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Just Journalism Newsletter 8 September 2010 For those of you celebrating the Jewish New Year, Just Journalism wishes you a Shana Tova U'Metuka!! 'Racist' rape by deception story debunked by journalist Last month, headlines were made across the world about a case in which an Israeli court had apparently convicted an Arab man of 'rape by deception' for having consensual sex with a Jewish Israeli woman after misrepresenting himself to her as a Jew. The general response was one of outrage - in Israel and abroad. Rachel Shabi at the The Guardian claimed that the conviction represented Israel's 'anti-democratic sentiment and mob rule racism' in 'Israel turns upon its own.' The news sections of The Guardian, The Independent, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times and the BBC News website all covered the story, emphasising the 'consensual' nature of the sex and the assertion that Sabbar Kashur's offense was simply misrepresenting himself as Jewish to the woman in question. However, it has since been revealed in a piece of investigative journalism published on the cover of Ha'ir magazine (Tel Aviv) on 3 September that this portrayal of events is far from accurate. Lital Grossman's article, also published in Hebrew on Haaretz, contained previously classified passages of the woman's court testimony which 'shed completely new light on this case'. Grossman reveals a troubled woman in her late twenties who was sexually abused by her father from the age of six and forced by him into prostitution. She was living in a women's shelter at the time of the incident with the Palestinian man. She describes being forced into sex with Kashur and being left naked and bleeding. Once all the relevant evidence had been gathered, Kashur was charged. The original indictment read: 'The defendant had sex with the plaintiff without her consent and sexually assaulted her for sexual arousal and satisfaction against her free will'. Furthermore, the Deputy Prosecutor Danny Wittman, who had taken the decision to charge Kashur with the rape, told Grossman how he subsequently came to agree to a plea-bargain to the lesser crime of rape by deception. The woman had made numerous allegations of sexual assault in the past, with some resulting in confessions and convictions and others not: 'we faced a dilemma whether to expose the plaintiff once against to the cross-examination of the defense attorney over these complaints, which would inevitably lead to another traumatic experience for the plaintiff, or reach a plea bargain, as the defense attorney suggested.' It was in this context that the new indictment was made against the Palestinian man in question, which read: 'The defendant, who is married, falsely presented himself as a Jewish bachelor to the plaintiff, and presented himself as interested in a meaningful romantic relationship (hitherto: the misrepresentation) and offered her to escort him to the building. Due to this misrepresentation, the plaintiff agreed to accompany the defendant.' Wittman noted that 'Plea bargains never match the original narrative of the plaintiff, because the two sides have to bridge the gap between them and reach an agreement... in this case we gave up on the 'forcible' element and agreed to a rewriting of the indictment, according to which the defendant had sex with the woman with her consent that was obtained with deception.' However, the world media, who entered the fray only at the point where Kashur was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment only acquainted themselves with the second indictment and construed the issue as one of Jewish anti-Arab racism. To continue reading, click here. Donating to Just Journalism Just Journalism is a not-for-profit organization and relies entirely upon the generosity of our supporters. If you wish to make a donation, please contact donate@justjournalism.com for more information. For more information about Just Journalism, or to contact us, please visit www.justjournalism.com