(JTA) — A rabbi accused of sending sexually inappropriate text and voice messages to a woman living on a military base in Washington state is resigning.
“I write to notify you that I am resigning my position as Rabbi of Chabad of Pierce County effective Sunday, August 11, 2019,” Rabbi Zalman Heber said in a statement provided to the Tacoma News Tribune by his attorney.
Last summer Traci Moran, whose husband, Jared, is a soldier at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Tacoma, alleged that Heber had been sending her sexually inappropriate text and voice messages for close to a month despite her objections.
Heber “completely denies” Moran’s allegations of sexual harassment, his attorney told JTA last month.
The resignation comes after the News Tribune published a report on Friday about a second woman who had come forward. A Chabad member, Kim Shomer, described to the newspaper a similar pattern of harassment and an attempt at unwanted physical contact.
Shomer said she and her husband, who is not Jewish, first met Heber at their youngest son’s circumcision in 2007, and began weekly Kabbalah study sessions with the rabbi in March 2015.
Shomer, 50, and her husband, Spencer Freeman, 49, formally split from the Chabad Jewish center in December when they learned of Heber’s treatment of Moran. Shomer and Moran have met, and Shomer and her husband attended court hearings to support Moran.
The Shomers told the newspaper that they would not rule out legal action against Heber and Chabad.
It is not known if Heber will remain the director of the Pierce County Chabad.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
