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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