Case of Rabbi Ze'ev Sultanovitch
Teacher, Merkaz Harav Yeshiva - Jerusalem, Israel
Kiryat Moshe - Jerusalem, Israel
Wohl Torah Center - Jerusalem, Israel
Orot Yeshiva - Jerusalem, Israel
Har Bracha Yeshiva - Har Bracha, Israel
Wohl Torah Center - Jerusalem, Israel
Orot Yeshiva - Jerusalem, Israel
Har Bracha Yeshiva - Har Bracha, Israel
Ze'ev Sultanovitch was accused of sexually molesting a number of adult yeshiva students at the prestigious Merkaz Harav Yeshiva, which is considered the flagship of the national religious yeshivas (which is located at the Wohl Torah Center, and at the Orot yeshiva in Jerusalem and at the yeshiva in Har Bracha).
The police acted after receiving four complaints from yeshiva students between the ages of 20 and 30 who allegedly fell victim to Sultanovitch, a 40-year-old bachelor who teaches Jewish philosophy at Merkaz Harav.
According to their testimony, Sultanovitch would carry out his abuse in his apartment in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, across the street from the yeshiva or in his office. Sultanovitch has apparently lived alone since his mother died two years ago.
The police estimate that 10 students suffered sexual abuse from the teacher, although some have not filed a complaint. The police are also investigating whether Sultanovitch abused students at other yeshivas too.
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Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
2000
- Flagship national religious yeshiva reels as teacher accused of molesting students (01/12/2000)
- Rabbi probed over sexual abuse (01/12/2000)
- Police to look into threats said to be made in yeshiva abuse case (01/13/2000)
- Yeshiva teacher accused of sex crimes is released for now (01/18/2000)
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Flagship national religious yeshiva reels as teacher accused of molesting students
By Avirama Golan
Ha'aretz Daily - January 12, 2000
Graduates of the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem were in shock yesterday. Ze'ev Sultanovitch, a 40-year bachelor they all considered a uniquely sensitive and fragile prodigy, stands accused of sexually molesting a number of adult yeshiva students at the prestigious yeshiva, which is considered by most to be the flagship of religious Zionist yeshivas."True, he's a bachelor, but he is very gifted and intelligent and bashful," said one. "He is self-educated and has very broad horizons. I can't believe anything like this could happen, and if it did, it in no way resembles the case of Kopolovitch in Netiv Meir," he added, referring to the case of a rabbi who was found guilty of molesting teenage students at a Jerusalem yeshiva high school. Opinions at Merkaz Harav are divided. It is not clear what they know at the yeshiva and what is only panicky rumor.
Merkaz Harav is not unlike other yeshivas in its study atmosphere and the relationship between students. About 1,000 adult students sit at tables or stand at their shtenders (lecterns), and the warmth and friendship among them is palpable. Like in other closed male societies where young men spend days and nights together far from home - the army, or football teams - yeshiva students also permit themselves to behave with a certain intimacy that to an onlooker may seem exaggerated or even somewhat sexual in nature.
Completely unrelated to this norm, those who leave their yeshiva, and especially those who turn their backs on religion - whatever brand it may be, national religious or ultra-Orthodox - often speak among themselves of irregular behavior on the part of a counselor or yeshiva employee, and sometimes even a teacher.
Stories like this make the rounds, and recently they have been gaining more legitimacy. Those who tell such stories, even if they themselves suffered this type of experience, are a little less ashamed. Confessions of the formerly religious sometimes reveal stories of intimate contact between friends at yeshiva that may spring only from the confusion of youth seeking a little warmth. The closed male environment, the rushing hormones and the taboo Puritan yeshiva atmosphere do not make life easy for these young men. Rabbis and yeshiva heads are no longer shocked when they hear of such cases, but God forbid they should be spoken about out loud, to say nothing of going to the police. Netiv Meir, the jewel in the crown of national religious yeshiva high schools, has not yet succeeded in shaking off the stigma and shame that have dogged it since the Kopolovitch case.
