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since Wed, 26 Dec 2007 20:04:17.
by Joachim Martillo (ThorsProvoni@aol.com)
The NY Daily News is covering an ongoing story of alleged molestation of a senior by an ultra-orthodox man, who had brought his pregnant wife to the hospital for a routine pregnancy visit. (See below.)
I did a double take because of the similarity to some Islamophobic newspaper coverage that uses statements by possibly confused elderly informants or quotation snippets. It is a pattern that appeared in the movie Obsession and in the controversy over the Roxbury Mosque.
In the molestation case we never learn whether there might be reason (e.g., Alzheimer's or similar disorder) to doubt the veracity of the accuser or whether he might belong to that group of ethnic Ashkenazim that are militantly hostile to the ultra-orthodox. Such animus might also be an issue among the reporters covering the story because most of them have such obviously Jewish names.
In this particular case, the group demonization that characterizes Islamophobic articles is absent, but problems with the reporting of this story underscore journalistic flaws that Islamophobes can make a conscious and concerted effort to exploit.
Accused molestor asked senior his religion before assault
Friday, November 14th 2008, 4:44 AM
A Torah scholar accused of fondling an elderly man lying in a Manhattan hospital bed first asked his frail victim whether he was Jewish before grabbing his genitals, prosecutors said Thursday.
When the 72-year-old senior replied that he was an atheist, Yakov Kramer allegedly lifted the man's gown and molested him Wednesday afternoon at New York-Presbyterian Hospital Columbia, prosecutors said.
The 27-year-old was arraigned Thursday at Manhattan Criminal Court on charges of sexual abuse and burglary as a sexually motivated felony. He posted a $50,000 bond, and is due back in court Tuesday.
After the hearing, Kramer's lawyer Israel Fried told The Daily News that the biblical expert was merely trying to help the old man after hearing his pleas for help.
RELATED: HOSPITAL VISITOR ACCUSED OF MOLESTING ELDERLY PATIENT
"There was a person in pain. He saw him. Assisted him. And when his assistance was done. He left," Fried said.
Although Kramer is from Spring Valley in Rockland County, his family, part of the Skver Hasidic sect, still lives in Williamsburg.
Neighbors on quiet Morton Street, home to Kramer's father, Jeremias, were tight-lipped about the family's whereabouts. But the news of the outrageous crime was the talk of the insular community Thursday afternoon.
Religious leaders defended Kramer, calling him a brainiac with a passion for writing about God.
"He is an author of religious books," said Rabbi Leib Glanz, executive vice president of United Jewish Care in Williamsburg. "He is a Torah scholar."
"His wife is expecting a baby. That is why he was in the hospital," said Glanz.
Kramer's lawyer said his client took his pregnant wife to the hospital for a routine check-up Wednesday.
He left his spouse to head to the hospitality room intended for Jewish patients and their guests, and picked up a book.
But the cries of the old man stopped Kramer, his lawyer said.
The senior "lifted his gown to indicate where he was in pain," Fried said in court.
After checking on the man, Kramer returned to his wife, Fried said.
A nurse later caught Kramer in the old man's room, during Kamer's second visit, and alerted authorities.
"Abuse is a real problem," said Assemblyman Dov Hikind, (D-Brooklyn).
Hikind called the Kramer case "depressing."
"It is horrible," he said.
With Oren Yaniv and Wil Cruz
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