Union for Reform Judaism Sexual Misconduct

By Brooke Cohen, attorney at Cohen Hirsch, LP

There have been sexual misconduct and assaults at Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) programs for many years, including numerous young victims.

When my law partner called me yesterday about the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) sexual assault investigation, I was stunned to say the least after reading the report. I'm not sure why I didn't see this one coming — I mean, we have worked on sexual assault cases involving corporations, churches and currently are involved in the Boy Scouts of America sex abuse bankruptcy settlement litigation, but this one hit close to home.

Our law firm, Cohen Hirsch, LP, in fact, came to be in part because of our similar reform Jewish upbringing. Andrea Hirsch grew up in Atlanta, and I lived in Dallas. When we met at an American Association for Justice (AAJ) meeting, it felt like our firm was meant to be. (B'shert!) We both represented people in mass tort and assault cases, and since we felt like we'd known each other forever, we joined our firms and have together represented hundreds of people.

When we read the URJ report, we knew we needed to be involved in representing plaintiffs in these cases. Andrea is a reform Jewish woman, attorney and mother from Atlanta, and I am the same, but from Dallas. Both of us grew up in Jewish homes, both of us attended NFTY activities, went to Jewish summer camps and ended up being counselors at those camps. We then turned around and sent our own children to activities and camps associated with URJ. Although we agree that many of our best memories were from such activities and these camps, we know we cannot stand idly by and accept that children in our communities have been assaulted at places like the ones we attended.

The investigative report points out in their findings that certain camps, like Camp Kutz, hired rabbis to work there who had previously sexually assaulted people. There were repeated incidents of assault by adults on children. Per the report, Jay (A.K.A. Bahir) Davis was twice denied ordination as a rabbi due to several accusations of sexual touching and sex with 13 to 15-year-olds where he taught at a New York congregation. Yet, he was later hired to serve on the faculty of Camp Coleman and was active in NFTY's southeast region. Cases of abuse apparently were rampant, while people at these camps and activities often turned a blind eye.

Judaism teaches us the importance of taking part in our communities, and as members of the Reform Jewish community, Andrea and I want to help make that community safe for all of our children and for generations to come. These activities and programs are so important to us as a group, so we must ensure that our children can safely attend them. We cannot and will not allow sexual abuse ever to be covered up, ignored, or glossed over in our communities.

If you or a loved one were hurt by an organization that was part of the URJ, please contact us:

• Call or text our dedicated URJ hotline directly with an attorney: (214) 506-8024
• Message us through our web page
• Email us at [email protected]

We want to be a part of ending sexual assault in our communities, so that all of our children and our children's children can safely enjoy Jewish youth group activities now and in the future.