Israel Becoming Safe Haven for Paedophiles with Laws that Allow any Jews to Legally Return

[SalarHaqq]

Israel becoming 'safe haven for paedophiles' with laws that allow any Jews to legally return, activists claim


Jewish Community Watch says 32 paedophiles moved from countries around the world to Israel over past decade

• Peter Walker
• Friday 2 December 2016 12:27 BST

Activists fear Israel is becoming a safe haven for paedophiles thanks to the country’s unique Law of Return for the world’s Jewish people.

A Jewish person from anywhere across the globe can be fast-tracked for citizenship in Israel, as well as their spouse, children and grandchildren.

An 1954 amendment to the law bans "a person with a criminal past, likely to endanger public welfare” but campaigners say sex abusers are slipping through the net.

“Israel is becoming a safe haven for paedophiles due to the unique opportunity available to all Jews from anywhere in the world to immigrate there,” said child abuse survivor Manny Waks, founder of child sex abuse advocacy group Kol V'Oz, speaking to The Independent.

“This provides a relatively efficient and effective way to evade justice from other countries. It also provides a sanctuary to those who have already been convicted.

”It's important to note that while there are some criminal background checks as part of the immigration process, there are multiple ways to overcome this requirement."

Jewish Community Watch says that 32 paedophiles in their database have moved from countries around the world to Israel over the past decade.

It says 12 Jewish paedophiles, from across the globe, have moved to countries other than Israel.

“Education of this issue in the Haredi world is lacking. There are serious shortfalls,” Mr Waks, from Melbourne, told the Times of Israel. “They bring teachers in and out of yeshivas without doing checks.

“The Israeli government needs to look at this issue to address it, because it is an injustice to the victims and a danger to Israeli children.”

A text message was reportedly circulated throughout the Ramot neighbourhood of Jerusalem, reporting that a Level 2 sex offender was moving to the area in November.

The convict escaped arrest by New York police to Israel via Canada in 2007 and was charged in his absence with eight counts of sexual intercourse with two 13-year-old children.

He was reportedly extradited and convicted in 2009 but released in February 2012.

“People have a right, after they serve their time, to live their life,” said Jewish Community Watch Israel operations coordinator Shana Aronson.

“But the community has a right to know who they are. They shouldn’t be vilified any more than is necessary to protect the community.

“But nothing is more devastating than a repeat offender. It’s infuriating. It could have been prevented.”

But the methods employed by activists has caused controversy, with the Jerusalem District Court hearing, on Thursday, 17 November, of Yona Weinberg’s libel lawsuit against activist Yakov Horowitz.

Mr Weinberg, from Brooklyn, New York, who moved to Israel after sex offence convictions, is accusing Mr Horowitz of slander and libel for a tweet he published last year following Mr Weinberg's move to Israel.

The Law of Return allows Jews living outside the country, other than those with “a criminal past, likely to endanger public welfare”, to live in Israel

“I really genuinely understand and respect that there is great reluctance to tinker with the Law of Return,” said Mr Horowitz.

“The Law of Return is a beautiful concept, it’s really part of the DNA of the Jewish state. There’s a feeling that if you amend it for sex offenders, what about someone who did domestic violence? Or a Ponzi scheme? Where do you draw the line?”

But he added that in his opinion “at the very least, the [sex offenders] should be supervised if you’re letting them in”.

Avi Mayer, spokesman for the Jewish Agency, which brings Jews into Israel, reportedly said that approval for a convicted criminal's visa depends on “the nature of the crime, when it was committed, and what has transpired in the interim".

Mr Mayer also told The Independent: "A convicted sex offender would certainly be [barred from the Law of Return] and would thus be prevented from immigrating to the country.

"In the rare event that a person ineligible to immigrate under the above provision is nevertheless granted citizenship on an irregular basis, the law enables any individual who considers him, or herself, adversely affected by such a decision to appeal it before the relevant authorities."

* Update. This article originally included a suggestion that paedophihles could potentially enter Israel as tourists, then "stay indefinitely". This is not the case. If a person wishes to remain in Israel indefinitely they must apply for residency status or citizenship and would therefore have to submit to background criminal checks. 2/12/16

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/w...ex-abuse-jewish-community-watch-a7445246.html

 

[SalarHaqq]

Diaspora pedophiles increasingly use Israel as ‘a haven,’ activists charge

As sex offenders flee their home countries for the Jewish state, grassroots efforts at raising awareness of their presence has led to a slander lawsuit

By Melanie Lidman
28 November 2016, 9:17 pm


Illustrative: New immigrants to Israel disembarking a plane in Tel Aviv, on August 17, 2016. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90)

The text message came in Hebrew and English. “A warning to the citizens of Israel: JCW [Jewish Community Watch, an organization that monitors child sex abuse] has received credible information that [redacted] has plans to return to Israel in early November, with intentions of moving to the Ramot neighborhood of Jerusalem. The authorities in Israel have been notified, as well as local community leaders.”

