Lieberman addresses his conviction for assaulting a 12-year-old: "I was restoring order"
A quarter of a century after being convicted of assaulting a minor and making threats, Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman returns to the violent incident in the settlement of Nokdim and refuses to apologize. In an interview with Asnaim to be broadcast tomorrow on Reshet 13, Lieberman presents the assault as "restoring order" and downplays the court's findings that he hit a 12-year-old child and dragged him into a vehicle.
Yisrael Beiteinu chairman Avigdor Lieberman addressed in an interview with Asnaim on Reshet 13 the case that ended 25 years ago with his conviction for assaulting a minor and making threats, after being asked how he would react today if his son were attacked as happened then.
Lieberman did not retract the way he acted at the time, but admitted that today he might have reacted differently:
"I underwent surgery to lengthen the short fuse. I assume I might have behaved a little differently."
During the interview, Lieberman was asked about the incident that occurred in December 1999 in the settlement of Nokdim. According to him, his son, who was about 10 years old at the time, was beaten by a group of older children. "My son was 10, if I'm not mistaken. A group of older children, 12-13 years old, attacked, beat him, and then I came and restored order. That's it. No one approached him again," he recounted.
The question to Lieberman gained significance in light of how the incident was described in the indictment filed against him. According to the amended indictment, Lieberman hit a 12-year-old child in the face, after which the child fell and his head hit a wall. Later, it was claimed, he forcibly dragged him into his vehicle and threatened that he would hit him again if he returned to the settlement of Nokdim.
Lieberman was asked about the gap between the legal description of the incident and the way he presents it today. "That is too dramatic a description," he replied.
The incident led to a legal proceeding that ended in September 2001, when Lieberman, who served at the time as Minister of Infrastructure, was convicted as part of a plea bargain. He admitted to an amended indictment for the offenses of assaulting a minor and making threats. The Magistrate's Court in Jerusalem sentenced him to a fine of 7,500 shekels and compensation of 10,000 shekels to the child's family.
25 years after the conviction, Lieberman was asked if he would act the same way today. His answer was more conciliatory: "I underwent surgery to lengthen the short fuse. I assume I might have behaved a little differently."
Asnaim airs tomorrow, Thursday, at 21:15 on Reshet 13.
