Israeli actor Moshe Ivgy will begin serving his jail sentence on September 29 after deciding not to appeal his conviction for sexual misconduct against several women, Ynet reported early Monday morning.
Ivgy was originally set to serve his 11-month sentence starting September 1. However, he requested that it be postponed until the 29th, after the High Holy Days, Ynet reported.
The actor was sentenced by the Haifa District Court to 11 months in jail following a legal battle spanning five and a half years. At the time, the Haifa District Attorney's Office requested that the actor be sentenced to more than three years in prison following his conviction for indecent acts and the sexual harassment of four women. Ivgy's defense attorney objected to the prosecution's request, arguing that the only thing that should be imposed on the actor is community service.
In March of this year, the court accepted the state's appeal and convicted Ivgy of all sexual offenses attributed to him in the original indictment.
This came after justices Avraham Elyakim, Erez Porat and Tamar Neot Perry discussed appeals filed by the Haifa District Attorney's Office and the actor's lawyer against the ruling of Judge Ziv Arieli at the city's Magistrate's Court last January, in which Ivgy was convicted of two indecent acts on a woman who worked with him in 2012.
He was sentenced a year ago to only six months of community service, six months of probation and giving compensation to one woman in the amount of NIS 10,000. Many critics then protested against the lax sentencing, including women harmed by the actor, women's rights organizations and others from the general public.
Born in Casablanca, Morocco, Ivgy is renowned as one of Israel's most famous and acclaimed actors, and has starred in a number of high-profile films and TV series. His daughter, Dana Ivgy, has also had a successful career as an actress.
Tamar Beeri and Matan Vasserman/Maariv contributed to this report.