Unresignation: Tropper reasserts control of yeshiva, half-million

By Michael Orbach

Leib Tropper, the former kiruv guru whose affair with a woman he was converting to Judaism received national attention is back in the spotlight. A power struggle has broken out between him and a trustee of his former yeshiva Kol Yaakov, and over half a million dollars in the yeshiva’s bank accounts.

Rabbi Moshe Raice, the trustee, has sued Tropper on behalf of the yeshiva to recoup money that Tropper withdrew from the institution’s bank account after he resigned. According to court documents, submitted by a lawyer for the yeshiva, Tropper withdrew $80,000 from the Kol Yaakov bank account the day after his resignation was finalized. A month later he transferred $500,000 of the yeshiva’s funds to Nathan and Jeneatte Berney, a family in Monsey with an agreement that the money would eventually be returned to Tropper by the end of April. The documents were posted on the Failed Messiah Web-site on Tuesday.

Tropper claims that he is still the senior Rabbi at Kol Yaakov and that the reported resignation was exaggerated. He states that the issue is not about him, but about the yeshiva. To whit: “It is up to the ecumenical leadership to determine what, if any continuing role I will have at Kol Yaakov.”

This time around, Tropper’s the one name-calling and Tropper has convened what he calls a “rabbinical board” to dismiss Raice from the institution.

“Quite frankly,” Tropper writes, “I am horrified by the way Moshe Raice has illegaly and immorally elevated his position of authority. I recognize that the good of of Kol Yaakov may be served by me eventually disassociating myself from the organization. In that event, Kol Yaakov must be shepherded through this period by a Rabbinical authority of the highest integrity. It must not fall victim to an unscrupulous manipulator like Moshe Raice.”

Tropper goes on to state that the leadership of Kol Yaakov did not give Raice the authority to pursue the lawsuit and that if the lawsuit commenced with rabbinical leadership they would “undoubtedly follow Jewish law, which provides that leadership issues in a religious organization should be worked out internally and if there is an impasse, the issue should be referred to a Beth Din.”

Raice and Schwartz maintain that “there is no such rabbinic board in existence,” and that Tropper’s designated administrator “has never been associated with Kol Yaakov in any role.” On the Kol Yaakov yeshiva website, Raice is listed as the principle.

“His relationship with the yeshiva spans decades, as a teacher, board member, and now as menahel or principal of Kol Yaakov,” the website states about Raice.

Excluding Tropper, only one of the four members of the rabbinical board is mentioned on the website.

Raice has also submitted a letter from Rabbi Reuven Feinstein.

Regarding the half a million dollars, documents submitted by Tropper and his lawyer, Joseph Haspel, indicate that the Berney family “has access to certain high yield bank instruments which through their sources can be bought at a discount from European bank and sold at a profit to institutions such as pension funds and Tropper wishes to access these transactions.”

Incidentally, Eliyahu Berney, the son of Nathan and Jeanette, is also listed as a rabbi on the rabbinical board.

Haspel refused to discuss the case with The Jewish Star.