An Israeli source has provided me a transcript of the statement that the victim I call P. gave to police as part of her complaint against Israel’s Channel 2 news reporter, Yoav Even when she accused him of raping her. The source also provided a photograph of the injuries she sustained from her sexual encounter which show deep red contusions in several places on her back. She also sent screenshots of Facebook messages sent to P. by Even’s colleagues at Channel 2 which appear suspiciously like obstruction of justice.
Because the case has been dropped by the prosecutor for “lack of sufficient evidence” and because there is still a gag order in place protecting Even’s identity from being exposed inside Israel, and because I believe there is the potential of a serious miscarriage of justice here, I am publishing a paraphrase of the materials offered to me. I have physical copies of every document I mention here and every conversation I paraphrase is contained verbatim in one or another of them.
I wish to make clear that the source who provided this material to me has no direct connection to the case. The only condition requested was that I not reveal the identity of the victim. I want to thank a small group of Israeli journalists, sexual violence activists and translator Dena Shunra for their assistance in pursuing this case and understanding the implications of it both for the victim, suspect and Israeli society.
This is not the sort of material I normally publish here. I’ve never written graphically about a sex act and it makes me queasy to do so here. But almost all of you will understand why it was important that I do so in this case. This material no doubt would hurt P. if she were to read it and this is why I normally would never do such a thing. However, given the need to prove the credibility of her charges, I thought it important to convey precisely what happened as she tells it.
I want to preface this narrative with an important fact that has colored this case and perverted it from the beginning. Judge Beni Sagi issued a gag order that prevented Israelis from reporting Even’s name or any details of the case. I’ve blogged here before about the pernicious effect that this has had on the process of justice and the public’s right to know. I am writing about this case not just because I am personally revulsed by violence against women, but because as a democracy activist I am offended by gag orders which repress free speech, freedom of the press, and which distort the judicial process.
Normally, I would report this story much differently than I’ve been forced to do here. I would display all the evidence, quote from the transcripts, name all the participants. But part of the noxiousness of judicial secrecy is that it gags the mouths of the victim, her attorneys and the entire Israeli media system. As a result, I have to resort to some of the techniques I’ve used below.
I cannot name the victim, that is why I use the initial P. Though this is by her choice (and under Israeli law the media may not name a rape victim unless she gives permission before a court), the reason she cannot allow herself to be named is because of the stigma attached to the act within Israeli society. She would be forever branded and stigmatized as Yoav Even’s conquest. So no one in Israel can name either the victim or the alleged rapist in this case, which in essence muzzles the victim and all Israeli women. This is why I’ve featured the image of the wounded woman with mouth stitched shut below. This represents not only the victim in this case, but all who have suffered from sexual violence and felt they could not speak about it. The brutality against the victim in this case is but the first crime. The second is the way she’s been treated by the police and Israeli legal system, which have prevented her from telling all Israel about what happened. Thus, she has been twice victimized.
The NY Times today carries a story about a case in England of a soccer player who carried on an affair with a beauty queen. Wishing to avoid having the affair and his name exposed publicly, he obtained a super-injunction prohibiting the English press from publishing his name, anything about the affair, or even the fact that there was an injunction. This is common practice in Israel as well. But unlike, Israel, Twitter users in England showed their disdain for the law by posting 75,000 tweets which named him. This quickly turned the soccer player and the super-injunction law into a laughingstock.
Israel unfortunately, is a country in which citizens are still intimidated by gag orders and threats of prosecution for breaking them. If a fraction of those who violated the British Twitter users broke the Israeli gag on Twitter or Facebook, the judge might’ve been persuaded to withdraw it. But the prevalence of government secrecy and a national security state have made Israelis afraid of taking such a chance and putting themselves in jeopardy.
What is interesting about the English case is that the soccer player has threatened to sue Twitter in English courts to expose the identity of those who have exposed his identity. Presumably, some of those who’ve exposed his name could then be sued for violating the injunction. Similarly, some enterprising Israeli protected by a gag order might also sue social networking sites which have exposed his name. That’s another reason why Israelis are so frightened of the power of the gag. And it’s another reason why it’s important for me to do so. Because they can’t–or at least are frightened of the consequences if they do.
Now a word about the dropping of rape charges against Even. The victim’s statement makes abundantly clear why neither the police nor prosecution wished to prosecute this case. Personally, I don’t at all believe it was for “lack of sufficient evidence.” I believe the real reason has to do with the fact that the victim is a woman with unconventional views of lots of issues related to gender sexuality. By this, I’m not referring to aberrant views or views that in any country would make her terribly unusual. But views that in Israel mark this woman as independent or free-thinking. So the thinking of the average Israeli male is that such a woman has only herself to blame if she gets into the kind of scrape she did with Yoav Even.
In addition, P., in cultivating the relationship with Even, did many things that if you were a father, as I am, you would not want your daughter to do. But again, the things she did, while perhaps “forward” by conventional standards should in no way mark her as someone whose victimhood can in any way be justified.
* *
P. met Even through Facebook. They cultivated a three-week long relationship online in which they shared many details of their lives, some quite intimate. Though the victim believed that the nature of their exchange wasn’t erotic, they did at some junctures talk about sex and their sexual histories. Even revealed that he’d had serial relationships with married women “in the past.” The complainant revealed the types of sexual activities she’d enjoyed in the past. But these discussions were in a broader context of conversation the two had that contained numerous non-sexual aspects.
Even essentially revealed to her that he was in a “passive mode.” In other words, that he wasn’t seeking a relationship. In retrospect, what he was telling her that he was a one-night stand kinda guy. She revealed to him that while she enjoyed being the more assertive partner, she wished for him to take the initiative. It seems there was already a confusing tug of war going on between them about gender roles.
Even continually invited her to meet him and she rejected all of his overtures. But at one point, three weeks into their online relationship, he promised P. that if she came to visit him she would be safe and that he would not propose sex. If it were you or me we might’ve fled at this point. But this is a woman who works in a highly specialized medical field which most eligible men do not consider especially attractive. So she admits that she is a lonely person, someone seeking companionship. It seems very likely that she may be a person either sexually inexperienced, naive, or socially awkward without the same antennae that another woman might have. At any rate, instead of fleeing danger, this pinky-swear from Even made her feel comfortable trusting him.
