Cosby Case Shows Need For More Victims’ Support

By: Eli Verschleiser

It is difficult, but not impossible to believe that the same man who was America’s favorite, funniest TV dad for eight years and served as a role model could be accused of horrible sexual trespasses over the course of his long life as a celebrity.

Nor, sadly, is it hard to accept the possibility since the end of his show in 1992, Bill Cosby spoke out publicly on responsibility and morality, while privately practicing neither.

Abusers can often be very affable and endearing leaders who espouse values they do not embody.

More surprising is the fact that Cosby, if he is guilty of these awful allegations has made it to this stage in his life without facing the consequences of his actions.

AP BILL COSBY A ENT USA PA

Disbelievers may say this increases the doubt – why would victims stay silent when the star was at the peak of his popularity, only to come after him in his sunset years?

But to those of us who are active in the victim advocacy community, the silence of years or decades or even a lifetime is all too common.

Only years after the death of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, leader of a major spiritual revival movement, did a group of women come forward with tales of improper physical contact.

In the armed forces in particular, women subjected to abuse sometimes wait until they or their abuser have left the service until reporting crimes. In religious communities, fear of ostracization or even consequence from God as a result of accusing a revered clergyman can keep secretes perpetually buried and imperil more people.

And sadly, it’s safe to assume that whether the setting is a college campus, a home, church or yeshiva, a large share of incidents and, possibly the majority, will never be reported at all. In all too many cases, a result can be suicide, as the victim can live no longer with the torment.

When people do find the admirable courage to speak out and accuse the powerful of abuse, there can be a cascade effect, as in the case of Rabbi Baruch Lanner, who for years terrorized children involved in a youth group he ran. When stories emerged in a Jewish newspaper, more victims came forward to press charges that sent the rabbi to jail. That’s what we are seeing in the Cosby case as decades-old walls of silence collapse.

Attorney Gloria Allred, representing some alleged victims, has challenged the comedian to waive the statute of limitations and allow one of the cases against him to tried in court to settle the question of guilt or innocence. But this is more theatrical than realistic.

It’s likely that Cosby will only be tried in the court of public opinion.

So, absent convictions, the best result that can come from this disturbing list of allegations against a beloved figure who may have hoodwinked America about his character is that more victims will feel safe coming forward --  for their own good and for the sake of protecting other potential victims.  To do that, it’s incumbent on society, courts, lawmakers and others to establish better conditions for them.

We must do away with the sense of futility associated with coming forward. If it takes someone years to find the courage, or if they come forward in the interests of protecting others, they should not be hampered by the statute of limitations.

Professor Marci Hamilton one of the United States’ leading church/state scholars has advocated for extending criminal and civil Statutes of limitation (SOLs ) which can vary widely, from two or three years to 30 (as in the case of Connecticut) or no limitations at all as Arkansas and Alaska. These new legislation trends should be encouraged by all.

Another answer is greater education that empowers victims to come forward by teaching them to speak out at an early age. Organizations like Lauren's Kids and Magenu.org educates adults and children about sexual abuse topics through in school curricula and speaking engagements around the country.

Erin’s law, championed by Erin Merryn, promotes legislation for prevention education from kindergarten through high schools.  It is now law in 19 states. A similar law should be passed at the federal level to include all educators in America.

We have come a long way since the days when Bill Cosby’s crimes are alleged to have taken place. Hopefully better awareness and more empowerment will mean fewer people falling prey to these kinds of crimes, but we must do everything we can to ensure that today’s victims won’t be confronting their accusers decades down the road, if they do so at all.

The Familiar Face of Terror, And Resolve

The blood shed from Nov. 18's massacre of 4 rabbis &
one Israeli  at a synagogue in Jerusalem. Photo: Twitter

By: Eli Verschleiser

Living in the Har Nof section of Jerusalem more than 20 years ago, I knew what terror was like. In those days, it was the Scud missiles of Saddam Hussein that brought fear, but also a lesson in faith, determination, and the simple resolve of people that want to live a peaceful life in their country at all costs.

