They pressured him. They threatened him. And they intimidated him. And
as police and prosecutors stood by and did nothing to protect their
witness, in mid-trial he refused to testify, causing prosecutors to drop
half of the charges against one of the most prominent Zionist Orthodox
rabbis ever charged with sexual abuse in Israel, Rabbi Motti Elon.
Rabbi Motti Elon
Originally published at 9:08 pm CST 2-26-2013
Half Of The Charges Against Rabbi Motti Elon Dropped After Alleged Victim Pressured
Shmarya Rosenberg • FailedMessiah.com
They pressured him. They threatened him. And they intimidated him. And as police and prosecutors stood by and did nothing to protect their witness, in mid-trial he refused to testify, causing prosecutors to drop half of the charges against one of the most prominent Zionist Orthodox rabbis ever charged with sexual abuse in Israel, Rabbi Motti Elon.
Elon – the son of late High Court justice Menachem Elon, and brother of former MK Benjamin (Benny) Elon and of Beersheba District Court judge Yosef Elon – was the rosh yeshiva (head) of Horev Yeshiva high school from 1987 until 2002, and the rosh yeshiva of Yeshivat Hakotel from 2002 to 2006 when he was forced to resign and leave Jerusalem after Takana, a modern Orthodox ethics committee headed by Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein, heard evidence of Elon’s alleged seduction of a male student.
Elon allegedly promised to cease teaching and promised to leave public life, but within months he was reportedly teaching young men again.
When Takana confronted him, Elon refused to keep his agreement and claimed Takana had no authority over him. That started the process that eventually led to Elon’s arrest.
Elon was finally indicted in November 2011 on two counts of indecent and sexual assault allegedly committed against two 17-year-old male students between 2003 and 2005.
Elon’s supporters, who have been mercilessly pressuring the two alleged Elon victims who came forward, scored a partial success today when, the Times of Israel reported, one of those victims refused to take the witness stand. He reportedly told prosecutors that he backed down because of intense pressure from friends and family – some of whom are supporters of Elon – and because he was afraid to face his former teacher in court.
“Toward the end of the prosecution’s case against Rabbi Elon, and after an extended period during which we attempted to bring the complainant to court so he could testify, it became clear to the prosecution that the complainant had made up his mind not to testify. It was decided not to force him to appear [in court], and, as a result, the prosecution had to retract a second charge being pressed,” prosecutors reportedly said in a statement issued to Channel 10 News.
Elon allegedly kissed, hugged and massaged the alleged victims. One boy alleges that on two different occasions Elon hugged him, had him lie down on his stomach, and then kissed and caressed him. The other boy alleges that Elon put his foot between the victim’s legs and massaged the boy’s genitals with it. Elon also allegedly hugged and kissed the boy, including kissing his face.
Both boys claim that Elon recited the birkat kohanim (the priestly blessing) after he finished abusing them.
Elon denies the abuse took place. He claims not to remember the first victim at all, and says that while he may have kissed and hugged students, it was only done to console or encourage them and was never sexual.