One way or another, the yeshiva graduates were confused yesterday and did not know what to think. No matter what happens in the end, they say, for the yeshiva and its head, the situation is very badSee full story on page 3
By Avirama Golan
Ha'aretz Daily - January 12, 2000
Graduates of the Merkaz Harav Yeshiva in Jerusalem were in shock yesterday. Ze'ev Sultanovitch, a 40-year bachelor they all considered a uniquely sensitive and fragile prodigy, stands accused of sexually molesting a number of adult yeshiva students at the prestigious yeshiva, which is considered by most to be the flagship of religious Zionist yeshivas."True, he's a bachelor, but he is very gifted and intelligent and bashful," said one. "He is self-educated and has very broad horizons. I can't believe anything like this could happen, and if it did, it in no way resembles the case of Kopolovitch in Netiv Meir," he added, referring to the case of a rabbi who was found guilty of molesting teenage students at a Jerusalem yeshiva high school. Opinions at Merkaz Harav are divided. It is not clear what they know at the yeshiva and what is only panicky rumor.
Merkaz Harav is not unlike other yeshivas in its study atmosphere and the relationship between students. About 1,000 adult students sit at tables or stand at their shtenders (lecterns), and the warmth and friendship among them is palpable. Like in other closed male societies where young men spend days and nights together far from home - the army, or football teams - yeshiva students also permit themselves to behave with a certain intimacy that to an onlooker may seem exaggerated or even somewhat sexual in nature.
Completely unrelated to this norm, those who leave their yeshiva, and especially those who turn their backs on religion - whatever brand it may be, national religious or ultra-Orthodox - often speak among themselves of irregular behavior on the part of a counselor or yeshiva employee, and sometimes even a teacher.
Stories like this make the rounds, and recently they have been gaining more legitimacy. Those who tell such stories, even if they themselves suffered this type of experience, are a little less ashamed. Confessions of the formerly religious sometimes reveal stories of intimate contact between friends at yeshiva that may spring only from the confusion of youth seeking a little warmth. The closed male environment, the rushing hormones and the taboo Puritan yeshiva atmosphere do not make life easy for these young men. Rabbis and yeshiva heads are no longer shocked when they hear of such cases, but God forbid they should be spoken about out loud, to say nothing of going to the police. Netiv Meir, the jewel in the crown of national religious yeshiva high schools, has not yet succeeded in shaking off the stigma and shame that have dogged it since the Kopolovitch case.
One way or another, the yeshiva graduates were confused yesterday and did not know what to think. No matter what happens in the end, they say, for the yeshiva and its head, the situation is very badSee full story on page 3
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Rabbi probed over sexual abuse
By Nina Pinto
Ha'aretz Daily - January 12, 2000
Jerusalem police are investigating suspicions of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Ze'ev Sultanovitch, a teacher at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, considered the flagship of the national religious yeshivas.
The police acted after receiving four complaints from yeshiva students between the ages of 20 and 30 who allegedly fell victim to Sultanovitch, a 40-year-old bachelor who teaches Jewish philosophy at Merkaz Harav, located at the Wohl Torah Center, and at the Orot yeshiva in Jerusalem and at the yeshiva in Har Bracha.
He is considered a genius in his field and an influential educator. He was recently dismissed from the yeshiva in Gush Etzion, apparently following rumors concerning complaints from students. The affair came to light following a conversation three students held among themselves, during which they discovered that all three had suffered from the sexual advances Sultanovitch forced upon them.
The teacher, known to them as Rabbi Sultanovitch, allegedly stroked the students and fondled their genitals. The police also received a similar complaint from an older student.
The three young men decided to appeal to an educational counselor, Nina Kalish, to ask her to help them approach the head of the yeshiva in hopes of putting an end to the sexual abuse.
According to their testimony, Sultanovitch would carry out his abuse in his apartment in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, across the street from the yeshiva or in his office. Sultanovitch has apparently lived alone since his mother died two years ago.
The police estimate that 10 students suffered sexual abuse from the teacher, although some have not filed a complaint. The police are also investigating whether Sultanovitch abused students at other yeshivas too.
