The former principal of a Jewish girls' school in Australia was sentenced to 15 years in prison Wednesday for sexually abusing two students before fleeing to Israel to avoid persecution.

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Malka Leifer, 56, a Tel Aviv-born mother of eight, was extradited to Australia in 2021, where a court convicted her on 18 counts and acquitted of nine other charges, including five that related to a third student.

Video: Leifer was convicted on 18 counts in 2021 / Credit: Reuters

The three former students are all sisters. They had an isolated upbringing in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community and received no sexual education, the court heard. They were around 12, 14, and 16 when Leifer arrived at the school from Israel in 2001.

Judge Mark Gamble said Leifer abused her position at the Adass Israel School in Melbourne and her "insidious offending" had scarred the sisters for life. Leifer is a "serious sexual offender" who had shown a "callous indifference" to the suffering of her victims, Gamble said.

Leifer fled to Israel after allegations were first raised against her in 2008. When she was charged in 2014 it triggered a yearslong tussle over whether she would be extradited.

She will be eligible for parole after 11 years.

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Ultra-Orthodox educator Tzvia Rotenberg has been accused this week of sexual abuse by former students whom she taught while working at the Beit Yaakov Beit Yisrael girls' school in Jerusalem. 

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According to the alleged victims, Rotenberg would invite them to her home under the guise of Torah learning and instead kiss them and touch them inappropriately. 

Rotenberg, 66, is a mother of four. She was born in Jerusalem in an influential family. Her uncle, the late Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Auerbach, was a renowned scholar of Jewish law and head of the Kol Torah yeshiva, also located in the capital. 

She is currently the principal of the prestigious Maalot Beit Yaakov girls' seminary in Ramat Shlomo, a Jerusalem neighborhood named after her uncle. 

"Almost every week, I showed up at Tzvia Rotenberg's home in the Ezrat Torah neighborhood in Jerusalem," M., who was 14 at the time and is now 39, told Israel Hayom. "The official purpose of my visit was to strengthen my faith because I had questions. Most of the time, I was with her completely alone at home. At first, we were just studying and talking, but then she started to stroke me, then also hug me, and kiss me on the mouth, with the tongue. 

"I was a completely innocent girl, without the slightest understanding of sexuality, and she was a grown woman, already forty years old, a sought-after educator that everyone wanted to be close to."

Another alleged victim said the trauma she experienced from being sexually abused by Rotenberg continues to haunt her to this day. 

"She brought her face close to mine, put her hands on my legs, close to the groin, and stroked my neck," R. told Israel Hayom. "She moved in even closer, and her head was between my shoulder and my neck. She started panting for several long minutes. I was very uncomfortable, and I was shaking all over. She was so close to me. I tried to shield my body with my hands, but she pressed her chest to my hands."

R. continued, "It went on like this for many meetings. The situation was very strange to me. I realized that something was wrong, but I couldn't call it by name. I was very innocent. All I wanted was for her not to be angry with me. I struggle greatly with physical closeness, because of the flashbacks that I have from her breath on my neck. I can't take it when someone gets too close to me. It hurts my relationship to this day."

Rotenberg has denied all allegations and remains the principal of Maalot Beit Yaakov. 

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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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How should anonymous sexual assault complaints be treated in the Israel Defense Forces? According to Intelligence Services Minister Elazar Stern, they should be shredded. In an interview on Sunday, Stern said that as head of the IDF Military Directorate, he used to see to it that anonymous complaints were shredded immediately. "The paper shredder worked really fast," he put it.

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Unfortunately, the former IDF directorate chief is not the only one to have such an opinion. In 2016, then-head of the Israel Police Roni Alsheikh said with regard to sexual harassment complaints that "filing an anonymous complaint has become a way to settle scores… Therefore, from now on, the police will no longer investigate anonymous letters that raise suspicions of offenses committed by the police."

It is natural to question claims put forth in anonymous complaints. Especially, since they are sometimes filed ahead of the appointment of an officer to a senior position in a clear attempt to sabotage the process. And yet, the incredible ease with which some senior officials are willing to dismiss the anonymous complaints is outrageous and fundamentally wrong.

Anyone who thinks that the main motive behind filing an anonymous complaint is to "settle scores" completely dismisses an entire group of sexual abuse victims and legitimate claims of abuse of power.

