Chutzpeh!! Shmuel Krawatsky Sues his alleged victims

The "alleged" Chazir Shmuel Krawatsky 

In the wake of The Jewish Week’s report on allegations that a former teacher at a Baltimore Jewish day school abused three young boys when he was a counselor at a Maryland summer camp in 2015, the rabbi has filed a lawsuit against his accusers.

BY HANNAH DREYFUS

On Tuesday, Rabbi Shmuel Krawatsky filed the suit in Maryland federal court against the parents of his accusers and Chaim Levin, a sexual abuse activist and blogger, for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Rabbi Krawatsky and his wife are asking for $75 million in compensatory and punitive damages — $15 million per defendant. They say the rabbi’s accusers engaged in an effort to “damage Rabbi K and destroy his reputation and ability to earn a living” by publicly alleging that he sexually abused their sons, charges that he denies.

Attorney Jonathan Little, who represents the families, said the lawsuit is a “thinly veiled attempt to intimidate our clients.”

In the coming weeks, the families of three alleged victims plan to sue Rabbi Krawatsky for battery of children and “any organization that had knowledge that Rabbi K was being inappropriate with children and failed to intervene,” Little Told the Jewish Week in January.

Meanwhile, as of Feb. 2, 135 alumni, current students and parents of the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School where Rabbi Krawatsky taught Judaic studies to middle schoolers until Jan. 18, signed an open letter calling for an investigation into how school officials handled the matter.

The rabbi was terminated after the publication of The Jewish Week report last month. (Read the report here.) The Beth Tfiloh board attributed the rabbi’s firing to “the explosive nature” of media reports which the board said made it “impossible” for the rabbi to effectively carry out his teaching duties, according to a Jan. 22 statement.

The Beth Tfiloh alumni letter, circulating on social media, expressed disappointment in the Modern Orthodox school’s “apparent failure to promptly address allegations of abuse” against Rabbi  Krawatsky, who denies any misconduct.

At the same time, in an open letter to Beth Tfiloh’s board, community member Liora Ribak Schlesinger wrote in support of the school’s education director, Zipora Schorr.

“Dr. Schorr has proven, over many years of service and dedication to the Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School and broader community to be tireless in her efforts to benefit all our students,” Schlesinger wrote in the letter, which she posted publicly on her personal Facebook page this week. “[She] has always put our children and our community above all else.”

The letter, signed by Schlesinger and her husband, received 69 “likes” and several shares as of Feb. 2. (The letter does not address the allegations against Rabbi Krawatsky.)

Schlesinger did not respond to request for comment.

Saryn Levy, a 2007 graduate of Beth Tfiloh high school and co-creator of the alumni letter, said she became involved because she was “deeply disappointed” in the school.

“Beth Tfiloh taught me to act ethically and to stand up for what is right,” she said. “That’s what I believe I’m doing and I am saddened that my alma mater has yet to do the same.”

In response to the open letter, Beth Tfiloh released a letter on Jan. 31 stating that the school is “committed to enhancing our hiring and rehiring policies” and “expanding reporting obligations of our staff and faculty.” The letter noted that school underwent a “comprehensive audit” by the Baltimore Child Abuse Center at the beginning of the 2016-17 school year, which determined that its practices are in compliance with the guidelines of the Association of Independent Schools of Maryland and Maryland law.

At this point, the school board did not indicate if it would follow through on alumni requests’ to conduct an independent investigation into the hiring and retainment of Rabbi Krawatsky.

The alumni open letter also expressed concern about the school’s recent hire — and subsequent termination — of Dr. Jonathan Lasson, a community psychologist placed on state probation in October 2017 after allegations arose of improper conduct with a patient. Lasson was welcomed to Beth Tfiloh as a high school psychology teacher during the 2016-17 school year, according to the school, and terminated days after Rabbi Krawatsky. The school’s board claimed that, despite conducting a background check on Lasson, it did not know of the court order against him until they read it on a “blog.”