Israeli sex abuse suspect finally to be extradited to Australia
Twelve years after she fled to Israel, Malka Leifer is to be extradited to Australia, to stand trial over heavy suspicions of sexual abuse against minors.
Finally, the unthinkable happened. Israel’s Supreme Court ruled that Malka Leifer is to be extradited to Australia. Justice has been served, even if it took a long time. Twelve years have passed since Leifer first arrived in Israel, and nearly seven years since the Australian authorities petitioned the government to extradite her.
On Dec. 16, Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn signed the order, one day after the Supreme Court rejected her appeal of a district court ruling, which allowed for her to be extradited. “I have just signed this evening the extradition order for Malka Leifer to Australia. After many years of legal battle, it is our moral duty to allow the Australian legal authorities to put her on trial,” tweeted Nissenkorn.
Leifer has been charged with 74 counts of sexual abuse involving three sisters, who were her students at an ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne. When police responded in 2008 to countless complaints about Leifer and began an investigation, she fled to Israel. It took until 2014, however, until the investigation was completed and Leifer was indicted. Only then did the Australian authorities request her extradition.
Dozens of hearings about the extradition have since taken place in the Jerusalem District Court over the last few years. This delay caused immeasurable suffering to the plaintiffs, who first brought the case against her.
