President Katsav
Photo: Dudi Vaknin
Rape crisis center
Katsav receives backing from prominent J'lem rabbi
Rabbi Yisrael Tau writes to president, who was questioned for fifth time Wednesday, encourages him to keep strong and says 'truth will come to light'
President Moshe Katsav was interrogated Wednesday morning for the fifth time in his office in Jerusalem. In the meantime, Katsav can draw some encouragement from a letter of support sent to him by one of the religious-Zionism's most prominent rabbis.
In the letter, Rabbi Yisrael Tau, who heads the Har Hamor prestigious Yeshiva in Jerusalem, writes to the president: "I congratulate you on decisively standing up for the sacred purity of Israel's tradition and spirit. Don't let your spirit fall, our nation's greatest have suffered slander by the heartless and the envious in the past."
The letter implies that the rabbi doubts the truthfulness of the suspicions against Katsav, despite the fact that the investigation is still in process.
The rabbi concludes his letter by writing that, "God willing, the afflictions of our society will soon be remedied, the light will shine for the honest ones, truth will come to light and all those who seek to harm you will be abashed."
Debbie Gross, the director of the center for religious sexual assault victims, criticized the rabbi for his statements. "Rabbis should think of how to help women who were attacked, instead of thinking how to help those suspected of assault," she explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that someone who is suspected of sexual offenses receives backing and not the woman who was assaulted," she added.
