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Unkosher Love: Rabbi Arrested For In-Flight Gropes
By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 14, 2011
Modified Apr 14, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Apr 14, 2011
Modified Apr 14, 2011
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An Israeli rabbi flying from Tel Aviv to NY allegedly twice fondled a female passenger as she slept. Rabbi Gavriel Bidany, 47, has been charged with misdemeanor assault in the March 27 incident aboard a Delta flight. And according to court papers obtained by The Smoking Gun, the shlemiel tired to use the lamest excuse in the old testament when confronted by the woman: “It’s a mistake, I’m asleep,” he claimed.
According to the woman, whose identity wasn't revealed, Bidany “placed his hand under her blanket, on her groin, and was groping her genital area.” After she scolded him, she put the blanket over her head and body and attempted to go back to sleep. But minutes later, Bidany again “reached under the passenger’s blanket, this time groping the passenger’s breasts.” She yelled at him, “What are you doing, stop touching me,” to which he responded that he was asleep.
The woman reported him to the flight crew, and Bidany was arrested, but “asserts his total innocence” and contends that the alleged sexual contact “never occurred.” We're reminded of an old Talmudic proverb that we think could be good for Rabbi Bidany to meditate upon: "my honey my baby don't put my love upon no shelf/ she said don't give no lines and keep your hands to yourself":
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Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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