She agreed to meet him at his home and was in hindsight reckless in doing so. But how many thousands of women have met men at their homes and not had the sort of catastrophic encounter she did? Do we wish to claim that any woman who does what she did can never claim she was raped because she was too forward, too aggressive? To me, the notion is not only preposterous, but obnoxious and sexist. But of course, in your heart of hearts you know this is precisely the reason (or one of them) why the prosecutor and police dropped the charges against Even.
From the first moment she walked into his apartment, she smelled marijuana in the air. I know, you’re saying like the audience in a horror movie when the heroine enters the haunted house: “Get the hell out of there.” But again, you must suspend judgment because a woman who is naïve or lacks judgment may still be raped. After they exchanged pleasantries he went to the bar and brought out two glasses and a bottle of whiskey which they shared. He then broke out the dope and rolled himself a smoke, which he offered her and she refused.
He then produced a bottle of vodka and offered her another glass which she accepted. At this point, he mysteriously told P. that it’s not advisable to mix drinks. When she asked why, he replied that he would tell her later. In hindsight, she clearly believed that he was setting up an explanation that would lull her into believing that the date rape drug she believed he’d added to her drink was not what caused her later stupor, which facilitated the rape.
As an aside, this Israeli TV news report about use of the date rape drug GBL/GBH indicates its widespread use in the Tel Aviv club scene which Even likely frequented. The report indicates the drug is easily imported into Israel via internet sales and widely found in the local clubs. This story includes interviews with men who have used the drug to overpower women and force sex on them. Had Even wanted to do this to his victim it would’ve been easy to do so.
At this point, P. began to feel the full effects of the combination of the liquor and any other substance she may’ve imbibed. Telling him she felt “high,” he made his first sexual advance, kissing her, which she reciprocated. They then moved to his couch where the cooing continued. But at this point, the victim began to feel physically strange and dissociated from the actions happening around her. He unbuttoned her blouse and undid her bra as her body felt heavier and her mind out of focus. As he laid her body down, it felt to her like a lifeless rag doll. Her head spun, her eyes felt heavy and her vision became unfocused. She felt like a zombie.
In the meantime, Even had disrobed P. and moved his head down to her crotch to perform oral sex, which she refused. She attempted to pull his head away and said “no” several times, which he ignored. He began performing the act and licked her, which she objected to. But the more she resisted the more insistent he became until he finished. At that point her body had shut down and she felt in a near paralytic state. Her body felt limp and she could barely utter a word. But the entire time she was mentally conscious of what was happened despite the other disabilities.
Then he penetrated her (vaginally). At that point, she noticed he had taken up his cellphone and was typing keystrokes. She was concerned that he might be photographing her and asked what he was doing. As he was thrusting and looking at the screen he replied that he wasn’t photographing her, but had received a text message. Later he lay the phone back on his nightstand and continued the sexual act.
She resisted fiercely and continuously shrieked “No, No,” in both Hebrew and English, slapping him and using her arms to push him away. He was shoving himself into her brutally and mercilessly. The more she said no, the more aggressive he became. He pinned her arms behind her back as his body weighed down on her. She emitted long, cries of pain which he ignored. The awkwardness of the position into which he had forced her caused greater discomfort and suffering. She tried kicking with her legs and tried unsuccessfully to move her arms.
Then she noticed that he spat on his hands and rubbed her anal area and then sodomized. She groaned and cried out “No, No” again, with the pain of it. He ignored her and carried out as if possessed. At that point, she was able to release her arms, but he grabbed them again and positioned them behind her back, leaning on her with his whole weight so she could not free herself. He noticed at some point her pain and told her dismissively if it hurt she would eventually get accustomed to it (sounding like a man who has some previous experience in the matter). He also took his arm and wrapped it around her neck and pulled it upward causing near asphyxiation and blackout. At that point, she realized that he could kill her.
After he had climaxed, P. could not get up. So he took her to the shower and helped her shower since she could not even stand on her own feet. She was nearly incapacitated while he talked to her as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. He brought her a towel and then she laid down in his bed and fell asleep due to the lingering effects of alcohol or whatever else she’d ingested.
When she awoke she could barely move, but eventually walked to the bathroom where she evacuated the sperm from her anus. When she wiped herself, she saw blood on the toilet paper, which caused her to feel angry and frightened about the damage he had inflicted on her. She walked over to him as he was doing the dishes in his sink and he ignored her. Though she was still incapacitated, she was upset that he paid no attention to her condition. So she struck his hand and he mistakenly assumed she wanted to have another bout of sex.
She told him she was bleeding but he didn’t respond and showed no concern for her condition. He approached her tried to distract her by talking about his aquarium and fish. He took out worms and asked her to feed them because he knew she enjoyed animals. Then he took her back into the bedroom and performed a second sex act to which she then had no physical ability to resist. He shoved his penis into her mouth as deep as it would go causing her to have a gag reflex and feel like throwing up. Then he penetrated her anally (again). She asked why he was obsessed with anal intercourse. Then he inserted his penis into her vagina from behind, but ‘graciously’ chose to use a condom so as not to make her pregnant (smart boy).
But he couldn’t come, so he turned her around and put his penis into her mouth again till he was about to come, but she managed to turn away and he did not complete the sex act.
She felt physically unable to move and went to sleep. But it was impossible, and after a time she tried woozily to get to the bathroom, where again his ejaculate and other fluids came out of her anus. With great difficulty, she found her clothing, dressed and made her way shakily to her car and drove home. Her driving was erratic and she felt she could’ve caused an accident since she was fully in control of her body. She made wrong turns, had to ask for directions from people along the way, but finally made it to her home.
The next day, P. wrote him a Facebook message in which she told him that he had done a terrible thing to her. He replied that he didn’t feel the same way, didn’t understand her reaction, nor notice she was intoxicated. He flat-out denied that he took advantage of her or treated her as a sex object. He rejected any attempt to impute any blame or guilt to himself for what happened.
He later called her from a phone number that blocked caller ID and reaffirmed that he’d had no idea she was physically unwell and attempted to remind her of points during the intercourse in which she seemed to consent. Many of the scenarios he attempted to persuade her of had not indeed happened. He told her things that he alleged she had said, which she had not said to him. She knew this because he used words and phrases he claimed she’d said, which she knew she would never say.
