NEW YORK (JTA) — The head of an organization that oversees conversions to Judaism has resigned amid accusations of sexual improprieties.
Rabbi Leib Tropper, head of the Eternal Jewish Family based in New York, is leaving the independent organization he founded five years ago.
Tropper, in a statement released this week by the organization, said his desire to “pursue a variety of other interests” led him to resign.
Stories have surfaced recently of his sexual misconduct while overseeing the conversion process. A woman, whose name has not been released, told FailedMessiah.com that Tropper allegedly asked for sexual favors in return for completing her conversion process.
Tropper, the woman claims, also arranged for sexual encounters between herself and Tropper’s wife that the rabbi allegedly watched. Tropper also is accused of allegedly pressuring woman to engage in sexual encounters with other men.
According to FailedMessiah.com, the alleged female victim made unauthenticated video and audio tapes of sexual encounters with Tropper intended for leading rabbis involved with Eternal Jewish Family, yet the tapes were leaked through the Internet to various bloggers over the past few days.
“These tapes appear to support her claims,” FailedMessiah.com wrote.
Tropper did not address the accusations in the statement announcing his resignation.
Over the summer, billionaire EJF financier Guma Aguiar accused Tropper of embezzling funds from the organization, and the two since then have been engaged in an ongoing dispute.
