The Jerusalem District Court accepted the state attorney’s request to add five
new witnesses to the trial of Rabbi Mordechai “Moti” Elon, who is accused of
indecent assault against two minors.
The testimony of the new witnesses
will be used to support the claims of the two plaintiffs against
Elon.
Judge Haim Liran said that some of the testimonies of the new
witnesses were significant and their inclusion in the trial is therefore
justified.
Elon’s defense team opposed the introduction of the new
witnesses as an “attempt to breathe life into the corpse of an already dead
indictment which anyway lacked substance.”
His attorneys also alleged
that the prosecutors’ new material was first leaked to the press before being
given to the defense team and accused the prosecution of trying to conduct the
trial through the media.
The trial was delayed for a month to allow the
defense team to examine the new evidence.
The new testimonies relate
mostly to Elon’s custom of hugging his students when he was dean of the renowned
national-religious institute Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem.
The
prosecution said that it does not intend to bring any additional charges against
Elon.
Elon, formerly a leading figure in the national-religious
community, has been charged with five counts of indecent assault and indecent
assault by force against two minors.
The rabbi denies the allegations
against him and has said that nothing he did had any sexual motivation
whatsoever.