Covering Up a Rape at Camp Bnos….
WHAT ARE THEY COVERING UP???
by LostMessiah, March 7, 2016
A Facebook site associated with Camp Bnos, a girls camp of the Agudath Israel movement, shows a picture of a hand with the symbol “Stop Rate Now, No Means No”.
The page is followed by information about an investigation, which appears to be stalled and going nowhere, with the text, as follows:
On a blogpost by Yudel Shain, we found the following from November 13, 2015:
UPDATE: Camp Bnos is not safe for girls- הכזונה יעשו אחותינו?ת
November 13, 2015- URGENT NEED TO KEEP OUR BNOS YISROEL SAFE
Dear Rabbis, parents and Leaders,
We assume you were not notified of the horrific event which took place at Camp Bnos (Agudas Yisroel) this past summer. It is important for you, as a leader, to be made aware that a camper was raped on the girls’ campus. She was left unsupervised and taken advantage of in the worst possible way. There were 2 boys involved.
AS OF LAST SUMMER. CAMP BNOS IS A MAKOM SAKANA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Originally, Mr. Meir Frischman admitted it happened, he has since changed his tune (obviously he has since received direction and advice from perhaps the Agudah directors, Rabbonim or Attorneys) and now denies all allegations and has completely removed himself from any & all responsibilities surrounding this situation. He has gone so far as to deny it, and refer to the RAPE as a “rumor”.
The police were notified, and Mr. Frischman did NOT have them speak with more than a few people from the camp. Directors who have been in the camp for literally decades were not notified until they returned home after camp was over.
From An Insider: Meanwhile, a simple observation. We are both familiar with defense mechanisms. I make observations all the time of new mechanisms that are just that, but masquerade as something else. The Agudah position, which we know to be fundamentally flawed, is not really a policy at all. It is a simple effort to cover-up the cover-ups. They cannot do different, because that would be self-incrimination.
This is not the first allegation of its kind against a Camp Bnos from the Agudath Israel establishment. Nor do we believe it will be the last. In fact, there have been many such allegations, all of which have resulted in cover-ups of one sort or another, companies being hired to “investigate” but rather than being legitimate companies, are LLC’s established by the same institution that’s accused of the rape.
AdKan is another site dedicated to issues within the Hassidic community. The transaction of that word is ENOUGH!
The following is a letter that AdKan received from Bnos Malka in Queens, New York, regarding allegations of sexual misconduct made in 2013. Rabbi Oelbaum originally wrote a letter advising the two alleged victims to go to the police with their stories, but has since rescinded his advice as per the letter below.
At what point, Agudath Israel, will you begin addressing the crimes within your community? At what point will the children be able to trust that they are safe? At what point will the rote prayer take second stage to the spirit of Judaism? Certainly covering rape and abuse cannot be the objective of a Love for Torah Judaism?
SPEAK UP, DON’T REMAIN SILENT.
FOR HELP SEE AS FOLLOWS:
To see videos (from Rabbis who believe in the safety of their children) about how to speak to children about personal safety, click here.
To learn more about counseling and abuse, click here.
To contact someone who could be of assistance if you are being abused (the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault), click here
The American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, click here.
LOSTMESSIAH 
This is not new, not unique to Bnos and not restricted to heterosexual rape. Here is my story:
I was a camper at Agudah in the summers of (best recollection) ’67, ’68 and ’69. I remember Rabbi Borchart bellowing on the dining room PA system unconvincingly, “There will be no Color War this year,” and I remember the teams from one summer as being Ahavah vs. Yirah, and another as Zekainim vs. Naarim. At the end of that Color War we learned a song composed specially for the occasion, “Zekainim Im Naarim Yihallilu Es Shem Hashem.”
During one of those summers my bunk was located in the multi-story building, and the picnic tables where our daily learning sessions took place were not far away. One morning I left my group to use the bathroom near my bunk, and an older guy (a camper, I think from another bunk) appeared out of nowhere and pulled me into his room. He pinned me down on a bottom-level bed and started forcibly kissing me. He touched me through my clothes, which was both painful and ticklish. I was obviously too young to understand the nature of what was happening. I remember feeling that the kissing was disgusting, having no idea as to why a man would kiss another man. I was physically incapable of freeing myself and was terrified. And then he just stopped and got up. He told me leave and not to tell anyone about this or he would kill me. I couldn’t believe what had happened, and just returned to my group, shell-shocked. I quickly put the matter out of my mind, somehow reassuring myself that it was a strange, inexplicable occurrence. A few days or weeks later it happened again, the exact same way, only this time rougher and more violent. And again, I was cautioned to talk to no one. After that second time I do recall telling someone, I don’t remember who. I think he was from that guy’s bunk. I remember him laughing knowingly and saying I was lucky he stopped. He told me the guy did this all the time. From that point forward I was mindful to never go back to my building when it was unoccupied. I told nobody else about any of this, certainly not my counselor. I don’t think I knew how or that I would be believed. And I was scared. And amid all the camp activities it was soon forgotten.
