Confronting Evil at the Young Israel of Woodmere

An appalling lack of interest in Aaron Glatt's involvement in the horrible death of a patient

If the administration of a shul, yeshiva, or Jewish organization is notified that one of their rabbis was involved in a heinous act, and information supporting this accusation was offered, would we expect them to take it seriously and immediately look into the matter?

If the rabbi were accused of molesting a child, or taking advantage of vulnerable women, or supporting abusive husbands, or other such monstrous behavior, would we expect the institution to act immediately to protect potential victims and thoroughly investigate the claims?

What if the rabbi is alleged to have played a key role in the horrific, slow death of a patient, having fought tooth and nail in court to deny her potentially lifesaving treatment, for no justifiable reason?

The Young Israel of Woodmere — which touts itself as the largest Young Israel congregation in the world and one of the largest (and wealthiest) Jewish orthodox congregations in America — is apparently not interested.

I refer to the 2021 case of Deborah Bucko, who died under horrific and alarming circumstances as a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital of South Nassau, where Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt is the Chair of Department of Medicine. I wrote about the case shortly after her death, here, and interviewed her bereaved husband, Scott Mantel, where he told the story of a woman being purposely, maliciously denied potentially lifesaving treatment as she died a slow, horrible death. The interview is available here.

The interview went viral at the time, and has over 70,000 views, but the community has taken no action. Glatt has faced no scrutiny, let alone consequences.

The allegations that Glatt played a key role in the death of Deborah Bucko, and that this was a wrongful, quite possibly avoidable death, are supported not only by Mr. Mantel’s testimony, but court documents.

Key excerpts of the write-up from 2021 follow:

Several months ago, Rabbi Dr. Aaron Glatt and Mount Sinai Hospital of South Nassau (where he is the Chair of Department of Medicine), blocked a prescription for Ivermectin for a dying COVID patient (Deborah Bucko), who became progressively ill under their care, that was prescribed by an infectious disease doctor there as an emergency measure. Deborah's husband, Scott Mantel, had to sue 3 times to force Glatt and the hospital to allow it. The court forced them the first two times, in which Glatt and the hospital only allowed the treatment for 5 days each, even though Dr. Pierre Kory demonstrated that her prognosis was improving while on the treatment. Deborah Bucko, a 52 year-old wife and mother of two, died while her husband was trying for a third time to get Ivermectin.

Link to Scott Mantel's original affidavit pleading with the court to force them to not block the emergency prescription:

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=YF8hIp/KxpgtPm2vCmIkOQ==

Link to Dr. Pierre Kory's response to Dr. Glatt, in which among other things, he details numerous errors, inaccuracies, and misrepresentations made by Glatt in his explanation of why he is blocking the prescription (Glatt's explanation can't be seen, as the hospital requested restricted status):

https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/nyscef/ViewDocument?docIndex=cUkzHMMt1Tp8hldx3T547g==

Two articles that discuss this story:

https://trialsitenews.com/court-battles-rage-to-save-lives-attorney-put-hospital-chief-in-jail/

https://trialsitenews.com/we-will-never-know-could-deborah-bucko-have-been-saved/

End of quote.

This morning the Young Israel of Woodmere, where Glatt is employed as an Associate Rabbi, is hosting an event where Glatt will speak on the topic of “Making end of life as peaceful and uncomplicated as possible”. See the flyer from their catalog below:

One wonders if anyone attending will ask Glatt if he made the end of Deborah Bucko’s life as peaceful and uncomplicated as possible by fighting in court to deny her Ivermectin, which she and her family desperately wanted for her, which she had a prescription for, and which had reportedly benefited her without any downside. There was nothing to lose and everything to gain. There was no conscionable reason to deny her this treatment.

Yesterday I called the Young Israel of Woodmere’s main office to notify them about all the above and express my concerns with Glatt giving such a talk. They did not exhibit the slightest interest or concern. On the contrary, they spoke to me with thinly veiled hostility, were more preoccupied with why I cared about the matter, and had the audacity to dismiss my information as merely “second-hand” without even wanting to review it.

After I pushed back, the woman on the phone, who had put me on extended hold apparently so she could consult with higher-ups, haughtily told me that someone would get back to me to receive additional information about the matter “if they feel that it would be appropriate”. Of course no one did.

A complete, unedited recording of the phone call follows, and is also available on my Rumble channel here.

I believe Aaron Glatt should face a full investigation for his role in the death of Deborah Bucko, and face consequences legally if appropriate, as well as professionally and within the community that he is supposed to serve.

The Young Israel of Woodmere apparently does not believe it is appropriate to take this matter seriously.

Do you?

If so, please share this article and the recording, and let the Young Israel of Woodmere know that protecting an alleged monster without taking the matter seriously will not be tolerated.