ISRAEL
Australian Jewish News
JERUSALEM – Former Adass Israel head teacher Malka Leifer has been enjoying a taste of freedom this week, as her alleged victims come to terms with the knowledge that she’s unlikely to face extradition proceedings any time soon.
Israeli state prosecutors made a last-ditch attempt on Tuesday to convince the courts to keep her under house arrest – appealing to Judge Ram Vinograd to factor Israel-Australia relations into his decision.
But the request fell on deaf ears and, in the second bombshell of the case in six days, the judge made it clear that there’s no room for appeal, and despite the fact that 74 charges of indecent acts committed against students wait for her in Victoria, she can live as a free woman in Israel with no immediate threat of extradition.
Last Thursday, Judge Amnon Cohen decided Leifer is too mentally unstable to face extradition proceedings, and shocked alleged victims and activists by deciding that, instead of going to hospital until she can face proceedings, she can live a normal life and just go for occasional therapy.
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