Friday, July 29, 2011

Rabbi David Zwiebel how about funding a legitimate rape crisis center!

Rabbi Dovid Zwiebel

In the following video of Rabbi Dovid Zwiebel boasting to his constituents about Agudath Israel of America and its many accomplishments, including the $18 million in grant money for yeshivas.  

Wouldn't it be great if Zwiebel would be able to put that $18 million into helping Jewish survivors who were abused by his friends and the others who feel that Agudath Israel of America is an important organization?  I'm not talking about a fly by night organization that goes to various rabbonim for permission to make hotline reports, or will falsely fear making a report will deter people from going to them.  I'm talking about a legitimate one that has ties with The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault and is a member of the National Sexual Violence Resource Center.

The Awareness Center is also calling for Zwiebel and everyone else connected to the aggudah to do teshuvah on this, by financially compensation every survivor of a sexually predator connected to his organization. If you don't dream it, and put it out there -- it will never happen.

Those who are orthodox deserve the same civil rights as the rest of us who live in the United States. How dare these folks take these rights away.

Youtube Video:  Zwiebel's ramblings about Agudath



Monday, July 25, 2011

CALL TO ACTION: Elliot Pasik is still involved with the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children?

Elliot Pasik
The Awareness Center learned a few weeks ago that Elliot Pasik or Rabbi Dr. Chaim Wakslak were no longer involved with the JBAC (Jewish Board of Advocates for Children), yet according to the following article the rumors I heard are false.  

Elliot Pasik is an outspoken advocate for Ohel Family Services, which is an orthodox mental health agency that has allegedly been covering up sex crimes and protecting sexual predators for years.  

Rabbi Chaim Wakslak, PhD
Several years ago I had a conversation with Mr Pasik in which he stated he was involved in the "Father's Rights" movement.  At that time I had great concerns with Elliot Pasik's involvement in the Anti-Rape movement.  It was at that time I started hearing rumors of Mr. Pasik attacking the work of The Awareness Center and Vicki Polin's personhood.  

The "Father's Rights movement" is an offshoot of the "False Memory Syndrome Foundation" (FMSF), which was created back in the early 1990's by parents of children who accused them of child molestation.  According to the DSM-4 (Diagnositic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition) there is no such thing as FMSF.  For more information read the transcript from the ABC Newscast:  TURNING POINT: WHEN CHILDREN ACCUSE - WHO TO BELIEVE, that aired on November 14, 1996.

I think it's time that everyone contact the Jewish Board of Advocates for Children and let them know how you feel about Mr. Pasik representing the civil rights of Jewish children and or Dr. rabbi Wakslak knowingly violating the privacy rights of clients at Ohel. 

Please note that several of those who are currently on the board of this organization have a long history of covering up sex crime, including a few mandated reporters who break the law each time they suspect a child is at risk of harm and don't immediately report their suspicions to their local child protective services -- which is a violation of state and federal laws. Instead they report their suspicions to rabbonim who are NOT trained to collect forensic evidence, let alone conduct victim sensitive interviewing.


