Mark Dratch

Rabbi Mark Dratch is the founder of JSafe (The Jewish Institute Supporting an Abuse-Free Environment).
Rabbi Dratch served as a congregational rabbi for 22 years in congregations in Stamford, CT (Congregation Agudath Sholom); Toronto, ON (Shaarei Shomayim Congregation), and New York, NY (Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun). He was the founding Rabbi of the Boca Raton Synagogue, Boca Raton, FL. He was a Vice President of the Rabbinical Council of America, served aschairman of its Task Force on Rabbinic Improprieties and responsible for spearheading and formulating its new policy guidelines for responding to allegations against member rabbis.
A graduate of Yeshiva University (Yeshiva College, 1979; RIETS (rabbinic ordination), 1982; Ferkauf Graduate School (Jewish Education), 1982), he is a leader and spokesman for the modern Orthodox community, serving as an officer of the Rabbinical Council of America and a member of the Orthodox Caucus, a national task force addressing practical issues challenging the Jewish world. He is an Instructor of Jewish Studies and Philosophy at the Isaac Breuer College of Yeshiva University and Camp Rabbi of Camp Morasha.
Rabbi Dratch has published many articles, in English and Hebrew-language journals, on the interface between Jewish law and contemporary society. He wrote a series of articles on Jewish ethical issues for the Ethics Project of the Orthodox Caucus. He also served as the Webbe Rebbe - answering "Ask the Rabbi" questions addressed to the Orthodox Union on its web site.
Rabbi Dratch has developed a special interest in the areas of domestic violence and lectures widely on this topic. His paper dealing with the Jewish views on these topics, originally distributed through the Rabbinical Council. His chapter, "A Comminity of Co-Enablers: Why Are Jews Ignoring Traditional Jewish Law by Protecting the Abuser?" appears in "Tempest in the Temple: Jewish Communities and Child Sex Scandals" A. Neustein, ed. (Brandeis University Press, 2009) and his chapter, "I Do? Consent And Coercion in Sexual Relations" appears in "Rav Chesed: Essays in Honor of Rabbi Dr. Haskel Lookstein," R. Medoff, ed., (Ktav, 2009).
He is a member of the Clergy Task Force on Abuse of Jewish Women International, a member of the Leadership Time of the FaithTrust Institute, a member of the Editorial Board of now defunct The Journal of Religion and Abuse, and a speaker and consultant in matters of domestic violence, child abuse, and professional abuse in the Jewish community.
==See also==
*Takana
==External links==
*Reining in abuse story from Global Jewish News
* Reining in abuse story from Global Jewish News
* A Peek Under The Rug
* Sweeping things under the carpet?
* Are Blogs Kosher?
* Child Sex Abuse Case Still Haunts
* Orthodox Rabbis To Report Abuse
*At Last, An Attempt To Monitor Abuse
*Facing Up To Abuse
* 22 Years Later, a Child Abuse Suspect’s Extradition Is Sought
*Ex-Brooklyn rabbi likely to be dragged back to Brooklyn to face kid-sex charges
*Who Will End the Abuse? from The Wall Street Journal
*In Abuse Case, Press Charges Or Help The Victim?
*Child Abuse in Orthodox Brooklyn: Chipping Away at a Wall of Silence
Category:Modern Orthodox rabbis
Category:American Orthodox rabbis
Category:20th-century rabbis
Category:21st-century rabbis
Category:Jewish activists
Category:Domestic violence
Category:Judaism and women
Category:Yeshiva University alumni
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people