Tens of thousands of pedophiles operate in Israel every year
In July alone, there were 22 cases of pedophilia recorded in Israel and brought to the attention of the media
Tens of thousands of pedophiles operate in Israel every year, leading to about 100,000 victims annually, according to an Israeli pedophile monitoring association.
The Matzof Association, an organization that actively keeps track of reports on pedophiles in various media and centralizes the data monthly, states that in July alone, 22 cases of pedophilia were reported in Israel and brought to the attention of the media. The vast majority go unreported.
"In Israel, tens of thousands of pedophiles operate on a daily basis without any problem," said Eliran Malki, head of the Matzof Association.
"They are not deterred by the police and certainly not deterred by the contemptuous rulings that come from the hands of judges in the various courts," he added, citing an incident in which one particular pedophile was let off by the courts without punishment, despite evidence of thousands of pedophilic items found on his computer, as the court stated that it would "harm his career."
The court does not count the number of victims, and shows disproportionately favorable treatment of the perpetrators, according to Malki.
The association gathers reports from the media in order to form statistics, as no public sex offender registry in Israel currently exists.
"Matzof will continue to report and follow these trends month after month. Statistics tell the story of the victims, and they are living proof why we must fight for the establishment of a public pedophile database," he added.
In June, at least 22 instances of pedophile activity were reported in the media, including a 26-year-old who committed indecent acts on two brothers aged six and eight in a public park in Beersheba; a 40-year-old man who committed indecent acts on his girlfriend's 11-year-old daughter while they were still living together before he was sentenced to six years in prison; and a 53-year-old who committed indecent acts on a seven-year-old girl – the list goes on.
A number of pedophiles in Israel are Jewish immigrants who have sought refuge in the country under the law of return, according to a CBS report published in February.
The CBS reporter joined Jewish Community Watch (JCW) activists as they were looking for Jimmy Karow, who fled the US in 2000 after being accused of sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl in Oregon. Karow, who is wanted by Interpol, was able to remain in Israel, where he allegedly moved between different Jewish communities to avoid being exposed.
The most notable case in the public eye is that of Malka Leifer, who was the principal at the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School in Melbourne from 2003 to 2008. She fled to Israel after allegations came to light that she sexually abused pupils.
She has evaded deportation back to Australia ever since a formal request was received by Israel in 2014 by claiming mental illness. When the district court invalidated those claims, Leifer appealed to the Supreme Court.
Most recently in July, the Supreme Court heard an appeal by Leifer to try to overturn the lower court finding that she is mentally fit for extradition to Australia.
In May, after a close to six-year legal saga, Jerusalem District Court Judge Chana Miriam Lomp ruled that Leifer was mentally fit to stand trial on 74 counts of sexual abuse and rape of minors.
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Israel is trying to legalize pedophilia - Avi Maoz
The age of consent in Israel is 16 for all genders but can be as low as 14 provided both parties consent and have a 3-year age gap or less.
Israeli far-right lawmaker Avi Maoz accused the Justice Ministry of attempting to normalize pedophilia within the country by altering Israel's age of consent laws.
Currently, the age of consent in Israel is 16 for all genders. However, that age of consent can go as low as 14, provided the other sexual partner was no more than three years older and both parties consented.
But according to Maoz, the Justice Ministry is trying to change this to an age gap of five years.
"A 19-year-old man can have consensual sexual relations with a 14-year-old girl and won't face criminal charges," Maoz said.
He vowed to prevent this law from passing.
"Pedophilia is a perversion," Maoz said. "Pedophilia is a disgusting phenomenon and I will do everything in my power to make sure the children of Israel are not abandoned because of one agenda or another."
"Pedophilia is a disgusting phenomenon and I will do everything in my power to make sure the children of Israel are not abandoned because of one agenda or another."
- Avi Maoz
Avi Maoz and pedophilia in Israel
This isn't the first time Maoz has brought up pedophilia as a potential problem facing the Jewish state.
In the speech he gave Tuesday, the Noam MK mentioned how he warned a year and a half ago the State of Israel could legalize pedophilia in the near future, citing examples he claimed were of different countries around the world "weakening" their stances on the issue.
He further cited a new report from the United Nations, which he said called to decriminalize certain sex offenses and mentioned that law enforcement should recognize that people under the age of 18 are able to make decisions about consensual sexual behavior.
Maoz slammed this as "abandoning children in favor of the morbid lusts of adults."
The Noam lawmaker was elected to the Knesset on a platform heavily critical of LGBTQ+ policies and has frequently made critical statements against members of the LGBTQ+ community. This includes saying that he is "filled with shame" over the fact that current Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana is gay.
According to a December 2022 report by Ynet, the Noam Party has been keeping track of LGBTQ+ people working in the Israeli media and keeping a blacklist for several years.
Maoz has also referred to members of the LGBTQ+ community as "perverts and pedophiles."
However, the issue of the age of consent laws is something that is a topic of discussion in countries around the world and spans the political spectrum. It is also one that is often irrelevant to the debate on LGBTQ+ rights.
Israel also has had historic issues regarding pedophilia and sex offenders. According to a 2020 report by the Matzof Association, there are tens of thousands of pedophiles who operate in Israel every year, leading to about 100,000 victims annually.
The vast majority of cases go unreported, Matzof said.
According to a 2020 CBS report alongside Jewish Community Watch, a number of pedophiles in Israel are Jewish immigrants who have sought refuge in the country under the law of return.
One of the most infamous cases is that of Australian haredi school principal Malka Leifer, who fled to Israel after allegations came to light that she sexually abused pupils.
After a long legal battle, Leifer was eventually extradited back to Australia, where she was recently convicted.
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