Sex assault cases lead to soul-searching in Israel

JERUSALEM: A string of highprofile sexual abuse cases has led to soul-searching in Israel, where women’s increasing willingness to report such behaviour has collided with retrograde attitudes among some men, experts say.

In the most high-profile case, former president Moshe Katsav was freed from prison on parole in December after serving five years of a seven-year term for rape.

He had for years refused to show any remorse for his crimes.

A general, a former senior government official and a member of parliament are among other top-ranking Israelis who have come under suspicion of sex offences and whose cases have been recently in the spotlight.

Brigadier General Ofek Buchris resigned from the army in July after being charged with rape and other sexual offences.

He has since reached a plea bargain that saw him avoid jail time in exchange for admitting to consensual sex with a junior female soldier and conduct unbecoming an officer related to a second woman.

In a sign of increasing intolerance of such cases, reports of the plea bargain drew anger and protests.

A video of a song performed by four young women, all army veterans, went viral after its release on social networks.

Entitled ‘ Buchris’s Girls’, the song is a remake of a 1995 anti-war song, with new lyrics slamming the army’s alleged tendency to close ranks when threatened and the torrent of abuse directed at complainants on social media.

“You were like a blind herd of devotees, worshipping the commander,” the four sang, dressed in army uniforms.

“We are just meat for the officers.”

Several hundred protesters recently rallied outside national defence headquarters in Tel Aviv, chanting “No means no! What part of that sentence don’t you understand?”

Israeli National Theatre actress Noga Shahar, who organised the demonstration, said that women were becoming more willing to report sex crimes. — AFP