A school principal in Tel Aviv informed the Tel Aviv District Director that he will be going on leave on Monday after being suspected of having intimate relations with minors, Hebrew media reported on Sunday.
The suspect, Udi Klein, informed the district director of his decision as a result.
Klein denied the accusations, telling school staff: “You know I will not do anything to hurt any of you or any of our students. I didn’t act inappropriately and I didn’t do anything to hurt anyone.
“This school, which I have been privileged to run for over six years, is the most important thing to me,” he continued.
Klein clarified and added that “under these circumstances, I found it appropriate to go on vacation for a certain period of time, to allow peace and regular work.”
“You know I will not do anything to hurt any of you or any of our students. I didn’t act inappropriately and I didn’t do anything to hurt anyone.”
Udi Klein
A year ago, Klein was a member of a committee that tackles the issue of sexual abuse in the LGBTQ+ community, N12 reported.
Responses to the incident
The Education Ministry responded to the accusations, stating that “These are apparently serious criminal suspicions, which were not known to the Ministry and will be investigated as soon as possible.”
The initial report, which came out of N12, stated that the principal had a relationship for months with a 17-year-old boy who asked him for help with a school project. In a separate case, Klein had been messaging a former student of his, who was 16, on the dating app Grindr.
Likud MK Tally Gotliv commented on the incident, saying: “If you are the principal of a prestigious high school in Tel Aviv who has a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old student from another high school, your name will be prohibited from publication and no one will dare to say that it is inappropriate.
אם אתה מנהל תיכון יוקרתי בת״א שמנהל קשר מיני עם תלמיד בן 17 מתיכון אחר, שמך יהיה אסור לפירסום ואף אחד לא יעז לומר שזה לא הולם. בכל זאת מנהל מת״א. אבל אם אתה זמר מזרחי נערץ שמעריצות בנות 17 רדפו אותך והכחשת קשר מיני אתן והתיק הפלילי נגדך נסגר, שמך ייחשף, יהרסו אותך וירדפו בלי סוף pic.twitter.com/g57YkDXEqJ
— טלי גוטליב (@TallyGotliv) October 1, 2023
“But if you are a revered Mizrahi singer who was chased by 17-year-old female fans and you denied having a sexual relationship with them, your name will be revealed, you will be destroyed and persecuted endlessly.”
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