NUM95 … appropriate sanctions should be imposed on people who knowingly allege false charges to harm the accused or gain sympathy for themselves. So, for example, falsely accused people should avail themselves of any and all remedies prescribed in civil law. In addition, though, they have a right to expect the Jewish community to demonstrate its disgust at such behavior and its unwillingness to tolerate it. Depending on the situation, that might include dismissal from a job in the Jewish community (on grounds of moral turpitude); expulsion from the camp, school, or synagogue in which the incident took place; and, minimally, a demand for a public apology. In the process of dealing with such an instance within a community, the relevant laws prohibiting defamation (motzi shem ra), lying (sheker), and even the related law about plotting witnesses (edim zomemim) (For defamation, see Numbers 12:1-6 and Deuteronomy 22:13-19. For lying, see Leviticus 19:11. For plotting witnesses, see Deuteronomy 19:15-21.) should be taught, along with their rabbinical developments, so that this instance may become the occasion to teach people the kinds of speech the Jewish tradition expects Jews to avoid. All sanctions imposed on the accuser, of course, apply only to cases were no abuse had occurred and the accuser knew that; they would not be appropriate in cases where there is reasonable question as to whether the defendant's actions constitute abuse or not. In such cases, the accuser, in lodging the complaint, acted out of an honest, even if mistaken, understanding of the situation and is in blameless for doing so. The defendant can then dispute that understanding in a judicial tribunal if she or he thinks that the accuser misconstrued the situation, and the judges can decide.