At the request of three sisters who were harmed by serious acts committed against them by their father: The Tel Aviv District Court today (Sunday) permitted publication that Rabbi Eliyahu Godlevsky, a lecturer and influential figure in Breslov Hasidism and head of the 'Azmra' organization, was convicted on 9.4.24-1 Nisan 5774 in the Tel Aviv District Court, for committing serious crimes against three of his daughters. On 11.7.24-5 Tammuz 5774, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, suspended sentence, and compensation for the victims.
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The request was submitted through the Ministry of Justice's legal aid office, which represents the three sisters in the criminal proceedings against the 69-year-old attacker.
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Attorney Likol Tamsut, who represents the victims on behalf of the Ministry of Justice's legal aid: "I have been accompanying the victims in the legal proceedings for over two years. During this period, I was exposed to their strengths and abilities on the one hand, but also to their difficulty in being required to remain silent following the publication ban on the affair.
""The victims are happy that justice has finally been served, after years of suffering, and after more than two years have passed since the complaint was filed. Finally, not only has the fact that their father harmed them received legal recognition and he was convicted and sentenced, but the court understood their difficulty - and they are no longer forced to keep the difficult events they experienced a secret, as they were asked to do by the defendant throughout the years of harm.".
""The opportunity given to them, from now on, to no longer keep the harm they suffered a secret, can be a kind of beginning of healing for the many wounds and damage that have accompanied and still accompany them throughout the years.".
One of the victims of the crime said after the court's decision to allow the publication of the name of her father who harmed her and her sisters: "I am happy to be able to breathe again, after the request to lift the publication ban was accepted. Finally, the shame is passing and we no longer have to hide behind shame and guilt that do not belong to us.".
The plaintiff in the case, Attorney Rosie Kabaz of the Tel Aviv District Attorney's Office: "The attorney's office welcomes the significant sentence of 10 years in prison that the District Court sentenced Rabbi Eliyahu Godlevsky, after he was convicted of committing sexual offenses against three of his daughters. It was the courage of the daughters to speak out and complain that made it possible to reveal the truth about what happened in the family unit, and therefore even when the home, which is supposed to be the safest place for the children, has ceased to be a fortress - there is no room for silence! The punishment and compensation for the complainants may not be able to heal the wounds, but they have the power to send a clear message of condemnation and justice.".
In 1990, Rabbi Godlewski founded the "Azmra" organization to spread the teachings of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, within which he delivered - until his arrest - awakening and strengthening classes throughout the country, to various audiences; ultra-Orthodox, religious, and secular.
His lessons were also published on social media.