CONTACT:  
  • Moshe Fessel, Esq. - Executive Committee - moshe@mofesslaw.com

    Rifka Finkelstein - Executive Committee - rivkafinkelstein@yahoo.com

    Eli Greenwald - Executive Committee - egreenwald@voguestrap.com

    Maury Kelman, Esq. - Executive Committee - maury@oldschoolfund.com

    Perry Schafler, LCSW-R, Vice President  - pschafler@yahoo.com

    Judith Guedalia, PhD - Executive Committee - drjudith2006@gmail.com

    Dorron Katzin, CPA, MST  - Executive Committee - dakatzin@gmail.com

    Maury Kelman, Esq - Executive Committee - maury@oldschoolfund.com

    Nachum Klafter, M.D.   - Executive Committee - doctorklafter@cinci.rr.com

    Brachie Neugarten, MSW - Executive Committee -

    Jeffrey C. Singer, Ph.D.  - Executive Committee - drsinger@morrispsych.com

    Chaim Shapiro, M.Ed.  - Executive Committee - chaimshapiro@aol.com

    Vivian Skolnick, Ph.D.  - Executive Committee - VBSkolnick@aol.com

    Mark Weiss - Executive Committee - weissmark@optonline.net

    Rabbi Mark Dratch - Rabbinic Committee - mdratch@jsafe.org

    Rabbi Allen Schwartz  - Rabbinic Committee - ras@ozny.org

    Rabbi Moshe Soloveichik - Rabbinic Committee - zamirkatan@aol.com


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New York - Orthodox Organization To NY Lawamkers: Our Yeshivas Need Child Protection Laws

Published on:   Yesterday 12:05 PM
News Source: VIN News Staff

New York - The Jewish Board of Advocates for Children, a nonprofit group which, for several years, has been calling for strong child protection laws that would govern yeshivas and all nonpublic schools, has sent a letter to leading New York state legislators urging them to address the grave problem of child abuse.

The letter, delivered Friday, July 22, 2011, calls attention to the heinous abduction and homicide of Leiby Kletzky, and states that it is “healthy and productive” for all New Yorkers, in the wake of this tragedy, to join together so that we can create the “safest environment possible for all children.”

JBAC President Elliot Pasik, an attorney, cites about one dozen child protection laws which protect public school children, but not children who attend religious and private schools.  He calls for the explicit extension of these laws to the nonpublic schools.

For example:
*  only public school children are required to receive instruction designed to prevent abduction;

*  only public school administrators are required to complete coursework in identifying and reporting child abuse or maltreatment;

*  only public schools are required to establish and implement written policies necessary to safeguard the life and health of children, and to prevent abuse;

*  only public school employees are required to report public school-based child abuse to government child protection authorities;

*  only public schools are required to fingerprint and obtain criminal histories of their employees.  The letter was sent to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and the chairs of the Education Committee and the Committee on Children in both legislative houses.  In May 2007, the Rabbinical Council of America, working with JBAC, enacted a Resolution endorsing the extension of all public school child protection laws to the nonpublic schools.  The RCA is an organization of about 1,000 orthodox rabbis.

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Case of Reuven Bogoff

Case of Reuven Bogoff
(AKA: Randy Bogoff) 
Reuven Bogoff
Wheeling, IL
Skokie, IL
West Rogers Park (Chicago), IL

Arrested on charges of sexually assaulting two boys. One in Wheeling and the other in Chicago.
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Table of Contents

  1. Man Charged with Abusing boy for 4 years (07/17/2011)
  2. Wheeling man charged with sex abuse (07/17/2011)
  3. Man Charged With Sexually Abusing Son's Friend 
    Reuven Bogoff, 59, of Wheeling, allegedly assaulted the boy over four years (07/18/2011)
  4. Wheeling man accused of sexually abusing son’s friend (07/18/2011)
  5. West Rogers Park Man Charged With Sexual Abuse (08/02/2011)
  6. Man charged with sexual abuse, police continue to investigate  (08/02/2011)
  7. Rogers Park man faces new sex abuse charges (08/02/2011)
     

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Man Charged with abusing boy for 4 years
By Brian Slodysko 
Chicago Tribune -  July 17, 2011
Bail was set at $250,000 in Cook County Bond Court today for a 59-year-old Wheeling man whose alleged sexual abuse of his son's friend began over a decade ago and continued for four years, according to prosecutors.

Police arrested Reuven "Randy" Bogoff, 59, of the 400 block of Plum Creek Drive, on Saturday evening. He is charged with two counts of predatory criminal sexual assault after the alleged victim, a male who is now 22 years old, came forward to police, according to court records.

Wheeling man charged with sex abuse
By Emily Jurlina
Daily Herald - July 17, 2012

Reuven Bogoff - Alleged Sex Offender
A Wheeling man was charged with criminal sexual assault Sunday morning after reportedly abusing an underage victim for years, according to Chicago Police officials.

