Australia

Man convicted for sexual assault

Dan Goldberg — Thu, 23 May 2013 15:00:43 +0100

An Australian man who sexually assaulted an elderly Holocaust survivor in 1991 has been jailed for between three and five years. Robert Webb, 39, was arrested and charged in 2011, but has only now been convicted by a Sydney court. He could be released within a year given the time he has already served.

The victim, who was 71 at the time, has since died. She was attacked in a car park in Sydney by Webb, and ordered into the back seat of her car where he sexually assaulted her.

Police reopened the case in 2011, identifying Webb as a suspect through DNA testing.

“The victim’s ordeal must have been terrifying,” Judge Ian McClintock told the court.

“And the conduct of the offender was calculated to humiliate her.”

Prisoner X ‘scuppered Mossad plan’

Dan Goldberg — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:30:00 +0100

Ben Zygier, the Australian-born Mossad agent known as Prisoner X, unwittingly scuppered an operation to repatriate the bodies of three Israeli soldiers missing in Lebanon for three decades, according to an ABC report.

Tuesday night’s report claimed Zygier’s attempts to impress his Mossad superiors backfired spectacularly, prompting the spy agency to abort its mission to repatriate the bodies of the soldiers, Zachary Baumel, Tzvi Feldman and Yehuda Katz, who died during Israel’s invasion in 1982.

Zygier apparently blew the cover of the secret operation by exposing Ziad al-Homsi, a former commander of Lebanese forces in the Bekka Valley, as a Mossad agent, according to ABC.

The mission was exposed after Zygier, who was trying to turn a Hizbollah contact into a Mossad agent, revealed al-Homsi’s name.

The Hizbollah agent told Lebanese intelligence sources that al-Homsi was an informer, and he was soon arrested and jailed, blowing the entire operation to repatriate the corpses.

Zygier was arrested in January 2010 by Shin Bet and jailed in secrecy until he took his life 10 months later.

Australian man accused of sex assault

Dan Goldberg — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:15:56 +0100

Another Australian man has been charged with sexually assaulting a Jewish girl from an Orthodox school in Melbourne in the 1980s.

Donald Cornell, a bus driver for the Orthodox Adass Israel School and the Lubavitch-run Yeshivah Centre in the 1980s, was charged with six counts of indecent assault last month.

Cornell, who is not Jewish, was due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrate’s Court last Friday. But the case was adjourned for health reasons.

Manny Waks, a child sex abuse victim and founder of Tzedek, a support group for Jewish survivors of child sex abuse in Australia, said: “We commend the brave victim for taking steps to ensure that justice is achieved and to protect other children, and hope it will give other victims the strength to come forward.”

Both the Adass and Yeshivah communities have been rocked by other child sex abuse scandals. In 2008 Malka Leifer, then-principal of Adass Israel, fled to Israel after allegations that she abused several girls.

David Kramer, a former teacher at Yeshivah in the late 1980s and early 1990s, pleaded guilty last month to five charges of indecent assault and one charge of committing an indecent act with or in the presence of a minor.

Suicide Mossad man leaked to Hizbollah

Dan Goldberg — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 18:30:00 +0000

An Australian-Israeli who worked as a Mossad agent before hanging himself in a Tel Aviv prison unwittingly caused the arrest of two Hizbollah supporters who had been spying for Israel, according to Der Spiegel.

Ben Zygier, the Hashomer Hatzair graduate who became known as Prisoner X, unwittingly leaked highly classified information to Lebanese authorities during a botched attempt to try to recruit a spy for Mossad.

Zygier, who was brought back from the field to a desk job at Mossad HQ, had been seeking to restore his reputation in the spy agency by trying to turn an enemy into an ally, the magazine said.

In the end, however, he was outfoxed by Hizbollah, who extracted from him the name of two Lebanese men working for Mossad — Ziad al-Homsi and Mustafa Ali Awadeh — who were arrested in 2009 and sentenced to 15 years in jail.

