Two more suspects named in connection with Milwidsky rape investigation

Two suspects have been named in connection with the police investigation of Likud MK Hanoch Milwidsky, who is accused of rape.

Milwidsky was questioned Friday about allegations that he raped a woman while he was serving as a legal adviser to the New Age religious association “Bnei Baruch — Kabbalah La’Am.” According to the allegations, he was coaching a woman, identified by the Hebrew initial Aleph, to testify falsely to protect the group’s leader, Michael Laitman, from charges of sexual assault. During their meetings, Aleph told police, Milwidsky raped her.

Now, police have revealed that Zvi Gelman, another lawyer working for Bnei Baruch, is accused of witness tampering in that case, which was tried in 2018- 2019. So is Eli Vinokur, a scholar of education who serves as a vice president at the Gordon Academic College of Education in Haifa.

Neither Gelman, a specialist in media law, nor Vinokur is accused of sexual assault. They were brought in for questioning on Friday by the police’s Lahav 433 major crimes unit, which is also investigating Milwidsky.

The publication of their names adds another layer to the accusations against Milwidsky, which he has denied. The lawmaker entered Knesset in 2022, after the police had already begun investigating him for encouraging perjury in the Bnei Baruch case. He was set to replace MK Moshe Gafni as chair of the powerful Knesset Finance Committee when the news of the probe became public on Friday.

Likud, whose coalition is seeking to oust Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara over a series of disputes, is backing Milwidsky. The party accused the attorney general of publicizing the accusations against the MK for political reasons.

“This is a witch hunt, seeking to undermine the people’s democratic choice, with only one goal — harming the government, its members, and its function in every way possible,” the party said in a statement on Sunday. Nonetheless, some Likud lawmakers have been urging Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay Milwidsky’s appointment to chair the Finance Committee due to the allegations.

Gelman denied the allegations against him, saying in a statement reported by Hebrew media that, in the case in question, he “acted professionally and according to all the accepted rules regarding taking testimony in a legal procedure.” He added that he has sent supporting documents to the police and will cooperate with the investigation.

Gordon Academic College told the Walla news outlet that it learned about the investigation of its vice president through the media and noted, “Everyone is innocent until proven guilty, so we will wait before making additional decisions.”