Naively, at that point, P. decided to give him the benefit of the doubt since she believed that a TV news reporter for one of Israel’s leading channels could not behave in the reprehensible way he did. She thought perhaps she had misunderstood, a reaction common among rape victims. She remembered all the warm conversations they’d had, the personal exchanges they’d had in which he’d showed himself to be kind and generous. She preferred to believe what had happened to her was an aberration. Perhaps, if she tried a little harder she would see the man who charmed her return–that he could reform himself and be the man she imagined.
She was ashamed and preferred not to think about what had happened. The idea that such an outrageous thing had been done to her was terribly difficult to accept. She preferred even to say that what she thought happened couldn’t really have happened to her since she was a strong woman, a capable woman. Such things don’t happen to women like this, she believed.
By the end of that conversation with Even, he’d manipulated her into admitting that perhaps he hadn’t been the aggressor and that perhaps her version of the evening was skewed somehow. She even told him that she wasn’t faulting him for his behavior. Despite this, she did remind him, albeit in a subtle way, of the physically violent things he’d done to her. In other words, she didn’t completely withdraw her story. But she was certainly accommodating to her rapist. His response was to minimize the violence and aggression of her account as much as possible whenever she brought up a damning point.
She later found out that he’d recorded this conversation (without her permission of course). And then came to understand that the entire conversation with him was manipulated so that it could be used by him should she later change her mind and make a police complaint. This sounds to me like a man who’s been through such a mine field before with other women.
In the meantime, the woman had noticed the lacerations and bruising on her body and photographed it (see above).
Dena Shunra, who’s helped me research this story and translate materials, and who grew up in Israel, says the following about Even’s frame of mind. In reading this transcript:
It seems clear that based on P.’s testimony, Even thought they were having consensual sex. In other words, he thought she was a participant, not a passive object being acted upon. That’s the only explanation for the fact that he tried to perform oral sex on her and later asked whether she had an orgasm. It is as though Even’s theory was that once he obtained any consent, he had full consent – once she walked through his door, or drank his booze, he felt that he could do anything at all to her.
This too would’ve made prosecution and conviction of Even difficult. In his twisted view of gender relations, any woman who allowed him to kiss her was also fair game for whatever sex act he wished. Though he may’ve believed he had consent, in what world is he living? In a world in which men can do pretty much whatever they wish with any woman who enters their lair? This sounds more like a whorehouse or war on the female sex than a decent civilized society in which men and women show basic respect for each other.
During a later Facebook conversation, in which she sought reassurance from him and assistance in getting over the trauma of what had happened, she witnessed him turn into the angry person she’d seen that night. He became accusatory, said she wanted to ruin his career and that he was afraid of her. When she asked him whether he had any concern for her feelings he replied that she didn’t interest him at all. She asked whether they could meet to have a sort of sulha in which they could make amends to each other. He refused and said that everything was in her mind and that she was fabricating the need to repair anything.
Another excuse he used for not meeting her was his fear that if they did meet that they would have sex again (that she would want to do so). She protested that she didn’t want to have sex with him and she wasn’t the kind of woman who would try to emasculate him or harm his career. The sad irony is that she wanted this meeting as much to get over the harm that had come to her as to correct any misimpression he might have of her.
He continued by trying to plant in her mind a script of what had happened to her that night which she knew to be false. When she refused to go along, he insulted and berated her turning himself into the victim and her into the abuser. At that point, she began to understand (finally) the level of manipulation he was employing (and likely that he’d used it before on others). She accused him directly of “playing her.” To which he replied that she was psychologically unstable. She ended the last conversation by saying God would have to forgive him for what he’d done to her.
Colleagues at work suspected something was wrong and that she was exhibiting physical symptoms like being unable to walk normally. She gradually began to share her feelings with close family. But she hadn’t to this point thought about making a complaint to the police. Gradually, a co-worker convinced her to share the story with him and he helped her understand that Even’s behavior was not normal and that she was not at fault for any of it. At that point, they went to her senior supervisor, told him the story and asked his advice. He called a police officer and thus began the process of filing charges against Even.
During later police questioning of Even’s lawyer, he admitted that the very day P. visited the police, the information was leaked to the accused, possibly through a police informant who passed it to a contact at Channel 2. This would’ve allowed Even to dispose of the liquor and drugs that he used the night of the assault, coach witnesses who might be contacted by the police and generally prepare for what was to come.
After her last contact with Even (but before going to the police), two Channel 2 news reporters contacted her via Facebook and attempted to insinuate themselves into her life. First, Ohad Itach, a news producer, invited her for a cup of coffee. She politely declined, to which Itach responded in an understanding way and wished her “strength in the difficulty she was facing.” She replied, (far too politely in my opinion) knowing he was a colleague of Even’s, that if he was sincere in those wishes she was pleased to hear it.
Several days later, one of Israel’s most well-known newscasters, Roni Daniel, Friended P. on Facebook and offered her his telephone number. When she asked him the reason he replied that he didn’t do so with any ill-intention, but that because he was new to Facebook and didn’t understand fully how the system worked (this despite the fact that he was using Facebook technology to chat with her), that it was more convenient to talk by telephone. But he said that if this bothered her…and left it at that. She declined his invitation.
After she filed her police complaint, Daniel un-Friended her and erased the conversation (of which I have a screenshot as I mentioned above). I have not displayed the Facebook screenshots I possess because they mention the victim’s name repeatedly.
During the time they contacted her, both Itach and Daniel began spreading rumors (reported to my sources) among their press colleagues about the victim, claiming that she had a “thing” for celebrities, stalked them, etc.
Shockingly, an Israeli TV news reporter reported to the police that she had seen in Even’s home a copy of the “book” he had written entitled, How to Fuck as Many Girls as You Can. He literally showed her a chapter of it. And lest this seem incredibly implausible, I have the name of the journalist. Even told her he planned to publish it using a pseudonym and expected it would be a best-seller and earn him a tidy sum. The book is likely one of the things Even had to erase from his computer before the police impounded it.
To our western ears, the very idea of such a book seems so shocking as to be unbelievable. But I’m sorry to say that major Israeli cultural avatars like Aharon Bar, have written similar books. His was called, On Flying Toward the Phoenix, in which he wrote a fictionalized account of his many sexual conquests.
