Minister’s former employee accuses him of sexual harassment; probe later closed

A former employee of Interior Minister Silvan Shalom is claiming that he sexually harassed her for over a year. The woman, who informed police about the alleged incidents but refused to file a complaint, related her version of the events to the Hebrew-language daily Haaretz, which published the story on Wednesday. Shalom denied the woman’s claims.

(Update: The allegations against Shalom were not substantiated and a police investigation was subsequently closed.)

According to the woman, Shalom often tried to touch her when they were at work, and on some occasions, when they were sitting together in the backseat of a car, he put his hand between her legs and tried to touch her. It was only because of the clothing she was wearing at the time that he failed to do so, she claimed.

Hotel visits were, she said, the most traumatic, as Shalom would call her to his room and grope her. The woman asserted that she repeatedly pushed the minister’s hands away and told him to stop. Following the alleged hotel assaults, the woman claimed she was so upset it made her physically ill and she would sometimes miss days of work.

In an effort to prevent the unwanted advances, the woman said, she asked that another employee accompany her on occasions when she needed to work outside of the office with Shalom, to limit the amount of time she would have to spend alone with him.

The woman, who was not named in the report, recalled that each time she rejected Shalom’s advances he would immediately stop, but then begin again later on. She stressed that she never agreed that Shalom touch her and that she never had sex with him.

The report did not say when the woman worked with Shalom or in what position.

Despite the claims, she insisted she is not seeking revenge and does not want to see the minister jailed.

According to the report, the woman was asked to explain why she continued to work with Shalom for such an extended period and under such conditions, and why she bought the minister a going-away gift when she left. She countered that she loved her job but eventually the harassment became too much for her to bear.

In a statement, Shalom’s office rejected the allegations as baseless.

“These are claims that have no basis. The matter was thoroughly checked in the past by the enforcement authorities and, in accordance with a decision by the attorney general and the opinions of the police and the prosecutor, the matter ended with nothing.”

Knesset members from the opposition Meretz party on Wednesday turned to Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein and requested that he instruct police to conduct a criminal investigation into the allegations against Shalom. In a letter, MKs Zehava Galon, Michal Rozin and Tamar Zandberg wrote: “An elected official cannot barricade himself in silence or suffice with a laconic denial in the media. He must give account and provide his version to the police.

“We request,” they continued, “that you instruct the police to summon Minister Shalom to an interrogation in light of repeated accusations of sexual harassment from his female subordinates.”

Allegations of sexual misconduct have dogged Shalom in the past and were apparently what prompted him to drop out of the 2014 race to become president.