Teacher accused of child sex abuse in Australia faked mental illness to avoid extradition: Israeli court

An Israeli court has ruled that an Orthodox Jewish teacher accused of child sex abuse in Australia is mentally fit to stand trial for extradition, capping a years-long battle that has strained relations between the two allies and angered Australia’s pro-Israel Jewish community. The decision was hailed by alleged victims who have campaigned for years for Malka Leifer to be sent back to face trial. Jerusalem district court judge Chana Lomp said that she had “decided to accept the expert panel’s opinion, the defendant is fit to stand trial”. Lomp set July 20 as the date for the renewal of the extradition process. Leifer, who was not in court on Tuesday, is accused of child sex abuse while she was a teacher and principal at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne, where she had emigrated from her native Israel. According to Australian media, Leifer is facing 74 counts of child sex abuse, but her lawyers say there were only “three actual complaints”. My impression is that the defendant is exacerbating her mental problems and pretending to be mentally ill Chana Lomp, Jerusalem district court judge After allegations surfaced against her in 2008, Leifer and her family left for Israel and have been living in the settlement of Emmanuel in the occupied West Bank. A previous extradition attempt between 2014 and 2016 failed after Leifer was hospitalised in mental institutions and expert opinions found she was not fit to stand trial. But undercover private investigators later filmed Leifer shopping and depositing a cheque at a bank. This prompted Israeli authorities to launch a probe into whether she was faking mental illness to avoid extradition, leading to her arrest in February 2018. In her 40-page ruling Tuesday, Lomp noted that while Leifer had “mental problems”, as the panel of experts confirmed, “they were not psychotic problems of mental illness as in its legal definition”. “My impression is that the defendant is exacerbating her mental problems and pretending to be mentally ill,” Lomp wrote. “Therefore, my conclusion is that the defendant is fit to stand trial and the extradition process on her case should be renewed.” Dassi Erlich, one of the women accusing Leifer of sexually abusing her, called Tuesday’s decision “huge”. “This abusive woman has been exploiting the Israeli courts for 6 years! Intentionally creating obstacles with endless vexatious arguments that have only lengthened our ongoing trauma,” she said in a statement. Prosecutors Matan Akiva and Avital Ribner Oron said they were pleased the court had found Leifer had faked her mental incompetence. “The removal of this obstacle that has stood in the way of any significant progress in this case will now enable the court to bring this matter to a timely and swift conclusion,” they said. One of Leifer’s lawyers, Tal Gabay, however told reporters the decision was “not clean of doubt”. “It’s not a black-and-white case,” he said. Another member of the defence team, Yehuda Fried, said that while they could not appeal Tuesday’s decision, they would do so when the final decision on Leifer’s extradition was made. “We hope and believe the Supreme Court will overturn today’s district court decision,” Fried said. In recent years, leaders in Australia had expressed impatience over the slow pace of justice, and Australia’s prime minister raised the matter with Israel’s president during an official visit to Australia in February. Leaders in Australia’s pro-Israel Jewish community had also criticised the Israeli justice system. In Israel, critics say the legal proceedings have been marred by needless delays by Leifer’s legal team. Israeli police also have recommended charges of fraud and breach of trust be brought against former Health Minister Yaakov Litzman for suspicions he pressured ministry employees to skew Leifer’s psychiatric evaluations in her favour. Litzman, a powerful ultra-Orthodox politician, denies wrongdoing. We will all keep fighting until Leifer is in a Victorian courtroom facing justice Josh Burns, lawmaker Australia’s attorney general, Christian Porter, called the ruling a “positive sign”, and said his government is “strongly committed to ensuring that justice is served”. “At this time, the thoughts of the Australian Government are very much with alleged victims and hopefully this positive development will give them some confidence that proceedings in Israel are moving towards their aim of seeing proceedings commence in Australia,” he said. Josh Burns, an Australian lawmaker who recently introduced a motion in Parliament demanding Israel extradite Leifer, said in a statement: “Justice is finally arriving for the victims in Australia”. “We will all keep fighting until Leifer is in a Victorian courtroom facing justice,” he said. Manny Waks, chief executive of Kol v’Oz, a Jewish organisation that combats child sex abuse and has been representing the three sisters, said that all the discussion about Leifer’s mental state had distracted attention from the damage suffered by her alleged victims. “They deserve our compassion, our support and now moving forward we expect the Israeli judicial system to move expeditiously, as quickly as possible, to ensure that any appeal and the extradition itself happens as soon as possible,” he said outside the courtroom.

Teacher accused of child sex abuse in Australia faked mental illness to avoid extradition: Israeli court

Malka Leifer, who taught at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne, left for Israel after allegations emerged in 2008 She is facing 74 counts of child sex abuse in Australia, but her lawyers say there are only ‘three actual complaints’

Malka Leifer, who taught at an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne, left for Israel after allegations emerged in 2008

She is facing 74 counts of child sex abuse in Australia, but her lawyers say there are only ‘three actual complaints’