Such a culture of silence and dismissal is crippling. No wonder the percentage of victims who choose to come forth by filing a formal complaint is minimal. As such, oftentimes complaining anonymously is the only way for the victim to stop being abused and prevent others from suffering the same fate.

Nowhere does it state that a complaint filed anonymously should immediately make its way to the shredder. On the contrary, as per the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Law, not only is an employer legally obligated to investigate an anonymous sexual harrassment complaint, he or she is also obligated to take steps to prevent sexual harassment even if no complaint was filed at all.

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Finally, there are ways to investigate an anonymous complaint to reveal whether it was filed in order to "settle scores." Facts can be authenticated by checking other materials that could support or refute the complaint, by questioning witnesses, reviewing security camera footage, and more. It is a long way from here to the shredder.

Adv. Efrat Nachmani-Barr was the Deputy Chief Military Advocate and the IDF representative in the Knesset during the enactment of the Law for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment.

Adv. Sharon Zaggi-Pinchas is a former IDF chief military prosecutor who led the reform in the military with regard to rights of sexual assault victims.

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In a Facebook post that caused an uproar on the Internet this week, parents of female lookouts in the IDF's 636th Battalion accused base officers of sexually harassing their daughters.

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"Throughout their service and in years prior, the lookouts at the Border Police base, the 636th Battalion of the Menashe Brigade, have encountered an aggressive and violent environment that excludes women and imposes on them humiliating and disrespectful rules," the post said.

The parents went on to describe repeated instances of abuse, including female soldiers being banned from the dining room, officers singling out and publicly humiliating some of them, and even demanding that soldiers leave the hall before finishing their meal.

The post also stated that when new recruits arrive, they are warned to stay away from the female lookouts, who are described as "lesbians who will accuse them of harassment and get them thrown out."

The most distressing instance, the parents continued, was when one of the lookouts was sexually assaulted by a fellow soldier.

"After a complaint was filed against him, and promises [were made] that she would never see him again, the same soldier returned to stay at the base and walked around freely," they wrote.

According to the parents, the female soldiers appealed to the base command for help, to no avail. They said their daughters felt like outsiders at their own base.

"How can it be that we send our daughters to protect the country in one of the IDF's most difficult positions, yet no one protects them?" the letter concluded.

The IDF Spokesperson's Unit said in a statement that it "views any harm [done] to female and male IDF soldiers with severity," and said that the brigade's deputy commander had arrived at the base to speak to the lookouts, as well as the Border Police commander.

As for the dining room incident, the statement said, the matter would be investigated in depth, as will the rest of the allegations of female soldiers being subjected to degrading treatment.

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The Israel Police on Friday announced it would be launching an investigation into sexual assault allegations made against Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, co-founder and chairman of the ZAKA volunteer emergency response organization. Meshi-Zahav has denied any wrongdoing.

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The police said the investigation will be handled by the Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit.

Meshi-Zahav, who was recently nominated for the Israel Prize over his activities as ZAKA's chief, announced he would be stepping down as head of the emergency response organization and relinquishing the prestigious award.

Some of the alleged victims cited in the report are considering filing official police complaints, although investigators were expected to question them regardless in the coming days.

According to a report in Haaretz daily, Meshi-Zahav exploited his status, power, money, and even the organization he heads to commit sexual crimes against both men and women, some of whom were minors at the time of the alleged events. The report also said Meshi-Zahav "paid" his alleged victims with money and other gifts – and also with prostitutes for sexual trysts that he would join. The report also alleged that one of Meshi-Zahav's female family members occasionally partook in these encounters.

Meshi-Zahav has denied the allegations as "baseless," but nonetheless, as stated, resigned from ZAKA and rescinded his recently received Israel Prize's lifetime achievement award.

Founded in 1989, ZAKA is one of Israel's most recognizable emergency response groups and has responded to various disasters in other countries.

In a letter addressed to ZAKA volunteers, Meshi-Zahav said that "these stories are unfounded, gossip and the settling of scores against me."

He said he was temporarily stepping down from his post because of concern over the "damage that may be caused as a result to this important organization."

While the scandal has sent shockwaves across social media, the Haredi world, along with most Haredi media outlets, has remained silent on the matter.

