Gang rape of a 16‑year-old. 11 Israelis convicted

The nightmare unfolded at a holiday resort in southern Israel. A group of several dozen men waited in line outside a hotel room to rape a 16-year-old girl. The court convicted 11 of them.

- Sodom and Gomorrah - summarized the judge of the court in Be'er Sheva, explaining the verdict. As he pointed out, "if even one person from the entire accused group turned out to be righteous, this horror would not have happened". On Wednesday, 11 people were found guilty in the case of the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl, which took place in August 2020 at a holiday resort in Eilat.

31-year-old ringleader Issy Raphaelov, 30-year-old Eliezer Meirav, and two 17-year-olds were convicted of rape and sexual assault. Seven other men, including the minors, were convicted of abetting in gang rape and failing to assist the victim. However, as the judge highlighted, the fact that they did not abuse the teenager themselves, but stood by and watched, does not diminish their guilt.

This case shocked and outraged the public. The Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, called it a "crime against humanity", emphasizing that the men's actions deserve "all condemnation".

In August 2020, a 16-year-old girl was at a resort in Eilat with a friend and a group of her friends. Raphaelov approached her at the pool, but the teenager rejected his advances. Later, when the girl started to feel sick after drinking too much alcohol, the accused reappeared - he lied to her friends, saying that he was a medic and to take her to room 216. There he undressed and twice raped the 16-year-old. After him, the second offender took advantage of the unconscious girl.

Everything happened with the room doors open. Men passing by, including a pair of twins, started to join under Raphaelov's persuasion. Some stood and watched, others took turns raping the 16-year-old girl. The camera footage showed about 30 men waiting in line. However, not all of them could be identified.

The sentence for the 11 defendants has not yet been announced. For rape in the presence of witnesses, all four of them may face up to 20 years in prison. The rest face up to 10 years for complicity.

Source: Times of Israel, Jerusalem Post