The text message, sent to thousands of people on the JCW update list, raced through Jerusalem’s Ramot neighborhood. According to New York’s sex offender registry, the person in question is a Level 2 sex offender, at moderate risk of reoffending. The message continued with more background and allegations against the immigrant offender.

“In 2007, [redacted] had escaped to Israel through Canada in an effort to evade arrest from the police in New York. He was formally charged in absentia with 8 counts of deviate sexual intercourse with two 13-year-old minors on the same day his aliyah status was approved. Months later [redacted] was extradited back to NY where he was convicted in 2009 and served time until his release in February 2012. Currently [redacted] still holds Israeli citizenship under the alias [redacted].”

According to Shana Aronson, the Israel operations coordinator for Jewish Community Watch, the text message is a public service.

“People have a right, after they serve their time, to live their life,” said Aronson. “But the community has a right to know who they are. They shouldn’t be vilified any more than is necessary to protect the community. But nothing is more devastating than a repeat offender. It’s infuriating. It could have been prevented.”

One of the country’s founding pieces of legislation, the Law of Return allows any Diaspora Jew to receive citizenship in Israel. But child rights activists contend there is a dark loophole to the law which allows Jewish pedophiles to effectively flee court-mandated supervision in their home countries and move to Israel with a clean slate.

In a grassroots effort to deal with the problem, activists and concerned parents are starting to raise awareness on social media, issuing “warnings” via text message, Twitter, and Facebook to parents in neighborhoods where convicted or alleged pedophiles are moving. But their unregulated efforts are also drawing a backlash.


Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, who is being sued by convicted child sex offender Yona Weinberg. Horowitz is a founder of Monsey’s Yeshiva Darchei Noam and Director of The Center for Jewish Family Life (courtesy Yakov Horowitz).

On November 24, the Jerusalem District Court held the first procedural hearing in a case from convicted pedophile Yona Weinberg, who is suing child rights activist Yakov Horowitz. Horowitz tweeted out a warning to parents in Jerusalem’s Har Nof neighborhood after Weinberg moved there.

In his suit, Weinberg, from Brooklyn, New York, accuses Horowitz of slander and libel for encouraging parents to treat him like “a terrorist with a machete.”

However, child abuse activists say that especially in the case of Israel, these social media warnings are warranted.

“There’s a danger that Israel is becoming a safe haven for pedophiles and alleged perpetrators,” said Manny Waks, a survivor of child abuse and the founder of Kol V’Oz, an advocacy group addressing child sex abuse in the global Jewish community. “Of course, any criminal can flee to another country, but it’s about getting the visa to remain there. Because Israel welcomes all Jews, they’re protected from that perspective,” he said.

How easy is it for sex offenders to make aliyah?

A registered sex offender under supervision in their home country will not have that supervision transferred to Israel when they receive citizenship. A convicted criminal can make aliyah if the Interior Ministry approves their application, especially if the person has already served their sentence or the crime was a misdemeanor.

Jewish Community Watch says that 32 pedophiles in their database have moved from countries around the world to Israel in the past decade. By contrast, during the same period it has tracked just 12 Jewish pedophiles that have moved abroad from their homelands to countries other than Israel.

When sex offenders move to other countries, there is no international procedure in place for how to monitor or supervise them in their new country. However, international visa requirements make it difficult for nonresidents to live long-term in a new country. Israel is a particularly attractive destination for sex offenders, because the Law of Return allows all Jews to receive citizenship in a very short period of time.

In another, related issue, alleged pedophiles — suspected but not formally charged with any crime — sometimes flee to Israel before authorities get involved. In close-knit Jewish communities, especially among the ultra-Orthodox, a distrust of authorities and tradition of keeping problems “within the community” means that allegations of abuse can arise well before victims notify law enforcement. This gives the purported pedophiles ample time to flee to Israel and apply for aliyah.

