Dear Readers:

3 Important Child Safety Notes:

1. I will be conducting a child safety/abuse prevention program this evening at 8:30 p.m. at the Prospect Park Jewish Center - 1604 Avenue R Brooklyn, NY 11229 Entrance fee is $10/family and you will receive a complimentary copy of Project YES’s “Let’s Stay Safe!” children’s book

2. We’ve updated and edited our Child Safety Video and just posted it here. (The original video was viewed by more than 30,000 people in the past 12 months.)

3. Listen to “Speaking to your Children about Personal Safety – Summer 2012” Teleconference with Rabbi Yakov Horowitz by clicking here or by dialing (209) 647-1699 Participant Code: 827269

All indications are that Mr. Weberman's attorneys will be requesting a postponement of his trial and that the request will be granted. As such, the victim's family will not be in court tomorrow and those close to the family recommend that their supporters need not come. Please pass this message along to any friends of yours who might have planned on being there for them.

Two weeks ago, in our initial post on this matter, we asked that respectful emails be sent to Mr. Jerry Schmetterer, Director of Public Information at the Brooklyn DA’s office (SCHMETJ@brooklynda.org ) asking for, among other things, a speedy trial, as the stalling and delay just allow those pressuring the victims more time for intimidation. (Nechemya Weberman was arrested on February 23, 2011). We need to reiterate that request with greater emphasis and passion.

Child safety advocates who are in regular contact with the alleged victim’s family report that extraordinary pressure is being brought to bear on them to drop the charges and this delay just plays into the hands of those who wish to derail the judicial process.

I asked the advocates what our readers can do to support the family in this trying time, and they responded that there are several areas where we, the silent majority, can be helpful:

1) The family members are getting a great deal of chizuk (support) from those who are writing emails and posting comments of support for them. They are understandably feeling isolated from the inner circle of their neighborhood and the messages of support from our readers worldwide are very encouraging and comforting.

2) In particular, they found the chizuk they got from the Rabbis who wrote them to be enormously helpful. Just remember that they are getting bombarded with messages from others telling them how horrible it is to report abuse to the police. It is therefore imperative that Rabbonim who correctly interpret Halacha to mandate that the authorities be brought in (all the more so since there is clearly “raglayim l’davar” in this case) contact the family with their P’sak Din.

3) We must respectfully bring all of our resources and energy to bear so that the family is offered whatever protection they need, that a full investigation be launched to prosecute those putting pressure on them, and perhaps most importantly, that the legal proceedings move forward without further delay.

Readers are encouraged to post comments of support at the bottom of this thread or to email yhprojectyes@gmail.com. Since we did not get to present the family with the emails of support at the hearing, we will be forwarding the 300+ emails and posts already sent, directly to the family, and all future emails will be forwarded to them each day.

On behalf of the family members and the abuse survivors worldwide who are following this case closely, we thank you for your support and encouragement.

Respectfully

Yakov Horowitz