Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Jewish institutions and contexts Other Jewish institution or hearing Safed, Israel · 2018

Israel: yeshiva head sentenced to seven and a half years for assaulting women who sought his counsel

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

rabbi and head of a yeshiva

Organization

Orot HaAri yeshiva, Safed

Spiritual nexus

The complainants approached the defendant precisely in his capacity as a rabbi and yeshiva head, seeking religious counsel on personal and health difficulties; the abuse was carried out inside and by means of that counselling relationship.

  • Pastoral or clerical authority
  • Spiritual healing or treatment
  • Threatened spiritual consequence

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2018-02-06 · conviction by plea agreement and sentence

    Nazareth District Court, Israel. Rabbi Ezra Sheinberg, head of the Orot HaAri yeshiva, was convicted under a plea agreement of sexual assault against eight religious women who had come to him for religious and pastoral counselling on personal and health matters, and was sentenced to seven and a half years.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • religious and pastoral counselling relationship
  • abuse framed as therapy

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting verdict and sentencing report 'Safed rabbi sentenced to 7.5 years in jail for sexual assault', The Times of Israel, 6 Feb. 2018.

Reports the Nazareth District Court sentence and the counselling relationship through which the assaults occurred.

Related record

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