Senior officials in the Leumi religious community are currently examining the serious allegations made against Rabbi Zvi Tao, the president of the Har Hamor Yeshiva and one of the most well-known and influential rabbis, this after a demand that came from a number of rabbis.
"Israel Hayom" has learned that the claims against the rabbi, which were written several months ago on social media, are being examined, but it is not at all clear whether they will be able to reach the truth in the matter, due to the emotional complexity of the matter.
Last August, a woman published harsh allegations against the rabbi, for allegedly sexually assaulting her when he was a minor.
"Rabbi Zvi Tau, head of the Har Hamor yeshiva, one of the prominent rabbis in the more Torah public in the Leumi religious camp, is the person who hurt me," she wrote.
However, in response, relatives in her family published claims that she suffers from mental problems and what she says did not happen in reality.
For these reasons, the media did not publish the allegations in recent months.
Har Hamor yeshiva is headed by Rabbi Tao, photo: Yonatan Zindel/Flash90
Already in the first days the woman received the support of rabbis in the national religious sector, but what tipped the scales now was the joining of a number of leading rabbis in the religious community to call that the affair should be examined.
Among the rabbis - two of the heads of the Tzahar organization - Rabbi Yuval Sharlo and Rabbi David Stav.
"The affair of Rabbi Tao must be clarified," wrote Rabbi Sharlo, who also serves as a member of the Tanna forum.
"It is forbidden to determine a position in advance, it is forbidden to use a case that has not been clarified for the purpose of other agendas, there is no other way than to find out the claims. Those who claim to have been harmed have the right to make their voices heard and demand first and foremost that their words be recognized, Rabbi Tao has the right to clear his name and demand that they do not claim things against him that are not did".
"I was exposed and met with some of the complainants, either in a direct meeting or on camera. Their words are very sharp and clear," Rabbi Sharlo added.
"Like everyone else, I have no tools to know what really happened, since like everyone else I have not heard both sides. There is no better way than the legal authorities in the State of Israel - the police, and then the bodies that deal with these issues. It would be good if those who claim to have been harmed contact the police so that their complaint can be clarified . It is not easy to do this. The public must give encouragement and support to follow the ways of God and ask for the persecuted; it would be good if Rabbi Tau contacted the police so that they would protect him if he did nothing, and the public should oppose making a decision on the street of a city or in the squares of social networks."
"The case of Rabbi Tao must be clarified", Rabbi Sharlo, photo: Dodi Vaaknin
He was joined this morning (Thursday) by Rabbi David Stav, chairman of the Zahar rabbinate. "For several weeks now I have been agonizing over the question of whether it is right to publicly address the claims made by several women regarding serious sexual abuse by an important rabbi in religious Zionism," he wrote. He noted that he preferred to remain silent because he has a long-standing ideological disagreement with Rabbi Tao. "I thought it was inappropriate that I should be the one to voice the cry of the complainers.
"In the last few days, I spoke with one of the complainants, and she told me about the difficulties faced by various bodies to which she turns in order to clarify her complaints. Some of them, out of fear of touching things related to previous disputes. Because of this, I came to the conclusion that I have no choice, and it cannot be that personal convenience is considered And they will make it so that the voice of these women will not be heard and that the law will not be exhausted. The role of rabbis in all generations was to stand on the side of the attacked, the injured and the weak against those in power and to save Ashok from his oppression," added Rabbi Stav.
"Don't leave the accusations hanging in the air" Rabbi Stav,
"The accusations I was exposed to, through a conversation with one of the complainants and a recorded testimony of another complainant, are extremely serious. But of course this is only one side, and I have no tools to determine whether the claims are justified or not. Precisely because we have no tools to judge the validity of the claims, we cannot allow That such accusations will remain hanging in the air," he noted.
Not only rabbis from the liberal side of religious Zionism came out with a call to check the claims.
Rabbi Nathaniel Eliashiv, rabbi at the Bnei David Baali seminary, also issued a call to examine the issue.
"Obviously, this story cannot remain as it is," he wrote after a long introduction in which he reviewed his acquaintance with and sympathy for Rabbi Tao.
"One can never outright rule out the possibility that a complaint about sexual abuse is well-founded. And God forbid we state in judgments that every person with a psychiatric background is necessarily a liar or a delusional person, in doing so we will simply let their blood flow. Every complainant has the right to have her voice heard and her complaint examined, seriously, with respect heaven and without bias or prejudice. It doesn't matter if we estimate the chance that it is true as one in a thousand, one in ten thousand or one in a million. Every complaint should be seriously investigated. The more absurd the story sounds, the higher the standard of evidence we will require, but forbid we rule it out in advance the possibility that there is truth in the complaint. And if there is someone who knows how to refute or strengthen the suspicions, he should be called to come forward and do so."
"The rabbi (or any other person) does not deserve to have his name defamed like that, just as the complainant does not deserve to stand alone if there are indeed other cases. Even if I knew with absolute certainty that the current complaint is not real, the way we respond to this case will determine a lot in relation to future complaints as well. To create a society where accusations of this type can be found out without a shadow of a doubt," added Rabbi Elyashiv.
"It is customary to say in the Beit Midrash - "Truth is Torah through her", and outside the Beit Midrash they say that there is no better sinner than sunlight. I do not need to estimate in advance what the result of this test will be, neither do others. There are already enough details that allow for a thorough investigation, there are enough questions that can be answered examine to confirm or refute these suspicions. Just don't leave us like this."
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