Supreme Court Exposes Horrific IDF Rape Case
For the first time, the horrifying sexual assault of a soldier during basic training at Har Keren base is revealed, following a landmark Supreme Court ruling holding the IDF accountable for post-assault negligence.
Twitter
The horrifying rape case is being revealed for the first time, within the framework of a precedent-setting Supreme Court ruling that dealt with the fighter's petition. The incident occurred at the end of 2015, about two weeks after the fighter enlisted in the Givati Brigade and began basic training at the "Har Keren" base.
The lawsuit letter states that one evening, about two weeks after the start of basic training, the fighter went to shower. Suddenly, he heard a door slam and lock. When he came out of the shower stalls toward the entrance to the shower area, he saw 3 soldiers from the Bedouin company. One of the attackers turned to him and asked "Are you gay?", the fighter didn't answer and tried to get dressed.
One of the attackers grabbed the fighter's hand, the second approached him, despite his resistance and attempts to push away the attackers. One of the attackers then raped him.
Severe Abuse
The fighter was silent for several minutes, after which he started screaming, following which the attackers left the scene. The lawsuit letter details a difficult pattern of abuse that the fighter experienced even after the rape, when his commanders chose to silence the incident, ignore his mental distress, and even refuse to allow him access to medical treatment. All this, while they knew he had suffered extremely severe sexual assault within the base.
The fighter reported the incident to his commander who promised to handle the matter but did nothing. Only about two weeks after the rape and following his mother's appeal to the city officer, was he referred for medical treatment for the first time.
Attorney Jonathan Feldman, who represented the fighter in the lawsuit he won in the Supreme Court, said: "Despite the serious incident, the army's conduct toward the fighter was disgraceful. The fighter's commanders initially prevented him from meeting with a doctor, didn't allow him for several months to transfer bases even though he couldn't see the place where he was attacked again.
"Later they made it difficult for him to attend meetings with mental health therapists at the IDF's dedicated mental health support and treatment center, hid the incident from the Military Police and didn't report it at all, and if that wasn't enough, finally when the fighter's mental state deteriorated and he could no longer continue to serve - they put him in military prison after he didn't show up at the base due to his difficult mental state resulting from the incident.
Recognition of Disability and Pension Receipt
"The Supreme Court ruled that a male or female soldier who was sexually assaulted during their service and the IDF did not fulfill the requirements of the sexual harassment prevention law in post-incident treatment - will be able to sue the IDF in a track without proving damage (compensation of up to 120,000 NIS), this in addition to their rights vis-à-vis the Defense Ministry for disability recognition and pension receipt.
"The court rejected the state's position that when it pays a pension under the Defense Ministry's hat it is immune from lawsuits under the IDF's hat as responsible for the soldier. Additionally, it was established in the ruling that when the IDF's negligence is ongoing negligence (for example, in the current case the lack of reporting to Military Police to this very day), this will be considered a 'continuing tort' so that the statute of limitations for the lawsuit continues as well, and therefore despite the fighter's lawsuit being filed more than seven years from the day of the attack, it was determined that his lawsuit had not expired."
Attorney Feldman continues and notes that: "In the ruling, the Supreme Court sent a clear message to the IDF that its duty is to act to reduce harm to a male or female soldier who was sexually assaulted in the framework of their service, and in a case where it doesn't act according to law - the IDF will have to pay considerable compensation similar to any employer of an employee. I hope that the possibility of such financial sanctions will help increase assistance to soldiers who were sexually assaulted during their service and help prevent similar incidents in the future."