David Shasha is a major progressive intellectual leader of the American Sephardic community. He sends out a weekly email newsletter with articles of interest related to Jewish issues and the Middle East. His latest missive contains the following passage, relevant here because of yet more evidence of the Jewish establishment arguing it should be somehow separate, or even superior, to the rest of society (though other faiths are equally culpable):
I would like to direct our readers to a shocking and disgusting article that appeared in this week’s New York Times.
The article discusses a battle being waged by local New York religious groups to squash attempts by the government to expand the laws regarding filing claims of Child Sexual Abuse. In a stunning turn, the religious groups are lobbying against the legislation. Prominent in the list of groups opposing the attempt to protect children is the Brooklyn Sephardic community.
Having had my own bitter personal experience with the leaders of the community relating to the psychological abuse of my own children, none of this comes as any surprise.
The protection of children and families and the sanctity of Jewish law is of no concern to these leaders and rabbis. In a post-Matloub Abadi world, the moral anarchy of the community seems to know no bounds. What would ordinarily appear to us as “Hillul Hashem,” a profanation of God’s name, is for these people a badge of honor. I am certain that the only thing they see as wrong here is the fact that their evil deeds are being publicized in the newspaper. Within the confines of the community here in Brooklyn such immoral actions are not only deemed proper, they are enforced within the social structure of the community – those who dare to speak out against them are shunned and persecuted.
It is a truly shameful episode, not only for my own community and those who are forced to suffer the damage inflicted on their families by the rabbis and leaders, but for the larger religious community in New York which has to deal with such a disgusting set of leaders.
To add insult to injury, I direct your attention to another article involving the same group in the Brooklyn Sephardic community which provides even further confirmation of its skewed values.