Outcry
Outcry is the English translation of ZA'AKAH, an organization advocating for survivors of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. The podcast covers current and historical cases of sexual abuse, debunks myths and disinformation, and provides best-practice information for survivors, parents, teachers, and community leaders. It also features interviews with experts on prevention and response to abuse.
Episodes
Episode 49 - The Trial of Judah Karkowsky: Part 5
We're finally finishing the epic saga of the trial of Judah Karkowsky! We were going to cover the trial itself in detail after covering all the pretrial wrangling and testimony highlights, but honestly Karkowsky isn't worth it. In this episode we cover the oral arguments of Karkowsky's appeals. Make sure you're sitting for this one, you might just plotz! To learn more about ZA&
Episode 48 - The Bizarre Story of Why Quinoa May Be Kosher L'pesach
Another episode from Limmud 2025! This episode is a recording of a session presented by Asher Lovy at Limmud this past year. In this episode you'll learn the (possibly) real story of why the OU finally declared quinoa kosher for Pesach. The story starts with angry caterers desperate to provide kosher l'pesach sushi to the masses, lingers for a while on the horrific attempts by the late T
Episode 47 - Live @ Limmud with Shana Aaronson and Yehudis Fletcher
Three victims advocates walk into a conference, stop us if you've heard this one before! In this episode, Asher Lovy is joined by Shana Aaronson, director of Magen, and Yehudis Fletcher, founder and director of Nahamu, to just kibbitz about what life as an advocate is like. We ricochet back and forth from the hilarious to the horrific, and Shana gets serious about what the essence of our work
Episode 46 - Nechemia Weberman Needs to Stay in Prison
When we covered the case against Nechemya Weberman before on Outcry we didn't expect to be covering it again so soon, but a recently filed motion in Kings County Supreme Court, supported by District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, seeks to free him from his 50-year sentence. Weberman was convicted at trial for the repeated rape and sexual assault of a 12 year old girl over the course of three years w
Episode 45 - The Case Against Lonny Benamy
We're taking a break from our coverage of the Judah Karkowsky trial to cover the case against Yeshiva of Flatbush and Lonny Benamy, a longtime teacher. Lonny was accused in a CVA lawsuit of grooming and sexually abusing a student at Yeshiva of Flatbush. The complaint details a system of grooming that Benamy engaged in to create a group of students who received special favor from him and use t
Episode 44 - The Trial of Judah Karkowsky: Part 4
In our continuing coverage of the Judah Karkowsky trial we wrap up with the various pretrial motions made by the defense before jury selection. In particular in this episode we get into arguments made by Karkowsky's lawyer about the validity of the case itself, and about whether or not Karkowsky's texts with Aryeh Schulman should be excluded from evidence because Karkowsky believed that
Episode 43 - The Trial of Judah Karkowsky: Part 3
In this episode we do a deep dive on one of the dumbest, most mind-bending, time-consuming arguments made by Karkowsky's lawyer during pretrial motions: The question of whether or not to allow Karkowsky to introduce a full copy of his forged transcript as evidence. But it was forged, you may ask? Shouldn't that preclude it from being held forth as an authentic piece of evidence? Neverthe
Episode 42 - Chutzpah: A Memoir of Faith, Sexuality and Daring to Stay - With Yehudis Fletcher
We are joined this episode by Yehudis Fletcher to discuss her new memoir: Chutzpah: A Memoir of Faith, Sexuality and Daring to Stay. Yehudis is the founder of Nahamu, a UK based research organization focused on the issues of forced and arranged marriage, and sexual and domestic violence. Yehudis leads Nahamu’s analysis of the harms arising from extremism in the Jewish community and shapes our advo
Episode 41 - The Trial of Judah Karkowsky: Part 2
In our continuing coverage of the trial of Judah Karkowsky we do a deep dive on how exactly Karkowsky was caught using a forged transcript of the hearing dismissing his sexual abuse charges to try and con his way back into the Young Israel of Woodmere, and defraud the Woodmere Fire District, and County of Nassau. We also get into some of the pretrial motions that eventually became the basis for Ka
Episode 40 - The Trial of Judah Karkowsky: Part 1
Judah Karkowsky is perhaps the dumbest criminal we've ever covered on this podcast. After getting off on a technicality for the alleged sexual assault of a child while responding to an EMS call at the Young Israel of Woodmere, Judah Karkowsky decided to test his luck even further. Karkowsky used a forged copy of the transcript of the hearing where his charges were dismissed to try and scam hi
