Top radio reporter says Ehud Olmert sexually harassed her
Army Radio’s Hadas Shtaif says years ago former PM pressed her against the wall and licked her ear: ‘I was sickened’; Olmert responds: ‘None of it ever happened’
Veteran Army Radio reporter Hadas Shtaif on Saturday accused former prime minister Ehud Olmert of sexually harassing her some years ago.
Shtaif said that upon leaving Israel’s Channel 1 TV studio some years ago, Olmert pressed her up against the wall and “whispered in my ear.” He then allegedly touched her ear “with his disgusting tongue. I pushed him away immediately.”
Shtaif did not say when the alleged incident took place. She also claimed that Olmert had also harassed was a second woman, but provided no details.
Olmert in a statement denied it occurred. “None of it ever happened,” he said.
Later on Twitter, Shtaif said, “It’s all true. I reported it in real time to many people. I was sickened. I did not forget.
“That’s why I believe all the women who are daring to come out and speak, even after 30 years. We are in the middle of a revolution…We will not be afraid and we will not hide, even if that means being personally attacked.”
Shtaif, who regularly covers police and criminal stories, said that she had over the years been harassed by fourty different people.
She added that she was gathering reports on previously unexposed allegations against certain figures which she intended to report upon in the coming days.
The #MeToo phenomenon sweeping through America has given rise to a similar rash of allegations in Israel, with almost daily accusations of sexual misconduct leveled against prominent figures. These have included, among others, veteran journalists Haim Yavin and Gabi Gazit, popular radio host Natan Zahavi and Alex Gilady, president of the Keshet Broadcasting group and Israel’s representative on the International Olympic Committee.
Olmert was freed from prison in July after serving 16 months for corruption.
The 72-year-old Olmert, premier between 2006 and 2009, was convicted of graft and entered prison in February 2016. He had been sentenced to 27 months.
