An investigation into a sexual harassment claim in one of
Israel's South American embassies opened up a can of worms of ethical
misconduct claims and vengeful accusations.
Among the offenses reported from the embassy were additional
cases of improper behavior, drunken sexual escapades with local women and
drinking binges resulting in the hospitalization of the embassy's head security
officer.
The initial investigation began in the wake of a sexual
harassment complaint lodged by the spouse of the embassy's security officer
against the husband of one of the mission's diplomats. In line with protocol,
the complaint was passed onto the Civil Service Commission which immediately
launched its investigation.
Despite the fact that the woman withdrew her complaint,
Assaf Rosenberg, head of the commission's disciplinary unit, together with two
Foreign Ministry representatives, took off for South America in a bid to
conduct their investigation into the matter.
The investigation soon unearthed a slew of additional
behavioral offenses which were revealed as prevalent in the diplomatic mission.
Among others, the investigators heard a list of reciprocal complaints by
couples within the mission about improper behavior, numerous accounts of sexual
debauchery by embassy staff members with local woman, and even an incident in
which the embassy's security officer became so intoxicated he had to be
admitted to a hospital.
Revenge
As revenge for the security officer's wife initial complaint
against him, the diplomat's husband (accused of sexual harassment) dished the
dirt on the security officer himself; recalling for investigators numerous
incidents in which he and the officer had gone out partying and drinking.
As part of the investigation, it was revealed that the
security officer had conducted a year-long affair with a local woman, during
which they would hold clandestine meetings in his deputy's official residence,
in breach of diplomatic directives.
It was additionally revealed that the diplomat married to
the man suspected of sexual harassment had failed to report the security
officer's drunken hospitalization, fearing it would be perceived as vengeance
for his wife's sexual harassment complaint against her husband.
The investigation team demanded that the officer be
suspended from the embassy pending the investigation's completion, and sensing
where things were going, the security officer decided to cut his diplomatic tour
short and promptly return to Israel.
The security officer's deputy was also summoned for a
hearing in the Foreign Ministry's headquarters in Jerusalem, where he was
questioned and reprimanded for lending his apartment to the security officer's
affair.
At the end of the hearing, the deputy was relocated to another South
American embassy.
It was also decided that an additional Israeli, a private
security employee of the embassy, was to be removed from his position in the
embassy's security's staff.
The embassy's diplomats are also expected to undergo
hearings, in which their fate will be decided. In the meantime, the diplomat's
husband – the man suspected of sexual harassment – was suspended from the
embassy and barred from entering its premises.
Soap opera
A source within the ministry said the event has embarrassed
the Foreign Service: "This is a relatively small embassy, and the workers
there were living like a family until the relations between them turned into a
soap opera. They seemed to have forgotten they're diplomats."
The Civil Service Commission said in response that "an
investigation regarding sexual harassment – as well as into additional reports
of improper behavior – was conducted in one of Israel's South American
embassies.
"At the end of the investigation, the findings were
passed on to the commission's director general's officer and they included a
number of recommendations, including the termination of the employment of a
number of workers and the implementation of disciplinary action against
others."
In response, the Foreign Ministry said: "The (ministry)
received a complaint about allegedly improper conduct (within the embassy), and
in its wake a representative from the Civil Service Commission was sent to
investigate.
"The investigation revealed serious incidents of
ethical misconduct, prompting drastic disciplinary action by the Foreign
Ministry, which included the termination of employment.
In line with protocol,
a report summarizing the investigation was passed on to the commission. Despite
the fact that those involved are not diplomats themselves, (the ministry) is
barred from revealing additional details because of right to privacy of those
involved."
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