Wearing a red mask covering much of his face and appearing in Jerusalem District Court via a video link from the prison on Monday, Leifer looked down as the brief ruling was read.
Dassi Erlich, one of three Australian sisters who accused Leifer of abuse, called the move “a victory for all survivors.”
“Years of expiration to hold our breath!” she wrote on Twitter. “We truly appreciate each person by our side in our refusal to remain silent! Today our hearts are smiling!
Dassi Erlich #bringleiferback
(@dassi_erlich)RECENT NEWS
LEIFER WILL BE EXTRADITED TO AUSTRALIA !!
(call is awaited)
A victory for justice !!
A victory for all survivors !!
Years of expiration to hold our breath!
We truly appreciate each person by our side in our refusal to remain silent!
Today our hearts are smiling!September 21, 2020
After the allegations against Leifer were made, she traveled to Israel in 2008, and an extradition request was filed in 2014. Leifer denied the charges.
Leifer appealed against her extradition on the grounds that she was mentally ill, but earlier this month Israel’s Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against the district court’s ruling that she was fit to stand trial.
Following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Leifer’s accusers believed Judge Chana Miriam Lomp would rule in favor of extradition. Leifer, an Israeli citizen, is expected to seek leave for another Supreme Court appeal after the ruling.
Before she can be returned to Australia, the Israeli Minister of Justice must also approve the extradition.
Australian Labor MP Josh Burns, whose Macnamara electorate includes the Adass Israel School, said “finally justice has won the day” and called on Israeli courts and government to move forward “without no more delay ”.
There have been more than 70 court hearings related to the case, which has strained diplomatic relations between Israel and Australia.
In addition to accusations of meddling in the case of a former health minister, Ya’acov Litzman, who comes from the same sect of ultra-Orthodox Judaism, Leifer has been accused of faking mental illness to avoid extradition. Litzman has denied any wrongdoing.
Manny Waks, child sex abuse victim and advocate for other Jewish victims, was in court for Monday’s verdict and said it was “the shame of Israel” that the case took so long and has been marred by repeated controversies.
“I have personally attended most of these hearings and have seen how unfair the Israeli judicial process has been and the preventable toll it has taken for the alleged victims of Leifer,” he said afterwards. The verdict.
“But today it is finally a fair result… We hope and are confident that all remaining processes will be dealt with expeditiously so that we can see Leifer back in Australia in 2020.”
