The co-founder and chair of the ZAKA emergency response organization and a winner of the prestigious Israel Prize has been accused of sexual assault, rape and other abuse.
According to Haaretz newspaper, Yehuda Meshi-Zahav's alleged crimes were public knowledge in the Haredi community, specifically in Jerusalem’s ultra-Orthodox neighborhoods.
The accusations against Meshi-Zahav go as far as the 1980s and tell of a man who continuously took advantage of his status, power, money and even the organization he heads to sexually attack women and children.
Meshi Zahav, who last month won the Israel Prize life achievement award for his contributions to Israeli society, was investigated in the early 2010s on suspicion of sexual assault, but the investigation was closed due to lack of evidence when his accuser refused to file a formal complaint.
The woman who accused Meshi-Zahav said he promised her financial assistance to get close to her and then raped her when the two were alone.
“He took my clothes off by force,” the woman said, adding she begged him to stop as he was forcing himself on her.
“He said: 'If you talk, a ZAKA jeep will run you over'.”
Another alleged victim is a 41-year-old man who said he was sexually assaulted by Meshi-Zahav when he was 16 and Meshi-Zahav was 36.
"All the people close to him in those years knew I was his escort boy. I became a prostitute in every sense of the word," the man said.
He added that he had received certain “gifts” from Meshi-Zahav for his silence, such as trips to Tel Aviv to meet with prostitutes.
Another alleged victim is a 26-year-old man who claims he was assaulted by Meshi-Zahav when he was just 5 years old.
“He taught me in the synagogue. He would sit me on his lap and touch my genitals," the man told Haaretz in his testimony.
According to Haaretz, there are likely to be many more victims of Meshi-Zahav who have yet to come forward.
Meshi-Zahav has denied all the accusations against him.
"I received a call from Haaretz newspaper for the first time Thursday afternoon. The call included obscure and anonymous allegations that go decades back. I will make it immediately clear that they are nothing but false,” he said.
“Ever since it became known that I had won the Israel Prize, I have been the focus of various telephone threats," he said.
"After my parents passed away, some called me to express joy at their deaths. Others spat at me as I walked down the street. Unfortunately, this is part of the price I pay for the path I chose. Publishing the article is an attempt to settle scores with me,” he said.
“For as long as my strength permits me, I will continue to serve the people of Israel and the State of Israel as I have done all my life."