Calls among ultra-Orthodox activists to break the code of silence regarding sexual abuse have been growing in the wake of the suicide of popular author Chaim Walder last month, and the subsequent suicide of one of his victims.
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Walder, 52, committed suicide after the Israel Police opened an investigation into sexual assault allegations against him. In an unusual move, a rabbinical court also announced it was looking into the case, citing dozens of testimonies had been heard against him.
Several days after his death, one of his victims, Shifra Horovitz, committed suicide, sending additional shock waves through the community where the handling of sex crimes is infamously lacking.
"Did a young woman sacrifice herself in order to be heard for things to move?" said Esty Shushan, founder of Nivcharot, ("Chosen") the only ultra-Orthodox feminist organization in Israel.
"All this big talk about feminism and gender equality overrides everything. Women must have the right to speak up and be heard after being silenced for so long, while this criminal blossomed," she said.
Nivcharot aims to promote the status and rights of ultra-Orthodox women and include them in political processes.
Roughly 320,000 flyers reading "We all believe the victims" were distributed in ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods across Israel, a response to some rabbis asserting that any allegations of sexual assault against Walder or other prominent Haredi figures constitute "lashon hara" or malicious gossip – a practice forbidden under the Halacha, or Jewish law.
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"For an ultra-Orthodox man to speak out against a criminal of such stature is tantamount to opposing his own establishment," said Avigayil Heilbronn, founder of "Don't Be Silent," an online campaign launched six years ago.
"Ultra-Orthodox politicians talk about the tax on plastic disposables. This is the worst crisis within the ultra-Orthodox community since the inception of the state. The immense majority of our rabbis don't know the meaning of 'sexual abuse.' They just don't know. It's not malice or evil, but ignorance. They must learn, and now they are."
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