Episode 39 - Mile High Monster: The Case Against Rabbi Gavriel Bidany
In March of 2011, Rabbi Gavriel Bidany was arrested for groping an IDF soldier on a plane to the United States. While sitting next to her he reached his hand under her blanket to touch her without her consent. In this episode we discuss what he did, the details of his case, his trial and conviction, and the many people who came to his defense and wrote sentencing recommendations on his behalf. Man
Episode 38 - The Brothers Tendler Part 2: Rabbi Mordechai Tendler
In our last episode we discussed Rabbi Aron Baruch Tendler and his alleged abuse of students at YULA High School. We began discussing his brother Mordechai as well. In this episode we dive into the details of Rabbi Mordechai Tendler's alleged abuses against women and his firing as rabbi of Kehillat New Hempstead. This episode discusses the specific dynamics of when Rabbis abuse their congrega
Episode 37 - The Brothers Tendler Part 1: It Runs in the Family
In this episode we discuss two brothers, Rabbi Aron Baruch Tendler, and Rabbi Mordechai Tendler, both rabbis in an illustrious family who were accused of using their positions to abuse people. In the case of Rabbi Aron Baruch Tendler, he was accused of abusing girls at YULA High School in Los Angeles. Mordechai was accused of coercing women in his congregation into sex under the pretext of rabbini
Episode 36 - The One Where Baltimore's Rabbonim Endanger Everyone's Kids - The Case Against Zev Steen Part 2
In our last episode we discussed Zev Steen's arrest for the possession and distribution of CSAM as well as the rape and recording of a girl from age 2 to 8. We discussed the letter written by Rabbi Shraga Neuberger on behalf of Steen for his appeal to be granted bond after his second arrest, as well as the roles played by Neuberger, unlicensed therapist Yehuda Bergman, and CHANA clinical coor
Episode 35 - The One Where Baltimore's Rabbonim Endanger Everyone's Kids - The Case Against Zev Steen Part 1
Zev Steen was arrested in late 2022 for possession and distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM). Authorities quickly realized that he had produced some of it during the course of sexually abusing a 2 year old girl for the next 6 years of her life. The charges were upgraded and the case was moved to federal court. That's when the insanity really started. In this episode we discuss h
Episode 34 - Why Do Rabbis Love Protecting Convicted Predator Akiva Roth?
Akiva Roth, son of Conservative bigwig Joel Roth, was accused in 1996 of sexually abusing a number of boys at one of their homes during a Bar Mitzvah lesson. He later pleaded to a lesser charge and managed to avoid jail time or sex offender registry. According to a report by the Forward, Rabbi Chaim Rogoff, a friend of Akiva's father and rabbi of the East Brunswick Jewish Center where Roth wo
Episode 33 - Penner Penned a Letter (For an Alleged Abuser)
in 2021, Judah Karkowsky was accused of sexually abusing a child at the Young Israel of Woodmere, and despite the case being dismissed for procedural reasons, Karkowsky was nonetheless suspended from the shul. Following the dismissal of that case, Karkowsky, in an effort to regain his position in shul, forged a transcript of the dismissal hearing to make it look like the judge had dismissed the ca
Episode 32 - Conversion Therapy is Abusive (with Shlomo Rozenek)
As pride month comes to a close, we tackle the issue of conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as reparative therapy. Conversion therapy is a phony, bigoted process by which a "therapist" (many of whom are not actually licensed mental health professionals) attempts to "convert" their client from some kind of LGBTQ+ identity to cis/straight. There is absolutely no research th
Episode 31 - The Case Against Avigdor Kupferstein & Belz (With Yehudis Fletcher) Part 2
In our last episode covering the Gender Motivated Violence Act case against Belz and Avigdor Kupferstein, we left off with the allegations about Victor having sexually abused his and Dr. Henny Kupferstein's children. In this episode we finish discussing the complaint against him, including his call to ACS against Dr. Kupferstein for the "crime" of going to a postpartum convalescent
Episode 30 - The Case Against Avigdor Kupferstein & Belz (With Yehudis Fletcher)
In November of 2023, Dr Henny Kupferstein filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband, Avigdor Kupferstein, and Kehillas Belz in Boro Park, for rape, physical, and sexual assault she allegedly experienced in her marriage at the hands of her husband, condoned and encouraged, she alleges, by Dayan Cheskel Akiva Gross. What's unique about this lawsuit is how it describes, in great detail, not only th
