Accusations of abuse at Australian Jewish school

Abuse dating from the 1970s and 1980s allegedly committed by two people affiliated with a local Jewish school.

By SAM SOKOL
Manny Waks 370 (photo credit: Courtesy Facebook)
Manny Waks 370
(photo credit: Courtesy Facebook)
New South Wales police are investigating accusations of abuse dating from the 1970s and 1980s, allegedly committed by two people affiliated with a local Jewish school, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on Thursday.
The story broke just as local papers reported that Israel’s mysterious Prisoner X was himself a member of the local Jewish community.
According to the Australian Jewish News, while there have been cases of abuse investigated in Melbourne, this is the first time that such an investigation has occurred in Sydney.
The Jewish newspaper noted that while in previous years Jewish leaders had covered up abuse, in one case sending a rabbi to Israel after he was accused, Australian Jewish leaders have now come forward in “unequivocally condemning abuse.”
In a statement to The Jerusalem Post on Thursday, Manny Waks, who heads the Australian abuse victim advocacy organization Tzedek, said that he was “delighted at the courage displayed by a number of victims/survivors in stepping out of their comfort zone by confronting their past experiences.
“While this development is a very positive step for the Jewish community in addressing the rampant abuse and cover-ups that seems to have taken place over many years and in various locations, we still have a long way to go,” Waks said.
Responding to a statement by the Jewish school indicating that it would cooperate with the relevant authorities, Waks said, “Tzedek looks forward to working with the Sydney Yeshiva Centre and other stakeholders in order to obtain justice for past wrongs and to ensure the safety of our children.”