* *
So let me recount some of my own conclusions based on the materials I received. Yoav Even and the Israeli police colluded to bolster his case and protect him from prosecution. The police obstructed justice in leaking word of the charges brought against him. Just as bad, two senior, respected Israeli journalists also appear to have obstructed justice by contacting the victim in order to influence her perception of what had happened to her, in order to discourage her from filing charges, and in order to gather intelligence about what she was planning to do. If true, this is not only a grave violation of law and perversion of justice, it violates every precept of journalistic ethics (a concept which has not taken very deep root in Israel, alas). If this were America, they would be suspended and investigated and in danger of losing their jobs. In Israel, due to the gag, they are comfortably protected.
In these contacts, one can see how the good ol’ boy network works Israel-style. Some commenters here earlier attempted to argue that Even had no proteksia and was a nobody just like the victim. But we can see that when two of the most powerful figures in Israeli news go to bat for Even and attempt to pervert justice, that the stakes have changed and the power imbalance becomes much more severe. The fact that no major media outlet appealed the gag to the Israeli Supreme Court, which tend to look askance at such legal maneuvers, further confirms that there was a conspiracy of silence among the media élite on behalf of Even and his Channel 2 employer.
I should add as well that when the victim first went to the police she had no lawyer because none would agree to take her case. Potential attorneys were intimidated by the fact that she was going up against a journalist working for a powerful Israeli media enterprise. Tell me women fare well in the Israeli legal system when it comes to accusation of sexual violence!
Regarding the fate of P.’s complaint, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. The police and prosecutor joined hands with the media and dropped the case. Another little mess swept conveniently under the rug. Another Israel male violator protected.
I am not saying that if they had brought charges they would’ve convicted Yoav Even. Of course, there is a possibility he would’ve been found not guilty. I have read some of the material offered by the defense against her (and reported it here) and they would’ve presented a case that she was a sexual aggressor, a monster who seeks to gobble up men, etc. That’s a powerful narrative for many Israeli men, one of whom would’ve been the judge appointed to hear her case. But what I am saying is that the state was derelict in its duty to Israel’s women by not pressing charges regardless of what the outcome might be. Something terrible happened to the victim that night and I believe Even was responsible. It was violent, it was mean, it was brutal. It may be that there were problems with the case as far as the prosecution was concerned. It may be they didn’t want to prosecute a case unless they knew they could win. But there are times you have to take a stand no matter whether you’re going to win or lose. Without the pressure of public scrutiny, the state could more easily walk away from this. And that, in my opinion, was a shandeh.
Finally, men like Even don’t brutalize women once. They do it serially. There are, I believe, other women (think of all those married women he confirmed that he’d had dalliances with) out there. Not just women who had sex with him, but women who he attacked, women perhaps too frightened or intimidated to come forward. If there had been no gag, such women might’ve screwed up their courage and told the police their stories. That’s what happened in the Katsav case. But when most Israeli women don’t know about a predator like this, there is little they can do to tell their stories.
While I am an American blogger whose impact within Israeli society is constrained by language and other factors, Israeli women should know that there is a likely predator out there. I warn Channel 2 that they employ someone who could harm their female staff or even the female subject of a news story. Yoav Even should be supervised in all of his professional engagements so he does not do to another woman what he may’ve done to this one. And Israel women should beware this man. He appears to be incredibly manipulative and charismatic. He knows how to turn on the charm and be persuasive. Know that you fall for his charm at your peril.
Channel 2 seems to have learnt the exact opposite lesson from the one I broached above. Instead of monitoring Even’s behavior and protecting its staff and subjects, it threw a gala Welcome Home party for him which was covered here and in the Israeli gossip columns. Those featured photos of Even’s media friends as if they were walking down the red carpet at a film opening or the Oscars. Did they not have the seychel to understand what their friend had been charged with and the sense perhaps to understand that a celebrity media spectacular might not be the most appropriate way in which to mark the dropping of the charges against him. The gossip story was full of affection for Even even mentioning that there were so many (presumably female devotees) eagerly awaiting his return to the air. He was photographed enjoying drinks with women on staff who seem oblivious to the seriousness of his situation and the charges levelled against him. They’re perfectly willing to treat him as Adonis returning if they wish. But is it seemly for a public media company to be seen to lionize him in such a way?
Certainly one of the most ironic elements of this story is that Yoav Even’s news beat is health reporting. Could you think of any more inappropriate subject for someone like this to cover? Someone who appears to systematically destroy the physical and mental health of women? Put him on the macho beat perhaps covering manly issues, the latest fads of the drug and dating scene. Or maybe the crime beat. But health? Really.
…What???
Do you live in a cave? Is this is what marijuana means to you? Rape potential? Are you insane?
Things have changed since the 70’s. In fact, marijuana use in Israel is so prominent that Israelis are infamous for being avid pot smokers. So basically walking into an Israeli’s apartment and smelling marijuana is a sign of nothing at all, and it’s not unlikely that she smokes it too. It is you who must suspend prejudice and do some reading.
Marijuana – regardless of how common it is – removes inhibitions. Alcohol does that, too.
Additionally, marijuana is not legal in Israel, despite the best attempts of Aleh Yarok over the years. This means that if there’s marijuana around, someone has decided that that part of the law, at least, does not apply to them.
When someone walks into a private space controlled by a person who signals that chemically-fueled removal of inhibition and selective compliance with laws are how things work in that space.
That’s dangerous unless you know which laws are going to be obeyed – and which aren’t.
In other words, the problem is not the pot. Pot is great. The problem is going into a place where pot and alcohol remove inhibitions without knowing what the uninhibited person will do. (The presumption is that an uninhibited person will act badly, ignoring social conventions such as consent or politeness.)
What Shai quoted above also struck me as something right out of Reefer Madness.
Pot may remove inhibition in some, though not all users, but it also removes aggressiveness and mellows out people, as opposed to alcohol. According to your reasoning no woman could ever visit a man who is not a teetotaller without fear of getting raped, after the man had removed his inhibitions with a dram. That seems absurd on its face.
