(JTA) – Days after allegations of sexual abuse by former Jewish youth program participants appeared in the media, the Conservative movement announced it would implement new safety measures and investigate how program officials have handled complaints. In the announcement, the CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, said the reports of abuse of teenage boys at programs run by its affiliated organization United Synagogue Youth require taking action. Blumenthal said USY would hire a third party to manage its reporting hotline and pay an independent consultant to investigate the allegations and the involvement of program officials or volunteers. 

The allegations, published in an article two weeks ago in The Times of Israel, took place decades ago and involve Ed Ward, a former USY Nassau County divisional director. The article quoted a former camper of Ward’s named Jordan Soffer and cited two lawsuits filed anonymously against Ward and USY.  Following the Blumenthal announcement, a Times of Israel reporter tweeted that Soffer does not believe the Conservative movement is doing enough to ensure accountability. 

“I am glad to see that USY is committed to making sure that this can never happen again,” Soffer is quoted as saying. “Ensuring it doesn’t happen again, however, must begin with recognition and empathy. Their failure to acknowledge that this happened, and their failure to express any empathy for their graduates, gives me little faith that there will be enduring change.”

The announcement of an investigation at USY comes several months after the movement’s Rabbinic Assembly launched an audit of its own process for handling ethical complaints. 

Meanwhile, in the Reform movement, three such investigations are taking place. And in July, the movement’s youth arm, NFTY, released a statement responding to an article in the Jewish college student publication New Voices accusing NFTY of fostering an overly sexualized environment for teens. The youth program welcomed the scrutiny and said it was in the process of revamping its abuse reporting process and adding language to its code of conduct. 

Main Photo: USY members celebrate at the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism’s 2015 convention. (Andrew Langdal)