December 26, 2012

COVENTRY, England (JTA) — Britain’s Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregations reportedly has  readmitted  a synagogue whose rabbi has been accused of inappropriate conduct with women less than a day after it reportedly severed ties with it.

The British-Jewish umbrella organization had expelled the synagogue on  Monday morning, publishing a letter that said that Rabbi Chayim Halpern’s Divrei Chaim Synagogue in London was “no longer affiliated” with the Union, according to The Jewish Chronicle.

But by the following day, the union released a statement saying that the statementsaying the synagogue had been expelled was “released as the result of a misunderstanding” and that it was still part of the union, according to the Times of Israel.

Following complaints by women who reportedly said Rabbi Halpern had acted “improperly” during counseling sessions, the Union had previously announced a plan to convene a special Beth Din, a rabbinical court, consisting of independent dayanim, or judges, to examine the complaints.

The letter, signed by the Union’s general secretary, Chaim Schneck, offered no explanation for the latest turn of events, the Chronicle reported.

Rabbi Halpern resigned last month from his position as a dayan with the Union but has maintained his innocence, saying that his marriage counseling sessions were conducted according to Jewish law.

A number of London rabbis have declared that Rabbi Halpern was “not fit and proper to act in any rabbinic capacity.”

Rabbi Halpern is the son of Union president Rabbi Elchonon Halpern and was considered one of the powerful figures within the Union rabbinate, according to the Chronicle.
 

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