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Memoir recounts sex abuse at Jewish summer camp

JL;DR SUMMARY Stephen Mills' memoir, "Chosen: A Memoir of a Stolen Boyhood," exposes systemic failures by several Jewish institutions, including UJA-Federation of New York, that allowed child sexual abuse to persist unchecked in the 1960s and 1970s. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish InstitutionsInvestigationReformChild Sexual AbuseUja FederationCommunity SafetyYouth ProgramsStephen MillsDan FarinellaCamp Ella Fohs

Places mentioned

New York, United States
"A new book alleges that several major Jewish institutions, including the UJA-Federation of New York, failed to protect children against a prominent employee who abused them in the 1960s and 1970s."
Connecticut, United States
"Stephen Mills writes that he was abused by the director of Camp Ella Fohs in Connecticut beginning in 1968, when he was 13-years-old."
Massachusetts, United States
"Farinella went on to run a camp in western Massachusetts called Wim-o-Weh before taking a job overseeing Camp Henry Horner for the Jewish Council for Youth Services in Chicago."
Chicago, Illinois, United States
"Farinella went on to run a camp in western Massachusetts called Wim-o-Weh before taking a job overseeing Camp Henry Horner for the Jewish Council for Youth Services in Chicago."
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
"After leaving Camp Horner in 1982, Farinella took over the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburghs Camp Emma Kauffmann in West Virginia, and ran youth programming in the city."
West Virginia, United States
"After leaving Camp Horner in 1982, Farinella took over the Jewish Community Center of Pittsburghs Camp Emma Kauffmann in West Virginia, and ran youth programming in the city."
Riverdale, New York, United States
"Mills took advantage of a temporary extension of New York States statute of limitations on sex crimes to sue UJA-Federation and the YM/YWHA of the Bronx, which ran Camp Ella Fohs, last June."

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Retrieved 2026-03-12 05:31:21 UTC
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