Zionist Union MK Eitan Broshi has demanded that fellow legislator Shelly Yachimovich lift her parliamentary immunity in order for him to sue her for libel after she accused him of sexually harassing a soldier he once commanded.
According to Broshi's lawyer Ilan Bombach, the claims are baseless and the 45 years that have elapsed since the alleged assault did not allow Broshi to clear his name.
"Remove your immunity, prove your claims in court," says Bombach on Monday morning, adding that a cross-examination in court will prove that the claims are baseless. Bombach added that Yachimovitch's allegations are motivated by narrow political interests.
Yachimovich, a senior Zionist Union MK, had alleged in a Facebook post on Sunday that Broshi had forced himself on a female soldier of his while serving as a battalion commander over 45 yeara ago in the IDF. Yachimovich said that she had investigated the incident and had corroborated the incident soldier herself.
By law, Broshi can only sue Yachimovich if she willfully forfeits her parliamentary immunity, an idea she swiftly rejected during an interview with Reshet Bet on Monday. "I am not considering giving up my immunity," said Yachimovich. "It allows me to take steps for the good of the public which I represent."
Broshi is also suing party leader Avi Gabbay for calling him a "sex offender" after sexual harassment allegations surfaced earlier this month. According to a Channel 10 report, Broshi grabbed a woman in an elevator in 2006 when he led the Jezreel Valley Regional Council. The woman said Broshi had sexually assaulted her while they were in an elevator together and refused to let her leave after she rejected his advances.
“All the while, he kept asking me what my problem was and why I wasn’t into it, why was I making a big deal out of it,” she said. “I managed to get out of the elevator and escape by the skin of my teeth after I pushed him several times.”
Following the expose, Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay announced that he had suspended Broshi, who he said was a "sex offender".
"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.