In November of 2023, Dr Henny Kupferstein filed a lawsuit against her ex-husband, Avigdor Kupferstein, and Kehillas Belz in Boro Park, for rape, physical, and sexual assault she allegedly experienced in her marriage at the hands of her husband, condoned and encouraged, she alleges, by Dayan Cheskel Akiva Gross. What's unique about this lawsuit is how it describes, in great detail, not only the abuse allegedly experienced by Dr Kupferstein, but also the particulars of the chassidish shidduch system and how it directly contributed to the circumstances of this lawsuit.
We are joined this episode by Yehudis Fletcher, founder of Nahamu, a UK based research organization focused on the issues of forced and arranged marriage, and sexual and domestic violence. Yehudis leads Nahamu’s analysis of the harms arising from extremism in the Jewish community and shapes our advocacy and policy response.
Yehudis has a background in project management and development. She is a independant sexual violence adviser, and has been battling violence against women and girls for the past decade. Yehudis began writing as a child and is now a regular contributor to community papers. In 2018, her poem ‘Kinah: from a survivor of child sexual abuse’ won the Simon Rockower award.
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SHOW NOTES:
While it is our general practice not to identify plaintiffs when discussing lawsuits, Dr Kupferstein expressly requested that her name be used in this episode.
https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/in-bad-faith-inside-a-secret-ultra-orthodox-sect-and-the-betrayal-it-tried-to-hide/51960107/#edition=70705824&idiq=62996986
https://nahamu.org/what-is-nahamu/
https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=bL0ME7UsL7tGCFyGWVCMhg==
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