Reuven Bogoff, 58, of the 400 block of Plum Creek Drive was charged in Cook County bond court with predatory criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault, Chicago police said. The charges stem from incidents that occurred between 1999 and 2003 on the 2800 block of West Estes Avenue in Chicago, according to police. The assaults started when the victim was 11 and ended when the victim was 15, police said.

Chicago Police were first notified of the incidents on June 26, 2011, and their investigation is still ongoing.

Police ask anyone who might have any more information to contact Area Three Detectives at (312) 744-8266.


Man Charged With Sexually Abusing Son's Friend 
Reuven Bogoff, 59, of Wheeling, allegedly assaulted the boy over four years
By Rosie Powers
NBC NEWS _ Monday, Jul 18, 2011

A man who allegedly abused his friend's son over four years was charged Sunday with two counts of sexual assault.
Reuven Bogoff, 59, of Wheeling, allegedly assaulted the boy between 1999-2003, according to the Chicago Sun Times.

The victim, now 22, came forward to police with the allegations, prompting police to charge Bogoff with one count of predatory criminal sexual assault and one count of criminal sexual assault.
Bogoff is being held on $250,000 bail.

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Wheeling man accused of sexually abusing son’s friend
Reuven “Randy” Bogoff, 59, — charged with predatory criminal sexual assault and criminal sexual assault — allegedly abused the boy between 1999-2003 at his former Chicago home in the 2800 block of West Estes.

The boy, now 22, then between ages 11 and 15, came to police with the allegations last month, court records show. Bogoff was free on bail for another alleged criminal sexual assault dating to the mid-1990s when he was re-arrested last week, prosecutors said.
Bogoff, wearing a yellow shirt, glasses and a beard in court, shook his head repeatedly as the new allegations were detailed in court on Sunday.

His attorney, Kevin Rosner, said Bogoff had deep roots in Skokie’s Orthodox Jewish community and convinced Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesel to let him leave the state to continue his job as a traveling salesman for Electro Industries if he makes bail.

But the judge warned him not to have contact with anyone under the age of 18 except his daughter if he is released.
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West Rogers Park Man Charged With Sexual Abuse
CHICAGO (CBS) — A West Rogers Park neighborhood man is charged in a series of sexual abuse incidents that happened several years ago.

Reuven Bogoff, 58, of the 2800 block of West Estes Avenue, is charged with two counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse, in a string of incidents which occurred between 1999 and 2003, police say.

Police have not elaborated or revealed details about the incidents, other than to say that they happened on Bogoff’s own block, and farther east in the Rogers Park community.
Officers were notified of the incidents in late June.

Bogoff was set to appear for a noon bond hearing in Violence Court (Br. 66) at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse Tuesday. The outcome of the hearing was not immediately available.

Meanwhile, an investigation is ongoing against Bogoff. Anyone with further information is asked to call Belmont Area detectives at (312) 744-8266.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Case of Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich

Case of Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich
Former Director, Bellmore Jewish Center - Bellmore, NY 
Former Vice President, Long Island Board of Rabbis - Bellmore, NY



Rabbi Rabinowich was a married conservative rabbi who was hiring women to have sex with him.  He was caught on a video over the Jewish sabbath.

A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit that was filed by Avraham Rabinowich against the New York Post over a video purportedly showing him in a hotel-room tryst with alleged prostitutes.  Rabbi Rabinowich claimed he lost his position working at the Bellmore Jewish Center because of the publicity of the film clip.

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Disclaimer: Inclusion in this website does not constitute a recommendation or endorsement. Individuals must decide for themselves if the resources meet their own personal needs.

