Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will raise the stalled extradition of former school principal and alleged sex offender Malka Leifer directly with Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem next week in a bid to dramatically step up pressure on Israel over the issue. The move will be part of a broader bipartisan Australian push to secure the extradition of Ms Leifer, who has claimed she is too ill to attend hearings in relation to her return to Australia to face 74 counts of child sex abuse while principal of an ultra-conservative Jewish school in Melbourne.
An Australian political delegation, including Labor MPs Michael Danby, Mark Dreyfus, Mike Kelly and Gai Brodtmann, has also sought to discuss the issue with Israel’s Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked on October 30, the day before Israel commemorates the 100th anniversary of the battle of Beersheba in 1917.
One of Ms Leifer’s victims, Dassi Erlich, and two of her sisters also abused by the former principal, will also meet Ms Shaked next week.
Read the full article by Cameron Stewart at The Australian (subscription only).