Kol v'Oz seeks probe into sexual abuse of Jewish children in illegal schools

A global organisation working to prevent the abuse of Jewish children has urged the UK's Independent Inquiry for Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) to urgently initiate an investigation into alleged sexual abuse of Jewish children in illegal faith schools operating in the London borough of Hackney.

Kol v'Oz chief executive Manny Waks in a letter urged the IICSA to include the Jewish schools in its ongoing probe into "a wide range of institutions", The Independent reported.

Waks reportedly wrote: "In the past few years there have been numerous reports of troubling incidents within the Jewish community; more specifically, within the Haredi (ultra-Orthodox) community in the UK, including a series of reports by The Independent which note that child sexual abuse is alleged to have occurred in illegal Jewish ultra-Orthodox schools and that authorities turned a blind eye to these schools due, in part, to the fear of being accused of anti-Semitism."

"The IICSA notes that it will investigate a wide range of institutions, including those who fall under the category of 'other religious organizations'. I would like to take this opportunity to encourage the IICSA to seriously consider including at least a segment of the Jewish community in its investigations," Waks added.

The newspaper's investigation revealed that thousands of Jewish children reported missing at UK schools had been secretly sent to illegal Jewish faith schools in Hackney and were allegedly facing physical as well as sexual abuse. The probe also found a redacted internal memo, which showed that the Department of Education (DoE) staff were aware of the illegal schools since at least 2010 but they destroyed evidence on being threatened by some schools.

The education department, however, said it would investigate the redacted internal memo, the report reported.