Introduction to Hynes: MLK and Doing what is Right

By way of introduction to this talk, I want to share a quote from Martin Luther King:
“On some positions, cowardice asks the question, is it expedient? And then expedience comes along and asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? Conscience asks the question, is it right?
There comes a time when one must take the position that is neither safe nor politic nor popular, but he must do it because conscience tells him it is right.”
Just over a week ago a prominent Satmar Hassid, Nechemya Weberman, a man who had conducted therapy as a “rabbi” in the community for children who were going off the path, mandatory therapy sessions, and who had been raping some of his clients. Mr. Weberman (he wasn’t a real rabbi) was found guilty of 59 counts of child abuse. This represented a major victory for the fight against abuse in the ultraorthodox community.
In the Satmar community, victims of abuse have been seriously intimidated and harassed, offered tickets to Israel and large amounts of cash in exchange for their silence, pressured to go through the bet din instead, only to find they were told to be quiet, threatened with expulsion from school, and the prospect of being unable to marry. In the Weberman case, the victim’s husband had the hashgacha taken away from his restaurant, which went out of business, and they had difficulty finding a single catering hall to host his wedding.
So we are excited about this turning point, which is hopefully just the beginning of an aggressive approach to this issue, and incredibly grateful to DA Hynes for joining us today. Mr. Hynes, we are all here to tell you that we care about this issue, and that we want you to do what’s right, to face evil with courage and honesty, and will support any effort you make in that fight.