If there are no ongoing legal cases against them at the time of their application, they are approved for citizenship in Israel. Even if the authorities in their home countries do move to press charges after the aliyah process is completed, Israel is often reluctant to extradite citizens, meaning the perpetrator can continue to live in Israel and move about freely.

Orthodox activists, like these protesting outside a Brooklyn yeshiva on May 3, 2016, are asking institutions to do more to report and investigate allegations of child sexual and physical abuse. (Courtesy Chaim Levin via JTA)

“Education of this issue in the Haredi world is lacking. There are serious shortfalls,” said Waks, who grew up in Melbourne’s Chabad community and was abused at the Melbourne Yeshiva. “They bring teachers in and out of yeshivas without doing checks. The Israeli government needs to look at this issue to address it, because it is an injustice to the victims and a danger to Israeli children.”


The cover of Manny Wak’s ‘Who Gave you Permission? The Story of a Child Sexual-Abuse Survivor Who Fought Back.’ (courtesy)

Waks has just published his first book, “Who Gave you Permission? The Story of a Child Sexual-Abuse Survivor Who Fought Back” about his own struggle as a survivor of child sex abuse.

The book, available from Scribe, also explores the aftermath of his allegations — how his family was treated and ostracized in the wake of his decision to go to the Australian police about the abuse, and his role as a victim’s advocate in the Jewish community. The title comes from an angry sermon given at the Melbourne Yeshiva synagogue, directed at Waks’s father, demanding to know “Who gave you permission to speak to anybody?”

“The broad statistics are that one in five kids is abused by the age of 18. This is true for the US, it’s true for Israel, and true for Australia,” said Waks. “Only 30% of victims ever disclose their abuse, and on average it takes 20 years for them to disclose it.”

Manny Waks, pictured with his father, Zephaniah, has led the campaign to expose sexual abuse in Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox community. (Tony Fink via JTA)

When a criminal moves to Israel

Approval for a convicted criminal to make aliyah, i.e, immigrate to Israel, would depend on “the nature of the crime, when it was committed, and what has transpired in the interim,” said Jewish Agency spokesperson Avi Mayer.

In 1954, the Law of Return was adapted to exclude “a person with a criminal past, likely to endanger public welfare.” Mayer said that only the Interior Ministry determines what kind of criminals are considered to “endanger public welfare.”

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Hadad said any aliyah application coming from someone who was convicted of a crime goes to a special committee within the Interior Ministry, though the final say for rejecting an applicant rests with the interior minister. Hadad refused to comment on what kind of crimes render a person inadmissible for aliyah.

Even if the Interior Ministry is aware that a convicted sex criminal is under supervision in their home country, only an order from the Israeli courts can place a convicted criminal under supervision in Israel, explained Prison Services spokesman Assaf Librati. Israeli courts are unlikely to hear a case if the crime happened in another country, he added. The Prison Services monitors pedophiles convicted in Israel.

But Librati added that sex criminals are unlike other types of criminals, a position echoed by many activists. “If someone robbed a bank and served their time, they don’t need continued supervision,” he said. “But if someone abused children, they will need ongoing supervision, even if they already served their time.”

Librati called the Prison Services’s inability to monitor these pedophiles a “hole” in the law that allows convicted sex offenders to roam freely in Israel.

Alon Shamir, a 50-year-old therapist accused of raping two of his patients, is escorted by prison service guards as he arrives for a court hearing in Jerusalem on August 7, 2016, (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

Just 19 countries around the world have a national sex offender registry, according to the US Department of Justice (PDF). Of those, the US is one of the few countries that makes their registry public, a situation which has its supporters and detractors. The US national registry is easily searchable on the National Sex Offender Public Website or the new mobile app. Israel has a private national sex offender registry, which only Israeli police and prison services can access.

In Israel, people who want to work in schools and with children are often asked to provide a teudat yosher from the police, which states that the person is a citizen of good standing who does not pose a risk to children’s welfare.

But because the list only relates convictions in Israel, someone who was convicted of sex crimes in another country could obtain this document in Israel, clearing them to work with children.

Where does this leave parents?

Jewish Community Watch is controversial in the child rights field because it publishes an online “Wall of Shame” with photos and information about accused child molesters, sometimes even before authorities convict or even arrest the alleged perpetrators. This raises concerns about vigilante justice and false accusations, though Aronson insists the organization’s internal vetting process before putting someone on the Wall of Shame is rigorous. Other organizations are more cautious, only naming perpetrators who have been indicted or convicted.