As revealed yesterday on Israel radio, three students decided to complain a few months ago and sent an anonymous letter to the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, a former chief rabbi of Israel, in which they described the abuses committed by the yeshiva teacher.
After nothing was done, according to the students, they decided to reveal their identities in an open letter sent to Shapira. Following the letter, Shapira summoned the three students.
The three young men were asked to retract their complaint. They demanded an apology from Sultanovitch. The meeting, say the students, ended on a strident note, after which they decided to turn to the authorities.
The yeshiva denies that the three students complained personally to Shapira. However, other students at the yeshiva began to apply pressure on the three men, however, in hopes of convincing them to reconsider their intent to involve the police in the affair.
They were threatened, told that they would have trouble finding jobs and wives if the affair became public.
"If the affair becomes public, it will be used against us by the secular public to attack us," they were told.
An attorney in the State Attorney's Office heard rumors about sexual abuse in the yeshiva and immediately reported the rumors to the police.
Avi Samuel, deputy chief of the Jerusalem police investigative unit, was appointed to look into the case. Samuel also headed the investigation into the actions of Rabbi Ze'ev Kopolovitch of Netiv Meir yeshiva, who was found guilty of sexually abusing high school students in his yeshiva.
The police also plan to investigate about 10 yeshiva students who tried to force the plaintiffs to retract their complaint, as well as rabbis who may have known more information about Sultanovitch's activities.
The police waited for many months for permission from the Attorney General's Office to interrogate the 80-year-old Rabbi Shapira under warning. Ultimately, police were given permission to interrogate him by correspondence. The rabbi denied any knowledge of sexual abuse.
The rabbi's son, Yaakov Shapira, insists that there was no attempt to cover up the crimes and that the yeshiva looked into all the complaints. He said that a special investigator appointed by the yeshiva, Rabbi Menahem Borstein, concluded that the accusations were "all lies."
The police are also looking into accusations that Sultanovitch drank a toast after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, saying that if Yigal Amir had not killed Rabin, he would have.
Sultanovitch denied all the charges against him. "I deny all the accusations made in the press. They are completely untrue. How can they be made public before I have even been interrogated or even asked anything about them?" he said.
By Nina Pinto
Ha'aretz Daily - January 12, 2000
Jerusalem police are investigating suspicions of sexual abuse allegedly committed by Ze'ev Sultanovitch, a teacher at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva, considered the flagship of the national religious yeshivas.
The police acted after receiving four complaints from yeshiva students between the ages of 20 and 30 who allegedly fell victim to Sultanovitch, a 40-year-old bachelor who teaches Jewish philosophy at Merkaz Harav, located at the Wohl Torah Center, and at the Orot yeshiva in Jerusalem and at the yeshiva in Har Bracha.
He is considered a genius in his field and an influential educator. He was recently dismissed from the yeshiva in Gush Etzion, apparently following rumors concerning complaints from students. The affair came to light following a conversation three students held among themselves, during which they discovered that all three had suffered from the sexual advances Sultanovitch forced upon them.
The teacher, known to them as Rabbi Sultanovitch, allegedly stroked the students and fondled their genitals. The police also received a similar complaint from an older student.
The three young men decided to appeal to an educational counselor, Nina Kalish, to ask her to help them approach the head of the yeshiva in hopes of putting an end to the sexual abuse.
According to their testimony, Sultanovitch would carry out his abuse in his apartment in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood, across the street from the yeshiva or in his office. Sultanovitch has apparently lived alone since his mother died two years ago.
The police estimate that 10 students suffered sexual abuse from the teacher, although some have not filed a complaint. The police are also investigating whether Sultanovitch abused students at other yeshivas too.
As revealed yesterday on Israel radio, three students decided to complain a few months ago and sent an anonymous letter to the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Avraham Shapira, a former chief rabbi of Israel, in which they described the abuses committed by the yeshiva teacher.
After nothing was done, according to the students, they decided to reveal their identities in an open letter sent to Shapira. Following the letter, Shapira summoned the three students.
The three young men were asked to retract their complaint. They demanded an apology from Sultanovitch. The meeting, say the students, ended on a strident note, after which they decided to turn to the authorities.
