The case came to the fore in November when the Haaretz . newspaper reported about accusations by multiple women. Two of them said they were raped by Walder when they were 12 and 15 years old respectively. A third victim said she was raped by him at age 20 during therapy sessions.
In the middle of last month, Walder was called up for a jewish court to appear. More than twenty women had already come forward with accusations against him. Jewish courts normally deal with religious disputes, and have no judicial power under the rule of law in Israel. The author refused to come and defend himself.
The Jewish court convicted Walder of abusing a large number of women, girls and boys, who had sought help from him in his role as a chaplain. According to the court, this happened over a period of more than 25 years.
The abuse took place at his office, in his bookstore, and at a summer camp he ran. Some statements about him were decades old. On a tape recording, the judges heard Walder trying to silence one of his victims: “If this affair is exposed, I will kill myself.”
Books prohibited
As part of the verdict, the court banned all of Walder’s books. Reading it is now prohibited. Other rabbis called for Walder’s books to stop being sold. His publisher complied. His column in an Orthodox Jewish newspaper and the radio program he hosted were discontinued.
Walder’s books are still for sale on Amazon:
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