An Israeli court has ordered the government to grant citizenship to an American rabbi who served prison time in the United States for sexually abusing minors, despite an earlier decision to deny his application.  

The Jerusalem District Court ruling concerns a former senior figure at an educational institution affiliated with the Orthodox Union, one of the largest Orthodox Jewish organizations in the United States. The rabbi’s case sparked widespread controversy in American Jewish communities after allegations emerged that he had sexually abused students over many years. Most of those allegations never reached trial, largely because they fell outside the statute of limitations.

The  Jerusalem District Court ordered that the rabbi’s identity remain confidential.

The affair first came to light some 25 years ago, following an investigation by New York Jewish Week , The investigation detailed allegations that the rabbi, who held a senior position at an educational institution affiliated with the Orthodox Union, had sexually abused students over many years. Following publication of the report, the organization conducted an internal investigation which confirmed most of the newspaper’s findings and a police investigation was launched. Due to the statute of limitations in New Jersey at the time, most of the allegations were too old to prosecute and only two cases were brought to trial. One of the convictions was overturned on appeal that was heard and the man was sentenced to seven years in prison, of which he actually served about three.

In 2017, the man sought permission to immigrate to Israel under the Law of Return, but his request was denied. Instead, he was given residency status – in part because his wife had been recognized as a new immigrant. The couple moved to Israel and the man asked for Israeli citizenship some two years ago. When he was denied, he appealed to the court.

In his decision, Jerusalem District Court judge Arnon Darel outlined several precedents regarding granting citizenship under the Law of Return, evaluated the man's potential danger to the public alongside the weight of the “official promise” implied by granting him residency, and ordered that he be given citizenship within 30 days.

Speaking to Shomrim, Rabbi Yosef Blau – who was involved in the internal OU investigation into allegations against the man – said that the Jerusalem District Court accepted the criminal record from New Jersey at face value but failed to assess the full extent of the offenses committed. “We are talking about behavioral patterns that lasted for many years,” he said.

Blau’s comments are echoed by Shana Aaronson, the founder and CEO of Magen, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping survivors of sexual abuse in Israel, who argues that the court determined that the man poses no danger to the public without any professional assessment. She added that a specific loophole in the law results in a situation where, when a new immigrant convicted of a sex offense abroad receives residency status in Israel, there is no mechanism whatsoever to monitor him. Although the issue was raised for discussion in a Knesset committee about a decade ago, after the Israel Prison Service announced it could not supervise the issue, it was left unresolved. “The Law of Return is indeed a fundamental right,” Aaronson says, “but it cannot come at the expense of the safety of children in Israel.”

The man’s attorney, Daphna Galili, declined to comment.

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