Yitzhak Mordechai after his conviction. (Reuters)

	Women's groups welcome verdict
	Leadership is accountable
	The Mordechai verdict Jerusalem Post
	Israel Women's Network

Yitzhak Mordechai, former Defense Minister and one-time candidate for Prime Minister, was convicted yesterday on two counts of indecent assault. At the same time, the Jerusalem Magistrate's Court acquitted Mordechai of harassment charges brought by a third woman.

In its ruling, the court found Mordechai guilty of forcibly harassing a female army officer who worked in his office in 1992, when he served as Northern Command commander. The court also convicted Mordechai of harassing a Likud activist during his service as Defense Minister in 1996.

Female Knesset members and Israeli women's groups welcomed the Mordechai verdict. The case marked the first time an Israeli politician has been convicted under the Law for the Prevention of Sexual Harassment enacted by the Knesset in 1998.

The Jerusalem court, consisting of

"I know that I am innocent." - former Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai

Yaakov Tsaban, Rivka Friedman-Feldman and Rafi Carmel, determined Yitzhak Mordechai's testimony to be inconsistent. The former minister's evasion of questions at police investigations and his multiple explanations of events at court hearings led to an undermining of his credibility. The court also rejected Mordechai's claim that the charges of sexual misconduct were part of a campaign to libel him and thus destroy him politically.

Mordechai was acquitted of harassing the former Transportation Ministry employee whose complaint last year sparked the entire investigation. The court found numerous contradictions in this employee's testimony, and didn't consider the evidence supportive of a conviction.

Mordechai will appeal the verdict
Mordechai announced yesterday that he would appeal the verdict. "I know that I am innocent, and I will continue to fight until I have exhausted body and soul to prove my innocence," he said. Mordechai took comfort in the acquittal he did receive. "The heart of the libel against me was disproved in court," he said.

Mordechai has asked the Knesset House Committee to suspend him as a Knesset Member until the verdict on his appeal is issued. Mordechai is due to be replaced in the Knesset by Yehiel Lasri, the next person on the Center Party list.

Ha'aretz reported today that the prosecution would consider appealing Yitzhak Mordechai's acquittal in the case of the Transportation Ministry employee, although it usually does not appeal in such cases.

Sentencing in the Mordechai case is scheduled for April 18. Mordechai faces a maximum sentence of seven years. A recent amendment instructs judges to sentence Mordechai to at least one-quarter of the maximum sentence, but a Supreme Court ruling allows judges to dictate lesser punishments as well.

Justice Minister Meir Sheetrit issued a statement yesterday after hearing the Mordechai verdict. "The court has had its say. It has been proven that the judicial system in Israel does not discriminate and does not differentiate between the powerful and the rank-and-file."

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