DUBAI (AlArabiya.net)
The principal of a private Jewish girls' school in the Australian city of Melbourne has fled to Israel facing accusations that she sexually molested some of the students, press reports said on Sunday.
Parents said the Adass Israel Girls' School in Elsternwick paid for Malka Leifer -- a mother of eight -- to return to Israel before notifying police, The Age newspaper reported.
The complaints against Leifer, in her late 40s, involve girls aged 15 and 16, the paper reported. Parents of present and past students said she had molested students at school, at her home and probably at school camps. They said one victim had attempted suicide.
The parents, who would not be named, said that Leifer would share her bed with different students when her rabbi husband was away, The Age reported. She would tell the students she was scared, although she had her own children in the house.
The Adass community is a small, ultra-orthodox and reclusive group of about 150 families.
The president of the Adass Israel synagogue, Benjamin Koppel, told The Australian Jewish News that a "relevant authority" had been informed. Victoria Police would also not confirm whether there was an investigation because the victims might be under age.
One parent told The Age that Leifer was hand-picked from Israel to teach at the girls' school eight years ago because of her ultra-orthodox beliefs. The parent said she was widely regarded as the second holiest person in the community, behind spiritual leader Rabbi Avrohom Zvi Beck.
Leifer -- who joined the school as a teacher eight years ago and was principal for five years -- left Melbourne on Wednesday last week, 24 hours after being investigated and sacked by the school's board. |
