Famed Israeli Rabbi, Mordechai Elon, stands accused of numerous sexual indiscretions with students. And if the charges are true, he deserves to be punished to fullest extent of the law. The abuse of power, trust and faith when religious teachers take advantage of their students is almost indescribably damaging and destructive.
But even if the charges prove to be false, Rabbi Elon has no right to charge his accusers with formulating a “blood libel”, as he did in a statement released earlier today. Blood libels were charges concocted by anti-Semites to stir fear and hatred of Jews, playing up presumptions about our predatory nature. Is that what Rabbi Elon believes about his colleagues who, if anything, protected him from these accusations for too long?
I pray that Rabbi Elon is not guilty, but given the cautious nature of the group which evaluated the charges, Takana, it’s hard to believe that something is not very wrong here. The coming days will tell, but in the meantime, nobody including Rabbi Elon, is well-served by leveling charges of Jew-hatred at people committed to protecting the safety of students and the integrity of the institutions in which they study.
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Author, radio and TV talk show host, and President of CLAL-The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, Brad Hirschfield is the author of 
posted March 3, 2010 at 8:57 am
I think the real issue is the exclusion of non hetro lifestyle from the major three religions. I see no reason why a non hetro Rabbi can’t teach talmud. Rav Elon was in a situation where he has to be in a closet. I believe this leads to stress and eventually to this misconduct.
posted March 3, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I’m sorry, Giora, but I disagree.
A person who is in a position of power by virtue of position owes a special duty to their students.
How Rav Elon elects to be in or out of the closet has limited relevance here.
Rav Elon’s duty as a teacher and leader dictate that he abstain from sexual relationships that complicate his role as teacher.
This is true of any Rabbi. Or any teacher. Or any priest or nun.
I also have even more of a problem with ANYONE attributing “blood libel” to this case than the original facts. Let’s leave homophobia and antisemitism out of this, please.
If he’s guilty of improper advances to a student (male or female), then truth is the only thing that matters here.
It’s only libel if it’s untrue. If it isn’t true, THEN it’s fair to assess the motivations of the accusers.
posted March 3, 2010 at 12:22 pm
I am in complete agreement with JPK. Teachers, leaders, dignitaries, whatever, need to be held accountable when their actions violate a standard of trust. No blood libel here. If it was a matter of being pushed into a closet by a non-hetero leaning, he should have satisfied himself away from his school, his students, his adherents and teaching environment.
posted March 3, 2010 at 12:34 pm
I agree with those who think that anyone who abuses a position of authority ought to be held accountable, but Giora is right when he raises the issues of closeted homosexuals in the religious community. Force someone — anyone — to stay in the closet long enough, and he/she is likely to go mad.
I also think that homophobia plays a larger role here than anyone cares to admit. Query: Had R’ Elon be chasing/harassing his (female) secretary would everyone be as interested in the story? I think not.
posted March 3, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Very sad, puts my faith into question.
posted March 4, 2010 at 12:39 am
Sid you might enjoy this article
http://www.jewishideas.org/articles/rabbi-mordechai-elon-and-challenge-teshuva
posted March 5, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Jews who scream about anti-semitism when legitimately called to task for their own actions are doing as much harm to B’nei Yisrael as real anti-semites.
At a retreat, I heard a woman complain about the “prejudice” the company she worked for because they did not give employees time off for the Jewish holidays. I told her that I had worked for three companies owned by religious Jews, and that they did not give time off for Jewish holidays either. (True) Their attitude was that a Jewish employee who takes his religion seriously would have no problem using personal days, sick days, or comp time for the holidays.
Another example, I knew a man who was creative director of a successful advertising agency. He was displeased with the work and attitudes of one of his writers, and told me that when he attempted to reason with her, she accused him of being anti-semitic. He was deeply offended by this as he had always been admiring of Jews as a whole and sympathetic to Jewish causes. Further, he told me “I didn’t even know she was Jewish! What should I do now?”
My answer was “Fire her.”