Ari Shavit, one of Israel’s most prominent journalists and the author of New York Times bestseller My Promised Land, has resigned from two of his media roles after two women accused him of sexual harassment.
Danielle Berrin, a reporter for the US Jewish Journal, wrote an article earlier this month about an unnamed “accomplished journalist from Israel” who had assaulted her during a book tour in 2014. Although the column did not name him, speculation quickly focused on Shavit, who offered an apology last week.
Following a rejection of Shavit’s apology by Berrin, Shavit was accused of inappropriate sexual behaviour by a second woman, an unnamed staff member of the US-based Jewish organisation J Street, during the same book tour.
Shavit’s original apology, which the writer framed as an encounter he “misconstrued” as a “flirtation”, drew a furious response from Berrin, who said: “Ari Shavit has yet to apologise for what he actually did. He did not apologise for committing sexual assault.”
Shavit has now stepped down as a commentator for the Israeli paper Haaretz and for Channel 10 TV, amid a flurry of cancellations for speaking engagements for groups in the US, including Jewish campus organisation Hillel and prominent pro-Israel lobby group Aipac.
In a second statement at the weekend, Shavit said: “In the last few days I have understood that I have been afflicted by blindness. For years I did not understand what people meant when they spoke of privileged men who do not see the damage that they cause to others. Now, I am beginning to understand.”
He added: “I am ashamed of the mistakes I made with regards to people in general and women in particular. I am embarrassed that I did not behave correctly to my wife and children. I am embarrassed about the consequences of what I did.”
My Promised Land garnered widespread praise, particularly in the US, where Shavit has been regarded as a high-profile writer and intellectual in great demand for speaking tours.
Berrin was inspired to write her own account of her encounter with Shavit after the outcry over Donald Trump’s remarks about women. She welcomed Shavit’s second statement, tweeting:
I'm grateful for Ari Shavit's powerful, honest statement. His resolution to do 'heshbon hanefesh' - an accounting of the soul - is admirable https://t.co/OOGMIOuNHD
— Danielle Berrin (@hollywoodjew) October 30, 2016
