An indictment was filed against Rabbi Yosef Paryzer for deceiving 30 women into simultaneous relationships using the persona of bachelor “Jake Segal,” the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office announced on Thursday.

Paryzer, a 34-year-old American citizen and married father of two, lived a double life. His youngest child was born just three months before his secret came to light. He lived with his ultra-Orthodox family in Jerusalem and taught at a yeshiva, but also presented himself on various dating websites and applications such as Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid as Segal. Segal appeared to women as a single, secular to traditional man who worked as a seeing-eye dog trainer.

As Segal, he dated over 30 women, many at the same time, since 2016. One of his longest extra-marital relationships was almost seven years long. Paryzer promised the women serious relationships, which appeared to be geared toward marriage and family.

He would claim to the women that he had told his brother or mother about the relationship. He even asked one woman to fly with him to London to meet his mother.

Paryzer showered the women with affection, the indictment alleged, never intending to fulfill his promises but simply to obtain their trust, part of a systematic and sophisticated modus operandi to satisfy his own needs.

Who was the yeshiva deceiver? 

The indictment detailed how Paryzer met one woman on OkCupid, and after a week of conversations met and drove her to a friend’s apartment, where they “could sit and talk comfortably.”

The woman was in a distraught mental and emotional state over her previous relationship, which Paryzer allegedly played to in conversation, leading them to have sexual intercourse.

He then told her that he had to leave, and dropped the woman off in his car. She complained about his behavior, but he swore that he wanted a serious relationship. He was accused of stringing her along under this pretense with the aim of continued sexual encounters.

An artistic illustration generated by artificial intelligence of a rabbi surrounded by roses, symbolizing heartbreak and deception. (credit: The Jerusalem Post)
An artistic illustration generated by artificial intelligence of a rabbi surrounded by roses, symbolizing heartbreak and deception. (credit: The Jerusalem Post)
He had told another woman that he was a formerly religious person, and when she said she didn’t want a serious relationship he would tell her that he was alone in Israel and didn’t want to date anyone but her. He also shared that he was infertile, so there was no need for contraceptives.
One woman cut off her relationship with Paryzer over his pursuit of sex with her, but he contacted her years later claiming to have reformed his behavior, and resumed the relationship.

The suspect concealed his true status as a religious married man through multiple lies. He told one woman that he couldn’t communicate by telephone during Shabbat due to his religious roommates, and that issues with them prevented her from visiting.

Another excuse was that his cousin or a friend from Canada was visiting and they couldn’t go to his apartment. One woman spotted a child seat in his car, which he said belonged to a friend that he was helping.

He had told some women that he was recovering from having been cheated on, to earn their trust, telling one woman he hadn’t had sex in over two years and didn’t jump into bed with just anyone.

The district attorney alleged that Paryzer also courted women not just for sex through dating apps, but sought and obtained sexual images and videos from them.
When some of the women he met dating discovered his deception, two filed a complaint to the police.
In Israel, it is a sexual offense to have sexual relations with consent achieved through deception of one’s identity.
Some of the women have been against criminal prosecution, preferring to move on from the relationships.

Paryzer was arrested on August 22, and has been held in jail since.