Israeli Lawyer Accused of Serial Rape, Victims Are Under Gag Order

Introductory Note: In this story, I am reporting the claims of four Israeli women that they were raped by the same man.  Obviously, as I’m not a private investigator nor physically present to investigate this case, I am reporting my impressions of the case and the credibility of both parties.  I have read material offered to me and spoken with individuals connected with the case.  I have read the claims of the accused.  My judgments below are based on these deliberations.  Despite my having opinions on this subject, I am not making absolute claims as to the veracity of either party.

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I report here for the first time that prominent Israeli attorney, Uri Daniel (Hebrew), a member of the Tel Aviv bar ethics committee, has been accused by four women of rape.  Daniel runs an 8-lawyer firm in Tel Aviv.  The focus of his practice is bankruptcy.  He liquidates companies.  He is a pillar of the local legal community.  He has deep connections not only among lawyers, but also with judges and the police.

Daniel is in his late 40s.  He is divorced from his first wife and remarried.  He has two young daughters with his second wife.  He lives in a penthouse in a tony Tel Aviv neighborhood and drives a Mercedes SUV.
Over 20 years ago in the northern Tel Aviv suburbs, a child educator began a nursery school that was influenced the philosophy of the Waldorf schools (though it has no formal affiliation).  The nursery schools have been very successful and educated thousands of young children.  They brought together educators, parents and others from the outside, who decided they wished to study philosophical questions on a regular basis.  The approach of the group is influenced by anthroposophy, a school of philosophy founded by Rudolph Steiner, founder of the Waldorf movement.  Other renowned Israelis who were students of anthroposophy were Martin Buber and Hugo Bergmann.

Uri Daniel joined the study salon as well sometime in the 1990s and participated for ten years.  It was during this period that the alleged rapes took place.  The women attacked were also members of the group.
When the alleged victims approached the police, strange things happened.  In one case, the police recorded the questioning on video, but later lost the audio.  This has led some to believe that Daniel has a source inside the police who is doing “favors” for him.  In another case, the police woman who conducted the questioning began in a friendly manner, and was called out of the room.  When she returned, her manner altered radically and she assumed an aggressive, intimidating approach that filled the complainant with fear.  The latter went home not only depressed, but with thoughts of dropping the case.  In a third case, the police questioning was so hostile and insulting that apparently the station commander was embarrassed, and wrote the victim a letter of apology the next day.

All four victims have taken polygraphs, which they passed with flying colors.

The four women have, between them, had five lawyers take their cases and then drop out after being intimidated by Daniel.  One of those attorneys, just before she stopped representing her client and after being threatened by Daniel, asked for a gag order, which was approved.  Gag orders are almost never requested by rape victims.  In this case, it didn’t benefit them and only benefited the accused.  Therefore, one has to suspect a level of collusion between Daniel and the lawyer who shortly thereafter abandoned her victim client.  In this sense, the alleged victims have been abused once by the accused and then abused yet a second time by his intimidation of their legal representatives. More