The Epstein Files: A Test of Conscience for the US, Israel, and Beyond

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“You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby” was Virginia Slims’ slogan during the Women’s Liberation era, marketed as a symbol of women’s progress. Looking back, calling women “Baby” carried a misogynistic undertone, trivializing liberation with a patronizing wink. From the 1970s to 2025, progress has been painfully slow—powerful in potential, yet plodding like Clydesdales.

As host of PEACE with Penny, I usually spotlight Israeli‑Palestinian Peace efforts, but in this blog, I write for my own Peace of mind. It’s shocking that in 2025, women’s rights remain so far behind. From boardrooms to daily life, women are still treated as second‑class citizens, despite decades of supposed progress.

I’ve lamented before that the gender pay gap remains an inexcusable chasm. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2025, it will take another 123 years to reach equal pay. Could you look into the eyes of your daughters and comfortably repeat the statistic that indicates that they would be dead before their daughters would receive equal pay?

I grew up during the heyday of what we thought was “Women’s Liberation,” earning my first supervisory role in 1980, later advancing to higher management, and ultimately consulting for Deloitte & Touche. Forty‑five years later, in many ways, we’re still no better off. My young, naïve self would be crushed — as am I today, facing this reality.

On November 14, 2025, President Trump referred to Bloomberg White House correspondent Catherine Lucey as “Piggy” after she questioned him about the Epstein files. I suppose we shouldn’t be shocked. He was also accused of calling Alicia Machado, Miss Universe 1996, “Miss Piggy” while pressuring her to lose weight. As owner of the Miss Universe pageant, Trump mocked her weight and Venezuelan roots, labeling her “Miss Piggy” and “Miss Housekeeping.” At just 20 years old, Ms. Machado called him out as abusive, racist, and misogynistic.

We all recall President Trump’s comments about Epstein poaching employees from Mar‑a‑Lago. When asked about Virginia Giuffre, he said Epstein “stole her” — language that sounded disturbingly transactional, as if she were a possession on his personal chessboard.

Given that he is nearly eighty, perhaps his flippant attitude reflects too many men of his generation. The dismissive disrespect is a familiar echo. Yet beyond reporters’ incredulity, where is the outcry from women’s organizations — or the uproar from men’s groups?

Thank you to Jake Tapper of CNN, who rightly called the remark “disgusting and completely unacceptable.” Tapper, who is also Jewish, helped soothe my sad Jewish soul. Between uncontrolled antisemitic remarks reported throughout media broadcasts and the disgust noted from Epstein’s life, it was a breath of fresh air to have a supportive Jewish voice out in the ether.

How is it possible that survivors of Epstein’s trafficking had to fight through five US presidential administrations just to be heard? Has this snowball finally grown large enough to reach Capitol Hill? Or will powerful men continue to escape accountability?

Maria Farmer, the first Epstein accuser, reported him to the NYPD and FBI thirty years ago — to no avail. Epstein also assaulted her younger sister when she was just fifteen. Now Farmer accuses the FBI, Justice Department, and US Attorney’s Office of negligence and failing to protect her and other accusers. Will they finally be heard?

The Epstein files are not the only evidence of “Elites” exploiting young girls. Kelly Patterson, author of “From Trafficked to Treasured,” has dedicated her life to helping trafficking survivors. She herself was enslaved in sex trafficking from age six to twenty‑two. Six years old — can you imagine? She’s another victim who speaks of the “Elites,” powerful, wealthy men involved in abusing the victims. She lived a nightmare that she can’t wake up from.

As I listened to an interview with Kelly Patterson, she mentioned attending both the Bilderberg and Bohemian Grove events. These meetings of “Elites” have taken place for years. From her description, the events seemed creepy, illicit, and frightening — far removed from the sanitized accounts you’ll find on Wikipedia. These are well-known, secretive meetings of the wealthy. Why were they shrouded in secrecy? Why was there a need to hide anything?

Patterson claims Henry Kissinger took her to the Bilderberg meeting in Oosterbeek, Netherlands. At the time, she was 18-20 years old. What is Bilderberg? The Bilderberg Group (or Bilderberg Meetings) is an annual, highly private conference of political leaders, business executives, academics, and media figures from Europe and North America, first held in 1954 at the Hotel de Bilderberg in Oosterbeek, Netherlands. It was created to foster informal dialogue and cooperation across the Atlantic, away from public scrutiny. She claimed the young women were there as escorts, dressed in evening gowns and diamonds, serving drinks.

Another “Elite” retreat is Bohemian Grove — a two‑week, all‑male gathering that resembles a summer camp on steroids for powerful men. It is another secretive, all-male retreat for global elites, blending arts, rituals, and informal political networking in the California redwoods. Its mix of theatrical tradition and real-world influence makes it both culturally fascinating and politically controversial. For any moral adult, it sounds cringe-worthy.

Patterson described the young women arriving in buses. “If you ever watched Hunger Games, it reminded me of it that there were situations in which females were released to run in the pitch dark because there was a hunt going on, and they didn’t know what that meant. They didn’t know if they were going to track us down like an animal, and whoever caught you had you for the night.”

The fear that is pervasive among the trafficked Epstein girls and women is palpable. Yet these brave survivors are so tired of being ignored that they’ve banded together to say, “Enough is too much!” So many stood their ground as survivors — kudos to them. Yet they remain devastated by the unconscionable lack of support and effective action over decades. How many more girls fell victim to these perpetrators because no one would give credence to their complaints? How many enforcement agents did not do their job?

