Litzman to be prosecuted for intervention in Malka Leifer extradition
Litzman will be investigated for two cases: Keeping a food establishment open against Health Ministry codes, and intervening with Malka Leifer's extradition.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, YONAH JEREMY BOBYaakov Litzman at the weekly cabinet meeting, March 2020.(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM)
Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit on Thursday said Construction and Housing Minister Ya’acov Litzman should be tried for breach of public trust and allegedly interfering with court proceedings.But a final decision on whether the United Torah Judaism MK will be put on trial will also depend on the result of a pre-indictment hearing that is available to public officials.Litzman is suspected of having used his influence, when he was health minister, to prioritize the interests of private individuals over the needs of the general public. He served as health minister from 2015-17 and from 2019-20.Litzman allegedly prolonged the delay in the extradition to Australia of accused pedophile Malka Leifer and is said to have tried to prevent the closure of a food establishment that he visited.He is suspected of pressuring the Jerusalem district psychiatrist at the time into falsely stating that Leifer was mentally unfit to be extradited to Australia to stand trial. She was eventually deported in January to Melbourne, where she faces 74 separate charges of child sexual abuse.In the second case, Litzman is suspected of helping the food establishment Beit Israel to remain in operation despite a Health Ministry order that it should close.A bribery charge originally included in the indictment was dropped.“In these two cases, Litzman took advantage of his political and ministerial power to advance the interests of private individuals,” Mandelblit said in statement.Litzman’s office responded that it “believed fully that he is innocent and welcomed the decision to drop the bribery charge.”“Litzman’s door is always open, and he will continue to serve as a trusted servant to Israeli citizens,” it said.
