It has been a year and a half since Anastasia Weiner discovered that a hidden camera had been hidden in her room at the Jerusalem border, documenting her intimate moments, and no one has yet been prosecuted. Watching the videos revealed that the deputy commander of the unit where she served Rabah: By mistake, the officer also documented himself at the time of his actions.
The affair exploded in July 2020 and got the nickname "The Peeking Officer".
Rabah was summoned for questioning by the Police Investigations Department, admitting that he was the one who placed the camera, but claimed that he did so for fear of Anastasia's mental state.
He was released on a five-day house arrest, after which he did not return to the unit.
Half a year later he was fired from the police.
Since then, despite the conclusive evidence, despite an intimate picture of another fighter being found on one of Rabah's telephones, and despite allegations by other fighters of misconduct against them - DIP, which is the body handling indictments against police officers, has not yet filed an indictment against him.
"As long as he is not tried, this nightmare will continue to haunt me," says Anastasia, who was then a regular service fighter.
"The camera I found was aimed at the shower and toilet, and it's hard to describe the feeling of insult and humiliation, especially when it turns out that whoever put it on is a senior commander in the unit. The thought of seeing me naked doesn't give me rest. I don't sleep at night because of trauma. Clothes only online, so as not to get into measuring booths.I'm constantly afraid that someone will peek at me.
DIP abandoned me.
The IDF and the police, too. When the case of Dan Sharoni, who is suspected of photographing female soldiers in intimate situations, was recently revealed, he was immediately arrested, and an indictment has already been filed against him.
But no one stood by me like that. "
Anastasia, who was released last year, has hired the services of Adv. Orit Hayun, who is pressuring DIP to end the investigation and intends to file a compensation claim against the IDF and the police. At the same time, she is supported by three other fighters In the Sheikh Jarrah, Shuafat and Issawiya neighborhoods, they have been released over the past year, and now say the officer sent them privacy-intrusive messages, remarked to one of them about her body structure and allegedly used to enter their rooms when they were asleep or on operational missions.
"The thought that we often walked around without clothes, when we undressed after an activity or when we went into the bathroom and shower, drives me crazy," says Linor Zeluba, 23, who was with Anastasia in the same room at the base.
"I was not even called to testify, and none of the investigators informed us if they found more videos of naked fighters with him. If he is prosecuted, more complainants may come. And now we feel like air. "
Anastasia and Linor during their service at the border. "I was wondering if more girls would discover hidden cameras," Photo: Courtesy of the photographers
• • •
Anastasia (21) was born in Ukraine to a surgeon father and a neurological mother.
At the age of 17, she immigrated to Israel with her parents and sister, who is nine years younger than her.
The family settled in Ashdod, and Anastasia asked to enlist in combat service.
"My parents were apprehensive and opposed, but I wanted to serve in the border," she says, "it was important for me to contribute and do meaningful service.
I enlisted in April 2018 at the Tribute Oak base, where I learned Hebrew, and after four months I started training at the border.
At the end of the track, she was placed in the Shahar 101 unit in Jerusalem, which fights crime in urban areas and is considered wanted.
"The service at dawn is challenging. I was assigned to Team 41, one of the three operational teams in the unit, which works alongside a detective team.
"Already on my first day in one unit the veteran fighters talked about Nader. She said there were rumors about him going into girls' rooms. There were internal jokes about it, that maybe he was peeking at their bricks. It sounds delusional to me, why should a serious officer do such nonsense? "That's how I heard it from another fighter, and even then it seemed like cheap gossip to me. Over time, I also heard from Linor and other warriors about messages he leaves for them on WhatsApp, but it never happened to me."
Have you encountered it?
"Only when he would sometimes give a briefing before going out on complex missions, like mass riots. Besides, nothing. My contact was with the fighters and with the commander of the team, from whom I received the orders."
Rabah.
Claimed to have feared for Anastasia's mental state,
In early July 2020 Anastasia was scheduled to stay at the base for the weekend.
Her roommates, Linor and another fighter (who still serves in the border), went home.
"They closed the door in the residence, but did not lock it, because they were not sure I had a key and did not want to disturb me in the middle of the shift. Even so, the girls' rooms are on the top floor of the residence, and no one is supposed to get there.
"I returned to the operations base on Friday around 9pm. I put the vest in the room and ran for dinner. Nader came in for a moment to see us, he was a duty officer that weekend.
