Aleph from Beit Hanassi to file civil suit against Katsav

Alleged victim who was dropped from indictment to sue ex-president for damages; will seek millions in compensation for alleged attacks on her.

By RON FRIEDMAN
Moshe Katsav 311 (photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
Moshe Katsav 311
(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
As former president Moshe Katsav is set to be sentenced for rape and sexual harassment charges, a new lawsuit against him is now in the works.
Aleph, who worked for Katsav during his term as president, announced on Monday that she planned to file a civil lawsuit seeking millions in compensation for his alleged attacks on her.
RELATED:Groups slam rabbis’ letter backing KatsavOpinion: What were the rabbis thinking?
The woman, who came to be known as Aleph from Beit Hanassi, was the one who first brought the president’s wrongdoing to light, but controversially was not included in the final indictment against the former president.
What originally sparked the investigation into the criminal goings-on in Katsav’s offices was a complaint that Katsav himself brought to the attorney- general in 2006, saying Aleph was trying to blackmail him. The tables later turned, and the investigation switched from a blackmail investigation to rape allegations as more and more complaints about Katsav piled up on the prosecution’s desk.
Despite her major role in bringing the affair to light, Aleph from Beit Hanassi was excluded from the indictment over what the prosecution characterized as “inconsistencies in her testimony.” She was dropped from the charge sheet in June 2007, when then-attorney-general Menahem Mazuz signed a plea bargain with Katsav – a bargain from which Katsav later withdrew.
In a press conference she gave after the announcement of the plea bargain, Aleph told reporters that she felt betrayed at having been left out of the indictment.
“I can’t understand how a person who handed the State of Israel a serial rapist and sex offender on a silver platter is cast away like a grain of dust,” she said. “I regret the fact that I spoke out. I should have gone to the grave with my story.”
At the time, Aleph only wanted her job back, but today, four years later, she and her lawyers expect to get much more. They stated Monday that they would file a claim for punitive damages amounting to several million shekels next week, contending that Aleph suffered mental damage, the loss of her ability to work and earn wages, and deep emotional grief.