Rabbi Tovia Singer’s Attempt At Paying Off The Awareness Center

Over the course of the last several weeks, since several civil suits have been filed against Yeshiva University regarding cases involving alleged sex crimes –– The Awareness Center has been inundated by phone calls and e-mails from various Jewish community leaders asking for help to get their names or that of someone they know off of various blogs in which negative things have been written about them.

A few days ago Rabbi Tovia Singer contacted The Awareness Center looking for help. Over the years Rabbi Singer made a name for himself as the director of an international non-profit organization called “Outreach Judaism”, which is dedicated to countering the efforts of Christian groups and cults who specifically target Jews for conversion. For eight years, he also hosted a talk radio show on Arutz Sheva’s Israel National Radio. 

Besides being an ordained rabbi, Tovia Singer also has a bachelors degree in social work.
Rabbi Singer is both loved and hated by his peers within the Jewish outreach community. Even though Singer’s work has been seen as controversial because of the methods he utilizes –– he has been working in the Kiruv industry for several decades. 

Rabbi Tzvi Kilstein (AKA: Harlan Kilstein)

Tovia Singer got his start being mentored by Rabbi Tzvi Kilstein (AKA: Harlan Kilstein) and then moved on working briefly with Jews for Judaism, where he was accused of plagiarism. In 1996 the article “Goy Story” was published “by the New Republic. In it Rabbi Singer was quoted as saying he was the director of “Jews for Judaism of Greater New York”. According to Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz, Rabbi Singer was not associated or affiliated with Jews for Judaism in any way. “In fact, he has no right to utilize our federally trademarked name.” For years there have also been unsubstantiated rumors made against this Jewish outreach rabbi of professional sexual misconduct. 

The other day when Rabbi Tovia Singer contacted The Awareness Center, he started out the conversation talking about how he knew The Awareness Center was struggling financially and that he wanted to find a way that he could help in some of the fundraising efforts.
Rabbi Singer proceeded by sharing the fact that there was negative information about him published on a few web pages and was in hopes the organization could assist him in having the information removed. Unlike every other call received, Tovia went on to say that for every site we were successful in removing his name, that he would donate $500. He specifically named a blog entitled Jewish Survivors of Sexual Violence Speaks Out, and also mentioned that if I could help removed the information on Luke Ford’s Blog, a $1000 donation would be made.

Back on October 18, 2006, The Jewish Survivors of Sexual Violence blogger put a call out looking for survivors of Rabbi Tovia Singer regarding possible cases of clergy sexual abuse against young adult women with whom Singer might have counseled. 

On December 23, 2009, Luke Ford posted to his blog that “Shannon Orand worked for Tovia Singer before Leib Tropper.” Rabbi Leib Tropper was caught up in a sex scandal a few years ago, when it was learned that he was allegedly forcing potential converts to sleep with him as part of the conditions he made for them to convert to Judaism. 

In Luke Ford’s blog excerpt, he wrote that Rabbi Tovia Singer and Shannon Orand had a close working relationship for years. They had a close personal relationship too. 

“Rabbi Tovia Singer is a mesmerizing speaker. He has piercing blue eyes. He’s active in helping Jews leave Christianity. He’s a caring man and he devotes enormous amounts of time to help people. When he connects with you, he surrounds you with love and creates intimate bonds through his outreach work. Many women have been crazy about him, including, apparently, Shannon Orand.” 

When Singer contacted The Awareness Center for help, he stated he needed the information removed because he had two books which were about to be published. He didn’t want any information on the net that would tarnish his reputation. Perhaps Rabbi Singer didn’t realize that trying to pay off a non-profit organization was not too kosher.

Also see:  Tovia Singer – The Rabbi Predator