Published: 17 January 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
On the 40-minute journey from my home in West Jerusalem to the District Court in East Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, I did just that on my phone. The working headline of my post was “Former Adass students have reason to smile again as Jerusalem judge sets a date for formal extradition proceedings, after accepting panel ruling that Leifer is fit to stand trial.”
Unlike most articles on this case that always use a picture of Leifer in handcuffs wearing her iconic red snood, I was planning to post a photo of a smiling Dassi, Nicole and Elly with the piece.
As the excruciatingly painful court case unfolded over the next 90 minutes, I soon realised this would not be the headline nor photo I would be posting.
There were well over 50 journalists, Australian and Israeli supporters of child abuse victims in the court room squeezed into only three rows of benches. The room was boiling.
I sat just behind Leifer’s brother,ho was holding a kabbalstic text that is an omen for protection, and her sister, who was holding a picture of Yeshaya Steiner, also known as Reb Shaya'la of Kerestir, who lived in Hungary from 1851-1925. To this day, Steiner's image is used as an amulet by Chasidic Jews who believe it offers protection against misfortune.
The hearing began with remarks by Aviad Eliya, a lawyer from the State Attorney's office. Less than 10 seconds into his address, Leifer’s attorney Tal Gabbay cut him short, claiming there was no need for him to speak and that today’s hearing should be postponed to another date where all the psychiatrists could be cross-examined - which is what Judge Miriam Lomp finally agreed to 90 minutes later.
The constant interruptions, interjections, and even yelling matches between the judge and the two attorneys telling them to sit down and let the other speak continued unabated for the whole case. As a former teacher, I have been in many noisy dining hall meals with hundreds of teens on school camp that had far more decorum than this courtroom.
Never has the Australian Jewish community and statements by our political leaders been talked about so much in an Israeli court case as much as during case #63 of the Malka Leifer trial.
WATCH VIDEO
This video includes comment which I filmed immediately after the conclusion of the case.
The saddest part watching all of their interviews is that in between all the debate about Leifer’s wellbeing, no-one inside the court was talking about the welfare of the former students who were abused at the Adass Israel school by a teacher who used their love and respect to betray their innocence in the most unconscionable of ways.
During the hearing, Leifer’s defence lawyer accused the State Attorney’s office of doing more damage to the Australia-Israel relationship than any other body after they publicly released a statement on their website calling for extradition proceedings to begin against Leifer.
Tal Gabbay said to the prosecution in court: “you are not representatives of the Australian government, or other interested parties.” Demanding they cease making public statements, Gabbay added: “the request you made yesterday for extradition, which has no legal basis, and was then sent to the media and placed on your website, constituted outrageous conduct.”
In response, Aviad Eliya joked that Gabbay had become the Emile Zola of this case with his J’Accuse against the Justice Ministry.
At the conclusion of case #63 Judge Miriam Lomp proposed a series of dates in late February and mid-March for the hearings after Leifer’s attorneys rejected earlier dates in January due to clashes with the other cases they are working on.
The prosecution said it was available for hearings as soon as possible. Leifer’s attorneys asked for three separate hearings in order to question each panellist in what the prosecution argued was a delay tactic.
I expect that Leifer’s lawyers will go through the psychiatric report with a fine-tooth comb to find any inconsistency. and use these minor inconsistencies to call for a new report, bringing the whole case back to square one again.
This is precisely what the supporters of Malka Leifer with deep pockets want to see happen in order to avoid the alleged paedophile ever setting foot in Australia and being compelled to testify in a trial. Hopefully, the judge will be wise enough to see this as just another delay tactic.
For all the journalists covering the case who already feel like characters in Groundhog Day, this strategy is not a surprise. But for Leifer’s victims and all the Australian Jewish Community who deeply care about Israel and want justice to be done, it is a travesty.
READ MORE
Malka Leifer, former Melbourne principal and accused child abuser, granted further delays in extradition process (ABC)
The alleged victims of an Israeli teacher accused of sexually abusing girls at a Melbourne school said they were distressed and angry about further delays to her extradition case.
Court delays Malka Leifer case, granting lawyers time to cross-examine psychiatric panel (Guardian)
Delay in extradition case a blow to alleged victims of the former Melbourne principal and alleged child sex offender
Jerusalem rabbi arrested on suspicion of enslaving 50 women, children (Jerusalem Post)
"They would put the girls' fingers into the fire to make them understand what hell is."
Photo: (From L-R) Malka Leifer’s attorneys Tal Gabbay and Yehuda Fried speak to reporters at the Jerusalem District Court on September 23, 2019. (Jacob Magid/Times of Israel)
