Criminal proceedings against the man accused of abusing long-time victims' advocate Manny Waks have been delayed by Israeli government inaction, a court has been told.
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Mr Waks alleges he was sexually assaulted by a former member of Melbourne's ultra-Orthodox community, Velvel "Zev" Serebryanski, when he was a child.
Serebryanski was charged with raping a child and indecent assault, and in 2023 extradited from the United States to Australia.
He was due to face a committal on March 25 but Melbourne Magistrates Court was on Friday told arrangements for witnesses including Mr Waks were yet to be finalised.
Prosecutors told the court they were in touch with the International Crime Co-operation Central Authority, which handled Australia's "mutual assistance" with overseas governments in trans-national cases.
The Israeli government was yet to tick off on requests for witnesses' involvement in the case but they were "being progressed", prosecutors said.
Serebryanski's defence lawyer Tony Hargreaves said he understood arrangements could not be made for the complainant to come to Australia without the Israeli government's approval.
Magistrate Belinda Wallington agreed to push the committal back to August 14, with the matter also listed for June 14 to confirm the Israeli government had acted on the requests.
She extended bail for Serebryanski, who appeared in court via video link.
Australian Associated Press
