The Jewish girls’ school principal wanted in Melbourne on dozens of child sex charges has been accused by an Israeli politician of molesting other female prisoners in jail.
The bombshell allegation was levelled against Malka Leifer after an Israeli judge threw up yet another hurdle to her extradition to Australia, ordering state psychiatrists to review her longstanding claim to be mentally unfit for court.
Jerusalem Deputy Mayor Fleur Hassan-Nahoum let loose outside the city’s District Court, citing an alleged complaint by a rape crisis centre that Leifer had molested young women in the Neve Tirza prison southeast of Tel Aviv. “There is even allegations she’s abusing girls in the jail that she’s in at the moment,” Ms Hassan-Nahoum said.
“This woman abused before she went to Australia. This woman abused after she ran away from Australia. This woman will abuse the minute she is let out into freedom.
“Justice has to be brought to the victims of this case. Not just the victims in Australia, but the tens of victims in Israel, Australia and many other places.”
Ironically, the ruling by Jerusalem District Court judge Chana Lomp late on Monday was opposed by both Israeli prosecutors acting on behalf of the Australian government and Leifer’s own lawyers, who argued for the case to be thrown out.
This means state psychiatrists who have been evaluating Leifer every six months since her arrest in Israel five years ago will convene a fresh panel to assess her.
Read the article by Jamie Walker in The Australian.