Malka Leifer set to return to Australia as Israeli minister signs extradition order

Israel’s Justice Minister said he has signed an extradition order to send former Melbourne school principal Malka Leifer back to Australia to face 74 charges of sexual abuse.

Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn said that after a years-long legal saga, it was Israel’s “moral responsibility” to extradite Ms Leifer.

Mr Nissenkorn signed the order a day after Israel’s Supreme Court rejected what appears to be Ms Leifer’s final appeal.

Ms Leifer, a former educator accused of sexually abusing several former students at a Jewish school in Melbourne, has been fighting extradition from Israel since 2014.

She maintains her innocence and the six-year legal battle surrounding her extradition has strained relations between Israel and Australia.

Mr…