Aronson said that while the Israel branch of Jewish Community Watch does not take part in the Wall of Shame, the organization considers it an important tool when law enforcement does not adequately address abuse. It sends out updates via text message about once a month of Jewish pedophiles in its database who are getting out of prison or moving to a new community, either within the same country or abroad.


Meyer Seewald, the founder of Jewish Community Watch, says many in the Orthodox community are ‘more willing to come forward’ about allegations of abuse. (Courtesy of Meyer Seewald/via JTA)

The inability to supervise repeat offenders is part of what infuriates activist Rabbi Yakov Horowitz, the founder of the Center for Jewish Family Life, a New York-based organization that deals with child sex abuse, among other issues.

When he heard that convicted sex offender Yona (Jason) Weinberg, a licensed social worker and bar mitzvah tutor from New York who was convicted in 2008 of eight counts of second-degree sexual abuse and child endangerment, Horowitz decided to take matters into his own hands. According to the New York sex offender registry, Weinberg is considered a Level 3 Sex Offender, which means he poses a high risk of repeat offense and a threat to public safety.

And Weinberg has allegedly already reoffended after serving his 13-month sentence in 2009. According to USAToday, in June 2014, Weinberg allegedly groped an 11-year-old boy; the police investigated and didn’t press charges. When the same boy accused Weinberg of attacking him again in August, police showed up at Weinberg’s home to arrest him and found he had moved to Israel.

Weinberg was approved for aliyah because he had already served 13 months in connection with his previous crime, and police had not yet charged him with a new crime when he submitted his aliyah application.

“I tweeted out the warning that Weinberg moved in, and the next thing I know I got sued for slander even though it’s demonstrably true,” said Horowitz.

Some people took offense with the language of Horowitz’s tweet, which referenced the 2014 Har Nof synagogue massacre, when terrorists attacked the Kehilat Yaakov synagogue with machetes, killing four worshipers and a policeman.

Horowitz said he will be at the trial, which has already set him back more than $5,000. “Not only is there no sex offender registry, you can get sued and have to hire a lawyer and go to court just to warn parents,” he said. “No way that I’m allowing a sex offender to silence people who warn parents about sex offenders.”

“My client isn’t denying that he was convicted in New York years ago,” said Weinberg’s lawyer, Eytan Lehman.

Lehman noted that it is legal to publish information about the conviction. “[Horowitz] claims that Mr. Weinberg fled from the States, running from a federal investigation, and this is a complete lie, and when you write lies you will be sued for libel,” he said. Lehman said that there is no open police investigation into his client.

Another recent sex abuse case that has captured the headlines is Malka Leifer, the former principal of Adass Israel School in Melbourne, which is not associated with the Chabad Yeshiva center where Waks suffered abuse. When allegations of abuse surfaced in 2008, the Adass Israel school arranged to immediately fly Leifer and her family back to Israel in the middle of the night, before police could arrest her. Leifer is wanted by the Australian police on 74 counts of sexual assault and rape of girls at her school. One of the “alleged” victims won a civil suit against Leifer and the Adass Israel school in 2015 and was awarded almost $1 million in damages.


Malka Leifer (YouTube screenshot)

Leifer already had Israeli citizenship, so she did not come back to Israel under the Law of Return. But Israel’s weak extradition laws mean she will not likely return to Australia to face prison time.

In June, a Jerusalem District Court ruled that Leifer was mentally unfit to stand trial for her extradition hearing. She was released from house arrest and is now undergoing psychiatric evaluations every six months to determine her ability to stand trial, a process which could be repeated for up to a decade while she continues to live at home. Because she was convicted in Australia and not Israel, she is not under any supervision to isolate her from contact with children.

The ironclad Law of Return and a ray of hope

Even though activists know that the Law of Return is partially responsible for enabling pedophiles to escape justice, they believe that the solution must come from a change in how the authorities recognize and supervise sex offenders, rather than any change to the Law of Return.

“I really genuinely understand and respect that there is great reluctance to tinker with the Law of Return,” said Horowitz. “The Law of Return is a beautiful concept, it’s really part of the DNA of the Jewish state. There’s a feeling that if you amend it for sex offenders, what about someone who did domestic violence? Or a Ponzi scheme? Where do you draw the line?”

But “at the very least, the [sex offenders] should be supervised if you’re letting them in,” Horowitz added.

Aronson, of Jewish Community Watch, says she has on occasion met with the Interior Ministry to raise concerns about specific aliyah applicants who people have accused of child sex abuse, even if there is no police case.

