Israel's Supreme Court rejects Malka Leifer's appeal against Australian extradition
Malka Leifer is wanted in Australia on 74 charges of child sex abuse. (ABC News: Sophie McNeill)
Israel's Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a former school principal Malka Leifer wanted in Australia on charges of child sex abuse, saying her mental condition does not prevent her extradition.
Ms Leifer, the former principal of Melbourne's ultra-orthodox Adass Israel School, is wanted on 74 charges of sexually abusing three former students.
The judges unanimously rejected Ms Leifer's appeal against a Jerusalem court's ruling in May that she was fit to stand trial, saying it was "putting an end to the saga that has been drawn out for many years".
"Now the time has come to decide on the request to extradite her person," the court said.
Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper have accused Ms Leifer of abusing them while they were her pupils.
There are said to be other victims. As accusations surfaced in 2008, Israeli-born Ms Leifer left the school and returned to Israel, where she has lived since.
"Six years and 70 court hearings regarding Leifer's mental fitness! We are exhilarated, finally an end in sight!," Ms Erlich wrote on Twitter.
"During this tumultuous journey there were moments that this did not seem possible! Bring on Sept 21 and an extradition decision!"
The decision frees Israeli authorities to make a final ruling on the extradition, which is expected later this month.
Leifer delays an 'irritant' in Israel-Australia relationship
Ms Leifer's alleged victims, Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich, have been fighting for her extradition for years. (Australian Story: Mark Farnell)
Critics, including Ms Leifer's alleged victims, have accused Israeli authorities of dragging out the case for too long.
Australia requested Ms Leifer's extradition in 2014 on 74 charges of child sex abuse and more than 60 Israeli court hearings have followed.
In the years since the request, Ms Leifer avoided extradition by claiming that severe anxiety and panic attacks left her mentally incapable of facing an Israeli court.
According to Israeli law, hearings cannot proceed if the defendant is not present and, in 2016, the court suspended extradition hearings and ordered Ms Leifer appear before a panel of psychiatrists every six months.
But in 2018, a team of private investigators recorded 200 hours of footage that contradicted Ms Leifer's claims that she was mentally incapable of attending court.
Loading...It took another two years for this to be upheld in an Israeli court, and the case's delays have strained Israel-Australia relations.
Former ambassador to Israel — now federal Liberal MP — Dave Sharma told the ABC last year the case had been an "irritant" in the bi-lateral relationship.
"I just think we have a good and productive relationship with Israel, but this is increasingly becoming an irritant and is increasingly becoming a focal point in the relationship," said Mr Sharma, who first raised the issue when he was ambassador to Israel.
"To state the obvious, when this is in the news all the time ... it affects Israel's reputation in Australia, and it affects the way we interact."
Ms Leifer's case has also been met with allegations of political interference.
Israeli police recommended the country's former deputy health minister, ultra-orthodox rabbi Yaakov Litzman, be indicted for interfering in the case to block the extradition last year.
Manny Waks, head of Kol v'Oz, a Jewish group that combats child sex abuse that has been representing the three sisters, said that "we hope and expect that we now see her swiftly sent back to Australia where she will face her accusers."
ABC/AP