Malka Leifer affair

Summary

The Malka Leifer affair is a criminal case regarding child sex abuse at the Adass Israel School, a Jewish religious school in Melbourne, Australia, and a subsequent 15-year-long extradition case involving Israeli authorities. A former principal, Malka Leifer, faced trial on 70 sex offence charges laid by Victoria Police, with accusations from at least eight alleged victims. Leifer fled Australia for Israel under suspicious circumstances shortly before a warrant could be issued, and remained in Israeli-controlled territory from 2008 until January 2021, under varying levels of police and court supervision, pending the resolution of her extradition case. Leifer's trial did not address other alleged sex crimes in Israel and the West Bank because they did not occur in Australia.