Abuse Must Be Opposed
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Over my many years of day school education I have encountered principals whose behavior I considered to be emotionally abusive. I always wondered why these people were allowed to continue to behave this way in schools that prided themselves on their commitment to Torah and Torah values (“Has The ‘Tough Love’ Rebbe Gone Too Far?” Jan. 27).
These people were, however, pikers compared to Rav Bina, as the exhaustive article by Yedidya Gorsetman and Gary Rosenblatt makes clear. At a time when educational institutions and even the military are seriously examining the problem of bullying, leaders of the Jewish community try to justify this man’s misdeeds. (It is striking if not shocking that not even his defenders deny his behavior.)
What is most shocking is the way in which a guidance counselor at the respected Frisch school seeks to explain away this behavior as “a different way of doing things” and blames “political correctness” for the criticism of the rabbi’s behavior. One must wonder how the individual at Yeshiva University in charge of overseeing these programs could think that the fact that he asked, what he describes as “pointed, tough questions” is sufficient to excuse the actions of a man whose educational philosophy includes humiliation, physical intimidation and emotional abuse.
What kind of professional educators and counselors would trust a man who made it a practice to ask psychologists to violate their patients’ confidence?
That Rav Bina gets flown over to perform weddings proves nothing about his abuse of other students. Cultish and charismatic leaders always have their devotees. Lots of people praised Baruch Lanner and Mordechai Gafni until the truth emerged. Abuse —whether sexual or emotional — should be met with the most forceful opposition.
Instead we once again see people circling the wagons and trying to shift the blame on those who would expose these abusers. Both those who commit these wrongs and those who defend them bring shame upon their community, the ethical belief system they claim to follow and themselves.
Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish and Holocaust Studies Emory University
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Deborah Lipstadt's letter to The Jewish Week in response to the recent article about Rav Aaron Bina (“Has The ‘Tough Love’ Rebbe Gone Too Far?” Jan. 27) is frankly even more outrageous and outlandish than the article itself. Ms. Lipstadt is a respected historian who has been attacked by other historians for the veracity of her work. As such, she should know that prior to making conclusions one has a duty to investigate the truth and check all sources and not merely rely on what others state. Yet Ms. Lipstadt, incredibly, defers to the "evidence" in the defamatory article (written by people who did not attend his yeshiva and which cites to unverified sources) about Rav Bina to conclude that he was abusive. Shame on Ms. Lipstadt for not standing by her principles as a historian.
I attended Yeshivat Hakotel from 1995-1996, when Rav Bina was head of the overseas program. While I was not personally close with him, I saw the tremendous positive impact that he had on many of my friends and acquaintances at the yeshiva. Far from being abusive, he was personable and encouraged each student to be the best person and Jew that they could be. His pedagogical approach was unique and certainly not for everyone. However, Rav Bina frankly was and is an antidote to the contemporary phenomenon of spoiled, overprivileged American Jewish teenagers who are used to being told by their parents that they can do no wrong. In a time when there are many real problems in the Jewish community, The Jewish Week's arbitrary decision to target Rav Bina is simply despicable.
Thank you, Deborah E. Lipstadt , for your very eloquent and much needed letter. The abusers and their enablers must be confronted and stopped!
And shame on you Natanel Newberger for further proving Deborah Lipstadt's argument! You are one of those "circling the wagon." While it is true that the writers of the article in question did not go to HaKotel or Netiv Aryeh, this does not at all prove anything with regard to the article's accuracy. As a woman, I did not attend either of these yeshivot either. But as I am closely related to one of Rav Bina's victims, I know for an unbiased fact that the allegations are absolutely true.
As Ms. Lipstadt said, your discussing of the positive impact Rav Bina has had on many of your friends and acquaitances does nothing to disprove the abuse. Correct me if I am wrong, but no one ever denied that Rav Bina is popular. I am sure he has had a positive impact and is an excellent teacher to many. However, this does not excuse the verbal abuse and humiliation of the significant minority. All it proves is that he is popular, is able to hide behind his popularity while, as Ms. Lipstadt said, his supporters "shift the blame to those who would expose his abuses." While Rav Bina was so positively impacting and nurturing young men like your friends, he was also teaching them how to stand idly by while he humiliated and verbally abused your fellow talmidim.
The Gemara says that it is preferable to fall into a fiery furnace rather than to embarrass someone publicly. Maybe Rav Bina should learn and pay closer attention to what it really means to be a good Jew. Thank you Deborah Lipstadt for your excellently written response!
"What kind of professional educators and counselors would trust a man who made it a practice to ask psychologists to violate their patients’ confidence?"
This is an easy one. An educator who does not believe that the Rabbi did that or an educator who believes there are other circumstances involved and this is an exceptional case.
..." excuse the actions of a man whose educational philosophy includes humiliation, physical intimidation and emotional abuse."
Please prove that Rabbi Bina's philosophy includes humiliation, physical intimidation and emotional abuse. But first please define those terms. I do not believe people really thought the Rabbi would beat them physically.
I have read the author's books and attended one of her lectures. This article is a disappointment, she has a thesis and does not properly defend it. You could make all the claims you want that does not make them true. Why not just claim that the Rabbi is a vampire who drinks his students' blood? It would make good headlines. But it is absurd. If I claimed the Rabbi drank blood I would need some evidence not hearsay evidence to be taken seriously. Where are the standards for evidence? Last time I checked this was not the Jewish Inquirer but the Jewish Week.
Many thanks to Deborah Lipstadt for so eloquently saying what needed to be said and for lending her voice and respected name to such an important issue. I hope the Jewish Week article helps shut down Rav Bina, and thank Gary Rosenblatt and Yedidya for their courageous, well researched article and for finally getting this story out.
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