Melbourne teacher to be extradited from Israel to face sexual abuse charges

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Malka Leifer is being held in Israel as extradition proceedings get underway to return her to Australia to face charges of sexually abusing her pupils.

Malka Leifer

Leifer is a former head of the Adass Israel School in the Melbourne suburb of Elsternwick.

A spokesperson for the Attorney-General’s department confirmed to  J-Wire:  “Ms Malka Leifer has been arrested in Israel in response to an extradition request made by Australia.

Ms Leifer is wanted to face prosecution in Victoria for alleged sexual assault offences

As the matter is now before the court in Israel, it would not be appropriate to comment further. “

Manny Waks, who heads Tzedek, a Melbourne-based advocacy group to help the victims of child sexual abuse, said: “

“This is a most welcome development. It should be seen in the greater context of the ongoing child sexual abuse scandal that has been plaguing the Australian Jewish community in recent years where we have seen numerous convictions in both Melbourne and Sydney.

This is further evidence that the tide is turning within our community; many victims are no longer willing to remain silent, and neither is the community. I commend the alleged victims in this case for their courage and tenacity in pursuing this matter. Their courage should not be understated – as we have recently seen, it has not been easy for victims within our community to disclose their abuse and to pursue justice.

The community must unequivocally stand by these alleged victims. I hope and expect that the Adass Israel School will cooperate fully with the police in ensuring justice is achieved. I also hope and expect that the police will examine all the circumstances surrounding Mrs Leifer’s flight from Australia and to hold to account anyone who may have acted inappropriately.

I commend the police for vigorously pursuing this matter – this sends a clear message; that irrespective of the time passed these crimes will be pursued. Finally, I would like to urge anyone with information regarding this matter to share this with the police immediately.”