Closure and disclosure: surviving abuse
The Modern Mann
Interview with Olly Mann
27 March 2018
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Manny Waks was 11 years old when he was first sexually abused.
Raised in the ultra-Orthodox sect of Judaism known as Chabad, he lacked the education or vocabulary to understand what was going on.
By the time he was studying for his bar mitzvah, he was molested by a second perpetrator.
Both men were members of staff at his school - the Yeshiva Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
In this searingly honest, compelling and sometimes angry conversation with Olly, he recalls how he was groomed, abused, disbelieved, and shunned - and recounts the moment he decided, aged 18, to turn his back on Hasidic Judaism for ever - and join the Israeli Defense Force...
Last year, Manny confronted his first abuser, Velvel Serebryanski, in New York. In 2013, Manny's second abuser, David Cyprys, was sentenced to eight years for sexually abusing Manny and eight other boys.
Manny is now CEO of Kol v'Oz, established in Israel in 2016 to prevent child sexual abuse in Jewish communities globally. His book, ‘Who Gave You Permission?’, is out now.
Originally published at The Modern Mann.
Manny Waks was 11 years old when he was first sexually abused.
Raised in the ultra-Orthodox sect of Judaism known as Chabad, he lacked the education or vocabulary to understand what was going on.
By the time he was studying for his bar mitzvah, he was molested by a second perpetrator.
Both men were members of staff at his school - the Yeshiva Centre in Melbourne, Australia.
In this searingly honest, compelling and sometimes angry conversation with Olly, he recalls how he was groomed, abused, disbelieved, and shunned - and recounts the moment he decided, aged 18, to turn his back on Hasidic Judaism for ever - and join the Israeli Defense Force...
Last year, Manny confronted his first abuser, Velvel Serebryanski, in New York. In 2013, Manny's second abuser, David Cyprys, was sentenced to eight years for sexually abusing Manny and eight other boys.
Manny is now CEO of Kol v'Oz, established in Israel in 2016 to prevent child sexual abuse in Jewish communities globally. His book, ‘Who Gave You Permission?’, is out now.
Originally published at The Modern Mann.