In the week following the publication of the Golden Silk affair, senior members of the organization are angry about the image damage caused by the suspicions surrounding the chairman who retired • "We did not think he was a rapist or a pedophile"
Judah silk silk
Photo:
Amir Meiri
In the ZAKA organization, Yehuda Meshi Zahav publicly renounces, a week after the publication of the hard evidence against him regarding alleged sexual offenses against men, women and minors.
"Yehuda was very charismatic and so he took over everything. When the association was established, Yehuda was not a part of it at all. He got on the wave later and then managed to show off and get where he came from," a senior ZAKA official told Israel Today. "Much more than him, but he was charismatic and a communication wizard and knew how to always penetrate the front of the stage and try to become an idol in public."
Zviki Fleischman from Magen refers to the Golden Silk affair // Photo: Moshe Ben Simhon
Regarding the suspicions, the senior member of the ZAK says, in the first reference to the hard evidence, that "we always knew and saw him hanging out with women and we suspected that he was a great pervert but we did not think he was a rapist or a pedophile.
In hindsight this raises a lot of perplexities and explains things we have seen over the years.
"Many years ago, one of the senior members of the organization resigned and came out with his letter of resignation against Yehuda, for his style."
According to the same official, he "condemns Judah today and can not remember the good deeds, because almost everything was done by the volunteers. They were very hurt by the story, and should be given great reinforcement because they are doing holy work."
"Some people are ashamed to walk around with the ZAKA's car," explains the organization's senior official. "Judah hit thousands of volunteers in the country and put them in an awkward position. Suddenly people see "ZKA as a shocking thing."
However, despite the severe immediate damage to the organization, they are convinced that in Israel they understand that ZKA is not golden silk but an Israeli organization that does sacred work.
"People understand that he has harmed the organization, but it is an organization that is impossible without it," the senior ZAKA official concluded.
The ZAKA organization responded that "Yehuda Meshi Zahav no longer holds a position in the organization and will now have to deal with the allegations attributed to him."
Will testify
One of the participants in the Haaretz investigation into the case of suspected sexual offenses allegedly attributed to ZAKA chairman Yehuda Meshi Zahav is expected to testify today at the offices of the National Fraud Investigation Unit at Lahav 433. As far as is known, the statute of limitations for the offenses committed there.
A police source told Israel Today yesterday that the investigation is in its early stages in which investigators are trying to build an evidentiary infrastructure against gold silk, which is expected to be investigated later in the case.