After the investigation into sexual harassment: The writer Haim Velder is lifeless

The ultra-Orthodox writer and educator is without a spirit in a cemetery in the center of the country.

Yesterday it was reported that following the Haaretz investigation, the police began investigating the matter and that 22 pieces of evidence of sexual assault had reached a special ultra-Orthodox court.

Walla!

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27/12/2021

Monday, 27 December 2021, 12:58 Updated: 13:30

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The ultra-Orthodox writer and educator Haim Velder is today (Monday) lifeless. This, after Haaretz's investigation into sexual assault evidence conducted by Velder. Yesterday it was reported in Haaretz that the police had opened an investigation following the allegations and that 22 pieces of evidence of sexual assault had reached a special ultra-Orthodox court dealing with the issue. Walder was a very well-known ultra-Orthodox author, who wrote about 80 books and received the Prime Minister's Award "Protector for the Child."

Yesterday, the Facebook page of Rabbi Eliyahu's office posted a reference to the issue, stating that "we have witnesses who testified that he committed adultery with married women for many years until he caused them to divorce and be forbidden by their husbands. We also heard recordings in his voice that indicate serious acts of incest that he committed, and we found that he was guilty without any doubt. "

"Although it was clear to him that he was destroying houses, and although it was clear to him that he was tripping and defiling the house of Israel, Velder continued on his way without stopping for a moment," the page read.

"We have received testimony about 22 women and girls he has harmed, and there is no doubt that these cases are only a small part of his malignancy."

"We called Haim Velder to accept a way of repentance. We sent people to persuade him to repeat it so that there would be no great blasphemy when all these deeds were published. Instead of repenting, he chose to threaten and discredit us through his messengers."

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A month and a half ago, journalists Aharon Rabinovich and Shira Alek published three testimonies of women against him. Haaretz claims that Velder sexually abused girls for years, while maintaining a revered image. One of them said that at the age of 12 the relationship with him began and that after not long after that he started asking her if she cared to touch his penis.

"'It's okay, I have a place in my heart to love both my wife and you. Believe me it's okay, do you trust me?'", She repeated the conversation between them. "At first I would touch him and he would touch me under a shirt and stuff like that, but there was no full relationship."

She further testified that at the age of 13 he informed her that they had to "celebrate" the receipt of her first menstrual period and that he had full sexual intercourse with her at a hotel in Ramat Gan. "I remember the trauma I was after, and I remember crying," she told Haaretz. According to her, Haaretz wrote, sexual exploitation became more frequent and the meetings were held on a weekly basis,Sometimes even twice a week, whether it was during menstruation or not. "It did not bother him," she says.

Another woman testified that when she was 15, throughout a series of encounters Velder took advantage of his status and age, and had regular sex with her in several different places.

However, Walder denied the allegations and wrote that it was a plot.

However, since the publication of the investigation, much more evidence has accumulated.

Bodies that worked with him began to shake him off, including Kol Chai radio and the newspaper Yated Ne'eman, and he announced his retirement from all his public pursuits.

Three weeks ago, senior dayanim in the ultra-Orthodox community ordered not to read his books until things were clarified.

Earlier, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, rabbi of the city of Safed, called for Velder's books to be taken out of the houses.

"It is impossible to keep in the school of someone suspected of sexually abusing so many women. There is no compromise in the war on this abomination," he wrote.

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