“But there’s nothing they can do, [the Interior Ministry has] no legal right to start an investigation into someone who there were no charges brought against them,” she said.

On November 28, the Knesset’s Committee on the Rights of the Child, led by MK Yifat Shasha-Biton (Kulanu), held a hearing on child abuse after multiple requests from activists.

“We are trying to understand where this issue stands, and whether or not there’s a hole in the law here and how we’re going to have to address it,” said the committee’s spokesman. “Is it about someone who has slipped between our fingers? Who has an active police record somewhere else but it doesn’t get registered in Israel? Or is it a one-time occurrence with, say, one person from Australia?”

Waks testified at the hearing and urged the Knesset to adopt better international coordination, better background checks, and establish a public sex offender registry.

Despite the bureaucratic difficulties, many of the activists see a positive change in terms of coming to grips with child abuse in the Jewish community.

“Even in the most Haredi communities, the younger [generation] under age 50 is way more likely to go to the authorities,” said Horowitz. “It’s a cultural thing… they see what happens when you don’t go to the authorities, so they’re not as reticent.”

Waks added that social media has empowered many victims to speak for themselves. “The fact that we’re seeing so many reports these days about child sexual abuse does not mean that this abuse is growing,” said Waks. “It means there is more reporting going on. When victims share, it emboldens and empowers other victims to disclose in a way that’s good for them.”

While change may be underway in the communities, the activists feel that their fight to change the government policies for reporting and supervision is just beginning.

“There’s this feeling of everyone being a cog in the machine, of everyone saying, I’m doing what I’m responsible for,” said Aronson. But meanwhile, at least 32 known pedophiles have slipped through the cracks in the past decade. “We are trying to get enough people alarmed in order to change something,” she said.

Diaspora pedophiles increasingly use Israel as ‘a haven,’ activists charge

As sex offenders flee their home countries for the Jewish state, grassroots efforts at raising awareness of their presence has led to a slander lawsuit

www.timesofisrael.com

 

[SalarHaqq]

How Jewish American pedophiles hide from justice in Israel

By Ian Lee

Updated on: February 19, 2020 / 8:48 AM / CBS News


Tel Aviv — It's a tense stakeout, waiting for Jimmy Julius Karow to appear. He is a wanted man and is considered dangerous. Accused of sexually assaulting a 9-year-old girl in Oregon in 2000, he fled to Israel before authorities in the U.S. could apprehend him or figure out where he went. Karow has been running from U.S. law enforcement ever since. Currently INTERPOL, an inter-governmental policing organization that works with 194 countries, has a Red Notice to alert police worldwide that he's a fugitive.

Two years after he fled the U.S., Karow was convicted by an Israeli court of child molestation in a separate case. He served time and was released. Now another alleged Israeli victim has come forward, saying he began abusing her when she was 5-years-old, and continued for years.

Karow has successfully evaded authorities by moving between communities in Israel for almost two decades, and he is not alone.

A widespread problem

A CBS News investigation has found that many accused American pedophiles flee to Israel, and bringing them to justice can be difficult.

Jewish Community Watch (JCW), an American organization that tracks accused pedophiles, has been trying for years to find Karow and help bring him to justice.

JCW says Karow and other wanted men and women have been able to exploit a right known as the Law of Return, whereby any Jewish person can move to Israel and automatically gain citizenship.

Since the small organization started tracking accused pedophiles in 2014, it says more than 60 have fled from the U.S. to Israel. Given its limited resources to identify these individuals, JCW says the actual number is likely much larger.

"The same thing that is going on in the Catholic Church right now around the world, the exact same thing is happening in our community," JCW's founder Meyer Seewald told CBS News. "The cover-ups are the same, the stigma, the shame."

Seewald says tightly-knit Jewish communities across the U.S. will sometimes meet accusations against a member with incredulity, and that can have a chilling effect.

"Everyone goes and surrounds this individual and supports him because they can't believe a person can do such a crime. They take the abuser's side and the abuse continues," Seewald says. "They put him in another community. A few years later, he's done the same thing and we hear more allegations that the person is abusing children. Victims don't want to come forward when they see that."

JCW says the majority of its cases originate from modern Orthodox to Ultra-orthodox Jewish enclaves in the U.S., but that it happens across the wider Jewish community. Because perpetrators can't be held accountable unless victims come forward, many cases are believed to go unreported. To try to get them out into the light, JCW holds awareness events across the U.S., and offers victims of sexual abuse advice and emotional support.