The report said Zygier started working with Mossad in 2003 but was ordered back to Israel in 2007 because he was not delivering for the spy agency. He returned to Melbourne and operated independently in an attempt to restore his reputation, the magazine said. But in 2008, as he tried to prove his bona fides to a man linked to Hizbollah who he wanted to become a double agent, he leaked the information.

Brooklyn sex text rabbi caught out in police sting

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 23:00:08 +0000

A 59-year-old Brooklyn rabbi has been arrested in a police sting operation in which he allegedly attempted to meet a 14-year-old girl with whom he had been exchanging sexually explicit messages.

Rabbi Nathan David Rabinowich had in fact been sending messages to an undercover policeman, and he has now been charged with crimes including attempted rape, the New York Daily News reported.

The rabbi, who is a Jewish heritage tour guide, faces a possible four-year sentence. The charges come less than a month after Chasidic Brooklyn Rabbi Nechemya Weberman was given 103 years for 59 counts of sexual abuse.

Mr Rabinowich described himself as “the Mara d’Asra [halachic authority] of Beis Medrash Ahavas Torah, a prolific author, and teacher” in a self-penned article titled “Are We Teaching Chumash Correctly to our Children?”

Meanwhile, Australian police are investigating two alleged cases of child sex abuse in Sydney, one of which is believed to involve a former employee of a religious institution associated with Chabad-Lubavitch.

Neither of the men has been publicly named by the New South Wales police, who said the allegations date back to the late 1970s or 1980s.

Rabbi Eli Feldman, a spokesperson for the Yeshiva Centre, the headquarters of Chabad in NSW, said in a statement that police had not contacted them, adding: “Yeshiva unequivocally condemns any form of abuse, including child sexual abuse. We welcome any police investigation.”

Child abuse victim Manny Waks, a spokesman for Jewish victims, welcomed the news. “The Sydney Yeshiva Centre has made its position crystal clear: that it does not tolerate any forms of abuse, it encourages victims to go to the police, it commits to fully co-operating with the police… and, importantly, it offers victims and survivors support and assistance in a practical and sensitive manner.”

‘Dual loyalty’ charge over Prisoner X

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:00:22 +0000

The explosive revelations surrounding the apparent suicide of a Melbourne-born man in a maximum-security Israeli jail has gripped Australian Jewry since Ben Zygier was identified last week as the elusive “Prisoner X” by an ABC investigation.

Details of what happened to this 34-year-old graduate of Hashomer Hatzair youth movement who made aliyah and reportedly worked for Mossad before taking his own life in December 2010 have been shrouded in secrecy amid a virtual blackout by family and friends.

Israel imposed a gag order on any reference to “Prisoner X” since his death and kept it in place for almost 24 hours in the immediate aftermath of the “compelling evidence” offered by the ABC broadcast, even though the internet was abuzz with the shocking story.

A partial suppression order remains in place in Israel and the alleged links to espionage have fuelled speculation about whether Mr Zygier was a Mossad agent — which he “strenuously denied” in 2009 — or even a double agent who was “turned” by Australia’s spy agency.

Australian and Israeli officials have ordered an inquiry into Mr Zygier’s death. The probe was welcomed by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which had stayed silent on the case for one week, fearing the controversial issue of “dual loyalty” may become the focus of the media.

A senior Jewish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: “The dual loyalty charges have been the stock trade of antisemites for centuries.”

Jewish leaders were irate following an interview on ABC Radio last Saturday in which Antony Loewenstein, an anti-Zionist Jew, accused fellow Jews of dual loyalties and claimed that “the Jewish school system was a breeding ground for brainwashing children to settle in Israel,” as former president of Australian Jewry Isi Leibler put it.

“This affair has undoubtedly created negative ripples against Israel amongst the public,” Mr Leibler wrote.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Philip Chester issued a statement on Wednesday, provoked by several “totally uninformed and mischievous” claims in the media that Zionist programmes in Israel serve as recruitment camps for the Mossad.

