Allegations of sexual abuse go against the Israeli rescue chief

But in the last few days, Meshi-Zahav has confronted a growing list of prosecutors who say he committed horrific acts of sexual abuse of men, women and children. over several decades.

The scandal has almost destroyed the reputation of a man who received the Israel Prize a few weeks ago, the highest civil honor in the country, for his lifetime achievements. It has also shed light on sexual abuse in the remote world of Israel’s ultra-rectangular community.

“When it comes to ultra-orthodox in particular, there is a very strong code of silence,” said Manny Waks, a candidate for victims of sexual abuse in Jewish communities and himself a survivor of abuse in indigenous Australia. .

“Community minds are closed, we vs. them. Putting all of these things together is a recipe for disaster, especially in the context of child sexual abuse, ”he said.

While Meshi-Zahav has denied the allegations, his prosecutors have delivered similar accounts. They say Meshi-Zahav exploited his public publicity to exploit sex, women and girls alike, and that the ultra-rectangular community protected him with a wall of silence.

A victim named with the letter “N” told Ynet’s sister Yedioth Ahronot on Sunday that he first met Meshi-Zahav in 1996 when he was 16 and Meshi-Zahav 20 years older. shine.

“Everyone close to him in those years knew that I was the protective boy. I became a prostitute in the full sense of the word, ”he said.

Meshi-Zahav was once a member of a radical ultra-orthodox anti-Israel group, believing that a Jewish state could only be established after the coming of the Messiah. His views changed after a horrific 1989 bus attack near Jerusalem that killed 16 people.

Meshi-Zahav was joined by volunteers who helped collect the remains of the victims, in accordance with the Jewish custom of honoring the dead. It is said that experience taught him that everyone’s pain was equal.

As a result of these efforts ZAKA was created in 1995, and their volunteers helped identify victims of disasters and suicide bombings and collected the remains for Jewish burial. Over time, the group expanded to include first response paramedics and gained widespread respect in Israel.

Meshi-Zahav has received a number of honors and has become a symbol of modesty in the often tense relations between Israeli and ultra-orthodox worldly arguments.

He was invited to light a ceremonial torch at Independence Day celebrations and recently urged fellow members of the ultra-Orthodox community to heed a coronavirus safety warning after two parents died from COVID- 19. At the time, he said the “rabbits had blood on their hands that encouraged fans to neglect the safety rules.”

Earlier this month, Meshi-Zahav, 61, was awarded the Israeli Award for Lifelong Achievement. He broke down in tears when Education Minister Yoav Gallant delivered the news, saying the award belonged to thousands of ZAKA volunteers.

That recognition seems to have been the reason why his accusers came forward after years of silence.

It began last Thursday, when the Haaretz published daily accounts of six victims accused of accusing Meshi-Zahav of rape, sexual harassment and harassment.

In response, Meshi-Zahav wrote a letter saying “these books are unfounded and appear more like spells and account closures against me.” He said he was taking a break as ZAKA director and gave up Award Israel, but denied that it was done wrong.

Since then, the certificate of authentication has turned into a torrent.

ZAKA, meanwhile, issued a statement expressing “shock and amazement,” saying that the accusations against Meshi-Zahav were “rising deep disrespect, shock and humiliation, light years away.” from the values ​​that characterize the organization. “

It is difficult to come up with statistics about sexual abuse in the ultra-straight world.

Waks, who heads the advocacy group VoiCSA, said the general estimate in Israeli society is that one in six boys and one in four girls have experienced sexual abuse. He said there is nothing to say that the numbers are different in the ultra-orthodox world.

“Many of us would argue that there is a greater sensitivity that would lead to more abuse,” he said. These include the lack of sex education, the inability to keep tabs close on children due to large families and the general level of trust among adults in the tense communities.

He called the accusations against Meshi-Zahav “shocking but not surprising,” and said he hoped they would encourage other accused victims to come forward. He also urged Israel to repeal border legislation in such cases.

The current legislation of restrictions for sexual abuse in the family or by a close member of the community, such as a teacher or doctor, is set at 20 years from the time the victim turns 18. For other circumstances, it is three legislation of restrictions for molestation. to five years, and 10 years in rape cases.

In a special case that shed light on abuse in the ultra-straight world, Israel in January fired Malka Leifer, an ultra-rectangular teacher calling for 74 counts of child sexual abuse, to Australia after a long legal battle.

Shana Aaronson, executive director of Magen for Jewish Communities, an Israeli advocacy group for survivors of sexual abuse, said at least six people have spoken to the group about Meshi-Zahav. She said the first inclings of allegations surfaced about six years ago.

“The man was not willing to talk about it anymore, go to the police or anything like that,” she said.

She said the spectrum of protests that have emerged against Meshi-Zahav “paints a picture of a particular person of someone who was incredibly confident that he just wanted to get away with this.”

The Ministry of Education, which will award the Israel Prize, has not yet commented on Meshi-Zahav. But Miriam Peretz, a member of the awards committee and spokesperson for the Israel Prize, has spoken out.

“All of us on the committee are certainly critical of this terrible thing,” she told public broadcaster Israel Kan.