An Israeli man has been found guilty of "rape by deception" after telling a woman he was Jewish - when in fact he was an Arab.
30-year-old Sabbar Kusher was sentenced to 18 months by an Israeli court - a verdict he has described as "racist."
The sex was entirely consensual - that is not disputed.
But the judge, Zvi Segal, wrote:
"If she had not thought the accused was a Jewish bachelor interested in a serious relationship, she would not have co-operated. The court is obliged to protect the public interest from sophisticated, smooth-tongued criminals who can deceive innocent victims at an unbearable price - the sanctity of their bodies and souls."
Kusher has said he did not lie, and that the woman misinterpreted his nickname of "Dudu" as a shortened version of the Jewish name David.
And he argued even if he had lied, he should not have had to stand trial:
"If I told the woman I was a pilot and later she finds out that I was not a pilot, then she goes and says that 'He raped me'? If I told her that I was a millionaire and it turns out that I am a poor man, then she goes and says that 'He raped me'?"
As Around The Sphere put it:
"Man lied to get a woman into bed. In other news, the sky is blue."
A similar law has been debated in the US state of Massachusetts.
There, it was argued that the law did not protect victims who had been intentionally deceived into having sex, without force or violence.
Representative Peter Koutoujian at the time said:
"There is a myth that rape only happens in a dark alley by a stranger - this is not true. The intent of the crime is the same, and so the punishment should be the same."
What do you think?
Your comments
Comment sent via Facebook
18:58
113631290
Batanda on Facebook - It depends on which part of the world you're in and which sex you are. Am pretty sure if the "victim" was male it would have been a non issue..!
Comment sent via SMS
18:45
108767833
Where is the responsibility of this woman in the story? If it is that important to her, she should take the time to get to know him better.
Christophe, Belgium
Comment sent via Facebook
18:51
113631290
Kiptoo in Kenya on Facebook - Well this is quite interesting, most people who have sex outside wedlock often lie in one way or another, this is not rape unless you want to totally redefine rape.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:50
113631290
Ricky in Oregon on Facebook - People 'lie for sex' every day. Women put on makeup, and push-up bras when that's not really what they look like. Men pretend to like movies like Sex and the City 2 and act chivalrous when they're not.
Comment sent via BLOG
18:48
113631290
Keith in Cleveland on the blog - in cases like this, I always wonder how they establish his guilt. I understand that it would be a horrible tragedy if he raped her and was let off, but it's his word against hers, innocent until proven guilty. Can we agree that it is better if a guilty man goes free than if an innocent man is jailed? Terrible legal process.
Comment sent via BLOG
18:42
113631290
Dan on the blog - This law is ridiculous. If we start prosecuting men who lie in order to have sex, then we can probably put 80% of male population behind bars.
Comment sent via BLOG
18:41
113631290
Shaun in Toronto on the blog
I'm flabbergasted that we have heard people who are actually in favour of jailing a person for lying to get sex. People in relationships lie all the time - a push-up bra is false advertising at the very least.
Comment sent via BLOG
18:37
113631290
Alex_from_HK on the blog - It really depends how you define rape. Consent is nothing, if that is not genuine consent. Consent can be vitiated. Think it in this way, you will feel being cheated if your man told you that he was single, but in fact he has married.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:32
113631290
Darryl on Facebook - This issue here today is that he did not lie. She presumed he was jewish. Now all of a sudden she has morals. Willing to sleep with some one for pleasure only if they are Jewish. Give me a break... You can't have your cake and eat it too...
Comment sent via Facebook
18:31
113631290
Mitch on Facebook - If she was so offended about him not being Jewish, she should have taken steps to ensure he was before they had sex...
Comment sent via BLOG
18:17
113631290
Lard_cheeses on the blog - Shame on the court for effectively belittling the seriousness of genuine rape.
Comment sent via Facebook
18:24
113631290
Jennifer on facebook - This woman should be ashamed of claiming this crime was committed against her, when so many woman on this planet have actually experienced this horror.
Comment sent via SMS
18:20
108514614
Women who have sex casually should concentrate on enjoying it. If they don鈥檛 want to be lied to they should take longer to consent to sex. That way theycan be sure of who they are with. Yetunde London
Comment sent via Facebook
18:00
113631290
Julius Yuh on facebook - This is a joke, right? Did the woman not have means of verifying his true identity? its like saying we can arrest any man who lies to woman that he is banker whereas he is a barber.
Comment sent via BLOG
17:58
113631290
Viola on the blog - Some on this blog are suggesting that because some women lie and deceive that it is just fine to lie to and deceive all women. Once more, we have people jumping out of the bushes claiming predatory men are not to blame for their own behavior.
Really? Is that what you teach your sons and daughters?
Comment sent via host
17:54
113631290
Welcome to the World Have Your Say blog, today we''re discussing this case of rape in Israel. We''re on air now, send us your thoughts...
