Williamsburg, NY – A Brooklyn Rabbi who has been outspoken about child molestation in the city’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community said yesterday he’s been targeted with death threats.
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Nuchem (Nathan) Rosenberg, 58, complained outside the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg that cops have ignored his pleas for help since the summer.
The threats were so frightening, Rosenberg said, that he closed down a hotline he had set up in February 2007 for victims of abuse.
“And I am still afraid for my life, even though the hotline is closed, because they are still after me,” Rosenberg said.
The NYPD confirmed that Rosenberg has gone to cops three times since July but said there is little they can do.
The threats came after a rabbinical decree, in the form of flyers written in Hebrew, popped up across Williamsburg in August calling him a liar, Rosenberg said.
“If you see him, scream [dirty Jew], [evil person], [immoral] & spit on him,” read one text message sent to Rosenberg’s phone.
Death threats came in calls to his cell phone, he said.
Sexual abuse in the Hasidic community is rarely discussed and not commonly prosecuted in secular courts.
In one unusual case, Rabbi Yehuda Kolko, a teacher at Brooklyn’s Yeshiva Torah Temimah in Brooklyn, was charged with sexual abuse in 2006. He ultimately pleaded guilty to child endangerment.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn) has recently begun collecting his own stories of pedophilia in the ultra-Orthodox world and claims he has “hundreds” of complaints against rabbis and other Orthodox leaders.
In September, a psychologist stepped down from a task force that Hikind formed to explore the problem, saying he had been threatened. “I was prosecuted in the street for daring to join such a venture,” Dr. Benzion Twerski told Jewish Week.
“We all live here in prison,” Rosenberg said. “We can’t talk about what is bothering us.”
LO soguru – Keep up the good work until the sickos will no longer hurt the children
So, he closed the hotline, why is he still getting death threats?
he claims he was shot and the bulit graised him, can any one confirm?
Who let the dogs out who !!!!! I love your jacket you look like a normal rabbi
since guliani became mayor all this has stopped/ no tires burning,no major spray painting,flipped cars etc.. no one is actually going to do anything to you
If the calls are on his cell they can be traced. If he is getting threats (& I believe he’s being harrassed) it just proves how Frum people would rather protect the guilty & close ranks than see evil people get what they deserve.
No good deed goes unpunished. Mr. Rosenberg is vilified for speaking up. If more of you people, INCLUDING VICTIMS’ FAMILIES, did the same this sickness may be removed. As long as you keep quiet, these predators are free to continue.
according to rosenberg he was threatened before he closed his hotline. he was defiant then as he is now.
I highly doubt the real reason for his closing was the death threats. I’ve heard many theories, maybe someone here has some insight.
Nuchem fake foney fraud.
Just wait until the kids of some of the rabunim or yeshivah administrators will become victims and then all hell will break lose. Whether that or something else—there will be a boiling point and at that point blood will be flowing in the streets of our community. It will happen; it’s just a matter of time. Enough is enough!
Hes a liar.he claims that he got shot on a youtube video.no police report no news paper reported it.he is sick and needs attn.he loves the threats so much that he even dreams about it.may his dreams of being shot come true.then hel get alot of attn.
Nuchem come up with something better
Now I see that we won the ogly war with nuchem, this is yiash,(with flag)
Nuchem I’m disopointent of you,
I taught you are more powerfull
than crying in front of a police office,
Nuchem Rosenberg’s downfall was due to good old “casualty of war.” The only way he was able to get this subject on the discussion table was by giving a free education to minors on his hotline—which is wrong! But if not for him there would be no Dov Hikind and there would be no press coverage. It had to happen. Nuchem Rosenberg is a hero and he will see the fruits of his labor in his lifetime. Maybe it will take a new mayor, a new police commissioner, a new DA; or perhaps a few rabunim to wake up but it will happen. The people will take to the streets sooner or later. It’s a shame that right now the child molesters are holding up the “kol Korah” against Nuchem Rosenberg and use it as a shield while laughing at every one. The rabunim who do care (believe it or not, there are some of them left) should have released a separate “kol Korah” saying that despite lashing out at Nuchem Rosenberg they do not condone the atrocities done by those hurting our children. The absence of such a letter was a blatant statement of whose side the rabbis are on. They have blood on their hands. I smell a civil war in the making!
