Leifer faces multiple felony charges of molesting teen girls in Australia but the Israel court has allowed her to evade extradition on the ground of mental illness. She dodged everyone of her hearings by conveniently checking herself into mental hospitals just before hearings and then checking out right after the hearing.
A neighbour living in the same building as Ms Leifer noticed she had returned to Immanuel about three weeks ago. The woman said the community also had concerns for the former principal’s own children.
She said Ms Leifer’s children were often left at home alone.
“She’s been taking the bus most days this week with her teenage daughter, who is in ninth or 10th grade. They seem to have a very unhealthy, dependency [sic] relationship, which is not very surprising if you know the back story,” the neighbour said.
According to members of the Immanuel community, Ms Leifer’s husband – a rabbi – and their children had been living in the house while Ms Leifer was under house arrest in Beni Brak.
“Her husband is known for being mentally unstable and they are both known for being abusive,” the neighbour said.
“The kids have been there the entire time Leifer has been [under house arrest], but the husband’s presence has been sketchy. I don’t know if it means he was here every few days, or just at night. Everyone here also knows that he’s also very verbally abusive.
“I don’t want her here, others don’t want her here, I want her out of here.”
In Immanuel, few have access to the internet and Ms Leifer’s neighbour said many do not know the full extent of the allegations against her.
“It’s terrible. The problem is a lot of the people in the yishuv don’t have internet so they don’t know,” she said.
“Everyone knows that they have to be careful, but with someone with such a strong history they shouldn’t be living here. They shouldn’t be living in a building filled with kids. Here everyone lets their kids roam free range – that’s how it is.”
The woman said she planned to flag it with the head rabbi and place notices around Immanuel informing people.