"After dinner I went upstairs, locked the door and went into the shower, which is inside the room. The shower door and the shower door were open because I was alone. In the middle of the shower I noticed I forgot the hair conditioner and went out to the closet for a moment. To reply to a message I received from a company.
"I was standing between the shower door and one of the beds, on which our vests were arranged. Suddenly I noticed a camera protruding from the vest of the other fighter, who was our roommate. She looked different from a body camera of cops.
"In the first second I said to myself, what fun she had. Her father is serving in the police, and he must have given it to her. As I approached, I noticed the camera was working, a red light was on in her back and she was very hot. I was angry. I knew this girl suspected some other staff she was touching "But why did not you update me that the room was filmed all the time?"
• • •
Although it was close to midnight, Anastasia decided to call her roommate.
"She did not answer. For a moment I did not think it was criminal, although it was clear that the lens was aimed at the shower. I tried to check where the camera was turned off, and could not find it, so I turned it so that the lens was aimed into the pouch.
"I was supposed to go to bed because the next morning I had a shift, but I could not fall asleep. I got out of bed, took off her full vest and went to the courtroom to talk to the rest of the team. Some fighters sat there and watched TV.
"I showed them the camera in the pouch. The team commander turned pale. He motioned for me to be quiet and played with the camera until he turned it off. I went with him and three other fighters to the crew's office. Is my video.
"I saw between the squares the table in my room, my red towel, and I was also taking a shower. Suddenly I realized that everyone would see me naked, and I started crying. It embarrassed me and I asked them that as soon as there were intimate pictures of me, they would immediately close the video. They really did. The thought was that if we looked at the material being filmed, we might be able to find out who put the camera in there.
"In one of the videos we saw someone in uniform coming out of the room, and we could not identify who it was. Then we came to a video where the time that appeared was 16:00. We saw the camera filming while someone goes up the stairs on the way to the room. A second there is a frame where you see the name tag on the shirt, and immediately after that Nader clearly appears.
"One of the fighters said that the camera was connected to the officers' wireless network. I knew that that day the Wi-Fi did not work so well, so I hoped that whoever intended to watch the videos through a computer or app, did not succeed.
"I was afraid to keep the camera with me because I was afraid he would come back and try to take it. One of the fighters took her to his room and told me he was hiding it under a pillow. I called Linor crying and told her everything."
Weren't you afraid your friends would watch the videos later?
"No, I did not think about it at that moment. I was in shock and emotional turmoil. I cried. My friends saw how hard it was for me to invade my privacy, so why should they do the same? They were my team. We helped each other, and I trusted them not to humiliate me. So".
• • •
Linor sits next to Anastasia and puts a hand on her arm, asking to comfort her.
"That night sounds very upset," she tells her.
"When you asked me if my camera, I was surprised. I suspected it was Nader. At that moment I wondered if more girls would discover hidden cameras."
The fighters who watched the video were debating what to do.
The team commander called the temporary unit commander, who filled the position until a new commander arrived, and informed him of the case.
"I did not hear the whole conversation. I mostly cried," says Anastasia.
"I understood that it was decided not to say anything to Nader, and that on Sunday the unit would turn to DIP.
The commanders did not want him to know that his actions had been exposed.
"Their intention was good, but today I think he should have been stopped immediately."
How did you plan to hide the fact that the camera was found?
"We said that if he asked, we would pretend we had no idea what it was all about.
"I could not sleep at night, and on Saturday morning, when we went out on a mission, I was tired. The briefing before leaving was Nader's. I had to exercise restraint, as if a moment ago he had not peeked at me. .
"He was very short in words. He said to one of the fighters, 'You know what to do, and if there is a problem, call me.' I felt he just wanted to flip us away, maybe to go up and get the camera. Will understand that something is suspicious.
"We got to the old city and got organized near the garbage gate. Suddenly Nader called me. I did not answer. He called again, and I did not answer.
"Then he called the shift commander and said he was coming in a few minutes. When he arrived, he asked to speak to me on the side. I saw with his own eyes that he suspected me.
"He asked if I had taken something that did not belong to me. I answered no. He said that there was a camera belonging to her in the warrior's vest in my room, and asked if I had taken it. I answered in the negative again. He looked at me for a few seconds. The crew called me. I turned around and left. "
Do you think he found out the camera was missing?
"I guess he managed to get into the room, even though I locked the door. Maybe he took a key from the sergeant major's room.
Meanwhile the warrior who lived with me and Linor called me and told me that he had called her and said that there was a camera in her vest that he had received from her father.
When she asked her father, he did not know what it was.
