Two Israeli rabbis sexually assaulted students for years: Report

ANKARA

An Israeli rabbinical court ruled against two Yeshiva heads for sexually abusing students for years at the Sephardic yeshiva Be’er Yehuda in Jerusalem, Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported.

The judges of the private Haredi rabbinical court ruled that rabbis Yitzhak and Moshe Tufik harmed the boys using “severe things that cannot be written down”, noting that such “grave acts are continuing”.

“Yitzhak and Moshe Tufik are a serious danger to the young men,” the rabbinical court stated in the ruling. “These are dozens of young men, over many years, who were harmed by them in a harsh manner by severe things that cannot be written down, and even now these grave acts are continuing,” the judges said.

Haaretz said the court based its ruling on confessions of ten graduates which the court said is supported by evidence such as letters and recordings.

The court also banned the two rabbis from getting in contact with youths and warned those aiding them in covering up their crimes of bearing a “heavy” sin.

Moreover, the students will no longer be allowed to attend the yeshiva while those harmed before were encouraged to soon file their complaints at the police station.

According to Haaretz, Yitzhak, the older brother, is accused of more grave acts than his brother Moshe.

The judges did not give a hearing to the yeshiva brothers' objection, the newspaper said, noting that one of the brothers said he denied all the allegations filed against them despite several official complaints having been filed against them in the past few days.

Speaking to Haaretz, Moshe Tufik rejected the rabbinical court ruling as “a kangaroo court” saying they were not accorded a hearing.