Since the broadcast of the investigation, family and friends have all abided by a “code of silence”, as Vivien Altman, one of the ABC’s investigative team, put it.

Their refusal to speak publicly on the matter was apparently agreed out of respect to Mr Zygier’s parents, Geoffrey and Louise, who are prominently involved in Jewish community affairs in Melbourne.

One close friend from another Zionist youth movement said: “I’m very confident he would never be a traitor to Israel. He was a proud Zionist. There’s only one other person in my year who made aliyah out of dozens who said they would.”

On Tuesday, Israel released partial details of a report into Mr Zygier’s death, confirming that he hanged himself with a bed sheet in the shower of his maximum-security cell in Ayalon prison on December 15, 2010.

But it did not exclude the possibility that his death could have been caused by a “criminal act” or that in future “it might be possible to identify suspects”.

However, a gag order suppressed 20 of the 28 pages of the report by Judge Daphne Blatman-Kadrai.

The report was completed only two months ago and the Israel Prison Service is considering whether to hold disciplinary hearings for four prison officers who are suspected of negligence that made it possible for Zygier to commit suicide.

Another investigation is to be carried out by the Knesset intelligence affairs sub-committee which provides oversight for Mossad. Also on Tuesday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s office issued its first statement on the scandal, which has dominated headlines in Israel and Australia for the past week.

“We emphasise that Mr Zygier had no contact at all with the Australian security services and organisations,” it said, contradicting speculation Mr Zygier had been about to reveal to Australian agents classified information about the fraudulent use of Australian passports by Mossad.

The statement added that there was still “excellent co-operation, full co-ordination and complete transparency” between Australia and Israel.

Meanwhile, it was claimed that Mr Zygier had been working in a Mossad front-company that traded in electronic goods with Iran. According to some reports, the Australian security services became suspicious when the men renewed their passports and visas for Iran and Arab countries were found in their old passports.

Another close friend of Mr Zygier recalled this week that the last time they saw him was in Melbourne in late 2009. “He said he was leaving for a two-week visit to Israel and never came back, leaving his flat with everything in it.”

He returned, tragically, in a coffin, and was buried on December 22, 2010, in a Jewish cemetery.

One close acquaintance said of Mr Zygier’s parents and family: “I don’t think they see the media as helpful. You won’t get anyone to talk publicly — we’ve decided there’s no good purpose. Nobody knows the whole truth and it’s unlikely we ever will.”

Protest against Nazi Germany delivered 74 years late

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 15:04:59 +0000

A petition against the Nazis’ “cruel treatment” of the Jews has finally been delivered to the German consulate in Australia – 74 years after it was meant to be presented.

William Cooper, a human rights activist and leader of the Aboriginal Yorta Yorta tribe, had prepared a petition denouncing Nazi persecution of German Jews and attempted to deliver it to the country’s mission in Melbourne just weeks after the events of Kristallnacht. He was denied entry and the complaint was never presented.

The complaint, prepared on behalf of the Australian Aboriginal League, reads:

“On behalf of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, we wish to have it registered and on record that we protest wholeheartedly at the cruel persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi government in Germany.

“We plead that you would make it known to your government and its military leaders that this cruel persecution of their fellow citizens must be brought to an end.”

Seventy-four years later to the day, Cooper’s 84-year-old grandson, Alf “Boydie” Turner, was able to complete the mission.

Mr Turner presented the original petition on December 6 2012 to the honorary consul-general of Germany in Melbourne in the presence of relatives, friends, Holocaust survivors, and other leaders of the Jewish community.

In a marked change from 1938, honorary consul-general Michael Pearce SC welcomed the petition. In an interview with ABC News programme PM, Mr Pearce said that he felt that he had been given an opportunity to right a wrong.

“The German consul should have accepted this letter and this resolution [74 years ago]”, Mr Pearce said.

