But his presence in the pulpit remained too much for some; the then head of the Federation Beth Din Dayan Yisroel Lichtenstein declared him “unfit to serve as a rabbi”.
Under pressure to act, the UOHC set up a special beth din, composed of rabbis from abroad, to examine his conduct. But if this august rabbinic panel ever reached a conclusion, it never saw the light of day.
The Metropolitan police also got involved but their investigations ended without charges and, although under a cloud, Halpern enjoyed sufficient support to remain as a functioning rabbi.
Undated handout photo issued by Metropolitan Police of Rabbi Aaron Halpern, also known as Chaim Halpern (Metropolitan Police/Press Association)Metropolitan Police/Press Association
In November 2022, however, a fresh storm burst over his head. An Israeli TV news programme broadcast a new allegation that he had sexually assaulted a young woman who had come to see him for religious advice in London in his flat above his shul.
He was heard asking if she wanted him to join her “in bed” in telephone conversations she had covertly recorded on her return to Israel. But Halpern dismissed the woman’s account as “bubbemeises” (fairy tales) and suggested the recordings were fake.
The revelations unleashed a new wave of condemnation. Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis commented, “For a rabbi to hold private meetings with women behind closed doors is a transgression of halachah and creates an environment in which abuse can take place.”
The Federation’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Shrava Feigel Zimmerman, hit out at those he believed had covered up allegations against Halpern years before.
The UOHC announced another inquiry, to be headed by a judge but he dropped out and the process was then paused as the police moved in.
This time Halpern was charged, with offences against the young woman. But it seemed as if the case might never come to trial. The showdown in court, scheduled for November 2024, was postponed, firstly because the victim was unwell and then because of issues over disclosure of evidence.
Finally this month Halpern stood in the dock at Harrow Crown Court. But even before any verdict, his admission that he had hugged the woman – though claiming it was not in any sexual way – and that the phone recordings were genuine would have been enough to damn him in the eyes of many in the Orthodox community.
