A Dallas Reform synagogue has terminated Rabbi Sheldon Zimmerman’s employment and launched an independent review of its past and present practices for reporting misconduct, after a separate probe found credible evidence that Zimmerman had engaged in “sexually predatory behavior” with at least three women.
Zimmerman had resigned as president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in 2000 after the Central Conference of American Rabbis found that his personal relationships violated its ethics codes. But the recent revelations raise questions about whether the movement was unaware of the extent of his misconduct or downplayed it, allowing him to return to the rabbinate and to prominent positions in the Jewish world.