Israeli politician ‘tried to prevent’ extradition

A senior Israeli politician is being investigated for trying to prevent the extradition of a former Australian school principal.

Australian Malka Leifer is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem, last year. Picture: AP

Israeli police have turned their attention to a meeting between the chief psychiatrist of Jerusalem and a senior Israeli politician being investigated for interfering with medical evidence preventing the extradition of a former Australian school principal ­accused of sexually abusing students in Melbourne.

Jerusalem’s District Psychiatrist Jacob Charnes provided two psychiatric opinions of Malka Leifer after her initial ­arrest in 2014. Both deemed her mentally unfit to stand at her ­extradition trial.

Dr Charnes signed off on a new medical evaluation last February. That third evaluation reversed his first two findings.

However, when testifying at Ms Leifer’s latest extradition hearing he again declared her unfit, going against several other medical professionals who found her mentally competent.

Ms Leifer fled to Israel in 2008, just hours after accu­sations of sexual abuse were brought to the attention of the Adass Israel ultra-orthodox Jewish girls school in Melbourne.

She faces 74 counts of sexual abuse and has been living in the town of Emmanuel while fighting extradition.

The revelation of Dr Charnes’s inclusion in the inquiry comes after Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman was interrogated by police on Thursday over claims he intervened in a bid to have Ms Leifer declared unfit. Reports in Israeli media said Mr Litzman pressured Dr Charnes into issuing a false assessment of Ms Leifer. Ms Leifer and Mr Litzman are both members of Gur, the largest ultra-­orthodox Hasidic sect in Israel.

Former student and alleged victim of Ms Leifer Dassi Erlich told The Australian Dr Charnes was “the reason there had been 45 court hearings and no trial”.

Allegations have been made against two of Mr Litzman’s advisers from the Israeli Health Ministry. They are reportedly being investigated for threatening to fire health workers who refused to co-operate with the alleged interference in Ms Leifer’s mental health assessments.