In 2009, Yona Weinberg was convicted of numerous sexual offenses against children in the US. He served around a year in prison and was designated a Level 3 sex offender (high risk of repeat offense and threat to public safety). It has been reported that, in 2014, when police investigated* further allegations against Weinberg, he left** to Israel. US-based victims' advocate, Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, publicly alerted the Israeli community of Weinberg's presence there. Weinberg launched civil action for defamation against Rabbi Horowitz. See a timeline regarding this case.
The trial commences this week in Jerusalem, Israel. We strongly encourage the public to attend this case in support of all of us - Rabbi Horowitz, victims' advocates, victims/survivors of child sexual abuse and our children today. If you can't attend, please raise public awareness regarding this case.
Details as follows:
Date: Thursday 22 March, 2018
Time: 9:30am
Address: Jerusalem Civil Courthouse, 1 Shne'ur Kheshin St, Jerusalem
I proudly stand with my dear friend and colleague, Rabbi Horowitz, and will do everything I can to ensure I am there to support him in person.
As this matter is currently before the court, I am not in a position to make any further comment at this stage. I will endeavour to keep the public updated via this blog post and/or the Kol v'Oz Facebook page. Please do not post any potentially defamatory comment or it will be deleted.
UPDATE (18 March): **Weinberg contacted me via email to inform me that he did not flee from the US to Israel, so I've amended the first paragraph accordingly to avoid a potential escalation (from 'fled' to 'left').
UPDATE (18 March): *Weinberg contacted me again, where, among other things, he claimed that there was no further police investigation. Therefore I have added the words 'It has been reported that' in the first paragraph, as well as an additional link to the Timeline link, where it reports about the investigation (and the alleged fleeing from the US to Israel).
UPDATE (22 March): At today's hearing, the trial was set for 25 October 2018 at 10am. The protocol from today's hearing is available below (Hebrew). Below that are two further documents that have been submitted by both parties. Weinberg has submitted an email correspondence, apparently from an NYPD detective claiming that Weinberg left the US and did not flee, and that there are no outstanding warrants against Weinberg. By contrast, Rabbi Horowitz has submitted a letter on official NYPD letterhead from an NYPD detective claiming that Weinberg is indeed wanted in NY, and will be arrested upon his return there. Please note that the documents below may not be view-able on a smart-phone (only on a laptop/computer).
The trial commences this week in Jerusalem, Israel. We strongly encourage the public to attend this case in support of all of us - Rabbi Horowitz, victims' advocates, victims/survivors of child sexual abuse and our children today. If you can't attend, please raise public awareness regarding this case.
Details as follows:
Date: Thursday 22 March, 2018
Time: 9:30am
Address: Jerusalem Civil Courthouse, 1 Shne'ur Kheshin St, Jerusalem
I proudly stand with my dear friend and colleague, Rabbi Horowitz, and will do everything I can to ensure I am there to support him in person.
As this matter is currently before the court, I am not in a position to make any further comment at this stage. I will endeavour to keep the public updated via this blog post and/or the Kol v'Oz Facebook page. Please do not post any potentially defamatory comment or it will be deleted.
UPDATE (18 March): **Weinberg contacted me via email to inform me that he did not flee from the US to Israel, so I've amended the first paragraph accordingly to avoid a potential escalation (from 'fled' to 'left').
UPDATE (18 March): *Weinberg contacted me again, where, among other things, he claimed that there was no further police investigation. Therefore I have added the words 'It has been reported that' in the first paragraph, as well as an additional link to the Timeline link, where it reports about the investigation (and the alleged fleeing from the US to Israel).
UPDATE (22 March): At today's hearing, the trial was set for 25 October 2018 at 10am. The protocol from today's hearing is available below (Hebrew). Below that are two further documents that have been submitted by both parties. Weinberg has submitted an email correspondence, apparently from an NYPD detective claiming that Weinberg left the US and did not flee, and that there are no outstanding warrants against Weinberg. By contrast, Rabbi Horowitz has submitted a letter on official NYPD letterhead from an NYPD detective claiming that Weinberg is indeed wanted in NY, and will be arrested upon his return there. Please note that the documents below may not be view-able on a smart-phone (only on a laptop/computer).
Rabbi Yakov Horowitz & Manny Waks in court on 22 March 2018
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