Chaim Walder summoned to appear before rabbinic court

Children's author accused of sexually abusing minors summoned before court led by Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu.

Chaim Walder
Chaim WalderDaniel Ratsvi

Children's author Chaim Walder has been summoned to appear before a special rabbinical court which was convened for his case after he was accused of sexually abusing multiple children.

The court, which consists of Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, Rabbi Reuven Nakar, and Rabbi Aharon Yirchi, has in recent weeks collected numerous testimonies of the allegations against Walder.

Last month, Haaretz published an expose in which women testified that Walder had sexually abused them when they were teens. In response, the popular Eichlers Judaica bookstore in Brooklyn, New York, announced that it would remove all of Walder's books from its shelves, despite the significant financial loss involved. Walder 's radio program on Kol Chai Radio was also suspended,

Walder has written 80 books, the most prominent of which is his 'Kids Speak' series.

Walder's attorneys told Haaretz, "Our client absolutely denies all claims of inappropriate behavior on his part, and especially that which was published in the article. These are false claims based on crass lies, which are equivalent to a literal blood libel."

According to them, throughout the years Walder fought for children who suffered violence and abuse, "and as a result of this, there were several who joined up together with the goal of hurting him, and we have proofs of some of these foolish attempts to incriminate our client."

"This article represents a direct continuation of this [issue]. which is sourced in a false claim filed against him many years ago and which was closed as quickly as it was filed."