Episode 29 - In The Aftermath of Malka Leifer (With Nicole Meyer)
Malka Leifer is perhaps the most notorious child sexual abusers in the Jewish world. After abusing three sisters, Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper, and Dassi Erlich, Malka Leifer fled Australia to Israel to escape justice. While Israel has an extradition treaty with Australia, they also have an accepted policy of protecting Jews from prosecution in other countries. While living as a free woman in Emmanue
Episode 28 - Sex Trafficking in the Jewish Community: The Case of Zwi Migdal
In this episode Ariella and Sara Rosenberg (of Jewish Survivors United) discuss the history of the infamous Jewish sex-trafficking organization, Zwi Migdal, which operated globally from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, trafficking women and girls from eastern European Shtetls to brothels they maintained around the world. Women and girls abducted by these traffickers would be sent around the world,
Episode 27 - Sleepaway Camp: Threat or Menace - The Case Against Ella Fohs with Stephen Mills
In this next installment of our series on sleepaway camp and its inherent risks, we are joined by the incredible Stephen Mills, author of Chosen: A Memoir of Stolen Boyhood to discuss his experiences at Camp Ella Fohs. Stephen is a survivor of sexual abuse by the former director of Camp Ella Fohs, Dan Farinella, a social worker. In Chosen Stephen describes in vivid detail the process of how Farine
Episode 26 - Sleepaway Camp: Threat or Menace - The Case Against Camp Dora Golding (w. David Cheifetz)
In our previous episode we began to discuss the unique conditions at sleepaway camps that make them particular risks to children, In particular the sexualized atmosphere of co-ed Jewish sleepaway camps in the Conservative movement. Between the overemphasis on Jewish continuity through sex, and the isolation imposed on children as part of the experience, we discussed how Eddie Ward was able to abus
Episode 25 - Sleepaway Camp: Threat or Menace - The Case of Eddie Ward & Surprise Lake
Unfortunately there is no shortage of sexual abuse allegations at sleepaway camps: Camp Agudah, Dora Golding, Sternberg, Oorah Girl Zone, Magen Av, Romimu, and so many more. Whether we like to admit it or not, sleepaway camp often creates an environment where abusers can more easily prey on children and get away with it. In this episode we do a deep dive on the case against Eddie Ward at Surprise
Episode 24 - Bobov's Chillul Hashem: A Deep Dive on Daskal's Sentencing
This week we are honored to be joined by Shulim Leifer. Shulim is a community activist on behalf of survivors, who has helped numerous survivors seek justice against their abusers. He joins us this week to discuss the sentencing of former Shomrim head, Yanky Daskal. In 2017, Daskal was arrested on charges connected to his rape of a 15 year old girl placed in his care. Originally brought up on stat
Episode 23 - Shlomo Carlebach - Serial Sexual Abuser (And Some Updates on Daskal & Dresdner)
While Shlomo Carlebach was considered by many to be a beloved if unconventional saint for mid to late 20th century Jewery, he had, as was described by Lilith Magazine in 1998, a Shadow Side to him. Many prefer to ignore this part of his life, minimizing it or pretending it never happened, but Shlomo Carlebach sexually abused and harassed an innumerable amount of women over the 30 years he was acti
Episode 21: The One Where We React to the Gershon Selinger Interview (With Chaim Levin, Rahel Bayar, and Shana Aaronson)
Mendy Pellin's interview with registered sex offender, Gershon Selinger, took the internet by a storm. Was it just the thing the community needed to shake it out of its denial? Was it a harmful platforming of a manipulative abuser? Is there anything to be learned from what Gershon said? As with most things, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Asher Lovy, director of ZA'AKAH, i
Episode 20 - Shomrim Head Yanky Daskal Pleads Guilty & Weberman is Still a Hero
The Weberman trial ended 10 years ago with a conviction and sentence to over 100 years in prison, but within the Satmar community, Nechemya Weberman is still considered not only innocent, but a sainted martyr. He has had articles published in local Satmar newspaper, the community still fundraises for him, and the Satmar Rebbe himself even visited him last year in Riker's Island. Recently the
Episode 20 - The Case Against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky Part 3
