The 25-year-old woman at the center of alleged extortion plot targeting influential haredi publicist Dudi Zilbershlag said Wednesday she was recruited to “expose corruption and sexual harassment” that Zilbershlag was supposedly responsible for at Bikur Cholim and Meir Panim.
‘I did not have the right to play with peoples’ lives’
25-year-old claims she was recruited to ‘expose corruption and sexual harassment’ involving haredi publicist Dudi Zilbershlag.
By YAAKOV LAPPIN • Jerusalem Post
The 25-year-old woman at the center of alleged extortion plot targeting influential haredi publicist Dudi Zilbershlag said Wednesday she was recruited to “expose corruption and sexual harassment” that Zilbershlag was supposedly responsible for at Bikur Cholim and Meir Panim.
Tom Darom, a part-time actress, was released from custody on Wednesday after being held in connection with the plot.
Police suspect that two men – Peretz Hirschenbaum, director of the Mifal Hayim charity, and David Roth, director of American Friends of Mifal Hayim – attempted to obtain embarrassing photographs of Zilbershlag with Darom. A total of five people were arrested this week in connection with the affair. Roth was questioned but not arrested.
A Channel 2 profile of Darom, made public on Wednesday, suggested that she became involved in the plot after being sent by private investigator Boaz Nahamia, who allegedly worked with the suspects, to ensnare Zilbershlag by spending time with him at hotels in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. According to reports, she posed as the daughter of a donor to the Bikur Cholim Hospital.
Zilbershlag was a director of Bikur Cholim until he resigned several months ago.
Darom reportedly met with Zilbershlag twice at a hotel in Tel Aviv with envelopes of cash for donations to Meir Panim, and mentioned the possibility of donating over $100,000 to the hospital. In a third meeting, at a Jerusalem hotel, Darom reportedly convinced Zilbershlag to come to her room to retrieve a heavy painting she wanted to donate to the hospital. In the room, she offered to give Zilbershlag a massage, which he accepted. Police suspect that secret video cameras had been installed in the room beforehand with the cooperation of the hotel’s head of security, who was among those arrested.
Speaking to Channel 2 on Wednesday, Darom said Nahamia had “recruited her for the mission” and told her that her role was to “expose corruption and sexual harassment” that Zilbershlag was supposedly responsible for at Bikur Cholim and Meir Panim.
“I didn’t think that cameras had been installed and that everything was being recorded,” she said. “Boaz [Nahamia] instructed me on what to do, and I did exactly what he told me.”
The actress expressed surprise that a religious man had agreed to enter a hotel room with her.
“But I did not feel I was setting him up because it was his choice,” she added.
“I was asked to make it look intimate, but not more than that,” she continued. “Dudi understood... that it would not go beyond that... and did not try to take it there. That was agreed upon with the investigator.”
Darom apologized for her role in the affair, saying, “I did not have the right to play with peoples’ lives and to check if he was corrupt or not. I should not have done this.”
Channel 2 described Darom as having been “on the margins of the entertainment industry” for years. She took part in the Acre cultural festival, children’s plays and a few television shows. She also appeared in a Health Ministry awareness campaign, worked with the Beep comedy channel and produced a series of short satirical films.
“To make ends meet,” Channel 2 said in its profile, “she worked with the private investigator, who involved her in the extortion racket.”
Melanie Lidman contributed to this report.
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[Hat Tips: CS, Burich.]