Nader said he was probably wrong and that it was not hers. "
Linor: "I talked to Anastasia several times during the Sabbath, she cried on the phone. I told her to keep a record of the videos, and to take a picture of the camera as well. I was afraid someone would hide it, or DIP would sweep the story."
Nader Rabah as captured on camera.
"I was hoping he would not be able to watch the videos,"
• • •
Nader Rabah (48) lives in the Druze village of Samia in the Upper Galilee.
Although he was fired about a year ago, on the Facebook page he and his wife share, he appears as a police officer.
About a month and a half ago, he and his wife uploaded a short video, in which they filmed the new hair salon they opened in their home.
"We would love to see you among our customers," they wrote.
Anastasia returns to Sunday, July 5, 2020, when she was summoned to DIP offices in Jerusalem to testify.
She gave me the feeling that they were going to build him a serious portfolio.
"Almost all the fighters who closed on Saturday were taken to testify."
At the same time, Rabah was interrogated in the DIP on suspicion of invading privacy. In his interrogation, he claimed that the camera was set up to protect Anastasia. Photographed in 2019.
They also managed to link the camera to an app that was installed on the phone.
Investigators found that two of the officers' cell phones had been used to delete several files, and sent the devices to the lab for testing.
There was no evidence of further offenses from the recovered material.
"I was told that the first time I encountered his unusual behavior was in June 2019, six months after I arrived at the unit," says Gali. Lily in Jerusalem, and the next day one of the fighters who saw Nader came into my room.
"He reported this to the team commander, that it is forbidden to enter the warriors' quarters, except for Sgt.
Did you contact him on the subject?
"I thought it was wrong, but I did not make it a story."
Gali takes out her cell phone and shows a message she sent to her team leader on March 12, 2020. "It was three months after my team was joined by a young fighter, and I was asked to be her mentor. She showed me a message Nader sent her, with a picture of her when she was maybe in sixth grade To the princess. He wrote: "There is nothing about the girls. The girl became a warrior, and not just at dawn."
"The young warrior told me that this is an old photo from her Facebook, and only if you scroll back a lot and dig into her account, do you find it. It's an unpleasant feeling that the commander checks you like that on Facebook.
"She did not understand the meaning, but it bothered me. I told her I was passing it on, to the team commander, because Nader should not send such messages to the fighters, and he should not have such an interaction with her. There were quite a few rumors about him, and I was afraid something serious would happen in the end. "At that time, he also sent inappropriate messages to Linor."
Linor was discharged from the IDF six months ago, and has been working in the Ministry of Defense ever since.
"I received the first message from him on January 28, 2020, before my unit event for the summary of 2019, which took place in Moshav Tzova. I was chosen as the facilitator, so I arrived early to rehearse the presentation. .
I drank coffee and fiddled with the phone.
I did not notice Nader, who was sitting at another table, not far from us.
"Suddenly he sent me a WhatsApp. He took a picture of me and the other two from his desk, and wrote below: 'Idleness.' I froze in place. He sent this message only to me, and it was disturbing.
"Three months later, on April 14, 2020, I closed Shabbat at the base, and the fighters wanted to do over the fire. I sent him a message, if possible. He replied that he would check, and then he suddenly wrote to me: 'You change profile pictures like socks. Beautiful picture. חבל"ז.
I did not answer him, and reported to my team headquarters.
"A few days later I passed by Nader's office on the way to the shift, and he asked me to come in. I was standing in the doorway. He said he understood that the messages he sent me bothered me, and that there was no need to get into situations where I was complaining. It was unpleasant. I did not answer him and walked away. "It amazed me that even though I reported him, he has no shame in confronting me about it. Since then he has not sent me any more messages."
The unit's commander at the time, Sen. Gili Ben-Zur, was summoned for a DIP interrogation on suspicion of non-reporting.
He claimed during his interrogation that he received a complaint from a team commander about entering the girls' rooms, followed by a warning call with Rabah.
The case against Ben Tzur was closed out of innocence.
This week he declined to address questions related to the unit's conduct during his tenure or to explain why there was no appeal to the sexual harassment officer at the police station, saying: "I am sorry for the case of Anastasia. I have nothing more to say, as the matter is still under DIP investigation."
• • •
Rabah expressed resentment at Linor's complaint to Siegel as well.
"At that time one of the fighters asked to leave the unit and I was asked to accompany him for a conversation with a commander," she says, "Nader asked me to update him.
I replied 'no problem' and turned to go.