Like other mostly American communities in the Jewish state, Har Nof has only grown tenfold, instead of families running back to the United States where a majority of these residents were born and raised. But as we saw last month, regardless of their desire to do nothing more than live, work, study and pray, there will still be those determined to deprive them of all of the above.

The horrific carnage that erupted inside a Har Nof synagogue on Nov. 19 reminded me of the old adage coined by Abba Eban that those who want to destroy Israel “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

After gaining widespread sympathy during the Gaza war provoked by Hamas rockets last summer, those who embraced or justified this attack, and the vehicular homicides in Jerusalem that shortly preceded it, have brought back a familiar narrative: senseless targeting not of military forces controlling Palestinian areas but the soft underbelly of Israeli society, its women and children and rabbis at prayer who do not serve in the army.

Some have attempted to link the attacks to a so-called “dispute” over the holy Temple Mount and recent moves by some Jews to gain the right to openly pray there (as if this might justify the horrific gun and ax attack).

Since the very idea of this “dispute” is fiction – Prime Minister Netanyahu has rejected any notion of change in religious control of the site – the linkage is even more preposterous.

What’s more likely happening is that Arabs from east Jerusalem, who have free access to the rest of the city, are being prodded by Palestinian jihad groups to pick up the slack in terror attacks caused by the highly successful security barrier. The object of international scorn, this 430 mile fence has nevertheless drastically reduced homicide bombing infiltrations.

Now, instead of bombs we see attacks with cars and construction equipment or, stabbings and shootings.

These attacks are celebrated by some Palestinians, and a Hamas spokesman reacted to the Har Nof attack by saying “The new operation is heroic and a natural reaction to Zionist criminality against our people and our holy places. We have the full right to revenge for the blood of our martyrs in all possible means."

While Fatah Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned the attack, he made a desperate attempt at linkage by decrying in the same statement “incursions and provocations by settlers against the Aksa Mosque.”

In a bitter rebuke to Abbas and Israel’s international critics, Ambassador Ron Dermer on Nov. 24 decried the “fog [that] descends to cloud all logic and moral clarity [when the Israel-Palestinian conflict is discussed. ] The result isn’t realpolitik, its surrealpolitik.”

Supporters will claim that the absence of peace talks and harsh rhetoric from Israeli extremists fuel Palestinian rage and invite attacks such as the Har Nof atrocity.

It is clear that Jewish right-wingers do seem to strike great fear in the hearts of Palestinians and their supporters: Meir Kahane of the Kach Party and Rahavam Zeevi of Moledet, who advocated expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank, were assassinated by Arab gunmen in 1990 and 2001, and in October another tried unsuccessfully to kill Rabbi Yehudah Glick for his advocacy of Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount.

But Palestinians know full well the Israeli mainstream is ready for peace and willing to make great sacrifices if they only had a partner that is willing, trustworthy and capable of delivering on promises of coexistence.

To see the likelihood of that, one need look to Gaza, handed over to 1.5 million Palestinians almost a decade ago in the best of hopes, with significant restrictions by Israel that would have surely been eased over time had trust been gained.

Like many people, I would love to one day have an opportunity to visit beach side resorts operated by the Palestinians in Gaza, on one of the most beautiful shores of the Mediterranean, in a state negotiated by the parties with the help of the US.

But the coastline that could have attracted throngs of tourists from Europe and international investment has instead become the object of intense Israeli blockades to keep out weapons shipments from Iran and other terror supporters.

Beautiful, innovative, productive greenhouses built by Jews were destroyed, as labor and creativity was put instead to the smuggling and firing of rockets. Concrete that could have built schools and hospitals above ground instead went to terror tunnels below.

There may well be a large segment of Palestinians who want peace, but they are continuously eclipsed by the more visible and deadly elements for whom the conflict is a nihilistic zero-sum game. In the absence of more attainable goals, killing Israelis is no longer a means to and end for them, but the end unto itself.

Life went on in Har Nof and the rest of Israel after the Scuds fell, and will go on after November’s massacre, and after every other vile murderous outrage that, God forbid, may come after it.

Each time, a lesson in faith and determination from a people who embrace life over death.

Originally Published: The Allgemeiner