Chaim Eliezer Walder (; 15 November 1968 – 27 December 2021) was an Israeli Haredi author of literature for children, adolescents, and adults. In 1993, he became an Israeli publishing sensation with his bestselling first book, Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam (, Children Tell About Themselves, translated into English as Kids Speak), which revolutionized literature for Haredi children by introducing young protagonists who speak openly about their problems and feelings, and opened the door for many more writers to produce original fiction for Haredi youth. Walder was a long-time columnist on social issues for the Hebrew daily Yated Ne'eman, an educational counselor, and manager of the Center for the Child and Family, operated by the Bnei Brak municipality.
In November 2021, an investigative piece by Haaretz reported several women's allegations of sexual assault committed by Walder while they were under his care as a therapist. Two of the accusers were minors at the time of the reputed assaults. Afterwards, over 25 women came forward with further accusations against Walder. The Safed rabbinical court found that over a period of 25 years, Walder had sexually abused women, girls, and boys that had come to him for treatment.
On 27 December 2021, Walder committed suicide, at the age of 53. The allegations and death divided the Haredi community on the appropriate response to allegations of sexual abuse and was described as the community's #MeToo moment.
Early life Walder was born in Haifa and raised in a Haredi family. His father was from Jerusalem and his mother from Haifa. He attended Yeshivat Kol Torah and Knesses Chizkiyahu and married at age 21. He served in the Israel Defense Forces as a soldier-teacher.
Teaching and writing After his discharge, he began teaching in a Haredi ḥeder in Bnei Brak. When he began having trouble with an unruly child, he decided to write a story from the child's point of view and read it in front of the entire class, hoping that the child would receive the message and calm down. As the other students were transfixed by the story, he began writing more stories from the children's point of view and reading them aloud. He also encouraged his students to write down any problems or dilemmas that they were experiencing and send him a letter at his post-office box. As his "story hour" became a fixture in the classroom, one of the mothers of the children encouraged him to publish a book. To gauge public interest, he first printed some of his stories in the Yated Ne'eman; when they were received positively, he decided to publish a book. On the advice of the Premishlaner Rebbe of Bnei Brak, he borrowed money and self-published 2,000 copies of his book, Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam (Children Tell About Themselves). Within ten days, the entire run sold out.
In 1996, Walder published his first novel for children, Korim li Tzviki Green! (, My Name is Tzviki Green!, translated into English as That's Me, Tzviki Green!). He named the protagonist after his eldest son Meir Zvi (Zviki), then four years old. By 2011, he had published 26 volumes of stories and novels for children and adults. More than two million copies of his books are in print.
From 1990 to 2021, Walder was a regular columnist for the Yated Ne'eman, writing about social issues. He also hosted a popular radio talk show. He headed the Center for the Child and Family, run by the Bnei Brak municipality, and was a certified educational counselor working with children who have suffered trauma and abuse. In 2003, he received the Magen LeYeled (Defender of the Child) award from the Israel National Council for the Child.
Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam
Walder's first book, Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam (Children Tell About Themselves), revolutionized Haredi children's literature by eschewing the "programmatic and religious-indoctrination tone" that had previously characterized books for this age group and introducing the "language of the emotions". The protagonist in each story speaks from the heart about his or her problems and feelings, and the language is "direct and grown-up". The stories are all written in the first person; many are based on true-life incidents which were told to Walder. From the time of the publication of the first book in 1993, thousands of children wrote letters to Walder and shared their own feelings and challenges. In 2011, Walder estimated that he had received over 20,000 letters in Hebrew and 10,000 letters in other languages. From these letters, he learned more about how children think, what interests them, what makes them laugh, and what their fears and worries are. He made use of the stories sent by children as well as his understanding of a child's mind to craft the plots and dialogue in his tales.
In addition to becoming one of the top five bestselling books ever in Israel, Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam has been translated into eight languages. It paved the way for many new writers to begin publishing "imaginative, thoughtful, emotional, and enjoyable" literature for Haredi children and young adults, a phenomenon that has surged since the late 1990s.
As of 2011, the Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam series stood at six volumes. Walder also published two Yeladim Kotvim al Atzmam (Children Write About Themselves) collections and an adult version of Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam titled Anashim Mesaprim al Atzmam (, People Tell About Themselves, translated into English as People Speak), which presented adult-themed stories that came up on his radio show. Factuality of stories printed is not a given. Asked whether a particular story included in People Speak was true, Walder responded in the negative, stating that "most of it is made up."Going Live with Rabbi Yoel Gold: A behind-the-scenes look at the production of his inspirational videos, Rabbi Yitzchok Frankfurter, Ami Magazine, 9 August 2017 (issue 330), p. 59-60 where after Gold tells of one story in illustration of his observation that "[m]any of the stories I track down aren't true," he is further quoted relating that "[t]he next one involved a video that someone once sent me of a mashpia telling a story about a former kapo who needed a kidney for his son after the war. The only match he found was the son of one of his victims, so the father refused to let him have the kidney. Then it turned out that the kapo had secretly saved the victim's son from the Nazis. The person who sent it to me wanted me to get to the bottom of the story. In the course of my research I found out that Chaim Walder had written up the story in his book People Speak, so I called him and asked if it was true. 'No,' he replied. 'Most of it is made up.