Table of Contents:


2011
  1. The 'randy' rabbi(07/11/2011)
  2. Avraham Rabinowich, Long Island Rabbi, Videotaped With Prostitute on the Sabbath (07/11/2011)
  3. Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich Busted By Estranged Wife For Hiring Prostitutes On Sabbath (07/11/2011)
  4. Randy Rabbi 'caught on tape in bed with a prostitute' - after a sting set up by his wife
  5. (07/11/2011)
  6. Long Island Rabbi Busted by Ex-Wife for Hiring Prostitutes on the Sabbath (07/11/2011)
  7. Dreidel-as-Metaphor: Long Island Rabbi Caught in Sex Scandal, NY Post Reports (07/11/2011)
  8. The New York rabbi and the Shabbat sex scandal (07/12/2011)
  9. Court Document (09/13/2011)
  10. 'Randy Rabbi' Raging Mad at NY Post (09/16/2011)

2012 
  1. NY Post wins bid to dismiss suit over 'randy' rabbi story (09/08/2012)

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The 'randy' rabbi
Prostitution sting in angry ex-wife's suit
By Rebecca Rosenberg
New York Post - July 11, 2011

A prominent Long Island Jewish leader was caught with his dreidel out in a string of sordid sex tapes, according to sensational Manhattan court records. 

Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich -- who leads the wealthy, Conservative Bellmore Jewish Center and is vice president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis -- allegedly made appointments with prostitutes on the Sabbath shortly after services. 

He was then caught on camera in a hotel room enjoying some hard-core, commandment-breaking action, according to blockbuster court papers filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.


The holy man's estranged wife, Amora, a respected psychologist, got wind of the tawdry tricks while they were going through a bitter custody battle, she said. 

She managed to have Rabinowich secretly filmed with a call girl and entered the photographic evidence into the record of the bitter custody case. 

"Since when are prostitutes kosher?" Amora Rabinowich told The Post. "He was coming to court claiming he was this pious individual, but he was using the phone on the Sabbath to meet prostitutes. 

"And what kind of rabbi is he? He didn't even take these prostitutes to the mikvah [Jewish ritual cleansing bath] first. 

"What is he doing, praying or laying?" 

Rabbi Rabinowich responded to the shocking claims by saying only, "I have no response. Have a nice day." 

His lawyer, Jeffrey Lewisohn, called the wife's discovery a "setup" and downplayed the matter, saying, "It doesn't matter, this was five or six years ago." 

Malcolm Taub, a former lawyer for the rabbi, blasted Amora, saying, "This is a very sick woman . . . This man has gone through hell with this woman."

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Avraham Rabinowich, Long Island Rabbi, Videotaped With Prostitute on the Sabbath 
By Joe Conscarelli
The Village Voice - July 11, 2011

Dr. Amora Rachelle, the ex-wife of Avraham Rabinowich, vice president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis, is going hard in her custody battle with a pretty inexcusable, not-so-secret weapon, which she's handed right over to the New York Post. With the help of a private investigator, Amora taped her children's father being serviced by a call girl and her madam, who was actually Amora's private eye. "Since when are prostitutes kosher?" Amora asked, with expert media savvy. "And what kind of rabbi is he? He didn't even take these prostitutes to the mikvah [Jewish ritual cleansing bath] first. What is he doing, praying or laying?" The rabbi said he had "no response," though his lawyer piped up to call the sting a "setup" (well, yes) and insist, "It doesn't matter, this was five or six years ago." It was six months before the couple's divorce was finalized.

"I am tall and nice-looking, don't worry, I'm OK," the rabbi reportedly told the madam/P.I. The tape, part of which can be seen below (with blurs, but still probably NSFW), was taken at a hotel in Queens on March 18, 2006. 

The mother is now attempting to move her children to the West Coast and has made a power play by releasing the dirty parts of her sting. 

"If you're not doing something relevant in front of the children, it doesn't have an impact on the judge's decision," the rabbi's lawyer claims. Do the newspaper and internet count as "in front of the children?" Dirty tricks all around.

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Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich Busted By Estranged Wife For Hiring Prostitutes On Sabbath
The Huffington Post - July 11, 2011 


The New York Post reports today that Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich, leader of the conservative Bellmore Jewish Center and vice president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis, allegedly made appointments with prostitutes on the Sabbath shortly after services.

Rabinowich's estranged wife, Amora, managed to secretly film one of Rabinowich's scandalous hotel rendezvous's with a call girl after having heard of her holy hubby's penchant for prostitutes (he allegedly arranged the trysts after Sabbath services using his cell phone)-- and entered the photographic evidence into the record of a bitter custody trial.