Rabbi rosenberg you are doing a great job. get a permit to carry a weapon so you can protect yourself from these lowlife thugs. these hloier than thau trash is losing the respect of the greater community.
he is villified by many becuase he generelizes.
I don’t know of anyone who objects to prosocuting pedophiles.
but calling rabbis pedofiles and claiming 30% of williamsburg are drug addicts is what many find offensive.
if you know of a specific case that’s misshandled, make all the noise you want, you will get the support from many. but just screaming that all rabbis are pedophiles or harboring them will not get you anywhere.
mr. rosenberg is idiot.
I believed Nochum until his gunshot wound, Give me a break!
The NYPD investigates threats seriously. The reason they can’t do anything for Nuchem is that he is unable to substantiate the claims.
I am neither fan nor enemy of Nuchem, but I am calling his bluff.
As for Hikind, he promised action, and to date all we hear are press remarks about how he has hundreds of cases. By not taking any action, he is as responsible as the “Rabbis” who are alleged to be doing the same.
The issue of molestation needs to be addressed, and I truly believe that many schools have become aware of the issue, and where warranted have acted. I don’t believe the hype. I don’t believe there are hundreds of cases. If there are, show me some proof!!
Because we heard the hype, and then heard it over and over, but never saw real proof or action, we as a public have come to believe that its obviously not that bad. Dov, you promised, but didn’t deliver.
As for Twerski, I believe he realized that early on, and took the easy way out to protect his image. He did not want to be part of the colossal failure that was gonna be perpetrated.
I happen to know this maniac for many years, this guy will do just anything & everything to get some recognition, you can’t believe a word he says, besides the fact that its really rare to find someone that fantasy and reality are one, he is also a straight out liar that you can’t even imagine, and all people who think that this person has any credibilty whatsoever or that any good can come out from this Meshugener are either big time stupid or perhaps don’t know this guy. Let the cops cross examine him for 15 minutes and they will see how any of his stories will collapse in no time, and I guess the local precients know very well with whom they are dealing with by now and I’m sure that’s the reason they just ignore him, if I will have some time I will share with you all first hand information about this guy that will shock you to say the least! I was his neighbor for many years and I saw & heard & know allot on this attention seeker which includes his rishus & abuse to his own family etc. as well some information about his own maasim tovim…. I would just ignore this ego maniac if you ask me.
Its sad that he picked up the whyte flag. The community desperatly needs him back, politicians are not the right people to pull this through.
we need to protect our protectors
I say to all people here, its not nice that you bad mouth any yid, especially a well respected rabbi in our community. I urge you all to stop the hatred already.
How can a yid call a fellow yid meshuga??? its beyond me! at least watch your language when expressing yourselves! please, its not nice!
nuchem, may hashem protect you. I
We will release those names!
Nothing will stop me!
this is what we have been hearing from Nochum and now from Hikind.
We have the names, we are warning! waiting for the rebbis to comply! we will…. we will …..
All rethoric!!!
Nuchem Your affraid? Affraid of whom? nuchem stop crying baby and be strong Hashem is mighthy, hashem is strong, Affraid of rabonim? Rabonim have no muscles.You are a tall robust guy if anyone attacks you just do a flip and spin the guy untill he aint see no daylight man.
What a Shlimazel he failed even at suicide.
I agree with Rebetzin Stern, I can understand and feel the pain she has when seeing how sometimes we loose our boundaries and we go to the lowest level by calling a yid .meshuga!
I’ve seen the stories and watch his youtube video and can’t decide what the truth is. Not being from Williamsburg, I am a disadvantage. His demeanor in the video was not reassuring, but I don’t know.
