Tel-Chai Nation

The main victims of Malka Leifer gave some history of the terrible ordeals they went through, not just because of the school principal's sexual abuse committed against them, but also because their own ultra-Orthodox family has blame to shoulder:

High school is often a place where teenagers broaden their horizons. But at this Melbourne school, they only looked inwards.

In 2003, an increasing number of students were owning mobile phones, Australian Idol was a pop culture phenomenon and the first Pirates of the Caribbean film was in cinemas. All of this would have meant little — or nothing at all — to the students at the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School.

Lawyers in Victoria’s County Court described how families from the tight-knit Adass Israel community adhered to a strict interpretation of the Jewish faith in their daily lives.

A typical family home would not have a television or newspapers, and many never left their neighbourhood in Melbourne’s inner south-east.

They did not go to the movies, join sporting clubs or mix with others. Later on, marriages were often facilitated by so-called matchmakers to keep ties within the community, or with similar-minded families in Israel.

Sex was not a topic to be discussed at home, nor was sex education taught at school.

The court was told the measures at the Adass Israel School were so strict, pages from library books were ripped out if they were considered to be too risque.

It was the world that existed for teenagers Nicole, Dassi, and Elly Sapper.

The Sappers were part of the Adass Israel fabric. But even within a community where everyone knew everyone’s business, their family’s dark secrets were kept buried.

During evidence in the County Court, the sisters alleged they were regularly abused and traumatised by their mother during their childhood. Elly said the abuse was physical and emotional, sometimes involving belts and kitchen knives.

I think we know somebody else who should be put on trial, convicted and sentenced, and sent to the grimiest prison available for a long time. Insular clans like the one in focus here should be loudly condemned for their "customs". That they only serve to draw attention away from Islamofascism is just part of the problem. The Adass clan, along with the Satmar, have effectively given Judaism a bad name, and I'd suggest Australian grocery store managers not allow their members to enter, and if they do, call the police and have them arrested for trespassing. This could partly explain why their family wanted the poor girls to dress modestly all the time, doubtless at the expense of their health too.

Crown prosecutor Justin Lewis said the sisters “did not have any understanding of sex” when the alleged offences occurred, due to their strict upbringing.

He said Leifer’s offending continued after they finished Year 12, and stayed on at the school as junior religious studies teachers.

“These sisters had a miserable home life, and so far as the accused was concerned they were ripe for the picking,” he told the jury. “She manipulated their emotions while abusing them for her own sexual gratification.”

And that was abominable. Why, that the school/community retained such a censorious/deleterious position on sex education was equally offensive, with the worst part being the parents of many of the victims were highly likely to brush off issues like these as though they'd never been. Certainly, quite a few have a naive view of these subjects, but they're also very tragically lenient. To the point where:

Speaking to the ABC years later, Elly described how she was “completely ostracised” by the Adass Israel community and often verbally abused in the street. Dassi spoke about how the ordeal left her suffering flashbacks and nightmares.

That's exactly why no sensible person should remain in these communities, and do the best they can to distance themselves from them, end of discussion. Why, the ex-husband of one of the sisters even took the side of the clannists. No doubt, he was put up to that, and should be ashamed of himself.

Thankfully, justice prevailed, and now the sisters can move on with their lives, as they noted at a press conference:

Ultimately, the jury declared Leifer guilty of 18 offences, including six counts of rape, relating to Dassi and Elly.

The jury found Leifer was not guilty of the charges relating to Nicole and some of the charges relating to Dassi.

Speaking outside court, the sisters were unified once again.

“Her abuse has held us hostage for so many years,” Dassi said.

“Today we can start to take that power back that she stole from us as children.”

While Nicole expressed disappointment Leifer was found not guilty of abusing her, she said the outcome was “bittersweet”.

“I believe in myself. My sisters believe in me,” she said.

The sisters urged all survivors of sexual abuse to “stay strong”.

“This will and can tear you apart and the process is re-traumatising and awful,” Elly said.

“But when you know your truth … the truth will prevail.”

And sooner or later, so will God's Law, which Leifer will be judged by too. No doubt, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav and Chaim Walder are already. What those who've left the Adass clan should do now is find ways to convince other members of such awful clans to leave them as well, and take up simpler forms of Judaist adherence. Such awful clans have no business being around, and take away attention from other pressing issues, many doubtless deliberately.

Labels: Australia, haredi corruption, immigration, Israel, Knesset, misogyny, Moonbattery, political corruption, sexual violence