Dassi Erlich
Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, whose story was told in the documentary "Surviving Malka Leifer". Photo: Supplied
August 4, 2026, 3:01 pm
Multifaith child safety push
Twenty organisations back a national child safety commitment after a Surviving Malka Leifer screening.
By Bruce Hill
(L to R) Ashleigh Martin – Principal, Caulfield Grammar School; Cr Alex Makin – Mayor, City of Port Phillip; Mark Stracey – Executive Director, Homelessness and Housing Support, Homes Victoria; Her Excellency Professor the Honourable Margaret Gardner AC – Governor of Victoria and Patron-in-Chief, Lighthouse Foundation; Susan Barton AM – Founder and Director, Lighthouse Foundation; Leah Boulton – Chief Executive Officer, Pathways Melbourne; Pathways Melbourne director of programs Dassi Erlich. Photo: Simon Milder.
June 17, 2026, 11:46 am
Orly House opens to shelter Jewish youth in crisis
A partnership between Pathways Melbourne and the Lighthouse Foundation.
By Bruce Hill
From left: Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich leave the Victorian County Courts after Malka Leifer was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett
September 11, 2025, 8:39 am
JIFF program to launch with Surviving Malka Leifer
Co-presented with The AJN, the 2025 JIFF program will launch with a screening of Surviving Malka Leifer, followed by a panel discussion with the crew and sisters.
By Jessica Abelsohn
Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem, on February 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File)
August 14, 2025, 1:20 pm
Malka Leifer said moved to solitary after alleged sexual assault on fellow inmate
Leifer, former Jewish school principal convicted of rape, reportedly caught on camera sexually assaulting a younger prisoner in Australian jail .
By TOI Staff and Agencies
Photo: supplied
August 4, 2025, 2:51 pm
Shattering the silence
Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper spent years trying to bring their abuser, Malka Leifer, to justice. A new film documents their journey. Jessica Abelsohn spoke to filmmaker Adam Kamien about Surviving Malka Leifer.
By Jessica Abelsohn
Australian sisters Nicole Meyer (L) and Dassi Erlich (R) take part in a demonstration on March 13, 2019, outside the Jerusalem District Court after an extradition hearing for Malka Leifer, a former girls school principal wanted for sexual abuse in Australia. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
April 28, 2025, 12:00 pm
Gag order on sexual abuse case involving cabinet minister
Israel’s broad gag order regime is being used to shield powerful figures from public scrutiny.
By ARIELA KARMEL
The panel (from left): Russell Kaye, youth homelessness advocate; Susan Barton, founder of the Lighthouse Foundation; Rabbi Menachem Wolf, Spiritgrow; and Dassi Erlich.
November 28, 2024, 11:16 am
Safe house for Caulfield
Lighthouse has offered a property in Caulfield to serve as a crisis safe house where youth who need full-time professional support can get the help they need.
By Bruce Hill
Nicole Meyer speaks outside the Victorian County Court in Melbourne last Thursday after Malka Leifer's sentencing.Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett
August 31, 2023, 8:54 am
Renewal
'They were completely innocent victims of the predatory behaviour of Mrs Leifer, and it is she and she alone who should feel guilty.'
From left: Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich leave the Victorian County Court last Thursday after Malka Leifer was sentenced to 15 years in jail. Photo: AAP Image/Joel Carrett
August 31, 2023, 5:00 am
‘Good – but not good enough’
'Her eyes still had that same captivating, evil power that she had when she was abusing me ... There's no part of her that looks like she understands the impact of what she did, or feels bad about it'
By Rebecca Davis
Malka Leifer being led out of the Jerusalem District Court in 2018.
August 24, 2023, 1:15 pm
Malka Leifer sentenced to 15 years in prison
Malka Leifer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, with a non-parole period of eleven-and-a-half years. With time already served being taken into account, she could be released in 2029.
By Bruce Hill and Gareth Narunsky
Press conference at Glen Eira Town Hall with Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper, Nicole Meyer, Josh Burns, David Southwich at Ted Baillieu after the announcement in Israel that Malka Leifer is fit to stand trial for extradition to Australia. Photo: Peter Haskin
June 28, 2023, 7:04 pm
‘Her abuse fractured my ability to trust’
These are excerpts from Hadassah (Dassi) Erlich’s victim impact statement, read by her in the County Court of Victoria on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper depart from a press conference outside of the County Court of Victoria in Melbourne, Wednesday, June 28, 2023. Photo: AAP Image/James Ross
June 28, 2023, 7:00 pm
Malka Leifer ‘stole my body’
'Today I stand as a survivor. Your darkness does not define me. Instead, I choose to focus on the light within myself, the love that surrounds me and the power of my own voice.'
By Peter Kohn
Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem, on February 27, 2018. Photo: AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File
June 4, 2023, 11:15 am
Police reopen investigation into Adass Israel School board
It follows a protracted drama spanning 15 years after, following a meeting of the then Adass Israel School board, she was spirited to Israel
By AJN STAFF
Malka Leifer, right, is brought to a courtroom in Jerusalem, on February 27, 2018. Photo: AP Photo/Mahmoud Illean, File
April 13, 2023, 7:10 pm
Long road to justice
With sentencing of Malka Leifer imminent, Peter Kohn retraces an epic struggle that tested not only the resolve of three courageous Melbourne women, but relations between Australia and Israel.
By Peter Kohn
April 5, 2023, 8:38 am
Justice
Now, finally, 15 years after she was spirited out of Australia under the cover of night, Leifer has been brought to justice.
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