ZAKA head forfeits position following sexual assault allegations
ZAKA founder and Israel Prize laureate Yehuda Meshi-Zahav forfeited his position as head of ZAKA as well as his Israel Prize on Friday, following the launch of an official police investigation into accusations that he had sexually assaulted women and children over a period of decades, following an earlier investigation and first-hand testimony from survivors.
This follows calls by Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli to
temporarily halt granting the Israel Prize, Israel's highest civilian honor, to
Meshi-Zahav in light of the allegations.
"Israel Police responded quickly [to the allegations],
which is good. This is how they should react to every suspicion of sexual
assault," Michaeli stated. She later added that "We believe the
victims who came forth with a lot of bravery to testify against Meshi-Zahav. He
did the right thing when he forfeited the [Israel] Prize."
Several people of different ages, including men, women and
teenage boys and girls, came forward to recall their abusive experiences with
Meshi-Zahav over the years. According to a report first published by Haaretz on
Thursday, he was investigated by police in 2011 on sexual assault accusations,
but the investigation was closed due to a lack of evidence.
One woman recalled that Meshi-Zahav offered her financial
assistance to ameliorate her economic situation, later forcing himself on her
and threatening her life by saying one of his ZAKA vans will run her over if
she revealed the assault.
Police allegedly approached the woman on the matter in 2013,
but she refused to file a complaint against the ZAKA head.
The Haaretz investigation also revealed that many people
from Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox communities were aware of Meshi-Zahav's
activities, but never reported them to the Police.
Further testimonies revealed that he allegedly boasted about
his past sexual experiences over numerous decades, apparently using his
influential position to assault teenagers and younger children over the course
of many years.
ANOTHER TESTIMONY provided by a younger man, who was
allegedly sexually assaulted at age 16, described how Meshi-Zahav would treat
him like a prostitute.
“There was a storeroom at a school in the Ramat Eshkol
neighborhood. I got a key from Yehuda and watched television there. Yehuda
would arrive and do with me as he pleased,” the young man said.
“From time to time, he took me to apartments in Tel Aviv
where we would meet with prostitutes. I was with one while he was with
another,” he added.
Describing the pain he experienced in a Facebook Message to
Meshi-Zahav, the young man said that “Even today, over 20 years later, I’m
licking my wounds. You left me hurt and bleeding, and you’re continuing with
your life as if nothing happened. Only now, when I’m the father of children who
are of the age at which you abused me, do I understand the significance.”
The message was read and apparently ignored by Meshi-Zahav.
Another testimony by a 26-year-old man recalled how he would
sexually assault him in a synagogue when he was 5 years old.
Later on Friday, a woman who heard the reports on
Meshi-Zahav decided to step up and share her story. In an interview with N12,
she talked about the sexual messages that Meshi-Zahav would regularly send her,
knowing that she was a married woman.
Her first encounter with Meshi-Zahav took place in Bnei
Brak. "I was walking down the street with a good friend of mine... he
stopped us and said, 'hey, I know you' and 'don't worry, I know everything
about everyone.'"
After obtaining her phone number, Meshi-Zahav started
texting her regularly. "I told him: 'you know I'm a married woman, right?'
and he said: 'yes, but it shouldn't be an issue.' He added: 'If you need
anything, I really like helping people,'" the unnamed witness told N12.
The messages quickly took a perverted turn, according to the
witness. "He wrote: 'how hot are you? Can you do that with three people?
You're sexy and beautiful.' I got scared, his texts started being insanely
sexual," she said.
ZAKA COMMENTED on Friday that it "pained" them to
hear the reports about Meshi-Zahav, and "we wish for him that his
innocence be proven."
"Still," the organization added, "it is
important for us to keep the names and reputations of the thousands of ZAKA
volunteers away from this incident, and to clarify that they have nothing to do
with it."
A ZAKA spokesperson later added that "the organization's
management, members and volunteers were shocked when receiving the news and
hearing the testimonies," and that the organization had complete trust in
the authorities investigating the incident.
"ZAKA's mission is bigger than any consideration or position,
and the organization will continue to carry out its work with dedication,"
the spokesperson added.
ZAKA is the Hebrew acronym for Zihuy Korbanot Ason,
literally: "Disaster Victim Identification." Its full name is "ZAKA – Identification,
Extraction and Rescue – True Kindness," and it is staffed by volunteer
community emergency responders.
According to its website, Meshi-Zahav founded it as a search
and rescue organization in the early 1990’s. "Today, ZAKA is a
UN-recognized humanitarian volunteer organization that provides a rapid
response to mass casualty disasters across the world. To date, ZAKA has saved
thousands of lives – and honored those who couldn’t be saved with dignity in
death."
MICHAELI NOTED that she is now "calling on
[Meshi-Zahav] to do the right thing and forfeit his position as head of ZAKA,
which has thousands of individuals attached to it, who will now be tarnished by
the allegations against him."
Meshi-Zahav lost his mother, father and brother to COVID-19,
and is himself a survivor of the virus.
He responded to the allegations made in the Haaretz
investigation by claiming he is being targeted.
"Ever since it became known that I had won the Israel
Prize, I have been the focus of various telephone threats," he said.
"After my parents passed away, some called me to express joy at their
deaths. Others spat at me as I walked down the street. Unfortunately, this is
part of the price I pay for the path I chose. Publishing the article is an
attempt to 'settle the score' with me.
“For as long as my strength permits me, I will continue to
serve the people of Israel and the State of Israel as I have done all my
life," he said.
In a letter addressed to ZAKA volunteers and released later
on Friday, Meshi-Zahav rejected the allegations put forth against him and
reiterated his claims, noting that "these stories are unfounded, gossip
and the settling of scores against me."
He noted his concern over the "damage that may be
caused as a result to this important organization, its activities and 4,000 dedicated
volunteers," and said that he was relinquishing "the honor that has
been bestowed upon me by the decision to award me the Israel Prize in a sign of
recognition for the activities of the organization and for the activities of
every single volunteer."
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