"Since when are prostitutes kosher?" Amora told the Post, adding "And what kind of rabbi is he? He didn't even take these prostitutes to the mikvah [Jewish ritual cleansing bath] first."

The tapes, from a few years ago, weren't allowed in court and the couple was given joint custody of their three children. It seems Amora, a respected psychologist, released the tapes to the Post for fun, or perhaps in anticipation that the footage would further tarnish Rabinowich's reputation as she plans to make a motion in court to move the kids out to the West Coast. 

The news is the latest in a series of New York area stories of Rabbis behaving badly. Rabbi Gavriel Bidany was convicted in May of fondling an Israeli Army officer on a JFK-bound plane. Brooklyn Rabbi Saul Kassin was convicted in June of using a charity he controlled to illegally funnel money to Israel. And also in June, David Twersky, a rabbi in Rockland County New York, was accused of ordering followers to burn down the house of a synagogue member who defected to another congregation.
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Randy Rabbi 'caught on tape in bed with a prostitute' - after a sting set up by his wife  
Daily Mail - July 11, 2011 


A prominent New York Rabbi thought he was setting up a romp with a sexy call girl -- but instead he ended up in bed with a private investigator hired by his estranged wife.

Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich, vice president of the Long Island, NY Board of Rabbis, allegedly had a habit of cavorting with prostitutes. 

Some of this encounters even took place on the Sabbath after services concluded, according to Manhattan court records.

He was finally caught out when his psychologist wife, Amora, found out about the trysts during a bitter custody battle. 

Amora hired a private investigator and set up a sting to catch her husband on tape enjoying his extra-marital encounters.

'Since when are prostitutes kosher?' Amora told The New York Post of the Rabbi, who also leads the wealthy and conservative Bellmore Jewish Center.

'He was coming to court claiming he was this pious individual, but he was using the phone on the Sabbath to meet prostitutes.'

The sting happened in a cheap hotel in Queens on March 18, 2006, when Rabinowich contacted a 'madam' who was actually the private investigator. He allegedly told her:  'I am tall and nice-looking, don't worry, I'm OK.'

Rabinowich is seen relaxing on the hotel bed while two women -- one of whom is the undercover investigator -- hover over him and attend to his needs. 

n enraged Amora blasted her former husband, telling the Post: 'And what kind of rabbi is he? He didn't even take these prostitutes to the mikvah [Jewish ritual cleansing bath] first. What is he doing, praying or laying?'

She added,  'He needs help, serious help, to be a healthy individual and to be a proper role model to both the children and the community.'

Rabbi Rabinowich had little to say about the allegations, telling the Post only: 'I have no response. Have a nice day.'

But his lawyer, Jeffrey Lewisohn, called Amora's revelations a 'setup' and brushed off the Rabbi's antics:  'It doesn't matter, this was five or six years ago.'

And the holy man's former lawyer, Malcolm Taub, slammed Amora, saying, 'This is a very sick woman . . . This man has gone through hell with this woman.'

However, while Amora entered the photographic evidence into the record of the custody battle, a judge ruled it was not relevant to the case. 

The couple now share custody --  but Amora says the video could become relevant as she plans to make a motion to the court to move their kids to the West Coast on Aug. 17.

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Long Island Rabbi Busted by Ex-Wife for Hiring Prostitutes on the Sabbath
By Chris Rovzar
New York Magazine - July 11, 2011

Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich, the leader of the well-to-do conservative Bellmore Jewish Center on Long Island, has some awkward Sabbath activities to explain. As part of a bitter custody battle, his then-estranged wife arranged for a private investigator to film Rabinowich's tryst in a cheap hotel room with a prostitute. (The tapes, from several years ago, weren't allowed in court, but the ex released them to the Post, just for fun.) The trysts were arranged after services on the Sabbath, via cell phone. "Since when are prostitutes kosher?" the ex-wife, Amora Rabinowich, told the tabloid. "He was coming to court claiming he was this pious individual, but he was using the phone on the Sabbath to meet prostitutes." Apparently the years have allowed Amora to see humor in all of this. (Though we imagine the rabbi, who had no comment, is not laughing.) "And what kind of rabbi is he?" Amora cracked. "He didn't even take these prostitutes to the mikvah first!"


