The Tel Aviv District Court on Tuesday morning rejected the appeal of retired Jerusalem police commissioner Nisso Shaham of his convictions on sexual harassment, an indecent act, fraud and breach of trust. His sentence remains as the court decreed in February – ten months behind bars, a fine and monetary compensation to his victims.
Former Jerusalem District Police Commander Major General Nisso Shaham was the face of the Gush Katif evacuation of some 8,000 Jewish families with this highly watched video, shot by Channel 10 photographer Yisrael Rosner, in which he is depicted giving instructions to his men using the most vile and violent language.
Shaham is seen telling his troops: “No problem whatsoever – batons, lower body if necessary. – OK,” and a line we can’t quote here in which he says he isn’t some lady of the night and then adds a sordid description which included himself and the proverbial mother of the demonstrators.
As always, please don’t watch if this kind of language disturbs you:
On October 14, 2013, the Department of Police Investigations filed an indictment against Shaham for indecent acts and sexual harassment of four female police officers and for fraud and breach of trust, after making decisions regarding five other police officers with whom he had sexual relations.
On October 28, 2013, Shaham was fired by then Homeland Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch on the recommendation of Police Commissioner Yohanan Danino. Shaham denied committing sexual offenses and claimed to be a victim of the State Attorney’s Office. During his trial Shaham admitted having sex with policewomen who were under his command but claimed that the acts were consensual and that the relationship did not affect his decisions as commander.
Tuesday’s verdict says “the verdict imposed on the appellant is not light, but it is appropriate for the seriousness of the offenses for which he was convicted, the large number of offenses, the totality of the circumstances and the overall conduct of the appellant, over many years, towards eight young and junior police officers.”
The court condemned Shaham’s failure to take responsibility for his actions and for his attempt to present them as proper.
The court ruled that Shaham would begin serving his sentence on August 16 at 10 AM, but his attorney, Boaz Ben-Zur, sought to delay the execution of this decision, saying he would appeal to the Supreme Court. The state complied with the request and will delay the execution of Shaham’s sentence for 45 days, pending the filing of his appeal.