a result of their continued involvement with the running of Yeshivah, but to stand up for the other victims, some of whom have shared with me that they continue to suffer enormous hurt, pain and suffering as a direct result of the Trustees and their ongoing involvement with Yeshivah.

The Trustees must understand and acknowledge that victims cannot heal while they continue to be involved in any official capacity in the administration or senior management of Yeshivah. Many of us can only really move on when these Trustees, the same people who oversaw Yeshivah throughout much of the period of our abuse, the cover-ups and/or the bullying and shunning of victims, are no longer in positions of authority at Yeshivah. We cannot deal with our suffering while the Trustees carry on as though they do not bear any responsibility in our painful past.

But it is not only victims who are suffering because of the Trustees. It is their entire community who are effectively being held hostage and selfishly denied the opportunity to rebuild from the mess the Trustees have created and to create an environment of which they and their children can be proud.

The proposed preamble to the constitutions of the new Yeshivah entities states that ‘these institutions were established under the direct auspices of the Rebbe, and shall continue to be committed to and inspired by the philosophy and teachings of the Rebbe, who emphasised the vital importance of true love of fellow Jews and having real care and compassion for every individual’. I trust that the irony is clear.
​
There can be no two ways about it. Whenever elections are ultimately held, the Trustees of Yeshivah must do the right thing – unequivocally apologise to their victims and their community, and undertake to immediately cease their involvement in any official leadership capacity with the Yeshivah Centre. Only then, will many of those concerned be able to move forward – not only the Yeshivah victims but the Yeshivah community itself.
 
Who are the Trustees of Yeshivah?
Max New
Hersh Cooper
Rabbi Shimshon Jurkowicz
Nechama Bendet
Shmuel Gurewicz
Rabbi Sholom Mendel Kluwgant
Rabbi Chaim Tzvi Groner

​Having moved away from Australia, I have the luxury of no longer getting caught up with Yeshivah Centre matters. I feel as though I have moved on (not just physically) from the emotional toll of dealing with matters concerning the child sexual abuse at Yeshivah, including the pain and suffering they caused (and in some cases continue to cause) to myself and other victims. I am of the view that I have said and done everything I can to effect positive change within Yeshivah and, if the leadership there still refuses to be accountable for their actions, it will ultimately be up to the appropriate authorities to deal with them. At the very least, it’s now up to their community to finally speak up and if their leadership won’t listen to them, to make their views known to external authorities who will listen.
 
That said, a number of people associated with the Yeshivah Centre have contacted me to draw my attention to its recent Safeguarding Children Organisation accreditation from the Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF). Clearly, they want to highlight the positive developments at Yeshivah and expect me to congratulate them publicly on this achievement. Regrettably, I find myself quite conflicted and unable to heap praise on Yeshivah, as some might like me to do – indeed, as I’d like to do.
 
That is not to say that I do not recognise and acknowledge the enormous effort which has obviously gone in to achieving this accreditation and important milestone. Andrew Blode, a founding director of the accreditation program, is a friend and a great supporter of my work. He continues to do fantastic work in the area of child safety and it gives me confidence to see him presenting the accreditation to Yeshivah. Moreover, it is particularly impressive that Yeshivah is the first school in Australia to have achieved this milestone.
 
Nevertheless, I would question the true significance of this accreditation in the case of Yeshivah and caution against placing too much emphasis on it. Some would say it’s the least they could do (given their appalling history of child sex abuse, cover-ups and intimidation) and would question the ‘voluntariness’ of Yeshivah’s positive actions, which they have proudly and repeatedly sought to highlight. Others might find it offensive and disingenuous to see Yeshivah promote its achievements in child safety while some of its victims continue to complain of bullying and harassment (I should note, not me) and while the Trustees who failed to protect children continue to exercise ultimate control over the institution.
 
Only a few months ago, a victim told an audience at the ‘Silent No More’ event at Yeshivah that he did not believe Yeshivah was a safe place for children. He pointed to the attitudes which still exist towards victims and the way they are treated. Another victim at that event withdrew his participation at the last minute due to feeling intimidated. Although the just and compassionate treatment of past victims is not an explicit standard required for ACF accreditation, it is fair to say that Yeshivah continues to fail in this regard.
 
Further, it is difficult for me to congratulate Yeshivah on child safety initiatives while those Trustees who ran Yeshivah through the years of rampant child sexual abuse, cover-ups and intimidation, continue to run the institution as though nothing ever happened. This, despite their promise to resign their roles by the end of 2015 in the wake of the Royal Commission. More than a year later, not only do these Trustees remain in charge, but they appear determined to implement a governance structure that would have them continuing to exert influence over Yeshivah for many years into the future. The fact remains that they have failed their community – especially so many vulnerable children – and are, in my opinion, unfit to remain in leadership positions. Their ongoing involvement continues to detrimentally impact numerous Yeshivah victims. Additionally, they have installed an Interim Committee of Management who continue their involvement in the Centre, despite having also committing to resigning their roles by the end of 2015 (besides the fact that at least one leading member has lost the confidence of several victims). Aren’t accountability and honesty critical factors to ensuring child safety within an organisation?
 
As we know, policies and accreditations are one thing and they are particularly useful public relations tools for an organisation like Yeshivah who are desperate to point to any changes that have occurred since they were humiliated before a Royal Commission. But if this latest development is to become anything more than a PR exercise, and if the community is to be truly confident that Yeshivah is a safe environment for children, Yeshivah needs to act on the two matters referred to above. Firstly, they need to do more to address the treatment of victims by members of their community and to remove the known aggressors from their midst. And secondly, they need to hold the Trustees to account. Until such time, the rest of the community should be wary of representations by Yeshivah that genuine reform has taken place.
 
Notwithstanding the above caution and criticism, I acknowledge and congratulate Yeshivah on achieving this milestone.