"Some girls enjoy being raped," Judge Nissim
Yeshaya of the District Court in Tel Aviv said Monday during a hearing on the
rape six years ago of a 13-year-old girl by four Palestinian youths from the
Shuafat refugee camp, Army Radio reported. The rape victim was not present at
the hearing.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Yeshaya's remark
unfortunate and unacceptable, adding he was withdrawing his support for the
judge's appointment as the head of the Likud Party's court.
Knesset Member Aliza Lavie, chairperson of the House's
Committee on the Status of Women, announced her plan to approach Justice
Minister Tzipi Livni and demand that Yeshaya be dismissed immediately.
Attorney Aloni-Sadovnik, who is representing the rape
victim, described the scene in the courtroom to Army Radio: "In the midst
of the passionate debate, he (Judge Yeshaya) suddenly said aloud, in earshot of
everyone present, 'There are some girls who enjoy being raped.'"
"The room fell into silence," the attorney
continued her description. "Even the panel members were silent for several
minutes. And he didn’t even get what he had just said. He didn’t understand why
everyone became quiet all of a sudden."
She said two panel members tried to calm the situation down
and minimize the damage of the judge's statement.
Yeshaya said "this isn’t serious. They are trying to
gain publicity off of me. I do not believe a rape victim is not hurt or that
rape is not a severe offence. (My comments) were misinterpreted."
Sources who are familiar with the incident said the rape
victim was not present at the hearing. "The hall was empty apart from the
attorneys," one source said. "This was not a rape trial, but a hearing
of the appeals committee of the National Insurance Institute."
Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat called the judge's
comment "appalling and outrageous."
The Courts Administration said the judge had no intention of
offending the rape victim, who is 19-years-old, and that he regrets making the
comment. It stressed that Yeshaya was a retired judge who still attends court
hearings, adding that he would be summoned by the Administration shortly
for an inquiry.
Minister Livnat, who chairs the ministerial Committee on the
Status of Women, urged the head of the courts administration, Judge Michael
Spitzer, to bar Yeshaya from court hearings.
"Rape victims experience severe mental trauma. It is
difficult to gauge the damage caused by such a comment, which may deter other
victims of sexual assault from (turning to the authorities)," Livnat said.
MK Lavie said "a judge who holds such an opinion cannot
sit in court even one more hour. I call on the justice minister to dismiss the
judge immediately."
Meretz Chairwoman Zahava Gal-On urged Supreme Court
President Asher Grunis to suspend Yeshaya. "It is inconceivable that
judges who are a part of the judicial system, which is supposed to protect the
victims, will run it in such a backwards, shameless and irresponsible
manner," she said.
"In this case, an apology is not enough, and action
must be taken at once to dismiss Judge Yeshaya before other women are hurt by
his dark outlook," she said.
The judicial review panel assembled in the Tel Aviv District
Court discussed the rape victim's appeal of a decision of the Defense Ministry
not to recognize her rape as an act of terrorism, as she had requested.
In Israel, a Victim of Terrorism is a person injured as a
result of a terrorist act committed for nationalistic reasons, in Israel or
overseas.
Victims of terrorist attacks are eligible for compensation,
pursuant to the Compensation for Victims of Hostilities Act of 1970.
In 2009, the year he retired, Judge Yeshaya caused an uproar
when he told The Marker "they always appoint a token Sephardic judge to
the Supreme Court."
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