Despite the fact that Meshi-Zahav is a particularly prominent Haredi figure, all main Haredi news outlets, aside from the relatively small "Actualic," ignored the story for 24 hours until he gave up the Israel Prize and suspended himself from ZAKA.

In several Haredi WhatsApp forums, claims were made that certain elements, including ZAKA competitors, are trying to hurt Meshi-Zahav. Others focused on the identity of the journalists who wrote the story. "Somehow, a few dozen years later, everyone suddenly remembers to complain at the same time," one person said. "So [Meshi-Zahav] lost the [Israel Prize], and this case will likely be closed by the police due to a lack of evidence, but we as human beings – won't we have lost for participating in this boycott and social shaming?" another asked. "Aren't we behaving as if in Sodom, sealing fates without a trial?" asked another person.

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The lengthy, Kafkaesque legal saga over the sex crimes suspect's fate has not only agonized Meyer but is testing the relationship between Israel and one of its closest allies, Australia. Malka Leifer's case is still far from resolved and even Australia's pro-Israel Jewish community is losing patience.

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"When time and time and time again the process is just not moving forward, it's increasingly more difficult," said Meyer, 34, who lives in Melbourne. "Israel has an obligation to do the right thing."

Meyer and two of her sisters allege Leifer abused them while they were students at an ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne, and there are said to be other victims. In 2008, as the allegations surfaced, the Israeli-born Leifer, a trusted teacher and school principal in an insular religious community, left her position at the school suddenly and returned to Israel, where she has lived since.

In Australia, Leifer now faces 74 charges of sexual assault related to accusations brought forward by the three sisters. A judge in a civil suit against Leifer, 53, and the Adass Israel School where she taught, awarded Meyer's sister more than $700,000 in damages. Meyer and another sister settled out of court.

But in Israel, justice has been slow. Critics say the legal proceedings have been marred by needless delays and laughable hiccups and have even roped in a government minister in what has embarrassed the country in front of its stalwart ally.

The legal quagmire has driven a wedge between Israel and Australia, a country the Jewish state relies upon for diplomatic support against what it views as anti-Israel sentiment in international organizations. The Leifer case repeatedly comes up in discussions between the countries' leaders as well as in debates in Australia's parliament. Its twists and turns have exasperated some lawmakers.

"I do not doubt the independence and the integrity of the Israeli legal system, nor do I doubt the commitment of the Israeli Ministry of Justice to pursuing this case. But enough is enough. This case has gone on for far too long," Dave Sharma, a member of parliament for the ruling Liberal party and former Australian envoy to Israel told the Australian Parliament in October.

After Australia filed an extradition request, Leifer was put under house arrest in 2014 and underwent the beginnings of an extradition process that ended in 2016 when a mental health evaluation determined she wasn't fit to stand trial.

Leifer was again arrested in early 2018 after an investigation claimed to have caught her leading a seemingly normal life, contrary to what she told the court she was capable of as someone with a mental illness. The court asked for another psychological review and she has since been held in Israeli custody.

Since her initial arrest, the court has heard Leifer's case dozens of times. At the last hearing this month, a panel of psychiatrists set to deliver its ruling on Leifer's mental state said it needed more time because it appeared the panel was unaware of the scheduled hearing. A new hearing is set for Jan. 14, but with a separate trial over her extradition yet to begin, and appeals expected, it's unclear when, if ever, Leifer will face justice in Australia.

"It's really difficult to verbalize how we've seen this case evolve. I'm really left speechless," said Manny Waks, an advocate on behalf of the victims who has closely monitored the case. "Just a lack of professionalism, incompetence."

Perhaps most damning has been the alleged involvement in the case of Israel's ultra-Orthodox deputy health minister, Yakov Litzman. Israeli police recommended charges of fraud and breach of trust be brought against Litzman for suspicions that he pressured ministry employees to skew Leifer's psychiatric evaluations in her favor. Israel's state prosecutor is expected to decide whether to file formal charges, though Litzman denies wrongdoing.

Both the Israeli Justice Ministry and the Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the Leifer case.

Leifer's lawyers warn that politics risks tainting the legal process.

"We call on all those related to the issue to act responsibly and to let the justice system in Israel, which is among the grandest in the world, carry out its work without prohibited pressure tactics," Tal Gabay and Yehuda Fried said in a statement.

