May 5, 2011
DOCUMENT: Sex, Crime

Rabbi Convicted Of In-Flight Molesting

Father of 11 groped Israeli Army officer during trip

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Rabbi Bidany

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MAY 5--An Israeli rabbi was convicted today of fondling a female passenger on a recent flight from Tel Aviv to New York.

Gavriel Bidany, a 47-year-old father of 11, was found guilty this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Bidany was named last month in a misdemeanor information charging him with molesting the woman on a March 27 Delta Airlines flight bound for John F. Kennedy International Airport.

The verdict was rendered following a two-day bench trial before Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes. Bidany, an Israeli citizen, faces a maximum of six months in prison when he is sentenced by Reyes on May 12. In reading the verdict at 2 PM, Reyes called the victim's testimony "compelling and wholly believable," while dismissing the testimony of Bidany, pictured above, as "not worthy of belief."

As she initially told FBI agents, the molestation victim, a 23-year-old Israeli Army officer, testified yesterday that Bidany twice fondled her on the trans-Atlantic flight. Bidany, seated next to the woman, first placed his hand under a blanket on her lap and groped her genital area. When the woman “jumped back,” Bidany “quickly removed his hand from her groin.”

Minutes later, the woman testified, Bidany again reached under her blanket, and this time groped her breasts. The victim, who commands a missile defense unit, has a “substantial number of soldiers serving under her charge” and is “currently deployed in a front-line role,” according to a court filing.

The woman told the FBI that when she confronted Bidany, he claimed, “It’s a mistake, I’m asleep.” She then reported the incident to Delta flight crew members, who later told FBI agents that the woman was "visibly shaken and frantic."

Testifying yesterday afternoon via a Hebrew translator, Bidany denied ever touching the woman, saying that he would not “do such nonsense and risk my entire life.” (5 pages)

Rabbi Bidany

TAGS

Gavriel Bidany, rabbi, groping, Delta Air Lines, FBI

Comments (58)