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Dreidel-as-Metaphor: Long Island Rabbi Caught in Sex Scandal, NY Post Reports
By Michael Kaminer
Forward - July 11, 2011

When is a dreidel not a dreidel? When it’s a stand-in for male genitalia in a tabloid story on a rabbi’s sexual escapades.

According to today’s New York Post, Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich — vice president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis, and head of the Bellmore Jewish Center — was “caught with his dreidel out in a string of sordid sex tapes, according to sensational Manhattan court records.”

Rabinowich “allegedly made appointments with prostitutes on the Sabbath shortly after services,” the Post reports. “He was then caught on camera in a hotel room enjoying some hard-core, commandment-breaking action, according to blockbuster court papers filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.”

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Court Document
Supreme Court of The State of New York - County of New York - September 13, 2011

 






















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 'Randy Rabbi' Raging Mad at NY Post
By Adam Klasfeld
Courthouse News Services - September 16, 2011 
 
MANHATTAN (CN) - The New York Post called him the "Randy Rabbi," and Long Island Rabbi Avraham Rabinowich has responded with a breach of contract lawsuit against the tabloid and his ex-wife, for publishing salacious documents, photographs and videos that allegedly caught him with prostitutes at a motel after Sabbath services.
 

Rabinowich and Amora Rachel Leah Rabinowich entered into a "Stipulation of Settlement" setting the terms of their divorce on Sept. 27, 2010, according to the rabbi's complaint in New York County Court.
 

One of term stated: "Neither parent shall do anything or say anything to a third party, which might degrade or injure the opinion of the other parent or his/her family in the third party's eyes," according to the complaint. "Neither party shall do anything directly, indirectly or through third parties to hurt the reputation of the other in the community in which such parties work or reside. The parties acknowledge that this is a material provision of this stipulation and part of the stipulation for the best interests of the children."
 

Under the agreement, neither party could hire an investigator to tape or photograph the other, and both should treat anything already captured in such an investigation as confidential, according to the complaint.
 

About a month later, the rabbi said, he and his ex added a provision that would prevent embarrassing leaks to the press: "Each party agrees that he/she will not directly or indirectly cause photographs, video or similar images of the other party to be disseminated to the media or any agent of the media or through third parties to hurt the reputation of the other in the community in which the parties work or reside," the new stipulation stated, according to the complaint.
 

Rabinowich says that the Post knew of these terms before it printed its July 11 story under the headline: "The 'randy' rabbi - Prostitution sting in angry ex-wife's suit."
 

The Post reported that Rabinowich had been "caught with his dreidel out in a string of sordid sex tapes," and published one of those videos online.
 

The article, which is still available on the Post's website, showed a photo of Rabinowich in bed with two women, though the accompanying video appears to have been replaced with other news clips.
 

Rabinowich states in his complaint that the article had "no palpable, intrinsic or realistic newsworthiness or public interest other than their prurient, salacious nature, luridness and sheer sensationalism."

And the rabbi say the Post "purposefully waited until Friday evening and several minutes before the commencement of the Jewish Sabbath before notifying the plaintiff's representatives of their intentions to publish the article and the videotapes ... thereby denying the plaintiff any opportunity to apply for an injunction or restraining order or pursuit of any remedies available to him under the terms of the aforementioned stipulation and contract."
 

 He says that he suffered "extreme humiliation, scorn, derision, humiliation" and "was summarily fired from his position as a local rabbi at a loss of his annual salary and that plaintiff's reputation has been ruined such that he cannot find gainful employment and has suffered profound emotional damage."

Rabinowich seeks damages for interference with contract, inducing breach of contract and emotional distress.

He is represented by Morrison & Wagner.
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The New York rabbi and the Shabbat sex scandal
By Jennifer Lipman
Jewish Chronicle - July 12, 2011

A rabbi and his wife are engaged in a court battle over his alleged involvement with prostitutes and her role in a sting operation to catch him.

