Jewish principal accused of abusing girls ‘faked illness’

The stalled extradition of fugitive Melbourne Jewish school principal Malka Leifer has been revived, with the accused child molester last night making her second appearance this week in an Israeli court.

Flanked by her lawyers, the 54-year-old grandmother wept in court and was frequently asked by guards to stop rattling the cuffs on her shackles, when she ­appeared before a judge on charges of obstructing justice, allegedly by faking mental illness to avoid being put on a plane back to Australia.

Ms Leifer is wanted on 74 counts of child sex abuse, including rape, allegedly committed against girls when she was a teacher and headmistress at the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel School from 2003-08.

Israeli prosecutors last night applied in the Jerusalem court for the reinstatement of an extradition application from Australia for Ms Leifer to be returned to Melbourne.

Read the article by  and  in The Australian.