Avi Yemini’s ex-wife reveals personal toll of his assault and harassment

Activist and former soldier Avi Yemini has been convicted of the brutal harassment and assault of his ex-wife, whose harrowing victim impact statement said he had “broken her spirit” and “destroyed her self-worth”.

Avi Yemini has been convicted and fined for unlawfully assaulting and using a carriage service to harass his former wife.

The former wife of far-right activist Avi Yemini has broken down in court as she read out her victim impact statement after he was sentenced on unlawful assault and harassment charges.

Sarah, surname witheld, wept as she described how Yemini, real first name Avraham, had “broken her spirit”, and “destroyed her self-worth” with his “torment”.

She said she “lived in a state of uncertainty”, felt anxious all the time and had panic attacks, and had to regularly see a counsellor.

Yemini showed no emotion as he was convicted and fined on charges of unlawful assault, using a carriage service to harass on three occasions and breaching a personal safety order at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court this morning.

The 33-year-old from Berwick had earlier pleaded guilty to throwing a chopping board that hit Sarah on her head while she prepared dinner in their Caulfield North home, and texting her vile and explicit messages.

The chopping board incident, which left her with a lump on her forehead, happened in March 2016, while the three harassing messages, which included calling her a “P. O. S” and a “c***”, occurred between July 2017 and November 2018.

The breach order relates to another person and not Sarah after Yemini failed to take down an online video as ordered by the court.

Sarah said she said she had tried to leave him eight times but couldn’t go through with it.

“It was like I didn’t exist as a human being, I was just a vessel for his hatred,” Sarah said.

“He terrorised me. I can’t imagine how it will be possible for me to have a relationship in the future.”

She said he also blamed her for the assault.

“What I will never forget is that he didn’t flinch when it happened,” she said.

“He didn’t ask if I was okay. He just walked by; I was left to tend to my own injuries and finish making the dinner.”

The former Israel Defence Force soldier has a large Facebook following under his page Avi Yemini Unbanned and has tens of thousands of fans on Twitter.

Yemini’s defence lawyer Deborah Mandie said he had already been “destroyed” in the media even though he was a “cleanskin” with no priors.

“The digital material has been absolutely brutal about my client,” Ms Mandie said.

“It’s become almost a meme, humiliating my client over and over. This is part of the punishment he is wearing for this matter.”

At a previous hearing Ms Mandie said Yemini didn’t intend to Sarah with the chopping board, and it was an isolated incident across 10 years of a volatile relationship.

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Magistrate Charles Tan said Yemini may have “paid a price” through the publicity surrounding the case, but he was there to sentence on the charges, not the community reaction.

He said Sarah’s own words showed she felt distressed, humiliated and terrified by Yemini’s actions, and they could “not be described as of a trivial nature”.

“It was offending against a female in her own home, involving her suffering an injury,” Mr Tan said.

He thanked Sarah for her bravery in reading out her statement, which she said she wanted to be made public.

Yemini was convicted and fined a total of $3600.