Yahoo Finance Malka Leifer departs Israel for Australia to face 74 counts of child sexual abuse in Victoria
Alleged child sex abuser Malka Leifer has been rushed out of Israel and is en route to Australia after years of extradition hearings.
The former Melbourne principal, who faces 74 counts of child sexual abuse in Victoria, is understood to have been flown out of Israel before all airports in the country were shut from Tuesday as part of tightening coronavirus restrictions.
Pictures published by Israeli media show Leifer being escorted onto a plane while wearing a face mask.
Breaking: Malka Leifer has left Israel and is on an extradition flight to Australia to face charges child sex abuse charges in Melbourne, Israeli media have reported. More on @GuardianAus https://t.co/rEvzO3hvH7 pic.twitter.com/6kLpDP7zTA
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 25, 2021
Leifer is accused of 74 counts of sexual abuse during her time as principal of the ultra-orthodox Adass Israel girls school in Melbourne.
She left Australia for Israel in 2008 after allegations were raised and has since faced more than 70 extradition hearings in Israel.
Dassi Erlich, an alleged victim of Leifer who has led the campaign to have her former principal face legal proceedings in Australia, tweeted on Monday evening “Leifer is on the way back to Australia”.
Leifer is on the way back to Australia.#leiferonthewayback
— Dassi Erlich #bringleiferback (@dassi_erlich) January 25, 2021
Politicians, diplomats and Jewish community leaders have said the campaign launched by three alleged victims - Erlich and her sisters Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer - was instrumental in securing her extradition from Israel to Australia.
Josh Burns, the Labor MP whose seat of Macnamara takes in the Adass Israel school where the alleged abuse occurred, told the Guardian: “This is a day many of us worried would never come. But it came because of three brave sisters who never stopped fighting for their day in court.”
Dave Sharma, the Liberal MP for Wentworth and Australia’s former ambassador to Israel, said reports Leifer was on her way to Australia were “welcome news for all who care about justice in this case”.
“Justice one step closer,” Sharma said.
Pictures: @ynetnews pic.twitter.com/k5RmqygxRp
— Elias Visontay (@EliasVisontay) January 25, 2021
Mark Sofer, who served as Israel’s ambassador to Australia from 2017-2020, tweeted on Monday that he was skeptical Leifer would ever be extradited.
“I’ve never been happier to be so wrong,” Sofer said.
A spokesman for Australia’s attorney general, Christian Porter, said the government was aware of the reports of Leifer having left Israel.
“The Australian government does not comment on logistics involving extradition arrangements against individuals until the extradition process has concluded,” the spokesman said, noting Victorian authorities were responsible for the physical return of Leifer now that the legal extradition process had ended.
A Victoria police spokesman said “with the extradition process underway and the matter before the courts it would be inappropriate to comment”.
I admit that years ago, as Head of Asia-Pacific at Israel's FM, and later as Ambassador to Canberra I was skeptical that Leifer would be extradited.But I was then unaware of the heroism and tenacity of @dassi_erlich,Ellie, and Nicole. I've never been happier to be so wrong.
— Mark Sofer (@MarkSofer) January 25, 2021
The Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council said it welcomed “with an enormous sense of relief” the news that Leifer was en route to Australia.
Mark Leibler, the council’s national chairman, said: “We hope the images of Malka Leifer being escorted onto a plane to Australia will bring some satisfaction to her many alleged victims.”
Leifer’s lawyer confirmed his client was heading to Australia. Nick Kaufman complained that Israeli authorities were expected to keep the transfer secret “to ensure maximum respect for Ms Leifer’s dignity until she left Israeli jurisdiction”.
“This clearly did not happen given the fact that photographs of her being led in handcuffs and legcuffs were leaked to the press,” he said.
Leifer was arrested and placed under house arrest in Israel after extradition orders were filed by Victoria police in 2014.
After an Israeli court initially found her mentally unfit to be extradited, Israeli police rearrested Leifer after private investigators filmed her going about her daily life in the West Bank settlement of Emmanuel where she was living.
The case made further news in Israel following accusations that Israel’s then-deputy heath minister Ya’acov Litzman – who comes from the same sect of ultra-orthodox Judaism as Leifer - allegedly tried to influence psychiatric evaluations of the former principal. Litzman has denied any wrongdoing.
In December, after Israel’s supreme court found Leifer had been feigning mental illness and was fit to be extradited to Australia, the court rejected her lawyers’ final appeal.
- additional reporting Oliver Holmes
