Ari Shavit quits Haaretz as fresh harassment allegation surfaces

Leading Israeli journalist and author Ari Shavit resigned from the Haaretz newspaper and Channel 10 News on Sunday, hours after a second woman came forward to accuse him of sexual harassment.

“I am ashamed of the serious mistakes I have made in my relations with people in general and with women in particular. I am ashamed that I have not behaved properly toward my wife and my children,” Shavit said in a statement.

“I am ashamed of the consequences of my deeds. In the past few days I have realized that until now I was stricken with blindness,” he said, adding that he would devote his time to his family and to “making personal amends.”

Shavit, who last week announced he was taking time out from journalism over allegations that he sexually harassed an American Jewish reporter in 2014, said in the statement he took “full moral responsibility” for his past behavior.

The announcement of his resignation came hours after the Forward newspaper published a fresh sexual harassment accusation against Shavit.

An unnamed former JStreet staffer told the New York-based publication that Shavit groped her hand against her will and asked to meet her alone during a professional event in Baltimore.

“I was very uncomfortable,” the woman said of her encounter with Shavit. “There was no misinterpreting” what he wanted, she recalled.

In response to the new allegation published Sunday, Shavit issued an apology, though he indicated that he did not recall the incident.

“My actions are my responsibility and I am very sorry,” he told the Forward in a statement. “While I just learned of this situation from your inquiry, I want to be clear about the need to show my respect for the dignity of women and all people at all times.”

Last week, Danielle Berrin, a senior writer and columnist at the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, published an article titled “My sexual assault and yours: Every woman’s story,” detailing how during an interview in LA, an unnamed Israeli journalist told her he and his wife had “an arrangement,” assaulted her and tried to persuade her to come up to his hotel room.

The column set Israeli media circles alight with rumors as to the identity of the accused. After much speculation, Shavit confirmed Thursday that he was the person involved, and apologized for the incident. He said he “completely misinterpreted the interaction” with Berrin and “didn’t intend to do anything that was unacceptable” to her.

Berrin on Friday slammed Shavit’s statement.

“That Shavit would claim it was ‘flirtation’ is not only misguided, it suggests I was participating in his scheme when, indeed, I was the victim; I was afraid he’d further assault me if I did not escape,” she wrote.

Berrin said she brought up her encounter with Shavit to add her voice to those of other women who have been assaulted and now feel compelled and able to speak up in light of the allegations of sexual assault made against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but indicated she was not considering naming or pressing charges against the man.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.