Domestic Abuse Debate Hits Home for the Knesset

It could be said that no one is doing more right now to raise Israel’s awareness of the problem of domestic violence than the deputy speaker of parliament, Haim Dayan.

The former police officer backed a proposal last year to toughen spousal abuse laws. He even argued that a man who would beat his wife should have his “hands broken.”

Now the legislator has gone on national television to deny beating his wife.

Dayan, a member of the conservative Tsomet Party, made the declaration shortly after his bruised wife filed a police complaint against him for battery. She quickly withdrew it, and afterward, Rahel Dayan appeared by his side during the television interview looking tense and reluctant while accepting his kiss of reconciliation.

The case has turned Israeli public attention to the issue of domestic violence for several weeks, provoking debate over whether there should be a minimum sentence for convicted abusers and prompting a proposed law to lift legislative immunity for cases involving family abuse.

“I am not going to convict anyone without a trial, even though the evidence here is very difficult to ignore,” said Naomi Hazan, the Knesset member who proposed the law. “But what this case shows is that the issue is not specific to one sector. It cuts across all backgrounds, religions and social classes.”

So it does, women’s rights groups say. According to the Israel Women’s Network, 10% of married Israeli women have been beaten by their spouses, and 40,000 women are seen at hospitals each year with injuries from beatings.

Activists say studies show that Jewish women tend to remain in abusive relationships twice as long as non-Jewish women because they feel responsible for the conflict at home. Often, their parents and rabbis counsel them to be better homemakers and wives rather than leave their violent husbands.

Rahel Dayan, a mother of four, filed a battery complaint with police in her hometown of Migdal Ha’emek on Nov. 16 and was treated for blows to her legs, neck and face at a hospital emergency ward. She withdrew the charge within 24 hours.

A few days later, the Dayans appeared together on television. Haim Dayan said they had had “an argument and a misunderstanding but no physical violence.” Rahel Dayan said little.

The following day, her mother, Jacqueline Dadon, went on Israel Radio’s morning talk show, saying her daughter claimed to have dropped the charges for the sake of the children. But she added: “For the sake of truth, it wasn’t because of the children. Rahel was almost certainly frightened of him, and he probably threatened her.”

Under Israeli law, police must investigate an abuse complaint whether or not the complaint has been withdrawn. Dayan was interrogated last week, and a police official said the case will be handed over to the attorney general’s office next week. Israeli media have quoted police sources as saying that Dayan is likely to be charged.

Dayan stayed away from a Knesset session devoted to discussing domestic violence four days after his wife went to the police. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was there, strongly criticizing Israel’s judiciary for its “sometimes ludicrously lenient sentencing” of violent men. He said he supports a minimum sentence for convicted abusers.

Dayan continues to proclaim his innocence and has refused female legislators’ calls that he step down as deputy speaker. He says he will remain as long as he has not been formally charged.

Meanwhile, debates over his guilt or innocence continue, as do discussions of domestic abuse. “It’s a horrible thing if he beats his wife,” said a fund-raiser for projects to fight family violence, “but this [awareness] is probably good for the country.”