MK resigns from Knesset due to sexual harassment accusations
Yinon Magal of Bayit Yehudi announces resignation to party chairman Naftali Bennet, who called it 'a worthy act'.
Magal told Bennett that although he was sure his actions were not criminal in nature, he realized that people were hurt by his conduct in the past and he therefore wanted to leave his position.
Bennett, who is on a public relations campaign in the United States, said that he "accepted the resignation of Yinon, it is a worthy act. I hope that the process in which he is currently involved ends as quickly as possible and that he will be able to devote himself to his family and continue on his path."
Currently, police have the evidence of three women who reported alleged inappropriate behavior on the the part of Magal. Police have expanded their investigation and on Sunday sent a team of investigators to Israeli news site Walla, where Magal used to work as chief editor.
The alleged harassment took place, according to the accusers, when Magal served as the editor of the highly popular news site.
Journalist Racheli Rottner of Walla described an event that occurred during Magal’s goodbye party at the company. According to Rottner, Magal told her at the party that he was aroused by her during their time working together, specifically mentioning that he thought about her breasts and buttocks and talked about them with others.
A short time after that, Or Shukrun, another former Walla employee, published a post in which she claimed MK Magal harassed her. Shukrun claimed that Magal touched her buttocks several times, ignoring her requests that he stop, and that he asked her several harassing questions, such as whether she would like to join him in the bathroom stall.