I am not from New York and am not hooked into local news. It was only about two years ago when I was reading for the first time about the charges against Yiddi Kolko, that I recognized his name from my summers at Agudah. I don’t remember his position, but I remember he was a “macher.” I remember a song about him and a guy named Zorch, the lyrics being “Zorch and Yiddi, what a pity…”
And then, like a bolt of lightning, all the memories described above came flooding back. Those events were completely out of my consciousness all these years as though they never happened. And now the recollections were crystal clear. I was stunned; this whole concept of suppressed memories was actually real – because it indeed happened to me. I was raped.
Is any of this responsible for F’ing up my life? I don’t really know, but I can tell you that I just turned 60, and my encounters that summer were the first and last time I was ever intimate with anyone.
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Sir, there is little we can say to change your past. And we are so sorry to be at a loss for words as there is no level of consolation that can give you back your years free of whatever plagues you now. Do you remember what year this was and how old you were?
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This is not new, not unique to Camp Bnos, and not just heterosexual rape. Here is my story:
I was a camper at Agudah in the summers of (best recollection) ’67, ’68 and ’69. I remember Rabbi Borchart bellowing on the dining room PA system unconvincingly, “There will be no Color War this year,” and I remember the teams from one summer as being Ahavah vs. Yirah, and another as Zekainim vs. Naarim. At the end of that Color War we learned a song composed specially for the occasion, “Zekainim Im Naarim Yihallilu Es Shem Hashem.”
During one of those summers my bunk was located in the multi-story building, and the picnic tables where our daily learning sessions took place were not far away. One morning I left my group to use the bathroom near my bunk, and an older guy (a camper, I think from another bunk) appeared out of nowhere and pulled me into his room. He pinned me down on a bottom-level bed and started forcibly kissing me. He touched me through my clothes, which was both painful and ticklish. I was obviously too young to understand the nature of what was happening. I remember feeling that the kissing was disgusting, having no idea as to why a man would kiss another man. I was physically incapable of freeing myself and was terrified. And then he just stopped and got up. He told me leave and not to tell anyone about this or he would kill me. I couldn’t believe what had happened, and just returned to my group, shell-shocked. I quickly put the matter out of my mind, somehow reassuring myself that it was a strange, inexplicable occurrence. A few days or weeks later it happened again, the exact same way, only this time rougher and more violent. And again, I was cautioned to talk to no one. After that second time I do recall telling someone, I don’t remember who. I think he was from that guy’s bunk. I remember him laughing knowingly and saying I was lucky he stopped. He told me the guy did this all the time. From that point forward I was mindful to never go back to my building when it was unoccupied. I told nobody else about any of this, certainly not my counselor. I don’t think I knew how or that I would be believed. And I was scared. And amid all the camp activities it was soon forgotten.
I am not from New York and am not hooked into local news. It was only about two years ago when I was reading for the first time about the charges against Yiddi Kolko, that I recognized his name from my summers at Agudah. I don’t remember his position, but I remember he was a “macher.” I remember a song about him and a guy named Zorch, the lyrics being “Zorch and Yiddi, what a pity…”
And then, like a bolt of lightning, all the memories described above came flooding back. Those events were completely out of my consciousness all these years as though they never happened. And now the recollections were crystal clear. I was stunned; this whole concept of suppressed memories was actually real – because it indeed happened to me. I was raped.
Is any of this responsible for F’ing up my life? I don’t really know, but I can tell you that I just turned 60, and my encounters that summer were the first and last time I was ever intimate with anyone.
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The Ultra Orthodox Jewish religion is really closer to the Heman woman Haters club and NAMBLA then any G-d fearing religious group. Women are income and baby makers who are relegated to back rooms while the men party. Funny how they’re extremely homophobic yet the men dance together and give themselves for homoerotic play by their rabbi’s.
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There is no Ultra Orthodox Jewish religion. This is a term made up by non-observers to try to justify their lack of observance. You are either Jewish or your are not Jewish. Either way you are held to the same standards.
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“There is no Ultra Orthodox Jewish religion. This is a term made up by non-observers to try to justify their lack of observance.”
Or made up by fanatical, religious lunatics labeling themselves with terms like “Haredi.” Either way, I agree. “Ultra-Orthodox is a poor term. It sugar coats what they really are; what they really should be called, EXTREMISTS.
But “Ultra-Orthodox” does appeal more to their sense of elitism. They like to promote themselves as “authentic” Judaism. What they really are is a kind reactionary Judaism. One that naturally leads to different extremes among different sects.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi_Judaism
Odd that you try to place a blame for the (assumed pejorative) “Ultra-Orthodox” terminology on non-observers and further try to explain the psychology of why. As one who was observant for nearly 20 years and is non-observant again (thank God), I learned from my experiences with the “Ultra-Orthodox” that they should be called “Jewish Religious Extremist Hypocrites.” But that is a rather long title, so I guess we’ll just stick with “Ultra-Orthodox” for now.
Judaism when stripped of religious superstitious woo-woo and feigned morality BS is just politics. Just like any political system. “Ultra-Orthodox’ the equivalent of a political party who would bring stoning back as a capital punishment .
“Either way you are held to the same standards.”
Really? Whose standards? What standards? Do you mean the current religious political system written by men? Or, some past religious political system written by men?
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