Mendy Hauck decided to come forward after receiving support from JCW. The father of two says he was just 8-years-old when he was molested by a teacher at his Orthodox Jewish School in Los Angeles. Hauck says the abuse started one day when a friend brought in cookies for his birthday.

"I actually went ahead and reached for the biggest cookie and he said, 'Put it back and you could come back by recess and get your cookie,'" Hauck said. "So after he handed out the rest of the cookies to the other classmates, I had to stay behind if I wanted my cookie, and I did. He called me up to his desk... and that's when he started... rubbing me."

His alleged abuser is Mordechai Yomtov, a then-35-year-old Hebrew teacher.

"I jumped backwards like a step or two and he grabbed my hair and said, 'it's fine, you can come close. I won't hurt you. There is nothing wrong,' and he did it again," Hauck recalls.

Hauck says the abuse continued over the course of the year. He says he felt trapped, with nowhere to turn.

When the year finished, Hauck moved on to the next grade. That's when Yomtov's crimes caught up to him. In 2001, police arrested and charged him with committing lewd acts with three of his other students, ranging in age from 8 to 10. But Hauck never told anyone about his ordeal until years later.

Yomtov eventually pled guilty, served time in jail and was released on probation. But once free, he violated his probation by fleeing to Israel via Mexico.

JCW tracked him down and confronted him in Jerusalem with a hidden camera. Yomtov admitted that he violated his probation and illegally fled the United States, with help. He also said that in Mexico he obtained a fake passport in order to travel to Israel, where he lives illegally.

Yomtov denied abusing Hauck, but offered a general apology to his victims, saying: "I'm very, very sorry. I hope that God will help every single person who went through this. Please forgive me."

It wasn't until 2016, when another alleged victim of Yomtov and friend of Hauck's came forward, that Hauck felt compelled to tell his story. He filed a police report hoping to get justice, but says the processes has been slow. For him, justice is twofold.

"I want the (LA County District Attorney) to step up their game — you know, actually fight to get him back here and give him what he deserves," he says. "And also, I want the communities to make sure this doesn't happen again."

The district attorney's office told CBS News there has been no request to extradite Yomtov back to the United States, and declined any further comment.

Red flags, more victims

Help from the community is a reoccurring theme. Rabbi Yehuda Oppenheimer knows first-hand how a pedophile is able to flee to Israel. In 2000, he unwittingly helped Karow escape.

The two met when Karow expressed interest in converting to Judaism. One day, Karow suddenly said he wanted to move to Israel.

When asked whether there was nothing at all that raised red flags up to the point when Karow said he wanted to move to Israel, Rabbi Oppenheimer responded: "I wish I could say that [it didn't raise any red flags], but unfortunately, I can't… He [Karow] said, 'I plan to go to Israel, I need to go much more quickly than I thought I needed to go."

"He said that there was something in the past that happened when he was young but nothing had ever happened since. I felt that I could trust him. So I wrote him a letter, he bought a ticket and he left."
Oppenheimer gave Karow the contact information of family and friends in Israel to help him settle. Then one day a close friend called the rabbi.

"I'll never know exactly what happened but something severely sexual… something happened with their daughter, and [Karow] was arrested." Oppenheimer says it felt like "a punch to the gut. It was very painful."
He says he carries that guilt to this day, and that's why he came forward with his story. He has a message for other rabbis and community leaders:

"When somebody has offended in this way, the odds are that they will do so again, no matter how kind and pious and wise and nice and charismatic they are," Oppenheimer says. "You simply can't trust them. You have to take steps to prevent, you cannot have them around youngsters, you cannot have them in your home."

One of the girls Karow allegedly abused in Israel is "Amoona." She asked us not to use her real name, to protect her family.

"I was 5, 4 or 5 years old. My mother was on bedrest. My father is a rabbi so he wasn't home. (Karow) used to come to our house. We used to play games and then it became sexual."

The alleged abuse took place over the course of more than two years. A July 2019, Israeli indictment against him details allegations of severe sexual abuse, including rape and sodomy. She says he would threaten and manipulate her to keep her quiet.

"'I'm going to give you a cookie because you do it so nicely.' It's all about the cookie it's all about lying and it's all about being so evil to a little child," Amoona recalls him telling her. "He also threatened and to kill my parents. He would choke me. He would hold me."

