The Defense Ministry has decided to recognize an Israeli woman who was raped by a Palestinian man during a trip abroad in 2003 as a victim of terrorism, and thereby eligible for all the rights and benefits awarded to victims of terrorism by the Israeli authorities.
The victim, who was in her 30s when she was attacked, had traveled to the Netherlands, where she was assaulted.
The woman, known as N., said she had been raped by a Palestinian from the Triangle region of northern Israel and that during the assault he had repeated called her a "stinking Jew." N. proceeded to file a claim with the Defense Ministry to be recognized as a victim of terrorism so she could be eligible for additional benefits and compensation the law provides to terrorism victims.
A special Defense Ministry committee rejected her claim and determined that there was no evidence to prove that the rape had been perpetrated from ethno-religious motives. N.'s attorney, Roni Aloni Savodnik, helped her appeal the ministry's decision in the Tel Aviv District Court.
In 2018, a panel of three district court judges ruled unanimously that N. must be recognized as a victim of terrorism. The panel decided that the rapist calling her a "stinking Jew" during the attack indicated that the rape was an ethno-religious attack, as well as criminal. The court ruled that the Defense Ministry must grant N. the benefits to which victims of terrorism are legally entitled.
The Defense Ministry says it handed N.'s claim for benefits over to the National Insurance Institute at the end of 2018.
"After the event and its circumstances were investigated, the authorities in the Defense Ministry decided that there is a reasonable basis to assume that the victim was attacked and raped because of her nationality. Therefore, a decision has been made to recognize her as a victim of terrorism," a ministry statement read.
The ministry went on to say that "the Defense Ministry's decision will allow the Victims of Terrorism Department in the National Insurance Institute to grant her all the benefits and assistance it grants to [other] victims of terrorism."
