Voyeur Rabbi Double Parks His Neighbors Before Moving Out of House

Barry Freundel, the former rabbi at Georgetown’s Kesher Israel synagogue who pleaded guilty last month to secretly taping nude women who were preparing to enter a ritual Jewish bath, is finally vacating the congregation-owned house he was supposed to leave months ago, but not before committing one more shonda: his moving van is double-parking his neighbors and blocking traffic.

The house, on O Street, Northwest, is owned by a family trust connected to Kesher Israel, which fired Freundel last year following his arrest on multiple voyeurism charges. His wife left the residence last fall, while Kesher gave Freundel until January 1 to get out. The rabbi stayed over the synagogue’s orders, and only after his February 17 hearing, when he admitted to 52 misdemeanor counts, did his lawyers say he would finally move out.

According to a neighbor who happened to be walking by, Freundel had reserved a parking spot for his movers last Friday, but wound up delaying his exit. And it appears Freundel did not even bother to clear his steps and sidewalk following Sunday’s ice storm. The movers arrived Tuesday morning to nearly an inch of ice. “They were like, ‘WTF?'” the neighbor says. Eventually, one of the movers grabbed a metal pole from the truck and started thwacking the ice away to clear a path.

During Freundel’s plea hearing, prosecutors said the rabbi’s hidden cameras may have recorded as many as 150 women in the changing room at Kesher Israel’s mikvah, a ritual bath used by observant Jews or people who are converting. Each of the 52 counts Freundel admitted to are punishable by up to 12 months in prison, with fines for each count ranging between $1,000 and $2,500. Freundel is scheduled to be sentenced May 15 in DC Superior Court.

Benjamin Freed

Staff Writer

Benjamin Freed joined Washingtonian in August 2013 and covers politics, business, and media. He was previously the editor of DCist and has also written for Washington City Paper, the New York Times, the New Republic, Slate, and BuzzFeed. He lives in Adams Morgan.