If the claims about sexual abuse in Sanhedria Murcheved are false - what about the Nachlaot Scandal?

Guest post

This is an article that I wrote around 10 days before the article "

3 chareidim allegedly invented the story of the Sanhedria Murcheved satanic abuse ring - to make money for themsevles!"

It is surprising how the media and the general public have still not come to realize that the Nachlaot Scandal was also a false story. In the U.S. when similar false accusations took place in the 1980's and 1990's, both the media and the public came to a realization after a short while that what was occurring was a case of mass hysteria and a moral panic. People saw the injustices that were taking place and people rose to the occasion to put things right. Isn't it about time for that to occur in Israel also???

Nachlaot and False Accusations

It has already been over five years since the first mass accusations of a Pedophile Ring operating in the neighborhood of Nachlaot. Many bloggers, newspapers, Rabbis, and various individuals jumped on the bandwagon to publicize the terrible atrocities that were supposedly taking place there. Arrests were made. Some were let out after nine or ten days for "lack of evidence". Others went to trial. Of the three that went to trial, two were convicted; one was sentenced to nine years in jail and the other to fifteen. The third person was acquitted after spending almost three years in jail. His suffering did not stop with the acquittal. He is now fighting to keep his apartment, which the neighborhood is trying to take away from him. Although the judges in his case told him to return to his apartment, his ex-neighbors "advised" him to stay away. He has been basically homeless since being let out of jail.

The accusations did not stop in Nachlaot. There were similar allegations in many other Jerusalem neighborhoods. In Sanhedria Murchevet, the accusations went on for over a year before a Rabbi in that neighborhood decided to go public with "what was going on".

Now, all is quiet. I have not seen any mention of Nachlaot or Sanhedria Murchevet for over half a year, except one mention of speeches being given in the United States in the Ultra-Orthodox communities to collect money for therapy for the children. What is most striking is the quiet. Two people sit in jail for totally ridiculous claims. Countless others are still suffering from being falsely accused.

In America, in the 1980s and 1990s when similar ridiculous claims were made, various individuals of stature and position stepped in and made their voices heard. Lawyers of stature offered their services free of charge to the falsely accused. Efforts were made to release the falsely imprisoned. Yet here in Israel, there is utter silence. Rabbis of stature and position have stood up for the poor children against the accused. Beit Dins have given psak without inquiring into the facts from both sides. Enough to hear from one or two Rabbis that atrocities that were committed against innocent children to give a psak against certain persons. Never mind that these Rabbis were spoon-fed by hysterical parents facts that were not facts and untruths that were claimed to be true. Articles were written by investigative journalists, who went to investigate the terrible atrocities that were supposedly taking place in order to report on them, but found that the "facts" had no basis to stand on.

Yes all is quiet now. The poor children have gone through therapy that was kindly funded by so many people. They are on the way to recovery though it is unlikely they will ever really recover until the truth comes out and until these families that think their children were molested by a cult, a pedophile ring or whatever they think, get the therapy they need to come to the truth of the damage they caused through false accusations.