Tzohar welcomes Leifer ruling: ‘Israel mustn’t become refuge for sexual abusers’

The Tzohar Rabbinical Organization commends the court decision that will allow Malka Leifer to be extradited to Australia where her alleged sexual abuse crimes were committed.

Rabbi David Stav, chairman of Tzohar, who has met with the plaintiffs, the Ehrlich sisters, and spoken out repeatedly on their behalf, says, “The efforts to keep Malka Leifer in Israel and away from an Australian court were nothing less than a desecration of God’s name and a stain on our country’s reputation for pursuing justice, so we can all hope she will now be held accountable for her alleged actions.”

Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, who as director of the Tzohar Center for Jewish Ethics has also written extensively about the case, says, “Israel must never become a refuge for sexual abusers. We need to always act in partnership with all other nations in ensuring that these criminals are being brought to justice. Anything less would be gross negligence and is a failure for our national responsibility to act morally and ethically.”

— Jacob Magid