A leading national-religious rabbi appears to dismiss rape allegations against another prominent religious leader from the community, but seems to suggest he should be “hanged” if the accusations prove to be true.
Rabbi Zvi Tau, 85, the founder of the far-right anti-LGBT Noam political party, has been accused by several women of sexual abuse and rape dating back decades, with two going public so far.
Rabbi Chaim Druckman, the spiritual adviser to Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich, calls the allegations against Tau “gossip.”
“People like to gossip. They search for things from the last century,” Druckman says in an interview with the Kan public radio. “Go to the police. The police will handle it,” he adds.
Pressed on what should happen if the accusations have merit, Druckman says: “He needs to be hanged… you need to act like one does in such a reality.”
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, December 7, 2022
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
