FEATURED JOBS
We certainly didn’t need a cover story in Baltimore’s City Paper (http://citypaper.com/news/silent-no-more-1.1116004) this week that lauded the important work of Executive Editor Phil Jacobs. Nor did we need the accolades that came from featured documentary on Phil’s work, which a few weeks ago premiered at the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival and attracted about 350 people in two showings. The resulting interest from HBO and other distribution points is not the point either.
What is important is the verification that Phil and the Baltimore Jewish Times did and continues to do the right thing – despite the obvious heat it has generated.
A few years ago, when we began exposing allegations of child molesters among Baltimore’s rabbis – past and present, I expected people would say, “Thank you.” After all, the Boston Globe, which provided marvelous coverage of priests as sexual predators, was lauded for its community service.
We did receive some gratitude, but we received much more in the category of “How dare you!” or “Enough already!” or even “I expect you to publish positive news and not this stuff!” No one – other than some in the Catholic Church—urged the Globe to stop their investigations against the perverts.
Yes, we got a lot of flack from some in the Orthodox community, but some others criticized us as well, expecting only to publish news of simchas and cheerleading articles.
You never read that about the Globe.
I always thought that a core Jewish was expressed in the Talmudic sage Hillel’s dictum of “If you save one life, it’s as if you saved the entire world.” If so, and I still believe it to be the case, Phil’s series on rabbis as molesters saved many, many worlds. Until his bravery, which jeopardized his personal standing in the Orthodox community, scores of victims felt alone, thinking that they were terrible, wrong, dirty and at fault for allowing an esteemed rabbi doing this to them.
We have documented hundreds of incidents. Now the victims of these crimes – and that’s exactly what they are—know they are not alone. And there’s a movie and a City Paper cover story to prove it.
And no, we’re not done with our reporting on this matter.
What do you think? Does this change how you feel?
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