Rape crisis group calls for Ari Shavit’s suspension in wake of assault claim

The head of the Association of Rape Crisis Centers in Israel on Friday called for the Haaretz newspaper to suspend senior journalist Ari Shavit, after he outed himself as the person accused of sexually assaulting an American Jewish reporter in 2014.

Danielle Berrin, a senior writer and columnist at the Los Angeles Jewish Journal, published an article last week titled “My sexual assault and yours: Every woman’s story,” detailing how during an interview in LA, an unnamed Israeli journalist told her he and his wife had “an arrangement,” assaulted her and tried to persuade her to come up to his hotel room.

The column set Israeli media circles alight with rumors as to the identity of the accused. And after much speculation, Shavit confirmed Thursday that he was the person involved, and apologized for the incident. He said he “completely misinterpreted the interaction” with Berrin and “didn’t intend to do anything that was unacceptable” to her.

But, said ARCCI chief Orit Solitziano, while Shavit’s apology was welcome, it was not enough.

“[It was] encouraging to see that Ari Shavit admitted to and apologized for his actions, rather than denying them or continuing to hide behind the anonymity that Berrin gave him. But a feeble apology is not enough, and he and his superiors must reinforce his words with actions. Men have to understand that the reality has changed,” Solitziano said, according to Israel Hayom newspaper.

“Even if you believe Shavit misinterpreted the situation… the damage to the victim has been done and we have to take measures to prevent any recurrence [of misunderstandings] that make the workplace environment unsafe for many women,” she added.

Berrin said in her column that after showing up for the interview at the journalist’s hotel — at 10 p.m. due to his busy schedule — he began asking her probing questions about her personal life and relationship status, and then after she answered one question “in a way that moved him,” he “lurched at me like a barnyard animal, grabbing the back of my head, pulling me toward him.”

She said she protested, pointing out that her assailant was married, to which he responded, “We have an arrangement.” When she further mentioned his children, he told her, “Yes, and I’m not done yet.”

He then tried to convince her to come up to his room, “just for a minute.” She declined, after which he assured her, “We don’t have to have sex, I just want to give you a hug.”

Berrin wrote that she decided to leave, but the man insisted on walking her to her car and asked for a parting hug. “I’ll spare you the details of that hug, but suffice it to say, he was undeterred,” she wrote.

Hillel International said late Thursday that it was suspending Shavit’s upcoming campus tour in wake of the accusations.

The organization announced that “in keeping with our strong position against sexual assault, Hillel International has suspended Ari Shavit’s campus tour,” adding that it was “not aware of any allegation of sexual assault made against Mr. Shavit during his Hillel visits.”

“Hillel International will be making staff available for any student or Hillel professional interested in discussing these issues privately,” the organization said in a statement.

Berrin declined to name her alleged attacker but peppered her published account with clues to his identity, describing the man as “an accomplished journalist from Israel” with dark eyes and black hair who was on a tour promoting a book he had written that was “having an impact on the Jewish conversation.”

In his statement, Shavit said: “Until I read the article she published this week, I felt we had had a friendly meeting that included, among other things, elements of courtship. I did not for a moment believe that this was sexual harassment. But what I saw as courtship, Berrin saw as inappropriate behavior and even harassment on my part.”

He added: “As someone who respects every woman and every person, and is disgusted by sexual harassment, I apologize from the bottom of my heart for this misunderstanding. I did not mean to say anything unwelcome to Berrin, and I certainly never meant to cause her distress or hurt her feelings.”

After the publication, a second US Jewish journalist, Avital Chizhik, alleged on Twitter that she was sexually assaulted by “another Israeli media personality,” though she did not give details.

This almost-exact story happened to me years ago with another Israeli media personality. #NotOkay https://t.co/xJbba32M4B

— Avital Chizhik-Goldschmidt (@avitalrachel) October 26, 2016

Berrin wrote that she was bringing up the story to add her voice to those of other women who have been assaulted and now feel compelled and able to speak up in light of the allegations of sexual assault made against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, but indicated she was not considering naming or pressing charges against the man.