Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid said Monday that his party "has zero-tolerance and zero backing for sexual harassment" after party member and Intelligence Services Minister Elazar Stern said that as head of the IDF's Manpower Directorate he used to see to it that anonymous sexual harassment complaints were shredded.
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Lapid and Stern met Monday morning after the intelligence minister's remarks caused an uproar. After the meeting, Lapid said "Yesh Atid believes women should be protected and allowed to file complaints in any way they see fit. If Stern had said that he shredded complaints of sexual harassment, we would have parted with him immediately. He did not say that and does not hold by this."
In an interview on Sunday, Stern said that when he headed the IDF's Manpower Directorate "the shredder worked really fast." He also said that while he would never object to looking into sexual misconduct allegations "if such complaints came with names," he thought that the culture of anonymous letters "causes great harm" to the individuals involved.
Nevertheless, while initially acknowledging that he would make sure anonymous complaints were shredded, by the end of his interview, Stern said he did not remember particular instances.
Appalled by the intelligence minister's remarks, politicians and leaders of women's groups took to social media to express their outrage.
Naamat women's organization Chairwoman Hagit Peer said that the fact that a publicly appointed government minister chose to spread such a message to the Israeli public was "an embarrassment and a disgrace."
Similarly, the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel said behavior such as Stern's "promotes a toxic culture of sexual exploitation in the IDF."
Likud MK May Golan also lambasted the minister.
"'The shredder worked very fast.' For those of you who are not up to date, this morning [Sunday], after he so clearly explained, this is how Intelligence Services Minister Elazar Stern dealt with sexual harassment complaints when he was the head of the Manpower Directorate.
"Kudos to the government of inclusion and healing. Merav Michaeli, what will be your response?" she wrote on Twitter, addressing the transportation minister who is known for her ultra-feminist views.
Likud MK Miri Regev also lamented the lack of response by several left-wing parties.
"I would not expect more from Elazar Stern, a shallow man, a chauvinist, who lacks values and brings shame upon the kippah he wears on his head," she said. "I did, however, expect, Meretz' feminist choir, the Labor Party, Blue and White, Yesh Atid, and all the enlightened Knesset members … to speak out against this shocking confession… What a disgrace."
Aliyah and Integration Minister Pnina Tamano-Shata said that shredding anonymous complaints was unacceptable. "Behind every complaint stands a woman, a life. People in senior positions, and surely in the military ... should investigate every complaint, even if filed anonymously."
Meanwhile, right-wing Knesset member Bezalel Smotrich criticized Meretz MK Michal Rozin.
Turns out that "if you move in the right circles, then you are allowed to sexually harass [others] and you will be forgiven," he wrote, mocking Rozin, who criticized Stern for his remarks, but did not rule out that he might retain his position as intelligence services minister and might even be appointed chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel.
"Thank you Elazar Stern for helping us expose the true face of hypocritical feminism," Smotrich wrote.
Stern is slated to be interviewed for the position of Jewish Agency chairman this week. To that end, he issued a statement clarifying that "as a human being, father of daughters, officer, and elected official, I am deeply disturbed by each and every sexual harassment and believe that Israeli society and law enforcement are obligated to have zero tolerance on such an essential issue."
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