Last week, while discussing the spate of sexual harassment cases currently rocking Hollywood during a news broadcast, Israeli TV anchor Oshrat Kotler shared a story of her own: Years ago, she said on air, she was propositioned by Alex Gilady, the founder and president of Keshet Media Group—the powerhouse behind such productions as Hatufim, which was later sold to Showtime and remade as Homeland—and a former senior NBC executive. Gilady, Kotler said, invited her for dinner in 1994, and, when she refused, suggested to her that anyone who has paid any attention to Hollywood knows that the only way for women to advance is by sleeping with powerful men.
Inspired by Kotler’s revelation, another prominent journalist, Neri Livneh, shared her own story a few days later, recalling that Gilady had invited her to his home for what he said would be a work meeting. Then, however, he proceeded to expose himself to Livneh, who fled the house, horrified. And yesterday, three additional women came forward, telling Haaretz that Gilady had raped them.
One of the women, who worked for Gilady in the 1970s, told the newspaper that she was asked by her boss to pick up materials from his home. They drove there together, she recalled, but when they entered the house, Gilady assaulted her.
“He threw me on the sofa, removed my underwear and simply penetrated [me],” she alleged. “That’s it… I want to die when I think of it.”
Another woman claimed that, in the 1990s, she was being interviewed for a TV program of her own, and that she, too, was asked to report to Gilady’s home. Once there, she said, he threw her to the floor, kissed her forcibly, and raped her. The third woman’s story is similar.
Gilady has denied the accusations, calling the allegations against him a “wave of smears.” He has, however, temporarily stepped aside from his position at Keshet, saying he’ll soon be taking legal steps to address what he said were “false accusations.”
Liel Leibovitz is editor-at-large for Tablet Magazine and a host of its weekly culture podcast Unorthodox and daily Talmud podcast Take One. He is the editor of Zionism: The Tablet Guide.