Their silent screams seem to reverberate across the decades. Many went on to live fruitful lives, but at what cost? The demons would raise their ugly heads at a slight here, or accept less respect than they should, there. Virginia Giuffre tried to move on, but the memories were unbearable. Reports claim she took her own life, though her father disputes it. But then again, in Virginia Giuffre’s memoir, she accuses both her father and neighbor of molestation when she was a young child. Should we believe what he says?

Many associated with the case have died. Are these mere conspiracy theories — or is there something more? Some died of natural causes, but several seem to raise doubts as to the cause of death.

It begins with Epstein’s contested death in jail. There have been disputes about whether it was suicide or murder. There were multiple prison failures: malfunctioning cameras of Epstein’s cell at the time of his death and missing minutes of the video that was recovered. Two guards assigned to check on him admitted falsifying records — claiming they ignored their duties and slept instead. Really?

Epstein was placed on suicide watch, but the protocol was inexplicably relaxed shortly before his death. His cellmate was transferred just before his death — another violation of standard procedures for high‑risk inmates.

It’s well known that pedophiles are often targeted in prison hierarchies — even murderers have limits to depravity.

Epstein was expected to testify, potentially implicating many high‑profile figures. It’s assumed powerful interests wanted him silenced. Before his death, financier Steven Hoffenberg implicated Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell — Epstein’s convicted recruiting partner — in “honey‑trap” videos of VIPs with underage girls.

There have been many other mysterious deaths associated with Epstein including Jean‑Luc Brunel (2022), a French modeling agent accused of procuring girls for Epstein was found hanged in a Paris prison cell while awaiting trial for rape and trafficking. His death was ruled a suicide — echoing Epstein’s demise.

Several other of Epstein’s victims, associates, and whistleblowers died under unusual circumstances…

• Steve Bing (2020), Hollywood producer who reportedly spoke to the FBI about Epstein, died by suicide after jumping from his apartment.
• Leigh Skye Patrick (2017), a confirmed victim who cooperated with police, died at 29 from an accidental heroin overdose.
• Thomas Bowers (2019), Deutsche Bank executive linked to Epstein’s finances, was found hanging in his California home. The pattern of multiple “hanging” deaths raises disturbing questions.
• Arthur Shapiro (1985), Epstein’s predecessor in managing Les Wexner’s finances, was gunned down before IRS questioning.

As a Jewish reader, every time I see Epstein’s name, I wince. His horrific life becomes more fodder for antisemites. Granted, no religion has all good people, but did Epstein have to be Jewish? Whether he really was Jewish has a strange story associated with it. Anya Beth Epstein, now known as Anya Wick, claimed to be Epstein’s niece. In an interview with Shaun Attwood (another person with a sordid past), she alleged that to the public, the Epstein family professed to be Jewish, but they really were Satanists.

In her memoir Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, Virginia Giuffre accused Israel’s former Prime Minister Ehud Barak of violently assaulting her — raping and choking her until she passed out, as she begged for her life. She pleaded with Epstein not to traffic her to him again, but he did anyway, twice more. Israel definitely doesn’t need more bad press. Barak has always claimed that he was innocent.

Both the United States and Israel have a long way to go in supporting survivors and acting in their defense.

At one time, Israel was classified as a Tier 2 country, and in 2001, the US even threatened sanctions.

By 2017, Israel had been upgraded to Tier 1 after expanding prosecutions, opening shelters, and strengthening protections for victims. However, in 2024-2025, Israel was downgraded to Tier 2 once again.

The government has taken steps to improve and has:

• Increased investigations and prosecutions of sex trafficking.
• Approved new victim‑recognition procedures and individualized shelter models.
• Expanded access to legal assistance for victims.

The US has its own problems. According to the US State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, the United States ranks Tier 1 — meaning it meets minimum standards for eliminating trafficking. Yet sex trafficking remains a serious, persistent problem, with thousands of cases reported annually — concentrated in states such as California, Texas, and Florida.

One world figure mentioned in Epstein’s emails who hurt me personally was Deepak Chopra, who communicated with Epstein between 2016 and 2019 — years after his conviction. Learning that Chopra knowingly taught Epstein meditation sickened me, making me question his authenticity.

No illegal activity has been discovered between Epstein and Chopra. However, in the email conversations between Epstein and Chopra, Epstein confirmed a case against him had been dropped, and Chopra replied, “Good.” The civil lawsuit was from one of several survivors who had sued him. Chopra can’t claim he didn’t know Epstein’s reputation. This lawsuit was dropped, but wouldn’t Chopra look further? Besides, Epstein was a convicted felon since 2008 who pleaded guilty to soliciting minors for prostitution.

My disappointment is that Epstein was already known to sexually abuse children. Why would anyone of good conscience associate with him? It is not like Epstein had seen the error of his ways and he was trying to repent.

I learned to meditate and studied Deepak Chopra’s philosophies for over a decade. I felt he taught me so many deep, new realizations.

So many truths I thought were solid ground have crumbled in recent years. Now another has fallen. I thought Deepak Chopra was one of the most intelligent, insightful spiritual teachers in the public eye. But how could he even speak to this miscreant? I feel betrayed.

I’m sure in the days ahead, there will be more tragic and troublesome discoveries lurking amongst the emails. These times are depressing. The detritus of Epstein’s case continues to surface — ugly fragments of truth long buried. It makes me want to take a shower.

It’s time to return to my PEACE with Penny interviews, where the people I speak with embody hope and resilience. Please join my journey, and we’ll share some good news.

May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلام. Amen.