Q. What is the purpose of the updated Va’ad HaKavod Procedures?
A. The updated Va’ad HaKavod (“VHK”) Procedures provide the specific details on how a complaint regarding a violation of the Code of Conduct can be brought for review by the VHK. The VHK is tasked with supporting compliance with the RA Code of Conduct, reviewing and acting on complaints of violations of the Code. The Procedures set forth the specific processes for how those complaints get submitted and reviewed, and acted upon.
Q. What is included in the updated Procedures?
A. The updated Procedures are the VHK’s Complaint Review Process for complaints of violations of the Code of Conduct. These are the essential procedures by which the VHK fulfills its responsibility of enforcing compliance with the Code of Conduct.
Q. Why are some recommended updates to the Procedures not being developed and implemented at this time?
A. Certain broader VHK procedures recommended by Sacred Spaces were identified by the members of the Strategic Planning Review Task Force as part of our Level II and III changes as they require higher levels of change processes (i.e. partnerships, increased funding, member input, or deeper systems changes).
Q. What were the key goals in establishing these Complaint Review Procedures?
A. We aspire to achieve best practices with our complaint review process, including ensuring that our process is clear and understandable by our members and the public. We are also committed to making the complaint process easily accessible to complainants, while providing support to our RA members, and fairness for all parties.
Q. Who drafted the updated Complaint Review Processes?
A. The Revision Task Force has worked diligently to update the Complaint Review Process to make the procedures clearly understandable by our members and public. The Revision Task Force was guided by the recommendations from the Sacred Spaces assessment process, by Dr. Guila Benchimol, an expert in trauma informed processes, and by our legal counsel.
Q. What are the key updates from the existing Complaint Procedures
A. There are many updates, but here are a few to note:
- The process overall provides better clarity for both complainants and respondents, and ensures that all parties are attended to fairly. The process allows more flexibility in how a complaint is submitted, who can submit a complaint, and accounts for increased information sharing throughout the process for both complainants and respondents.
- Complaint intake is now centralized by our Ethics Coordinator who is intentionally not a rabbi to preserve neutrality at the point of intake. Rebecca Chagall is an attorney specialist who employs a trauma-informed approach to gather information, set expectations, explain the process, and communicate regularly with the parties.
- The Complaint Review Process now allows any party to have a support person, not acting in an advocacy or advisory role, to be present when interacting with VHK members. Recognizing that being interviewed for the purposes of an investigation can cause stress and anxiety for both the complainant and the respondent, the VHK is affirming the humanity of all parties with this revision.
Q. Why is there no reference to Teshuvah in the updated Complaint Review Process?
A. The Complaint Review processes refer to “Accountability Plans” and conditions placed on rabbis as a direct result of their misconduct. The VHK is focused on whether a respondent has fulfilled the conditions placed on them by the VHK, rather than on whether they successfully undertook teshuvah, an important concept in Judaism. In alignment with the Sacred Spaces recommendation, teshuvah is a very personal exercise, but only the person who experienced the harm can determine what constitutes a meaningful apology and what steps, if any, can help promote their own healing, key elements of teshuvah. Fulfilling the conditions of an Accountability Plan provides a more objective way for rabbis to fulfill conditions necessary for them to return to their positions or to the rabbinate after a VHK finding.
Q. What updates to procedures were implemented by the VHK prior to the development of the Updated Procedures?
A. The RA had previously announced, and Sacred Spaces acknowledged in their Assessment, that the VHK had already implemented the following enhanced procedures prior to the release of its Assessment:
- Increasing expertise by use of outside consultants to advise and expand the skill sets of VHK panel members and an outside expert advising throughout the complaint review process.
- Creating more uniformity in the VHK process by developing a bank of communication templates, improving response times, and initiating a formal orientation process for new VHK and EC members.
- Improving knowledge about ethics by creating a new ethics page on the RA website, and disseminating updates on the Code in English and Hebrew.
- Implementing a more formal case record keeping system (both paper and electronic) to ensure better tracking of case handling and adherence to the restoration plan following a determination.
Q. Are the updated Procedures applicable to matters already under review by the VHK before its implementation?
A. No. Complaints pending prior to March 1, 2025 will continue to be evaluated under the prior complaint review processes.