This week has brought several expressions of outrage over Israel convicting an Arab citizen of “rape by deception” for lying about his religion in order to bag a Jewish girl.
Did he also promised not to come in her mouth?
He did promise her a “serious relationship, ” though, given his 18 month sentence, it appears that he was the one who had that promise visited upon him. This has to be a terrible disappointment to his wife and two children.
The Guardian reports that Gideon Levy, a liberal Israeli commentator, said “I would like to raise only one question with the judge. What if this guy had been a Jew who pretended to be a Muslim and had sex with a Muslim woman? Would he have been convicted of rape? The answer is: of course not."
No, but her family might have killed her for the dishonor. In their defense, the family might have killed her even if her consort was an Arab.
More progressive Arab countries like Egypt (at peace with Israel) only take away one's citizenship for activities like sex with a Jew if you actually fulfill the promise to marry ’em (at least that's the punishment for men).
Anyway, it is a disturbing story–although the guy's behavior is disturbing too.
Take away the ethnic element, and make it a different lie–say, the guy lied about being a doctor, and I know plenty of supposedly liberal people who would volunteer to castrate him.
Truth be told, I think radical feminist Andrea Dworkin would have sided with the Israelis; of course, she was certifiably nuts (and would probably have volunteered to perform castrations before any such incidents occurred, as a preventive measure in the time-honored Middle Eastern manner generally imposed upon women).
This case is already being used to vilify Israel for racism, but the charge of “rape by deception” is hardly unprecedented.
There is even an Italian film called “La Condanna“ ("The Conviction") about a man tried and convicted trial for “rape by deception” for seducing a woman by convincing her they were locked in a Museum all night, when he had the key all the time. Claire Nebout looked awesome naked, and she seemed to enjoy the experience while it was occurring.
Men (and some women) sometimes have a tendency to obscure the truth in matters of amour, and more so in matter of sex. When I first encountered Domestic Partner, her on-line profile on J-Date said she was an "Occasional Smoker," the "Occasion" apparently being "Every Chance I Can Get." (she once bet me she could stop smoking for eight hours, and then promptly went to sleep).
I once had a woman hit me because I lied about reading "The Power Broker." I later read the book and it was worth it, though she wasn't
This law review article details case after case involving such charges. Most where there was a conviction involve far more serious matters of deception, often quite repulsive, but some of them (promises of a career in show biz, rather than a lifetime of Jewish bliss) come close to the Israeli example.
Volokh also provides some cases from different states and nations with more similarity to the instant matter, including one where a man got convicted for seducing a woman by lying about being a neurosurgeon.
The country where that happened was Israel, and the man who was convicted was a Jew.
In Israel, the law is a conviction of rape should be imposed any time a “person does not tell the truth regarding critical matters to a reasonable woman, and as a result of misrepresentation she has sexual relations with him.” The operative question is whether an ordinary person would expect such a woman to have sex with a man without the false identity he created.
Verdict?
The Israelis may be guilty of being crazy (or, if you prefer, highly enlightened), rather than being racist.