Senior Israeli minister accused of obstructing case of former Australian school principal, which has dragged on for five years

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

It was supposed to be a clear-cut extradition case – the headteacher of a Jewish religious school in Melbourne, wanted in Australia for multiple child sex abuse charges after fleeing to Israel.

But for five years, Malka Leifer’s court hearings in Jerusalem have been plagued by delays, allegations of contempt and, most seriously, accusations that a senior Israeli cabinet minister may have used his power to stall the trial and prevent her deportation.

Now, the slow-moving saga has become entangled in Israel’s fractious politics, and the coming election has further complicated the case. The setbacks have placed a significant strain on the country’s relationship with Zionist and Jewish groups in Australia.

“The Australian Jewish community, I think the Australian general community at large, has been very disappointed with how long that this has taken,” said Jeremy Leibler, president of the Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA). “The fact that there have been over 50 hearings – they have found that to be extremely frustrating.”

In February, Israeli police opened an investigation into whether the country’s deputy health minister, Ya’acov Litzman, had obstructed the trial. Litzman is a member of the same religious denomination as Leifer and leads a Jewish ultra-Orthodox party.

Play Video 0:48 Footage of Melbourne principal fighting extradition in Israel shows 'healthy' person – video

Manny Waks, founder of Kol V’Oz, an Israel-based organisation against child sex abuse in the global Jewish community, said that when those allegations surfaced, the “penny dropped” on why the case had been hampered for so long.

“To us, it was very clear that things weren’t right in the hearings for years,” said Waks, who often attends courtroom appearances.

Many of the delays have been around whether Leifer has been mentally fit to stand trial or be extradited. Two years after she was arrested in 2014, a Jerusalem district psychiatrist submitted a medical report deeming her mentally incompetent, and she was released from house arrest.

But videos taken by a private investigator and shared with the Guardian appeared to show her living a “normal, healthy” life. Israeli police rearrested Leifer on suspicion of “obstruction of justice” and the state prosecution accused her of feigning mental illness.

Leifer, an Israeli citizen who has been living in a settlement in the occupied West Bank, now faces the possibility of an indictment under contempt of court charges. Her lawyer denies all allegations against her.

The local media have reported suspicions that the psychiatrist’s evaluations were falsified under pressure from Litzman. And last month, further allegations against Litzman were raised when Israel’s Channel 13 news reported that the minister was alleged to have helped at least 10 serious sex offenders among ultra-Orthodox Jews to obtain improved conditions, including home visits, by putting pressure on psychiatrists and prisons service employees.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The office of Ya’acov Litzman has denied allegations that he blocked Malka Leifer’s trial. Photograph: GALI TIBBON/POOL/EPA

In the past, Litzman has been criticised for visiting a rabbi who served five months in prison for sex crimes, and for bailing out an ultra-Orthodox woman accused of starving her toddler. Some ultra-Orthodox Jews threatened riots if the woman was not released and Litzman was quoted at the time as saying that bail would “pacify the situation”.

Litzman’s office denied the allegations of blocking Leifer’s trial, saying the minister was “convinced that there is no basis to the leaks and the slandering against him”.

In reference to the Channel 13 report, it said: “As far as Litzman is concerned, sexual delinquency and sexual abuse are like murder. There is and will be no forgiveness for it, and the place of sexual offenders is in prison without relief.

“The hallucinatory attempt to infect Litzman with support for sex offenders is false, vicious, and terrible.”

Litzman retains his position despite the police investigation, and this has angered activists, alleged victims and Australian Jewish groups.

“Once the allegations became public, it was disturbing to see that it was business as usual for the government,” said Waks. “That’s what’s disappointing, perplexing.”

As head of the United Torah Judaism alliance in parliament, Litzman wields significant influence in Israeli politics, further complicating the Leifer case. He is seen as a crucial part of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition bloc, and the Israeli leader has sought to keep him loyal.

Former school principal Malka Leifer denied bail by Israeli judge Read more

Last month, former defence minister Avigdor Leiberman refused to join the government until Netanyahu promised to support measures to force ultra-Orthodox Jews to serve in the army. Since Israel’s founding in 1948, they have been exempted and allowed to study religious texts instead.

But Litzman and others did not back down, knowing Netanyahu also needed their seats in parliament, leading to a political crisis that plunged Israel into a second round of elections just a month after it held a national poll.

“No doubt, the election created a whole series of instabilities in Israel and this is one of them,” said Leibler.

But he was optimistic that a coming verdict, set for September, would lead to Leifer’s extradition. Former Australian prime minister Malcolm Turnbull had made “very strong representations” to Netanyahu during a visit, and Leibler said he was confident Scott Morrison would do the same.

He did not believe that Litzman, who was “being watched very carefully”, would continue to block the case, or that Netanyahu might attempt to keep Leifer in Israel to appease Litzman.

However, the election is scheduled for 17 September and Leifer’s final verdict is on 23 September, meaning a different government might be making decisions on the case. Despite what the court finds, it is up to the justice minister to sign off on the extradition.

“I hope and I expect the prime minister will have regard to this case when he decides who he appoints in the justice ministry following the election, assuming that he is even the prime minister,” said Leibler. “We do place our open faith in the Israeli system. We’re hopeful now this is closer to some sort of conclusion.”

If extradited, Leifer is expected to face 74 charges, including indecent assault and rape. The Jewish school that hired the principal was ordered in 2015 to pay more than $1.1m in compensatory damages.

For Leifer’s alleged victims, an end to the half-decade trial could not come sooner.

Three sisters, Dassi Erlich, Ellie Sapper and Nicole Meyer, have accused Leifer of abusing them in Melbourne. They have run a campaign called #Bringleiferback but remain frustrated at the lack of progress.

Last month, the Israel–Australia Chamber of Commerce (IACC) apologised after setting up a meeting in which the deputy premier of Western Australia, Roger Cook, met Litzman in Jerusalem.

“To say this was very hurtful, worrying and discouraging is an understatement,” the sisters had written in a letter to the IACC.

“To those of us waiting every day for justice, this recent meeting feels like a slap in the face.”

Additional reporting by Quique Kierszenbaum

• This article was amended on 25 July 2019. An earlier version incorrectly said that Leifer held both Israeli and Australian citizenship.