Tel Aviv Court Convicts Senior Gynecologist of Rape and Sodomy in Nine Cases

More than four years after the case was first exposed by ynet, the Tel Aviv District Court convicted senior gynecologist Prof. Menachem, or Meni, Alkala of 10 counts of rape by deceit and sodomy by deceit against nine complainants. The women were aged 23 to 66 when the acts occurred. Judges said he abused the trust they placed in him and falsely presented the conduct as part of medical examinations.

The investigation followed testimony from more than 35 women who said Alkala sexually assaulted them during gynecological exams in his clinics. Police received 20 complaints. He was suspended from Sheba Medical Center, but continued seeing patients privately. The court found beyond reasonable doubt that he knowingly acted far outside medical protocol and without informed consent, and that there was no legitimate medical connection to the prolonged clitoral massage he performed.

Alkala had headed the urogynecology unit at Sheba and previously held the same role at Poria Hospital. He also treated patients privately in Modiin and Ramat Gan. His exposure was aided by blogger Hani Malul, and the original reporting appeared in ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth.

The judges accepted the complainants’ accounts, including two related women, a mother and daughter, who did not know of each other’s experiences. They rejected the defense claim that the women misunderstood what happened or that later complaints were shaped by media coverage, noting that each had described the incidents to relatives before publication. The court also said the conduct was not a gray area, but plainly criminal, and described the testimony as sincere and moving. Some women avoided gynecological exams for years, and some suffered lasting harm, including surgery and even ovarian removal.

In light of the case, the court urged the Health Ministry to consider formal rules on having a third person present during gynecological exams, both to protect patients and to shield doctors from false accusations. The conviction follows an earlier administrative ruling: in October last year, the Jerusalem District Court rejected Alkala’s appeal against the Health Ministry’s decision to suspend his medical license until the criminal proceedings end.