Tel-Chai Nation

Since the subject of sexual assault has been in the news so much lately, here's another alarming case in Israel of a Haredi publicist who raped at least 6 female employees at his agency, and is now going to prison for at least 17 years:

Matti Ben-David, an ultra-Orthodox director of a Jerusalem-based advertising agency, was sentenced on Sunday to 17 years in prison for sexual assault against six ultra-Orthodox women he employed, according to Ynet.

In addition to the prison sentence, Ben-David was ordered to pay NIS 470,000 in compensation to the complainants.

The Jerusalem District Court convicted him on charges of rape, sodomy and indecent acts on six of his employees, against their will, Ynet reported.

According to the court verdict, Ben-David was corresponding with his victims through the company's internal messaging system.

His strategy was solidly established: First he complimented his victims, then he continued by making more flagrant and sexual remarks, until he finally raped them in the office bathroom against their will.

The police also reported at the time of the arrest that he sometimes sent his victims back home, knowing they would be there alone, and then afterwards followed to rape them.

The assaults would also include extortion and threats.

The court ruling stated that whenever he encountered a refusal or objection from his victims, he humiliated them, yelled at them and ignored them altogether, even when it came to work matters.

Furthermore, Ben-David took advantage of his victims' ultra-Orthodox affiliation.

He threatened to expose the sexual nature of their relationship to their husbands and rabbis in their community, claiming that they had initiated everything. Not only that, he emphasized to them how revealing the sexual assault could hurt their families and communities, but he could emerge from any scandal unharmed thanks to his lawyers and money.

Justices Rafi Carmel, Aryeh Romanov and Shirley Renner stated that "the suspect planned his actions step by step and was aware of his actions. Because in the ultra-Orthodox community, sexual relations cannot be done with someone who is not a spouse, [the sexual nature of the assault] served as leverage to intimidate and silence the victims."

What this tells is that, depending on what's involved, Haredis can and do know quite a bit about sexuality as it is, and worst, a felon in that community knows the victim-blaming common in such insular communities makes a perfect weapon against his targets. This is why better protection is needed, and above all, the victims should exit the Haredi lifestyle, as it's working against them in the worst ways possible.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, Jerusalem, misogyny, Moonbattery