I’d venture a guess that most people, including most pot users, don’t rape women – not because it’s illegal or socially frowned upon, but because they agree it’s morally wrong. Would such people, if alcohol became prohibited once again, but continued to drink, suddenly feel an urge to rape and act upon it just because they already break the law in an unrelated field? That seems equally absurd.
What is wrong with you???? This woman was brutally raped and all you care about is marijuana???? The reporter is just trying to eliminate people from saying “well she smelled marijuana! What did she expect…”
Please take the gory details off.
All can understand the situation without them.
Even if it is meant for a good cause, the damage done to the woman is enough without them.
I am not sure that all can understand the situation without them. Sometimes the horror has to be made clear in order for people to understand an experience that they could otherwise never fathom. Also, the details she recounts give credibility to her story, which so many people seem to doubt.
I understand yr feelings completely & as I wrote this post goes against my own personal style & instincts. But I don’t think you can know or understan evil unless you call it by name, staring it right in the face.
I assure you that Dena ( who helped translate some of this) & I felt like we needed cold showers after reading & publishing this. If I could’ve done it any other way I would have.
And mental floss, and a flute of Lethe water would have been nice too.
But I think that working on this was pretty important. The court system can only do its work if it’s given the chance – which includes prosecuting such cases, and engaging the due process of law to clear the accused of the allegation – or bring out other victims of the same modus operandi.
Richard,
This story is indeed horrifying, and perhaps what’s most shocking is P.’s willingness to engage with him after the event. This is not to say that she was wrong to, it just shows to what extent rape is being denied in Israeli society by both men and women. It’s just inconceivable to many that a woman has an absolute right to her body in any and all situation.
Irregardless, I agree with Shai’s comment on Marijuana use – all of Tel Aviv stinks of it, and yet rape is not ubiquitous. A joint is no excuse for violence against women.
Date rape is an odd thing, Anyn. You’re with someone you perceive as friendly – and then they break a foundational social rule. That throws you into cognitive dissonance and you have to make a swift determination: are the actions more real than your assumptions about the friendliness?
Labeling it as a rape – rather than a misunderstanding – also means you have to take a hit to your self-respect, because one of the ways that people tolerate rape is by assuming that it’s something that happens to other people. Preferably, people who “were asking for it” by being careless, or dressing provocatively, or whatever.
It takes time to process the fact that the “friend” was no friend at all, and that you’ve been relegated to the realm of “someone who must have been asking for it” by every person who was not raped. Yet. And with the prevalence of “date rape drug” GBL in Tel Aviv, the “not raped yet” population is getting smaller.
Or in the real world, a date rape most often is the case when a woman has sex with a man and the latter refuses to call back. The woman feels rejected so the easy way to exact revenge is to cry rape.
Then lunatics such as this blogger will publish man’s picture and condemning him as a rapist. The social stigma will remain even if he is found to be innocent.
At the end no man will ever have sex with a woman other than prostitutes. The anti-depressant market will skyrocket and feminists will be happy since all human relations will be destroyed.
I am starting to think pharmaceutical companies might have been funding feminists all along. After all they are the sole beneficiaries of that ideology. 30 years of institutionalised feminism, 30 years of women consuming more and more antidepressants. Business as usual.
I was waiting for someone like you to come along & insinuate that P. was just a crybaby rejected by Even who then cried rape in revenge. But I did expect that the person who did this would be an Israeli, and not Greek (though you could be an Israeli in Greece).
If you think Even is innocent after reading this then I shudder to think about what your history of relationships with women has been like.
You’re a sick, sad man. I feel sorry for you. There are some men among us who actually have trusting, respectful relationships with women. Apparently not you though.
Tell me this is meant as a joke…otherwise you are one sick puppy.
Richard,
Care to explain why you thuoght it would be Israeli ?
Why it cannot be an American ? A brit ? Arab ? Hindu ? Inuit ? or anybody else for that matter ?
Not many non-Israelis are interested in Israeli rape cases unless they’re advocates against sexual violence. It doesn’t sound like this bozo is.
I agree with Free man on this.
Richard, I assume you thought it would be an Israeli because they read your blog more often, and not for other reasons. (I cannot think you would believe that Israeli’s have such vile opinions more often than other people.)
In a way I am not surprised at all: Israeli’s read your blog because they are interested in their country (normal people). The Greek guy, on the other hand, was obviously only attracted by the theme of rape (a pervert).
Of course that’s one reason. But also, as I mentioned, very few non-Israelis are interested in Israeli rape cases.
Dena,
I agree with your long explanation of why she continued to seek his understanding. It’s so obvious I didn’t feel like going into it. But it’s a good thing you did, not everybody takes it for granted.
However the ending of your comment: “And with the prevalence of “date rape drug” GBL in Tel Aviv, the “not raped yet” population is getting smaller.” is just preposterous.
First, being closer to the Tel Aviv drug scene (not club scene, but I do know some clubbers), I don’t think GBL is so prevalent. I don’t want to go into details on the internet, but that’s not what most people take when they go clubbing. It also wouldn’t make sense – a drug that makes you go limp is not going to make a good party.
Personally, I don’t see what knowingly taking drugs has to do with this at all. Even didn’t sound very high – he was in total control of the situation, he didn’t drink much or he wouldn’t be able to have so much sex, and he was energetic enough to do the dishes.
What Even did was terrible not because he was intoxicated, but because he raped a woman who trusted him. Blaming drugs for a man’s criminal behaviour puts the blame in the wrong place.
Anyn,
I think you misunderstood Dena’s statement. GBL is not taken in by the rapist, but is administered to the victim. So the prevalence of GBL as a rape date drug referred to the fact that it is often being used to drug the victim. By the way, I don’t know how prevalent this is in Tel Aviv. I guess this is a good subject for a scientific study.
Thanks for making the point about GBL!
My information about it comes from a recent Channel 10 piece about it, which was posted on the ‘net last week (I think it was during Oshrat Kutler’s show, but it may have been elsewhere.)
The 10-minute piece made the case that men in Tel Aviv clubs were slipping GBL and its precursor into the drinks of unsuspecting women, who’d pass out and become pliable victims, with their memory wiped out.
There is some text in the post that raises the question of whether that was done by the perpetrator, to the victim, in this case. Given the amount of time that has passed, I would be surprised if the truth of this aspect of the matter could be discovered for certain.
