Police to recommend closing Silvan Shalom probe
Sexual misconduct allegations will go unchecked after none of the 13 women who made claims agrees to file official complaint
Police are expected to recommend that the sexual harassment probe against former Likud minister Silvan Shalom be closed, after none of the women tied to the case agreed to file an official complaint against the politician, Channel 10 news reported Tuesday.
(Update: The allegations against Shalom were not substantiated and the investigation was subsequently closed.)
Police have reportedly made efforts in recent weeks to convince the women who have made claims of sexual misconduct on Shalom’s part to file their charges against him, but all have refused. Police cannot investigate the former minister if there is no official complaint.
The state prosecution will hold a meeting on the Shalom affair in the coming weeks, where the future of the case will be decided.
Shalom resigned from his posts as interior minister and vice prime minister on December 20 in light of the allegations, and then resigned as an MK, citing the suffering the scandal was causing to his family.
The number of women who complained against Shalom prior to his resignation was reported to be 13.
It was not immediately clear why none of the 13 was willing to press charges. But one woman told Ynet in December she did not wish to go through the ordeal experienced by women who have complained against politicians in the past.
“The thought (to file a complaint) never crossed my mind, because I’ve seen what happens to other plaintiffs…this is a very, very powerful man. This is a connected man, a man who can hurt my future employment opportunities,” she said.
On Monday the Tel Aviv district attorney’s office announced that it had halted its investigation of former MK Yinon Magal, who resigned from the Knesset in November amid swirling claims of sexual harassment and indecent acts against women, after police said they had not found enough evidence to recommend an indictment. In similar fashion to Shalom, none of the women who accused the MK of sexual misconduct had agreed to step forward and file an official complaint against him.
The Times of Israel Community.