The people who have written nasty comments about Rabbi Rosenberg are PART OF THE PROBLEM. You are pedophile shills, doing what you do best, trying to shut up anyone who is brave enough to come out and defend the kids. Shame on all of you. G-d is watching, you will have to answer to G-d on the Day of Judgment and your Day of Judgment may be very very close. Time to do teshuva, leave the Rabbi alone to do his good work.
those of us connected with thefrum community know that all this is TRUE and should be given much more publicity, until the pedophiles and their aides are brought to justice.
If there is one honorable person in Willaimsburg NY it’s none other than Rabbi Nochum Rosenburg Shlita an INDIVIDUAL who is full of the truth (EMES) OUT SPOKEN and helpful.
What happen was that he decided to help some teens who where molested by some big and famous guns, knowing that they are very powerful and viscous, still he did a great job putting them in their place.
Unfortunately there are those who are community leaders who where next on this list to be put in their place like have them arrested or put behind bars etc. so they jumped on the bad wagon to get signatures from so called Rabbis who only heard one side of the story and came out with something like a Charim against Rabbi Rosenburg.
If there is any one out there from the cozy VIN family who can help a fellow Yid continue his Avodas HaKodesh, and cars for Kovod Shomyim, please feel to do what ever is in your power to get his hot line going again. We know that Hashem is the one who can help out more than any Askin or police dept. so As a Tefilas Rabim we ask Hashem PLEASE HELP !!!
The comments here are fascinating. Instead of acknowleding Nuchem Rosenberg for the hero that he is, he is being villified! And for what? For protecting OUR children! Until he exposed the whole shameful mess, the awareness level in our community was non-existent. Yes, we all knew of the word “molestation”, but we all thought it didn’t happen to OUR children. How wrong we were. I now know of several cases-and the after effects are so terribly damaging. Keep up the work R’ Nuchem! Hatzlacha Rabba! And to all you protectors of pedophiles in our chinuch system, remember: Emes M’Eretz Titzmach – the truth will sprout forth from the earth and your dirty conduct will eventually be exposed for all to see!
I am appalled at the blindness of so many people. If the only issue here was Nachum Rosenberg, some of you commentators would actually make sense – both pro and con. But none of that is relevant. Neither is Hikind, Twersky, or any other individual. When will everyone come to their senses and simply recognize that there is a problem here. We have pedophilia happening with absolutely no way of dealing with it. We can’t report to Rabbonim or menahalim, because they get defensive and cover up. We can’t go to authorities because of threats of revenge by the mosdos and Rabbonim, and the shmearing of the names of the complainants as mosrim. We can’t take action into our own hands because we lack the resources.
Forget all the people who make noise and speak publicly. What are you – the reader of this blog/article going to do to help change the situation to make things better? Will you speak up, or will you just follow the stupidity of the street, staying stuck in the denial of the problem, and jump to ridiculous conclusions based on ignorance? Simply put – what have you done to help protect our children, Klal Yisroel’s most precious asset?
Is this the same Mashuganeh who goes from town to town trying to posul Mikvos?
for all the people who bash nuchem i just what to tell you, ”lets see if it would be your child, how you would react” i have been abused multiple times, and no one knows till now 15 years later, not even nuchem, trust me i can take 10 people off the street today, and lock them up for life, i know nuchem is not a tzadik, and maybe his hotline is really not good for chinuch, but he is the only person talking to the point, nuchem you have my full support.
nuchem please re start your hot line again
This man had a hotline on sexual abuse?? gimme a break! he ran an attention seeking hotline where he was busy day and night to bring down all yeshivos, then he went to rabonim, then to the big rabbis and so on.. after a long time he started talking sexually, some of it contained abuse issues, but the nature and foundation of his hotline had nothing to do with abuse, and very little did he talk about abuse, its all a matter of a crazy guy seeking attention in the most weird ways.
Well, you crazy Nuchem, I guess its pay back time. For many years you have terrorized many communities and their leaders with Shekorim and Zilzul of the lowest class and for no good reason, you are finally getting what you well deserve. Nuchem, does it hurt being persecuted and put to shame in public, ha? That’s exactly what you did to others for many years. Be happy that you get repaid on this world, maybe like this you will burn less in hell.
