The rabbi at the centre of a police investigation into an alleged historical sexual assault plays a key role at several Orthodox schools in London, including one of the UK’s largest Jewish primary schools for girls.
Rabbi Chaim Halpern is under investigation by the Metropolitan Police over claims he assaulted a women who came to him for spiritual guidance.
A 21-year-old woman now living in Israel has claimed the 64-year-old strictly-Orthodox rabbi touched her “private parts” and continually telephoned her trying to persuade her to have sex with him.
Rabbi Halpern, who leads the Divrei Chaim Synagogue in Golders Green, north London, previously faced a similar police investigation into his conduct when he and three others were arrested on suspicion of sexual assault and perverting the course of justice ten years ago. The case was dropped after a nine-month probe.
Under the name Aaron Halpern, the JC can reveal, the well-known rabbi plays a key role in a group of Orthodox Jewish schools, as a director and trustee of the companies and charities which control their funding and £16 million of assets.
He is listed as a member of the board which appoints the governors of Pardes House boys Grammar School, and Pardes House boys primary school in Finchley, and the Beis Yaakov girls primary school in Colindale, north London.
The government-funded one-form entry boys primary and Grammar Schools have almost 350 pupils each, while the girls school has around 500 pupils aged three to 11. Rabbi Halpern has also been previously listed as a “rabbinical adviser” to the school.
Rabbi Halpern is a director of the company, the Pardes House and Beis Yaacov Primary Schools Foundation which is, it says, entitled to appoint the majority of the governors of the schools and owns the buildings in which they operate.
Its most recent accounts listed Rabbi Halpern as a director.
The foundation also previously listed the late Rabbi Elchonon Halpern as a director. The late rabbi, who is reportedly Chaim Halpern’s father, was the schools’ founder and is regarded as the father of the Charedi community in Britain.
Following his death in 2015, aged 92, an estimated 5,000 people attended the rabbi’s funeral in Golders Green, reportedly bringing the area to a standstill.
At the time, Pardes House Primary School headteacher Rabbi Joel Sager told the JC that the late rabbi was “committed to the school like a father is to his son”.
But when the JC asked Rabbi Sager about the involvement of Rabbi Chaim Halpern with the school, he said: “I have been headteacher here for 11 years and Rabbi Halpern has no involvement with our school.”
Asked about his role in the foundation which controls the school, he added: “I cannot confirm any more details as I do not know any more details. I have never met Rabbi Aaron Halpern. I wouldn’t know how to put you in touch with him. I also do not believe it is my job to do so.”
On its website, the school says its mission for its pupils is to set them “a standard of excellence in both Kodesh and secular studies through an all-encompassing curriculum that is attentive to pupils’ individual needs”.
It adds: “Our pupils learn a rich system of Jewish values, which stresses the practice of mitzvos and the development of ethical character. Through school experiences, our students gain creative-thinking and critical-thinking skills and develop a passion for lifelong learning in order to prepare them for life in modern Britain.
Aaron Halpern is also listed as a director and trustee of the Leifer Trust, a Golders Green-based social work charity dedicated to the advancement of the Orthodox Jewish religion and the advancement of education according to the tenets of the Orthodox Jewish religion.
Speaking exclusively to the JC, Rabbi Halpern’s alleged victim, who cannot be named, said: “Reb Chaim thinks that because he’s a rabbi, he can do whatever he wishes.
“He tricked me into trusting him by acting charming, nice and likeable, giving attention and compliments. He invests time into communication such as phone calls and emails, but it’s all just grooming.”
Asked about his role in the educational organisations Rabbi Halpern’s lawyer David Sonn said the rabbi “declines to comment in relation to the matters you have raised.” Beis Yaakov Primary School and the Leifer Trust did not respond to requests for comment.
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