Then he said: 'But talk to me.
Do not think we correspond for fun.
Everyone who corresponds with me treats me like a rapist.
I was in the market for it and walked away.
"One day, after a long shift, I was in the room and sleeping. I woke up when light suddenly came in from the hallway. I saw Nader coming out of the room."
Did you report to anyone?
"And what can I say? That number 2 in the unit came into my room? I was a relatively new fighter, who would believe me? I only told one of my girlfriends."
In May 2020, while Siegel was attending a briefing before setting out on a tour of Beit Shemesh, the shift commander asked her to bring him a cell phone charger.
"The fighters were waiting in the parking lot and we were supposed to be out already," she says.
"I quickly picked up the luggage and started going down the stairs, when I heard a loud squeak. It was the noise the door of my room made. I looked up upstairs, at the girls' residence, and saw Nader enter my room. He closed the door from inside.
"I did not know what to do. I froze. One of the fighters called me and said that everyone was waiting for me and that I must return quickly. I left.
"After we set off I told the shift commander, and he asked why I did not come back up. I replied that I did not want to delay them. For eight hours of tours in Beit Shemesh I was in movies with myself, what he did there."
Why did you not call him and ask?
"Only the next day did I get courage and go to his office. He claimed to have routinely inspected the rooms. I was skeptical, I knew it was the Sgt.'S job, but I did not dare confront him.
I checked in the room if something was different or missing, but the truth is that my room was a bit messy, so it is impossible to know. "
The last time Siegel encountered the unit's deputy commander was shortly before the camera was unveiled in Anastasia's room.
"I went down to work out in the living room and did sit-ups. Suddenly Nader passed by. He told me, 'Day by day your body is getting more and more shaped.' I was shocked."
Did you tell anyone?
"For membership only."
"I apologize that at first I treated these stories as gossip," says Anastasia, "I thought it was an exaggeration, and that if he went into girls' rooms it was not so terrible, and there must have been a reason. Today I understand."
The camera placed in Anastasia's room.
"Nader asked if I had taken her,"
• • •
The four fighters were released last year, after two years and eight months of service.
Anastasia completed the entire period, despite the embarrassment that the fighters know she was secretly documented naked.
She no longer sleeps alone in the room, and until her release she met weekly with a lieutenant colonel.
Each of Anastasia's friends set out on her own path, but the "peeking officer" affair continued to burn in them.
Occasionally she was asked if there was any progress in the investigation.
"A few months after the interrogation I called an interrogator who took testimony from me," says Anastasia, "I got the feeling from her that in December 2020 an indictment would be filed. It did not happen. I waited another four months to see if anything moved, and then I decided to hire lawyers. "
Adv. Orit Hayun. "Helplessness", Photo: Jean Cohen
Anastasia's lawyers, Orit Hayun, Din Kochavi and Mark Perry, flooded DIP with letters to understand where the investigation was. An explanation of the reason for the length of the proceedings more than a year, to find out when the hearing will take place, what accusations are attributed to Nader and whether restrictions were imposed on him - was not answered.
Advocate Hayun also flattered the allegations in a letter she sent this week to the Ombudsman against State Representatives in Judiciary, retired Judge David Rosen. DIP, "she wrote," this disregard, which maintains complete obscurity, severely undermines public trust and Anastasia's belief in law enforcement. "
Copies of the letter were also forwarded to DIP, the Attorney General and the State Attorney.
The lawyers were unaware that during that period, at the end of August 2020, about a year after the opening of the investigation, a written hearing was held for Nader.
Despite the explanations he provided through his defense attorney, Adv. Adi Carmeli, DIP rejected his allegations and informed him that an indictment would be filed against him.
Adv. Adi Carmeli,
"It does not make sense to me that I was the only one injured by Nader," says Anastasia.
Linor: "Even in Dan Sharoni's interrogation, the complainants did not come at once. As soon as they know who it is, drips begin. Where are the police and where is the IDF?
Why not stand by her side and the fighters, as they did with the complainants in the Sharoni case?
"No one even offered us to talk to the chief of staff about the concerns and what happened to the fighter who is with me in the same room."
Anastasia: "I was photographed naked, and no commander even apologized to me or my parents. How are my parents supposed to feel about what I went through? We immigrated, they struggled to work here as doctors, sent their daughter to combat service, and in the end that's what happens to her, And no one cares. My parents refuse my sister to go to the army in the future. Maximum national service.
