MELBOURNE (JTA) — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on Israel to “transparently and quickly” extradite Malka Leifer, wanted in Australia on 74 charges of child abuse.
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Morrison, in a statement issued by his office on Wednesday, said he has raised the issue of Leifer’s deportation and his commitment to have her face the child abuse charges with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he will “continue to raise this issue with the incoming Israeli leadership.”
“Australia is a strong and committed friend and partner of Israel,” Morrison wrote, adding: “That friendship is based on many things, including our shared commitment to justice, democracy and the rule of law. The Australian Government will be unswerving in seeking justice in this matter.”
Morrison’s statement comes after he met on Wednesday at Parliament House in Canberra with sisters Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer, two of Leifer’s alleged victims.
Erlich in a tweet called the meeting “extremely productive and encouraging,” and wrote: “We felt heard and supported.”
Leifer, 52, fled to Israel from Australia in 2008 amid allegations that she had sexually abused students at the Adass Yisroel school in Melbourne. Australia officially filed an extradition request in 2014.
She was arrested the same year and then released after being deemed mentally unfit for the legal proceedings. She was rearrested last year after an undercover investigation found that she lived a normal life and was mentally fit to face extradition proceedings.
The most recent psychiatric report had found Leifer mentally fit to remain in prison and attend extradition hearings. Evaluations in 2016 and 2014, however, had found her too unstable to be deported.
Israel’s Supreme Court has ordered her held in jail until legal proceedings have been completed.
Why is this taking so long? Seems odd the Israelis are protecting her.
OMG Paul,l actually agree with you.
“Leave the lady alone,” he said. Is that “alone with your children” or “alone in an isolation cell”?
Let her be extradited and not be protected by well-meaning but misdirected Chareidi askanim. Let them protect the victims, not the perpetrator. And let Mandrowitz be extradited to the USA as well and not be protected by Gerrer askanim.
Get her out of here and back to where she can stand trial for her injustices. You want the girl held in Russia; then get this one out of here. Middah k’neged middah
She lived n worked in Australia, she should be judged there. Victims deserve their day in court. Honestly protecting her isnt doing her any favors in Shamayim. If she is guilty and serves her punishment, she has a chance to do real teshuva in this world. IF the Gerrer chassidim want to help her they can make sure she has proper legal representation in Australia and if she needs to be in jail – make sure she has what she needs while serving her sentence. I do believe in innocent till proven guilty but in this case she has been proven guilty of evading justice. I have to wonder why. Reminds me of an old Yiddish phrase, on the head of the thief, the hat burns….