Edited by: TJVNews.com
According to a shocking report that appeared on Friday in the Israeli publication Ha’aretz, first hand testimony eveals that Orthodox Israeli author Chaim Walder allegedly had sexual contact with underage girls.
Walder, who is an internationally renowned author of over 50 children’s books and literature, is mostly known for his bestselling series of books “Kids Speak” which have been widely distributed in North America and Israel. The books have sold over two million copies in Israel and the diaspora and the first book in the series became one of the top five best-selling books in Israel of all time, as was reported by the JPost.
The scurrilous allegations against Walder were made two women who claim that when they were 12 and 15 years old, Walder allegedly engaged in sex with them. In addition to their testimony, a third testimony alleges that a 20 year old woman, who had sought therapy with Walder was raped on a regular basis, according to the report.
The JPost reported that in the testimony that was shared with Ha’aretz, one of the accusers who went by the name Talia (not her real name) recalled the first time she encountered Walder, more than 20 years ago. The woman claims that Walder said she was very mature and that he admired her appearance.
Speaking to Ha’aretz, Talia said of Walder, “He was very smart and manipulative,” Talia told the newspaper. He did it very slowly, so as not to stress me out.”
As time passed, Talia claimed that Walder’s comments about her body became more explicit. She claimed that he would inquire of her on a frequent basis if her menstrual cycle had begun, as was reported by the JPost. She also alleged that when her cycle began at age 13, it was then that Walder initiated sexual relations with her.
In her testimony, Talia recalled, “I remember the trauma afterwards, I remember crying. I would study for tests in my head, wait for it to end, and go home. I was like a corpse. I remember his smell, his belt, but it was a technical process and the feeling was completely disconnected. The disconnect accompanied me for years.”
The JPost reported that Talia also claimed that the two would meet in bookstore that Walder owned in Bnei Brak. The sexual molestation continued for years, according to Talia and at age 16, she began to create distance between herself and her molester. She also testified that she was instructed by Walder not to tell anyone what had occurred between them and that if she did, no one would find her allegations credible at all,
Talia also stated in her testimony of her experiences with Walder, “He said it was my word against his word, and that if we weighed them both up, it was clear which of us would be believed.”
The other woman who claimed that Walder has sexual relations with her when she was 15, told Ha’aretz that he had raped her on a regular basis and that her molester leveraged the admiration that she had for him in order to gain access to her body for the purposes on intercourse. Also, not using her real name like the other accuser, in her testimony, she goes by the name Moriah, as was reported by the JPost.
The report in Ha’aretz indicated that in addition to playing a major role in revolutionizing literature geared for Orthodox children, Walder also was a certified counselor at the Center for Child and Family in Bnei Brak. The JPost reported that her provided counseling and therapy to children and young adults who were experiencing the deleterious effects of severe trauma and abuse.
A third accuser who went by the name Dina (not her real name) said that more than a decade ago, when she sought therapeutic help from Walder was also when Walder sexually abused her.
