JERUSALEM (AP) – For decades, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav has been one of Israel’s most recognized faces, widely respected for founding an ultra-Orthodox rescue service that cared for Palestinian attacks and closed the gap between religious and secular Israelis .
But in recent days, Meshi-Zahav has faced a growing list of accusers who say he has committed horrific acts of sexual abuse against men, women and children over several decades.
The scandal almost completely destroyed the reputation of a man who just a few weeks ago received the Israel Award, the country’s highest civilian honor, for his achievements in life. It also shed light on the scourge of sexual abuse in the island world of the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel.
“When it comes to ultra-Orthodox, in particular, there is a very strong code of silence,” said Manny Waks, a lawyer for victims of sexual abuse in Jewish communities and himself a survivor of abuse in his native Australia.
“There is a closed community mentality towards us. Putting all these things together is a recipe for disaster, especially in the context of child sexual abuse, ”he said.
While Meshi-Zahav denied the allegations, his accusers gave similar accounts. They say Meshi-Zahav exploited his public prominence to sexually molest and exploit both women, boys and girls, and that the ultra-Orthodox community protected him with a wall of peace.
A victim identified by the letter “N” told the daily Yedioth Ahronot on Sunday that he first met Meshi-Zahav in 1996, when he was 16 and Meshi-Zahav was 20 years old.
“All the people close to him in those years knew that I was his escort boy. I turned into a prostitute in the full sense of the word, “he said.
Meshi-Zahav was once a member of a radical ultra-Orthodox sect that opposed the existence of Israel, believing that a Jewish state could not be established until after the arrival of the Messiah. His views changed after a devastating 1989 bus attack near Jerusalem killed 16 people.
Meshi-Zahav joined the volunteers who helped collect the remains of the victims, in accordance with the Jewish custom of honoring the dead. He said experience had taught him that everyone’s pain was equal.
These efforts led to the formation of ZAKA in 1995, whose volunteers helped identify victims of disasters and suicide attacks and collected the remains for the Jewish funeral. Over time, the group expanded to include first-responder paramedics and gained widespread respect in Israel.
Meshi-Zahav received numerous honors and became a symbol of moderation in the often strained relations between Israel’s secular and ultra-Orthodox Jews.
He was invited to light a ceremonial torch during Israel’s Independence Day celebrations and recently implored his colleagues in the ultra-Orthodox community to comply with coronavirus safety measures after both his parents died of COVID-19. At the time, he said rabbis who encouraged followers to ignore safety rules had “blood on their hands.”
Earlier this month, Meshi-Zahav, 61, received the Israel Award for Life. He burst into tears when Education Minister Yoav Gallant broke the news, saying the prize belonged to thousands of ZAKA volunteers.
This recognition seems to have been the trigger that led the accusers to appear after years of silence.
It began on Thursday, when the daily Haaretz published reports from six alleged victims who accused Meshi-Zahav of rape, sexual harassment and harassment.
In response, Meshi-Zahav wrote a letter saying “these slanders are unfounded and appear more like gossip and closing accounts.” He said he was taking a break as director of ZAKA and gave up the Israel Award, but denied any wrongdoing.
Since then, the testimony thread has turned into a torrent.
On Sunday, Israeli police announced that its main crime unit, Lahav 433, has opened an official investigation. On Monday, Jewish media reported that police investigated similar allegations against him in 2013, but closed the investigation for lack of evidence.
Meanwhile, ZAKA issued a statement expressing “shock and astonishment”, saying that the accusations against Meshi-Zahav “arouse deep hatred, shock and disgust, light years away from the values that characterize the organization.”
Statistics on sexual abuse in the ultra-Orthodox world are hard to come by.
Waks, who leads the VoiCSA advocacy group, said the general estimate in Israeli society is that one in six boys and one in four girls have been sexually abused. He said there was nothing to suggest that the numbers were different in the ultra-Orthodox world.
“Many of us would argue that there are increased vulnerabilities that would result in an increased number of abuses,” he said. These include a lack of sex education, an inability to keep children informed because of large families, and a general level of trust among adults in close-knit communities.
He called the allegations against Meshi-Zahav “shocking but not surprising” and said he hoped they would encourage other alleged victims to come forward. He also urged Israel to abolish the statute of limitations in such cases.
The current statute of limitations for sexual abuse in the family or with a close member of the community, such as a teacher or doctor, is set at 20 years from the time the victim turns 18. In other cases, the statute of limitations for molestation is three to five years and 10 years in rape cases.
In a landmark case that shed light on abuses in the ultra-Orthodox world, Israel extradited Malka Leifer in January, a former ultra-Orthodox teacher wanted in 74 allegations of child sexual abuse in Australia after a long legal battle.
Shana Aaronson, executive director of Magen for Jewish Communities, an Israeli group that supports survivors of sexual abuse, said at least six people approached the organization about Meshi-Zahav. She said the first signs of accusations came about six years ago.
“The person was no longer willing to talk to her, to go to the police or anything like that,” she said.
She said the specter of complaints against Meshi-Zahav “paints a picture of a certain personality of someone who was incredibly confident that he would get away with it.”
Israel’s Ministry of Education, which awards the Israel Prize, has not yet commented on Meshi-Zahav. But Miriam Peretz, a member of the award committee and winner of the Israel Prize, spoke.
“All members of the committee strongly condemn this horrible thing,” she told Israeli public broadcaster Kan.