MEDIA STATEMENT
30 November 2016

Royal Com­mis­sion report con­cern­ing Yeshiva Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne
The Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ), the elected rep­res­ent­at­ive body of the Aus­trali­an Jewish community, has commended the Royal Com­mis­sion into Insti­tu­tion­al Responses to Child Sexual Abuse for its report into the response of Yeshiva Bondi and Yeshivah Melbourne to alleg­a­tions of child sexual abuse made against people asso­ci­ated with those insti­tu­tions.
“We are currently reviewing the full findings of the report and commend the Royal Com­mis­sion on such a thorough and con­sidered invest­ig­a­tion”, said the ECAJ’s newly-elected President, Anton Block. “Evidence that was presented during the com­mis­sion’s public hearings demon­strated systemic failures and breaches of important duties of care that must never be repeated. The hurt and pain that these events caused survivors and their families must never be forgotten and assist­ance must always be made available to them.”
Mr Block stressed that anyone found to have betrayed the trust of children under their care or super­vi­sion must be held to account to the full extent of the law. “The abuse of children in any way, be it physical, sexual, emotional or psy­cho­lo­gic­al, is abhorrent, par­tic­u­larly when it is per­pet­rated by those in positions of trust and authority. All claims of abuse must be treated with the utmost ser­i­ous­ness. There is no place for victims to be ostra­cized or “punished” in any way for coming forward and
making a complaint. On the contrary, they should be given every support. We will study the Commission’s findings closely and continue to push for important changes where they have yet to be imple­men­ted.”

Contact:
Peter Wertheim AM | Executive Director
phone: 02 8353 8500 | m: 0408 160 904 | fax 02 9361 5888
e: [email protected] | www.ecaj.org.au