Sexual harassment complaint filed against MK Ayoob Kara

Likud MK under investigation for alleges sexual misconduct. Kara denies allegations, says they are politically motivated

Omri Efraim|Published: 09.13.11 , 08:28

A sexual harassment complaint has been filed against MK Ayoob Kara (Likud), Ynet has learned Tuesday.

The police have already asked Kara to report for questioning on the matter, and Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is said to be monitoring the case.

The exact nature of the suspicions against Kara, who serves as deputy minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee, are still unclear.

The grievance was apparently filed two and a half years after the case. The complainant, who is part of the Civil Service, told Army Radio that she it took her time "to know that I can take on a public figure, a deputy minister.

"It really is a big deal… he's a deputy minister and I'm just a regular citizen whose rights have been trampled… I felt all alone, like the police could do nothing," she said.

The woman added that she was eventually approached by the Civil Service Commission and that they helped her "get up the nerve to talk. They said I shouldn’t be afraid.

"I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing it for all women… I felt like a marionette, like an object. Dehumanized. I'm doing this for all women who have the right to just say no," she said.

Kara vehemently denied the allegations, saying they were politically motivated: "I'm innocent. I'm as pure as the driven snow. Purer than anyone is the country. I can only assume that certain elements are driving people to file complaints against me to hurt me politically, because I stand by the prime minister in this tough time.

"Even since I was made a deputy minister, I have no female employees. I'm absolutory stunned by this, by how evil some people can be," he said.

Kara added that he will seek a formal investigation against "those in my office who wish to inflict such harm. We will find the leak and the person behind these stories."

Kara, 56, was first elected to the Knesset in 1999. He is a major (Res.) in the IDF, married and the father of five.