"So while I stayed in service despite the trauma, on the other hand I was also afraid to be released. I thought they might forget about me. And here, I was not entirely wrong. Not to indict for a year and a half is disrespectful.
"I wonder if he has any more videos of me, and what will happen if one day they go around the net. If he is prosecuted, it will be much easier for me to get on with life and overcome my fears."
Dan Sharoni.
"Immediately arrested",
"This is a difficult and ugly affair, in which the dignity, safety and body of female soldiers who served as border guards were harmed," says attorney Orit Hayun.
DIP had to conduct a proper and in-depth investigation, at the end of which a serious indictment was filed for sexual offenses and invasion of privacy.
They ascended in office.
"The unit also failed to deal with the case, as for many months reports were forwarded to various command elements, including Sen. Gili Ben-Zur, who served as the unit's commander.
The reports were not forwarded to the person responsible for sexual harassment by the police, as required by law and procedures.
"לנו נראה כי מעשיו של נאדר לא טופלו כראוי, דבר שאִפשר לו לפגוע בלוחמות נוספות, עד שאנסטסיה, בערנותה, תפסה אותו על חם והיתה מספיק אמיצה כדי להתלונן. לנוכח הטיפול של צה"ל בפרשה דומה, שבה הפוגע עצור מאחורי סורג ובריח, מתעצמים אוזלת היד והזלזול של המשטרה ומח"ש בתיק הזה. ההתנהלות של מח"ש והמשטרה אפשרה לקצין בכיר לפגוע ולגרום לטראומה לאנסטסיה, נזקים שבגינם אנו מתעתדים להגיש תביעת פיצויים נגד כל הגורמים האחראיים לתוצאות הקשות של פרשת הקצין המציץ".
תגובות
מח"ש: "נחליט בימים הקרובים"
ממח"ש נמסר: "לאחר שהתקבל במחלקה דיווח על סגן מפקד ביחידה במג"ב, שהתקין מצלמות בחדרן של השוטרות בניגוד לנהלים, נפתחה חקירה מקיפה ויסודית במח"ש, שבמסגרתה נחקר השוטר החשוד באזהרה, נגבו עדויות רבות ונתפסו חומרים מהמחשב ומהטלפון הנייד שלו. לאחר שהחקירה הסתיימה, התיק עבר לפרקליטות מח"ש, התקיים שימוע לשוטר החשוד והתבצעו השלמות חקירה. החלטה בעניינו תתקבל בימים הקרובים".
עו"ד עדי כרמלי, פרקליטו של נאדר רבאח, מסר: "מרשי נחקר ארוכות במחלקה לחקירות שוטרים, מסר גרסה מפורטת, וכן מסר לבדיקה את כל אמצעי המדיה שברשותו, לרבות מחשבו האישי והטלפון הנייד. לאחר סיום החקירה נערך לו שימוע בכתב, שבמסגרתו פורטו הטענות המשפטיות והעובדתיות. אם יוחלט במח"ש על הגשת כתב אישום, חומרי החקירה יילמדו, ותגובה מסודרת תוגש לבית המשפט".
ממשטרת ישראל נמסר: "אנו רואים בחומרה רבה את המקרה החריג, שטופל באופן מיידי. מעשים פסולים אלו אינם מייצגים בשום צורה ואופן את המפקדים והלוחמים של החיל או את ערכיו. בהתאם, פוטר הקצין מהחיל בהליך מהיר לפני יותר משנה. עם כניסתו לתפקיד, הגדיר מפקד מג״ב, ניצב אמיר כהן, טיפול נחוש ובלתי מתפשר במקרים חמורים מסוג זה. משטרת ישראל, ובתוכה משמר הגבול, העניקו וימשיכו להעניק ללוחמות את כלל המעטפת והתמיכה הנדרשות. אנחנו מחזקים את הלוחמות, עומדים לצידן ונסייע להן בכל שיידרש".
מדובר צה"ל נמסר: "מרכז מהו"ת (התמודדות ותמיכה) עומד לרשות כלל חיילי החובה שנפגעו על רקע מיני, לרבות אלו המשרתים ביחידות מחוץ לצה״ל, דוגמת המשטרה ומג"ב, ומציע מענה רחב הכולל ליווי, ייעוץ משפטי וטיפול רגשי. באשר לאירועים המתוארים, לא הגיעו אלינו פניות בבקשה לסיוע. אנו מזמינים את הנפגעות הנמצאות בשירות לפנות למרכז בכל עת, ללא קשר למועד הפגיעה".
tala@israelhayom.co.il
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