It’s important to say that drugs and alcohol do not make a criminal less culpable for a crime. You’d think that should go without saying but I recall reports that Erez Efrati’s attorneys tried to make that defense last year, in the Tel Aviv courts – something along the lines of “it’s not my fault, I was drunk.”
Dena,
I understood your point about GBL perfectly. I was implicitly referring to your answer to Shai previously, maybe I should have made that clear.
You take your info about the rise in GBL frequency from the Israeli police, who you wouldn’t trust so much about other matters I presume.
So they caught some stupid guys who ordered GBL on the internet, and wanted to make a big deal about it to cover their utter lack of achievements in other areas (e.g. sexual crimes). This makes for interesting TV since it combines clubs, sex, rape and a lot of ominous warnings.
This is not, repeat not, to say that GBL is not in use. It’s just to say that the statement that rape is becoming more prevalent in Tel Aviv is totally unfounded.
Thanks for the clarification, Anyn!
It did, indeed, make for a dramatic television report.
I don’t know the Tel Aviv club scene. In fact, even when I was single that sort of scene repelled me. But I have nothing against drugs like marijuana or liquor per se.
However, if I was a woman who’d met a man on Facebook & agreed to visit him at his home for a first date, first I think it would be disrespectful of the man to be doing drugs before she arrived (& before asking her if she would join him). That’s why I wrote that I would have my antennae way up if that happened to me. However, if two consenting adults wish to do drugs together, I have nothing against that. But when a man is meeting a woman for the first time, I think there should be a certain standard of respect and mutuality established.
Maybe I’m old-fashioned. Maybe values of the club scene have totally trumped my fuddy duddy values. I don’t know.
Finally, I agree w. Dena that a man who’s been smoking weed and then downs a few shots has a MUCH lower threshhold of inhibition than a man who is sober or less intoxicated. I’d guess that if he’s done this sort of thing before he’s prob. got the whole thing down to a science & knows what will get him “off.” So no, drugs & alcohol aren’t to blame for the rape, but they do act as enhancers of bad behavior in circumstances like this.
In the former Soviet Union (of all places), committing a crime under the influence of alcohol was seen as an aggravating circumstance and would lead to harsher sentences.
Richard,
I can see your point about being respectful and not doing drugs before a meeting, but this is normal and accepted behaviour in many circles, and this is why P. didn’t feel anything was wrong.
As for inhibitions – I think it’s the question of what came first. In my opinion, violent intentions came first, drinking or smoking only came in addition to the main treat.
My problem here is with your assumption in the post that people who drink or take drugs are inherently criminal, or at least have serious criminal tendencies. One of the purposes of banning Marijuana and other substances is to make everybody a potential criminal who the authorities can threaten at will. It’s disappointing to see you cooperating wtih this.
I don’t believe in criminalizing marijuana. But I think drugs may be powerful agents for bad behavior in the wrong hands. Not all hands, but in the wrong hands.
I think you’re opening a door to victim-blaming here. Since (as Anyn and I have mentioned) marijuana use is normal and accepted in many circles, it normally wouldn’t cause anyone to be more alert. In fact I’d suggest the opposite, but that’s my personal view. By saying it should’ve been an indication for potential danger, you are insinuating in hindsight that she had a “DANGER: Rape ahead” signal and did not respond to it.
When I was 13 years old, I found myself apologizing to a 35 year old man for having hurt his feelings.
What hurt his feelings was my reaction to him driving me to a dark and isolated area, where he proceeded to take off his clothes and masturbate while urging me to “touch it” till he ejaculated on me. Apparently, trying to get out of the car, asking that he drive me home immediately, and “leading him on” (!) were, in his mind, hurtful and inappropriate acts on my part. He, of course, had done nothing wrong. I found this out (and, sadly, apologized to him for it) when I called him after the fact in an ultimately futile attempt to understand what happened.
Predators of this type have a knack for making their prey feel inappropriate guilt, of casting themselves in the role of innocent victims, and of invalidating and manipulating their prey’s feelings and perceptions, taking further advantage of the confusion and self-doubt created by the trauma they had inflicted on their prey.
I consider my case to be a relatively mild one (for reasons I won’t go into), but having gone through it, I recognize this destructive pattern in Yoav Even and P.’s interaction, and especially in the aspects of it that she so bravely lays out despite knowing that many people would construe those aspects as, at best, indications of her complicity, when in fact they only serve to lend further credence and veracity to her claims, at least for those of us who are familiar with this type of sexual and emotional abuse.
I sincerely hope that messages of support and validation are reaching her despite the overwhelming noise in the form of victim-blaming and silencing by the establishment (and by those naive or ignorant enough to buy into these all too prevalent attitudes). If it’s at all in your power, please do share these types of testimonies with her.
Knowing that one is being heard and believed is the very least that any victim of trauma deserves.
Thanks for standing up for Israeli women, Richard.
Blessings on you. And on them, too.
This article is a mess, repetitive and too long.
I am just interested to know the bottom line – what is written in the documents, I don’t have the whole day to read it. You are losing readers that will not read this important info , just because you made it so lengthy.
You could have shortened your article, just saying what was written in the documents. Instead, for every piece of evidence you discuss it lengthily and give your opinion, and trying to explain and justify the victim. I am not against the victim, you may be right, but I don’t have the whole day.
You could have given the facts first (what was written in the document), and then only after that, discussing it, and giving your opinion.
You know, if I needed an editor I’d advertise for one & it wouldn’t be you sorry to say.
But since you have such a strong sense of how I should write I ‘d advise you to write your own blog where you can be yr own editor.
Richard,
This is a very important post. Is it against the law to share it on Facebook?
Just one thing, as someone who’s about to become a father to a baby girl, reading this was especially hard, however, the notion that this behavior is typical and even caused because the whole thing happened in Israel and by an Israeli man, in my eyes just weackens your massage. Men can be pigs everywhere, not only in Israel, the system can be cruel to women everywhere, not only in Israel. Although one can argue that the occupation can effect that area too, i don’t believe that in this case it did. guys like that cowered exist everywhere.
Of course it’s not against the law to share it on Facebook in Israel (yet).