Inaction, even protection?

Amoona is angry that Karow was allowed to enter Israel in the first place, but JCW's chief operating officer Shana Aaronson says the failure begins in the United States. She says there are elements of the Jewish community in the U.S. that are willing to help pedophiles escape.

Julius Jimmy Karow is seen in a handout photo from INTERPOL. Via Interpol

"Oftentimes there's some sort of community incentive, either somebody owes them a favor or someone in the community, let's say an institution, has covered up for them in the past and they know that if this goes to court there's a lot of civil liability coming down the line," she says.

While Aaronson puts blame on Jewish communities in the U.S. and the U.S. government for not aggressively pursuing extraditions, she says Israeli authorities have also failed to prioritize the hunt for suspects.

She tells CBS News it would be easier for the police to locate and arrest Karow, for instance, but it has fallen instead on the JCW to track him down.

Israel is known as a nation on the cutting edge of technology, but Shana says that doesn't trickle down to local law enforcement. Shana says police don't request background checks of perpetrators arrested in Israel who have recently moved there from other countries. They don't even do a Google search, she says.
"The general standards and protocols for investigations by local police are poor," she says.

JCW says the problem reaches into the upper echelons of Israeli politics as well. They note that Yaakov Litzman, leader of an ultra-orthodox alliance in Israel's legislature and the current minister of health, has been accused of preventing the deportation of a Malka Leifer, a former head teacher at a Jewish school in Australia, where she is wanted on multiple charges of child sexual abuse.

CBS News obtained an Israeli police recommendation that says there is enough evidence against Litzman to recommend he be charged himself with fraud and breach of trust for protecting Leifer. Litzman's office told CBS News there was not any wrongdoing. It's now up to Israel's attorney general to decide whether to indict the lawmaker.

"It's a good example of the lengths the community will go," JCW's Aaronson says. "It's really disappointing and disgusting."

Israeli police wouldn't comment on specific cases but insist they take the cases seriously, and that they coordinate "closely with the Ministry of Justice and worldwide police organizations in order to find suspects overseas."

The U.S. Department of Justice declined to comment on specific cases too but praised their relationship with Israel's law enforcement, adding sex offenders have been successfully extradited in the past.

The stakeout

On the day of the stakeout, JCW received its best tip in months — that Karow was going to be at a clinic in Tel Aviv. They know he is 6'2" and over 200 pounds, but he could have changed his appearance, and previous attempts to capture him have failed.

"Obviously the fear is that he'll figure out that someone is looking for him and he'll bolt," Aaronson says, clutching an old photo of JCW's target.

An ambulance pulls up and a man steps out with a bandaged right arm. He fits the description of Karow. Aaronson's team confirms his identity and calls the police.

Within five minutes a police officer on a motorcycle arrives and they move in to make the arrest.
Karow is brought out by two officers. He doesn't look surprised to be in custody. We ask him if he assaulted a girl in the United States.

"No," he replies. He denies fleeing to Israel but doesn't answer when asked if he assaulted girls in that country. He says he knows he's wanted under an international arrest warrant.

Karow now faces charges in both Israel and the U.S.

The District Attorney's office in Clackamas County, Oregon, told CBS News it was "working with federal authorities to secure his extradition."

Outside the clinic, Aaronson calls Amoona to share the news of Karow's capture. In Israel, victims are allowed to confront alleged offenders before trial. Amoona brought a box of the same cookies Karow used to manipulate her, to throw back at him.

"It was good to confront him," she says. "To have that closure in my life."

Meanwhile, Mordechai Yomtov remains at large.

First published on February 19, 2020 / 7:40 AM

© 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.

How Jewish American pedophiles hide from justice in Israel

One woman who helps track suspects down says the little-discussed problem is widespread; "the exact same thing" as the sex abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

www.cbsnews.com

 

[zartosht]

Its worth noting that zionists use these exact racist laws to import supposed “jews” from eastern european countries to steal palestinian lands

if you have some great grandma that may or may not be jewish. That gives you “right of return” to come and settle palestinian lands

and proudly claim “if i dont steal it, someone else will” while taking properties and evicting families from lands they have owned for hundreds/ thousand years

an absolute cancerous tumour of an enitity, built on a wiped outpalestinian nation, kept in place with western military force and occupied and attack literally every single neighbour they have had throuought their miserable existence

 

[Samurai_assassin]

Pakistan has a huge problem with pedophiles. Kasur issues has never truly been addressed and resolved and many cases are creeping up across the country. Yet Pak socity still feel obliged to remain quiet.

