The rape victim at the 1988 vigil, Yael Grimberg, passed away at the age of 49. Today (Sunday) she was laid to rest in the Kiryat Ata cemetery. The rape happened while on duty when Grimberg was 14. At first the case was closed, but later, amid protests, seven defendants were indicted for involvement in the act and acquitted by the court in Haifa. At a later stage, four of them were convicted in an appeal submitted to the Supreme Court.
The play "Playing in the Back Yard" by the playwright and theater director Edna Mazia was inspired by the case, even before the appeal to the Supreme Court. Dan Almagor, the author of the song "When you say no", which was quoted in the verdict, changed the words of one of the verses following the incident: "When she Saying 'no' – that's what she means. This is what she means when she says 'No!', therefore the 'No!' Hers is final, absolute. Only she decides, not any court."
In the third season of the satire series "The Jews Are Coming", a skit appeared dealing with the discussion of the kibbutz assembly following the rape, in a way that criticizes the kibbutz's response to the act of rape.
An article about the rape in Shmarat, 1991 (Photo: Maariv)The late Grimberg told 103FM about a year ago that "There isn't a day when I go to bed and I'm not at the kibbutz, I'm usually 14, as if I froze. I haven't been able to work for years. I get up in the morning, make coffee, smoke and watch TV. As the morning comes, I'm just waiting for the evening, to pass another day. You can't call it life, I'm just here."
Due to the difficulty of leading a normal life, Grimberg said that she gave her three daughters to her foster families. "They are supportive, but I will not fall on them. They are just starting their lives. I see the grandchildren and it gives me a 'push'. They and the grandchildren are my bright spots. They saw me in very extreme situations, when I no longer wanted to continue living." I didn't get out of bed, a lump of flesh lying there and not moving. Firm, but not really firm – autopilot," shared Grimberg.
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According to her, "It's the same disconnection I had then, when my case happened. This disconnection exists and it doesn't go away over the years. I don't want to confuse the brain and say it goes away, because it doesn't." Grimberg faces feelings of guilt and depression about those days, "Why did I actually get in the car? I have no idea how many times I prayed to God that I wouldn't get up in the morning. I have to take pills just to get out the door." But that doesn't help either. "I haven't left the house for almost three years, I don't feel safe," she explained.
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