The Rabbinical Council of America — the main professional association for Modern Orthodox rabbis in the United States — has put out a statement calling “upon all synagogues and schools to adopt policies geared towards preventing sexual abuse.”

Is this notable, or can we just assume that rabbis are against sex abuse?

Among the recommendations:

• Training staff to prevent sexual abuse.
• Using sex registries to warn communities when a convicted sex offender moves to town.
• Running background checks on all employees.
• Not allowing an adult and child to be alone together.
• Clarifying what kind of physical contact is unacceptable.

Now, will synagogues and schools heed the call?

Uriel Heilman is JTA’s managing editor, responsible for coordinating JTA’s editorial team. He re-joined JTA in 2007 after a stint doing independent reporting in Israel and the Arab world. Before that, he served as New York bureau chief of the Jerusalem Post. An award-winning journalist, he has served as JTA’s news editor and worked as a reporter for a variety of publications in the United States and in Israel.