If you lie for sex, are you guilty of rape?
| Thursday, 7 July 2010 | 18:00 - 19:00 GMT
An Israeli man has been found guilty of "rape by deception" after telling a woman he was Jewish - when in fact he was an Arab.
30-year-old Sabbar Kusher was sentenced to 18 months by an Israeli court - a verdict he has described as "racist."
The sex was entirely consensual - that is not disputed.
But the judge, Zvi Segal, wrote:
"If she had not thought the accused was a Jewish bachelor interested in a serious relationship, she would not have co-operated. The court is obliged to protect the public interest from sophisticated, smooth-tongued criminals who can deceive innocent victims at an unbearable price - the sanctity of their bodies and souls."
Kusher has said he did not lie, and that the woman misinterpreted his nickname of "Dudu" as a shortened version of the Jewish name David.
And he argued even if he had lied, he should not have had to stand trial:
"If I told the woman I was a pilot and later she finds out that I was not a pilot, then she goes and says that 'He raped me'? If I told her that I was a millionaire and it turns out that I am a poor man, then she goes and says that 'He raped me'?"
As Around The Sphere put it:
"Man lied to get a woman into bed. In other news, the sky is blue."
A similar law has been debated in the US state of Massachusetts.
There, it was argued that the law did not protect victims who had been intentionally deceived into having sex, without force or violence.
Representative Peter Koutoujian at the time said:
"There is a myth that rape only happens in a dark alley by a stranger - this is not true. The intent of the crime is the same, and so the punishment should be the same."
What do you think?
Your comments
Comment sent via Facebook
Batanda on Facebook - It depends on which part of the world you're in and which sex you are. Am pretty sure if the "victim" was male it would have been a non issue..!
Comment sent via SMS
Where is the responsibility of this woman in the story? If it is that important to her, she should take the time to get to know him better. Christophe, Belgium
Comment sent via Facebook
Kiptoo in Kenya on Facebook - Well this is quite interesting, most people who have sex outside wedlock often lie in one way or another, this is not rape unless you want to totally redefine rape.
Comment sent via Facebook
Ricky in Oregon on Facebook - People 'lie for sex' every day. Women put on makeup, and push-up bras when that's not really what they look like. Men pretend to like movies like Sex and the City 2 and act chivalrous when they're not.
Comment sent via BLOG
Keith in Cleveland on the blog - in cases like this, I always wonder how they establish his guilt. I understand that it would be a horrible tragedy if he raped her and was let off, but it's his word against hers, innocent until proven guilty. Can we agree that it is better if a guilty man goes free than if an innocent man is jailed? Terrible legal process.
Comment sent via BLOG
Dan on the blog - This law is ridiculous. If we start prosecuting men who lie in order to have sex, then we can probably put 80% of male population behind bars.
Comment sent via BLOG
Shaun in Toronto on the blog I'm flabbergasted that we have heard people who are actually in favour of jailing a person for lying to get sex. People in relationships lie all the time - a push-up bra is false advertising at the very least.
Comment sent via BLOG
Alex_from_HK on the blog - It really depends how you define rape. Consent is nothing, if that is not genuine consent. Consent can be vitiated. Think it in this way, you will feel being cheated if your man told you that he was single, but in fact he has married.
Comment sent via Facebook
Darryl on Facebook - This issue here today is that he did not lie. She presumed he was jewish. Now all of a sudden she has morals. Willing to sleep with some one for pleasure only if they are Jewish. Give me a break... You can't have your cake and eat it too...
Comment sent via Facebook
Mitch on Facebook - If she was so offended about him not being Jewish, she should have taken steps to ensure he was before they had sex...
Comment sent via BLOG
Lard_cheeses on the blog - Shame on the court for effectively belittling the seriousness of genuine rape.
Comment sent via Facebook
Jennifer on facebook - This woman should be ashamed of claiming this crime was committed against her, when so many woman on this planet have actually experienced this horror.
Comment sent via SMS
Women who have sex casually should concentrate on enjoying it. If they don鈥檛 want to be lied to they should take longer to consent to sex. That way theycan be sure of who they are with. Yetunde London
Comment sent via Facebook
Julius Yuh on facebook - This is a joke, right? Did the woman not have means of verifying his true identity? its like saying we can arrest any man who lies to woman that he is banker whereas he is a barber.
Comment sent via BLOG
Viola on the blog - Some on this blog are suggesting that because some women lie and deceive that it is just fine to lie to and deceive all women. Once more, we have people jumping out of the bushes claiming predatory men are not to blame for their own behavior. Really? Is that what you teach your sons and daughters?
Comment sent via host
Welcome to the World Have Your Say blog, today we''re discussing this case of rape in Israel. We''re on air now, send us your thoughts...