THE ISRAELI high court has put on hold the 18-month jail term for Sabbar Kashur, the Arab man who was convicted of “rape by deception” after he had sex with an Israeli woman whom he told he was Jewish.
The high court also released Mr Kashur (30) from house arrest.
Last month’s conviction and prison sentence, after a plea bargain, prompted an outcry in Israel and a wave of sympathy for the defendant.
Allegations of racism and paternalism were made against the judges who ruled that it was their duty to protect “the sanctity of the bodies and souls” of innocent victims against criminals.
Mr Kashur, an east Jerusalem Palestinian, married with two children, engaged in consensual sex with an Israeli he met by chance in the centre of Jerusalem two years ago. He told her he was a Jewish bachelor seeking a long-term relationship. Ten minutes later they went to the roof of a deserted building and had sex.
When the plaintiff found out the truth she went to the police, who arrested Mr Kashur.
Justice Asher Grunis ruled yesterday that “the possibility that the appeal would result in a mitigated sentence should not be discounted”. Mr Kashur responded that he was “very satisfied with the ruling” His lawyer, Yehuda Laist, also welcomed what appeared to be a change of heart by the courts, noting that “this is an unusual case, and we hope the court would annul the prison term imposed on my client”. Lawyers for the accused argued no crime had been committed even though their client had lied to the woman.
The defendant said he engaged in a brief conversation with the woman before proceeding to have sex. He asked how old she was, and she asked about his job and marital status. “You could see the girl was all over me. I don’t remember who said first ‘let’s have sex’, but it was clear she wanted to,” he said.
Mr Kashur said he was also considering the possibility of a civil lawsuit against the woman at a later date.
He said he was pleasantly surprised by the level of support he had received, both in Israel and abroad. “The support I received in recent days proved to me that I do belong to this country. It’s impossible to make a distinction between a Jew and an Arab when handing out a sentence.”