Tel-Chai Nation

The ultra-Orthodox co-founder of the ZAKA medical operation has been accused by a number of people in his community of sexual assault, which date back over 30 years, and it appears even his brothers were involved:

A co-founder and chairman of the ZAKA volunteer emergency response group was accused Thursday of sexual assault, rape, and abuse by six people in a report by the Haaretz daily, which said there are likely many more cases.

The allegations against Yehuda Meshi-Zahav were made by both men and women, some of whom were minors at the time of the alleged events.

Meshi-Zahav is a prominent figure in the ultra-Orthodox community who earlier this month was awarded the Israel Prize’s lifetime achievement award. ZAKA is a major part of Israel’s emergency response services at home and abroad.

Meshi-Zahav took advantage of his status, power, money, and even the organization he heads to commit sexual assault, the Haaretz report said.

One alleged victim said he forcibly undressed her and raped her after offering financial aid. The woman said that while Meshi-Zahav forced himself on her, he threatened, “If you talk, a ZAKA jeep will run you over.”

[...] Of the six allegations reported, the earliest is from 1983, and the latest from 2011. The report added that many residents of several ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods in Jerusalem knew of Meshi-Zahav’s actions but did not say anything or report him to authorities.

At least one case reached police, but was closed in 2014 due to a lack of evidence.

The case also involved Meshi-Zahav’s brothers, Moshe and Rami. Rami was eventually convicted of raping a relative and imprisoned, the report said.

Moshe and Yehuda were suspected of assaulting 16-year-old girls, and Yehuda was suspected of rape, which he denied. Moshe fled the country after the case was opened, and returned a few months ago, but died shortly after.

The investigators turned up one alleged rape victim, a woman in her 20s, but she refused to file a complaint against Meshi-Zahav, as did the other women he was suspected of assaulting in the case. The investigation was closed and its existence was not made public.

"Codes of silence" are regrettably common in the insular ultra-Orthodox communities, which makes it difficult to obtain testimony and file indictments against these backstage offenders. And it looks like the company manager's brothers were also repeat offenders, which makes it worse. Especially that one of them took flight from arrest, which is like an admission of guilt in many regions.

Following the headlines and outrage, Meshi-Zahav's agreed to forfeit the Israel Prize he'd been awarded:

Following the initiation of an official police investigation against ZAKA founder and Israel Prize laureate Yehuda Meshi-Zahav, who is accused of sexually assaulting women and children over a period of decades following an investigation and first-hand testimony from survivors, Meshi-Zahav forfeited his Israel Prize on Friday.

The report was first reported in Haaretz on Thursday.

Multiple people across different ages and including men, women and teenage boys and girls came forward to recall their abusive experiences with Meshi Zahav over the years, who according to the report was investigated by police in 2011 on sexual assault accusations, but which was closed due to a lack of evidence.

ZAKA commented on Friday that it "pained" them to hear the reports about Meshi-Zahav, and "we wish for him that his innocence be proven."

"Still," the organization added, "it is important for us to keep the names and reputations of the thousands of ZAKA volunteers away from this incident, and to clarify that they have nothing to do with it."

I hope they realize it won't be easy to prove the organization staffers were in the dark about the co-founder's obscene activities. Coming shortly after the Malka Leifer scandal, which thankfully saw her extradited to Australia in the end, this only does more harm to the image of the ultra-Orthodox community, and reinforces my opinion that insular communities relying on codes of dress and speech are unhealthy, and lead to serious corruption.

Update: Meshi-Zahav's forfeited his role as head of ZAKA.

Labels: haredi corruption, Israel, misogyny, Moonbattery, sexual violence