Nissenkorn signs extradition order for Malka Leifer
Sex abuser has one last delay tactic.
By YONAH JEREMY BOB, JEREMY SHARONUpdated: DECEMBER 17, 2020 07:58Malka Leifer, a former Australian school principal who is wanted in Australia on suspicion of sexually abusing students, walks in the corridor of the Jerusalem District Court accompanied by Israeli Prison Service guards, in Jerusalem(photo credit: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun)
Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn moved at light speed approving the extradition of alleged-sexual abuser Malka Leifer to Australia on Wednesday night, only one day after the Supreme Court approved her extradition.Typically, a justice minister can take weeks or even months to approve an extradition after it has been approved by the Supreme Court.Leifer, accused of 74 counts of sexual abuse, now has only one last delay tactic left.Though she appealed her extradition order by a lower court to the Supreme Court regarding legal grounds, she can still file a new petition to the Supreme Court, in its capacity as the constitutional High Court of Justice, to attack Nissenkorn’s signing of the order.Nissenkorn is supposed to consider a variety of political and extra-legal issues, not considered by the extradition litigation process.However, based on the speed with which the Supreme Court dismissed Leifer’s original appeal, chances are she could be on her way to Australia soon.Commenting on the length of the extradition proceedings against Leifer, Supreme Court Justice Anat Baron said Tuesday: “There is no process that the appellant did not take and not claim she skipped over” in her efforts to avoid extradition.“It should be known that anyone who seeks to escape justice will not find a city of refuge in Israel,” she wrote in the decision.Following the court’s decision, Nissenkorn tweeted on Tuesday: “After many long and tortuous years, the time has come to do justice for Leifer’s victims. I intend to sign the extradition order without delay.”Supreme Court Justice Yitzhak Amit, who authored Tuesday’s decision, wrote that he saw no merits in the claims made by Leifer’s lawyers.
Despite claims by her defense lawyers that the sexual acts she allegedly committed against her victims were not explicitly mentioned in the Israel-Australia extradition treaty, it was the clear intent of the authors of the treaty to include all types of sexual acts when seeking the extradition of someone accused of abusing their authority over a dependent for sexual gratification, he wrote.Amit also rejected Leifer’s argument that since Israeli law requires an alleged victim to prove that there was abuse of a position of authority to carry out the sexual acts over a dependent, and that Australian law assumes automatically that a teacher engaged in sexual activity with a pupil is abusing that position of authority, the extradition treaty does not apply to Leifer.Leifer’s lawyers have argued that the sexual acts that her victims allege she committed were done with consent, although her alleged victims strongly reject this claim.Amit rejected this argument. The relevant laws in the countries signatory to the extradition treaty did not need to be exactly the same, he wrote, adding that as long as the foundations of those laws were the same, the treaty is applicable.The Magen organization, which fights sexual abuse in the Jewish community, helped bring to light Leifer’s fraudulent claims of mental incapacity for extradition.“After so many long years, the justice system of the State of Israel has validated what we have been arguing for so long: Malka Leifer is mentally fit to be extradited and stand trial for her alleged crimes,” it said in a press release.“[Alleged victims] Dassi, Nicole and Ely have become beacons of strength to victims around the world, sending a message that justice is possible and worth fighting for,” Magen said. “We are grateful for their courage and strength in the face of tremendous pressure and odds, and we are so happy that they will finally have their chance to face Malka Leifer in court.”Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said: “The arc of history has proven painfully long, but it did bend irresistibly toward justice. What has strengthened the arm of the survivors of Leifer’s alleged abuse – indeed, all survivors of sexual abuse – is the simple principle that those credibly accused of such heinous crimes must face their accusers in court.”“Dassi, Nicole and Elly have been incredibly strong through these many years,” he said. “Their ordeal is not yet over, but we have come one giant step forward. Finally, it is time to bring Leifer back.”