And to you Raboisai! Yes, the molestation issue is a serious problem which had and has to be vigorously discussed and resolved forthwith. But, just as it is unacceptable to blow the Shofar on Roash Hashana with a Shofar that is Posul, you don’t use a filthy man with a filthy mouth to touch such an important issue. If you take into your mouth a Shofar to blow with, which is immersed in filth, your mouth will get filthy as well as it will spread foul odors.
Raboisai! Don’t let your hearts be broken for this filthy man, he will rot in hell.
Liar liar! nobody is interestd in hurting you, nobody is looking to kill you and no one is even interested if you live in USA, NY, or South Africa. you’re a known crazy anyhow, and your way of attracting some attention to your direction, is by screaming “everybody is afte me”..
NEBECH!
Hwoever believes this Shoita-atention seeker should go for medical treatment
but now
If the parents of abused children would do their job and report molestation to the police, we would not need Nuchem Rosenberg. To all victims of child molestation, blame your parents for not reporting it. They have blood on their hands.
They knew that the molestor would do it again if they didn’t have him arrested right away. YOUR PARENTS CHOSE TO LOOK AWAY.
why don’t you reopen your hotline ?
I have to say, that the message needs to get out about abuse in our community, but because the messenger is someone like Mr. Rosenberg, the main issue falls to the side. We need someone serious to step forward and work this behind the scenes. The subject went from pedophilia to the hotline. That’s not what this is about and if Mr. Rosenberg wants to do right with this issue, he should do this quietly and effectively, rather than creating a hotline where young people can listen to the most improper language and subjects. I wish him luck if his real quest to root out child abuse.
If it’s true that this guy is a fake, then let the leaders of the frum community agressively address this issue. When people like R’ Twersky and R’ Horowitz are vilified for their efforts in this area, then we have a huge problem. We are now in 2008… If the leaders of the frum community want to keep this out of secular corts etc. then they better be addressing these assues with a united front and display of force. If there are accusations or allegations, they should be taken immediately to a din Torah and the teacher / rabbi / councelor etc. should be removed from their teaching position and not be allowed anywahere near kids, perhaps then, this display of zero telerance will eradicate the sickness from our community. Faliure to act will not go unnoticed, and when the authorities get involved, the scandal will be the greatest chilul Hashem in modern history, and will cost the institutions who hid these charges etc. millions… WAKE UP… PROTECT OUR CHILDREN NOW!
Nuchem, we will overcome. Consider a conference for victims and family to hear a speaker on these issues. Call it an awareness speach for the general public so victims wont shy away. But advertise it heavily through robo calls and hotline. Make it outside the heimishe area and you wont get a flop like last time at the bikur cholim office.
I am appalled by all of you, the point is it’s not Nuchem Rosenberg. He is just like a child that is screaming in middle of the night there is a fire burning inside the home. Rabosei, there is a fire burning unfortunately in our home- our community. Why don’t we all wake up before you get burnt. Unfortunately, I know of a tzadikle of a young boy who became a victim because he trusted the ones that play with fire. What will this child grow up to be? How many more children have left our lifestyles because parents refuse to HEAR that a child has been victimized. We unfortunately don’t want to believe that this “great man” was hurting your child. Parents it is all up to you, to take control of whats happening. Be there and listen and observe your child’s behavior, be on a look out, address unusual behavior and if we all do our hishtadles then we won’t need someone to do it for us. Instead of bashing let’s take a moment and listen to the cry. May hashem all guide us what’s right from wrong and lets all throw in an extra kapital tehillim that our pure and young neshomos should never have to feel the pain that they don’t derserve only because HELP was not there for the unfortunate ones that so desperately would still need today.
It’s sad to see how loosely the title Rabbi is being used. To call Nuchem a Rabbi is just like calling a pig, the king of all animals.
“HE IS A BIG FAT LIAR”A “MENUVEL” AND CRAZY LIKE A DOG.
MANY OF THE STOREIS WAS WENT AFTER AND FOUND %95 OF THE STORY WAS “LIE”
Open the hotline again: NUCHEM OPEN THE HOTLINE AGAIN