In the early 2000s, Walder developed a therapeutic summer camp called Yeladim Mesaprim al Atzmam. At these camps in Bnei Brak, Jerusalem, and Haifa, campers are encouraged to explore new avenues of expression, such as writing and acting out stories.
Sexual assaults On 12 November 2021, Haaretz reported allegations from several women of Walder having sexually assaulted them for years. One of the alleged victims was 12 when the alleged exploitation began; another was 15, and the third was Walder's therapy patient. Subsequently, over twenty women came forward with accusations against Walder, but he denied any wrongdoing.
On 16 November, Eichlers of Boro Park announced that they would no longer carry Walder's books, followed by Osher Ad on 17 November. On 18 November, Aryeh Klapper, senior judge of the Boston Beit Din, ruled that Walder's books should be immediately removed from stores and shelves. Also on the 18th, Feldheim, Walder's publisher, which had earlier released several statements in support of their author, announced they were suspending American sales.
In December 2021, the Safed Beth Din found that over a period of twenty-five years, Walder had sexually abused women, boys, and girls that had come to him for treatment. His victims included a female counsellor who worked at his summer camp, a 9-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy who attended the camp, and a 9-year-old boy that had been abused over a decade ago after coming to Walder for treatment. Twenty-two witnesses, including victims, dayanim, and therapists testified about sexual assaults occurring at Walder's bookstore in Bnei Brak, his office, and hotels. One of the victims said she was thirteen when Walder first raped her; another said she had sought help from Walder because of mental and financial distress. Several therapists testified that their patients had been abused by Walder. A kiruv (Jewish outreach) worker, who worked with ex-Haredi youths, reported that Walder had assaulted a boy and girl that had come to him for treatment. In one of the recordings presented to Beth Din, Walder was heard coaxing a young woman to conceal evidence and withdraw her testimony and threatening to commit suicide if their relationship was exposed. Walder was summoned to the Safed Beth Din, but refused to attend.
One victim was a relative of Walder who was groomed and abused by him after being referred to his care. She complained to the police in 2018 but the case was dropped due to a lack of evidence. She said she later entered into a non-disclosure agreement with Walder in exchange for payment, which Bracha Walder, Walder's wife, sought to renew after rumours of her husband's sexual misconduct started to circulate. However, she decided to testify at the Safed Beth Din because she could no longer remain silent.
The Chief Rabbi of Safed, Shmuel Eliyahu, said that Walder's guilt was beyond doubt and that one should not keep his books in their homes or schools, adding that Walder was a danger to society whose forbidden acts had destroyed lives. He said his ruling was based on testimonies, other court rulings, pictures and recordings. The senior judges of the Bnei Brak Beth Din, Yehuda Silman and Sariel Rosenberg, ruled it was forbidden to read his books. Walder sent threats to Eliyahu and Silman and the women that had testified.
Yedioth Ahronoth separately received testimony from five women that had been abused by Walder including friends of the family and a 15-year-old babysitter that had looked after his children.
After the allegations became public, Walder announced that he was stepping back from public life to "fight to clear his name and be with his family."
On 26 December, Haaretz reported that the Israel Police had opened an investigation into Walder but that he had not yet been questioned. On the same day, his family reported Walder missing after days of isolation.
On 27 December 2021, Walder was found dead next to his son's grave (who died in 2019 from cancer) in Petah Tikva by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was eulogized at his funeral by Natan Zukhovsky, Chananya Chollak and the mayor of Bnei Brak, Avraham Rubinstein.
A few days later, Shifra Yocheved Horovitz, one of Walder's victims, committed suicide at age 24 after seeing Walder eulogized in the Haredi press. A month after Walder's burial, footage emerged of individuals burning his books next to his grave.
Orthodox reaction
The allegations and Walder's death roiled the Haredi community in what was described as the community's #MeToo Moment. There was huge online interest and on the day of Walder's death, three of the top four Google searches in Israel related to Walder.
After the allegations became public, the supermarket chain, Osher Ad, and the Jewish bookstore, Eichler's, stopped selling Walder's books. Other retailers followed suit including Lehmanns, a European bookseller. Aryeh Klapper, senior judge of the Boston Beit Din, ruled that Walder's books should be immediately removed from stores and shelves.Yated Ne'eman suspended Walder's weekly column, and Radio Kol Chai dropped Walder's program. However, Israeli politician Yitzhak Pindrus sent Walder a message of support, wishing him strength and courage.