Submitted by Paladin59 on Fri, 2011-05-27 14:45.
The guy has 11 kids guess he was not getting enough at home
Submitted by Mo Ma' on Thu, 2011-05-12 15:24.
His fingers had a mind of its own...Oy vey!!! lady take your private part off my hand, twice his hand went a wandering....what a meshuganeh
Submitted by Essen Sie Micht on Sat, 2011-05-07 00:45.
Ahhh, the Rabbi's a romantic.
Submitted by Eke on Fri, 2011-05-06 14:51.
It could have been a test run for a new kind of Israeli porn...."Rabbi Does Flight 542"........starring Long Dong Ari......
Submitted by Ranger01 on Fri, 2011-05-06 12:36.
Give the man a break, He was just warming her up for her New York Arrival with the TSA. What she got from the Rabbi will seem like nothing.
Submitted by RufusVonDufus on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:44.
Submitted by Honest_Abe on Fri, 2011-05-06 01:49. Rabbi, You're hired! J. Napolitano TSA Chief Funniest post I have seen in a long time, but also the saddest as it comes close to the truth relevant to Napolitano and the TSA.
Submitted by RufusVonDufus on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:41.
I wonder what the young officer did for the judge to get such a quickie decision based only on her word and nothing else.
Submitted by Ranger01 on Fri, 2011-05-06 12:38.
The key word was Quickie!
Submitted by Just Me on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:31.
Speaking of Lara Logan, check out this newspaper article from a few years ago. This would be the REAL Lara Logan. http://tinyurl.com/438czgt
Submitted by rodney kingme on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:26.
And before people jump on a politically correct high horse, ask yourself this-when you heard Laura Logan was gang raped, did you not assume she was raped with male sex organs, ie.r penises? Honestly answer that. "Rape by hands" changes the whole definition of rape. It is Orwellian. According to the P.C. thugs, this rabbi should be getting prosecuted for rape. A lot of women are very sociopathic about accusing people of sexism and rape. It is done to further their careers, agendas, etc. Thankfully, I've never been involved with such a situation, but I've seen it happen at work etc. Now, this situation is quirky, because it's tough to accuse either party of anti-semitism, but that accusation is usually like the false rape accusation as well.
Submitted by Athelena on Mon, 2011-05-09 16:22.
I don"t know what you thought Rodney, nor do I know what the state of the law in Egypt is regarding sex crimes (though I'm sure they are a bit behind the times so to speak), but in California "Rape by hands" is in fact a crime. Section 289 of the Penal Code is entitled "Forcible acts of sexual penetration" and it covers penetration of the anal or genital openings with anything other than "ie.r penises." Most other states have similar statutes (laws, Rodney). That is my honest answer. Now go crawl back under your rock, and please stay under there from now on.
Submitted by MagnumXL on Fri, 2011-05-06 16:10.
Teabaggers always side with the rapist because they believe women are third class citizens.
Submitted by AlexisP on Wed, 2011-05-25 16:54.
Not true!
Submitted by Loveourvets on Fri, 2011-05-06 17:16.
Teabaggers want to BE women, so you make no sense at all (not that you ever do). You think you're being cleverly cute by calling Tea party members 'teabaggers' when everybody else knows what the real meaning of teabaggers is. Grow up.
Submitted by Working Liberal on Mon, 2011-05-09 09:32.
My balls, your mouth
Submitted by DexterTheCereal... on Mon, 2011-05-09 10:56.
BOOYAH!
Submitted by DexterTheCereal... on Mon, 2011-05-09 05:32.
Open your eyes.
Submitted by rodney kingme on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:02.
The Laura Logan incident was trumped up propaganda. Her getting so much attention diminishes women who are really raped-with a penis. Yes, it's like the Duke Lacrosse case or the Kobe Bryant case. As for Logan, the only witnessess kept changing their story and were members of the lying media anyway, who have an agenda to make Egyptians look bad. Don't be lemmings. I bet that IDF officer wasn't so squeamish about gunning down Palestinian kids.
Submitted by JD0616 on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:49.
@ rodney kingme - Booo... Are you kidding? What Laura Logan went through was a brutal and savage attack. She's fortunate to have survived. To try and smear her for what savages did to her is simply cruel. You're obviously ignorant of the legal definition of rape, penetration of any sort on any part of the body. Period. Anyway what has that situation got to do with a lecherous rabbi groping this woman on a flight? Nothing at all.
Submitted by AGMINES on Fri, 2011-05-06 07:42.
FEW KNOW IT BUT, IN THE END OF HIS DAYS, MOSES ACTUALLY TOOK UP WITH YOUNG EGYPTIAN CONCUBINE, WHEN HIS SISTER MARIAM PROTESTED JEHOVAH GAVE HER LEPROSY WHICH MOSES ASKED TO BE REMOVED. MAYBE THIS RABBI WAS ON THE SAME PATH OF THINKING! IN ANY EVENT, IT IS AGAINST THE LAW IN AMERICA AND THIS IS NOT 5,000 YEARS AGO.
