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Broshi; Yachimovich
Photos: Knesset, Idan Arbeli

Yachimovich: Broshi should refrain from suing and avoid humiliation

Following Yacimovich's post about another woman who accused MK Eitan Broshi of sexual harassment, the MK says she would not give up her parliamentary immunity if Broshi sues her for libel.

MK Shelly Yachimovich (Zionist Union) said Monday she had no intention of giving up her parliamentary immunity to allow MK Eitan Broshi, a member of her party, to sue her for alleged libel, following her Facebook post in which she claimed that Broshi sexually harassed a female soldier.

 

 

Yachimovich advised Broshi "Not to sue, because this lawsuit will become a very degrading and humiliating affair... My immunity is an essential, important and democratic tool that allows me to protect weaker sectors of society." 

 

"This is a 'substantive immunity,' in other words, it is not the immunity for offenses committed in order to please oneself and enjoy immunity, but it is a kind of protective cover that enables public officials to do more for their constituents than they could do for themselves," she explained in an interview with the Kan Bet radio station.

 

MK Shelly Yachimovich and MK Eitan Broshi (Photos: Knesset, Idan Arbeli)
MK Shelly Yachimovich and MK Eitan Broshi (Photos: Knesset, Idan Arbeli)

  

Yachimovich added that she intends to use her immunity. Regarding the threat posed by MK Broshi, she said: "I think this could be an interesting event. I would also advise him not to file a libel suit against someone who does not have immunity—the leader of the (Zionist Union) party, Avi Gabbay."

 

Yachimovich said the women who approached her with allegations against Broshi "are very serious women who don't have any ulterior motive, they have been carrying this secret for many years."

 

"We are talking about a repetitive pattern of a person who, it seems, has been doing these things throughout his life… apparently, he does not control himself if he dares doing what he did to MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin," Yachimovich added.

 

MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin and MK Eitan Broshi  (Photos: Yoav Dudkevitch, Aviv Hofi)
MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin and MK Eitan Broshi (Photos: Yoav Dudkevitch, Aviv Hofi)
 

 

Broshi was recently in hot water after touching the behind of a fellow member of Knesset, Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin.

 

According to eye witnesses, Broshi initially did not realize the problematic nature of his actions and went about his day as if nothing had happened.

 

It was only after other MKs intervened that Broshi and Nahmias-Verbin spoke about the incident. Broshi apologized to Nahmias-Verbin and the two agreed to let the matter go.

 

This incident, which was first reported by Ynet, and an additional interview given by another complainant to journalist Akiva Novick on Channel Ten about an alleged sexual assault Broshi had committed against her inside an elevator 15 years ago, were what led other women to come forward, according to Yachimovich.  

 

The MK said she no longer speaks to her fellow party member. "From the moment he launched an ugly and repulsive attack on the complainants themselves, that is, on the complainant who was interviewed by Akiva Novik, and then stopped talking—which is in itself an unacceptable and indecent act of a public servant—and sent his lawyer to do the talking for him, I cut off all contact with him, I think the media will be very interested in what he has to say on the matter. I do not believe him; I know he's lying," she charged. 

 

"People belittle the right of women who suffered a very hard blow…to wake up after many years of pain, sorrow, and repression and share their story," Yachimovich concluded. 

 

Broshi's attorney, attorney Ilan Bombach, said in response: "Anyone who wants to tell lies has to take their testimony that far back, to (Broshi's) early years, when he served in the army. I ask myself what is the next big reveal, what is the next 'testimony'? Something else that happened 60 years ago, when Broshi was a baby in a crib? Why do they go so far?"

 

According to Bombach, "the fact that Shelly Yachimovich decides to make herself a judge is a serious matter in and of itself… Broshi was never charged with anything, she's starting a crazy witch hunt here, this is exactly the opposite of fair procedure."

 

He stressed that Broshi had no intention of stepping down as an MK.

 

Yachimovich posted a Facebook post Sunday about another woman who accused MK Eitan Broshi of alleged sexual harassment and indecent acts.

 

In her post, Yachimovich detailed the case, on which the statute of limitations has already passed.

   

MK Eitan Broshi (Photo: Private album)
MK Eitan Broshi (Photo: Private album)

 

Broshi, she said, was the battalion commander of a soldier she named only as M., saying he "sexually harassed her on a regular basis and made her life miserable."

 

"One day M. encountered him on the street, years after she had been released from the IDF. By then she was a woman with self-confidence, married, a mother, who works in an important and profession that contributes to society. And yet she froze as if paralyzed, almost fainted, and returned home shaking, upset, in shock and nauseous," Yachimovich wrote.

 

"To answer the insufferable question of 'why did she just remember this,' I'll say: M. didn't have to remember, simply because she never forgot. The feelings of disgust and fear have always been there," she continued. "As the saying goes: The rifle can't remember, the target can't forget."

 

 

Protesters demand Broshi to resign amid the recent allegations (Photo: Motti Kimchi)
Protesters demand Broshi to resign amid the recent allegations (Photo: Motti Kimchi)

  

According to Yachimovich, "Lt. Col. Broshi turned Sgt. M. to a target for sexual harassment immediately upon her arrival at the base.

It only got worse. At first, he described his intentions to her with coarse and vulgar language. She firmly refused. And then she rejected him again and again and again. But he would not let it rest, and stared at her private parts every time she had to enter his office as part of her job. He created a threatening and stressful atmosphere. Her friends in the battalion knew, and there was always someone waiting close by in case she couldn't push him away on her own.

 

"Later, he started creating situations that forced her to be alone with him. And so, he demanded that she spent one of the holidays with him on base. With her being a 'common soldier,' as she described it, and him the battalion commander, she clearly had no choice.

 

"In one of the times he staged and organized incidents to force himself on her, he was able to create a situation in which he was sleeping in a nearby room to hers. I won't go into details, but I'll say she had all of the reasons in the world to think she was completely safe, and that he would not dare come near her. She was wrong. In the early morning, she woke up with his tongue in her mouth as he was trying to force himself on her. She pushed him off, he was afraid someone would hear it, and let go."

 

Yachimovich said she corroborated the story before posting it by speaking not only to the complainant but also to those who served with her in the battalion, and they confirmed the details.

 

She said three other women turned to her, one just this morning, claiming they've been harassed by Broshi. Yachimovich added other turned to her with stories about other women who were harassed by Broshi, but she said she chose not to take action because it was important to her it would be the complainant's own choice to come forward.

 

 (Photo: Alex Kolomoisky and Sharon Tzur)
(Photo: Alex Kolomoisky and Sharon Tzur)
 

 

Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay suspended Broshi two weeks ago following the complaints made against him. In response, Broshi filed a libel suit against Gabbay, demanding NIS 300,000 in compensation.

 

 

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 08.13.18, 14:37
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