Katsav claims: I'm not being blackmailed
Channel 2 reported Israeli president complains to Attorney General: woman claims sexual harassment, threatens to blackmail. President denies report, says did not lodge any complaint
According to a report Saturday evening by Israel Channel 2, Israeli president, Moshe Katsav, recently sought out Attorney General Menachem Mazuz to complain of threats and blackmail by a woman, of unnamed identity, wanting to file a sexual abuse and harassment suit against him.
In response to this report, the president's office in Jerusalem released a statement that "the president did not lodge a complaint of blackmail." According to the spokeswoman of the president's office, Hagit Cohen, the president often meets with various political sources, among them the attorney general, on any number of matters.
The Attorney General's office did not release a statement to Ynet. Police sources told Ynet that they have received no complaints, either by or against the president, regarding blackmail or sexual harassment. Police further stated that they will open an investigation in the event that such a complaint is lodged.
Katsav, Israel's eighth president, was appointed in 2000. His previous positions include minister of labor and welfare (1984-1988), minister of transportation (1988-1992) and a member of the security committee. From 1992-1996, he served as head of the Likud faction in the opposition. In 1996, he served as deputy prime minister and minister of transportation and, later, as minister responsible for the Arab sector. He was chief of staff for the Likud in the elections for the 15th Knesset.
History of harassment
If a complaint is lodged against the president, it will not be the first time that sexual harassment charges have been brought against a senior official in the Israeli political system. Five years ago, former minister Itzhak Mordechai was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, by two different women. Unlike Katsav, he did not claim blackmail.
Mordechai was sentenced to an eighteen month suspended sentence. Upon his conviction, he appealed to the district court in Jerusalem. The district court acquitted him of one of the counts of one plaintiff, but convicted him of the second count brought by her. Likewise, the court upheld the guilty ruling regarding the complaint of the additional plaintiff.
Mordechai asked to appeal to the High Court regarding both convictions. Chief Justice Aharon Barak rejected his appeal, saying that there was no way to appeal the decision. Only last month did the military court decide not to demote him.