Submitted by Feste Ainoriba on Fri, 2011-05-06 09:03.
Agmines, You've lied. Moses took an ethiopian as his second wife, not as a concubine (there was a big difference). While Miriam and Aaron were critical, there is no indication that his first wife, Zipporah, objected; in fact, there is no record that even suggests that Zipporah was still alive at the time. Miriam and Aaron's objection may thus have been based on ethnocentric purity rather than on any sexual mores; and the Biblical account makes it clear that Miram's leprosy had nothing to do with her views on Moses' marriage (else why did not Aaron get it too - he also objected). The reason she got leprosy, and Aaron didn't, was because Miriam claimed to have revelatory authority equal to (or even superior to) that held by Moses. God wanted it clear that Moses was His chosen revelator.
Submitted by Athelena on Mon, 2011-05-09 16:25.
Agmines, it's a well known fact that people who type in all upper-case letters ("Caps" for people like Rodneykingme) are CRAZY!
Submitted by rodney kingme on Fri, 2011-05-06 07:38.
Get ready. Laura Logan has introduced a new hate crime-"Hand Rape". You will see a lot of trumped up garbage now. This is only news because you have dueling "look at me! I'm persecuted" types.
Submitted by MAKE MY DAY on Fri, 2011-05-06 06:32.
Somehow this story does NOT pass the "smell test"!!! There are NO witnesses and it has become a "he said - she said" situation!! Maybe it was the wrong time of the month - and she was PMS'ing and just pissed at everyone!!! The "charge" is NOT proven - beyond a reasonable doubt!! If I was the Rabbi - I would have demanded a "Jury Trial"!!!
Submitted by snookie_sg on Sat, 2011-05-07 12:08.
A high percentage of people who devote their lives to "God" are sexual deviants (see Catholic Church), so I reckon it's true.
Submitted by Truth Talker on Sun, 2011-05-08 21:58.
Becoming a priest does not make you a child molester. People enter the priesthood for many reasons, some to serve god and some for access to little boys. The queers love the access to little boys and since priest do not marry, it gives them an opportunity to practice their perversion under the guise of respectability. The church should not allow homosexuals into the priesthood for the same reason the boy scouts do not allow homosexuals to be scout masters.
Submitted by Prf_isleR on Mon, 2011-05-09 00:29.
Truth Talker, you may want to do better research or perhaps just change your moniker...You are incorrect when you infer that priests who molest children are homosexuals (or more offensively, you refer to them as "queers"). Also while it is true that the BSA bans homosexuals from being scout masters, that has done nothing when it comes to preventing the heterosexual scout masters from molesting the boys in their troops. You seem to put your personal prejudice ahead of actual statistics when it comes to child predators. In a recent study/research paper involving several renown universities and their faculty members, funded by the Department of Justice and published on the NCMEC website: it was found that demographically, out of the 466 offenders studied, 85% of the offenders were HETEROSEXUALS and 80.2% were Caucasian. (http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/documents/law-enforcement-bulletin-4.pdf) Basically, the average child predator looks like Ward Cleaver or Rob Petrie (two fictional, famous TV Dads) or like "everyman". Before you spout off next time, you may want to do a little research, just so you can look like you know what your talking about. BTW-no charge for the advice.
Submitted by G R A V I T Y on Fri, 2011-05-06 15:28.
I use A LOT of "exclamation points" and CAPITAL letters!!!
Submitted by Athelena on Mon, 2011-05-09 16:29.
MAKE MY DAY is just a very excited, enthusiastic poster. He is not CRAZY in any way.
Submitted by Feste Ainoriba on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:46.
I wouldn't go as far as assuming that she lied, anymore than I would assume she told the truth. The relevant question is "what does the evidence show?" The important thing to note is that there is absolutely no evidence whatsoever that a crime was even committed. Again, an accusation should never be counted as evidence, which, apparently, this judge did. The odd thing about this is this is the kind of emotional verdict that you sometimes get from juries; but that judges normally don't succumb to.
Submitted by amik4 on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:36.
I am sure that it happened.
Submitted by Loveourvets on Fri, 2011-05-06 16:47.
amik4, was it you that it happened to? Were you there to witness it? How can you be so sure?
Submitted by Feste Ainoriba on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:40.
An accusation should never be counted as evidence.
Submitted by Feste Ainoriba on Fri, 2011-05-06 06:31.
