Don’t blame the Israeli Government for failing to extradite Malka Leifer

I don’t think it’s fair to criticise the Israeli government for the fact that Malka Leifer is seemingly playing the system…writes Manny Waks. Read more

Chabad’s hollow statements on child sexual abuse…writes Manny Waks

The report of a new public statement by seven (seemingly random) Chabad rabbis calling for the immediate reporting to state authorities of reasonable suspicions of abuse is welcome news, especially their unequivocal announcement that prior rabbinic advice is unnecessary. Read more

On reflection – Manny Waks post the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse yeshiva and yeshivah hearings

Nearly four years ago, when I publicly disclosed the sexual abuse I endured as a child at Melbourne’s Yeshivah Centre, I did not envisage that today so many around the world would know exactly what had happened to myself and so many other children at that institution. Read more

Waks reflect on Tzedek

It has been more than three years since I commenced the work that culminated in my decision to found Tzedek – the support and advocacy group for Jewish victims and survivors of child sexual abuse. Read more

Now is the time

The Commonwealth Royal Commission Inquiry into child sexual abuse within organisations has now commenced.  Tzedek, an Australian-based advocacy group for Jewish victims and survivors of child sexual abuse, is uniquely positioned to provide evidence to the Royal Commission about the nature and extent of past and present child sexual abuse within Jewish organisations. Read more

Community Support for Israel

It is overdue that we examine the role of advocacy for Israel in our community organisations, particularly those that nominally are not designated a specific role to represent Israel’s interests…writes Manny Waks. Read more

The Generation Gap

In the article, Give Us the Tools to Define Our Involvement, Joshua Einstein cogently articulates the major challenges and obstacles inherent in the global predicament of Jewish continuity. The term “continuity” is ubiquitous in contemporary Jewish community discourse. Broadly, it defines the continuity of “Jewishness”, both as our collective identity and as a values framework. Read more