Lessons must be learned from the Malka Leifer case
Israel can no longer be a safe-haven by those seeking to use the Right of Return as a shield against criminal proceedings.
By JPOST EDITORIALMalka Leifer(photo credit: MAARIV/AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
The Jerusalem District Court ruled on Tuesday that Malka Leifer, who Australia has been trying to extradite on alleged sex offenses, is mentally fit to stand trial.The ruling, after six years and more than 60 court appearances, is important but also shockingly late in coming.Extradition cases should not need to take a half-decade and victims should not have to sit and watch as the wheels of justice move so slowly.This is not even the actual case, but a case to decide a case prior to the defendant standing trial.Why was a simple extradition case allowed to drag on for years? Courts in Jerusalem allowed endless testimony and repeated diversions to enable what should have been a simple ruling on a defendant’s mental fitness to stand trial, to go on and on.Not every defendant should be allowed to delay proceedings through claiming that they are not mentally fit to stand trial.This case has revealed a much wider problem in Israel. Israel has become a safe haven for alleged sex offenders over the years.Reports indicate that there are numerous instances of offenders or alleged offenders fleeing to Israel and using the Law of Return or their Jewishness as a shield.In some instances it appears religious communities in Israel are complicit in hiding and providing safe havens to the offenders.This is because of a culture of impunity within some religious extremist communities that do not view sexual offenses against children as a crime but rather view the state as a threat.The same extremism that motivates riots against the IDF, attacks on homosexuals, attacks on police for enforcing basic health guidelines during the COVID-19 crisis is the same extremism that motivates protection for sex offenders, whereas their victims are too often seen as the “problem” to be hidden away or driven from the community.Why is Israel a safe haven for sex offenders? Because our laws have not been strengthened to prevent the Law of Return from applying to pedophiles and we have no database or government attempts to check whether those coming to this country are under indictment abroad.We also have not crafted a law to expedite and fast track extradition to partner nations and allies for these kinds of crimes.To be clear Israel is not the only offender in this. France did not extradite citizens who came to Israel and were then allegedly involved in a hit-and-run against an Israeli citizen in 2011.Instead the killer and accomplice were allowed to flee to France where the Israeli family then had to go to seek justice in a Paris courtroom. For the crime of drunk driving and killing an Israeli citizen, a 15-month jail sentence was finally handed down in 2014.As long as we in Israel see our citizens as above the law, cases for extradition will drag on. As long as sex abuse is denied throughout some communities in Israel and abusers are held up as victims we will be a safe haven for child rapists.Fixing the law to enable faster extraditions is only part of the pathway to justice.Educating the public and making sure that every school teaches about sex abuse and how to seek help is imperative.If this current case is ever decided, after more appeals and more hearings regarding extradition, there should be an investigation into the processes that led it to take so long.This should involve a full examination of whether political influence, tampering with the Health Ministry and state psychiatrists, played a role in the length of the cases.Unfortunately it appears that corruption may have played a role. This once again sends the signal that some in Israel are above the law, part of a wider problem because the prime minister is also on trial and has accused the courts of trying to overthrow him.Israel faces a crossroads. Are we a nation of laws or are we a nation of impunity? Tuesday’s ruling may be a step in the right direction. Now it’s time to see the process through. Leifer’s victims deserve justice.
