Jaffa Flea Market Vendor Charged With Rape of American Tourist
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
Two Jaffa flea market vendors suspected of sexually assaulting an American tourist were indicted Sunday in a Tel Aviv court.
The suspected assailants were only identified in the indictment as A.S., 39, from Ra’anana and S.R., 44, from Holon.
A.S. was charged with rape and other sexual offenses and has apparently claimed the woman consented, while S.R. denied the charges.
According to the indictment, last Monday the 25-year-old American tourist entered a jewelry store owned by A.S. and selected a ring priced at NIS 80. She handed him a NIS 200 bill, but he refused to give her change and instead implored her to shop for more jewelry. She said she was not interested, but he knelt down and tried to put a bracelet around her ankle at which point she pushed him away.
He then took her to a corner of the store and started groping her despite her demands that he stop, according to the indictment. At some point, the indictment continued, he told her he was leaving the store for a few minutes and warned her that if she left it would be “suicide.” When he returned he allegedly raped her and said she would be free to go when he “finished.”
Read more at Haaretz.com.
This is a moment of great uncertainty. Here’s what you can do about it.
We hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, we’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s independent Jewish news this Passover. All donations are being matched by the Forward Board - up to $100,000.
This is a moment of great uncertainty for the news media, for the Jewish people, and for our sacred democracy. It is a time of confusion and declining trust in public institutions. An era in which we need humans to report facts, conduct investigations that hold power to account, tell stories that matter and share honest discourse on all that divides us.
With no paywall or subscriptions, the Forward is entirely supported by readers like you. Every dollar you give this Passover is invested in the future of the Forward — and telling the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
The Forward doesn’t rely on funding from institutions like governments or your local Jewish federation. There are thousands of readers like you who give us $18 or $36 or $100 each month or year.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
