Israel Police establishes team to investigate sex abuse allegations against senior rabbi

A special investigative team has been established to investigate the allegations against Rabbi Zvi Tau, following consultations held between the police and the State Attorney’s Office, the Israel Police says.

The Judea police force of the Judea and Samaria District Police is operating the team of investigators under the oversight of district officials.

Multiple women have accused Tau of sexual abuse dating back decades. One woman, Nechama Te’ena, went public several months ago, but her allegations were largely ignored at the time by the police and the media.

According to police, Te’ena is currently the only accuser who has filed an official police complaint. Others have spoken anonymously to the media or spoken to rabbinic officials about their accusations.

Tau is the head of the influential Har Hamor Yeshiva in Jerusalem as well as the spiritual leader of the anti-LGBT Noam political party, which won one seat in the next Knesset.