Isn't anybody else concerned that a person can be convicted of a serious crime without any evidence, merely based on the claims of an alleged victim? Reminds me of the Duke LaCrosse case. Beyond a reasonable doubt, in my mind, requires more than an assertion of guilt by an alleged victim! The judge's subjective judgement of whose testimony is the most credible doesn't pass the beyond a reasonable doubt threshold. Without some kind of evidence that he touched her, something he denied vehemently, there is no reasonable basis for convicting. This judge failed to follow proven evidenciary standards, and instead allowed his prejudices (judging based on beliefs vs evidence) to rule his judgment. I predict this conviction will be (and should be) overturned on appeal. An accusation should never be counted as evidence!!!
Submitted by Athelena on Mon, 2011-05-09 16:46.
Feste, clearly you have no knowledge of criminal law. An accusation is evidence, if, that is, it is repeated by the accuser in court. Many convictions occur in which the jury members evaluate the credibility of the witnesses testifying, determine which they believe to be more credible, and then render a verdict. In this case the Judge simply acted in lieu of a jury, which both the prosecution and defense must agree to in advance. What none of us know is exactly what each witness said. We have a brief news account. We have no idea what the Rabbi said to police investigators at the time of the incident and how his story may have changed by the time of the trial. Similarly, we have no idea about the victim's initial statement and testimony. The presiding judge however does. A conviction is not based upon the number of witnesses on one side or the other, it's about who's story is the more credible, as viewed by the trier of fact. It happens all the time, every week in every part of our nation. The only thing I am concerned about is dunces like yourself, foaming at the mouth about things they know so little about, because it is possible people may read your words and be fooled in to thinking you actually know something.
Submitted by Honest_Abe on Fri, 2011-05-06 00:49.
Rabbi, You're hired! J. Napolitano TSA Chief
Submitted by colnzgprnts on Thu, 2011-05-05 21:19.
This story demonstrates the absurdity associated with 'modern women'. First, the woman is a proud military leader with the personal attributes once associated with tough, self-reliant manliness. Next. the woman is a fragile, helpless person who goes to pieces when a lecherous individual puts his hands on her breasts.
Submitted by Honest_Abe on Fri, 2011-05-06 00:59.
The problem is that the guy is a Rabbi. That calling is highly respected in Israel, at least. This is probably what disturbed her.
Submitted by amik4 on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:37.
No! his dirty hands over her body is what disturbed her.
Submitted by shmujew on Fri, 2011-05-06 10:08.
amik 4 ... Your dirty fithy mind disturbs humanity
Submitted by GoodDaySunshine on Thu, 2011-05-05 20:28.
Indeed, it's a good thing she was an expert at "missile" defense.
Submitted by MerryLynching on Thu, 2011-05-05 19:23.
The ol' somnambulance defense...
Submitted by papaw96 on Thu, 2011-05-05 19:14.
Well she is a missile commander after all. Maybe he wanted her to command his "missile"
Submitted by Ranger01 on Fri, 2011-05-06 12:45.
Incomming Hands! You guys are funny!
Submitted by ahhgoosh on Thu, 2011-05-05 18:10.
She "commands a missile defense unit, has a substantial number of soldiers serving under her charge and is currently deployed in a front-line role” but a rabbi playing touchy-feely makes her "visibly shaken and frantic." Seems a bit off. I'm not saying he's right or anything, I'm just sayin'....
Submitted by Loveourvets on Thu, 2011-05-05 16:35.
He said, "It's a mistake, I'm asleep." even after she confronted him. Was he groping AND talking in his sleep? Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe SHE was dreaming. Or maybe, he (and I'm not defending him) was trying to determine if she was indeed a she given the fact that she seems to be one tough commanding officer and at the age of 23, yet. Just seems strange, though that for someone so tough to have been so shaken instead of ripping that beard right off his face.
Submitted by amik4 on Fri, 2011-05-06 08:33.
I am an Israeli, this happens all the time in Israel on the buss. We used to be to shy to complain. Good for her!
Submitted by Loveourvets on Fri, 2011-05-06 16:43.
I'm an American, this used to happen all the time in America on the bus (don't know about now, though because I don't ride busses, anymore). Some women may have been too shy to complain back then, but usually, they hauled off and smacked the pervert or didn't consider the incident to be that much of a crime if someone just touched them accidently (or not) or even looked at them in a lecherous manner. But, that was before the feminist movement really set in.
Submitted by shmujew on Fri, 2011-05-06 10:03.
amik....smearmonkey.......keep your filthy jew hating thoughts to yourself.....go donate more money to the palestinkians
Submitted by amik4 on Thu, 2011-05-12 09:11.
You are an idiot, I am a jew and proud of it. I am ashamed of dirty old man with long dirty hands.
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