In our last episode we covered how Camp Shoresh, Beth Tfiloh, and Suburban Orthodox responded to the allegations of sexual abuse against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky. Rabbi Krawatsky was allegedly strongly supported by the leadership at all 3 institutions, including by alleged financial contributions and fundraising toward his legal fees. In this episode we wrap up our coverage of this case. Obviously t
Episode 19 - The Case Against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky Part 2
In our last episode we discussed the allegations of sexual abuse against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky, a former director at Camp Shoresh in Baltimore. We discussed the three children who came forward with allegations and the particulars of their claims. This week we get into the Child Protective Services investigations, the appeals of those decisions, and what Shoresh, Beth Tfiloh, and Suburban Orthodox
Episode 18: The Case Against Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky
We've discussed the Orthodox community in Baltimore many times on this podcast. We've detailed the various ways in which that community is uniquely dangerous to survivors of sexual abuse and children in general. From the numerous coverups that have happened over the years, to the numerous accused and convicted pedophiles who are allowed to attend community shuls, to general attitudes tow
Episode 17: The Case Against Yeshiva University - George Finkelstein
In our previous episodes about the Child Victims Act case against Yeshiva University for decades of sexual abuse allegedly committed during the 1960s 70s and 80s by Macy Gordon, Richard Andron, George Finkelstein, Elan Adler, Richard Ehrlich, and Marc Gafni, we discussed the history of the case, how the cases evolved over the years, the passage of the Child Victims Act, and the filing of the lates
Episode 16: Abuse and Coverup at Yeshiva University - Macy Gordon Yemach Shemo
In our previous episode we covered the case against Richard Andron, the martial arts teacher at YUHS who allegedly molested a number of his students and was covered up for by the administration and his alleged child molester colleague George Finkelstein. In this episode of Outcry we cover the case against Macy Gordon, described by some as the most sadistic of the child sexual abusers at YUHS durin
Episode 15: Abuse and Coverup at Yeshiva University - Richard Andron
In our last episode about the child sexual abuse allegations against Yeshiva University, we covered the filing of the 2019 Child Victims Act lawsuit against Yeshiva University outlining allegations against all the named defendants, and the people involved in covering it up. In this episode we start our series of deep dives into the individual alleged abusers starting with Richard Andron. Andron wa
Episode 14: Abuse and Coverup at Yeshiva University - The 2019 CVA Suit
In our last episode about the prolific sexual abuse committed and covered up at Yeshiva University we laid out the history of the case, previously filed lawsuits, Yeshiva University's sham investigation into these historical allegations of sexual abuse, and why the previous cases were unsuccessful. With the passage of the Child Victims Act in 2019, however, the alleged victims of Macy Gordon,
Episode 13: We Were on a Break!!! - Some Updates to Highly Requested Cases
Due to incredibly selfish reasons by Asher for bring unprepared for today's episode (namely, being busy in the process of getting engaged), the Yeshiva University case is temporarily out on hold while we instead provide some updates to 5 cases we've been getting a lot of questions about. In this episode we cover updates about the cases against former TABC principal Rabbi Shlomo Adelman,
Episode 12: Coverup at Yeshiva University - The Pre-Child Victims Act Years
In this episode we begin our series on the decades of sexual abuse committed and covered up at Yeshiva University. Over the course of this series we'll be covering the many the abusers named in the currently active Child Victims Act lawsuits, of which there are over a dozen, and the many people who were responsible for covering it all up. Among the people named as enablers, we'll be disc
Episode 11: Detective Rory Forrestal Talks CSAM (Child Pornography)
After taking a break to allow this episode's guest to recover from COVID, and for us to discuss the dangers of letting abuse enablers like Leslie Wexner and others off the hook too easy, we're finally please to invite Detective Rory Forrestal on the podcast to discuss the law-enforcement side of CSAM cases. Detective Forrestal has decades of experience in the field, both working within
Episode 10: Leslie Wexner & His Merry Band of Enablers
