Against a background of accusations by several women of sexual harassment, MK Yinon Magal informed the leader of the religious nationalist Habayit Hayehudi party Naftali Bennett this morning that he wished to resign as a member of Knesset. He will be replaced by the next candidate on the Habayit Hayehudi list, Shulamit (Shuli) Mualem-Rafaeli.
Magal told Bennett that that he was sure that there was no criminal aspect to anything he had done, but that he understood that there were those who had been hurt by his behavior in the past and he therefore sought to resign from the Knesset.
Bennett was updated while on a propaganda trip to the US. "I have received the notice of Ynon's resignation, and this is the right thing to do. I hope that the proceedings in which he finds himself will be concluded as swiftly as possible, and that he will be able to devote himself to his family and to his future career."
Last week, Bennett found himself under huge pressure to distance himself from Magal.
Only yesterday, Channel 2 News reported that a fourth woman had lodged a complaint of sexual harassment against Magal. The woman, who worked with Magal in the past, though not at Walla!, where Magal was editor before going into politics and where the other alleged sexual harassment incidents took place, approached Channel 2 after seeing the attacks and smears against the other women who had publicized their allegations against him on the Internet. She said she could not stand aside and felt the need to support them and their credibility and to state that the same thing had happened to her.
A police investigations of the allegations against Magal is underway.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 30, 2015
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