Just over a week ago, we wrote to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull urging him to meet with Dassi Erlich, a victim of sexual abuse by Malka Leifer when Leifer was principal of Melbourne’s Adass Israel School. Tomorrow, Dassi will be meeting Prime Minister Turnbull as part of her campaign to have Leifer extra­dited from Israel, where Leifer fled in 2008, to face charges of abuse in Australia.
We also commend other politi­cians who have met with Dassi recently, and expressed their support for Dassi’s campaign, including Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Minister for Energy Josh Fry­den­berg and Senator Derryn Hinch.
Dassi also met with officials at the Israeli Embassy where she received a sym­path­et­ic hearing and was told that the Embassy has raised the issue with the Israeli gov­ern­ment and with every Israeli politi­cian who has come to Australia over the last 4 years.
To view our letter to Prime Minister Turnbull, click here.

Erlich to meet PM
September 28, 2017
Joshua Levi
The Aus­trali­an Jewish News
CHILD sexual abuse survivor Dassi Erlich is set to meet with Aus­trali­an Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Friday as she escalates her campaign to have former Adass Israel principal Malka Leifer extra­dited to Australia.
Assisted by senior members of the Adass community, Leifer fled to Israel in 2008 amid accus­a­tions she had abused students at the school. She has remained there ever since.
Last year, an Israeli judge ruled she is too mentally unstable to face extra­di­tion pro­ceed­ings relating to 74 counts of alleged abuse, but she was not hos­pit­al­ised and her movements are unres­tric­ted.
“I’m feeling positive and I’m encour­aged that the campaign has reached the highest level of gov­ern­ment,” Erlich told The AJN.
“The campaign is getting traction and I’ll be asking the Prime Minister to raise the issue with the Israeli gov­ern­ment when he is there later this year.”
Erlich said that the Executive Council of Aus­trali­an Jewry (ECAJ) was pivotal in setting up the meeting.
ECAJ wrote to Turnbull earlier this month noting it was a matter of concern to the entire Jewish community that Leifer is at large in Israel, and children with whom she may come in contact remain at risk.
They also noted the frus­tra­tion with the con­tinu­ing delay in bringing Leifer to face serious criminal charges in Australia.
Request­ing the meeting between Erlich and the PM, ECAJ asked Turnbull to raise Leifer’s extra­di­tion matter with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit there next month.
Earlier this week, Erlich met with shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus to discuss what he, and the Labor Party, can do to help bring back Leifer.
“It was a very pro­duct­ive meeting and he said that he was committed to doing what he can to help me,” Erlich said.
Dreyfus, who will also be in Israel at the end of October for the Battle of Beersheba Centenary com­mem­or­a­tions, told The AJN he’s fully behind Erlich.
“I found her very impress­ive and it’s excellent that she is mounting this campaign,” Dreyfus said.
“What we have here is charges laid by Victoria Police and a formal request for extra­di­tion for her to face those charges, which has gone nowhere, and that ought to be of concern to every Aus­trali­an.
“I intend to raise this with rep­res­ent­at­ives of the Israeli gov­ern­ment.”
Last week, Erlich also met with Israel’s ambas­sad­or to Australia, Shmuel Ben-Shmuel.
“He was very receptive,” Erlich said. “He was very aware of the issue and kept saying that he raises the issue with every Israeli politi­cian that visits Australia.”