Print

Text

A Midtown Toronto synagogue has settled out of court with two women who accused a rabbi at the place of worship of sexual misconduct.

One of the accusers, 52-year-old Yona Nadler, said Beth Tzedec Synagogue Rabbi Tobias Gabriel coerced her into a sexual relationship, telling her it "would not be wrong to be intimate with him" while she was a student of his in July 2006. Her lawsuit also stated that her faith made her vulnerable to manipulation from someone in a position of religious power such as Gabriel.

Both Nadler and the rabbi were married at the time of the alleged sexual misconduct.

A second accuser surfaced with similar allegations after Nadler's claim went public.

The allegations were shocking, given the Forest Hill synagogue's reputation and prestige.

Nadler filed a lawsuit for $1.3 million in late July, and Beth Tzedec Congregation president Shep Gangbar sent a letter to the synagogue's 6,000 members shortly thereafter in which he started that there was "little doubt that the impropriety occurred."

Beth Tzedec Synagogue and Gabriel settled with the accusers, though the settlement does not include any admission of liability or fault. The restitution Nadler and the second, unnamed accuser received in the settlement was not released.