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Friday October 20, 2006

Rape charges against Katsav show Israeli shift on harassment

by dina kraft
jta

tel aviv | There wasn’t even a term in Hebrew for sexual harassment before Israel’s Knesset passed a law making it a criminal offense in 1999.

Soon after the law went into effect, the case of Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai went to trial, and his conviction in 2001 marked the first time in Israel that a political figure of major stature was convicted of sexual assault and harassment.

Experts say the case marked a change in the public’s and the court’s attitudes toward sexual crimes against women in Israel.

Now it’s President Moshe Katsav topping Israel’s headlines after police recommended he be charged with rape and sexual assault.

Katsav, who is at the tail end of a seven-year presidential term, has repeatedly denied the accusations and has told Israeli media that political foes orchestrated the complaints against him.

Attorney General Menachem Mazuz is expected to decide whether to indict Katsav in the next few weeks. If found guilty, Katsav could face up to 16 years in prison.

After years when sexual innuendo often crossed the line into harassment and even assault — especially in institutions such as the government and army — Israeli women seem to be speaking out more since the sexual harassment law went into effect.

The Katsav scandal was followed by news this summer that Justice Minister Haim Ramon kissed a young soldier without her consent; his trial started Tuesday, Oct. 17. The two cases have put the issue of harassment at the center of discussion in Israel.

Dana Dror, legal adviser to the Israel Women’s Network oversees a hotline where women can call for free legal advice.

In the months following the revelations against Katsav and Ramon, there has been a significant jump in the number of calls to the hotline from women describing situations where they were sexually harassed, usually in the workplace, she said.

The image of women taking even the most powerful men to court has had an impact, Dror said.

“It shows a real social change,” she said.

But Avigail Mor isn’t convinced.

“There is an advancement in the way women view the issue but not nearly enough progress in the attitude of men,” said Mor, a psychologist who heads the Women’s Studies Department at Tel Chai College.

Police have recommend to the attorney general that Katsav be tried on charges of raping two women, committing indecent acts by force, committing indecent acts without consent and sexual harassment.

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