Holland Wants Accused Orthodox School Molester Extradicted From Israel
The Netherlands asked for the extradition from Israel of a Dutch teacher suspected of molesting pupils at an Orthodox school near Amsterdam.
The request was sent last week by the Public Prosecution Service of the District Court of Amsterdam, the court’s press officer, Franklin Wattimena, told JTA Thursday.
The 26-year-old man identified in Dutch media as Ephraim S., left the Netherlands for Israel in 2012 amid allegations that he molested several pupils at the Cheider school in Buitenveldert near the Dutch capital.
“We have been busy for a while with filing the request,” Wattimena told JTA. “The Israeli authorities place higher demands than what we are used to. We need, according to the Israeli legal system, to present more [proof] of plausibility with regards to the former teacher. The investigation continues.”
The prosecution service declined to specify what actions Ephraim S. is suspected of committing. One parent told JTA that Ephraim S. gave his son massages, and that Ephraim S. is also suspected of having relations of a sexual nature with a 16-year-old boy.
The suspect’s lawyer, Geert-Jan Knoops, has denied any wrongdoing on the part of his client. Knoops told the Volkskrant daily that he has filed a complaint against the prosecutors handling the case with the Justine Ministry’s supervisor. Knoops said that the prosecution has withheld evidence, keeping his client from defending himself against allegations in the media.
According to De Telegraaf daily, Israeli police have placed no restrictions on Ephraim S.’ movement and he has given private lessons to pupils in Israel.
The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Dive In
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Fast Forward Deborah Lipstadt says Trump’s campus antisemitism crackdown has ‘gone way too far’
-
Fast Forward 5 Jewish senators accuse Trump of using antisemitism as ‘guise’ to attack universities
-
Fast Forward Jewish Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky reportedly to retire after 26 years in office
Most Popular
- 1
Opinion The dangerous Nazi legend behind Trump’s ruthless grab for power
- 2
Opinion A Holocaust perpetrator was just celebrated on US soil. I think I know why no one objected.
- 3
Culture Did this Jewish literary titan have the right idea about Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling after all?
- 4
Opinion I first met Netanyahu in 1988. Here’s how he became the most destructive leader in Israel’s history.
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture I have seen the future of America — in a pastrami sandwich in Queens
-
Culture Trump wants to honor Hannah Arendt in a ‘Garden of American Heroes.’ Is this a joke?
-
Opinion Gaza and Trump have left the Jewish community at war with itself — and me with a bad case of alienation
-
Fast Forward Trump administration restores student visas, but impact on pro-Palestinian protesters is unclear
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism
Republish This Story
Please read before republishing
We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines.
You must comply with the following:
- Credit the Forward
- Retain our pixel
- Preserve our canonical link in Google search
- Add a noindex tag in Google search
See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.
To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.