MARK DREYFUS
SHADOW ATTORNEY-GENERAL
SHADOW MINISTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS -MALKA LEIFER MUST FACE JUSTICE
23 OCTOBER 2019
In 2013 I worked with Prime Minister Gillard to establish the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The work of that Royal Commission exposed how widespread the scourge of child sexual abuse extends through our community. In particular, it showed that sexual abuse has been perpetrated in the schools of people of many faiths.
Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer are here today in the gallery. They suffered sexual abuse when they were students at the Adass Israel School in Melbourne. The principal of the school at the time, Malka Leifer, stands accused of those crimes. But eleven years ago she fled to Israel, and remains there to this day as a fugitive from justice, in hiding from justice in the state of Israel.
Israel's Declaration of Independence declares that the State of Israel will
be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel.
And Deuteronomy records that it was Moses who declared as an imperative for the people of Israel
"Justice, justice you shall pursue Tzedek, tzedek, tirdof". (16:20)
It is long past time that Ms Leifer was extradited to Australia to face justice for her horrific crimes, and for Israel to honour its commitment to the rule of law and to justice.
I acknowledge the courage of Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper in their pursuit of justice.
I thank the Members for Wentworth, Macnamara and Goldstein for adding their voices to that pursuit.
ENDS