Last episode we said we would be bringing on a law enforcement expert in Child Sexual Abuse Materials cases to answer questions about the Belitz, Steen, and Keil cases, and that's still going to happen, but unfortunately he came down with COVID and we had to push his interview off to next episode. This week we invited Sara Rosenberg, founder of the Jewish Survivors Forum, on to discuss the is
Episode 9: Leo Keil, a Real Pedophile's Pedophile - Part Two
In last week's episode we began discussing the case against Leo Keil, a Philadelphia-based pedophile who was arrested and convicted for possessing and distributing hundreds of horrific images and videos of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM) over IRC chats. Aside from just sharing these materials, Keil would hang around in chatrooms dedicated to sharing and discussing CSAM, and would actively
Episode 8: Leo Keil, a Real Pedophile's Pedophile - Part One
In the wake of the case in Baltimore involving former TAG director and Bnos Yisroel STEM teacher, Zev Steen, being arrested for possession, distribution, and possibly creation of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM), we'll be covering a similar case involving Leo Keil, a member of the Philadelphia Jewish community who was arrested and plead guilty to possession and distribution of CSAM. Keil w
Episode 7: Weberman's (Unsuccessful) Appeals - Part Two
Nechemia Weberman is one of the most well-known sexual abusers in the history of the Orthodox Jewish community. His trial helped start ZA'AKAH and for many was the first time they were forced to contend with the reality and prevalence of sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community. Following his conviction on 87 counts of sexual abuse for repeatedly sexually assaulting his 12 year old clien
Episode 6: Weberman's (Unsuccessful) Appeals - Part One
Weberman's sentence to 103 years of prison for sexually abusing his 12 year old client was not the end of the case. Almost immediately an appeal was filed in state court to overturn the sentence. Both his first and second appeals were denied, and he is currently appealing the decision in federal court. In this episode we get into the weeds on his appeals, what his claims are, why they're
Episode 5: Linda Rosenthal Discusses the New York Adult Survivors Act
Modeled after the Child Victims Act, the New York State legislature passed the Adult Survivors Act in May of 2021. The new law opens a one-year lookback window during which any adult survivors of sexual assault whose case had previously been barred by the statute of limitations can sue their abuser or anyone who enabled their abuse in civil court.In this episode we sit down with Linda B. Rosenthal
Episode 4: The Case That Started ZA'AKAH - Part Three
In our last episode we covered the beginning of the Weberman trial from his arrest to his victim's harrowing testimony and cross-examination in court, the fundraiser held for Weberman that raised $500,000 for his defense, and a few of the many instances of backlash and intimidation against the victim by the community. In this episode we'll talk about the rest of the trial and Weberman&ap
Episode 3: The Case That Started ZA'AKAH - Part Two
A lot happened during the trial of Nechemya Weberman. A wildly successful fundraiser for an alleged pedophile, half a million dollar bribe declined and reported, 4 people arrested for witness intimidation, family retaliated against, businesses destroyed, and a victim publicly humiliated by one of the leaders of her community. But while this is certainly a story of a community unleashing hell upon
Episode 2: The Case That Started ZA'AKAH
In 2012 an unlicensed Chassidish therapist in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was arrested for repeatedly sexually abusing his 12 year old client over the course of three years. She had originally been sent to him by the Va'ad Hatznius, a modesty enforcement board in the Satmar community. Weberman's trial was the first time the Chassidish community in Williamsburg was really forced to contend wit
Episode 1: Get to Know Us
In this episode of Outcry we introduce ourselves so you can get to know us a little. We are Asher Lovy, director of ZA'AKAH, and Ariella Goldberg-Kay, ZA'AKAH's TikTok manager and survivor liaison. We introduce ourselves and talk about why ZA'AKAH started in 2012, what we've been doing since then, and what our goals are for this podcasts. We touch on topics like the Intern
Episode 0: Welcome to Outcry
Welcome to Outcry, a podcast about sexual abuse in the Orthodox Jewish community! Outcry, the English translation of ZA'AKAH, will be covering current and historical cases of sexual abuse in the community, busting myths and disinformation about sexual abuse, providing best-practices based information for survivors, parents, teachers, and community leaders on how to prevent and respond to sexu