 

[Aramagedon]

Disgusting

 

[aryobarzan]

Disgusting

90%of **** sites and **** magazines are owened by Jewish people who are now worrying about 13 year old being married too early...I do not care about any country or religions laws of marriage but I do care about a bunch of corrupt criminal jews who claim moral superiority while at the same time own and manage the **** industry empires ( notice they call it industry!!!)..

Hesadic jews are notorious for marrying children and having sex by dropping a sheet with the hole in it so as to say they do not enjoy it...what a bunch hypocrites they are ..

 

[Falcon29]

It's safe haven for US tax evaders too.

 

[SalarHaqq]

This is a perfect illustration of everything that's wrong with the racialist-supremacist ideology of zionism, as well as its emanation, the illegal occupation regime in Palestine.

By virtue of ethnic affiliation - which in many cases is actually debatable according to some Isra"el"i historians themselves, who have highlighted that Ashkenazis converted to Judaism in the Middle Ages, all sorts of criminals are welcomed by the regime in Tel Aviv, since they can make use of the so-called law of return.

After committing serious offenses in countries closely allied and supportive of the zionist regime, this regime will grant asylum to the offenders, thereby contravening the principles of extradition. This simply adds insult to injury, and is a reflection of the arrogant domineering way in which Tel Aviv views other nation-states, including its own allies or should we say vassals.

 

[Ceylal]

Big majority of Arabs are pedophile, why just Israelis?

 

[Wilhelm II]

Big majority of Arabs are pedophile, why just Israelis?

Hmmmm now i understand why you hate Arabs

 

[Ceylal]

Hmmmm now i understand why you hate Arabs

I don’t hate Arabs…it’s their behavior that is so appalling that make the world turns against them..

 

[Aramagedon]

250,000 march in Tel Aviv’s Gay Pride Parade
14 Jun 2019

Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor Ron Huldai: “We will continue to support and celebrate our local LGBTQ culture and act as a welcoming destination for the International gay community."

Gay Pride Parade, Tel Aviv 2019

Copyright: Guy Yechiely

(Communicated by the Tel Aviv-Yafo Municipality Spokesperson)

250,000 people from around the world gathered in Tel Aviv today to march in the largest pride parade in the Middle East. This year’s event marked 21 years to the City’s first pride parade.

Voted the world’s “Best Gay City” by GayCities.com and “The Most Gay-Friendly City in the World” by Wow Travel, Tel Aviv’s Pride Parade is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading LGBTQ events, attracting thousands of visitors from around the globe. The American actor, writer, producer, magician, and singer, Neil Patrick Harris was selected to act as this year’s “International Pride Ambassador”.

The parade marked the end of a month-long festival which included TLVFest – the City’s international gay film festival; a LGBTQ cultural line-up of events; a special show by the Israeli Opera honoring the famous Eurovision hits which took place at NYX – the official Tel Aviv pride hotel; and tributes to key historical figures in the LGBTQ community.

Celebrations are expected to continue throughout the weekend, with massive after-parties attracting tens of thousands of party-goers, including one featuring internationally acclaimed DJ and gay-icon Ofer Nissim.

Tel Aviv-Yafo Mayor, Ron Huldai: “Tel Aviv, which has already been acknowledged as the world's "most gay-friendly city" and as a beacon for liberty, pluralism and tolerance is proud to be home to a large and diverse LGBTQ population. The Tel Aviv Pride parade is not just a celebration, but an important declaration of support and an opportunity to promote equal rights for all. We will continue to support and celebrate our local LGBTQ culture and act as a welcoming destination for the International gay community.”

International Ambassador for Tel Aviv pride 2019, actor, writer, producer, magician, and singer, Neil Patrick Harris: “Tel Aviv Pride has become an important symbol of LGBTQ visibility and acceptance on the world stage. We are excited to visit Israel for the first time and honored to be a part of this beautiful celebration to stand with the LGBTQ community both in Israel and across the globe, especially as we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Stonewall.”

Google "Gay parade izeael"

Big majority of Arabs are pedophile, why just Israelis?

Nailed it.

 

[Goritoes]

From Child killers to H0rny B@stards, what an achievement, good going

 

[Stryker1982]

I don’t hate Arabs…it’s their behavior that is so appalling that make the world turns against them..

You have Algerian flag though, are you not Arab or do you feel apart of another group.