Temple AEPi returns to campus after sexual assault

In February 2018, Ari Goldstein, the president of Temple University’s AEPi chapter, locked a female student in his room, held her down and attempted to force her to perform oral sex on him, according to her court testimony and several media reports.

The student was able to escape, but Goldstein was not.

Temple removed AEPi from campus in April 2018. In October 2020, Goldstein was found guilty of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted sexual assault, and indecent assault. He was sentenced to 3.5 to 7 years in prison and required to register as a sex offender for life.

Unlike Goldstein, however, Temple AEPi does not have to carry the stench of the incident with them for the rest of their lives. The group is now back on campus in North Philadelphia, but is not recognized by the university.

A group of young Jewish men with no ties to Goldstein or the house in 2018 restarted the chapter, according to Jonathan Pierce, a national spokesman for AEPi. The students called the national organization a year and a half ago. Since then, AEPi has helped them spread the word to other Temple students.

Temple AEPi now has 21 brothers. There is also a house in North Philadelphia. The brothers spend time together, go to Shabbat dinners together, and work with Temple’s Hillel and Chabad organizations. After October 7, they raised money for the Israel Defense Forces and United Hatzalah, the emergency services organization.

“The actions of one person should not represent a national fraternity with over 100 years of history,” said Pierce, president of Pierce Communications in Albany and a former AEPi (Vanderbilt division) student.

“We firmly believe that AEPi offers very special opportunities for Jewish men on college campuses,” he added. “To develop their leadership skills, to train them to be better leaders, and to make them better advocates for the Jewish community and Israel.”

Pierce said the national AEPi organization found Goldstein’s actions abhorrent. He also said AEPi cooperated with law enforcement and “acted quickly to remove the chapter.”

When some of the current brothers reached out, the national organization responded just as quickly to help restart the chapter.

“There’s no litmus test. Will you behave appropriately?” Pierce explained. “So we’ve been working with them. We’re doing what we can to watch over them.”

According to Pierce, there have been no problems. The chapter has also grown.

“We are convinced that there are many good men who can benefit from an AEPi fraternity,” Pierce said.

Nate Weinberg, 21, was not part of the relaunch. He joined in the fall semester of 2023.

When a representative of the national organization contacted him via Instagram, he was initially reluctant.

“I wasn’t really active in the fraternity scene,” he said.

But then Sam Fogel, who was involved in the relaunch, reached out to Weinberg and asked him to participate in the fall rush. Weinberg knew about the Goldstein incident and texted a friend.

“Will you?”

The friend was.

Weinberg asked if he could come along.

During the rush party, they participated in a “hummus and hang.” They also shook the lulav and etrog in the house, since it was Sukkot. On Friday night, they went to dinner at the home of Rabbi Aron Katz. Katz is the program director of MEOR, a Jewish outreach organization at the Temple.

Weinberg simply built a connection with the brothers, he said.

“You talk to one of the guys, and then you talk to another. They’re from the same area. They have the same connections. You know this person, I know that person,” he explained. “It was really reassuring, especially after October 7.”

Weinberg, an Abington native, had a bar mitzvah but was not religious growing up. Now he attends Shabbat dinners. The public relations major will also serve as a public affairs representative for Hillel in the fall.

“I didn’t have much connection to my Judaism before,” he said.

(email protected)