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The dangers of asymmetrical power

There are a few power dynamics where one party has almost no leverage. And this asymmetrical power means that the weak party will almost never assert themselves out of fear that the stronger party will simply cease doing business.

This dynamic is rife with the potential for abuse.

One example of such a power dynamic is immigration, where the potential immigrant has almost no say in the process and must simply fulfill the requirements. At least in the case of immigration, however, the person without leverage has the option of hiring an advocate in the form of a lawyer (finances permitting, of course).

Another example is conversion to Judaism, where the conversion candidate is completely at the mercy of the powers that be, most typically the rabbi overseeing the process. And in this case, the lawyer option is non-existent. Candidates can try to have community members advocate on their behalves; however, the average congregant tends to stay away from getting too involved with conversion issues.

The recent scandal with Rabbi Barry Freundel of DC’s Kesher Israel congregation demonstrates just how dangerous this asymmetrical power dynamic can be. A prominent rabbinical figure stands accused of spying on women as they attended the mikveh. These women include conversion candidates, for whom mikveh is the final step in officially becoming Jewish.

And it turns out that the alleged voyeurism was only one part of Freundel’s alleged abuse of power. He also forced female conversion candidates to basically work for him for free, and they didn’t refuse out of fear that their conversion process would be halted or lengthened. Orthodox conversion typically doesn’t have a fixed timeline; the timeline is intended to organically develop according to the individual’s commitment and development. And though the origin of this policy may be rooted in a good place, it deepens the power asymmetry, an aspect many women mentioned in this week’s IJN article on the Freundel scandal.

In the case of one woman, she continues to remain anonymous out of fear that her conversion will be invalidated (which the Rabbinical Council of America announced they would not do).

There’s a reason why good governance is based on a system of checks and balances. Judaism isn’t government, but the case of Freundel should be a wake-up call to the Orthodox community.

Independent oversight, especially during the conversion process, is needed. First, no longer should women have to go through the mikveh process without another female present, a step that the RCA has already announced it is considering.

Another possible reform could be appointing an ombudsman to each conversion case. A conversion candidate should be made to feel that s/he could approach the ombudsman with procedural concerns. This would be complicated, of course, because conversion carries many qualitative issues; an individual may be frustrated that the conversion is happening slowly, but the rabbi may have good reason for caution. But an ombudsman would be the person to distinguish between legitimate concerns and complaints born of frustration.

It’s also important that the discussion in the wake of the Freundel scandal isn’t limited to the female gender. In Freundel’s case, women are the alleged victims, but the RCA should be careful not to focus its follow-up solely on preventing abuse of women. Men can be just as affected by abuse of power and if oversight systems are to be put in place, whether for conversion or any other issues, the systems should apply to all community members, regardless of gender.




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