The yeshiva denies that the three students complained personally to Shapira. However, other students at the yeshiva began to apply pressure on the three men, however, in hopes of convincing them to reconsider their intent to involve the police in the affair.
They were threatened, told that they would have trouble finding jobs and wives if the affair became public.
"If the affair becomes public, it will be used against us by the secular public to attack us," they were told.
An attorney in the State Attorney's Office heard rumors about sexual abuse in the yeshiva and immediately reported the rumors to the police.
Avi Samuel, deputy chief of the Jerusalem police investigative unit, was appointed to look into the case. Samuel also headed the investigation into the actions of Rabbi Ze'ev Kopolovitch of Netiv Meir yeshiva, who was found guilty of sexually abusing high school students in his yeshiva.
The police also plan to investigate about 10 yeshiva students who tried to force the plaintiffs to retract their complaint, as well as rabbis who may have known more information about Sultanovitch's activities.
The police waited for many months for permission from the Attorney General's Office to interrogate the 80-year-old Rabbi Shapira under warning. Ultimately, police were given permission to interrogate him by correspondence. The rabbi denied any knowledge of sexual abuse.
The rabbi's son, Yaakov Shapira, insists that there was no attempt to cover up the crimes and that the yeshiva looked into all the complaints. He said that a special investigator appointed by the yeshiva, Rabbi Menahem Borstein, concluded that the accusations were "all lies."
The police are also looking into accusations that Sultanovitch drank a toast after Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, saying that if Yigal Amir had not killed Rabin, he would have.
Sultanovitch denied all the charges against him. "I deny all the accusations made in the press. They are completely untrue. How can they be made public before I have even been interrogated or even asked anything about them?" he said.
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Yeshiva teacher accused of sex crimes is released for now
By Nina Pinto
Haaretz Daily - January 18, 2000
Ze'ev Sultanovitch, 43, an instructor at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem who is accused of sexually abusing pupils at the institution, was released provisionally by police yesterday, after questioning. He was interrogated by the police for more than five hours. Sultanovitch denied that he had committed sexually abusive acts against yeshiva students, yet he admitted to lesser offenses, involving touching the youths. "I touched them, just as I have touched dozens of people, by patting them on the shoulder or shaking their hands," he declared after yesterday's police investigation.
Sultanovitchcomplained about the accusations and their publication, saying that "they are blood libels which also cause damage to the youths." He added that he is a religiously observant man, who never acted at variance with Jewish law.
Sultanovitch explained that an attempt had been made to arrange a marriage between himself and Niza Kalish, an educational counselor: This woman, he alleges, goaded his yeshiva pupils to submit complaints against him. The arranged marriage, he noted, "was canceled very shortly thereafter."
The police are trying to clarify Sultanovitch's status at the yeshiva. Mercaz Harav directors claim that he has no official capacity there. Nonetheless, for 20 years Sultanovitch conducted activities and classes for yeshiva students, on topics such as Jewish philosophy. He also had a room and a place to sleep at the yeshiva.
Sultanovitch says that he had normal, good relations with the pupils who submitted complaints of sexual abuse, adding that they phoned to support him after reports of the charges became public.
The police will decide how to continue with the criminal investigation in the coming days. It has been learned that the police have uncovered evidence suggesting that additional groups of youths were victimized by Sultanovitch, but were too intimidated to submit complaints against him.
By Nina Pinto
Haaretz Daily - January 18, 2000
Ze'ev Sultanovitch, 43, an instructor at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem who is accused of sexually abusing pupils at the institution, was released provisionally by police yesterday, after questioning. He was interrogated by the police for more than five hours. Sultanovitch denied that he had committed sexually abusive acts against yeshiva students, yet he admitted to lesser offenses, involving touching the youths. "I touched them, just as I have touched dozens of people, by patting them on the shoulder or shaking their hands," he declared after yesterday's police investigation.
Sultanovitchcomplained about the accusations and their publication, saying that "they are blood libels which also cause damage to the youths." He added that he is a religiously observant man, who never acted at variance with Jewish law.
