Liberal and Labor politicians unite to have Malka Leifer extradited from Israel to face child abuse
- jamessnow321
- Oct 23, 2019
- 1 min read
Former ambassador to Israel turned Liberal MP Dave Sharma has warned the ongoing delay in the extradition of alleged child abuser Malka Leifer from Israel to Australia is "becoming an irritant" in the relationship between the two countries.
Mr Sharma and Labor MP Josh Burns have joined forces with two of the former Melbourne principal's alleged victims, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer, to lobby Prime Minister Scott Morrison to ramp up diplomatic pressure on Israel over the long-running case.
Ms Leifer, 52, faces 74 counts of sexual assault in Victoria relating to her time as headmaster of the Adass Israel School between 2001 and 2008.
She has been fighting to stay in Israel, claiming she is mentally ill, since Australia issued an extradition request in 2014.
"I just think we have a good and productive relationship with Israel, but this is increasingly becoming an irritant and is increasingly becoming a focal point in the relationship," said Mr Sharma, who first raised the issue when he was ambassador to Israel.
"To state the obvious, when this is in the news all the time ... it affects Israel's reputation in Australia, and it affects the way we interact.
"I've said this publicly before, it does threaten to have an impact on our relationship."
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