Labor chief backs former MK who accused Peres of sexual assault

Labor chief Merav Michaeli backs Colette Avital, a former Labor member of Knesset and a former Israeli consul-general to New York, who recently alleged that the late president Shimon Peres sexually assaulted her twice in the 1980s.

“I always believe the complainants and I believe Collette Avital, too,” says Michaeli at a Labor faction meeting.

Then-consul general to New York Colette Avital looks on as then-foreign minister Shimon Peres addresses the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations, May 23, 1994, in New York. (AP Photo/David Karp)

She also addresses the controversy surrounding Intelligence Minister Elazar Stern, who said in an interview yesterday that he had “shredded many anonymous complaints” during his time as head of the IDF’s Manpower Directorate.

“I understand that he didn’t have bad intentions,” says Michaeli, adding that “we must do everything we can to protect sexual assault victims.”