Sultanovitch explained that an attempt had been made to arrange a marriage between himself and Niza Kalish, an educational counselor: This woman, he alleges, goaded his yeshiva pupils to submit complaints against him. The arranged marriage, he noted, "was canceled very shortly thereafter."
The police are trying to clarify Sultanovitch's status at the yeshiva. Mercaz Harav directors claim that he has no official capacity there. Nonetheless, for 20 years Sultanovitch conducted activities and classes for yeshiva students, on topics such as Jewish philosophy. He also had a room and a place to sleep at the yeshiva.
Sultanovitch says that he had normal, good relations with the pupils who submitted complaints of sexual abuse, adding that they phoned to support him after reports of the charges became public.
The police will decide how to continue with the criminal investigation in the coming days. It has been learned that the police have uncovered evidence suggesting that additional groups of youths were victimized by Sultanovitch, but were too intimidated to submit complaints against him.
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Police to look into threats said to be made in yeshiva abuse case
By Nina Pinto Goel
Ha'aretz Daily - January 13, 2000
The police investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem has branched out to include complaints of threats leveled against four students who claim to be victims.
Jerusalem police have interrogated eight former students of the yeshiva. The yeshiva is suspected of attempting to dissuade the alleged victims of the suspect Ze'ev Sultanovitch from filing a complaint with the authorities.
Among the threats made against two of the men, both in their twenties, was that their future income would be damaged by the affair because they would not find good marriage matches.
The other two men who said they were victims of the rabbi's abuse are married with children.
The police is currently investigating the terms of Sultanovitch's employment at Merkaz Harav.
According to yeshiva officials, Sultanovitch is not an employee, and therefore they are not legally obliged to provide answers on any issue.
Police investigators expressed surprise at the notion that Sultanovitch taught at the yeshiva for a decade without payment.
In the coming days, the police intends to collect more testimonies from students and staff of a yeshiva in Gush Etzion where Sultanovitch taught.
The yeshiva decided to end Sultanovitch's tenure there, apparently in response to the news from Merkaz Harav.
Sultanovitch's attorney, Yair Golan, said that elements external to the yeshiva worked against his client.
Merkaz Harav students had difficulty understanding how men in their twenties would allow someone to sexually abuse them.
To the police investigators, however, they noted that the respect that students had for Sultanovitch caused them to give him little opposition, and their embarrassment over the situation prevented them from defending themselves.
The police will continue collecting testimonies from Merkaz Harav staff, in order to gather enough evidence for an arrest warrant against Sultanovitch.
By Nina Pinto Goel
Ha'aretz Daily - January 13, 2000
The police investigation into allegations of sexual abuse at the Merkaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem has branched out to include complaints of threats leveled against four students who claim to be victims.
Jerusalem police have interrogated eight former students of the yeshiva. The yeshiva is suspected of attempting to dissuade the alleged victims of the suspect Ze'ev Sultanovitch from filing a complaint with the authorities.
Among the threats made against two of the men, both in their twenties, was that their future income would be damaged by the affair because they would not find good marriage matches.
The other two men who said they were victims of the rabbi's abuse are married with children.
The police is currently investigating the terms of Sultanovitch's employment at Merkaz Harav.
According to yeshiva officials, Sultanovitch is not an employee, and therefore they are not legally obliged to provide answers on any issue.
Police investigators expressed surprise at the notion that Sultanovitch taught at the yeshiva for a decade without payment.
In the coming days, the police intends to collect more testimonies from students and staff of a yeshiva in Gush Etzion where Sultanovitch taught.
The yeshiva decided to end Sultanovitch's tenure there, apparently in response to the news from Merkaz Harav.
Sultanovitch's attorney, Yair Golan, said that elements external to the yeshiva worked against his client.
Merkaz Harav students had difficulty understanding how men in their twenties would allow someone to sexually abuse them.
To the police investigators, however, they noted that the respect that students had for Sultanovitch caused them to give him little opposition, and their embarrassment over the situation prevented them from defending themselves.
The police will continue collecting testimonies from Merkaz Harav staff, in order to gather enough evidence for an arrest warrant against Sultanovitch.
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