Three women filed a civil suit against Shuvu Bonim community leader Rabbi Eliezer Berland on Wednesday.
The women, two of whom Rabbi Berland has already been found guilty of assaulting, are suing for 4 million shekels ($1.1 million) and also demanding that he be blocked from leaving the country until the case is concluded.
Rabbi Berland, 80, served 5 months of an 18 month prison sentence before being released to house arrest, in part due to a cancer diagnosis. Last week, the Rabbi was permitted to leave Israel to fly to the Kever of Rav Nachman Z”TL in Uman for Rosh Hashana.
The Bechadrei Chareidim report says the new suit includes Rabbi Berland’s wife and several members of Shuvu Bonim, charged with covering up for the Rabbi’s actions.
A Channel 1 report aired in which Mrs. Tehila Berland speaks of her husband’s ‘taivos,’ and uses terms including “sadistic” to describe his relationship with women.
She explains that despite being a good and brilliant child, his name in the family was “Hitler,” emphasizing “this is what they called him”.
Other reports like this have been gathered and are being used in the civil suit.
“There are not enough words to adequately describe the defendant,” the petition read. “There is no real way to atone for what he did, and no amount of money in the world can will fully and completely compensate for the indescribable suffering that he caused the plaintiffs (and others).”
Attorney for the plaintiffs, Yaakov Borovsky told Israel media the damage to the women is indescribable, especially amid the realization victims continued living in this community. He adds their road to rehabilitation is a long arduous one at best.
Rabbi Berland is set to be released from house arrest next week.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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8 Responses
I read this article very carefully. The different parts of this article is just not adding up.
Obviously, some of the people are trying to make a quick buck. Exactly who is excited to work 9-5.
Did these women ever go to a certified therapist to find out if what they are claiming is the real truth?
Civil suits are initiated by people who would loose in a beis din.
I also read the article. Avraham if you are married and your wife was assaulted by a person who admitted doing so, wouldn’t you think it reasonable that he pay compensation? That is without the rider of al achas kama v’kama if the person who admits his guilt a rabbinical figure the family foolishly placed their trust in, and even without taking into account all the things his family have said about him. Friends, lets just face it, Lazer is a real dead beat; just look at the picture in this article. He fooled everyone and he continues to fool many, just like there are people who think that Menachem Mendel Schneerson obm is still alive. Shame the suit was not filed before he left for Uman to defile the tzion of a genuine real tzadik. Maybe the request to forbid him to leave Israel would have been granted.
to Avraham:
I don’t know if he did or didn’t do something. If the women did suffer abuse, I can understand how terrible they feel. They live in the community, were molested, and few can believe it. Their friends shun them and what can they do?
Maybe they are making it up, we can never know.
Give it to the courts and HaShem to decide….
I’m disgusted at your comment Avraham. As the mother of a teenager (15 years old) who was victim of sexual abuse I can’t believe that someone would write what you did. For your info. #1 if the case was dealt by the prosecutor’s office (which it was), there are clear proofs & there was a detailed police investigation prior to the court case. #2 what do you think, that each person who is sexually abused makes it up?! I am 100% sure that those poor women & girls yes went to a certified therapist to try to heal & get themselves back together & I pray for you that your children should never be victims of a pedophile, but if they are, please remind me to ask you if “they went to a certified therapist and their claims are true!!!”.
Why does he get the honor to be allowed to leave the country and go to Uman.. with police escort and all??
To Mrs. GG,
I apologize if I hurt your feelings. I would like to retract my comment. I did happen to notice that 3 women filed this suit, however, only 2 of those women, he was found guilty. The 3rd woman was probably part of the police investigation, but it is obvious that the police were not convinced that she was saying the complete truth. I am still retracting my comment.
Again I apologize to everyone if I hurt someone’s feelings.
just by looking at his pic he looks like hes perverted
and mentally sick !!!!!!!!