Posted April 5 2008
The Incredible Story of Isaac Hersh
Isaac Hersh, the son of the CEO of a prominent Orthodox organization based in Brooklyn, was recently rescued from a torture camp in Jamaica and brought home to America in what has to be the most sensational story to come out of the Orthodox world in a long time. I happen to have some inside info on what transpired and wanted to share it. None of this is confirmed or official and should not be repeated as absolute fact, but the essentials of the story were covered already in the NY Post and the Jewish Week.
Hersh had been abused by his father and ran away to live with a family in Texas. The Texan family, headed by a prominent rabbi, took him in lovingly and treated him like a son. He was described as a normal, well adjusted teen. Eventually, Isaac’s parents lured him back to Brooklyn with promises of financial assistance, as well as promises to help him secure a visa to work in Canada as a summer camp counselor. When he reached Brooklyn he was bound, gagged and handcuffed, thrown in the back of a van, and flown to Jamaica to a “boot camp” for troubled teens with the Orwellian name “Tranquility Bay.” While I usually detest Holocaust analogies, one cannot help but describe this “boot camp” as a concentration camp. Punishments included being forced to eat your own vomit and lying face down in the mud for 24 hours without moving. And that was for minor infractions like starting at the guards the wrong way. Hersh said he had a friend who laid that way for weeks on end (while being fed) because he kept moving. He also said every other kid there was a murderer or gangster.
He had been at Tranquility Bay since last summer, and his foster family in Texas had no idea what happened to him. Eventually, he somehow managed write an email to them and was severely punished for doing so. Prominent Orthodox Yeshiva heads were brought in to organize a rescue, including Rabbis David Feinstein, David Cohen, Shmuel Kaminetzky, and Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski. R. Cohen, who has a lot of pull with the organization that Hersh’s father is CEO of, immediately ordered Hersh’s father fired from his job. However, one prominent yeshiva head continued to support the father, apparently because he simply didn’t know how bad Tranquility Bay really was and thought the boy might “shape up” there. It is unclear whether that rabbi has come to his senses since.
Dr. David Pelcovitz, a highly respected psychologist who teaches pastoral counseling to Yeshiva University rabbinical students, was flown on a private jet to Jamaica to evaluate Isaac and prove that he was traumatized and needed to be sent home. The Jamaican government was not being cooperative and was threatening to detain Pelcovitz there. Meanwhile, someone close to Hillary Clinton told her of Isaac’s plight and she threatened to send in US Marshals to rescue Isaac if the Jamaicans would not let him go. Eventually, Dr. Pelcovitz and Isaac were flown to Miami, where they were greeted by hundreds with song and dance.
A resolution is being proposed in Congress to shut down Tranquility Bay. Other former students have come forward to testify to the atrocities committed there. Isaac’s parents are also being sued and, needless to say, they’ve lost custody. Isaac should be in all of our prayers. You can’t make up stuff like this if you tried. Unfortunately, real life is often scarier than action films. A chilling video documentary on these “behavior modification camps” is viewable on Youtube. Apparently, these camps are run according to a radical Mormon doctrine of strict patriarchal obedience. Be warned, it’s scary. Forward it along and raise awareness.
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4 Comments currently posted. 
Moshe Glasser says:
Zechariah Mehler says:
I have also met Dr Pelcovitz and I would agree that he is most certainly a very inspiring figure however I have also had the privilege to meet Rabbi Dr Abraham Twerski and I would say that if Dr Pelcovitz is the Batman of Psychologists that makes Rabbi Dr Twerski the Superman of psychologists if for nothing else having given a Hespid at Charles Shultz’s funeral.
TROUBLED TEENS says:
The site explains about evolution of trouble teens.Firstly they are normal teens but situation transform them in to troubled teens. Situation may be pressure. Abuse etc.The camps where they live for recovery, sometimes they again torture them.
nayab says:
Juvenile camps are very hard physical training and the self disciple training in military style and training. Parents having trouble with troubled teens often send their juvenile teens to these camps.
I have had the privilege of learning from Dr. Pelcovitz, both in his class at the Azrieli Graduate School and more informally, at seminars for Jewish educators. He is the best we have, and even more interestingly, is trusted by all walks of Jewish life. because of his yeshiva-world background, the Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Ultra Orthodox, and even Chassidic worlds all trust him to help with their problems. If we are looking for a way to help bridge the gaps among the Jewish sects in America, we should probably ask his advice. Even cooler, Jon Lovitz was once mistaken for Dr. Pelcovitz on the street. No, you read that correctly: a man thought a famous actor was a Jewish psychologist.
Simply put, he is the Batman of psychologists.