More than four years after the case first broke on ynet, the Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday convicted senior gynecologist Prof. Menachem, or Meni, Alkלעי of 10 counts of rape by deception and sodomy by deception involving nine patients. The verdict brought a long-awaited measure of closure for the complainants, who said they had spent years waiting for the court to recognize what happened to them.
One complainant, Michal, said she was “happy and excited,” but stressed that true justice will come only when sentencing is handed down. She said Alkלעי repeatedly claimed during the trial that his actions were part of a medical examination and that she had misunderstood them. She said his lawyer tried to portray her as mistaken or dishonest, and added, “There are judges in Jerusalem.” Michal said she expects a punishment that reflects the scale of his crimes.
Another complainant, Yael, described the verdict as a release after years of silence, saying she collapsed and cried in public when she read it. She thanked the judges, led by Judge Yaron Levi, for their sensitivity, and thanked state prosecutor Meital Mor for professional and empathetic handling of the case. Yael urged women not to stay silent if they feel someone has violated their privacy, saying, “Go complain,” even if the justice system moves slowly.
A third complainant, Anat, said the ruling means justice was done and may help protect other women, including her daughters. She described a medical visit in which Alkלעי allegedly inserted his finger, touched her clitoris and breast, and later said she stopped seeing male gynecologists. Sigal Adam, represented by the state legal aid service, said she had trusted Alkלעי completely because he was a well-known specialist and head of the urogynecology unit at Sheba Medical Center. She said she fought for 6.5 years, that the court examined nine cases and fully accepted the women’s accounts, and she suggested that a nurse or chaperone should be present during such examinations.