Yad Vashem honoured Mr Cooper when it was discovered that his was the only private protest against the events of Kristallnacht. A small garden will be created in Mr Cooper’s honour.

Australian teacher faces child abuse charges

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:00:17 +0000

A former teacher at an Orthodox Jewish boys’ school in Melbourne has been extradited from America to face child sex abuse charges.

David Kramer, 52, was surrendered by US authorities late last week, arrested and charged with 10 counts of indecent assault and two counts of indecent acts with a child under the age of 16.

The incidents are alleged to have taken place at Yeshivah College, a Chabad-run school, between 1989 and 1992.Kramer appeared in court in Melbourne on Monday and was remanded in custody until January 18.

Multiple sex oﬀence trial rocks Australia

Dan Goldberg — Fri, 23 Nov 2012 14:00:11 +0000

Another major Jewish organisation in Australia is embroiled in a child sex abuse scandal, adding to the trauma triggered by recent revelations of similar cases involving students at a Chabad and Adass Israel school.

The name of the organisation, the defendant and the alleged victims cannot be revealed due to a court suppression order.

But it can be revealed that a man has faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on more than 25 counts of child sex abuse, including indecent acts with a minor and sexual intercourse with a child.

The defendant, who is not believed to be Jewish, entered a “not guilty” plea and is scheduled to face court again next month, with a trial date expected to be set for next year.

The alleged sexual abuse is understood to have taken place during an overseas trip around a decade ago.
A spokesperson for the Office of Public Prosecutions also confirmed that there are multiple complainants. It is understood not all of them are Jewish.

Manny Waks, who broke his silence last year about the alleged sexual abuse he suffered two decades ago as a student at Chabad’s Yeshivah College in Melbourne, said: “It’s devastating to learn of the additional serious allegations of child sexual abuse and cover-up within our community. These new revelations highlight that instances of child sexual abuse are not unique to one segment within our community.”

News of this latest scandal came just days after Prime Minister Julia Gillard called for a royal commission of inquiry into the “insidious evil acts” of institutional child sexual abuse across religious denominations in Australia.

While the Catholic Church has borne the brunt of the media exposure, the Jewish community has also been implicated since 2008 when news first broke of sexual abuse allegations against Israeli-born Malka Leifer, the principal of Melbourne’s Adass Israel girls’ school. Leifer denies the charges.

In addition, last year, claims emerged against 12 Yeshivah College students of alleged child sex abuse in the 1980s.

David Cyprys, a former security guard contracted to the college, will stand trial next July on 41 counts of child sex abuse, including child rape. He has pleaded not guilty.

Another alleged perpetrator, David Kramer, a former teacher at Yeshivah College, is awaiting extradition from America, where he was jailed in 2008 for molesting a 12-year-old boy in a synagogue, to Melbourne, where he is wanted by police investigating child molestation claims.

Gay ex-principal sues Australian Jewish school for millions

Anna Sheinman — Tue, 13 Nov 2012 17:37:56 +0000

One of Australia’s largest Jewish schools is being sued for millions of dollars by its former principal.

Joseph Gerassi was principal of Melbourne’s Bialik College and was believed to be the first openly gay principal of a Jewish school in Australia. He is suing his former employer for unfair dismissal, the Australian newspaper The Age has reported.

Mr Gerassi was told in August last year that the school board had unanimously decided it had “lost confidence in his ability to lead the school”. He was told to resign or he would be fired within an hour. Mr Gerassi claims his dismissal contravened Australia’s Fair Work Act and was a breach of his contract. He is suing for “for loss of income, shock, distress, humiliation and damage to his reputation and professional standing”, The Age reported.

In a letter sent to parents of the 1,000 pupils, school principal Graham Goldsmith said: “There is no suggestion whatsoever of any impropriety or misconduct on Joseph's part.”

Mr Gerassi moved to Bialik College in 2009 from the King David School in Johannesburg, and was believed to have earned over $300,000 AUS per year in his role as principal.