VIDEO: Australian Leifer protest turns ugly with physical altercation

Published: 15 March 2019

Last updated: 4 March 2024

NEARLY 100 AUSTRALIANS protested outside the Ministry of Justice in Jerusalem on Wednesday at the delay in extradition of Malka Leifer to Australia. Dassi Erlich, one of the three sisters allegedly abused by the former principal of the Adass Israel School, has called on the government to expedite the extradition process given the many more months the proceedings are likely to take.

Early in the day, following the 48th hearing in the case, scenes turned ugly at one point with an altercation between one of the Australian advocates and Leifer’s brother.

Adam Segal, the former Head of Jewish Studies at Yavneh College, and Principal of Yesodei HaTorah College in Melbourne, confronted Leifer’s supporters and was shoved to the ground by Leifer’s brother.

After Segal asked Dr Trappler why he called the victims of Malka Leifer "liars" in a Facebook post, Trappler's assistant shoved Segal out of the way, after which Leifer's brother pushed Segal to the floor.Court security immediately pushed Leifer's brother away and spoke to him for a few minutes, after which he was released and went home. Earlier in the day, Leifer's sister had told Trappler not to speak with Segal, describing him as a "bad man".

[embed]https://youtu.be/ofx7ic3RIKk[/embed]

Before the hearing, Segal had questioned Trappler on his involvement in the case. Trappler told him: “When you’re a professional in the medical profession you’re not invested in the outcome, you’re invested in the truth and what’s best for the patient.”He then told a journalist, “Maybe if I’d known from the get-go what I was getting involved in I wouldn’t be here.”

Segal has attended several court hearings in support of the Australian sexual abuse victims and is a strong advocate of the justice in this case.He moved to Israel two years ago and now lives in Efrat, where he is the International Resource Development Manager for Tzohar.

He will be in Melbourne next week for an advocacy trip regarding the work of Tzohar, which is an Israeli organization of over 800 religious Zionist Orthodox rabbis that aims to bridge the gaps between religious and secular Jews in Israel.

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Leifer's alleged victim calls on government to expedite extradition process (Jerusalem Post)
Dassi Erlich, one of the three sisters allegedly abused by Malka Leifer in Australia, has called on the government to expedite the extradition process given the many more months the proceedings are likely to take

Photo: Adam Segal confronts Dr Tappler (screenshot)