Can you point to a single word that stated that rape occurs only in Israel or is only perpetrated by Israeli men? Methinks you do protest too much–and are being defensive. My especial criticism reserved for Israeli justice related to the gag order & the partriarchy rampant in Israeli society. Patriarchy isn’t just an Israeli phenomenon. But it’s more prevalent inside Israel than in many other western nations. Occupation & national security corrupts Israeli democracy and that’s one of the reasons gag like this are prevalent in Israel even when they’re unrelated to security, as in this case.
” So the thinking of the average Israeli male is that such a woman has only herself to blame if she gets into the kind of scrape she did with Yoav Even”
Here’s one example, there is more. This is obviously a false statement . You have no way of knowing or proving what the average Israeli male thinks. It could be just the as well an American man or any other nationality for that matter. I can speak for my self only but I don’t think any woman deserves that . By the way the status of women in the arab society ( palestiniens included)general is much much worse the in Israel . do you blame the occupation for that as well?
And just to be clear, if I share this on my wall, translate some of it and warn all my freinds from that low life women hter psychopath , and write his name, I’m not braking the gag order because I’m a private person?
Alon,
I don’t think anyone would pursue you, but being a private person is not going to defend you.
I published it on facebook without mentioning his name, just a link to this post and a comment about the content.
My aunt is a judge, I just spoke to her. It seems that I would be braking the law. If I would be pursued I don’t know, but the law looks at me the same as the media. Shit.
You would NOT be breaking the law if you linked to my post on Facebook. Scores of Israelis have already done so. If that is what she told you she is wrong & I don’t care if she’s a judge or the Queen of Sheba. If she told you that publishing his name on Facebook is illegal, that’s arguable. But again, it’s most unlikely anyone who did so would even receive a warning from the police, let alone more severe action.
She ment the name of course, why so hostile? Trust me I’m on your side here. Sharing it now.
Please. The blog post is about an “Israeli male,” not a French or German male. When I write about an Israeli rape case I generally refer to Israeli social conditions. That’s they way most people do things. Are you so defensive about your country (I assume you’re Israeli) that every time anyone criticizes it they need to preface their criticism with an acknowledgement that Israel’s sins are no worse than others? That sort of defensiveness doesn’t appeal to me.
Clearly, there are many sensitive, supportive Israeli men who object to what happened to P. I applaud them. But the truth of the matter is that I believe that the average Israeli male harbors some of the same misimpressions and poisonous gender attitudes harbored by Even. That doesn’t mean all Israeli males do.
Don’t stray off topic by diverting attention to Arab society. That’s not the topic of this post & I regard it as a red herring meant deliberately to distract.
I can’t tell you whether or not to publish his name. But certainly if you link to my post (w/o explicitly publishing his name) you are not breaking any Israeli law–yet. Presumably if you did publish his name you would be violating the gag & liable to the same prohibitions affecting the media. But the truth is that the Israeli legal system almost never goes after bloggers or those posting on social networks when they break gags & I’d love to see an Israeli do so to test the gag and the law.
Richard, all I am saying that, in my opinion, your criticism on Israel in general effects the way you wrote this post. I think it hurts the point and the validity of it and that is a shame. Sorry for going off topic, you’re right, its not relevant.
Richard by using the term “average” you imply that at least half os Israeli men are a certain way, and i think Alon is right by rejecting that phrase. Perhaps you are being a bit defensive by not seeing the point. That being said, this is an important post and i will do my best to push it forward.
This case is a prime example of what is wrong with the world. The people of all nations, and this includes Israel, suffer from the problem of boundary violation. All acts of violence or accidents can be deconstructed. The genesis of this incident was that they both were way too open and too fast on Facebook with each other. Facebook is also a very poor substitute for good old fashioned face to face courtship. Poor boundary delineation led to an incorrect progression. The healthy way for a man and woman to form a relationship is as follows. This applies to both parties : Alive and Kicking; Out and About; First Sight; First Words; Attraction; Flirting; Interest Shown; First Date; Trust Building; Courtship; Proposal; Engagement; Marriage; Lovemaking; Conception; Gestation; Childbirth; Family Making etc.
Of course we don’t live in a perfect world unfortunately and young men and women will launch themselves into sexual liaisons at the drop of the hat. When this happens it is imperative on both parties, especially the male not to abuse their power. Sexual intimacy must be by mutual consent. Rape is one of the most heinous of crimes.
How a community or nation deals with issues of justice is interesting. Jurisprudence is a hobby of mine. Redemptive justice is different than pure, court applied justice. People should also not ignore the realm of divine justice.
Who are you, Shmuley Boteach?? Can you please try to stay on topic & not give us the Chabad or whichever messianic movement you represent version of proper gender relations.
While reading your post, i had a strong feeling that Even could have in his past or even in his present a ‘security’ record in the SHABAK or something like this, and that can explain partly the force which was acted by him and by his friend to ‘cover’ the whole story. Many of those ‘excellent guys’ as PM Begin called them, have such characters like he has, and also, as you know, our ‘security forces’ have a lot of influcence over judges. All those thoughts were in my mind before reading that one of his co-actors is Rony Daniel – the main millitary writer of Chanell 2, and it does not suprise me at all.
y just forgot that suicide bomers of palestinain descent are moral men and naive and good hearted….
if going for steryotiping on political grounds, why not go all the way…
and siriosly: most top security man un usrael wont rap’ so cut the bull****
Tell it to Mustafa Dirani, raped at the command of IDF military intelligence officer Doron Zahavi while imprisoned by unit 1391. He won his freedom after bringing suit against Zahavi, who lost his job due to the horror he inflicted on Dirani.
Richard, from your story it doesn’t transpire at all that the victim was sexually aggressive, non-conventional, etc. I don’t understand how Even’s defense could build such a case against her. I also don’t quite understand what the two other journalists were aiming at by contacting her on Facebook.
It appears from your account that Even is a case of narcissistic personality, who is concerned only with his own feelings and pleasure and doesn’t give a damn about his women. I wonder how women can fall for someone like this and not see through the facade of charms and manipulation the shallowness, emptiness and cynicism of such characters.