On a first-ever visit by an Israeli leader to Australia in 2017, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel has "no better friend" than Australia and called the country's staunchly pro-Israel Jewish community "unusually committed" to the Jewish state.

But that support has started to crack in the wake of the Leifer proceedings. Australian Jews and community organizations have spoke out against the country's handling of the case.

"As each court appearance passes without resulting in an extradition order, further trauma is inflicted on the survivors and the integrity of Israel's institutions is undermined," said Anton Block, who recently stepped down as head of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

Meyer said having justice run its course is the only thing that will bring her closure.

"I expect Israel to send her back," said Meyer. "It's an expectation that if they don't fulfill, I don't have an understanding of how I'll move on."

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison issued a statement after meeting at Parliament House with sisters Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer, who were allegedly abused by Malka Leifer when she was principal of Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School.

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The 52-year-old fled to Israel in 2008 after the allegations emerged.

"My government is strongly committed to ensuring that justice is served in the case of Malka Leifer," Morrison said. "We call for the matter to be resolved transparently and quickly."

"We also reaffirm our commitment to have Malka Leifer extradited to Australia to face 74 charges of child sexual abuse," Morrison added.

Erlich told reporters outside Parliament House that she and her sister wanted the government "to do more."

"Enough is enough. We don't want platitudes, we want action," Erlich said.

"This has taken a tremendous toll on both of our lives. Traveling back and forth, not seeing any results, the frustrations, knowing at some point she might get bail, it's had an emotional toll on our lives," Erlich said.

Meyer, her sister, said: "We're not just doing it for ourselves. We're trying to give a message to all survivors that even if you have been abused, life can go on; justice should be served."

Government lawmaker Dave Sharma, who was Australian ambassador to Israel in 2014 when the extradition request was made, and opposition lawmaker Josh Burns joined the sisters at a news conference to demonstrate that Australia's major political parties were united in a bid to bring Leifer to justice.

Sharma said that after more than 60 Israeli court hearings, "we seem to be no closer to having Malka Leifer extradited."

"We are here today to send a very clear message to Israel that this case is a high priority for Australia and it's one we will be ceaseless in pursuing and it's one that unless resolved soon will have an impact on the broader relationship," Sharma said.

Israel's Supreme Court last week upheld an appeal against a decision to release Leifer from jail to house arrest. Prosecutors argue she is feigning mental illness to dodge extradition.

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Malka Leifer poses a flight risk and should remain behind bars until extradition proceedings conclude, Justice Anat Baron ruled, finding in favor of prosecutors' appeal against the Jerusalem District Court's Oct. 2 order.

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Leifer fled from Australia in 2008 with what Australian authorities believe was the assistance of the insular Adass Jewish community, after accusations against her surfaced.

A former principal of Adass Israel School, an ultra-Orthodox Jewish girls' school in Melbourne, Leifer is wanted by Australian police on 74 sexual assault charges, including rape, involving girls at the institution.

The district court ruled in 2016 that Leifer, who has denied the charges, was mentally unfit to face extradition and trial.

She was rearrested in 2018 after a police investigation raised questions about the state of her health.

Last month, the district court, in considering extradition, said more psychiatric evidence was needed before it could decide the issue, and ordered a new panel of experts to assess Leifer's mental condition and deliver a report in December.

In August, the Israel Police recommended indicting Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman on suspicion he tried to pressure court-appointed psychiatrists to support Leifer's mental illness claims.

It will be up to state prosecutors to decide whether to accept the police findings and charge Litzman, who has denied any wrongdoing.

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Australia wants Malka Leifer extradited to face 74 charges of abusing students while she was principal at a Jewish religious school in Melbourne. Prosecutors say she is feigning mental illness to dodge extradition.

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In Wednesday's ruling, the court said Leifer could be released on Friday. She is to stay at her sister's house and remain under the supervision of five court-approved people.

Prosecutors have until Friday to appeal.

Kol V'Oz, an Israeli advocacy group that fights child sexual abuse, called the decision a "travesty." It says that if Leifer is unwell, she should be in a jail or hospital until she is returned to Australia.

Deputy Health Minister Yakov Litzman has been questioned by police on suspicion of breach of trust and obstruction of justice for allegedly attempting to prevent Leifer's extradition. In August, the police have said that there is sufficient evidence to indict Litzman and go to trial.

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