Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced former film producer, is scheduled to appear in a Manhattan court on Wednesday for arraignment on a new indictment that could include up to three additional sex crime charges, according to his attorney. This latest legal development comes as Weinstein continues to face multiple legal challenges related to sexual assault allegations.

Arthur Aidala, Weinstein's lawyer, confirmed that his client will attend the court session in person. This appearance follows Weinstein's absence from a hearing last week due to his recovery from emergency heart surgery. The 72-year-old has been receiving medical care in the prison ward at Bellevue Hospital, where a judge has allowed him to remain indefinitely instead of returning to the Rikers Island jail complex.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office revealed at a September 12 hearing that a grand jury had returned a new sealed indictment against Weinstein. Prosecutors indicated that the grand jury heard evidence related to up to three alleged assaults. These incidents reportedly occurred at various locations in Lower Manhattan, including the Tribeca Grand Hotel (now known as the Roxy Hotel) in the mid-2000s and another Tribeca hotel in May 2016.

The specifics of the new charges remain unclear, as Aidala noted last week, "We don't know anything. We don't know what the exact accusations are, the exact locations are, what the timing is." The indictment will be unsealed during Wednesday's arraignment, providing more details about the nature of the allegations.

This new legal challenge comes as Weinstein awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case. Earlier this year, New York's highest court overturned his 2020 conviction, necessitating a new trial scheduled to begin on November 12. Prosecutors have expressed their intention to incorporate the new charges into the upcoming retrial, a move that Weinstein's legal team opposes, arguing for a separate case.

The Court of Appeals' decision to vacate Weinstein's previous conviction was based on the ruling that the trial judge had improperly allowed testimony against him from women whose allegations were not part of the case. This decision has reignited debates about the handling of high-profile sexual assault cases within the justice system.

Throughout his legal proceedings, Weinstein has consistently maintained that any sexual encounters were consensual. Once a powerful figure in Hollywood, Weinstein co-founded Miramax and The Weinstein Company, producing acclaimed films such as "Shakespeare in Love" and "The Crying Game." His fall from grace has been emblematic of the broader #MeToo movement, which has sought to address sexual misconduct in various industries.

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ZAKA founder and chairman Yehuda Meshi-Zahav visited the headquarters of the Israel Police's Lahav 433 Major Crimes Unit on Monday to speak on his own behalf in the investigation recently launched into allegations that he has committed multiple sex crimes against Haredi children and women.

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Meshi-Zahav arrived a day after the Israel Police made a formal announcement that an investigation had been opened into the allegations against him. A police officer met with him at the gate and informed him that the visit was irregular, as he had not yet been summoned to provide testimony, after which Meshi-Zahav left.

As of Monday, none of the alleged victims had filed official complaints with the police. The Israel Police have reached out to a few of the alleged victims, but most refused to come forward.

One of Meshi-Zahav's close associates said Monday that "he can't stand what the media is doing to him anymore."

"He denies the allegations against him in the media and feels a strong desire to know what is suspected of and give his version," the associate said.

Meshi-Zahav's attorney, Ephraim Dimari, said, "My client, believing in his innocence, took the unusual step and presented himself for questioning at Lahav 433. My client has nothing to hide, everything is malicious rumors."

Meanwhile, Zviki Fleishman and Shana Aharonson from the organization Magen, which provides mental health support to members of the Haredi community, who contributed to the Haaretz expose about Meshi-Zahav's alleged acts, also arrived at the Lahav 433 headquarters on Monday, where they handed over material regarding the alleged crimes, as well as the contact details of a few of the people who spoke to journalists and others who contacted Magen in the last few days since the story broke.

As the investigation progresses, a number of senior ZAKA officials and Haredi public officials are expected to be summoned to give evidence as the police attempt to determine whether or not they knew about the alleged acts and failed to report them.

Since the expose ran, more men and women have spoken to the media, claiming to have been sexually assaulted by Meshi-Zahav, and alleging that he had threatened them to keep them from disclosing what had happened.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the affair in an interview with Army Radio on Monday and said he "hoped it isn't true."

"Sexual molestation of women and children is something that should brought to justice," he said.

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The panel's decision last week that found Malka Leifer fit to stand trial marked a major breakthrough in a years-old case that has strained relations between Israel and Australia and antagonized members of Australia's Jewish community.

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In its announcement, the Justice Ministry said the psychiatric panel had "unanimously and unequivocally" concluded that Leifer had faked mental illness in order to avoid extradition.

"The prosecution believes that the psychiatric panel's definitive conclusions have removed the obstacles that stood in the way of any significant progress in this case," the ministry said.

"The psychiatric panel's findings lead to the inevitable conclusion that over the past five years, the court and the mental health system have fallen victim to a fraud perpetrated by Leifer and her supporters."

Leifer faces 74 counts of sexual assault related to accusations brought forward by three sisters who say they were abused while she was a teacher and principal at the ultra-Orthodox religious school they attended in Melbourne. In 2008, as the allegations surfaced, the Israeli-born Leifer left the school in Australia and returned to Israel.

After Australia filed an extradition request, Leifer was put under house arrest in 2014 and underwent the beginnings of an extradition process. But that ended in 2016 when a mental health evaluation determined she wasn't fit to stand trial.

Leifer was again arrested in early 2018 after police found evidence that she had faked her mental incompetence. The court asked for another psychological review, whose findings were announced last week.

In a statement, Leifer's lawyers accused the government of rushing forward with a decision before the legal process runs its course and said her human rights are being trampled because of "diplomatic considerations."

The repeated delays in the case have strained relations with Australia, one of Israel's closest allies. Leaders of Australia's pro-Israel Jewish community have also expressed frustration.

Those frustrations have been amplified by the alleged involvement in the case of Israel's ultra-Orthodox deputy health minister, Yakov Litzman. Israeli police have recommended charges of fraud and breach of trust against him for suspicions that he pressure ministry employees to skew Leifer's psychiatric evaluations in her favor. Litzman denies wrongdoing.

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