An Israeli male judge agreed with a man accused of attempted murder of his wife that his identity should be shielded in order to protect his “reputation.” Thus, no Israeli media may report his name or feature his picture. Tikun Olam is doing so here.

He is Aviad Moshe, 45, of Mizpeh Ramon. He is a serial abuser charged with stabbing wife multiple times and punching her. She miraculously survived this attempt at femicide.

Her brother published a Facebook post describing her wounds:

“Aviad Moshe is my former brother-in-law who tried to murder my little sister while she was holding their 1 1/2 year old infant in her lap. He attacked her with terrible savagery, with a kitchen knife and rolling pin. He smashed her jaw and knocked out all her teeth. Then he began to butcher her like something you only see in [horror] films. He slashed her beautiful face. He slashed her ear. Broke her hand and her ribs. He cut off her scalp. All this in front of their crying child, covered in blood.

The victim requested that his identity be exposed, but the judge refused after the man testified:

“This incident needs to be examined more fully. You may find some things that are unexpected. It would be far too easy to destroy a reputation and career of 45 years. I am shocked that they want to publish [my name]. Her family wants revenge, that’s for sure.”

The coddling judge, George Amorai, replied:

“Thank you very much. You’ve said some important things. At this point in the proceedings, [publishing the accused’s name] will not contribute to or advance the public interest.”

He added that the agreement of the victim to publication of her name and picture was” only one of the considerations [in making his ruling].”

After a national women’s rights group demanded that the police immediately appeal the ruling, it did so. There has been no decision on the request. There are protests scheduled outside many of Israel’s courthouses, including the Supreme Court, in response to this miscarriage of justice.

Israelis have taken to Facebook to publish the suspect’s picture and name and urged others to do the same in protest of the judge’s ruling.

Violence against women and femicide is epidemic in Israel, whose masculine-dominated social norms damage women in incalculable ways. This is even more prevalent in poor communities of Israeli Palestinians, Bedouin, and Haredi Jews. But it afflicts every class and ethnic group. Nor is it merely an issue of culture. Rather it is systemic and runs right through law enforcement and the judicial process. When women file complaints of rape, police are loathe to take such claims seriously. When they do investigate they invariably refuse to prosecute. If they do forward charges to the prosecution, he too is loathe to prosecute. The percentage of men who are charged and convicted of such crimes is minuscule compared to the number complaints filed. As a result, the rate of femicide is quite high. Shira is one of the “lucky” ones, though the amount of pain and suffering she will endure in reconstructing her body and psychological well-being will be immense.