Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay demanded that MK Eitan Broshi resign from the Knesset after a new report alleging that he assaulted a woman 15 years ago.
"I spoke with MK Broshi this evening and told him that he was suspended immediately from party activity, and demanded that he take responsibility for his shameful actions and withdraw from the Knesset. Sexual offenders have no place in the Knesset or the street," tweeted Gabbay.
According to the Channel 10 report, Broshi grabbed a woman in an elevator in 2006 when he led the Jezreel Valley Regional Council. The woman added that she had sent a letter to Zionist Union head Avi Gabbay informing him of the reported attack.
The allegations follow a recent controversy surrounding Broshi after he grabbed MK Ayelet Nahmias-Verbin's rear during a party tour of a Gaza border town in early July. Party members informed Labor Chairman Avi Gabbay of the incident, and Broshi was asked to apologize.
Following the expose, numerous lawmakers had demanded that Broshi resign, including calls from his Zionist Union counterparts.
"Broshi's grave indignity with a Knesset member was sufficient to leave out of political life, and now we have received the additional proof. Bruschi and sex offenders of his kind have no place in the Knesset and in public," said prominent Zionist Union legislator Shelly Yachimovich.
"Although there is no way at the moment to oust him against his will, I call on him to resign immediately and stop embarrassing us," continued Yachimovich. "I will do everything in my power to stop his term. If there are other women who have bothered in the past, I urge them to complain, or at least turn to me and tell me about it."
MK Merav Michaeli alleged that "this is evidence of sexual abuse. MK Eitan Broshi, who is accused of it, must go. "
Meretz MKs Tamar Zandberg and Michal Rozin also called on Knesset Member Broshi to resign from the Knesset. "Instead of threatening the delusional silencing lawsuit, it would have been better for MK Broshi to recognize his actions publicly and take full responsibility for them. On the face of it, it appears that this is a systematic behavior of harassment, and it is inconceivable that such a public would be elected. We call on Eitan Broshi to resign immediately. "
Broshi's attorney Ilan Bombach denied the allegations and claimed that the report was a political hit piece. "It is strange that a claim has been made about an alleged act 15 years ago. As a politician, Broshi naturally acquires opponents, and therefore the timing is not coincidental, and we intend to file a libel suit against its perpetrators," he said.
Should Broshi resign, it would bring radical left-wing provocateur Eldad Yaniv into Israel's parliament. The activist co-founder of the left-wing “Eretz Hadasha” [New Country] party and Ehud Barak's former chief of staff, Yaniv has been one of the main organizers of the large demonstrations against Netanyahu and Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit.