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.”