Long Island rabbi Avraham Rabinowich, who is even alleged to have hired prostitutes on Shabbat – after services - was secretly filmed by a private investigator. The investigator had been hired by his wife Dr Amora Rachelle during a custody fight.

The father-of-three is the vice president of the Long Island Board of Rabbis and a highly respected rabbi in New York's Masorti Jewish community.

The case dates back to 2006, when the rabbi was filmed in a hotel room with two women.

Dr Rachelle, who said "since when are prostitutes kosher?", also told the New York Post that she was particularly angered by her supposedly pious husband's failure to take the women to a mikvah (ritual bath).

The case continues at the Manhattan state Supreme Court.

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NY Post wins bid to dismiss suit over 'randy' rabbi story
By Jessica Dye
Reuters - September 28, 2012


NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - A New York judge has dismissed a lawsuit a Long Island rabbi brought against the New York Post over a video purportedly showing him in a hotel-room tryst with alleged prostitutes.

Avraham Rabinowich claimed he lost his job as the chief rabbi of a prominent conservative congregation as a result of a Post story and video published on July 11, 2011, under the headline "The 'randy' rabbi -- Prostitution sting in angry ex-wife's suit." Rabinowich claimed he had been lured to the hotel room by his former wife, Amora Rabinowich, while the two were locked in a bitter custody dispute. He sued the newspaper and Amora Rabinowich, who hired the private investigator that shot a video of him in 2006, according to the ruling.

In granting the Post's motion to dismiss, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Anil Singh said that Rabinowich had only challenged the truth of two points in the story: that he had knowingly engaged prostitutes and that he broke the Jewish Sabbath to arrange to meet them.

"Other than those two allegations, based on the amended complaint and plaintiff's affirmation, the story is substantially true and is not actionable," Singh wrote in Thursday's ruling.

The Post story was about how Rainowich was allegedly caught "with his Dreidel out" in the video obtained by the newspaper.

The video, which has been removed from the Post's website, depicted Rabinowich reclining while an alleged prostitute caressed and kissed him, according to the ruling. In the video, Rabinowich is nude from the waist up, and a dreidel is superimposed to obscure any nudity below the waist, the ruling stated. A dubbed version of "The Dreidel Song" played over voices in the background, the ruling said.

Rabinowich says he lost his post with the Bellmore Jewish Center in Long Island after the video and accompanying article ran.

In his 2011 lawsuit, he sued for defamation, invasion of privacy and interference with a divorce settlement finalized in 2010, which he said forbade the parties from publishing pictures or video to hurt the other's reputation. The lawsuit sought an unspecified amount of damages.

Singh said that Rabinowich had failed to state a defamation claim, which requires a plaintiff to plead falsity under New York Civil Practice Law and Rules 3016.

Addressing Rabinowich's claim that his right to privacy had been violated, the judge noted that under Civil Rights Law Section 51, which bars the use of an individual's name or likeness without written consent for trade or advertising purposes, there is an exception for "newsworthy matters."

"Newsworthiness is construed broadly, with the courts reviewing the exercise of judgment and discretion of journalists only in cases of clear abuse," Singh wrote.

In addition to dismissing the suit against the Post, the judge granted the rabbi's cross-motion to file a second amended complaint against Amora Rabinowich, which said that the Post had published an additional defamatory story on July 11, 2001, reporting that she had been charged with practicing psychology without a license. The judge said the second amended complaint could not be brought against the Post because it did not cure the deficiencies of the first amended complaint.

Rabinowich's lawyer, Eric Morrison, said his client was "disappointed with the court's findings" and was considering an appeal. A spokeswoman for the Post declined to comment. No lawyer was listed for Amora Rabinowich, who could not be reached for comment.

The case is Rabinowich v. NY Post Holdings Inc, New York State Supreme Court, New York County, No. 110427/2011.

For Rabinowich: Eric Morrison of Morrison & Wagner.

For the New York Post: Katherine Bolger of Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz.


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