As a father of a 3-year-old daughter, I can only hope that she will grow to learn the difference between caring and respectful men (which are aplenty) and those who are out there for some quick pleasure or adventure, unable and unwilling to understand a woman’s heart. At a certain age girls and boys should be able to read stories like this one (horrific as they are) in order to know that there are people like this out there. This is not to diminish their trust in people (which is essential for healthy relationships), but to enhance their trust in their own judgment.
Hi, and many thanks!
I am an Israeli blogger living in Germany. I would very much like your permission to translate as verbatim as possible what you write here into Hebrew. I will do so on a German website because as of today an open threath has appeared in a feminism forum saying any link to your blog was also open for attack by the reprehensible gag.
I AM NOT AFFRAID OF THE CREEPS. let them do their worst.
Saying that anyone in Israel who links to my blog can be prosecuted is a lie. This is a theory by one Israeli lawyer who is by no means correct. As far as I’m concerned this rumor is further paranoia seeking to curtail Israeli freedom of speech.
You can easily blur or remove the mentions of the name with any image editing software (you can use free ones like IrfanView)
Yes, I know I can. But I chose to focus on writing the post rather than doing a lot of photo editing. If you insist, I can do that & display the screenshots.
thank you, for shouting the cry that we can’t shout
Thank you for this post. I do have one question I hadn’t found a clear answer for in the text: why it was finally decided not to bring the case to court? I read your speculation, but what was the stand of the law offices who make the final decision, or maybe it wasn’t released\mentioned in the transcripts? Thank you.
“lack of sufficient evidence.” Which is not the same as “lack of evidence.”
[URL deleted per violation of comment rules]
In Mala Fide is working hard to find the name and unedited photo of the false rape accuser so that true justice can be served!
You’re a disgusting scumbag. A real scumbag & I don’t use the term lightly. And because of this you’re not only banned from future commenting, you’re banned from accessing my site. I save this punishment for only the worst of the worst. So congratulations. The English translation of the Latin title (Mala Fide) of your blog is perfectly appropriate: Bad Faith.
You made a few errors in conducting this false Inquisition against the rape victim though, & I hope will pay for them. YOu should shortly discover to what I’m referring.
When In Mala Fide does successfully “out” the female in the way you outed the male, she will probably be more humiliated by your lurid, disgusting details of what happened to her than by her photograph being published. You will have played a greater part in her humiliation than In Mala Fide…So think about that!
May you be reincarnated as a ‘female’. And may all the lurid disgusting details happen to you.
I was reacting to this piece of filth from Troll, (which has been removed it seems).
Author: Troll
Comment:
When In Mala Fide does successfully “out” the female in the way you outed the male, she will probably be more humiliated by your lurid, disgusting details of what happened to her than by her photograph being published. You will have played a greater part in her humiliation than In Mala Fide…So think about that!
If you want to remove my response as well now, don’t mind Richard.
You are one of the stupidest most grotesque human beings I know. But do keep using your employer, JPMorgan Chase’s, computer resources to advocate the exposure of the identity of rape victims. I’m sure when your supervisor finds out how you abuse corporate IT resources they’ll be very pleased. When this is made public, it will do wonders for Chase’s corporate reputation. If Chase does business in Israel it will create magnificent good will among Israeli female customers.
Not to mention one of my family members worked at Chase for some time. If I can make your life in even the slightest way more miserable in return for yr obnoxious behavior I’ll be more than happy to do so.
Next time you want to do something this dumb, maybe you’ll think twice about it.
your life will be a liveng hell. im supervising your actions here
trek you down and suit your ass of . she’s our friend so be careful Troll..dont play white fire
Troll doesn’t sound like a very happy man to begin with, so it might not take much to make his life a living hell. He may be doing that to himself already. But let’s not treat oddballs like him as badly as he treats P.
Curious.
The catption under the picture above states “Yoav Even, accused rapist, wrote book ‘How to Fuck as Many Girls as You Can Get'”.
Is this an acual book or are you giving him credit for a piece of literature that he does not deserve?
Read the post, it’s all in there. Yes, it’s a manuscript he wrote & showed to an Israeli journalist.
richard thanks for helping israely womann fight against
this.
You’re more than welcome. THis is one of the important missions of this blog. I’m glad to be able to do it.
Richard what your doing is a very good thing…P. she has a pure soul as an angel..she’s so sweet and worm and kind to all people. she deserv worm loving treatment from the people in Isreal and all over this planet.
& not the continuing abuse that she has to put up with form the time she was raped untill that time
The “pot is good” lobby has its own hasbarists.
However, the drugs that are more significant to the story, especially given the description of the victim’s difficulties in getting dressed and getting home, are the GHB or GBL. (Not chemically the same, but seen as interchangeable by the users.)
If taken in combination with alcohol, these can kill and kill very easily. Generally, those who take them voluntarily, take them instead of alcohol, those who take them involuntarily, don’t have the opportunity to avoid alcohol.
Involuntary administration is not necessarily via drink: these are volatile solvents and they can have a significant effect if tipped onto the victim’s clothing or hair, especially in a hot environment. In fact, this is more effective as the victim cannot easily escape from their hair or clothing, whereas they can avoid drinking from a glass they think might have been tampered with. Most victims are incapacited long before they actually have a clue what it happening.
Because of the public myth about these chemicals being used to spike drinks, rather than as a chemical agent of direct attack, the police generally know that it’s safe to make a show of taking glasses and bottles away for tests: these will prove negative and the victim can be further discredited.
In the UK, offenders do not necessarily need to acquire illegally imported GHB and GBL to rape people with: these are used as graffiti-removal solvents and many non-custodial “punishments” involve forced graffiti removal.
The account above does read as if either GHB or GBL were used. The other way that rapists can render victims helpless is to pre-treat cannabis or tobacco products with formaldehyde. What victims are expecting to be a mild spliff or just a quick fag, knocks them for six. Again, the police know that if they solemnly test only drinking utensils, they will not uncover this and will not be obliged to prosecute anyone.
I accept that all of this will be regarded as less important than the chorus of “cannabis is great!” which I recognize to be a religious duty for some sections of the community.
Sir,
Usually I’m a passive reader who is disgusted by your blatant anti-zionist bias. However, as a feminist, I want to praise you for this tremendously important struggle. Kol-a-kavod Richard!
This is one strange comment. In the first sentence you lie. In the 2nd, you praise me.
Worrying, isn’t it?