Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations to launch investigation into ‘certain rabbi’

The Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations is to “open a full and impartial investigation” into the activities of one of its rabbis, understood to be Rabbi Chaim Halpern, to whom the UOHC refers as “a certain rabbi”.

Rabbi Halpern, who heads a UOHC affiliated congregation in Golders Green, faces new allegations of sexual abuse after a 21-year-old woman told an Israeli TV station that he had molested her in London.

Ten years ago the rabbi was briefly arrested by police but no charges were made after he was accused of sexual impropriety with a number of women.

The UOHC statement advises the public “to take necessary precautions and to take these allegations seriously”, adding that the UOHC rabbinate is “unequivocal” in its opinion that “all disclosures of abuse should be referred to the relevant authorities… without fear of any repercussions”.

But the statement has been treated derisively by some campaigners, who have been complaining about Rabbi Halpern for more than a decade. The rabbi’s encounters with the women who ultimately alleged abusive behaviour, took place because he was someone to whom the often very young women were sent if they sought advice or guidance, often on marital difficulties.

The Stamford Hill blogger If You Tickle Us dismissed the UOHC claim to take the allegations against Rabbi Halpern “with utmost seriousness”, noting that as recently as September the UOHC’s new calendar had dropped the Child Protection Line from its services. He argued that since the UOHC’s statement had been issued in English, that sent a message “that it’s not for local consumption” and that wives and daughters would continue to be sent to those who could abuse and intimidate them.